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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

An Attitude Toward Death

Thanatology is defined: 

Definition of THANATOLOGY

: the description or study of the phenomena of death and of psychological mechanisms for coping with them.
The modern thanatologist is concerned with the needs of an actively dying individual, offering palliative care which can be manifested through a variety of therapies. These therapies have only one effect - to distract the mind from its physical pain and/or mental concerns. Not everyone responds to the same kind of therapies, so, for one, pain med. would be the best therapy, for another, music, or song, or a movie, or being in a pastoral setting, or just having human contact during the process of dying. In the end, we die alone, of course. But the moment of death is painless, the release from the physical body detaches the soul from the bundles of nerves and chemical processes which may have caused the physical pain or even the mental anguish, etc. 
Afterlife: Science is probing into the reality of other dimensions and universes. These are only modern terms for what religionists for millennia have called "heavens" or the "afterlife." To me, they are one and the same. Once the individual soul leaves this particular life experience, it is reunited with the memories of all its lives. It continues to live in another dimension, although we are still at a loss to properly define that experience. Religionists have many terms for it, but to my thinking, they are fraught with conjectures which are still vague and hardly understood. And I believe we are designed that way - to not spend so much time and thought on what MIGHT have been, or on what MAY be, or on what WILL be, and to focus on the work at hand, now, in this moment. The sou's life in other dimensions is as full as any life can be, but different from the earthly, densely material experience.
There is always the possibility of returning to live another earthly life, but without the memories of past experiences (for most). Before entering back into an earthly life, past life experiences are archived in order not to to not muddle the new experience. Each life is unique. Each life needs to focus on its present purpose, and live in the present moment.
Yes, death is inevitable, but Life cannot die.

Compassion is the attitude,
    and a smile is the key
To unlock a life imprisoned.

Only when the last tree has been cut down,
Only when the last river has been poisoned,
Only when the last fish has been caught,
Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten
.
American Indian proverb- Cree Indian Prophecy