Awakening Journey – Part 3
By Jon Anderson
Honeymooners in Africa in 1997
The mighty Zambezi River, Zimbabwe
Years ago, I almost drowned in Africa while rafting on the Zambezi River. It was the summer of 1997, and my wife, Connie, and I were on our honeymoon. There was one particularly nasty rapid our Zimbabwean guide warned us about, called Gulliver’s Travels. Of course, I fell out of the raft at the top of this class-4 rapid and was quickly pulled under. Having been an experienced rafter, I pointed my toes and waited to pop up. I waited... and waited. Soon enough, I realized I was in trouble. I needed to breathe, but I had no idea whether I was moving downriver or stuck in an eddy. I thought, So this is what it’s like to know you’re going to die. I thought of my life, my new bride, my mom. How upset she would be that her son was about to die on the other side of the world. And, just then, I finally popped up. A muscular South African kayaker plucked me from the water and onto his boat. I hacked and coughed until I was reunited with my rafting crew. “Close one!” Our guide Norman laughed. Somehow, I couldn’t share his sense of joviality after that experience. When we got home, my mom mentioned she’d had a bit of a panic attack one day during our trip. “Did something happen on that day?” she asked. You guessed it—it was the same day I almost drowned.
We are connected to each other in ways we cannot see or touch. There is no machine that can measure love, yet there it is, connecting us from one person to the next, from San Diego, California, to a frothing river in Zimbabwe. A quote from Dr. Brand, played by Anne Hathaway in my favorite movie, Interstellar, goes like this: “Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space.” My mom and I experienced that connection first-hand. It was one of many clues and odd experiences in my life, many of which wouldn’t make sense for years to come. When I connected with my father on the bus in Turkey, it was love that made that bridge possible (see Part 1). When I connected back to a past life moment, again, it was a loving connection that allowed me to remember.
Hypnosis Session 2 – Continued
My second hypnosis session was a past life regression. I found myself somewhere back in the time of clipper ships, cobblestone streets, and tall black hats. Upon entering my home in this mysterious place, I saw a woman who was my wife. Although I didn’t see her face, a vivid realization washed over me:
“It’s her! It’s her! It’s her!” I repeated over and over to Autumn.
“Who?” Autumn replied.
“It’s Connie!” I said in shocked disbelief. Connie, my present-day wife.
In an instant, the moment was gone, and I went back to being a ball of light floating in the darkness. It was a revelation. It took a moment to regain a sense of normalcy, yet being a ball of light floating in 5D felt perfectly normal to me. Eventually, Autumn Joy, my hypnotherapist, asked if I would go to a moment that was important to me. I immediately saw myself saying goodbye to our foreign exchange student from Croatia at the airport. I saw a silver cord extending from me and connecting to him. It had swirling colors and glowed. I understood it to be something we had created together—a special bond formed while he was here. It was the emotional tie between two people that we cannot see. It made so much sense. Soon after, I moved to another important moment. This time, I was sitting on a bench in my father’s backyard, a couple of weeks before his passing. We were sitting together, and he rested his head gently on my shoulder. He had always been the strong figure, and his gesture was as if to say, “I’m tired, and I don’t want to be strong anymore. It’s your turn.” It was a beautiful passing of the torch—from father to son.
“A funny thing happens when you crack open the door of your own awareness: it keeps opening. And there’s no closing it.”
After my session with Autumn, my head was spinning. It took a lot of energy to experience a past life and everything else. I drove about a mile, pulled over, and took a rest. Just like the first time, I went to bed early—this time at 4:30 p.m.—and slept for 13 hours. The next day felt dreamy and light. I looked at Connie with a newfound sense of love and wonderment. What did all this mean? I wasn’t even sure if it mattered. Knowing every detail didn’t seem necessary. Just “knowing” was enough. It all made sense. And it left me with the deepest sense of calm and peace I had ever felt. The experience simply existed and provided me with comfort. Every day since has come with a profound sense of gratitude for this life.
A funny thing happens when you crack open the door of your own awareness: it keeps opening. And there’s no closing it. What is awakening? It’s finding out that you are much more than this existence. And it’s remembering that you are a being of love, connected to people past and present, no matter the distance. It’s something one must experience for themselves, and when you do, you will never be the same. You’ll just “know.” You’ll know that you are part of something bigger, something extraordinary, connected by love on an infinite web that spans all space and time.
The original Local Healers logo sketch.
My sessions with Autumn continued, leading to amazing places and even more incredible interactions. I’ll share those experiences another time. Today, I continue my life as a husband, father, designer, and now spiritual healer. Meditation is my preferred modality, yet just being present in a peaceful state (pro tip: turn off the news) is a meditation all its own. Mostly, I feel gratitude for this life and love for all those around me.
I founded Local Healers to help people find their own answers on their own path, and I encourage you to connect with some of the wonderful healers in our area (many of whom work remotely). Keep searching for your own answers, and soon you may crack open that door and see what’s waiting for you in this beautiful life.
Jon Anderson
Local Healers founder, Jon Anderson, is a seeker, spiritual healer, creator, connector, and purveyor of all things positive. His 25+ year career as a designer and creative director has led him around the world and he currently calls Coeur d’Alene, Idaho home.
