In her more lucid moments, my 97 year old mother has not wanted to have anything to do with death and dying. She didn't believe she deserved a place in Heaven. Several weeks ago, when she was not feeling well, I had one of those disjointed conversations with her where I told her that she had done a great job of raising us and it was OK for her to go be with her friends and family now. Since this conversation, I've noticed a change in her behavior.
The urge to go 'home' has gotten stronger. She empties out her drawers and is packing to go home. She talks about the work she has to do at home. I've sensed spirit beings around her for several years, and she had said she couldn't see them. Now she talks to someone invisible and pats the bed, telling them they can sit down or looks at the ceiling as if she is listening to someone and then nods her head and says OK.
Her normally docile behaviors have periods when she acts like a rebellious two year old and babbles incoherently about something only she knows about. She has also escaped her care facility.
I wonder if the 'home' she is looking for is not of this world and she doesn't know how to get there.
I've been around dying people. Most of them have had a terminal illness such as cancer. There comes a time when they surrender to the disease, make peace with the world and move on to the next. For those that have dementia, I wonder if demential is a vehicle that takes them out of this world, their current reality and bridges the gap between this reality and another form of existence. It's a different form of surrender.
The question becomes, how does one commit the ultimate act of surrender and transition to the next life without drastic actions such as killing themselves (or being killed)? There must be a gentle and peaceful way to ascend. But we are not taught about that or how to do it. Maybe releasing the fear of death, embracing the reality that we are perpetually alive, just in different forms and making peace with our physical bodies is one way to bring peace ourselves and to our world.
I wondering what are your thoughts on this topic?
Elaine Correia