Description
Book SynopsisDeepen your spiritual understanding of the internal journey of the dying and the adventurous after-death journey to come Through her decades of hospice work, Phyllida Anam-Áire has revived the ancient Celtic tradition of “watching” with the dying and traveling with the soul after death. Drawing on her Celtic background, she integrates the wisdom of her 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 for relatives or friends.
In
A Celtic Book of Dying, Phyllida details the Celtic rituals of honoring death and dying, revealing how these rituals act as a catalyst that allows the change of form for our essence to pass on into the afterlife. She shows how becoming familiar with the dying process and acknowledging our own personal death forms an important aspect of preparing for this natural transformation. The author guides us with reflective questions, exercises, and meditations to help us become aware of and evaluate our own beliefs, attitudes, and fears around dying and learn to live our life more consciously and with joy. Once we have come to terms with our own passing, we will also find it easier to assist family and friends in their last hours.
Phyllida presents the sacred meditation of traveling with the dead as held by an
anam-áire or soul carer. She also offers suggestions for Celtic rituals, prayers, and blessings for support. She addresses many practical questions around care for the dying during and after the process, including 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 after-death journey to come. Through the eyes of an anam-áire, we see death not as the end or something to be feared, but just as the moment of being called home again.
Trade Review"Drawing upon both Celtic and Christian traditions,
The Last Ecstasy of Life: Celtic Mysteries of Death and Dying is a metaphysical exploration of death as a transition of the soul's boundaries. Thoroughly accessible to readers of all backgrounds,
The Last Ecstasy of Life offers insights on how to help those who are dying, learning to accept death as preparation for what lies beyond, sample Celtic blessings and poems, and much more.
The Last Ecstasy of Life is a comforting browse and resource for anyone going through the difficult process of saying goodbye to a loved one, or confronting their own final days. It should be noted for personal reading lists that this book is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99)." * Midwest Book Review *
“When Phyllida Anam-Áire speaks, writes, or sings, she takes you on a soul’s journey!
A Celtic Book of Dying will take you to a deeper understanding of Celtic consciousness that encompasses conscious dying as well as conscious living, as the one cannot be understood without the other. Everything Phyllida teaches comes out of her own experience and is therefore always authentic. I am deeply grateful for the wisdom she is passing on to us and for encouraging us always to embody this wisdom and to live it instead of understanding it intellectually.” * Le Grá Mór, Jolanda Aoisanam Marks, psychologist and initiate of Brigid *
“Phyllida draws from the deep well of her own life journey and the wellsprings of the ancient spiritual and mythological wisdom held within the ancestral memory of Ireland. Our ancestors embodied a nondualistic perspective concerning life and death that emerged from their close connections with the natural world and its rhythms. Life was understood as a river of presence that flowed in and out of many different forms, and death was understood as a natural part of the continuum of life, death, and rebirth. Earlier cultures saw death as a transformation of form rather than the end of life. These insights are urgently needed in our death-phobic culture. This book is a wonderful spiritual, philosophical, and practical resource to educate and guide people who are dying and those who are journeying with them. With insights, practices, prayers, and blessings to support the journey for everyone involved, this book offers all of us an amazing opportunity to grow in awareness, in consciousness, and in unconditional love and acceptance.” * Dolores T. Whelan, M.Sc. Biochemistry, guide, healer, and teacher within the Celtic spiritual tradit *
“Phyllida writes with a natural flowing style that invites the reader in.
A Celtic Book of Dying is a gift for those wishing to know more about the dying process and an invaluable aid in assisting a dying loved one. I highly recommend it.” * Barbara Vincent, M.A., RGN, RHV, RNT, priestess of Brigid *
“This sacred book contains an extremely precious sharing of a deeply rooted knowledge and wisdom, focussing on both the biological as well as the spiritual process of dying. It offers us an opportunity to approach death with open hearts and with less fear, so we can be more present for our own death, for being a witness or sitting with another who is dying, and in supporting those whose loved ones are dying. Working with Phyllida you find yourself in a powerful cauldron in which to face all aspects of yourself, including those that may have previously been cut off or denied, so that you can welcome all of yourself home, sit in the fullness of you, and live the whole of who you are. Life becomes an amazing and vibrant journey of preparation for death.” * Bryony Smith, M.Sc., biodynamic cranial therapist *
“Although this book is entitled
A Celtic Book of Dying, it is very much about the living and how to live. Phyllida is our loving and empowering guide upon
The Path of Love in the Time of Transition, as the subtitle says. Deep insights are communicated with honesty, passion, and practicality. Poetry, song, stories, and rituals are interwoven in a comforting and reassuring way. It is written with great compassion and has an authority that is always rooted in true experience. I don’t believe that one could read a book like this and not be changed by it. I know these teachings helped me to accompany my father in the dying process, because they freed me to truly listen to myself and to him, and, as a result, I have a beautiful memory of the gift of his passing. I also know that there is enough teaching in this book to keep my heart and soul inspired for the rest of my life.” * Cecilia Rose Kane, teacher (retired), writer, and storyteller Cecilia Rose Kane, teacher (retired), *
Table of ContentsGlossary of Gaelic Words and Expressions
Introduction
How I Met with the Teachings -- My Own Story: In Grief Did My Mother Conceive Me ---Brigit, Stirrer of the Cauldron
PART ONEDeath and Dying in the Celtic Tradition Opening the Heart to Death -- Life Is Not Threatened by the Loss of Form --Never-Ending Life --Death as Mystery in the Celtic Tradition -- A Time for Change -- Death, the Great Catalyst -- A New Language --The Áite, or Passages of Birth and Death -- The Áite of Birth --The Áite of Death
PART TWO
Dealing with Your Personal Death and Dying Process Natural Transformation as Death Approaches -- The Paths Home -- Slip Away --After the Death of the Body --How Can We Live and Die Consciously? -- Celtic Festivals of Transformation -- Death Is Simply the Next Step -- Lessons in Tough Love -- Learning to Receive Love
PART THREE Helping a Dying Person and Their Relatives How Can We Help a Dying Person Make a Happy Transition? -- “I Am Afraid of Pain” --The Stages of Releasing into Healing --The Power of Music: Medicine for the Heart --The Work of an Anam-Áire -- The Service of a Traveller with the Dead --Care of the Environment When a Person Is Dying -- How Can We Best Support the Dying? -- Guidelines for Helping the Dying -- Technology Can Help People Suffering Alone in Hospital -- Sacred Ritual of Watching with the Dead --- Blessing the Body -- Disposing of Water and Bedclothes -- Burial of Rings --Letting Go of the Past -- Distant Help for the Dying through Imaging and Meditation -- Prayers for the Dead -- Do What Is Natural -- The Ethics of Assisting Another in Their Desire to Die
PART FOUR Being With the Bereaved Supporting Bereaved People -- The Golden Breath of Love -- Sacred Ritual for Bereaved People -- Other Rituals Celebrating Transitions in Life
PART FIVE Lessons from the Heart of Nature Nature Is Our Guide -- The Seasons Are Our Teachers
PART SIX Stories from the Heart of Death “Do This for Each Other Often -- Don’t Wait until You Die” -- Fear Versus Love
Appendix The Alchemy of Love -- The Court of Love
Overview of Exercises and Practices
Index
Acknowledgements
About the Author
