Lind-Kyle - Embracing the end of life: a journey into dying & awakening

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Embracing the End of Life: A Journey Into Dying & Awakening 2017 by Patt Lind-Kyle.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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First e-book edition 2017

E-book ISBN: 9780738753836

Cover Design by Howie Severson/Fortuitous Publishing

Interior illustrations by Llewellyn Art Department

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Lind-Kyle, Patt, author.

Title: Embracing the end of life : a journey into dying & awakening / Patt

Lind-Kyle, MA.

Description: First Edition. | Woodbury : Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd., 2017. |

Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017032851 (print) | LCCN 2017023883 (ebook) | ISBN

9780738753836 (ebook) | ISBN 9780738753560 (alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Death. | Life.

Classification: LCC BD444 (print) | LCC BD444 .L489 2017 (ebook) | DDC

155.9/37--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017032851

Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific reference will continue or be maintained. Please refer to the publishers website for links to current author websites.

Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

Woodbury, MN 55125

www.Llewellyn.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

To Don Riso

His Enneagram teaching came from
his heart, and that healed my soul.

Disclaimer

Please note that the information in this book is not meant to diagnose, treat, prescribe, or be a substitute for consultation with a licensed healthcare professional. Both the author and the publisher recommend that you consult a medical practitioner before attempting the techniques outlined in this book.

Contents

: Why Are We Interested in the End of Our L

How to Prepare for Your Death

The Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual Process of Death

Step 1: Stages of Resistance

Step 1: Running away from Death

Step 2: From Resistance to Letting Go

Step 2: Dying Preparation: Spiritual Considerations

Step 3: Letting Go into Transcendence

Step 3: After-Death Experience and Instructions

Practical Preparations for Death

Legal Document Planning

The Journey to Freedom: A Guide to Life

The Development and Structure of the Self

The Energy Template of the Self

Step 1: Journey of Separation

Step 2: Journey of Emotions

Step 3: Journey of the Mind

Step 4: Journey of Self-Identity

The Path of Freedom

Step 5: Freedom from Personal Identity

Step 6: Freedom from the Mental Self

Step 7: Freedom from the Emotional Self

Step 8: Freedom from Separation

: Resources

: Legal Documents

: Enneagram

: Bonus Meditation Videos

List of Exercises

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Foreword by Karen Wyatt, MD

I n my years of working with dying patients as a hospice physician, I saw ample evidence of the death denial that exists in our society. Many of my patients had never even considered the fact that they would one day face their own death and were totally unprepared when they reached lifes end. They had to struggle to heal relationships, find meaning in life, and cope with fears of the unknown in the very last moments of their existence. Most of them had lived life in an unconscious manner as well, and had failed to grasp the deeper lessons of their experiences and engage fully in the entire spectrum life had offered them. These are the people the renowned Buddhist teacher Sogyal Rinpoche referred to when he wrote, Most people die unprepared for death, as they have lived, unprepared for life.

The fear of death is part of our human nature but doesnt serve us well in our individual lives when we fail to contemplate and embrace our own mortality. In addition, this lack of death awareness has harmed our entire planet, as we have existed without respect for the fragility and fleetingness of all life, have taken more than needed from the earths limited resources, and have failed to honor the natural balance of the ecosystem. When we ignore the importance of death in the life cycle, we hinder the flourishing of creativity in our own lives and also in the natural world. For our own evolution and the survival of the planet, it is essential to confront the denial of death and transcend the limitations of our fears.

Los Angeles funeral director Caitlin Doughty once mentioned in an interview that the denial of death is a luxury of living in a First World nation. She went on to say that had we been born in India we would view death as a natural part of life, as a result of witnessing it on a daily basis: from beggars dying on the streets to family members dying in the home to crematory pyres floating continuously along the Ganges River. But we in Western society have not had this lifelong exposure to death and must intentionally educate ourselves to overcome our intrinsic death-phobia.

Those who recognize their own mortality may be inspired to prepare for the end of life, but have little idea where to begin or how to confront their fears and limited knowledge about dying and death. Fortunately, Patt Lind-Kyles groundbreaking book Embracing the End of Life: The Journey Into Dying and Awakening offers the precise guidance needed for the contemplation of death along with the tools to actually transcend fear and discover the joy of living an awakened and aware life.