Lesson 1: Introduction: A View of Death
“The
fact that has been denied to people is this: Death is an opportunity
to start again: another chance. This process is a natural one, not
something to be feared.”
G&Y Frost, A Witch’s Magical Handbook, p. 143
How
do people view Death? Is it feared? What do people believe occurs after
Death? Does the alteration of the verbiage of “Death” to “Passing Over”
change its conceptual meaning? What happens after Passing Over? Where
do we go? How is the Otherworld conceptualized? Is it uniform or is it
personal?
Lots
of questions with as many answers as there are people.
Write the above questions down. Answer them according to what YOU feel.
Do that before you continue reading this lesson. I’m serious about this
because I don’t want MY feelings on the answers to these questions to
impact your thoughts, impressions or feelings on the subject.
Once
you’ve answered those questions come back to the lesson and compare my
viewpoints with yours. Are they similar or are there vast differences?
Do my ideas bring new insight to you? Or maybe they confirm yours even
deeper or even less so. Regardless, no one’s answers are wrong.
How Is Death Viewed?
Each religion sees it differently. Christians see it as possibly seeing a "white light" and going to Heaven...or Hell, depending on circumstances. Catholics see Purgatory as an option as well for some. And depending on who you read, this going to "Heaven or Hell" may happen immediately or it may have to wait until the 2nd Coming of Christ. For the Jews, there is no "afterlife". Pagans
see Death as Transformation. I use the capital “T” to denote its sense
of being. It is not an inanimate “thing”, it is something that is filled
with Life Energy. Transformation means to change from one thing to
another as a caterpillar changes to a butterfly. When we pass from this
life to the next we transform from the physical to the ethereal.
The Pagan Book of Living and Dying: Practical Rituals, Prayers, Blessings & Meditations on Crossing Over by Starhawk, 1997 - THIS BOOK MUST BE IN EVERY PAGAN’S LIBRARY
Is it Feared?
Maybe
by some, maybe not by others. Myself, I fear the manner but not the
actual event. I welcome seeing what’s on the Otherside. But do I want to
feel the pain of saying “goodbye” to my loved ones, and they having to
say their “farewells” to me? Gods, no!
This
“fear of the actual event” is what brought about the concept of this
course. I’ve performed 2 Passing Over Rituals. I’m readying myself for
the third. I’ll be 50 in a few months and I realize that my family and
friends will begin leaving. Some already have.
The
first rite was for my stepmother. The second was a “helper” rite for a
friend who lost her good friend. This next one will be for my cousin who
was killed suddenly in a head-on collision. I couldn’t afford to go to
his funeral and so I’ve felt “disconnected” from the whole process. His
birthday was soon after the accident, so I did my ritual at that time.
He would’ve been 48 years old. He was my childhood buddy. And when our
family was in TX visiting family, Derek & I were inseparable.
Another
aspect regarding my personal fear is that I may have the cancer gene. I
don’t want the testing to find out. I don’t need it. My mother was one
of twelve siblings. Ten of them have, have had, or have died of some
form of cancer. My mother included. She passed of lung cancer at the age
of 56. My sister has had breast cancer. She was 45 when she was
diagnosed. She is now cancer free.
Do I fear how I will Pass? Absolutely. But I choose not to dwell on that aspect of the Passing Over part of Life.
What do Pagans Believe Occurs after Death?
Wiccans
believe in the “Summerland”, a place of beauty for the soul to relax
and be a peace before returning to the next physical life.
“Heaven”
is a Judeo-Christian term for where they will be when the Messiah
returns to take them away. “Hell” being its counterpart.
The Summerland and Heaven aren’t too dissimilar: a beautiful place of peace. And besides, its just semantics anyway.
I,
personally, just refer to it as the “Otherside” or “Across the Veil”.
My perception of this Place is It is what I make It to be. If I am a
miserable human being, then I will take this misery with me and produce a
like environment through those energies. On the opposite end of that
spectrum is that if I am a happy person, then my experiences Across the
Veil will reflect this as well.
Our
environment will be produced, reflected, and a result of, that which we
perceive it to be through the energies we bring with us.
I
read a story a long time ago about a Christian man who kept having
“memories” of being in a WWII concentration camp as a Jewish man. His
final dream was when “he” (the Jewish man) walked into the gas showers.
As “he” (the Jewish man) died he saw a blue light and progressed onward.
At this point the Christian man woke up and was very confused. Why had
he not seen a white light? Everybody knows, you see a white light when
you die! After quite a bit of research he found out that the Jewish
faith believes that it is a blue light that is seen at passing!
So
although he was Christian, with his own beliefs regarding the
Afterlife, during those dreams of his previous incarnation (another
concept he was confused about, but certainly changed his mind on) he saw
what the Jewish man expected to see upon his own passing.
And this is why I believe that what we conceive is what we perceive.
Does the alteration of the verbiage of “Death” to “Passing Over” change its conceptual meaning?
Have
you noticed that I have only referred to “Death” once so far? The
reason for this is because I see “Passing Over” as a far more
descriptive term for what occurs rather than “Death”.
Yes,
Death is a Transformation. But Death, to me, only occurs for that
millisecond before the Spirit and Soul have Passed Over Across the Veil.
Only for that millisecond is there no “life” in the physical or the
ethereal. It is the point of Transformation. It is 11:59:59:59.… on the
Clock of Life.
What happens after Passing Over?
This
concept again is perceptual. Some people believe that there they spend
time with family and friends who have passed. Others believe they get
“jobs”. Still others think they do nothing, just kind of sit and wait.
Then there are those who believe that the soul immediately inhabits
another physical life or maybe waits a few years.
There
are the “Walk-Ins”, those Spirits who choose to leave the physical life
at a specific point so another Spirit may come in to complete that
life. This may occur through a traumatic event or suddenly the person is
“different”. This is a very intense subject and not one for this venue,
so if it is a subject of interest to you, then I suggest you begin your
research online and bookstores.
I personally believe in several of these concepts.
First: family and friends are a given and is pretty much a universal belief, regardless of religion or belief system.
Second: “jobs”.
I know this sounds a bit weird, but this one I “know” because that is
what my mother did. She would “call” me and “talk” to me in my dreams on
a regular basis. During that first “call” was when she told me that she
was helping children to adjust when they Crossed Over. This is so
totally my mother! She loved kids.
I
also had a friend many years ago who Passed suddenly of a brain
hemorrhage. He had been a pre-school owner. He “visited” me once and
told me that he was working with kids, teaching them.
From these two particular instances I gather that children are the most in need of assistance upon Crossing Over.
Third: doing nothing and waiting seems like a boring thing to do. But it can be conceived a couple of ways.
If
someone has envisioned a peaceful place to “do nothing” when they Pass,
then why not? Maybe they’re fishing or resting in a hammock by a creek.
Whatever they so choose to do. Sounds kind of nice to me!
On
the opposite end of that spectrum, what about those who are miserable?
Maybe they don’t know how to reach out for the Love that encompasses the
Universe. Maybe its alien to them and they aren’t yet comfortable with
all that it brings.
But
if that Love “lets them be” and only reaches out gently and touches
them every now and then, then at some point don’t you think they would
want more and more? And at the right time, then they could embrace that
Love and return it.
Fourth: reincarnation is an absolute belief of mine. As I mentioned earlier, I
had conversations with my mother for years after her Passing. Then all
of a sudden they ended and I didn’t know why. Until my sister informed
me a few months later that she was pregnant! My sister could never have
children, but here she was almost 40 and pregnant. My nephew is our
mother reincarnated and he is healthy, happy and sooo beautiful! His
name is Ronan, which is Celtic meaning “sealed pledge”. This tells me
that my mother and my sister made a “sealed pledge” before coming to
this life that my mother would give my sister the greatest gift - the
gift of giving life, having a child.
Where do we go?
If
you haven’t gathered an opinion yet, then now is the time to really
think about it……we go where we want to go! Because we make our own
“Heaven”, “Summerland”, “Otherworld”, or what ever name you so choose to
call It.
How is the Otherworld conceptualized? Is it uniform or is it personal?
There
may be a certain uniformity to the Otherworld regarding specific
aspects, such as “laws of nature” that cannot be broken. But as for it
being “personal”, oh yes, it is very personal!
Summary
This
introduction is to bring you to the subject of Death and Passing Over
and how you react to It. It is probably theeee most personal aspect of
your life here in this physical being that you could ever encounter.
This is a subject no one really wants to think about or especially talk
about.
But
Its not something to run from. By having a healthy confrontation with
yourself regarding how you feel about the subject then you can work
through any blocks or walls that prohibit you from truly learning about
yourself and this “other side” of you.
By
studying about Passing Over and the beauty of the rituals that can be
performed you can open your mind to allow a more relaxed point of view
to form and your fears may be removed or, at the least, reduced.
Many blessings on your Journey!
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