February 17, 2022
The Possible Mental States When Actually Dying
Following up on my reading of Roshi Joan Halifax’s “Being with Dying,” here are a few items I learned about the actual experience of dying:
– Slower dying might bring out experiences that are rehearsals for actual dying, such as resuscitation, that might stir visionary experiences characterized by positive feelings. Or a whole lot of clarity. Or perhaps the opposite, anger at being resuscitated.
– An altered state of consciousness often happens as our body and mind changes, in which we might relive various experiences – good or bad – from our life.
– Hallucinations might be part of this, sometimes spurred on by medicines that have been taken. Perhaps encountering loved ones who have already passed on. Or maybe those aren’t even hallucinations, we don’t know for sure what they could really be…