Bob’s Cosmic Embrace
I met Bob Mandel in Rome, Italy, 25 years ago. I did not know him, but after a few Rebirthing sessions in Portugal, his name kept coming into my mind. Bob was known among the Rebirthing and Conscious Breathing community, and he had been one of Leonard Orr’s first students, the founder of Rebirthing. He gave seminars all over the world and organized retreats in his home in Connecticut several times in the year.
His website inspired me so much, that I wanted to bring his teachings into the companies I was consulting at the time. I knew they could benefit from Rebirthing and Conscious Breathing just like I was.
So, I went to Italy to meet Bob Mandel and attended one of his seminars. I arrived in Rome on a Thursday at the end of the day and on Friday I took the opportunity to go for a walk and get to know the city a little as it was close to the Vatican and the Colosseum.
The seminar started on Friday late afternoon and would end on Sunday after lunch. Around 6pm on Friday I arrived at the room where it was going to happen. From a distance, there was Bob, talking to some participants and getting ready to start.
It was the first time I was participating in such an event, and it promised a lot of personal work that I was ready and willing to do.
Bob spoke for the first 2 hours, and it seemed like everything he said resonated within me. It was like being in the presence of someone who spoke everything I have ever felt and thought about life and about myself! My heart was filled with love and gratitude for being there! At the end of Friday’s work, Bob walked around the room and talked to people. I was still sitting in my chair taking my notes, when I had an overwhelming urge to go to him and thank him for his words that made so much sense and echoed in my heart so profoundly. So, I did.
I got up and walked over to him. I waited for the conversation he was having with another person to end, and took my turn thanking him for those 2 hours of seminar. But I couldn’t help myself: I wanted to give him a hug. I asked if I could hug him, to which he replied affirmatively. I hugged him. I wanted to hug him even more, but I didn’t know him and the body-to-body contact with a stranger was causing me some resistance. Bob, who sensed me, said, “You can hug me. It’s ok.” All my opposing ideas dissipated and I hugged him. I closed my eyes, felt myself being lifted off the ground, my heart warmed tremendously and I was suspended in a space I didn’t know. It was a space of infinite warmth love and at the same time immensely empty. I don’t remember exactly how long that moment lasted, but it was certainly some time because I still remember and feel it very clearly today. I opened my eyes, said goodbye to Bob and went to my room to sleep and continue the seminar the next day.
I remained in that loving space even after I arrived at my room. During the night while I slept, I felt that warmth throughout my body especially in my heart, which felt like embracing and be embraced by the entire planet and the entire cosmos. I felt God very close to me. I dared to open my eyes at one point, and around my body, I saw many little red lights coming in and out, and my heart continued to warm and grow. I cried with happiness and gratitude to God for that moment that my understanding could not grasp, but my heart did. The next day I met Bob for breakfast. I was still in awe. There were several people having breakfast with him besides me, but I ended up sitting next to him. I remember we talked a little, while other conversations took place. Hearing him talk to those people and to me, being there in that space, made my heart grow even bigger. At a certain point I had a huge desire to hold his hand, but of course I didn’t say anything, because I had just met him and… What would other’s say?!? I held back my wish. Bob turned his head to me and said, “You can give me your hand.” I didn’t even hesitate and I placed my hand on his. In my body there was only room for love and more love, and warmth. My heart couldn’t fit inside me. I felt protected like never before.
At the end of the seminar, as I was saying goodbye to people, I thanked him and told him that he was a “Soul Retriever” to which he nodded his head and said “Yes, I see myself like that as well.” We both smiled and said goodbye.
This state of warmth, love and deep union with everything and everyone remained in me for about 1 year.
Many years after this experience, I decided to write Bob and tell him about my experience when we first met. He answered me back saying he felt the same and that it was his Cosmic Embrace.
Dear Bob, I know you are still somewhere with us and in God’s Grace. You made a difference in the world! I thank God for allowing us to meet and work together for so many years. You left a great work behind, and I am continuing it now. With that Love.
You were the wisest man I have ever met. Rest in peace, my friend!
Bob Mandel passed away in 2024 with 80 years old.
