Those who work with death and the dying at Emberlight are attuned to an energy shift that occurs as a person enters the dying process. This seems relevant in connection with Easter. At least it was to me.
I had the opportunity last week to “shadow” my good friend Lynne. She was taking a turn providing direct care to a resident at Emberlight, the Center for Conscious Living and Dying in Asheville, North Carolina. I am working my way towards being a direct care giver there myself.
Our turn was from noon to five. The current resident had been there a while, surrounded by family and friends coming and going. She’d been alert and engaged. The activity at first reflected this. Yet by mid-afternoon, something had shifted. All but one visitor melted away, and a profound peace prevailed.
Fire Ritual
At Emberlight, once a resident moves into the stage of active dying, a ritual fire is lit and maintained until the resident passes. On this occasion, one of the trained fire-keepers showed up. He sat with the two direct care givers and me and told us that he had made a previous promise to our resident. When the time came to light the fire, he would let her know while she was still conscious. The time had come.
Before he left, my friend Lynne noted that he seemed quite light-hearted and jolly. She asked why? His response was that at this stage of dying, when the struggle eases, a beautiful shift occurs that fills him with joy for that person. I felt it too. A lightness, a promise. An opening of the feeling center.
Light of Hope
Even though I had no interaction with the resident, I found myself carrying her and the feeling of Hope within me for several days. The experience imbued my morning sit. Reflecting on Christ and his trials leading up to Easter, I recognized the hope and joy that somehow hatches from sorrow and suffering. A message he gave in real time—that his dying and death demonstrated.
What I experienced was not the suffering of our resident, but an energetic shift. A portal created through struggle and pain, opening into light and non-attachment, balance and love. I was blessed to be there and feel the energy in the atmosphere change as she transitioned. I witnessed, much like the women surrounding Christ, that suffering and death carries the promise of joy.
“Cultivating presence with death and a way of being with those approaching their final passage from this world can remind us of who we are and connect us to the mystery of this life.”
~Aditi Sethi, Emberlight founder
Claymont is hosting an upcoming event with Emberlight in October, exploring conscious living and dying. More information here.