John Mercede

One night in the hospital with John, I began by praying the familiar prayers of our cradle tradition. Then I moved into the decrees we had come to love and speak together over the years.

As I said them, John began moving his mouth in unison with mine. And then something extraordinary poured forth.

It was as though a living map of our life together opened before us—clear, luminous, and overflowing like life-giving waters. I could see with sudden clarity the steps we had taken, the choices we had made, and why certain people, places, and communities had been called into our lives. I saw the gifts in all of it—the easy and the hard, the joy and the sorrow, the crossings, the losses, and the grace.

These truths poured into the room for hours. Each piece of our shared life was spoken, blessed, and illuminated. Each threshold had anchored something in us. What we had lived, loved, endured, and become was not random. Our life together had become a living prayer.

One decree that flowed through us:

Transfiguration

I AM changing all my garments,
Old ones for the bright new day;
With the sun of understanding
I AM shining all the way.
I AM light within, without;
I AM light is all about.
Fill me, free me, glorify me!
Seal me, heal me, purify me!
Until transfigured they describe me:
I AM shining like the Son,
I AM shining like the sun!

With deep love, I share that John passed peacefully on Monday of Holy Week with me by his side.

In the days beforehand, John was doing profound work on every level—body, heart, soul, and spirit. It felt as though he was drawing many threads into peace and completion, preparing in ways both seen and unseen.

Just before his passing, soft music filled the room—a gentle mix of songs. After “I’m on Top of the World,” I remembered the playlist John made to surprise me on our car ride to the courthouse when we got married. It began with “Going to the Chapel” by the Dixie Cups.

As that song played, I told him how much I loved him and how sorry I was that we hadn’t made it to our second anniversary. John took his last breath during that song and was pronounced at 4:18 p.m.

In that moment, I felt a quiet nudge from the universe—4/18 was our wedding date. We did make it.

It was peaceful, sacred, and full of love.

Thank you all for your prayers, love, and support throughout this journey. They have meant more than words can say. Please continue to hold John’s children and grandchildren, and all who loved him, in your hearts. May the love that holds him now hold us all.

With heartfelt gratitude,
Julianne ♥️

Lynne and I first met John about five years ago when he and Julianne moved next door to our home in Naples. As time passed and we got to know them both, we realized that we were blessed and fortunate! John was as kind a sole as we’ve ever known and the purity of his heart was something that we will never forget and will always be an example for us to live up to. Our time getting to know him was far too short, but we are grateful for every moment we shared - especially when something broke in our home and was the first person we looked forward to help (or actually) fix it! He was always there whenever anyone needed him - often putting his own needs on the back burner until he helped someone else first. His loss leaves an enormous hole in our minds and hearts. Thank you, John, for allowing our entire family into your life! - Mark and Lynne Piazza

I don't have a specific sharing. I worked with John in Sai Maa's office about 10 plus years ago. John worked there also. I remember how kind and helpful John was no matter how busy he was. I felt seen, heard, and appreciated. In a stressful environment that meant everything to me. I will always cherish the love and heart he embodied. Seeing him in the light.

I have thought a lot about things that happened and what John said to me that stuck with me for life. There were many things I could say but it all came down to this -
John made me believe that there were good men in the world at a time in my life that I didn't believe that was true. I have since knowing him compared men that I have dated to him - he showed me what to strive for in a relationship.by showing us his relationship with Julianne. I wish for one more hug.
Rebecca Nicol

Dear Julianne,

John's heart was beautiful and full of light
His peace, joy, presence, and infinite love, and compassion touched us all deeply
This little mantra embodies this flowing grace of his spirit
I humbly offer these vibrations out in his honor, as I dedicate them out to you, all of his loved ones, and all beings everywhere, in our oneness
Blessings and Love, Karuna joy

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hgldqbB58kMXjIoBVVtd8ti6rTlTr_wa/view?usp=drivesdk

I met John and Julianne back in 2003 for IET training. I remember feeling in awe and grateful for their teachings, their gracious sharing of their gifts and how humble and supportive they were of each other, though each a powerhouse in their own right.

John helped me personally with some deep healing as well, with a soul retrieval from a very bad car accident, and one time when I was working as a massage therapist and my hands were in such pain I didn't know if I could continue working. Without even touching me physically, John was able to zero in on the issue, help me release it and then guide me to prevent this situation from reoccurring.

I remember feeling the sacredness and the depth of the connection between him and Julianne and was grateful to see that years later that they had become partners in life, work and spirit.

No doubt that love has helped John leave this plane with ease and grace.

Love and blessings,
Deana

John was more than a friend to so many — he was a guide, a protector, a healer, and one of the most profound spiritual presences I’ve known in this lifetime.

From the very beginning, he saw things in me that I hadn’t yet found the language for myself. One of our earliest interactions was after an introduction from working with Julianne and tag-teaming the opportunity to receive their kind of healing—his gentle hands moving with intention, recognizing and pulling old trauma from my body. There was something so deeply beautiful about being seen in that way. Not analyzed, not judged—just known.

We journeyed (in body) together across sacred places—Peru, Egypt—spaces that already hold so much energy, and in spirit to faraway lands, yet somehow felt even more alive because of him and Julianne’s care and presence. And in between the depth, there was laughter. I’ll never forget standing at Machu Picchu when he asked for a smartphone stand from the group, and I handed him an apple. When I told him he could just bite it into whatever shape he needed, his giggle was so pure, so unexpected—it’s one of those moments that will live in me forever.
John carried a rare kind of mastery. I watched him step into other people’s conflict and dissolve it with clarity, grace, and illumination. I saw him tend to people on the edge—those who fainted, those overtaken by energies they couldn’t manage—and bring them back with calm strength, like it was the most natural thing in the world. There was never ego in it. Only service.

His love for Julianne was one of the most beautiful expressions of devotion I have ever witnessed. He was always attentive, always present, always ensuring her safety—not from fear, but from a place of deep, unwavering love.

There were moments we didn’t need words. In healing circles, or dance and song, in shared silence, soaring with the condors, shared meals, deep breathing, in moment’s when tears kept flowing and releasing, in the spaces between breaths—we understood each other. But I think he made everyone feel understood, that’s just what John did well, to make sure people felt seen and heard, validated that they were exactly where they were supposed to be. When I laid in the King’s sarcophagus and left my body to speed through the galaxies, he was there when I returned, he smiled wide, calling me the Energizer Bunny. That lightness, that joy, woven even into the most expansive experiences—that was John.

What made him extraordinary was the balance he embodied: immense strength paired with the utmost gentleness. Not just physically, but energetically, emotionally, and intellectually. He didn’t just hold space—he created it. Safe, expansive, transformative. But he was also a guy’s guy— spiritual but with a side of car engines and tools. Talking to him about everything he was doing on the house was wildly impressive. Architecting book shelves as much as the heavens.

There’s a saying that when people pass, we carry forward the best parts of them. But with John, it feels impossible to separate—because all of him was his best parts.

Over the years, he and Julianne continued to support me through long-distance healings, always showing up, always giving more than they got. And in his transition, to be able to journey for him—to use the tools he taught me—was one of the greatest honors of my life. It was never something I gave to him; it was a gift he gave to me.

John’s presence doesn’t feel gone. It feels expanded. Woven into everything he touched, the light around me; everything he taught, and everyone he loved.

I will carry him—fully, fiercely, and with deep gratitude—always. In fact, I’m not sure I understood “gratitude” at this level until knowing John and Julianne. 🙏💜 I love you times a million trillion.

Six years, six months, twenty days. That’s how long I knew John.

It began when I reached out to Julianne about a soul retrieval. She journeyed on it and led me to John. What I didn’t know then was that John and I shared the same teacher, Master Choa, and that John had studied directly with him before he left the body. That discovery felt like anything but coincidence.

My background in the military and John’s in engineering meant our minds worked in similar ways. That understanding became the foundation of something I didn’t have a word for at the time, but eventually did: mentorship. He became a mentor to me, someone I could bounce things off of, someone who listened, someone who helped me see clearly.

He was a phenomenal healer. I carried a weakness in my body for over ten years. John resolved it in a few sessions. I worked with others on it for years. He did what others couldn’t.

Compassionate, but firm when firmness was needed. Practical, grounded, and deeply gifted. A true embodiment of balance.

It was an honor and a privilege to know you, John. Bye bye for now. 💜

This is a beautiful expression of John’s ability to create what others wouldn’t even think of attempting and his peace with the impermanence of all things… you are LOVE John…