“Just as a well-filled day brings blessed sleep, so a well-employed life brings a blessed death.” - Leonardo Da Vinci
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As someone who engaged in childhood psychopomp work, any time I can have this conversation with someone who is still alive (and up for it) I do so. The unfortunate problem is that the people who need this sort of conversation the most are often the ones who are the most resistant to going there. How many of us are dead at 30 and buried at 80? What a tragedy!
I received a strange early education in human psychology (post mortem!) dealing with the stuck and wandering souls who were drawn to the signal of a living human capable of communication. Some of them knew they wanted to help moving on- they were the easy ones. Many of them wanted to move on, but were lost in a fog of confusion. What seemed to be keeping people from moving on? Fear of the afterlife (esp. if connected to perceived sin, and expected punishment), attachment to people or places left behind, regret upon regret upon piles of regret.
Perhaps the greatest means of achieving a smooth transition is to fill one’s life with as much love as possible. However you can truly love, start there. Start small if need be, one step at a time. Do acts of kindness wherever, even if you don’t feel kind. If you feel love is nowhere inside, you can take a page out of William James’ book of philosophical pragmatism- let action be the change agent. Do kind acts, and kindness will start to fill you up from the inside. Being of service produces wondrous changes in consciousness.
One can also culture love through the act of appreciation. You need not even utter a word. Appreciate the beauty of a flower, or a garden, the trees, or the clouds in the sky. Appreciate whatever you can appreciate.
Perhaps the greatest protections from becoming a stuck spirit is to experience the state of Samadhi as frequently as possible while in the physical body. Meditate every day, a few times per day with eyes closed and the rest of the day with the eyes opened. Choose a technique that produces depth. If this goes well, you may also end up helping stuck souls with their own transitions while still in a body. But the most important aspect of deep meditation practice is the healing it brings to the mind and psyche. A deep practice is a powerful balm to guilt, regret, and fear. Every plunge into the deep waters of Samadhi is a plunge into a place that unties our inner knots and soothes the hard edges of the soul.
If you’ve done truly terrible things, it’s possible that you may never receive forgiveness from those you trespassed against, even if your contrition is marrow-deep and absolutely sincere. In terms of moving on after death, the forgiveness of others is not necessary. Even full self-forgiveness may not be necessary. Sometimes all you need is a single strong point of love. In more practical terms, I’m reminded of a scene near the end of the film Gandhi. A man confesses to Gandhi that he killed a Muslim boy, and that he is surely going to hell. Gandhi’s suggested way out of hell? The Hindu man must find an orphaned boy and raise him up as a Muslim, and care for him and love him.
In such a situation, the good that one does may not make up for the evil, but it’s worthwhile to begin moving in a better direction while still in the same body. Love and service are powerful alchemical agents.
I can’t count how many spirits I’ve encountered who were simply afraid of hell or some hellish future life. These fears are heavy on the minds of wandering ghosts. Some spirits confessed the most awful things to me. In their minds, their crimes would deny them a decent transition. After assuring them that the theological ideas they had been taught were largely incorrect, I would demonstrate the loving nature of the universe, by walking to a bridge with them and calling in any beings that truly loved them, whether in their recent life or in another. This was often enough to get them moving. Every being craves love. The wonderful thing about love is that a few moments of deep love are much much stronger than centuries of fear and theological ideas. So, here too, to get ahead of the game, and fill your life with as much love and presence as possible. Go as deep as you can!
Upcoming Courses
Ascension Meditation First Sphere Course- August 22nd and 23rd: 8am to 12:30 pm UK time/ 5pm to 9:30 pm Sydney time
This is a weekend course learning my primary effortless meditation practice of the past 24 years: Ascension meditation. The course runs from 8am to 12:30 pm (Portugal/UK timezone) on both days. We’ll flow between meditation practice, conversations on the multi-layered evolution of consciousness, and time for questions and answers.
Normally, this class is 300 USD. The special price for this course is 222 USD or a sliding scale donation. We don’t turn students away for lack of money. And, if you’ve already learned the practice, attendance is free.
To pay on the sliding scale system, you can simply send a course fee by PayPal and an email letting me know that you’ve signed up. If PayPal doesn’t work, Zelle or Bank Transfers are also options. (Update: the sliding scale spots for this course have been filled up)
I am a meditation teacher, writer, gardener, and an evolutionary astrologer. You can find more information about my vocations through my websites: www.ascension-meditation.com and www.awakenedlightastrology.com. I also have a youtube channel, which is starting to get as much attention as the garden.
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I did ascension practice this morning and near the end of it, I thought, "I wonder what thoughts you have on death, Ishtar." This post was the first thing I saw as I looked at my phone. I'm thinking a lot about death and life because my aunt is going to leave soon and my mother too, I think.
I think lately, with all the NDE's I've seen on YouTube, I've just imagined that somehow we all just get magically transported into a place where we remember what it was all about. That's a lot different from when I was learning about Tibetan Buddhism and we were doing practices that helped us exit from the top of our heads. That always made me feel a bit afraid and reminded me of Catholicism, where you'd better be careful that you don't land in eternal damnation.
I did ascension practice this morning and near the end of it, I thought, "I wonder what thoughts you have on death, Ishtar." This post was the first thing I saw as I looked at my phone. I'm thinking a lot about death and life because my aunt is going to leave soon and my mother too, I think.
I think lately, with all the NDE's I've seen on YouTube, I've just imagined that somehow we all just get magically transported into a place where we remember what it was all about. That's a lot different from when I was learning about Tibetan Buddhism and we were doing practices that helped us exit from the top of our heads. That always made me feel a bit afraid and reminded me of Catholicism, where you'd better be careful that you don't land in eternal damnation.