Getting A Handle On Death And Dying
Recently the subject of death became very personal and up front to me. There is no quick solution to modify one’s thinking, however, with a huge fear factor of my own immortality staring me squarely in the eye, I decided to begin the remodeling process of my thought system. I started by asking myself, “What am I going to do with the remaining years of my own life?” All my possessions, power, ego and learning will end when I do, so, I need to put a larger perspective on this picture. I then went to speculating on what survives the death of the body, how does it make the transition from this existence to the next, where exactly would I be going and who might I find there when I arrived. I also questioned if life even does continue after so-called death, and if the soul doesn’t just die with our bodies. With these questions and this line of thinking, I realized that my entire perspective would now have to undergo a complete overhaul.
As I began researching, I discovered that throughout time, there were many imagined solutions to the mysteries surrounding death. These developed into stories, mythological tales, religious text, and sacred narratives that have helped in guiding people through a healthier relationship with death. Robert Thurman made a stirring point with, “There is no way out of this mess, except to become enlightened and then enjoy it.”
Do you believe that death is the end, that’s it, no more? Do you believe in heaven or hell? Do you believe in other dimensions? These are thoughts that seems to paralyze people with the mere thought of ceasing to be and what really happens after the physical body ceases to function.
We are intent on the humanness, with tasting, smelling, touching, listening and seeing, and have allowed our consciousness to identify only with our physical body that requires constant air, food and sleep in order to exist. Death always frightens people who think they are the body, yet we actually only consist of five elements, earth, water, air, ether and fire, that’s it. We simply step out of these elements just as we would step out of a garment. If you were to stop and think for a moment that there are automatic processes going on inside our body. Bodily functions that are happening without our consent and knowledge, yet we have blind faith that this is in fact happening to us without even questioning it. We don’t see any of this going on, yet we believe that it is happening. “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” (John 4:48)
Ego should be mentioned here because it is the prison that causes us to lose sight of the spiritual part of ourselves. It manages to control all of our fears and then literally falls apart whenever there is a threat of ceasing to be. This is where our self-image resides which, by the way, is based on all of our past experiences, and is our cocoon of our illusions of our present reality. Ken Wilbur describes it as, “A bag of edited memories.” Overcoming the ego is the most important element in discovering our true identity. As Lama Govinda put it, “It is possible to transcend the ego and live without its limitations, and thus attain far greater freedom and self-expression.”
Let’s take a moment here, let’s go way back in time to see how others adjusted to the reality of death. How other cultures around the world learned the art of a peaceful transition. How others were able to view death and rebirth as only a phase in the continuous cycle of life. How some were able to soothe into the expectation of their own death. How many found their comfort zone in the art of dying well.
People have always held on to hope of the possibility of life after death by their beliefs of heaven, hell, limbo, the great hunting grounds up in the sky, and reincarnation. The Egyptians buried their mummies with personal effects to use on their journey to and in their afterlife. The Western culture is a death denying culture. Possibly this is a result of removing the dying process from the home where people would die close to their families. Now, most people die in unfamiliar environments, all to often alone with doctors and nursing staff that assume responsibility. Consequently, many people have little experience with death, making it difficult for them to talk about it or to be with a dying person. They know in the back of their minds that it happens, but that is the end of their perception in this issue.
If a person stays with this fear, avoids the topic all together or just simply relies on what others or groups of people say, they certainly cannot expect to move forward and beyond this concern. The fear of what may happen after death seems to be more intense among people who have ideas of places like hell in their belief system. It is not my intent to try to change your beliefs; only to present some options of reasoning that are bein used for you to ponder. Delegating our search for understanding to anyone else will without a doubt compromises our freedom. So, pure and simple, the responsibility of inner knowledge and beliefs falls on each individual. In the end, it will be the ability to absorb and tweak our perceptions as we go about leading what we call normal lives. This will free us of the binds that binds us in the prison of fear. For the fear of death, no antidote has more power than the knowledge of who you really are and then choose to let it become you. Death is a constant figure in mythology and religion. In most pieces of written literature, death is not depicted as evil or good, but is usually said to be somewhat witty, soft-spoken, fair in judgment, and mild mannered.
Many religious belief systems have a particular spirit, deity, demon or angel whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls to the afterlife, such as Heaven or Hell. These entities are called psychopomps, from the Greek word, literally meaning the guide of souls, a conductor of souls to the afterworld, a creature of the imagination, a person that only exists in legends, myths or fiction. Myths were simply stories of explanation for things that could not be seen and examined. For thousand of years, followers of religions have believed in sacred stories, sometimes called myths or legends. The Egyptians believed that their Pharaohs were immortal and soon discovered how to mummify them and built pyramids to house their earthly possessions for their journey to and in the afterlife. There is even an “Egyptian Book of the Dead” that will tell how to ensure immortality. Ars Moriendi (”The Art of Dying”), offers advice on the protocols and procedures of a good death and on how to “die well”. “The Tibetan Book of the Dead” was about helping people to prepare for their transition.
It is interesting that so many cultures have assigned a Deity to represent such a specific role. It seems we allow our Infinite Intelligence to accept psychopomps while in our everyday reality we harbor fear of even the prospect of death. Modern Western society is one that is continuously being singled out for its difficulty in dealing with death. We seem to avoid thinking of death at all costs.
“Mythology is important because it provides a solid structure within which death and the afterlife can be discussed.” states Laura Strong (2005). As Carl Jung knew, myths have a unique ability to explain what may seem inexplicable to the rational mind. In addition, a mythological approach can introduce widespread ideas, and still leave room for the imagination, which is important if people are to develop a personal relationship to such sensitive material. Myths have a powerful ability to stir up the imagination to explain the unexplainable while not infringing on cultural, social, religious beliefs, personal convictions or skepticism. Myths can be a-lead-in for starting discussions between the assorted mentalities and understandings that exists out there. This in turn could open the way to accelerate new energies of belief which otherwise would not have been available to explore.
Mari L. Torell received a BA and a MA in Metaphysical Science and PhD in Philosophy, mystical research. She is the author of two book. Visit http://www.greathealthideas.com for alternate suggestions on aging, healthy living, weight control and a whole lot more.
Tags: cultures, Death, dying, legends, mythology, psychopomps, religions
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