Interpretations

[Starman]

I have had people ask me how can you work with people who are dying? I find it brings tremendous spiritual and emotional growth to me, and I realize that it is not for everyone or anyone. But someone has to do this kind of work and I consider it to be a privilege to be with a person as they leave this Earth.

The difference between hospital and hospice is that generally hospital is there to cure people, save their lives, etc., and hospice is not there to save a person’s life, rather it’s work is to do pain management, make a patient comfortable, and let them die with dignity.

If a person in hospital has a heart attack the staff does CPR and tries to save that person’s life, if a patient in a hospice has a heart attack no CPR is done, you just let the person die. During the pandemic lots of hospital nurses and doctors became upset because so many people were dying under their care; this is normal in a hospice.

The word hospice comes from the word hospitality, and while hospitality centers for the dying have been around for many centuries, the modern day hospice movement started in London, England back in 1967. Hospice strives to help people understand death as a natural experience but it does not impose any spiritual values on its residents/patients.

I am learning so much from talking to people who are approaching the death of their physical human body. They are giving me much more than I am giving them. It is interesting that most people who are terminally ill, even if they were an atheist their whole life, become interested in the concept of a higher power or God.

[Native spirit]

Helping someone on their final journey is very Satisfying.
Every little act of kindness, you can show someone means more to them
Than people realise



Namaste

[Starman]

Not everyone dies the same way, and I am working with terminally ill patients at a hospice, but a person may die suddenly from a fatal accident, suicide, or homicide. Lots of people who are terminally ill do have time to say goodbye to loved ones, unlike those who die suddenly.

Some who are terminally ill are non-responsive, they are in a coma, have dementia, Alzheimer’s, etc., and are unable, or incapable, of saying goodbye to loved ones. Frequently the loved ones’ are grieving and not accepting of their relatives death more than the person who is dying.

We are all terminal; no body, and I emphasize “BODY,” gets out of this earthly existence alive. The body falls apart because the life in it withdraws. I view old age as the body preparing the life within it, which is us in my opinion, for ascension beyond physical existence.

Most people have anxiety about dying but when death is immanent calmness usually takes over. The transition which we call death is a transition of energy where we move from a solid feeling and presence to a very fine and airy whisper-like feeling of existence. Being with a person when they die I can feel and sometimes even glimpse them leaving.

[Bluto]

Starman, I've listened to a fair number of stories from hospice workers on Youtube. One which always struck me was a woman who described one particular patient that died in front of her. She said at the moment of death, a golden light filled the room, something left the body and floated upward, and then the golden light disappeared and the room returned to normal.

My question is, have you witnessed anything like this?

Hospices and hospice work absolutely fascinates me, and I've thought often of changing career and going into it.

[Starman]

Bluto, definitely, yes I have experienced that. The field of thanatology is the study of death and dying; a thanatologist studies death from multiple perspectives, medical, physical, psychological, spiritual, ethical, etc.

I have been an unofficial thanatologist since my teenage years and have witnessed a lot of death and dying. As a U.S. Army combat medic during the Vietnam War, after the military as an ambulance paramedic, and then as a nurse, later as a medical social worker. Individual death as well as death on a large scale.

Me now working in a hospice is a new chapter in my life; as Native Spirit pointed out to me in another thread, I feel like I am in training for something yet to come. It is confronting work but most who do it, do it out of love and to deepen their own cup about the transition which we call death.

Just before a person dies a lot of energy surrounds them, lots of hospital and hospice workers can sense, feel, or even see that abundance of energy around the dying person just before they die. Some family members may also see it. Even if a person is in a coma there is a lot of motionless energetic activity in their eyes.

Those dying people who are awake often speak of seeing angels or loved ones who have passed just before they die. This is true of those who die suddenly as well as those who linger before dying. Even atheists who I have worked with, at the time of death, many will say they feel and see the loving presence of beings surrounding them.

The transfer of energy from the physical body to a non-physical state is visible; the experience is beyond words and to put words on it reduces its majestic continence in the observers perspective. The most impact experience for me is to witness a child or baby die; most do not suffer, its just the impact on the observer which is so powerful.

I have also witnessed people who were pronounced dead that were in the morgue and they woke up and was very much alive, telling fantastical stories about their death experience, Their body was cold, with no heartbeat, and then their heart restated. Many stories which I have been blessed to witness. There is a lot more to it than we can see on the surface.

[Bluto]

Starman, yes I've heard stories of people with rigor mortis setting in, suddenly coming back to life, and then having complications relating to the rigor mortis, such as stiffness of limbs, local paralysis, etc. I've even heard anecdotes about entirely different spirits taking over a newly dead body.

Regarding the moment of bodily death, Steve jobs' last words are famously documented as being "oh wow, oh wow, oh wow". I wonder what he saw and experienced in that moment?

Like most people, I always had a lifelong fear of death, because I always assumed it was dark eternal oblivion. But now it feels so obvious that it's not that at all. In fact, I imagine it's a bit like waking up from a coma. I embrace it, and really look forward to my own transition. Ahh, just to take this heavy, stiff, sodden-wet-through meat overcoat off, and to be free at last!

Have you ever witnessed terminal lucidity? That's where somebody with, say, extreme Alzheimer's, just moments or hours from death, suddenly sits up, and engages in fully coherent conversations with their family, as if they never got Alzheimer's in the first place. After discussing various current events (such as their daughter's upcoming wedding etc) they might slip back into a coma, then die shortly after. My theory of this is that the brain, acting as a filter of consciousness, has become so degraded that it no longer functions as a filter, and consciousness, freed up, somehow acts upon the almost dead body, taking command of it for a very brief moment, independently of the brain.

As I say, this is an intensely fascinating subject for me - death, specifically the last literal moments of life. Relating to my original mention of seeing golden light and spirits leaving bodies etc, if you are inclined, would you mind sharing a recollection or two of what you have seen? I'd be very grateful and intrigued to hear any.

[Starman]

Bluto, I embrace how we interpret things, especially spirituality, death, and the dying process can not be accurate because the mental construction of what is happening creates a box for us to put things in. Having said this, I imagine what Steve Jobs saw was the awesome majesty of the physical world melting away opening to an indescribable vista which left him awestruck.

We can be free in our human body although it is difficult for most who have to deal with the world on a regular basis. I have had incredible experiences inside and outside of my physical body. One such experience, which a lot of other people have told me they have had, is when your consciousness slips into our own inner light. That golden light which is seen just before a person dies exists within us at this very moment.

When I had an experience of slipping into my inner light, it was incredible golden light, and I seemed to be in a fetal position floating in that light, and the light felt like overwhelming, intoxication, love, which permeated every molecule of my being. The light of the “soul,” or our deeper being, for most people is golden. The light of God, or our creator, is translucent white light which is transparent, in my opinion. I have witnessed some people who were surrounded with that kind of white light as they died.

The light of a person’s being is tinged by the thoughts and emotions they nurtured while they were alive, in my opinion. I knew people who used to read auras, and the aura of a person extends from the radiance of their inner being. Sound has the most direct effect on our own vibration and the hues of our aura. I have seen people die who did not exhibit any light at all at the time of their death.

A story comes to mind when I was working in a hospital emergency room, and this Mexican Mafia boss had a shootout with police. He was shot up pretty bad and the doctors could not do anything for him. He knew he was going to die, and he curled up on the OR table in great fear and cried. Here was a guy who had killed lots of people and when it came time for him to die, he was terrified. I saw no light surrounding him; he died in fear.

Death on a large scale is another matter, like a plane crash, even a school shooting, etc. Lots of people are leaving their physical body at once. In Vietnam a soldier who was shot along with a bunch of other soldiers, they all died but this one soldier came back to life and told me that he was among a number of souls, including some people who he had killed before he got shot himself. He saw all of these souls leaving their body and then he was pulled back into his body.

During the Vietnam War, a number of soldiers knew when they were going to die, they had a dream, a vision, a voice told them, or just a very strong intuitive feeling. As a medic they would give me their final letters to loved ones, and describe to me exactly how and when they were going to die; most died that exact way at that exact time. I believe that if a person is in touch with their deeper being, they can know days or weeks ahead of time before death takes their physical body.

I have lots of real life stories but this is what comes to me at this moment. Stories about people dying in war, stories about being an ambulance paramedic in Denver, stories about working in hospital or hospice. I don’t want to get too graphic. I will tell you I used to be afraid of death, in fact I was startled by my own shadow. Getting to know myself on a deep level took away my fears, most of all, living in the moment and not anticipating what is next helped even more.

That is what I do when I am with a person who is near death. I tell them don’t think about what is going to happen next, stay in the moment with each breath until your last breath. It is my opinion that you will see what you want to see at the time of death. Some see Jesus, some see Buddha, some see Krishna, etc. What we put our faith in manifests, in my opinion. Clarity, without thought or words, open-ness, and humility may allow us to see what is instead of us seeing what we have projected to be.

Again, this is all just my interpretation.

[Redchic12]

Your comments were really interesting Starman and I enjoyed reading them.

I particularly agree with your last paragraph. In fact I try to do that now so that when the time comes for me to leave then I will be open to what is, instead of projecting.

[Starman]

Redchic12, I feel like most people project while alive here on earth; we all live on the same planet but we do not all like in the same world. Our worldview is what we often project. Projection comes from our values, our self talk, thoughts, and how we interpret our feelings.

This is what I see, people projecting on each other, and as such we live in each others dreams. Most people prefer fantasy to the starkness of a greater, deeper, reality. A reality which does not fit into our thoughts and can not be boxed. Clarity is infinite, it has no end.

What you have shared is what I strive to do as well; not only in preparation of my own death and leaving physical existence, but also to be clear about day to day living here on Earth. Clarity can be found in the eternal moment. There can also be clarity in thought, but I find its depths in inner silence.

Silence presents itself fully at the time of physical death, but some struggle with silence as death approaches. A humble surrender is imbedded in inner silence. Facing the silence without fear is one of the greatest challenges for many who are near death. They often feel like in silence they will no longer exist.

Peace and Good Journey To You My Sister

[Redchic12]

Starman thank you for your lovely comments.

I started thinking of projection and sometimes I feel I am the only one who can see it happening. I’m sure there are others but that’s just how it feels and when I try to point this out, I get one of those looks…….eeer yeah whatever. Lol

I live with total silence 99% of the time and couldn’t live any other way at this point in time because I actually thrive on this silence.

Many years ago I went to the Uk to see my son for a couple of weeks and honestly I thought I was going to have a heart attack lol. None stop noise EVERYWHERE! Music chatting on buses, music chatting in shops, constant car noises and sirens and even in parks and the cathedral not to mention my sons home with kids and TV blaring. There was no silence whatsoever anywhere. I ended up wearing earplugs everywhere I went just to keep my sanity.

Couldn’t wait to get on that plane and come home ha