counsels St. John of the Cross.
Death is a Sacred Rite of Passage
Death is actually only a loaded word for “transition” and an emotionally charged label for a very natural, safe “rite of passage.” Our current Western society has lost touch with the
value of preparing people for this basic reality of life: constant change, continual transition from one form to another. Until the modern era, sacred rites of passage have been important to the health of human societies for thousands of years, enabling individuals to negotiate their life transitions with purpose, ease and meaning.
Is it time to re-embrace the fact that we are constantly dying and recreating ourselves? If so, we could help each other to master our transitions between careers, relationships, marriage and divorce. Together we could move with grace through grief and loss, addictions, and illness. We could teach ourselves and our children to celebrate the coming of age, menopause, midlife crisis, aging and spiritual awakening. Our reward would be a more harmonious journey on this planet.
“Make Death Your Ally”
With this motto indigenous shamans advise us to make the inevitable demise of each moment-and of each life-a source of power and a well of motivation to live more vibrantly and fully in each moment. “Dying” is our friend when we allow it to remind
us to let go of expectations of how “things have always been.” ” Death” is our ally when we let it remind us to open again and again to choosing innocence-that is, choosing to be innocent, free, of the past and preconceptions of who we are. Being innocent means living fully in each new moment-leaving the past behind.