Okay, Mister Expert in death and writing…
(I’m an expert because I’ve investigated hundreds upon hundreds of human deaths as a cop and a coroner and I’ve written a lot of mostly boring shit about the causes of death. Seriously, I have)…
So what is death and what wonderful wisdom do you have about writing?
First of all, I truly believe that death is not the end of the line for you.
You’re okay with that, right?
To be straight with you, I’ve never been there myself, but I’ve come really, really, frikkin close to death and I don’t mean by just bagging and autopsying cadavers.
I came so close to being shot to death that it scared me out of my state of local consciousness and into another entire realm of sensory existence.
It’s called a near-death or fear-death encounter. Zillions of other people have experienced the same phenomena and mountainsides of trees have died to support their reports, so I’m nothing special in that regard.
But there was something weird, really weird, about my encounter that caused many to question whether paranormal intervention occurred.
It’s a crazy story, but something happened there that you don’t see everyday. There’s already one book written about my case and I have a novel coming out shortly, based on the ‘Teslin Lake Incident’. That’s for another day and, no, I’m not trying to sell you a book. Yet.
I became fascinated with death and spent the remainder of my spared life investigating death. Now I want to share my knowledge with you.
And I know you’re fascinated with death.
Go ahead. Admit it.
Everyone wonders what’s behind the black door.
And a lot of us are absolutely shit-scared to find out.
In fact, the fear of death is second only to the fear of public speaking, and I still get the jitters about that.
But I’m cool with death.
Why? Because I accept that it’s part of life.
It’s going to happen to all of us. You. Me. Your family. Your dog and your cat. Your friends. Even the biggest asshole you ever met is going to cross-over some day.
You just don’t know when.
So here’s the goods.
Death is part of the life cycle and you go back to the same place you were before you were born.
Oh, for sure your body will decompose as your matter and energy are transformed.
But ‘you’… that tiny spark of consciousness that makes you alive.. that is seeing, reading, and processing my words… doesn’t extinguish.
It just changes form and carries on. Just like the bugs do with your flesh and bones.
I believe that spark… call it your soul… alters it’s local state of consciousness and re-attaches itself to that cloud of non-local consciousness that gives order to everything… that plane of infinite intelligence.
I call it God. Seems a good word. It’s been used a lot.
You atheists uncomfortable enough?
Good. Because I think you’re fulla shit if you believe in athiesm. Same goes for Scientology. And Jehovah’s Witnesses. Like, there’s only 144,000 seats in heaven. My God, those guys piss me off.
Stick with me, because in some upcoming blog I’m going to take a shot at the Christian’s immaculate conception and resurrection beliefs. I also don’t get the ‘Allah Akbar’ thing before blowing yourself up.
Now Shamanism makes sense to me, but that’s for another blog, as well.
See, I tagged this blog ‘Provoking Thoughts’ for a reason. I want to provoke your thoughts.
Hi Garry,
I came across this site because I just finished Descent Into Madness by Vernon Frolick last night, and came looking for you today to see how your snatched-from-the-grip life has progressed. I tried to imagine what a mind would go thru with all the what-ifs that would accompany that situation after surviving it yet going home without your friend.. I can see it made for a lot of thinking about that tenuous life-death line (and I’m not to surprised to hear that Shamanism makes sense to you considering the circumstances)….
My belief is that our spirit (and that of every living thing) rejoins the universal spirit (call it god or whatever) after death where we retain our individual consciousness but also are reunited with our universal consciousness. Doesn’t sound far from your own beliefs I think..
anyway, 27 years later I’m one more person who has learned of, and honors your friend Constable Buday… and wishes you well.
Damn! And I thought I was unique in my beliefs!
LOL!
Laura
Looking forward to Thursday and the book you’ve mentioned.
Years ago a friend of mine told me about a book called Many Lives, Many Masters (I think that’s the name) about life after death and the soul maintaining its integrity after the body dies. I politely listened to her talk about this book over and over again, month after month, but didn’t give it much though. At least not until I was cruising the travel section of the book store and a book flew off a shelf, nearly hitting me in the face. Need I tell you which book it was? LOL Bought it, read it, and had my little mind blown.
I don’t hold truck with near-death experiences being “nothing but” physical and chemical reactions that stand alone. There are too many variables, and as you say, it can’t be proven. It can’t be proven that these biological reactions are responses to something happening beyond the body, either. Now, if there was a drug or a medical procedure that could be associated with this response, science would be all over it.
Hi again, Cyd
The book is titled ‘Consciousness Beyond Life’ by Pim van Lommel, M.D. ISBN 978-0-06-1777257.
This is a no bullshit work. The author is a cardiologist who witnessed many ‘bring-back-to-life’ events and then did a clinical study. He pushed beyond the medical comfort zone and his conclusions are astonishing.
Read it.
If you can’t find a copy, give me your address and I’ll lend you mine.
Garry
Garry, Thanks so much for this post. I too come by you fairly, through the podcast you did with Joanna Penn. I listened to it a couple of times and found it fascinating and will revisit your blog from time to time. Make sure you tell me when you publish your book. Susan
I came across your site through a link on one of Joanna Penn’s pages.
Some coincidence here – or should it have a synchronicity label? – I had a near-death experience way back in 1964, during my army training, and decided to use it in a novel. I’m still half-way through the first draft.
Something you wrote about children doing “the natural thing”: I use a few lines in my first chapter from Wordsworth’s Intimations of Immortality – where young children still bear some memory of life pre-conception:
Heaven lies about us in our infancy!
My near-death experience is documented
here.
Best
Robert
Is this the March 1985 Teslin Lake incident?
Hi Shaynie,
Yes it is. Sounds like you’re familiar with it???
Garry
Hi Cyd,
Glad I connected with you. The near-death experience is so well documented that it is impossible to ignore. I’d say you experienced something which I feel is an altered state of consciousness. I’m very familiar with the neuron/synapse/dopamine theory and I say bullshit to that, too. The trouble with conventional medical science is that they won’t pursue something that they can’t see under a microscope or read on a computer graph. Consciousness doesn’t measure that way. It’is intangible. There are a few scholarly studies done on consciousness that do consider things ‘outside the box’. I have one excellent reference in my library but I won’t be home till next Thursday. I’ll get you the author name and title then, if you’re interested.
You’re so right about children. They don’t get hung up in the dogma we adults have been fed, so they just let their minds do the natural thing.
And thanks for the encouragement about future posts. I’ve got a lot of ideas to discuss and would love questions/suggestions. Like I said, my purpose is to provoke thoughts about death and I know I’m going to piss people off.
Keep in touch.
Garry
Hit spit and dynamite! This is the blog I’ve been waiting for. In no way am I obsessed with death, but I agree that it’s part of the life cycle, and I think our culture loses a tremendous amount by pretending it doesn’t really happen, or whisking it under the carpet when (gasp!) it does happen. Carry on! Get over it! Life is for the living!
Phfft! Without a reasonable respect for death, life loses its boundaries and meaning. It becomes flaccid and lacks urgency. It also becomes a hidden and festering sorrow as we lose those we love, and inevitably face our own mortality. I stand with you in debunking traditional Christian thoughts about the afterlife, even though my faith is deep and profound.
I don’t know what happens after death, but I like your opinion and find it devoit of shit. My own brush with death, in the midst of a horrendous car accident (I won’t talk about the putz who tried to kill me with his bare hands), I may have caught a glimpse of the other side. During that crash, the car was t-boned and spun 360, head on into another speeding car, sending me out the passenger side window and sucked back in to land on the gear shift rammed up that place where the sun never shines (how embarrassing). The car’s carpeting was ripped from the floorboards by my bracing feet, and my body tossed around like a hackey sack, broken and bruised and bleeding all over the place. But my experience was sublime. I waltzed in a slow circle, so peaceful and protected, until I was gently pushed into the white robes of outstretched arms, which embraced me and told me I was safe. I was. Despite the broken body, I walked away from the crash with instructions to remain awake for 24 hours. Being the neuropsych geek I am, I’ve often wondered if those were neuron firings, or if my essential being had left the circus until the beasts were removed from the tent.
Once matter is created, it cannot be destroyed. What form it takes when it changes is an eternal mystery to me. I’ve had prescient day and night dreams, and many experiences that bear out Jung’s over-soul and Emerson’s one breath blown through the flute, and believe any appearance of disconnection between you, me, the dog, the trees, and the snakes around these parts is an illusion. My daughter is an Indigo and could hear my thoughts when she was a child, which was very annoying. During the time I worked at B&N for yucks, I watched the Library of Congress re-classify books on Indigo children from New Age to Children With Special Needs, so they are real, and they are evolving. They are a source of insight we’ll all enjoy, once we get over their existence.
If you’re full of shit, take a laxative and let it flow. This is going to be interesting, and I can’t wait to see what you and your readers have to offer.