A Celtic Book Of Dying

The ancient Celts used ritual at every stage of their passage through life including dying. Phillida, with her Celtic background and experience working in hospices, integrates the modern knowledge of the death process with the old Celtic wisdom.

• Describes the Celtic rituals of honoring death and dying and offers prayers, meditations, and blessings for the time of transition • Offers reflective questions and exercises to explore your beliefs, attitudes, and fears around your own death • Includes the sacred meditation of traveling with the dead as offered by an anam-áire or Celtic soul carer THE CELTS BELIEVED in the transmigration of the soul, in the magical rhythm of life with a particular order of coming and going for each soul. As they celebrated every new stage of their lives with a ritual, they also honoured the passing of a soul--the death of the physical body. In her decades of work with the dying, Phyllida Anam-Áire has revived the ancient Celtic tradition of watching with the dying and traveling with the soul after death. Integrating the wisdom of her Celtic ancestors with modern knowledge of the death process, she shows how a peaceful transition for the leaving person is possible and how this process can be consciously supported by relatives or friends. Reflective exercises and meditations help us become aware of our beliefs and fears around dying and acknowledge our own death as a natural transformation, allowing our essence to move on into love. Once we come to terms with our own mortality, we will find it easier to assist family and friends in their last hours in this life. Rituals, prayers, and blessings in this guide offer compassionate support for the one transitioning and for those left behind. Phyllida also shares the sacred meditation of traveling with the dead as held by a Celtic Anam-Áire, or soul carer. In addition, she addresses many practical questions around the care for the dying and their environment during and after the process, stressing the importance of silence. A practical yet soulful guidebook, A Celtic Book of Dying deepens our spiritual understanding of the internal journey of the dying and the adventurous afterdeath journey still to embark on. Dying is the most natural step we will ever take.

The ancient Celts left a rich legacy of artifacts, illuminated manuscripts, standing stones, and burial sites. This illustrated collection, a window into a long-ago world of dramatic myths, art, and mystical symbolism, traces the course of life from birth through death and into the afterlife. Certain to appeal to owners of the popular Celtic Symbols stamp kit, The Celtic Book of Living and Dying contains more than 40 Celtic-style full-colour artworks and over 40 landscape photos. This is not a reproduction of primary source material but an interpretation by an acknowledged authority.

Modeled on both the Egyptian and Tibetan Book of the Dead, this beautifully illustrated guide to Celtic belief traces the journey of the soul, revealing along the way the lessons it must learn in the course of a lifetime. At the heart of the spiritual voyage from birth to death lie the key themes of Celtic wisdom: time, the afterlife, destiny, prophecy, courage, and fertility, all visualized with magnificent artwork and evocative landscapes, as well as color photographs of superb artifacts. A wealth of lore and literature, including timeless poetry and epic battle scenes, show the Celtic imagination at its most fertile and illuminate Druidic practice. The underlying spiritual significance of Celtic myth appears in all its splendor, helping those who wish to move closer to its true essence.

• Emphasizes how shadow work, integrating past wounds, and healing our ancestry allows us to facilitate the ecstatic transition into the next life • Offers exercises and visualizations to help us integrate emotions like anger and grief, which impact the soul’s readiness to leave the body when the time comes • Discusses what happens to our cells when we die with regard to the human energy field and explores the soul’s journey through the aítes or bardos In the Celtic tradition dying is considered an act of birthing, of our consciousness passing from this life to the next. Informed by an early near-death experience, spiritual midwife and former nun Phyllida Anam-Áire offers an intimate overview of the sacred stages of the dying process seen through the lens of her Celtic heritage. Compassionately describing the final dissolution of the elements, she emphasizes how important it is to resolve and integrate our psycho-spiritual shadows and wounds in this lifetime. What truly heals is our capacity for authentic compassionate love--in life, in death, and after. Healing our ancestry before leaving the body eases not only our transition but sets future generations free from old stories held in our family systems. Sharing her insights into God consciousness, our earth/ego mind, and the soul’s journey through the Aíte or bardos, Phyllida’s poetic words guide us toward the final ecstasy as the soul leaves its material form and enters the vast Universal Heart of cosmic energy. Providing a deep spiritual understanding of the mysteries of death and the afterlife, this courageous book combines Celtic and Christian wisdom to dispel the fear of dying and invites us to live consciously and with love to our very last breath.

Move Beyond the Fear of Death and Integrate Its Powerful Energy As the Last Leaf Falls is a guide to death and the mysterious world beyond. The rituals, meditations, and exercises are designed to bring you on a journey of discovery through the most profound of all human transitions. Filled with insight and practical guidance, this book shows you how to honor family and friends in spirit and discover the life-affirming aspects of every state of existence. Join renowned Druid priest Kristoffer Hughes as he explores the three Celtic realms of existence—the realm of necessity, the realm of spirit, and the realm of infinity—and illuminates the reality of spiritual continuation. Challenging many status quo beliefs about the afterlife, this illuminating volume supports the important work of confronting death and absorbing its meaning into the core of your spirit. (This book was previously published as The Journey Into Spirit.)

For most people, the thought of dying or caring for a terminally ill friend or family member raises fears and questions as old as humanity: What is a “good death”? What appropriate preparations should be made? How do we best support our loved ones as life draws to its close? In this nondenominational handbook, Richard F. Groves and Henriette Anne Klauser provide comfort, direction, and hope to the dying and their caregivers through nine archetypal stories that illustrate the most common end-of-life concerns. Drawing from personal experiences, the authors offer invaluable guidance on easing emotional pain and navigating this difficult final passage. With a compelling new preface, this edition also features an overview of the hospice movement; a survey of Celtic, Tibetan, Egyptian, and other historic perspectives on the sacred art of dying; as well as various therapies, techniques, and rituals to alleviate suffering, stimulate reflection, and strengthen interpersonal bonds. The American Book of Living and Dying gives us courage to trust our deepest instincts, and reminds us that by telling the stories of those who have passed, we remember, honor, and continue to learn from them.