This is also true regarding death. Yes, you may not like hearing this, but when that slimy worm eats your deteriorating corpse, you are supporting all life. That worm thanks her God in worm fashion, just as you thank your God for when you catch a fish with her sister. You don't die, you transform. As the Navaho chant sings:
The birds, the seas, the grass I become it.
If death is something we are living, then could it be that our fear of what we deem as death is actually a living process as reflected in the above Navaho chant? If we saw death as a living process, then would we be so fearful of it? Perhaps then we would come to life in this manifestation? And by saying this, I'm not supporting an idealistic Platonic conception of an after-life (e.g., the standard Christian conception). Indeed, at this point in our evolution, which is actually for us humans, devolution, I think we need to let go of ourselves (our defended, regimented ego-selves) so we can again evolve.
What are your ideas regarding death? These are just my opinions. I'm writing them not to say you should believe what I believe. It's just my hypothesis.
I am just having a good time meditating on an interview my wife and I did with a wonderful woman named Uma Girish. Uma works with the dying and their families. What a powerful job that must be! As she states: "You need never again look at death with fear and anxiety."
Uma teaches that we can transform the darkest moments of our lives into our purpose for living. Professionally, Uma is a Grief Guide, Certified Dream Coach and Award-Winning Author.
Think on that for a moment as I throw my 2 cents in! Why are you here? If you attend to the rationalists, they would say, for no reason other than your own getting what you can. This is called materialism. What has that gotten us? A burnt up world carrying life forms of which many are going extinct on a daily basis?
Consider again how you affect the atmosphere of the planet.
Uma's transformational memoir is about love, loss, and life's detours. She is author of Losing Amma, Finding Home, which was published by Hay House. Her E-book, Understanding Death: 10 Ways to Inner Peace for the Grieving, is devoted to anybody struggling with the death of a loved one and the painful grief that seems unending. It contains the guidance of an experienced hospice and bereavement volunteer.
Uma also hosts a podcast called "The Grammar of Grief" on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. She is also co-founder of the International Grief Council. Visit her website www.umagirish.com to contact her and learn more about her work.
Uma originally came from India. She moved to Chicago in 2008. Soon after Uma moved to this country, her mother passed away from cancer in India. She states that during this time, she was in deep anguish and pain.
In moving from India to Chicago, Uma began to seek who she was. Thus she asked herself, what is home? Where is home? For Uma, and I would add myself here, the quest leads you back to your own Soul. Making money hands over fists doesn't cut it. Look how alienated the Rothchilds and Kochs are.
Uma is a Certified Dream Coach personally trained and certified by Marcia Wieder (America's Dream Coach, author of 14 books, keynote speaker, appearances on Oprah) who works in the area of grief healing. Her passion is to help women find the meaning and purpose inherent in a loss so they can turn pain into purpose.
As a hospice and bereavement volunteer, Uma works as a companion to the dying and their grieving family members. Her philosophy is that in order to die well we must live well. Her idea of living well includes serving the community using her gifts and talents with integrity, passion and dedication that are always presented with love. Uma is also a facilitator of a weekly Reminiscences and Life Lessons Group at a retirement community. She firmly believes that every time an elder dies, a living library burns down. Sharing their stories and validating their lives is a key goal.One of Uma's most passionate and revealing statements in the interview Merry and I did with her, was that Home is within us. Isn't that also what the Navaho chant above speaks to? The mountains I become it. To be at home with ourselves, our Souls, is to always be at home which is this planet and universe. Understanding the home we inhabit within us means we never have to leave or lose our home"even in death. Home is a part of, not apart from us.
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