Transforming the Dying Process
by Anara Solray • St. George, UT

People who are dying face the biggest transition of their lifetime, and most have been taught to fear this time. How can we best serve their needs as they prepare to return home to the spiritual realms? This has become an important concern as our population ages and more and more people face their own mortality.

The dying need the very highest spiritual assistance in order to challenge the widespread fear of death.Though we have many hospice and end-of-life care organizations throughout the world, there is still the need for 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? The majority of our world’s population tends 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, we don’t actually know what we will experience after we die. Most of us tend to identify closely with our bodies. As a result, there is fear and uncertainty about what will happen to us without a body, or fear that we may cease to exist without one. Those who are dying need to 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.

Many of our dominant world religions speak about heaven and hell and either consciously or unconsciously produce the fear of death among their members. A common religion-based question 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 these alternatives?

What can be done to help eliminate the fear of death, transcend religious boundaries and assure those who are dying that they can pass easily and gently from this lifetime– without fear? One thing that might help is a worldwide network of trained pre-death guidance practitioners. These individuals could provide individual service offering comfort to the dying. They could assist the one who is about to depart in viewing his/her life from a higher perspective and recalling positive events and loving memories. Any unresolved issues that might arise could be transformed through the power of love, under- standing, forgiveness and compassion.

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

We all tend to judge ourselves too harshly. The dying often need assistance to love and forgive themselves for anything they’ve said or done that may seem unforgivable. In addition, this love and forgiveness guidance can be applied to others who have played a part in their life’s dramas. The dying could be encouraged to open to the belief that our Creator is a loving one who does not judge us. Why would we be susceptible to judgment if we have been given free will to live our lives as we choose?

Pre-death guidance practitioners would need to embrace all religious beliefs by acknowledging that they all have value. Whether the beliefs of the dying are framed within a religious context or not, the practitioner can allow the client to explore what they believe they might experience during the death process. The practitioner can also share what they believe will happen from their own personal perspective. This opens the doorway for the optimal death experience to be explored. How often are the dying allowed the opportunity to talk about what might happen at the time of their death?

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

Anara Solaray, a certified clinical hypnotherapist and regressionist, is the creator of GentlePassings Pre-Death Guidance™, training practitioners world-wide. She can be reached at 1-866-628-2248, www.anarasolray.com., or gentlepassings@infowest.com