Category: Manny Kagan

According to Wikipedia, “music is an art form whose medium is sound”. Sound is vibration, which we perceive through our ears. Light, which we perceive with our eyes, is also vibration. At the same time, we can visualize things with closed eyes and hear sounds with the inner ear in our minds.

The famous composer Ludwig Von Beethoven composed music even after he became deaf. It is said, that good musicians make music, instead of playing it. The same is said about good photographers, who manifest an image versus just taking a picture. All this leads to the realization that sound is based on our seismic communication, which actually is not one of our traditional five senses, but is often used to express our feelings.

In the Torah’s text, the first line states “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…” (Genesis 1:1). Thus, when our world was created there were not one, but a multitude of heavens. According to the accounts of Dr. Alexander and others, who experienced NDE, it seemed that what we call our soul, left the body and traveled through different heavens towards the light. There, it met the souls of their departed relatives, and guardian angels, who are also mentioned in the Torah, “And God said, ‘Let us make Man in Our image, after Our likeness’” (Genesis 1:26). But none of the people who reported their experience of NDE met the reputable 72 virgins in the heavens, which according to some sources is the reward expected by the Islamic martyrs.

But how about communicating with our departed ones? Is it possible? Author Mitch Albom, whose first book, “Tuesdays With Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lessons” became a best seller, has his own take on this subject in his latest book, “The First Phone Call From Heaven”. His theory is one’s quest of the afterlife accompanies humans from our birth. Some religions promise the paradise as a salvation for those who suffer in their life on earth, or to sinners after their repentance. But what happens after we die? According to Dr. Eben Alexander and others, what we call the heavens or paradise is filled with love. Do we need to wait until we die to experience it? I do not think so. Love is everywhere. The Bible tells us “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:43-45).

Many people like dogs (or cats), though not everyone is willing to have them. In the past 35 years living in San Francisco, we’ve had two dogs. The first one Amber—an Irish Setter, was a lady with a temper. She would run away jumping over the neighbor’s fence and I had to chase her all over the neighborhood. After she was hit and killed by a car in front of our house, we decided that our next dog would have short legs.

Angus, a Welsh Corgi, was a perfect choice. He was from a champion lineage and our adopting him was under the condition that we show him at dog competitions. But as he grew, he became a giant Corgi (perhaps we fed him too generously). So, his showmanship career was over. We had Angus for 13 years. He loved to go with us to The Sea Ranch and did not want to go back to San Francisco. When we would start packing, he would stick his face into the corner, hiding it from us, as he tried to make himself “invisible”, since he did not want to go back. He was a good walking companion until the last year of his life, when he preferred to just lay down. One day, he let me know that it was enough for him. With tears in my eyes, I drove him to the vet where we said good-bye.

There is one legend about Saint Valentine of Rome, who was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment, he healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius. An embellishment to this story states that before his execution, he wrote her a letter signed “Your Valentine” as a farewell. Apparently, historically, there was more than one Valentine. Different religious groups and even different countries have their own legends, which gave them an excuse to celebrate love and affection.

According to Wikipedia, the Valentine’s Day that we celebrate today to commemorate romantic love, evolved in 18^th-century England. This occasion was for lovers to express their love by presenting flowers, offering confectionaries and sending hand-written greeting cards thanks to the Hallmark Cards Company, which was founded in 1910. Hallmark transformed this holiday into a big business opportunity; not only for greeting card companies, but also for the flower and candy industries as well. As a result of the routine created by advertisers, we rush to honor our loved ones. But what about the other 364 days of the year? Do we need someone to tell us what to do?