Thanks for posting this. Kind of eerie to read such a clear account of the impending death of the body.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Posted to another chat: > > What it is to die > (as I'm seeing it) > A revealing article on the meaning behind death and life > written by Barry Long as he approached his own death. > > > Mystics and poets down through the ages have told us that our real home is > eternity. Our short stay on earth and our deepest longing would seem to > confirm that we belong elsewhere. > > As I approach physical death I'm looking at whether I can put the > inspiration of the mystics into a context more easily understood by us > ordinary - albeit temporary - people of the earth. > > To do so I see I will have to draw on the same area of knowledge from which > I wrote 'The Origins of Man and the Universe' more than two decades ago. As > that knowledge extends from earth to eternity the concepts I'm forced to use > will be outside normal rational thinking experience. But as rational thought > has no explanation of what we truly are, what we're doing or where we're > going, and since everyone must finally pass this way, it would seem fitting > to introduce another paradigm, another way of looking at things. > > Eternity > In reality, each of us is a point of intelligence in the deep space of > eternity. If we were asked casually where eternity is, we'd probably point > to the deep space of the stars. And we'd be right. For that space symbolises > eternity - symbolises, because it is external to us whereas in reality we > are one with eternity within. > > It is undeniable that in our manifested state we are earthlings. And that > while here we develop an attachment to the earth and its beauty. Even though > eternity is our true home, after death our lingering attachment to the earth > eventually pulls us back and our intelligence recurs in a new physical body. > > So before birth, we are free unfettered spirits of intelligence in the > wondrous unlimited space of eternity. But attachment (or karma) is a form of > will and it determines our recurrence on earth, drawing our intelligence > back into phenomenal time at the moment of biological conception. >From then > on we start to gather a body of past - a physical and mental body that > enmeshes and cocoons the free spirit. All is not lost, however. In the > passage of time, disease and old age take their toll of the body and mind > and the dying begins - the dying to return home to eternity. > > At the time of writing, this is where I am - dying of advanced prostate > cancer. And I'm moved to set down the paradigm of just what this dying > process suggests to me. > > The Process > The disorientation and pain that accompanies dying is the slow shedding of > the body of flesh and experience. The old zest for living disappears. > Appetite and interest in the world diminish and vitality drains from the > body. Weakness and need of sleep increase. Time on earth is coming to an > end. > > As the attachment or karma of the particular recurrence is lived out, the > hold on the free spirit is weakened. As well, the spirit now resonates more > and more at the speed of the eternal spirit of which it is an inseparable > part. The incredible swiftness of the resonance dislodges and shakes off > increasing amounts of the cloying biological body. This causes the final > sickness of the body, with the debilitating side effects of the drugs and > treatments being part of the whole process. > > God Immanent > Meanwhile as the organising self - commonly called the ego - loses interest > in the external to concentrate on trying to understand what's happening in > the body, the God immanent arises. This is extremely gradual and subtle. It > is signified by the dying individual sitting motionless and apparently > staring ahead or into space for increasing periods. > > The God or Lord immanent is the spirit of intelligence that entered the body > at conception. It has no attributes. It is pure intelligence without the > corruption of mind or knowing. The growing negation of all that the > individual used to be, allows the Lord or God immanent to 'appear' in the > dying body for sensitive loved ones to actually witness. But often the > appearance goes unnoticed because of its extreme subtlety and absence of > identifying attributes - combined with the sense of loss and grief in the > loved ones which disturbs attunement. The closest that can be said to > describe this divine metamorphosis is that an unmistakable sweetness and > love appears in the patient, finer than anything ever seen in her or him > before. > > I, the dying patient, am now like the chrysalis approaching transformation > into a butterfly. > > The moment of death marks the release of the last flake of restraining past. > The amazing transition is complete. I, the spirit of intelligence, burst > free and soar through inner space to reunite with the eternal good or God > transcendent. > > But in truth I never left the eternal. I was simply the seemingly cocooned > empowering genius that made the biological dream possible. > > > But how do I, the writer, know this when I haven't yet died? Where does this > supposed knowledge of after-life come from? Is it wishful thinking, not just > by me, but by hosts of people who have had such intimations? > > Self-knowledge and self-knowledge > To me the knowledge comes from all of us having passed through physical > death and birth many many times in recurrent lives. For that reason I call > it Self-knowledge with a capital S. Then there's self-knowledge with a small > s. Both refer to inner experience. Any other information we call knowledge > relates to what we've heard, read or observed outside us. > > Take self-knowledge. It arises from inner experience such as that of having > had a severe attack of influenza. If you were a doctor who'd never had the > 'flu you'd know all the symptoms but the knowing wouldn't be a result of > your own self-knowledge, or self-experience. The knowing would be from what > you'd learned and memorised by study and observation of others outside > yourself. But if you ever got the 'flu you'd discover the effects were > nothing like what you thought they'd be. This applies to all experience. > Unless you've actually experienced something yourself, it's not > self-knowledge. > > When it comes to the profoundly traumatic experience of your own innumerable > deaths and births over immeasurable time, the knowledge has the distinction > of being Self-knowledge with a capital S. Why? Because the recurrent > sequence of being born, living and dying represents everything I, the > individual consciousness in your body now, have ever experienced, everything > I've ever been - the sum total of what I am at this moment. Such > Self-knowledge is inaccessible to the surface mind whose exclusive focus is > on one living life - this one. > > Spiritual Teachers > Self-knowledge with a capital S is permanently stored in the spirit of > intelligence we are all born with. Spiritual masters and teachers speak from > different degrees of Self-knowledge. This allows the individual listener to > discover the depth of their own Self-knowledge - based on the fact that in > truth (Self-knowledge) you can only recognise what you've already lived. If > you relate to what the teacher says, you are with him in Self- knowledge and > delight in hearing 'what you hadn't realised you already knew.' If his > Self-knowledge is less than yours, or too deep for you to hear at this time, > you will leave him. > > Intimations of the invisible reality are quite common. But when the mind > gets hold of these it builds conceptual structures more related to survival > after death - for instance meetings with deceased loved ones - than the > simple truth of inexplicable freedom. > > When I realise immortality I realise my own Self-knowledge - that only the > body/brain dies and that I, the spirit of intelligence, still am. When I > realise God or Self I realise the ultimate of my Self-knowledge up to that > moment - that I and God or Self are one. > > The depth and scope of Self-knowledge varies in everyone and determines the > degree of sensitivity to the invisible reality. Since the knowledge comes > from having passed through many many recurrent physical lives and deaths, > death finally is no longer seen as something to be feared, but a natural > transition from the dark of ignorance to the light of life. > > Recurrence is not the same as the widespread eastern belief of personal > reincarnation. Recurrence produces Self-knowledge which is not accessible to > the mind that believes or remembers. Self-knowledge is a totally impersonal > and vaster thing than reincarnation. All personal traits the person > identifies with die with the body, whereas Self-knowledge persists as the > guiding light in the unconscious behind the existential scene. > > The Basic Dilemma > The trauma of dying physically is due to our basic dilemma. On one hand we > are the eternal spirit of intelligence or consciousness that enables the > brain to think and perceive; on the other we are sentient creatures. We feel > sensations of pleasure and pain and a wide range of feelings in between. As > sentient beings we are mortal and must die. > > That which causes the pain or discomfort in dying is the withdrawal of the > abstract spirit of consciousness from the habit of attachment to the mortal. > We must look at this with common sense. Breaking habits is one of the most > painful of everyday attempts to improve ourselves - simple habits like > attachment to food or certain foods; or trying to break the nicotine or drug > habit. Only those who've made such attempts can appreciate the ongoing > frustration and trauma. > > But when it comes to breaking the habit of consciousness identifying with > the mortal side of our nature over uncountable recurrences, we should be > able to get an idea of the massively painful break involved - along with the > wonderful relief when the identification is broken. > > My Own Executioner > When you look closely, being born - coming in - is not that much different > to dying - going out - except that one is pretty well the reverse of the > other. Gestation in the womb takes nine months and the mother bears the pain > and discomfort of the birth. Dying from old age and disease also takes > months as the body and expectations - the products of time and experience - > are slowly dissolved. In the absence of the enfolding maternal flesh of > love, the individual must necessarily bear the pain and discomfort. But not > altogether alone, for it is the spirit of intelligence taking us home. > > > As I said, I'm dying while writing this. And the extraordinary justice is > that part of what's killing me is the male hormone that supposedly made me a > man. The hormone feeds the cancer that is spreading through my bones. Thus, > I am my own executioner. > > The same, I suspect, applies to woman. The female hormone seems to feed the > cancers that afflict her. All this affirms for me that there is a greater > justice behind the mortality of the males and females we are here; that in > reality Man and Woman are already united as one lofty principle - a > principle that towers above the two lesser reproductive genders on earth, as > the sky towers over all. > > Infinity of Spirit > As I'm seeing it, existence is a sensory enclave surrounded by an infinity > of spirit, or real space. The image is something like planet earth being > surrounded by the apparent infinity of cosmic space. However, cosmic space > and all the space we perceive between objects is unreal because it is the > product of our sensory mortal brain. Anything mortal must die and therefore > neither the brain nor its effects can be real; for what is real can't die or > pass away. Even so, for anything to exist there has to be greater reality > behind it. > > It is into this area towards the real that I'm looking. > > The parallel I've given of earth in cosmic space, and the image of the > sensory enclave surrounded by the infinity of spirit, shows how the brain - > my brain - has to reproduce a sensory version or model of the reality behind > the brain. And of course the parallels continue through every level of > existence. If this is not so, everything ends with the grave. > > What it finally comes down to is that in reality there is only spirit. > Spirit embraces eternity and all the other superlatives relating to the > unending wonder of God. Every object and thing in existence, from the starry > heavens down to the smallest microbe, is spirit. We can't register this > because the human brain is a vibratory sensory mechanism which can only > reproduce an infinitely degenerated version of the unmoving power of the > surrounding spirit. The brain - itself a creation of the spirit - repeats > the infinity of spirit by producing infinite varieties of creatures, things > and conditions in a ceaseless stream of perceptible forms. > > This sensory version - the whole continuous moving scene of existence - ends > with the death of the individual brain. At that moment, the spirit of > intelligence loses its identification with what was not real and enters a > new phase which has to be called the 'more real'. > > The 'More Real' > The 'more real' comprises the increasingly abstract depths of the psyche. > This vast invisible abstraction surrounds the entire sensory enclave like a > great lake around a small pebble. The psyche itself is in turn encompassed > and empowered by spirit which permeates everything. The reality of the 'more > real' is revealed only after death has removed the vibratory brain and its > vibrating physical world. > > The 'more real' represents a much swifter time than that on earth and is an > abstract extension of existence - meaning it contains the reality behind the > existence of each thing. And it is absolutely necessary for several reasons. > > The 'more real' is the place where at death the spirit of intelligence in > everyone awakens after gravitating to a degree in the psyche equal to its > own fineness and refinement of self-knowledge. This is its heaven, its utter > and complete fulfillment. After numerous other processes, and in a time we > can't comprehend, the particular intelligence is born again on earth, as > described earlier. Thus this essential invisible part of existence makes > possible the great cycle and drama of life and death - although to us it is > really the great cycle or drama of living, death and life. > > For us in existence, the levels of the abstract psyche also act as buffers > between the sensory physical - the brain - and the blinding power of the > spirit. The spirit in existence is paralleled by the majesty and fiery > interconnection between the galaxies and stars as revealed by our brain-made > instruments (giving further divine protection from the searing power). > Nothing physical could stand the divine profundity and power direct. Here I > am reminded of Arjuna's cry of terror 'Stop, stop!' in the Hindu 'Bhagavat > Gita' when, at his request, the god Krishna reveals his awesome power. > > This also applies after you die and is why your individual consciousness > gravitates to a level that is heaven to you - whereas too much might be > unbearable. > > > © Barry Long 2003 > > > Related books and tapes: > > The Origins of Man and the Universe > <http://www.barrylong.org/barrylongbooks3.html#OMU> - book > Where the Spirit Speaks to Its Own > <http://www.barrylong.org/barrylongbooks4.html#WSSO> - book > Seeing Through Death <http://www.barrylong.org/barrylongmythofl.html#Death> > - audio > The Truth of Death > <http://www.barrylong.org/barrylongvideo4.html#truth_of_death> - video > Ah Sweet Mystery of Death > <http://www.barrylong.org/barrylongvideo2.html#ASMD> - video > > > > > <http://www.barrylong.org/stateindex.html> ------------------------ Yahoo! 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