Observing the ceremony around Pope Francis’ death reminded me of the details of that transition. Not just for a Pope, but for everyone (eventually!) For instance, the 3-day official mourning period is common in many religions. At the moment of death the soul departs from the body in an instant. What’s left is a discarded shell - it’s served the purpose as a vehicle for an individual lifetime. And yet the remaining physical form still contains the vital energy of that person on a cellular level.
I’ve had the privilege of being with people as they die, and also sitting with the corpse of a client during that three day period. (Her family made the effort to preserve her body just enough - dry ice! - to honor that three day period in her home.) I’ve gained so many insights from these and other experiences over the years, exploring dynamics related to energy healing, spirit and the physical body.
In the middle of the night I took my turn during the vigil. Sitting there, I was curious about the energetic process of leaving our bodies. Her last few days she was spending more and more time “out” in the spirit world. In this phase, people are going back and forth; it’s part of a gradual transition. It mimics the process that happens during gestation.
In my 20’s I would hold a “wake” for a dead pet. It was a way to grieve and say goodbye; I didn’t know then that it helped heal the severed energy connection (cording) resulting from that loss. Sitting with my pet’s body I would hear a subtle crackling sound. Touching them, it felt like bubble wrap popping! I noticed that over three days that phenomenon dissipated as the individual cells disintegrated.
Shri Aurobindo called the energy that animates physical form “the vital”. Distinct from our soul body, the energy held in the cells of a corpse is what's left of that singular identity. When my father died, I asked the funeral home to hold off on cremation for three days with no artificial interventions. They did, and kept him in a freezer; the life force left in the cells was immediately gone once frozen!
As a chaplain I had training on post-death dynamics in our culture. Cremation has become increasingly popular for many reasons. Viewing an open casket is less common. It’s unfortunate; if you see a corpse, you clearly understand it’s NOT that person anymore. They are gone; the body is vacant, empty, in some ways unrecognizable. It's important for us to see the body and say goodbye - there’s a finality to it we don’t get otherwise.
When I was ten, us children were put in a waiting room at my grandmother's viewing (told nothing about what was going on.) Curious, I wandered out and followed cascades of flowers until suddenly - there she was! I thought it strange she had so much makeup on, but wasn’t disturbed. I didn't understand why the adults rushed me out of the room.
Death is a fact of life, and so is the spirit world that we come from and return to. Maybe our “real” life is on the other side!
Peace, love and healing -
Bear
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