Temple Hayes on When Did You Die

Death is a natural part of life. Didn’t someone say we start dying the moment we were born? But even if this is a fact of life, and no matter how prepared you are, the death of a loved one or when you’re lying at your deathbed will always come as a surprise. But would you believe that you’re either growing or dying throughout your existence? At least this is what Temple Hayes, author of When Did You Die?: 8 Steps to Stop Dying Every Day and Start Waking Up, is trying to help us realize. As her message of hope goes, “it’s time to stop dying a bit every day and start embracing the God who created us”.

Who is Temple Hayes?

Before she became an author that would join the ranks of Joel Osteen and Brene Brown, Temple Hayes was just like one of us, suffering through various episodes of dying and waking, which explains why she is described as a “rebel, renegade and resurrected a thousand times”.

Born and raised in South Carolina, she was part of a church-going community that made her realize she was different and led her to question everything she comes across, including her sexuality and spirituality. Life wasn’t exactly easy for her. She was living in a home where love and compassion are nonexistent, and violence and neglect are everywhere.

But her sorry lot in life isn’t the only thing that made her an authority to write about what she calls “near life” experiences – “the times you did not bring all of your life and vital energy to an experience. These are the times you almost saw the light”.

Temple Hayes started dying when she was just a little girl. She was disgraced by her favorite aunt because she chose to disagree with her. She was shamed by a teacher for wanting to be original. She was ostracized for welcoming black kids in their classes. But the worst experience was when she tried to explain her beliefs on new thought metaphysics the only way a five-year old can, only to be turned away. This may have something to do with the fact that people find it hard to accept that a little girl already had her first mystical experience, when adults have been searching for it all their lives. Moreover, she was born at a time when women are not allowed to hold leadership roles or become a minister, which is what Temple Hayes wanted to become.

People just started taking away her dreams that she became afraid to be herself. She turned to alcohol instead, drowning her frustrations away. She was alive, but not actually living.

But from the ashes of her day-by-day death, Temple Hayes forged a new life that allowed her to bring others into realizing their worth and that they deserve to be loved. She also helped others to open their hearts and change their lives for the better.

Realizing at an early age that she had a deep connection to spirit, even without prior knowledge about new thought metaphysics, she had always wanted to tell the world that God loves everybody all the time. Now with her renewed life, temple Hayes has become an accomplished and practicing shaman. Since she joined the ministry in 1991, she has become a spiritual leader at Unity Campus in St. Petersburg, Florida. She has been a catalyst for restoring souls, patching up parts that have been damaged by small deaths and pains, and creating brighter tomorrows from lingering sorrows. It is no surprise that she is revered internationally and has gained her seat in the Leadership Council of the Association of Global New Thought.

New thought metaphysics is built around different beliefs: positive thinking leads to positive results, negative thinking leads to negative results, all diseases start in the mind, healing can come from the right thinking, the true human self is divine, and spirit is the ultimate reality.

Apart from giving part of herself as a counselor and guide, she also does her share to help make the world a better place, not only for humans but animals as well. She founded the SOFI Project, a non-profit organization that rescues dogs and cats and gives them a new lease in life. She also founded Life Rights, another nonprofit with a mission to ensure that everyone enjoys the right to live the life they want with the freedom and peace they deserve. Each week, she also shares a variety of tools through the Unity Online Radio that will help you in your journey to thrive in both the best and most challenging times.

No wonder New York Times bestselling author of The Passion Test Janet Bray Attwood, calls Temple Hayes “A catalyst for total transformation.”

When Did You Die?: 8 Steps to Stop Dying Every Day and Start Waking Up

In an interview with OMTimes Magazine, Temple Hayes described her book When Did You Die as a “conversation about how to stop dying from the small slights and big pains we face every day that take our energy and close down our hearts”. Because it contains 8 steps that must be followed, it showcases her ability to become someone’s personal GPS or God-Personalized System.

When Did You Die was written to help people live a vibrant life with an open heart, something that plenty of us may not be experiencing right now. Sure, you are living the good life, but is your heart open, are you free from any form of struggle, and do you know how to work with your life? According to Temple Hayes, the reason that life seems so hard is that we do not how it works, which is why it feels like it is working against us. Trying to turn things around without proper guidance will sap you of your energy and will only make you feel disconnected. This is why the first few chapters of When Did You Die, focuses on understanding life’s processes and getting rid of the fears that are holding you back from making a change or keeping you vulnerable.

According to co-founder of Unity, Charles Filmore, “fear is the dust that gets in our eyes. It keeps us from seeing what we need to see. When we let go of that fear and make peace with that fear, we make it our sacred friend. Then, we can become committed and when we commit we begin to live fully…”

Each chapter of the book contains one of eight steps that make up the program that will guide you through a belief-examining process, and then lead you to create your own life path that moves to a healthier and prosperous direction.

Although the 8-step program is so profound, Temple Hayes wrote it in a way that is exciting without losing the spirituality of the book. It is not mere storytelling, but a conversation between the author and the reader. She asks probing questions that will get you thinking, and provides light-bulb moments that will help you realize if you are dying or growing.

In the chapter “From Fear to Feeling to Freedom”, for example, she poses questions that someone once asked her: How has your way of avoiding your fears and feelings been working for you thus far? What is the payoff in keeping things the same? Such questions are sure to make you pause and formulate your own answers before turning the page.

To help you get started on creating your own life-path, every chapter of When Did You Die, also comes with “Ideas to Process and Integrate” where there are questions essential for self-examination. By answering them, you will get the most out of the book and find ways to apply what you have read so far. All these make the book a practical tool for changing your life. When Did You Die is perfect as a gift to someone looking to live life in the true meaning of the word.

What do other renowned individuals think about the book?

Author of Your (Re)Defining Moments—Becoming Who You Were Born to Be, Dennis Merritt Jones, describes it as “Magnetizing, energizing, and inspiring . . . remembering who you were born to be. Read When Did You Die?, knowing your life is about to change in a profound way”.

On the other hand, Deborah King, Hay House radio host, and author of Be Your Own Shaman and Truth Heals, considers the book to have the power to “open hearts and minds around the world”.

No matter what others say and think about When Did You Die, the only thing that would matter is the impact and effect it will have on your life. Will it be able to really transform you “From Disconnected and Drained to Energized and Impassioned”, will it help you live the life that you want, and free of the pain and challenges that kill you little by little each day?

Read the book and find how out you can stop dying and start truly living.