LIFE AFTER LIFE AND MAKING PEACE WITH DEATH

    Death is a subject that most of us avoid, but it is a reality that we must face. I have recently witnessed some individuals who had faced a death in their families and it has completely crushed them, and even derailed lives for years afterwords. Make no mistake about it, the death of a loved one can be devestating and leave us feeling sad and even depressed. But I have often wondered; is our outlook on death in the Western Culture and in other places really healthy? Why do some cultures and societies mourn and say things like, "we'll never see them again." And yet other cultures celebrate the passing of their loved ones as a birth into a new life. Maybe it is because in some cultures we are too busy fixing our eyes and attention on the things of this material reality. We think so much about our jobs, our finances, the bills, getting the kids to the soccer game and doing the laundry that spiritual things are grossly overlooked in our lives. For most of us, we say we believe in God and spirituality but they seem to be a byproduct in the back of our minds that is related more to the world of fantasy and make believe.

    Maybe if we were like the people who celebrate the passing of their loved ones, and made our spirituality the foundation of our lives; we would see this life and the subject of death through different eyes. After all, if there is life after death, and there is much new evidence that supports this reality, then are our loved ones truly gone? We will miss them greatly, no doubt, but would we say things like, "we'll never see them again," if we knew and believed that where they are right now, we will be also one day? I truly believe that the subject of death should be faced head on and that we should each take the time necessary to educate ourselves on what happens when we human beings take our last breath. It seem a scary task at first, but once we realize that their are many new scientific studies that show that something really is happening beyond the death of the physical body; we then begin to realize that our spiritual teachers and masters were not telling us some delusional fairy tale based on the beliefs of a less evolved culture. When this happens, we begin to see the death of others, and even our own eventual passing, as not so bleak, sad and horrifying...