There are many things which, if done wrongly, bring pain and suffering,
but if done rightly can bring peace and even pleasure. Dying is
one such thing. It is the purpose of this article to indicate
what must be done in order to have a peaceful death.
Prior to a person's birth, the Recording Angels create in the
Region of Concrete Thought an archetype for that person, which
eventually draws to itself physical materials which it shapes
according to the form of the vital body. This archetype from the
very beginning is set to continue in operation for a certain amount
of time. The natural death of an individual occurs when his archetype
ceases to function.
Natural death is not painful and need not be preceded by sickness,
if one takes proper care of the dense body so that it does not
wear out before the archetype ceases to function. The suicide,
who intentionally makes his dense body uninhabitable, experiences
much pain after death, because the archetype still tries to draw
physical matter in but is no longer able to do so. This gives
the suicide an aching feeling akin to that of intense hunger,
which continues until the time when death naturally would have
occurred. We thus may write the first rule for a peaceful death.
Rule 1. Take good care of the dense body during life.
Prior to birth, when the Recording Angels are building the archetype
for a person's life, they plan various learning and serving opportunities
for that individual. If, during life, that person neglects to
take advantage of the learning and serving opportunities given
and turns onto a path which is of little value to his or other
people's soul growth, the Recording Angels may shorten the life
of the archetype, so that the person may die at a relatively young
age, earlier than originally had been planned. It is difficult
to die in the midst of life, when one still has many earthly interests.
Thus we arrive at the second rule for a peaceful death.
Rule 2. Take as full advantage of learning and serving opportunities
during life as possible.
(Note: Some people's archetypes may have been constructed for
a short life, so we should not conclude that everyone who dies
young did not take advantage of their learning and serving opportunities.
Also, the fact that following Rule 2 promotes a more peaceful
death is not the only reason why Rule 2 should be followed; the
other reasons are not a part of this discussion.)
When a person approaches the point of death, the Spirit and its
higher vehicles may start to leave the dense body. This, as mentioned
earlier, is not painful. It is, however, painful to the dying
to be given stimulants which force the higher vehicles back into
the dense body with a jerk, thus imparting a great shock to the
individual. This may generate feeling similar to that produced
when a loud noise is made every time one "drops off"
when trying to fall asleep. Thus we have the third rule for a
peaceful death.
Rule 3. Avoid giving stimulants to the dying.
When natural death occurs, the heart stops beating. For up to
three and one-half days after the heart stops beating, the Spirit
is engaged in reviewing the scenes of its past life and transmitting
the record of the scenes from the lower to the higher vehicles
of the Spirit. This review of the scenes has no feeling associated
with it, so this interval of time should be peaceful for the Spirit.
During this time, however, the Spirit still has a connection with
the dense body and still can feel, in a measure, anything which
is done to the dense body. Post-mortem examinations, organ removal,
embalming, cremation, and loud noises can cause pain and disturb
the Spirit. Thus we have:
Rule 4. For three and one-half days after the heart stops beating,
the body should be in as peaceful an environment as possible and
should be disturbed as little as possible.
Subsequent to the three and one-half days after the heart stops
beating, a multitude of feelings become possible. So-called "dead"
people still can see what happens and hear what is said on Earth
when they turn their attention in that direction. It can cause
the dead person grief to see his family and friends grieving.
It can cause a dead person frustration to want to complete unfinished
"business" on Earth and to not be able to do so. Thus
we have:
Rule 5. Those who still are living on Earth should adopt an attitude
of calmness and prayer when a loved one dies.
They should try to take care of any business which the dead person
left undone, and should try to do it in a way which would satisfy
the dead person (within reason). Since there is a limit as to
how much "business" friends and relatives can be expected
to take care of after one dies, we also have:
Rule 6. One should keep one's affairs in order so that one is
prepared to die at (almost) any moment.
Death does not remove earthly desire. Those who were addicted
to smoking, alcohol, or drugs prior to death still feel the same
cravings after death, but these cravings cannot be satisfied by
the disembodied Spirit. Suffering results until the cravings can
be overcome. Thus, if the after-death state is to be peaceful,
we must follow:
Rule 7. One should avoid becoming addicted to anything during
Earth life. If addiction is present it should be overcome prior
to death.
When the attention of the dead person in time becomes focused
in the higher worlds, the scenes of the past life again are reviewed.
During this second review, that person begins to feel the effects
of all his or her evil actions on Earth. When a scene is reached
in which he hurt someone else, he now will feel the hurt himself.
We can minimize the suffering which we will feel in this stage
if we minimize the suffering which we cause others during Earth
life. Due to insensitivity and ignorance, we may sometimes unintentionally
cause others to suffer. We may retrospect such events during Earth
life, however, and try to feel the full effects of such actions
while we still are embodied. If we succeed in this, the record
is wiped clean and we correspondingly will be freed from suffering
after death. We thus have:
Rule 8. During life, one should try to retrospect what one has
done and should try to feel the full effects of one's actions.
After the stage in which we feel the effects of our evil action,
we pass into the heaven worlds. In these worlds there is no longer
pain or suffering, regardless of what we did or did not do in
the previous stages. There is much activity in the heaven worlds,
and there is much we can do during Earth life to prepare ourselves
to obtain maximum benefit from our stay in these worlds, but such
considerations are beyond the scope of this article.
If we were taking a trip into an unknown and potentially hazardous
country, we might be full of apprehension. If, however, we knew
what the hazards were to be and could make sufficient preparation
so that they could be avoided or overcome, we could set out with
confidence. If we keep the rules of this article in mind, we can
avoid the 'hazards' associated with dying and can approach death
with confidence, whenever it may come. We then truly can say,
along with the poet Nancy Byrd Turner:
Death is only an old door
Set in a garden wall;
On gentle hinges it gives,
At dusk when the thrushes call.
Along the lintel are green leaves,
Beyond the light lies still;
Very willing and weary feet
Easily move across that sill.
There is nothing to trouble any heart;
Nothing to hurt at all.
Death is only a quiet door
In an old wall.
— Elsa Glover
— Rays from the Rose Cross Magazine, January/February, 1996
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