MM all
I put this here because on Samhain we think and remember those who have gone to Summer land. This may help those of recently depated to cope.
Blessed Be L.S.M.
Understanding Death from a Nature-Spirituality Perspective
From the homily written for the funeral of Kim Mayer, ND.
Copyright 2002 Deah Curry PhD
At the heart of a Nature-based understanding of death is the insight that birth, growth, death, and rebirth are a cycle that forms the underlying order of the universe. This cycle is seen throughout Nature. A well worn verse often recited in ritual gatherings says: As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul. If taken as a principle applied to human life---we can understand that human existence occurs, with the same dynamic as the lifecyles of Nature on earth, and as the ebb and flow, or yin and yang of the energy of the universe. Understanding this principle is at the core of Nature-centered spirituality. It is also part of the philosophic basis of naturopathic medicine.
Death can teach us to truly appreciate and savor life. Whether death comes after a long and fulfilled life, or is an untimely crossing over, it reminds us all that our lives are short, and we must fully enter into each moment. The fear of loss and the pain of mourning can make us turn away from the world. The Nature-centered way is to honor the fleeting nature of life's gifts, to know that their very ephemerality gives life a Sacredness that must not be denied.
Death also teaches us about love, compassion, and forgiveness, about what is really most precious and meaningful, and in this way, death serves life. Death is part of Nature's strategy of change. Because we die, leaving room for new beings to be born, species can adapt to new conditions.
Nature, or Gaia as some call her, can create new forms and try new experiments. If this possibility did not exist, any change in the environment could result in mass extinction, in a final termination of all life itself. But this is not how the universe is set up. Instead, that which dies makes the soil more fertile. In some way that is yet unknown, the death of a loved one becomes an experience in each of us of fertile soil, in which surprising new seeds in our lives eventually may grow.
When we face death, many of us mourn the loss of that consciousness which makes us who we are. All our hard-won skills, knowledge, and experience will be gone. Our memories will be no more, although sometimes a cloudy recognition may be retained. We know that our bodies can return to earth, and feed something else, but we fear the loss of the intangibles, the very things that make us most ourselves.
But if we remember the principle of as above, so below, as the universe, so the soul---we can begin to understand that consciousness is never lost from the universe. Death is not an extinction, it is a transformation, a dissolution of one form so that new forms can be created.
Think of your loved one not as gone forever, but as transformed, the energy that is uniquely theirs diffusing now into different forms of energy, resting for a bit, healing, renewing, until it is time for their essence to be reborn.
So just as Nature renews herself, Nature-centered spiritual traditions tend to share a concept of reincarnation. In this view, the Sacred is embodied in the living world, present in all of Nature and human life. The wheel of birth and death is the living being of Spirit/Nature, which by another name may be called Mother Earth. There is no striving to get off the wheel, as in Buddhist philosophy. Nor is there a desire to get beyond the need for rebirth, or to transcend the sufferings of life, as other religions may desire. Rebirth is Nature's great gift to us, for all to receive without prejudice or fear about being worthy, for it is a natural gift. The reward of a life well lived is to live again, to meet once more with those we have known and loved, and to love again.
The idea of reincarnation can inspire us to take the long view. Native Americans teach us to look seven generations ahead when making decisions. When we believe that we will be here again seven generations from now, we have a deep identification with the consequences of our actions. We cannot complacently destroy our environment for mere material gain or development, for to take that road through life is to kill our mother the Earth, and to turn the Sacred into the profane. Whatever we love, we must work to preseve.
Practicing the faith of a Nature-centered spirituality is not dependent on joining a group, or doing prescribed rituals, or owning a set of special tools. There is no standardized written liturgy, and no Sacred text is agreed upon by all. Ask any 2 adherents to a Nature-centered path to explain their religion, and you are likely to get 5 or 6 different descriptions. There is no seeking of external validation, and little to no conforming to external expectations. The Sacred text is the writing of Nature on our hearts and souls. Liturgy is experiential, found in the dance of the breeze, in the felt-awe of mountains and oceans, in communing with the sentient members of the plant and animal kingdoms.
Perhaps the most basic ritual is an energetic medicine, found in breathing in the sweetness of life and love, finding your internal center of being, aligning with the energy of the universe, and breathing out intentions to contribute to the wellbeing of all forms of nature.
Now much more could be said about a Nature-centered understanding of life and death, but something else needs to be addressed here, and that is two particular aspects of the concept of energy. Understanding the workings of energy can be very complicated, but for today it is sufficient to understand just these two particular forms.
One form is known as irreplenishable strength, a lifetime supply of qi---or life force energy---that we are born with, and when it runs out, life ends. It is this particular kind of qi that determines an individual's lifespan.
The second form of energy that is important to mention today is this: every interaction we have with others, for good or ill, and every loving, creative or healing act we make, also carries within it the vibrations of our personal, renewable energy. This is energy that is self sustaining, that grows by being given away. It is this spark of our loved ones that live on in everyone whose lives they touch. In this way, our departed friends and family members continue their lives' true spiritual mission, for our memories of them, and their caring and compassion for us are an energetic medicine.
So to the families and the friends whose mourning is deep and feeling unbearable today and in the weeks and months to come, I leave you with the hopeful thought that it is Nature's intention for your loved one to live on in you. Their energetic legacy will be a healing presence ---a naturopathic medicine---for you, if you will connect with that special, personal, loving energy of theirs that can never die
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