ABOUT HOW TO DIE  

This will be a long post. Actually it will be two posts, as I will share the next part in my next post. 

Let me start with a quote from Silo's Message: 

"THE PATH 

If you believe that your life ends with death, what you think, feel, and do has no meaning. Everything ends in incoherence, in disintegration. 

If you believe that your life does not end with death, you must bring into agreement what you think with what you feel and what you do. Everything must advance toward coherence, toward unity." 

(https://silo.net/message/message) 

Dying is not so easy. Sometimes I hear people say that when they're desperate, like "I want to die" or "I wish I could die" or "I'm sick of this, I'd rather kill myself" or "I've had enough I'm going to die and that's it"... Well, I can tell you it's not thateasy. This dying thing is a lot harder and more complicated than we'd like.

First of all, very few people die in a moment. Without any longer or shorter suffering or pain. Many people only think about that precise one moment, when death actually happens...but death is preceded by many things...usually. E.g. illness and itsconsequences, old age and its consequences, and (sorry but) a lot of conflicts with oneself, with one's environment and one's environment with one's self.

So it's not easy and unfortunately society, the laws, the rules the medical, nursing and care services available make it harder rather than easier. Two or three things come to mind right now off the top of my head. The first is euthanasia. The second is nursing homes, the third is home care. 

 And there really are those who just don't want to endure the suffering or the pain and feel it's too much for them or just too much of life and they just want to go away, to leave this space and time...maybe even with dignity, the dignity of having decided their life and so their death and not being overwhelmed by something. This is possible in very few countries today. Euthanasia is a big taboo, as is dying (as I wrote about in an earlier post). Obviously the two are connected because there are so many morals around this that we suffer from. You cannot talk about it, you cannot do anything about it.

So, if somebody is dying and it comes to the moment when there is no turning back, when science can't help anymore, there is no medically available help anymore, there is still a factor. The human.

The human part. The humanity. To give the dying person the respect and what is still humanly possible, so that the last moments that he or she spends here on this earth can be lived with human dignity, if possible with tenderness and love. This is often done by people working in hospitals helping the dying...if they have the opportunity. By being there for them or allowing those who can make this possible for the dying person to be there. In Silo's Message there is a ceremony for this reason, which could be used for those who'd like to accompany the person who is dying. Here you are :

" Assistance 

This is a ceremony of great affection, requiring the person performing it to give the best of themselves. The ceremony may be repeated at the request of the person receiving it or those caring for him or her. The Officiant is alone with the dying person. Regardless of whether the person who is dying appears lucid or unconscious, the Officiant comes close to them and speaks slowly in a voice that is soft and clear. 

Officiant: The memories of your life are the judgment of your actions. You can, in a short time, recall much of what is best in yourself. Calmly remember, then, and purify your memory. Gently remember, and calm your mind… 

The Officiant remains silent for a few minutes, and then resumes reading with the same tone and intensity. 

Now, reject startling fears and disheartenment... 

Reject the desire to flee toward dark regions... 

Reject the attachment to memories... 

Remain in internal liberty, indifferent toward the dream of the landscape... ………………………………………………. 

Resolve to begin the ascent... 

The pure light dawns in the summits of the great mountain chains, and the waters of-a-thousand-colors flow down amid unrecognizable melodies toward crystalline plateaus and prairies.

Do not fear the pressure of the light, which pushes you away from its center with increasing strength. Absorb it as though it were a liquid or a wind because in it, certainly, is life.

When you find the hidden city in the great mountain chain, you must know the entrance—and you will know it in the moment your life is transformed. Its enormous walls are written in figures, are written in colors, are “sensed.” In this city are kept the done and the yet-to-be-done... 

The Officiant leaves a brief silence, and then resumes reading with the same tone and intensity. 

You are reconciled... 

You are purified... 

Prepare to enter the most beautiful City of Light, this city never seen by the eye, whose song has never been heard by human ears... 

Come, prepare to enter the most beautiful Light..."

(https://silo.net/message/message)