[Easing life's final transition. The potential role of pre-death guidance practitioners.]

How can we best serve the needs of  the dying as they prepare to return home to the heavenly or spiritual realms? This has become an important concern as our population continues to age and more and more people are faced with their own mortality.

The dying should be  provided with the very highest spiritual assistance in order to eliminate the widespread fear of death. Though we have many hospice and end-of-life care organizations throughout the world, there should be a loving service that can ease the pre-death passage. Most members of the clergy struggle with their current duties and can’t be expected to provide the hours of counseling their congregational members need before they pass from this lifetime. What more can be done?

First let’s explore the needs of the dying. Why do people fear death? We tend to fear the unknown, and death has always been “the great unknown.” Aside from those who claim to have had “near-death experiences” and have returned to tell about them, does anyone actually know what we will experience after we die? Most of us tend to closely identify with our bodies. As a result, there may be fear and uncertainty about what will happen to us without a body, or a fear that we may cease to exist without one.

Those who are dying could be reminded that we are spirits “em-bodied,” or spirits dwelling within bodies. Our bodies can be acknowledged as merely vehicles of expression that serve as a temporary home for our spirits or souls while we are on the Earth.

When our dominant world religions speak about heaven and hell, they often Ð either consciously or unconsciously Ð produce the fear of death among their members. The common religiously-based question that is posed is, “Will you have lived a life that has been good enough to enable you to go to heaven, or will you be one who is lost for eternity in the fires of hell?” Who wouldn’t become fearful at the suggested alternative? What can be done, then, to eliminate the fear of death, transcend religious boundaries, and assure those who are dying that they can pass easily and gently from this lifetime Ð without fear?

Perhaps what is needed is a worldwide network of trained “pre-death guidance practitioners.” These individuals could provide up to twenty hours of individual service in order to offer comfort to the dying. They could assist the one who is about to depart in viewing their life from a higher perspective, recalling positive events and loving memories. Any unresolved issues that may arise could be transformed through the power of love, understanding, forgiveness, and compassion.Ê

Pre-death guidance practitioners could guide the dying to understand that any challenges they have experienced during their lifetime have merely served as a series of lessons for the growth of their spirit or soul. This would allow the participants to peacefully accept their life’s challenges and return to a place of true emotional and spiritual healing. They could also bring the dying to the awareness that their lives have had great meaning and value, and that they’ve made a unique contribution by their presence on the Earth during their lifetime.

Because we all tend to judge ourselves too harshly, the dying could be assisted to love and forgive themselves for anything they’ve said or done that may seem unforgivable. In addition, this love and forgiveness guidance could be applied to others who have participated in the life dramas of the dying. For these participants have merely been facilitators who have served to help them learn the lessons they have needed for the growth and evolvement of their spirit or soul. The dying could also be encouraged to believe that our Creator is a loving one who does not judge us. For why would we be susceptible to judgment if we have been given the free will to live our lives as we choose?Ê

Pre-death guidance practitioners could be encouraged to embrace all religious beliefs by acknowledging that they all have some value. Thus, whether the beliefs of the dying are framed within a religious context or not, the practitioner can allow their clients to share what they feel they will experience during the death process. The practitioner is then free to share what they feel will happen from their own personal perspective. This opens the doorway for the optimal death experience to be explored. For how often are the dying allowed the opportunity to talk about what might happen at the time of their death?

Assisting the dying with the spiritual wisdom offered at this level of guidance can offer a simple, yet profound way to change the world’s perspective of death and dying. It has the potential to transform any fear of the death process and provide the blessings of a truly gentle passing.

Anara Solray is the creator of GentlePassings Pre-Death Guidance and is a certified clinical hypnotherapist and regressionist. She is currently training a worldwide network of certified pre-death guidance practitioners. (866) 628-2248 gentlepassings@infowest.com   www.anarasolray.com