The Divine orchestration - All of life is One |
|
CONDITIONS OF AGING: The Passage from Physical Life to Death |
|
Julie of Light Omega |
|
There are many controversies today that surround 'the right to die,' the 'right to not be resuscitated,' the 'right to live in dignity' in the latter stages of one's life. Such conditions as Alzheimer's Disease, dementia, and other age-related conditions that severely affect our functioning on a physical level call into question these various 'rights' and their application in specific instances. When physical life no longer seems possible at a minimum standard of health, wellbeing, or productivity, many wonder why remain in this life.
Traditional religious principles provide some of us with answers to this question, for the idea that only God may take a life is the answer that many devout souls adhere to. Yet for others, the physical pain and limitation that can be involved with end-of-life physical and mental limitation can outweigh religious considerations and principles that may or may not have been held previously in a conscious way.
There is a new level of understanding that we must get to as we approach these issues of end-of-life care, decision-making, and the transition from physical life to death. This is the level of the sacred inner life of the soul that exists beyond the observable aspects of physical life and functioning. At this soul level we are asked to review and to expand our definition of the worth of a life. For, in fact, as physical functioning in its many forms declines, there is often an ascendance of other dimensions of inner experience for the one so affected that is not visible to others, but that is providing the one in limitation new vistas with respect to the mystical area between life and death. This 'gray' area which is hidden from the sight of others is a 'zone of transition,' an interior state in which the soul that is soon to be departing or who has begun the longer journey of leave-taking is examining his or her true relationship to the physical body and to the plane of Spirit in a way that was not possible while the physical body could do more. Such an examination does not take place in words, but rather in the experience of the dis-embodying self that begins to see more clearly that it exists beyond the body, and that the values it holds when in contact with the plane of Spirit can replace the values it held while actively taking part in physical life. Thus, during this stage of life, more options become available and open than may have existed before.
During this stage of transition, some may be partly conscious, some may appear to be absent in what we refer to as a 'coma' but which in reality is a transfer of consciousness to another state, and some may be already within the plane of Spirit, waiting for an opportunity to leave behind the physical vehicle. Such an opportunity may be delayed for reasons that also have to do with the soul's learning, for the choice of when to depart from the body is always made in an intentional way by the soul and is not an accident.
When we witness the increasing number of aging persons with Alzheimers Disease, dementia, or other related conditions, it is common at this time that we feel primarily the pain and anguish of the loss of our loved one and the pain and anguish of what we perceive to be their increased limitation. We are often drawn into an interpretation of this change as pain would dictate, as loss would dictate, leading to the conclusion that a life has ended emotionally and mentally before it has ended physically. Nevertheless, while true in certain respects, this life continues and continues to have merit, for there is often a return to childhood that is part of the loss of mental control and function, and a return to childlike ways of being with others that is part of the learning about spiritual values. This return to a state of innocence can be a productive time for the departing soul, even while it requires a shift in relationship and even in identity for those needing to release the relationship that existed in the past.
When we, as a society, become able to understand the continuity of life through death and beyond death, and most importantly, when we come to understand that the transition of the last stage of physical life is part of a learning process that may be invisible to others, we will spare ourselves much of the pain that adheres to the loss of the former relationship we held with our parents, partners, friends, and loved ones, and we will also be able to provide greater comfort, support, and even of inclusion for the departing one. We will look for the clues that new learning is taking place, and will, even while experiencing a letting go of the past, celebrate the passage into a new stage of life.
Much of this is difficult for us at present, both as individuals and as a society, but as our consciousness grows regarding the sacred within life which emerges from the truth of our Divine origin, we will know more and with a decrease of doubt that life is continuous and that the last stage of physical life, however long it may be, and with whatever loss of mental and physical functioning, is a transition of importance that must be met with the courage, love, and compassion that we bring to any other experience in which loss and limitation may be present, yet hope, love, and trust are present as well.
Article Section - A New Consciousness |
:
Home - Bookshop - Mailing List - About Light Omega - Contact - Index
For an overview of the website consult the Site Index above.
Artwork - See Mandalas of Life