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Thanatology - The Science of Death
The Great Adventure
Everyone on earth shares common sensations regarding certain experiences. We are all acquainted with the sensations of hunger, cold, fear, love, hate. We have all passed through the experience of birth. Some count the experience as an act of fate. Some recognize it as another step on the soul's long journey of becoming, a descent into the world of matter to attain learning and soul expression. Few remember their birth — or having planned it."
But there is not one among us who is unaware that we all face the Experience of Experiences -- the adventure of leaving this world through the portals of the transition we have named death. This experience lies inevitably in the future for all of us, and none hope to escape it. For death to be so universal and vital an experience, it seems incredible that man knows so little about it, not only the actual experience of death itself, but what happens on the other side of the portal.
Many fear that the passing itself relates to physical pain. It is not true. Whatever be the circumstances of your passing, try to recall these words and hold closely to them. Although the experience that brings you to the portal of death may be painful, death itself is painless and may even be a time of illumination, ecstasy and delight.
The Power of Becoming
Proverbs 23:7 says: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” A Sanskrit apho¬rism expresses it this way: "Whatever the form desired by a divine being, that very form the divine being becomes," Esoteric philosophy expresses it thusly: "That which a man longs for, that he becomes."
A great many earthians, pointing to their failures, use these to dispute this adage, which does not disprove the truth of the adage. It simply proves that their consciousness, not focused upon one principal longing, was distracted into many channels. Which again proves the adage in that he attains most surely that for which he longed —a state of confusion and unattainment. To attain that for which one longs implies dedication to a dominant ideal. If the summit of the ideal is not fully realized during earth life it only follows that the seeds planted here will harvest into ful¬fillment in the after-death states, and the blossoms of the harvest will drop the upward-spiraling seeds as the basis and dom¬inant motives for the following incarnation. Often the seeds planted during earth life culminate only in a restless thirst for knowledge, becoming an innate drive toward "the divine quest." Caught in the webs of earth's ways, one may not be free to follow the quest. Nevertheless, the soul grows through the stirrings of "divine dissatisfaction."
The richness of the life to come in the after-death states will depend a great deal on the degree of one's awareness of the immortality of the soul — and the truth of his ongoing into the higher spheres attained during incarnation. Certainly one will "go on" regardless of his belief while here. But his consciousness may be so limited that his experiences Overthere may be of little benefit to him before he descends for another incarnation. Full consciousness — that is, complete and unfolded awareness of all the glories of the afterlife--- usually cannot be realized unless one experiences full awareness and" "faith in the afterlife while still wearing "the body.
This aphorism may be difficult for many to accept. Nevertheless, while the soul after death may eventually ascend to the planes of paradise to reap the rewards for good deeds, his consciousness may be unfolded only to the degree that he unfolds it while here in his physical incarnation. Therefore it is necessary, while we yet wear the physical form, to expand our consciousness to embrace as much wisdom and understanding as is humanly possible.
The mind principle is dual. The mind is divided into two factions: the segment that unites with buddhi or wisdom, the discriminating principle, versus the segment that links with kama, the desire principle. It is kama manas, or lower mind, which is joined to the desire for conscious expression in the lower worlds; that yearns to express again the emotions of the earth body and passions of the physical form. If the segment of mind connected with the desire principle overwhelmingly obscures the buddhi-wisdom principle, then man will in truth become that for which he longs — a reincarnated soul — a soul "whose longing "to return to the world of matter overshadows the up-reaching spiritual forces.
Only when the consciousness expands fully into the buddhi-wisdom principle and disengages itself completely from a the down-drawing desire principle, will the soul be able to continue its evolving without returning to the material form. To repeat: until then, usually one will become aware and conscious of his existence in the after-death states only to the degree that he has unfolded such a state of awareness during his earth incarnation. This is why it is important to seek always a greater understanding of the mysteries of man and his state’s of being. When man's mind is predominantly immerse in kama, such a union forms the basis for coherence of the soul with the personality-body. It is this personality aspect that is mortal -- mortal in the sense that after death Its down-reaching desires can cause a separation from the immortal portion of your being and draw the soul once more into rebirth,*
On the other hand, when the mind is linked with buddhi-wisdom, this union with the High Mind renders the personality immortal. That is, if You, the personality, become aware of your High Self, striving to attain at-one-ment with it during physical life, it will have its rewards after death. On the higher planes, once the personality is united with this radiant High Self, the low self becomes transmuted, It is "saved." It is liberated from the Wheel of Life and Death. You become immortal and you “go no more out from the Father's House." If that for which a man longs, he becomes, then his own longings will be rewarded whether or not he actually becomes the fulfillment of his ideal during any one incarnation. Therefore, while still dwelling on earth, learn to let go of earth. And while you still live on earth, learn how to die.
Thanatology- The Science of Death
When we come to understand how very important is the task of learning how to die, these Lessons concerning the experience of death, the science of death, and the art of dying, assume tremendous importance. It is one of the two most important discoveries facing man in the new age.
1. First, is the full realization that we continue to live after death and can, under certain
circumstances, communicate with earthians.
2. Second, the understanding that how we die is related to:
a.our immediate awakening;
b.how long we remain Over there before incarnating, or whether we must reincarnate at all;
c.a favorable "next life."
Therefore it reminds us to pause to consider well this process of transition — the birth of the soul out of the womb of the physical form into the Otherworld. There are chemical affinities between the soul and corresponding force centers in the physical form. Were this not true, the process of death would be no more sensual than the removal of outer garments. But the chemical attachments which nailed the soul to its lower representative at birth must be subtly severed. The electromagnetic hold of the physical atoms must be overcome by the higher frequency of the soul atoms — the soul atoms receiving this sudden acceleration 'from the release of the death hormone into the blood stream. And the death hormones are released when your own cosmic clock of destiny sounds its alarm bell in the pineal and pituitary glands.
Man is essentially a trinity: body, soul and spirit. The soul stands as an intermediary between the body and the spirit. The body consists of all the elements of matter in the kingdoms below man; the soul —of life, sensation and intelligence; and the spirit -- of the divine elements of our father-Mother God. The soul is chemically related to the body through vital electricity, operating through the element of motion The spirit is chemically related to the soul through the soul's emanations of vital magnetism. Natural death, that is, death due to the natural dissolution of the physical form through illness or old age — is simply the process of loosening the hold of the body upon the vital electricity of the soul.
As the particles of soul-electricity, one by one, escape the confines of the body, the threads of the spiritual umbilical cord are simultaneously loosed, one by one. The soul, answering to the magnetic pull of the higher spheres, begins a gradual movement toward the head of the physical form. The process of death is similar to the process of birth, and just as natural. In birth the infant form moves down the birth canal at the propitious time. The mouth of the womb gradually opens to allow passage of the form outward into the physical world. The supreme moment of physical birth is when the soul, wrapped in its spiritual placenta we call the personality-image, merges with the newborn physical form, being drawn in through the opened head centers by the gravitational, magnetic force of the body.
Death is no more mysterious. With the dissolution of the silver cord and the re¬lease of the physical cells upon the vital electric current of the soul, it begins to move toward the head. The physical form is the womb of the soul from which it now must make its ascension. As the infant form emerges from the mother's womb through the generative organs at birth, so does the brain become the generative organ of departure for the soul at death. As it gravitates toward the head, the crown chakra begins to open and expand, as does the birth canal and vagina at time of physical birth.
There are exceptions to this procedure which we shall not elaborate at this point. Enouth to say, when the soul is filled with the darkness of sins, its departure could be through any of the lower chakras. But this is an "abnormal" spiritual birth. It is also true that the atomic essences of the soul could escape through any of the chakras, depending upon the quality of light within the soul and upon the development attained by the brain chakras. Occasionally the exit will be through the solar plexus or throat chakra. But we are teaching now of the normal procedure.
When the infant is born into physical life, he leaves behind the placenta envelope which surrounded him during the period of gestation. So does birth of the soul into the Otherworld require departure from the physical envelope through which it gestated and developed during incarnation on earth. In earth birth the form of the babe, having been built and nourished in the mother's womb, emerges into a new world. It is imme¬diately inhabited by a waiting soul. The umbilical cord through which the form received its nourishment is cut and the soul opens its eyes to behold its earth surroundings. Death is nothing more than the emergence of the soul from the womb of the body. The soul's birth into the unseen world is just as natural and beautiful a process as is the birth of a babe.
Just as in birth, the death process approaches gradually. It is not a sudden manifestation. There is a time of "labor." The body grows gradually cooler as the life force withdraws, taking with it the vital heat of the form. In the center of the brain, surrounding the pineal gland, a small bright light appears. At first it glows, then dims, then glows again, dimming and glowing alternately, but glowing each time with increasing brilliance. Once the brilliance stabilizes, it appears to become a highly charged positive magnet, attracting the electricity, magnetism and life force of the body. A soft luminous mist begins to radiate around the head while the rest of the body begins to cool. The brain's magnet¬ic field is absorbing the life principles from the muscles, bones, nerves and blood.
Like electromagnetic flashes of slow-moving lightning, particles from the lower portions of the body begin to gravitate toward the focal point in the brain. The life force first leaves the feet, then the hands and arms. The nails gradually turn purple, reflecting the strange quality of change in the blood. Breathing may become labored and the eyes somewhat dimmed. As the life force gravitates upward, the pineal center expands the brain and skull become porous.
It is at this moment, just prior to death, that the dying pilgrim enters the first phase of the Bardo experience through which everyman passes. This is the Ultimate Moment of his entire incarnation. This is when there dawns before him the Clear Light of the Void, the gateway to salvation and initiation.(coming article concerning the Bardo, the Clear Light, and the truth about death.) The life force of the entire form is now condensed in the Third Eye. The pineal-pituitary glands and the mental seed atom are vibrating at tremendous velocity. It is not unusual for the pilgrim to experience spiritual ecstasy and psychic visions. This is the moment he may arouse from apparent unconsciousness, exclaiming to those around him that he sees into the worlds of higher dimensions, landscapes of indescribable beauty, faces of loved ones long since dead who have come to greet him, or simply all-encompassing bliss. It is following this that he will lapse into the death coma. His breathing and his heart beat ceases. He has entered the first phase of death, recognized by medical scientists as "clinical" death, a period lasting from six minutes to half an hour.
At this point a psychic would witness an emanation similar to a white cloud or "shining smoke" begin to escape, usually through the soft area at the top of the head. Suddenly the glowing magnetic center, about the size of a marble, breaks away from the center of the brain and gravitates to a point directly over the head, perhaps six feet, as if drawn upward by a more powerful magnetic center. There the marble-sized light begins to undulate and expand until it resembles a radiant glowing star about the size of a human head, encircled by auric colors beyond description. Waves of color, like the aurora borealis, ripple upward and outward. The hues contain every earthly color plus many unknown to human vision.
The golden star, again like a magnet, begins to attract upward the light of the body, now centering in and around the head. As the light particles flash upward to become a part of the star, the light in the head gradually diminishes. The brain itself appears to cease its galvanic pulsations, like a machine running out of fuel. In the midst of the poised star there appears the faint features of a face closely resembling that of the dying form, yet different. The new face duplicates the old except the oldness is no more. It is not that the aged face is suddenly without wrinkles — the change is more subtle than that. The age remains but the "oldness" is gone. It is not an aged face made young again. Certainly it is the same face yet the lines of care are gone. Still aged, it is smooth, peaceful, and serene.
Now the light begins to expand. A head begins to round out. The transfer of light particles continues until the entire form is built — neck and shoulders, then arms and torso -- all closely resembling the physical form from which the emanation is passing. As the luminous form rises, there extends a vital electric cord, usually from between the shoulder blades of the newly released spiritual form to the brain of the physical.
This is the umbilical cord of the spirit, the electromagnetic silver cord which holds the astral form until every essence of life force is withdrawn from the body. The eyes are closed and the consciousness is in a state of sweet repose. A witness to such a phenomenon could not avoid seeing the presence of other spirits awaiting the awakening of the newly-born one. As an earth doctor awaits the birth of a babe, so do at least two spirits assume such a role in the "death chamber.*
At the moment of earthly birth the watching physician waits anxiously for signs of the first intake of breath in the infant. Often, to accelerate inhalation of this momentous breath of life, the infant is held by the feet, head down, and spanked on the back over the lungs. Joyous indeed is the first wail of protest from the newly awakened babe. Awaited also in the death chamber is the awakening of the new spirit. Nor will the spiritual birth be complete until every particle of light departs the physical form. It is during this period that the pilgrim will see dawning before him the Secondary Light of the Bardo. It will be almost as dazzling as the first Clear Light. This is the second opportunity for salvation and initiation for the dying. Each will react to it according to his own understanding of God, death, and immortality.
It is also during this period that the organs of the body die. This process requires from one to fifteen hours. As the particles ascend from the dying form, the silver cord begins to loose. One by one its threads snap. The last atom to depart the dying form will be the heart seed atom. It gravitates upward to find its place in the heart chamber of the astral form. Its entrance there signals the august moment of actual spirit birth and physical death and the severance of the silver cord. With its final break, a portion of it sweeps into the sleeping spirit form, entering between the shoulder blades. With its impact, like the. slap over the infant's lungs, the astral form inhales its first long breath of spirit life force. Immediately the life breath penetrates every atom, the lungs inhale deeply, light sweeps over the entire form transforming it into a radiant, beautiful reborn soul.
It is at this stage that the process differs with each individual:
1. Some enter immediately the third stage of the Bardo, (described in another article). The Bardo is the shadow-show of re-living the episodes of one's past life. This third stage may be experienced while the pilgrim still hovers in the death chamber, resting in a dream consciousness. Or, before entering the Bardo, the newly born soul, still sleeping, may be borne away to a Haven of Rest.
2. For some, consciousness returns briefly at this moment of "birth." The open-ing eyes view the surroundings with incredible wonder and awe. There before him he sees his waiting loved ones, and the joy encompassing the scene is beyond human description. But the consciousness passes again into a hypnotic swoon through which it enters the third Bardo.
3. Some — the initiates — may escape the Valley of the Bardo altogether, entering with full awareness into regions of paradise. Some will react to the dawning of the Clear Light or the Secondary Light, will awaken surrounded by loved ones, and will not ex-perience the third Bardo at all.
The Importance of being Remembered
Too frequently earthians believe the departed pilgrim is "lost and gone forever." Or that he has entered the long sleep until the dread Judgment Day, when he will be sent by the Cosmic Judge either to heaven or to hell. They no longer think of him as being alive and conscious. They think of him as being "dead," nonexistent, and they pick up their lives with no thought of including him in any way. A few, far too few — realize their loved one has simply slipped beyond the confines of the body.
Some know full well that he may be even in the death room with you, trying to tell you of the beauty and wonder of the transition. Even in your grief, you speak words of love and blessings. You know other loved ones have met and are caring for the one so recently departed.
Some know, too, that as soon as is possible, he will return to you and try to make his presence known. Even though you may never actually see him or hear his voice you will be aware of his occasional presence, his continued love. You may express occasional requests for guidance with deci¬sions to be made, and help with problems,
Remember this: he is more than eager to be of help, and anxious not to be forgotten. Being so remembered will not only delight him...he will be grateful for the opportunity for service, through which he will broaden his own spiritual horizons and enter more exalted enterprises.
More important, remember he still is. He still has a consciousness with which to remember you and he still has a heart with which to love you.
And he wants to be remembered.
Wouldn't you?
Everyone on earth shares common sensations regarding certain experiences. We are all acquainted with the sensations of hunger, cold, fear, love, hate. We have all passed through the experience of birth. Some count the experience as an act of fate. Some recognize it as another step on the soul's long journey of becoming, a descent into the world of matter to attain learning and soul expression. Few remember their birth — or having planned it."
But there is not one among us who is unaware that we all face the Experience of Experiences -- the adventure of leaving this world through the portals of the transition we have named death. This experience lies inevitably in the future for all of us, and none hope to escape it. For death to be so universal and vital an experience, it seems incredible that man knows so little about it, not only the actual experience of death itself, but what happens on the other side of the portal.
Many fear that the passing itself relates to physical pain. It is not true. Whatever be the circumstances of your passing, try to recall these words and hold closely to them. Although the experience that brings you to the portal of death may be painful, death itself is painless and may even be a time of illumination, ecstasy and delight.
The Power of Becoming
Proverbs 23:7 says: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” A Sanskrit apho¬rism expresses it this way: "Whatever the form desired by a divine being, that very form the divine being becomes," Esoteric philosophy expresses it thusly: "That which a man longs for, that he becomes."
A great many earthians, pointing to their failures, use these to dispute this adage, which does not disprove the truth of the adage. It simply proves that their consciousness, not focused upon one principal longing, was distracted into many channels. Which again proves the adage in that he attains most surely that for which he longed —a state of confusion and unattainment. To attain that for which one longs implies dedication to a dominant ideal. If the summit of the ideal is not fully realized during earth life it only follows that the seeds planted here will harvest into ful¬fillment in the after-death states, and the blossoms of the harvest will drop the upward-spiraling seeds as the basis and dom¬inant motives for the following incarnation. Often the seeds planted during earth life culminate only in a restless thirst for knowledge, becoming an innate drive toward "the divine quest." Caught in the webs of earth's ways, one may not be free to follow the quest. Nevertheless, the soul grows through the stirrings of "divine dissatisfaction."
The richness of the life to come in the after-death states will depend a great deal on the degree of one's awareness of the immortality of the soul — and the truth of his ongoing into the higher spheres attained during incarnation. Certainly one will "go on" regardless of his belief while here. But his consciousness may be so limited that his experiences Overthere may be of little benefit to him before he descends for another incarnation. Full consciousness — that is, complete and unfolded awareness of all the glories of the afterlife--- usually cannot be realized unless one experiences full awareness and" "faith in the afterlife while still wearing "the body.
This aphorism may be difficult for many to accept. Nevertheless, while the soul after death may eventually ascend to the planes of paradise to reap the rewards for good deeds, his consciousness may be unfolded only to the degree that he unfolds it while here in his physical incarnation. Therefore it is necessary, while we yet wear the physical form, to expand our consciousness to embrace as much wisdom and understanding as is humanly possible.
The mind principle is dual. The mind is divided into two factions: the segment that unites with buddhi or wisdom, the discriminating principle, versus the segment that links with kama, the desire principle. It is kama manas, or lower mind, which is joined to the desire for conscious expression in the lower worlds; that yearns to express again the emotions of the earth body and passions of the physical form. If the segment of mind connected with the desire principle overwhelmingly obscures the buddhi-wisdom principle, then man will in truth become that for which he longs — a reincarnated soul — a soul "whose longing "to return to the world of matter overshadows the up-reaching spiritual forces.
Only when the consciousness expands fully into the buddhi-wisdom principle and disengages itself completely from a the down-drawing desire principle, will the soul be able to continue its evolving without returning to the material form. To repeat: until then, usually one will become aware and conscious of his existence in the after-death states only to the degree that he has unfolded such a state of awareness during his earth incarnation. This is why it is important to seek always a greater understanding of the mysteries of man and his state’s of being. When man's mind is predominantly immerse in kama, such a union forms the basis for coherence of the soul with the personality-body. It is this personality aspect that is mortal -- mortal in the sense that after death Its down-reaching desires can cause a separation from the immortal portion of your being and draw the soul once more into rebirth,*
On the other hand, when the mind is linked with buddhi-wisdom, this union with the High Mind renders the personality immortal. That is, if You, the personality, become aware of your High Self, striving to attain at-one-ment with it during physical life, it will have its rewards after death. On the higher planes, once the personality is united with this radiant High Self, the low self becomes transmuted, It is "saved." It is liberated from the Wheel of Life and Death. You become immortal and you “go no more out from the Father's House." If that for which a man longs, he becomes, then his own longings will be rewarded whether or not he actually becomes the fulfillment of his ideal during any one incarnation. Therefore, while still dwelling on earth, learn to let go of earth. And while you still live on earth, learn how to die.
Thanatology- The Science of Death
When we come to understand how very important is the task of learning how to die, these Lessons concerning the experience of death, the science of death, and the art of dying, assume tremendous importance. It is one of the two most important discoveries facing man in the new age.
1. First, is the full realization that we continue to live after death and can, under certain
circumstances, communicate with earthians.
2. Second, the understanding that how we die is related to:
a.our immediate awakening;
b.how long we remain Over there before incarnating, or whether we must reincarnate at all;
c.a favorable "next life."
Therefore it reminds us to pause to consider well this process of transition — the birth of the soul out of the womb of the physical form into the Otherworld. There are chemical affinities between the soul and corresponding force centers in the physical form. Were this not true, the process of death would be no more sensual than the removal of outer garments. But the chemical attachments which nailed the soul to its lower representative at birth must be subtly severed. The electromagnetic hold of the physical atoms must be overcome by the higher frequency of the soul atoms — the soul atoms receiving this sudden acceleration 'from the release of the death hormone into the blood stream. And the death hormones are released when your own cosmic clock of destiny sounds its alarm bell in the pineal and pituitary glands.
Man is essentially a trinity: body, soul and spirit. The soul stands as an intermediary between the body and the spirit. The body consists of all the elements of matter in the kingdoms below man; the soul —of life, sensation and intelligence; and the spirit -- of the divine elements of our father-Mother God. The soul is chemically related to the body through vital electricity, operating through the element of motion The spirit is chemically related to the soul through the soul's emanations of vital magnetism. Natural death, that is, death due to the natural dissolution of the physical form through illness or old age — is simply the process of loosening the hold of the body upon the vital electricity of the soul.
As the particles of soul-electricity, one by one, escape the confines of the body, the threads of the spiritual umbilical cord are simultaneously loosed, one by one. The soul, answering to the magnetic pull of the higher spheres, begins a gradual movement toward the head of the physical form. The process of death is similar to the process of birth, and just as natural. In birth the infant form moves down the birth canal at the propitious time. The mouth of the womb gradually opens to allow passage of the form outward into the physical world. The supreme moment of physical birth is when the soul, wrapped in its spiritual placenta we call the personality-image, merges with the newborn physical form, being drawn in through the opened head centers by the gravitational, magnetic force of the body.
Death is no more mysterious. With the dissolution of the silver cord and the re¬lease of the physical cells upon the vital electric current of the soul, it begins to move toward the head. The physical form is the womb of the soul from which it now must make its ascension. As the infant form emerges from the mother's womb through the generative organs at birth, so does the brain become the generative organ of departure for the soul at death. As it gravitates toward the head, the crown chakra begins to open and expand, as does the birth canal and vagina at time of physical birth.
There are exceptions to this procedure which we shall not elaborate at this point. Enouth to say, when the soul is filled with the darkness of sins, its departure could be through any of the lower chakras. But this is an "abnormal" spiritual birth. It is also true that the atomic essences of the soul could escape through any of the chakras, depending upon the quality of light within the soul and upon the development attained by the brain chakras. Occasionally the exit will be through the solar plexus or throat chakra. But we are teaching now of the normal procedure.
When the infant is born into physical life, he leaves behind the placenta envelope which surrounded him during the period of gestation. So does birth of the soul into the Otherworld require departure from the physical envelope through which it gestated and developed during incarnation on earth. In earth birth the form of the babe, having been built and nourished in the mother's womb, emerges into a new world. It is imme¬diately inhabited by a waiting soul. The umbilical cord through which the form received its nourishment is cut and the soul opens its eyes to behold its earth surroundings. Death is nothing more than the emergence of the soul from the womb of the body. The soul's birth into the unseen world is just as natural and beautiful a process as is the birth of a babe.
Just as in birth, the death process approaches gradually. It is not a sudden manifestation. There is a time of "labor." The body grows gradually cooler as the life force withdraws, taking with it the vital heat of the form. In the center of the brain, surrounding the pineal gland, a small bright light appears. At first it glows, then dims, then glows again, dimming and glowing alternately, but glowing each time with increasing brilliance. Once the brilliance stabilizes, it appears to become a highly charged positive magnet, attracting the electricity, magnetism and life force of the body. A soft luminous mist begins to radiate around the head while the rest of the body begins to cool. The brain's magnet¬ic field is absorbing the life principles from the muscles, bones, nerves and blood.
Like electromagnetic flashes of slow-moving lightning, particles from the lower portions of the body begin to gravitate toward the focal point in the brain. The life force first leaves the feet, then the hands and arms. The nails gradually turn purple, reflecting the strange quality of change in the blood. Breathing may become labored and the eyes somewhat dimmed. As the life force gravitates upward, the pineal center expands the brain and skull become porous.
It is at this moment, just prior to death, that the dying pilgrim enters the first phase of the Bardo experience through which everyman passes. This is the Ultimate Moment of his entire incarnation. This is when there dawns before him the Clear Light of the Void, the gateway to salvation and initiation.(coming article concerning the Bardo, the Clear Light, and the truth about death.) The life force of the entire form is now condensed in the Third Eye. The pineal-pituitary glands and the mental seed atom are vibrating at tremendous velocity. It is not unusual for the pilgrim to experience spiritual ecstasy and psychic visions. This is the moment he may arouse from apparent unconsciousness, exclaiming to those around him that he sees into the worlds of higher dimensions, landscapes of indescribable beauty, faces of loved ones long since dead who have come to greet him, or simply all-encompassing bliss. It is following this that he will lapse into the death coma. His breathing and his heart beat ceases. He has entered the first phase of death, recognized by medical scientists as "clinical" death, a period lasting from six minutes to half an hour.
At this point a psychic would witness an emanation similar to a white cloud or "shining smoke" begin to escape, usually through the soft area at the top of the head. Suddenly the glowing magnetic center, about the size of a marble, breaks away from the center of the brain and gravitates to a point directly over the head, perhaps six feet, as if drawn upward by a more powerful magnetic center. There the marble-sized light begins to undulate and expand until it resembles a radiant glowing star about the size of a human head, encircled by auric colors beyond description. Waves of color, like the aurora borealis, ripple upward and outward. The hues contain every earthly color plus many unknown to human vision.
The golden star, again like a magnet, begins to attract upward the light of the body, now centering in and around the head. As the light particles flash upward to become a part of the star, the light in the head gradually diminishes. The brain itself appears to cease its galvanic pulsations, like a machine running out of fuel. In the midst of the poised star there appears the faint features of a face closely resembling that of the dying form, yet different. The new face duplicates the old except the oldness is no more. It is not that the aged face is suddenly without wrinkles — the change is more subtle than that. The age remains but the "oldness" is gone. It is not an aged face made young again. Certainly it is the same face yet the lines of care are gone. Still aged, it is smooth, peaceful, and serene.
Now the light begins to expand. A head begins to round out. The transfer of light particles continues until the entire form is built — neck and shoulders, then arms and torso -- all closely resembling the physical form from which the emanation is passing. As the luminous form rises, there extends a vital electric cord, usually from between the shoulder blades of the newly released spiritual form to the brain of the physical.
This is the umbilical cord of the spirit, the electromagnetic silver cord which holds the astral form until every essence of life force is withdrawn from the body. The eyes are closed and the consciousness is in a state of sweet repose. A witness to such a phenomenon could not avoid seeing the presence of other spirits awaiting the awakening of the newly-born one. As an earth doctor awaits the birth of a babe, so do at least two spirits assume such a role in the "death chamber.*
At the moment of earthly birth the watching physician waits anxiously for signs of the first intake of breath in the infant. Often, to accelerate inhalation of this momentous breath of life, the infant is held by the feet, head down, and spanked on the back over the lungs. Joyous indeed is the first wail of protest from the newly awakened babe. Awaited also in the death chamber is the awakening of the new spirit. Nor will the spiritual birth be complete until every particle of light departs the physical form. It is during this period that the pilgrim will see dawning before him the Secondary Light of the Bardo. It will be almost as dazzling as the first Clear Light. This is the second opportunity for salvation and initiation for the dying. Each will react to it according to his own understanding of God, death, and immortality.
It is also during this period that the organs of the body die. This process requires from one to fifteen hours. As the particles ascend from the dying form, the silver cord begins to loose. One by one its threads snap. The last atom to depart the dying form will be the heart seed atom. It gravitates upward to find its place in the heart chamber of the astral form. Its entrance there signals the august moment of actual spirit birth and physical death and the severance of the silver cord. With its final break, a portion of it sweeps into the sleeping spirit form, entering between the shoulder blades. With its impact, like the. slap over the infant's lungs, the astral form inhales its first long breath of spirit life force. Immediately the life breath penetrates every atom, the lungs inhale deeply, light sweeps over the entire form transforming it into a radiant, beautiful reborn soul.
It is at this stage that the process differs with each individual:
1. Some enter immediately the third stage of the Bardo, (described in another article). The Bardo is the shadow-show of re-living the episodes of one's past life. This third stage may be experienced while the pilgrim still hovers in the death chamber, resting in a dream consciousness. Or, before entering the Bardo, the newly born soul, still sleeping, may be borne away to a Haven of Rest.
2. For some, consciousness returns briefly at this moment of "birth." The open-ing eyes view the surroundings with incredible wonder and awe. There before him he sees his waiting loved ones, and the joy encompassing the scene is beyond human description. But the consciousness passes again into a hypnotic swoon through which it enters the third Bardo.
3. Some — the initiates — may escape the Valley of the Bardo altogether, entering with full awareness into regions of paradise. Some will react to the dawning of the Clear Light or the Secondary Light, will awaken surrounded by loved ones, and will not ex-perience the third Bardo at all.
The Importance of being Remembered
Too frequently earthians believe the departed pilgrim is "lost and gone forever." Or that he has entered the long sleep until the dread Judgment Day, when he will be sent by the Cosmic Judge either to heaven or to hell. They no longer think of him as being alive and conscious. They think of him as being "dead," nonexistent, and they pick up their lives with no thought of including him in any way. A few, far too few — realize their loved one has simply slipped beyond the confines of the body.
Some know full well that he may be even in the death room with you, trying to tell you of the beauty and wonder of the transition. Even in your grief, you speak words of love and blessings. You know other loved ones have met and are caring for the one so recently departed.
Some know, too, that as soon as is possible, he will return to you and try to make his presence known. Even though you may never actually see him or hear his voice you will be aware of his occasional presence, his continued love. You may express occasional requests for guidance with deci¬sions to be made, and help with problems,
Remember this: he is more than eager to be of help, and anxious not to be forgotten. Being so remembered will not only delight him...he will be grateful for the opportunity for service, through which he will broaden his own spiritual horizons and enter more exalted enterprises.
More important, remember he still is. He still has a consciousness with which to remember you and he still has a heart with which to love you.
And he wants to be remembered.
Wouldn't you?
