Some of you who will read the following may get the wrong message. Therefore here is a disclaimer– I have never used drugs, neither artificial nor natural. I have never even smoked. I seldom drink alcohol and I do not use any kind of food or substance to alter my state of consciousness. If I was asked I would encourage you to do the same (but I am not). Now, having said that, let's get to the issue –

When you reach a certain level of awareness you are able to travel through dimensions. Mostly, my journeys have taken place during my sleep time when my waking awareness is asleep. From time to time, but not as often as I would want to, I am able to pair my waking self with my sleeping self so the two embark on experiences in the non-physical worlds. The unique motif in these OBEs (out of body experiences) is the fact that I am fully aware of both my physical being which lies in bed and the etheric being who exists "with me". During those journeys, I meet other consciousnesses, visit places and experience happenings that resemble the regular ones in the physical. In these awake travels, I find myself in familiar surroundings. In other travels, I have visited weird places but that's something different which I will not discuss here.

There is a question that used to pop into my mind when I returned to the physical reality: "why should one remain here? Why not stay in those worlds/realms and experience life there?"

I have written in the past about the spiritual meaning of the physical life, why the human life is so important, and in particular, in the times we live in nowadays. But from the standpoint of the human being only, there are two very important reasons for living, for choosing to remain here. Before I talk about those two reasons let me say that life in the other worlds can really be enjoying and satisfying for the mature consciousness. An ascended person can experience myriad of feelings, and to their fullest; can enjoy the company of loved ones, the creativity of the flesh and the spirit, the freedom from a physical body, and much more. Those who choose not to wake up "here" make their own choices which are respected.

The two reasons that I have found for staying aliove are these –

• Living in this physical life, in the world as it is today, allows me interactions with various types and levels of consciousnesses. When I leave the physical world I usually end up in a world that reflects my own inner psychic characters. That is, I find myself with people who love me, whom I love, students, other teachers, friends, masters. Only in this physical reality, I am able to come across and interact with people who are far different than I am. These meetings allow me to learn about the many fractions of All That Is. The messages – verbal and other - that are conveyed between me and these people expand the person I am in a way and a pace that no other known-to-me dimension can do. So, the reason I am here is you, my fellow human beings.
• The other reason is individual. What I mean to say is that each person should find his/her own unique reason for wanting to be alive. Some people adore Gaia and so they spend their years traveling across the earth, exploring nature and its beautiful spots; other people crave to create something – a product, a song, a family – and the process of creativity itself gives them much pleasure and wisdom. Only a system which has the time element, like the physical system, can offer its inhabitants that factor of learning.

I for one share the above reasons but perhaps above all stands my desire to be a standard. True, I have been teaching in other realms as well, but in our world I find a strong passion, coming from almost every human, to know, to grow, to understand, to be. Almost every person I meet allows me the pleasure of speaking straight to his/her heart. This openness and allowing mood, which comes from the soul, is my own private indulgence in this life. Because of this, I consider myself fortunate to be alive.

Therefore, when I am asked each day – 'to be or not to be?' - I give a loud and clear answer:

To be!