TRANSITION GUIDES
INTRODUCTION
This experience of dying, which so many people fear, according to near death experiencer (NDE) reports, is not only an incredibly beautiful, awesome, wondrous participatory experience, but offers each of us an amazing opportunity to rise to higher levels of consciousness. Dying consciously, with full awareness of what is going on and what to do next, and moving directly into the Light of God’s Love, allows us to accelerate our spiritual growth and the evolution of our consciousness. This is the Art of Conscious Dying into the Clear Light
Our sadness about leaving this world has to do with the attachments we’ve formed and not wanting to let go of those people and things we have come to love or crave in our human lives, but in the end all physical bodies die. We take nothing from the physical world to the other side but the love we shared with others and the lessons we learned about love and compassion during our human lifetimes. We are souls who become human beings to learn, to grow, to evolve.
Our lives as spiritual beings evolve with each lifetime we live as a human being. As we grow spiritually, with greater knowledge of All That Is, we become aware of our selves as living, conscious beings that continue to exist with all our memories of all our lifetimes in physical worlds and spiritual dimensions. We are learning to manifest different forms that allow us to exist in different environments with the same beings we love here on earth, but in higher kinds of relationships (based on what we learn about relationships as human beings). Our collective spiritual goal is to achieve God-Consciousness, to become One with God. But with all our human dramas, addictions and aggressive behaviors to overcome, is it any wonder we need to live many lifetimes, probably thousands, as human beings before we learn to love unconditionally? We are all somewhere along our spiritual journey, traveling at our own pace.
We are spiritual beings becoming human beings to experience the physical world as long as our physical hearts keep beating then withdrawing our life force and returning to our spiritual home to continue with the odyssey of our whole lives. Just as we once became conscious of ourselves as beings with coats of skin and later as individuals with minds of our own, human beings are now becoming conscious of themselves as both human and divine conscious beings with eternity to experience life in many different forms in many different dimensions of an Infinite Universe. Life is not limited to the physical universe or a physical form.
In recent times, it has been revealed that millions of people have been coming back from near death experiences to tell us there is an afterlife. Our lives do go on in a familiar but less dense environment. We remain conscious and aware of our individual selves, our life experiences and our personal relationships after death. We do get to see our loved ones again. There is some sort of Higher Power responsible for all of this. We (our souls) are a greater part of it all than just our human lifetimes on this planet. We are co-creators with God in the creation of the Universe (but that’s another book).
Either millions of people who say they have had a NDE are delusional or something is going on that science just hasn’t been able to account for nor explain away. And since it seems quite likely an afterlife exists, wouldn’t we want to prepare ourselves to make a peaceful transition to our spiritual home?
This method of practicing conscious dying is based on a near death experiencer’s perception of the dying process… that we can prepare ourselves for a peaceful transition by consciously participating in the experience rather than passively letting death overtake us or struggling against it in fear or anger… and that this prescience and foreknowledge benefits our soul development, and the evolution of our consciousness toward God-Consciousness.
In the years following her near death experience in 1971, the author, Diane Goble, went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Community-Clinical Psychology (program development). With a business background before her NDE and an entrepreneurial attitude, she opened a business called The Stress Management Center in 1986 (before anyone knew what stress was and how it affected our bodies and our lives!). That business evolved into a mind-body-spirit integration center (before anyone knew what that was!) A few years later, she earned a Master’s Degree in Hypnotherapy and specialized in past life regression therapy. She also became an ordained minister, then a Hospice volunteer and eventually a psychospiritual counselor. An Internet pioneer, she created her first web site in 1996… A Near Death Experience Beyond the Veil (www.BeyondtheVeil.net) and now that she is semi-retired, she has taken up scenic photography in her spare time to share the beauty of the natural world around her with others (www.HighSierraPhotoArt.com). This book is the culmination of her life's mission and is offered for the highest good of all who are drawn to it and this work.
NDErs come back knowing they have come back for a reason, but not necessarily knowing what that reason is. By following her spiritual path over the years, Diane came to realize that her mission is to help others overcome fear of death by opening them to the Light. In her earlier book, Through the Tunnel: A Traveler’s Guide to Spiritual Rebirth (1993) she took a more esoteric approach to the art of dying well and it’s a good resource for those who want to know more about the ancient versions of the dying and crossing over process. More information about near death experiences, Diane’s NDE, and what she learned about our transition from the physical to the spiritual world, which is the art of conscious dying, is available on her Beyond the Veil web site. This book is her attempt to use that same information to inspire others to become Transition Guides and make the information available to more people, to help more people overcome fear of death and bring them peace of mind in this life. Based on the many emails she has received from people over the years asking how to get training or how to find a Transition Guide (or Spiritual Midwife or death and dying coach or doula), Diane believes this is an emerging field and those who do this work will be much in demand in the coming decades. It may become a course within other death and dying classes, thanatology degree programs, nursing and ministry educational programs, and spiritual development courses.
This method is nondenominational but based on spiritual concepts, and may be adapted or used in part by most any religious practice or without religious rituals. In practice, it may involve only the dying person or the whole family and support team can be active participants. It is flexible enough that even an atheist may find some comfort from it once he finds himself out of his body and still conscious.
If you are the dying person, you could read this book, develop your own plan, and do it on your own, but I’d strongly suggest that you ask a loved one or friend or caregiver to work through the steps with you and be there for you when it is your time to cross over. It will be easier to work through the necessary practice exercises with another person and hearing that person’s voice during your transition will keep you from being distracted by the wonder of your dying experience. I’d also suggest that your Transition Guide be impartial or at least not be someone so emotionally attached to you that he is unable to let go or be supportive of your last wishes.
A Transition Guide could be anyone who cares enough about other human beings to want to walk the path with them as they are making their transition. They may be health care professionals, hospice team members, ordained ministers, professional or personal caregivers, paramedics, police, fire, disaster workers, soldiers... anyone who may be around people as they are dying.
As the planet’s elderly population increases and aid-in-dying becomes an acceptable practice (see www.compassionandchoices.org for current legal status), the need for specially trained and licensed Transition Guides will increase. (See course information at www.transitionguidetraining.org.) A person, who is terminally ill and nearing the end of his life, may choose to work with a Transition Guide and plan his transition with the reading of The Guidebook in his own home, surrounded by his loved ones, friends and those waiting on the other side to welcome him home.
Aid-in-dying is not assisted suicide, it’s not done frivolously nor taken lightly, everyone involved is in agreement. The person only does it when the person is ready to let go. It’s not done to someone; it’s done for those who are ready to die with peace and dignity on their own terms. Reasonable laws can prevent abuse. Advanced Directives are imperative. Restrictive laws produce botched efforts and worse medical outcomes. If someone is against it and would refuse it, that’s his choice based on his belief that there is no afterlife or that hastening one’s death is wrong or “sinful.” If a person believes there is an afterlife where he is welcomed and loved, and is ready to let go, there shouldn’t be a law based on some other group’s belief system that makes it illegal for everyone. No one should be punished for helping someone fulfill their dying wishes. Sometimes healing doesn’t mean curing the disease but providing a pain-free, peaceful death, and this requires the participation of caring physicians and Transition Guides.
Fire, police, paramedics, emergency room personnel, disaster and rescue workers, members of the Armed Forces, should be educated about this perception of dying so they can be more aware when their work involves death and dying. If the person under their care dies, they can at least tell them they’ve died and to go into the Light. Memorizing a short version of a generic Guidebook comes in handy in emergency situations. I have my own for when I pass the scene of an accident where I sense a death has occurred or a roadside memorial to an accident victim who I sense is still hanging around, unable to accept that he has died, to let them know they need to let go and go into the Light and get on with their lives.
Physicians, who usually pull away from patients when medical science runs out of options, may be educated to be more respectful of what their dying patients are experiencing beyond the physical level as they are dying. Medical personnel may know what the dying person is going through physically, what is happening to the body, and may have some idea of what the person is going through mentally… whether they are filled with fear, denial, worry, anxiety or are at peace and ready to let go, but rarely do they consider that the person’s soul or essence may be hovering above the body observing everything that is being done to it and listening to everything being said. If they did, healing would take on a whole new meaning.
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I knew there was no way out of this predicament and one way or another, I was going to die when I told our friend, who was still in the raft and holding onto my arm, to let go. He did and I was pulled beneath the turbulent white water. I felt very peaceful about my choice to die. There was no struggle, no panic. I calmly breathed in the water and everything went black.
The next thing I knew, much to my surprise, I was far above the river looking down at the raft and all the people who were gathering around the scene. I saw my husband about to jump into the river to try to save me but I knew he couldn’t. My body was stuck under the churning water, stuck under the raft. I came down by his side to stop him but my hand went right through his body. Only then did it hit me that I was dead!
The next thing I knew, I was pulled into what seemed like an endless, dark tunnel moving rapidly toward a tiny pinpoint of light a million miles away. I could see streams of lights rushing past as I flew towards the light at the speed of light. A beautiful Being of Light, someone I knew I have always known and who knew all about me, joined me along the way. I felt more loved than I had ever felt before.
Each question that came to me was answered simultaneously, telepathically. I understood perfectly. Everything made complete sense. I remembered everything including that I had done this before, many times and that I was a spiritual being having just had another human being experience. I felt no fear or anxiety, no regrets… only great joy and love flowing through me! And I was still me!
As I got closer, the light grew brighter and more intense. A million colors sparkled in the Light. I was surrounded by overwhelming feelings of love and peace as I moved into the Light. I was engulfed by it and became one with it. I entered an environment not so different from earth but everything about it was even more beautiful, more colorful, more awesome, more intense. With the Being of Light by my side, we traveled (flew, floated) to many places where I saw incredible landscapes and living spiritual beings going about their daily lives.
I was taken to the Hall of Knowledge and taught about the process of transition directly into the Light that we all make when we leave our human body. I was asked to bring the information back with me to share with others so many people would be able to guide the dying to the Light and accelerate the evolution of consciousness of humankind, which is the path to peace on earth.
No sooner did I agree to return than I was suddenly sent back into my body 100 feet down river from the raft that was still being held by the hydraulic action of the waterfall and pulled myself up onto a rock. I had no memory of my body coming out from under the raft or struggling against the current or getting to where I was in the middle of the rapids. My head just popped out of the water and I was suddenly aware I was back in my body in the river. I was wide awake and aware of where I was… no need for resuscitation, no need for medical attention… however I was speechless and astonished at what I had just experienced in another dimension..
--Diane Goble