The Mystery of Death. Knowing you are going to die.

[Celtaur]

Right now Patrick Swayze is in the hospital, doing quite poorly due to his pancreatic cancer. It has been suggested that he has 6 months to live. It must be so difficult to know that you are terminally ill, and are likely to not be here at the end of the year.

I have found a lot of people, in the new age, often say the same thing... death is a part of life, we move on to somewhere better, we're just energy. Yes, this may be all well and true, but it doesn't release the fact that death to this lifetime as a whole as we know it is finite, and all the philosophies and beliefs in the world don't change this fact. Nor do any ideologies on the subject take away the mystery of death.

Personally, although I have my personal beliefs, it doesn't take the edge off when I really contemplate death. To know one has a time limit, must be amazingly difficult, it must be intensely conducive to panic attacks taking over from time to time.

We all know we are going to die, but knowing that it is sooner than later must be worrying. In the last stretch it must either feel like time is flying by so quickly, or going so slowly.

I feel like what we do here often on the forum is become knowledgeable in the worlds between life and death, the realms of consciousness that bridge our physical selves with the spiritual realms. I can imagine that long-term/short-term death sentences, must bring up so many of the concepts we discuss here, so quickly. Questions, ideas, ponderings on so many aspects of reality to confront.

Reminds me of a quote by Jim Morrison, "No one here gets out alive."

[Echo]

My partner died of cancer. He fought it a long time, but we, as a family, knew that our life together was finite, in a way which wove itself intimately through our everyday life.

Now, he was an unbeliever, while I have my faith in the continuity of life. Yet, we both reacted in the same way to the looming full stop. We treasured each day.

Even the days of pain, the days of tears and fears, were treasured because while we could feel, we could still share life and love. Each dawn I would slide my hand across the bed to see if he was still warm, and listen for his breathing, and each day I started with a prayer of thanks and a surge of joy.

I learned much from that time. Not least to recognise my own mortality. I am dying.. slowly and naturally, like everyone else on this planet. Death is inherent in birth. Inevitable. And it is just the reverse of the same coin.. a transition from one state to another.

That does not lessen the grief of loss, nor does it lessen the grief of those who know they are leaving loved ones behind. But it does make a difference to how I live my life.

I am 50. With the best will in the world, I have almost certainly lived over half my life, and if old readings are true, I have been given a date in a future which no longer seems distant. Bu.. today I am alive and can choose how I live, and i choose to try and live as if it was both the first and last day of my life.

[LT]

That was a great message Echo. I hope the date isnt for another 40-50 years or so,

I know I've been told by many psychic I'll live till way past the age of 100, but in all sincerety I'd love the idea of that, and the things I'll see through the years, but if I really do live that long, I sometimes think I'd rather not, because of watching all those who I love so dearly die while I am still alive and healthy, (hopefuly I'm healthy) but anyways, I think that birth life and death are sacred, and that we may be mortal physicaly, but we're immortal souly and spiritualy, and that we are incarnated and possibly even lifted to a higher realm of existence to experience another test, or just a heavenly place.

But, I think we have so many lives until we reach the next realm of existence. And hopefuly we all succeed successfully.

Anyways, I dont think I have any experience of terminal disease, at least not yet, for non of my grandparents are in terminal disease yet, or any of my loved ones, that I know of. And I sure am not.

But for anyone that is, hopefuly they die a peacful death and have a great rebirth after their death. For death isnt the end its only a new begining of whole new adventure, wether it be back here on earth again, or in another realm.

Well, I should be off now.
May Love & Light shine upon those who need it! And Im sure many many of us do!
Love & Light,
Liam

[brifae]

We are all dying since birth incrementally units of time, our cells divide and expire, death can come at anytime, but some people think it can only come for them at a certain age.

There are three great mysteries to life: birth, life/sex and death, and love rules them all ( a familiar saying in ceremonial magick and witchcraft)

most religions are saturnic in natire about laws, rules, limits, money, greed, sex, healing/health, celebrations of life and death. There are many death cults.

Death was celebrated as a new spiritual beginning and a physical end, as birth is a spiritual limiting. Cults therefore wanted to ensure and teach of life after this one. The crone teaches us wisdom of regeneration or reincarnation and karma. The ancestral spirits of death in hoodoo are about sex healing and magick, love of baron samedi and brigette. Santisma muerte gives retribution, protection, riches, love and looks much like a chronos or saturn figure. Hecate also has these attributes as a psychopomp of mercury in earth as virgo, demeter the harvester, the guide, the crossroads of the end of summer the grain king dies of agriculture. The crossroads of christ, or hoodoo spirit legba or hecate. Originally not of the moon where the entrance to the underworld and hades realm began. Saturn was originally an agricultureal god and still reigns over the earth. Much like Uriel's aspect of the north.

After all to ensure a good death pay respects to the spirits or deities of the dead.

[brifae]

I should add that saturn is an initiator, as the symbolic death or birth in religions or cults, the black tau robes. saturn is also about illlusions, of this life mortality, matter, mater, the black cube, perceptions, the matrix or veil. The work on ego death and rebuilding it, the shamanistic experience into other worlds.