The ceremony for a dying person in the shamanic tradition is called Great Death Rites. It is one of the most important healing practices of the Medicine Wheel.
I am grateful to the teachers of the Four Wind Society for teaching me these practices.
In modern societies we no longer remember how to die with grace and dignity. We take the dying to hospitals where extraordinary measures may be taken to prolong the lives. Families do not know how to come to closure with the passing of the loved one. Many people die in fear, with unresolved issues, not having the opportunity to say their last I love you and I forgive you words that would be so healing for them and their families.
In the western culture there are not many maps for after we die. The shamans of the Americas and Tibet, however, have mapped the landscape beyond death in great detail.
Death is the ultimate journey of liberation. When neural activity stops and the brain shuts down, an extraordinary phenomenon occurs, a portal opens between dimensions, enabling the dying person to enter the world of spirit. When people leave unresolved upsets in this world, they are unable to step easily through the portal. That’s why it is important to complete any unresolved issues before the moment of crossing and be prepared to enter into infinity.
The Great Death Rites practiced within the shamanic traditions provide specific steps to bring reconciliation and healing both to the person dying and to the loved ones.
Dying consciously means maintaining consciousness intact through the journey of death and beyond. It includes giving permission to die, cleansing the person's chakras and the Rites of Great Spiral to help the chakras release. The final step is sealing the chakras by making the sign of a cross over each one.
The rites can be performed at the death bed, after the passing, or at some later time, even years later.
Grieving the loss of a loved one can be a long and challenging process. In the west, people are often uncomfortable witnessing grief and urge the grieving person to go on with life. However, grief is a state of mind that does not have an expiration date and it cannot be medicated. By going through it and fully experiencing it can bring gifts.
Recently I read a book written by my dear teacher, Karen V. Johnson, Living Grieving (Hay House 2021) that moved me deeply.
After the death of her son, she lost ground in her world. The event pushed her on a journey. This was the time of great learning and walking the roads less traveled. Inspired by the shamanic teaching, she did the hero journey around the Medicine Wheel, starting at the South, where she shed her past, her stories, her upbringing, her way of life, and the places where she felt stuck.
In the West she released her fear of death and became lighter.
In the North she awakened to the gifts that the tragic event brought to her;
then in the East, she completed the circle and created a new life for herself and for her community.
She rose from her ashes and became a source of light to all of us.
Ottawa, ON
