Psychopomp Anyone? (Part 1)
“When one door closes, another opens…but often, we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which is opened before us.” — Helen Keller
In one of my meditations of just under 10 years ago, a very strange thing did indeed happen. At that point I had been doing this meditation scene for over 30 years, and nothing quite like this had ever occurred before. After I had been into the meditation for only about fifteen minutes and just started to actually get somewhere, suddenly a woman was right there jutting her face in mine. Now I don’t mean physically, but at some spirit level. She presented herself in a way that it appeared she was involved with some kind of voodoo or black magic.
Immediately I was jolted back some, totally unprepared for this. But I kept my composure, as I wanted to keep the contact going, this being such a very curious thing. She was obviously quite irritated with me about something. As the contact progressed and we “discussed” this concern she had, I began to get a picture of what was happening.
Anyway, this is the story. Turns out, as she says, that she is a psychopomp. A what, you ask? Exactly. I had the same reaction. For a few moments in the early part of this contact I started to wonder if all this was the result of something I had ingested the night before and this was just a total hallucination. But I went ahead and decided to see this thing through.
Now I knew I had heard the word before, but I couldn’t quite connect it to a concept I found comprehendable. But as our little “talk” developed, I got the crux of what the problem was. Basically, a psychopomp is a type of shaman, or more accurately one of the functions that a shaman performs. Just in case you don’t know, a shaman is a healer who performs all the functions a doctor, priest and therapist would. According to most of the archaeological evidence, shamanism is several thousand years old. Over the span of history these small agrarian and nomadic type societies around the world have had shamanistic types of people take on these duties. One of the main functions of a shaman is to commune with the spirit worlds and act as a mediator between both worlds. And within that function, the shaman can serve as a psychopomp. A psychopomp is someone who leads, guides and assists someone who is crossing over from the physical to the other side, a conductor of souls and mediator between the physical and spirit worlds. In other words, a dying person who feels they need the help because they have no idea what happens next or what to do.
Anyway, the pyschopomp is there to help with the actual transition in passing over to the other side, either to lead the departed spirit to a guide or to its next life in the afterlife. They may also help the spirit deal with any of the psychological issues that arise with such an abrupt, overwhelming transition.
Just as a bit of background here, it seems there is quite a rich history of psychopomp mythology in several cultures of the world. In ancient Greek mythology, the god Hermes, among other things, takes on the role of the classic psychopomp. Along with the goddess Persephone, goddess of the underworld and of the afterlife, they worked together as a team of psychopomps. Others include the ancient Egyptian god Anubis and goddess Neith, the god Xolotl of the Aztecs, the goddess Epona of the Celts, the god Anguta and goddess Pinga of the Inuit mythology (Northern Europe and Russia), the god Aumakua of Huna (early Hawaii religion), Jizo of the Buddhists and a host of others. The Tibetan Book of the Death is in essence a guide for psychopomps. The point here being obvious, that the concept of the departed needing assistance crossing over to the other side is consistent across cultural and mythological barriers. As these mythological beliefs grew in importance, actual physical people took these “jobs” on and practiced shamanistic rituals to carry them out.
Anyway, back to my story. It seems this entity did not like the fact that I was interfering in her ‘territory’. She was assuming since I was writing on this subject (at the time I was writing a book about the afterlife), that I was edging into her field of influence. As I had no real interest in doing what her job entailed, and actually found the inference amusingly ridiculous, I proceeded to “explain” my position to her. In the beginning she didn’t seem to believe me. Eventually, she came around and then didn’t bother me any more.
What was intriguing about the exchange is that for several days now I had the feeling something or someone was ‘looking’ in on me. In fact, I have had a number of ‘contacts’ with beings on the other side who seemed to have an interest in what I was doing. It didn’t dawn on me that I could be trespassing into territorial waters. I have read in several different books that there are beings, facilitators or whatever (psychopomps?), on the other side who do help people make that transition from the other side. The interchange with this entity today made me realize that could possibly be true. I guess after my research into psychopomps I wasn’t thinking that beings on the other side would be enacting this behavior, only shamans from the physical world would be. But if this is how the system works, it logically makes sense that beings from both sides could be available to perform such required duties. Kind of like a system of spiritual midwifery, being born into the world of the other side.
However, as I told this being, this was not a position I was lobbying for. I concluded with her that the purpose of this book was to offer more information about this process for those who might be interested. Other than that, it would essentially be up to them to follow up. That finally ended the contact. But I got the distinct feeling that part of her job was to help people who had a low charge cross over. In other words, low energy, and that she was in need of a charge herself. I shot her a little bit at the end and that might have had an effect on my argument with her, meaning changing her position in a more positive direction.
There have been a few occasions where I did actively participate to varying degrees in helping people cross over after physical expiration, and several other instances were I advised others in what they could possibly do. At that point, my previous wife and one of my brothers both passed away within the last few years. In fact, those events helped me to decide that this book would be a worthwhile project to spend my time on. I have had several contacts with them since and all seems well with them. I also know several other people who have had the experience of helping someone cross over.
It was because of the above-mentioned meditation experience that I decided to expand this whole topic here, and mention three related areas; helping someone else cross over, helping others prepare for your passing and ideas for alternative ceremonies in place of the traditional funeral. Learning about more positive options can aid in everyone’s journey to the other side. In essence, you can act as a psychopomp for someone close to you, someone who you can help cross over. In so doing, this can also help you prepare for your eventual departure. Maybe a more personal, positive and upbeat tradition can grow out of this, for those of us interested in a more unconventional pathway of crossing over.
Dealing with the challenges of life in the physical world can be difficult enough, but how one responds to the adversity of meeting physical death and crossing over into the afterlife can be quite a test. If there is some notice of the impending day, obviously the time leading up to death is very stressful for the individual making the transition, as well as for their family and friends. If an illness or accident is involved, sometimes the situation can be aggravated by a well-meaning physician trying to extend this life, even though the outcome is not in question. This may be done at great loss of dignity and considerable emotional cost to the family.
Today more than 80% of Americans die in the sterile clinical environment of hospitals, where too much emphasis is put on the science of saving life rather on the art of dying. Life support systems can truly be a form of cruel spiritual punishment. Some doctors exert too much authority in controlling when people die, even though they have very little idea of what death is all about. In fact, many of them are very uncomfortable discussing it. And when they do, usually it is quite negative, focusing on the pain, suffering, mourning and sadness everyone feels, making it much more difficult for the family. Thus, the patient, if possible, or the family should be making this final decision for the best interests of the patient.
Since that line between this physical life and crossing over to the other side can sometimes be a thin one, we should do a service to those who need to make the transition by letting them go as soon as possible to ease their passage. Hanging on and not letting go of this person actually is a very selfish act, as we certainly are not thinking of this person’s best interests. Most of us hang on for ourselves, not for the person crossing over. This person needs to be liberated from their physical body, but sometimes our emotional hanging on is what prevents them from leaving. This continues to tie them down when they have better places to go.
It would be good if you could consciously tell the person who is getting ready to cross over that you release them of any further obligations to you or anyone else in the physical world. Sometimes people hang on when they feel that there are still some who are refusing to let them go. Let them know that it is okay for them to go, for you don’t want to hold them back from what is good for them. They need to know that. It seems that we do so need to be retrained in allowing people to make this transition to the other side. You should realize that the pain we feel is our sense of loss, not the condition of the person leaving us to cross over.
The negative consequences of heavy emotional energy you may have in your grief can adversely affect someone close to you who has passed away. Grief makes it hard in the spirit world, as it is not positive energy. Also, without the cushioning insulation of a physical body, it makes the person who has passed away much more sensitive to peoples’ emotions. This makes the grieving process very difficult on the person who has crossed over to the other side, as the sadness and clinging become a liability weighing them down. We certainly don’t need to add to their unhappiness on the other side, and make it harder for them to “get up” where they need to be. If we are truly thinking of them, then we want to set the most positive foundation we can for their arrival into a new life. (continued next time)
TMC