SKY BURIAL.....

Sky Burial is got to be one of the strangest burial practices that is practiced by one of the most spiritual colonies on earth.  In the land of Tibet, the geography is rocky and barren, forcing the population to dispose of their dead by other means.  Since they cannot dig the ground or burn much wood, they must hack up their dead and leave them in a high place to be eaten by vultures.  The vultures are of a large breed and also have many within a flock so the job is done quickly.  Since the Tibetan people are so healthy because they live mostly off the land, the toxicity level of their bodies is very low which in turn causes no ill effect on the vultures.  The family of the deceased can choose to watch or not, which in turn would be a strange funeral, but a very memorable imprint of the life, death, life cycle.

There is a similar ritual that is practiced in some parts of India known as Dakhma or Towers of Silence which are large circular stone columns where the dead are laid out on top for the same reason.  To be returned to the earth by birds of prey.  I will continue that story at a later date when I get more facts straight about the practice.  I know that the Tibetan monks study a book called The Book of the Dead, or Bardo Thodol,  is read aloud by the monks in order to help the decease’s journey to the other side.  There seems to be many levels of consciousness that must be faced and many untold truths and demons revealed.  This could take several days or sometimes weeks before the deceased is ready for the sky burial.  Some monks are known as the body hackers and their job is to hack up the body so the scent of blood and decay reaches the flocks of vultures.  Once the vultures arrive, the funeral can proceed.  As strange as this ritual can seem, it also has a very natural out come, but limited as to where it can be practiced.

LIFE AFTER DEATH......

When I talk about life after death, I’m not talking about the person who died, I’m talking about the close people that were left behind.  It’s believed that when a person dies, their soul explodes everywhere and those closest will feel the effects.  When a loved one dies, they are always on our minds and maybe that is why every time we turn around something reminds us of them.  Is it them trying to reassure us that they are okay and they are here for us?  Most people chalk it up to the grief syndrome but I believe that the deceased are still close and we can still feel them.  Just in this year I have experienced the passing on of five relations and two pets. These people and animals have guided me since their passing in different areas of my life.  Answers to questions just seem to arrive when I think about the deceased person who had the answers.  Can we still communicate?  Is it wrong to communicate cause society might think we are losing it?  I strongly believe in communication with the after life.  Is that not what we do when we pray?  People did not stop talking to God after he created this place, so if we are apart of God, who’s to say we cannot communicate to those left behind.  I find these times of communication the most comforting times, like being wrapped in the most comforting arms ever.  Hanging on to these moments of remembrance  helps us through the most difficult moments of pain and suffering.  They want us to remember and I try to always.

PEACE OF POETRY 2....

Peace my heart…

Peace, my heart, let the time for the parting be sweet.
Let it not be a death but completeness.
Let love melt into memory and pain into songs.
Let the flight through the sky end in the folding of the wings over the nest.
Let the last touch of your hands be gentle like the flower of the night.
Stand still, O Beautiful End, for a moment, and say your last words in silence.
I bow to you and hold up my lamp to light you on your way.

~Rabindranath Tagore

- See more at: http://allspirit.co.uk/dying.html#peace

NATURAL BURIAL

I would like to take the time to talk a little about natural burial.  The Natural Burial Association based in Toronto has been conducting fully natural burials in protected green spaces since the early 90′s.  The concept and process is extremely simple.  There is no embalming performed, which is the leading contamination for ground water, there is no expensive casket made out of endangered trees, and there is no cemetery with giant expensive head stones.  The deceased is simply wrapped in a biodegradable shroud or simple casket and is lowered into the ground in a very beautiful and natural spot.  The protected green space is all natural with indigenous plants and trees.  The spot where the loved one is put to rest is marked in other means instead of a head stone, such as a wooden marker or a choice of greenery like their favorite plant or a natural rock.  Decomposition helps create new life in the green space and also has low impact on the area.  Why hasn’t it always been like this?  Why has religion used death as a marketing racketeer for so long?  There seems to be a lot of confusing rules and regulations written by the government when it comes to someone dying and I totally understand some of reasons, but I wonder if a lot of them are not written due to greed or ignorance.  Just think about what the world would be like if we had been conducting natural burials for the last hundred years.  Big difference.  Keeping things simple just seems to make more sense in our hearts and it is what feels comfortable.

COEIO AND THE MUSHROOM DEATH SUIT

The Mushroom Death Suit and Jae Rhim Lee’s Infinity Project has got to be one of the most unique burial techniques that I have ever come across.  I have uploaded the video because it says it all!  If this video doesn’t work, please view on Youtube under Jae Rhim Lee’s Ted Talk.  This is the wave of the future!

MOMENTS BEFORE PASSING

Moments before passing is a very magical time. I would like to tell you a few stories about such times where I’ve been present or close by. My father battled cancer and in the last moments of his life, my mother was the only one by his side. She was resting her head on his bed when she saw the whole room light up with colors of yellow and purple and everything in between. There was even sparks of white light that seemed to be swirling above my father. My mother knew that this was it. She watched him take his last breath and then the light show faded. She still talks about that moment with awe. There was another time when I was comforting a close friend of mine who was with his mother after she had suffered a stroke. His brother was a Momma’s boy and could not come to grasps that his mother was dying. He was upset with the hospital not trying to keep her alive and kept asking his mother to fight for her life. It just happened to be that the brother was the only one present at the moment of his mother’s passing. Sometimes, what we cannot accept, we are shown. I strongly believe that in the moment of passing, the door or veil is wide open for all present to witness. I’ve heard of accounts where a person was surrounded by loved ones who had already passed on and they were coming to take them  home. This was witnessed by the living relatives who were present. If you are in the process of watching someone fade away, stay with them cause they want to show you something very magical and beautiful, and I guarantee you that you will meet again one day.

LIFE AFTER A LOVED ONE DIES

If you have ever lost a loved one that you depended on for so much, it can seem like a complete devastation and living on seems unbearable.  It is hard to see the little things that use to make you happy because they just put remembrance in your head, but you need to focus on this.  The little things are what our loved ones want us to see, because that is their way of communicating with us from the beyond.  I have trouble believing how people think in the terms of “gone”.  Not true, more like they are actually more alive then they were before.  If someone you knew was a drug addict before they died, if you see them in your dreams, they are not doped up, they are young and vibrant and want you to know that.  Listen to the little things and pay attention to what pops in your head when you think of them.  The veil is a lot thinner then we think. Physical has just turned to celestial and it is every where and it can also help in ways that are mind blowing, but you wont realize it until after reflection of what just happened.  Pay attention to the little things that make you happy and always be thankful for them.  God bless.