Dying-The Great Transition

What is death and where does our spirit go when the heart stops beating? Perhaps our final breath is not a finish line. I believe, that most people know instinctively, when they are going to die and that no death is an accident, and that we are here for a specific amount of time to learn lessons, and build soul levels, and our shedding of the physical body is just part of a cycle of evolution, from one space to another. 

For those transitioning due to illness, and death is predictable in time, it has been observed that there is a shift in energy 3 days prior. Perhaps this shift is a liminal space that assists the dying to leave their bodies and let go. Aura colors alter to a green hue, breathing changes, sometimes to a death rattle, or increased rapid breaths, or it can appear like they are barely breathing at all. I believe spirit helpers, guides, angels, the boatman, or animals come to guide us over. Many people who sit with loved ones who are dying often talk about “other people” in the room that the dying may or may not know, but are speaking to or asking why “so and so” is there. I experienced this with my own father, he saw many people around him constantly, he did not know them, but they were persistently speaking to him. 

The death portal opens 3 hours before transition, and the dying enter more into the non-physical realm. Their life energy begins to move towards this space and they often fall out of consciousness and drift off. They can come back briefly, however, before leaving to say goodbye, which can be startling for those sitting vigil. This is a normal reaction for loved ones to witness, as perhaps their person has been unresponsive for days, then suddenly they open their eyes, and speak with clarity before drifting off again for good. Some people even sit up and want to eat, get out of bed and engage before they go. I believe as we approach the end of the liminal space, we’re given a choice to come back to say goodbye or to simply pass on when we’re ready.

For the dying, traveling through this liminal space portal, in the astral plane, can also be alarming for some people, and if there is fear, resentments or resistance to dying, the end of life can often be filled with suffering. This lower level of the astral plane is referred to as the Bardo by some medicine walkers and Tibetan Buddhists. For those lingering in the Bardo, dying and letting go can be traumatic, and it is believed that typically, these people will not complete their life lessons, and will return to work through what needs to be completed. 

Chemically speaking, magical things occur in the minutes after the heart stops beating. Our brain continues to be very active, in fact, researchers have discovered that 30 seconds after death, the cerebral cortex spikes in activity in a highly organized pattern, in the part of the brain that holds memory. Does our life truly replay for us as we transition into the astral plane? According to the study conducted by Dr. Ajmal Zemmer, “Just before and after the heart stopped working, we saw changes in a specific band of neural oscillations, so-called gamma oscillations, but also in others such as delta, theta, alpha, and beta oscillations.” 

Brain oscillations (more commonly known as ‘brain waves’) are patterns of rhythmic brain activity normally present in living human brains. The different types of oscillations, including gamma, are involved in high-cognitive functions, such as concentrating, dreaming, meditation, memory retrieval, information processing, and conscious perception, just like those associated with memory flashbacks.

“Through generating oscillations involved in memory retrieval, the brain may be playing a last recall of important life events just before we die, similar to the ones reported in near-death experiences,” Zemmar speculated. “These findings challenge our understanding of when exactly life ends and generate important subsequent questions, such as those related to the timing of organ donation.”

These types of oscillations are also commonly found when people use psychedelics, and release high quantities of DMT into the brain. One theory is that with this incredible spike of brain activity, perhaps the brain also activates the Pineal gland, which is theorized that it may produce DMT for us at the time of death, to help us cross over. Perhaps our brain, and the unused or unknown spaces are there to heighten our consciousness to project us into the astral plane. It is difficult to study, except to record those who have experienced a near death experience. And even then, there are spaces that perhaps we are not supposed to understand until it is our time to die.

Here are some interesting pieces of information when looking into NDE research and what qualifies as an NDE.

• The Universe will not let us shatter, we are immortal beings.
• There is not a universal criteria of a NDE
• People remark of having abundant knowledge of the universe
• White light-tunnel of light or light at the end of the tunnel
• People awaiting them, a guide (relatives, Jesus, unknowns)
• Knowledge of being dead-must be an out of body experience
• Communicating mentally, not with mouths
• Karnosky scale http://www.npcrc.org/files/news/karnofsky_performance_scale.pdf
• Greyson Scale correlate with the time of death (recorded by a physician) https://iands.org/resources/education/greyson-nde-scale.html
• Not in conflict with nature, meaning they we’rent on morphine or other drugs at the time of the NDE
• Time is irrelevant-it speeds up, all the answers come easily
• 5th dimension but we have to explain it in 3 dimensional language–Peace, Love, All is One, belonging, unity….

Of all the people who die and come back, 15% report having a NDE–of those, 1% have a negative experience. Fear of being alone (void), off course in their life, or just lost in the spiritual path? Were they given drugs at death? Morphine? REM intrusions occur in dream-like states that often people think they are having a NDE. 

Dying does not have to be traumatic, or painful, or scary. I hope that our cultures learn to embrace death midwives, and doulas, to assist in caring for the dying with rituals, ceremony and loving care. 

Because I could not stop for Death

Because I could not stop for Death—
He kindly stopped for me—
The Carriage held but just Ourselves—
And Immortality.

We slowly drove—He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility—

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess—in the Ring—
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain—
We passed the Setting Sun—

Or rather—He passed us—
The Dews drew quivering and chill—
For only Gossamer, my Gown—
My Tippet—only Tulle—

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground—
The Roof was scarcely visible—
The Cornice—in the Ground—

Since then—’tis Centuries—and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity—

–Emily Dickenson