Family and friends share their memories

WHAT HAPPENED?

After a successful 9 weeks of chemotherapy, the doctor was ready to perform the surgery. After successful surgery, they opened the stomach and found all cancer cells dead from the chemo. Arie was cancer free. Following the surgery, however, there were complications. After 7 weeks in and out of intensive care fighting for his life, Arie consciously chose to pass over on the 7th day of the week, departing from bed #7 at 7:45 PM. If you add 7 and 4 and 5, it is 16, where 1 and 6 add up to 7 again. In the morning of his last day, tears were pouring from his eyes. He knew he was about to depart from the life as he knew it. He passed on Saturday, October 10, 2009, 5 days short of his 75th birthday.

HIS LAST FEW HOURS

My mom, sister Anat and her husband Moti, and the grandkids Leeran, Matan, and Maytal were with him as he transitioned at the hospital bed. I was in my San Francisco home connecting to his spirit, begging him to stay; but when I felt the peace he connected to, I knew he wanted to continue his journey. My fear of losing him and refusal to accept his departure disappeared and I felt his peace. I stepped outside to the yard, overlooking a motionless ocean with no waves, no wind as life stood still. A few drops of rain touched my head and a hawk landed by me - Archangel Michael. The hawk looked at me right in my eyes and I knew it was time. My dad's transitioning journey was now safe. The hawk then flew away.

The whole time I was on the phone with my dear friend and angel Dr. Linne, who helped me guide his spirit back to the body in the last hours of his life. I was also on another phone with my mom and sister at the hospital, text messaging instructions for them to repeat for his return to the body. My dad started to wander around on the other side, not wanting to come back. He wanted to join his parents who were with him at the transition.

He asked us to respect his will and to accept his conscious choice and let him go. Surrounded with thousands of angels that had gathered his family members on the other side, I told my mom on the phone to let him go, to tell him that we honor his choice and let him go. "We honor your choice," she yelled repeatedly to him. He was laying there with icy glazed eyes. The doctor got on the phone letting me know that his life signs were dissipating and requested permission to not revive him once his heart stopped. I told the doctor that it was okay to let him go. He was ready and it was his wish and choice.

THE TRANSITION

I stood tall over the ocean witnessing my dad passing over and his spirit leaving his body. He was floating over his body, looking down at the blood coming out of his mouth. I suddenly and violently puked my guts as he transitioned smoothly to the other side. I promised my dad that I would be with him when he was ready to transition and I was, not by his bed, but by his soul. I had the honor of walking with him in this life for 47 years and to walk with him all the way to the other side, holding his hand in safety and peace, just like he held mine when I came to this world. No son can ask for a greater honor.

I then came back to my body, feeling the enormous emotional pain of losing your dad. My heart is bleeding with the pain of love as I miss my dad, no words can describe my love or my pain. Thank God love is eternal and thank God we have your love, friends and family, to support us.

ABOUT MY DAD

Born in Romania, a holocaust survivor who lost his dad at age 1 and his mom at age 7 and survived a collapsed house in an earthquake at age 6, he grew up as an orphan with no family of his own during World War II. In 1948 with the establishment of the state of Israel, he found his way to become a young soldier serving in 5 wars in the front line, witnessing most of his young troops losing their lives protecting their country.

He was the officer in charge, not only on the battlefield, but also the one who went in person to the grieving families to notify them of their loss. Compassion was one of his greatest gifts. Shifting to civilian life, my dad dedicated his life to create a loving family that is connected and strong. I was the first born, followed by 2 beautiful sisters. My dad didn't have much of parenthood role models to learn from or any formal education, but was able to fill our hearts with the most important ingredient to a strong family and that is unconditional love.

He was always adventurous at heart, taking in life always with a smile, very adaptive to any new conditions. He demonstrated that in a bold move of the family from Israel to Toronto, Canada. My dad and I have shared many memorable trips in the wild from hiking the Grand Canyon, to Alaska white water rafting, to traveling around the world with no plans other than being in the moment.

In the past 6 months I had a distinct honor to journey to guide and accompany my dad in the process of consciousness awareness awakening. I witnessed him connecting to his body and his spirit and he was even able to clean his body from cancer completely.

His true victory in his life was the level of consciousness he was able to achieve. For the first time, he was able to communicate with his parents that he lost as a child and other lost family members from the Holocaust. Can you imagine how much it meant to him to speak to his parents? He was also able to connect to the angels that were with him. He was open to receive all the love that was sent his way from all of you, his friends and relatives.

My dad lived and dedicated his life for his family and friends. We were all the meaning of his life. He always put first everyone else but himself. For years I have been begging him to put himself first and allow himself to accept your love, just like he loved you. I begged him to allow us to care for him for a change and to not feel guilty about receiving. But he was a proud man.

In the last few months of his life, my dad finally surrendered to accept love, and opened his heart to receive all of your unconditional love. He was shocked and surprised to learn how many of you loved him. He couldn't believe that you simply loved him for who he was and wanted nothing from him but his company. He couldn't believe all the hospitals visits, notes, cards, and wishes you all sent him. You were all the angels in his life and I thank you for giving him the ultimate gift of unconditional love. During chemo he said to me: "A moment of consciousness of love is worth a whole life time of ignorance" my Dad got the meaning of his life and I was blessed to witness it.

We will miss his laughter, jokes, and being the life of a party, but I will especially miss our long, into-the-night conversations about the meaning of life and death. My dad was my teacher and also my student. It is my aspiration to be the same to all of you.

I want to thank you all for your prayers, support and love you have extended to him, to my mom, to my family and to me. Your unconditional love is so precious and means so much to us.

HIS DREAM

I often asked my dad about his dreams and he had joked about like winning the lottery or riding horses in nature, but the only dream that really mattered to him was Oneness in our family, where the 3 of us children are loving and connecting with our parents, our children, and with each other. Like every family, we the kids had our share of differences over the years, but recently were able to bridge the gap among us to become Oneness of Love in our family. I want to thank my sisters who joined me in manifesting my dad's dream. "Do you have oneness in your family?" he would ask if stood here now. "Because nothing else matters," he would add. And that would probably remind him of a joke and he would have forgotten what he was speaking about.

ABOUT MY MOM

My pain although unimaginable is nothing compared to the pain of my mom Rivka Ringelstein who lost the love of her life. Can you imagine losing 53 years of a friend, lover, and a husband?

The last 6 months of attending to a helpless partner, witnessing the suffering of a loved one, is no walk in the park. I have never seen such commitment and dedication to a loved one. My mom put her life on hold for a while so that my dad could have his. Following the grieving, my mom will begin a new phase in her life, life without a loved one, but will be surrounded with all of us to love her as she loves us and more. She is a powerful soul who together with our family came to teach the world the true meaning of love. At the hospital everybody knows her, loves her, and came to hug her, because she represents unconditional LOVE that we are all yearning for in our lives.

I always felt uncomfortable about consoling others when they lost a loved one, especially if I didn't know the passing or the family that well. What do you say? What do you do? What is the right thing to say? I now know that it is not about the right words, but maybe about sharing your own feelings and definitely about expressing your love in your life; because after all, we are all connected. Love yourself, love your family and friends, and therefore you love us too.

I also invite you to extend your love to my mom. To support her journey of grieving, longing for dad, and missing him, to allow her with this big shift in her life. Her heart is more vulnerable than ever before, her appreciation for all of you has already touched her soul. On Saturday October 24, 2009 we will be celebrating her 70th birthday and the life of my dad.

MOVING FORWARD

I could never pay back my dad for all that he has given me, but I can pay forward to you and to the world. As a student of life and the divine, and gifted with the love of my parents, I will continue my father's teachings and values of a strong and loving family. I will live my life with the only relationship I now know matters and that is a relationship of unconditional love and unconditional acceptance with oneness in my family, with yours, and with all life.

CLOSING

Last night I went to the morgue to see my dad's body. He was lying cold on the bed. I put one hand on his heart, the other on the top of his head. I took few deep breaths and invited his spirit to use my eyes to see you all here, my heart to feel your love, so he can experience his dream not only from above but from within.

My dad had a dream:

Oneness in the family with unconditional love and unconditional acceptance for all.

That was my dad's dream not only for our family, but for yours.

That dream was worth dying for my dad and it is worth living for all of us.

ANAT MARKIZANO (DAUGHTER) - EULOGY FROM MEMORIAL SERVICE

His parents called him Leon, his grandma Leonash. We call him Aba, his grandchildren call him Saba. He was a loving father to my sister, my brother and I, and to his two special sons-in-law who he considered to be his adoptive sons. He is loved and admired by his seven grandchildren (Itay, Dikla, Karin, Ram, Leeran, Matan and Maytal) and held a special bond with each and every one of them. He was loved and admired by all of you are here today and those that couldn't make it but still hold a special place in their hearts for him.

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