Death being one of life’s certainties, it’s amazing how few people prepare for it. They plan for a wedding, a birth, retirement and even tax season, but few people prepare for death until it’s staring them in the face — at which point it’s all too easy to be overwhelmed by panic, grief and a lifetime of unfinished business.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. “Dying Consciously: The Greatest Journey” is a two-day workshop that helps people prepare for death — their own or a loved one’s — so that death can be met as the momentous transition it is, rather than a tragedy or a failure — a lost battle with disease.
From the shamanic perspective — as in other spiritual traditions — death represents the spirit breaking free of its physical limitations and embarking upon the next phase of its existence. Death is a sacred rite of passage, no matter how untimely, unjust or grief-stricken survivors might feel about losing the physical presence of someone they love.
Of course, it helps tremendously to know what to expect — to familiarize oneself with the dying process, just as expectant parents take a childbirth class prior to the birth of their first baby.
“Dying Consciously: The Greatest Journey” teaches participants how to assist in creating a peaceful death through practices that bring reconciliation and peace to the dying and their loved ones.
Topics covered in the workshop include:
» The Luminous Energy Field: Understanding the changes that take place in this reservoir of vital life force as an individual prepares for the great journey home.
» Great Life Review: Helping the dying to review their lives and reconcile unfinished business while still alive eases the review that takes place in the spirit realm after death.
» Cleansing the Chakras: Clearing the energy centers of the body so that accumulated traumas and toxins do not keep the luminous body earthbound.
» Great Death Spiral: Rites for releasing the luminous body from the physical body immediately after death.
Tomas Bostrom, staff teacher with the Four Winds Society, will offer the “Dying Consciously” workshop March 23-24 in Ojai. The cost is $215, and because space size is limited, registration must be completed in advance. Registrants will receive a confirmation email with the address and other instructions.
Click here for more information, or contact Bostrom at tomas@inkamedicinewheel.com or 805.798.5648.
— Leslee Goodman is a publicist.