Healing with Death Imagery

Anees Ahmad Sheikh, Katharina Sheikh, Katharina S. Sheikh

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9780415783750
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351844024
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Mental Health in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Sages of various traditions and ages have reiterated that we must incorporate the inevitability of death into the fabric of life to experience life's breadth and beauty. Imagery is an important tool in dealing with death, and this book is devoted to exploring many facets of this fascinating issue. It begins with an overview of ancient and modern approaches to the use of death imagery for therapeutic purposes, including a discussion of its possible benefits. Chapter 2, specifically exploring Stephen Levine's contributions in this area, shows that only by opening up to the reality of death can one make living a conscious process of growth. A number of excellent imagery-based experiential exercises are discussed in detail. Chapter 3 demonstrates the significance of confronting death through mental and artistic images; it discusses six examples of death-related religious and existential works of art.Recently there has been an upsurge of interest in near-death experiences and their salutary effects on attitudes, beliefs, and values. Of particular interest here are increases in spirituality, concern for others, an appreciation of life, and an enhanced sense of meaning and purpose in life. Chapter 4 presents a detailed critical overview of this field of investigation, with special emphasis on the transformatory after-effects of near-death experiences. Of all the major religions in the world, Buddhism is at the forefront of exploring the topic of death and dying and developing specific meditative exercises for confronting death.Chapter 5 presents an in-depth treatment of death imagery in Buddhist thought. Exploring the use of hypnosis for death rehearsal, Chapter 6 continues the theme that confrontation with death can lead to healthful consequences. A variation of this technique, hypnotic suicidal rehearsal, is also discussed: it seems to be effective for use with clients who are contemplating suicide. Case examples clarify the details of the process.Over the years, several clinicians have proposed the use of imagery for reconstructing death-related events and thereby facilitating the grieving process for individuals who are experiencing symptoms rooted in unfinished grieving. Chapter 7 gives an exhaustive account of the use of imagery for unresolved grieving, including a number of case histories. Researchers have perhaps devoted more time and energy to the investigation of death anxiety than any other death-related topic. Chapter 8 reviews the literature on death anxiety and death imagery, and demonstrates a core connection between the two phenomena. The authors claim that death imagery has the potential not only to ameliorate death anxiety but also to lead to a more authentic existence.In Chapter 9, the authors explain how death imagery can be used constructively in death education; they present several practical suggestions and specific guided imagery exercises. The volume closes with a presentation of a detailed death-imagery experiential exercise aimed at encountering death to enhance our appreciation of life. The reader will notice this thread running steadily throughout the book. This comprehensive book devoted to the role of death imagery in health and growth, perhaps the first of its kind, will be helpful in changing the rather sinister view of death, prevalent in our culture, to a deeper appreciation for its enhancing potential.

CHAPTER 1

Is There Life Before Death?
Healing Potential of Death Imagery

Anees A. Sheikh and Katharina S. Sheikh

All questions at the public meeting that day were about life beyond the grave. The Master only laughed and did not give a single answer. To his disciples, who demanded to know the reason for his evasiveness, he later said, “Have you observed that it is precisely those who do not know what to do with this life who want another that will last forever?” “But is there life after death or is there not?” persisted a disciple. “Is there life before death?—That is the question!” said the Master enigmatically.

Anthony deMello (1985, p. 74)

To my question, whether we might not fortify our minds for the approach of death, he answered, in a passion, “No sir, let it alone. It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. The act of dying is not of importance, it lasts so short a time.”

James Boswell (in Straub, 2002, p. 59)

Generally, Western cultures have regarded death as an unpleasant reality, which is not an integral part of life, but exists outside of it or, at least, on its fringes. We try to hide death from view or treat it as a disease to overcome (Aguilar & Wood, 1976; Braga & Braga, 1975; Grof, 2000; Paz, 1961; Straub, 2002). As Kübler-Ross (1975) has stressed,

It is the denial of death that is partially responsible for people leading empty purposeless lives. For when you live as if you will live forever, it becomes too easy to postpone the things you know that you must do. You live your life in preparation for tomorrow or in remembrance of yesterday, but meanwhile each today is lost. But when you fully understand that each day you awaken may be the last you have, you take the time that day, to grow, to become more of who you really are, to reach out to other human beings (p. 164).

ACCEPTING DEATH BRINGS US TO THE THRESHOLD OF LIFE

It is very surprising that until the late 1960s the subject of death and dying was largely ignored in the West, not only by the general population but also by the scientists and professionals. It is astonishing that even the professionals in health sciences showed a lack of interest in this subject (Blazer, 1978; Grof, 2000). Yet since ancient times, death has been the main source of inspiration of philosophers, writers, artists, and composers. Michelangelo remarked, “No thought exists in me which death has not carved with his chisel,” and Thomas Mann felt that “without death there would scarcely have been poets on earth” (Kübler-Ross, 1975, p. 2). Boris Pasternak, in Doctor Zhivago (1958), views virtually all human activity as an effort at coming to terms with death.

Now what is history? It is the centuries of systematic explorations of the riddle of death, with a view to overcoming death. That’s why people discover mathematical infinity and electromagnetic waves, that’s why they write symphonies. … Man does not die in a ditch like a dog—but at home in history, while the work toward the conquest of death is in full swing; he dies sharing in this work (p. 10).

There is general agreement among world religions that a meaningful life is possible only after death has been accepted as a basic condition of life (Long, 1975). The goal is not simply to view death as the final act in life, but to welcome it as a persistent ingredient in the entire process of life. By recognizing the finiteness of one’s existence, one is permeated by the urgency to cast off those extrinsic roles and to devote every day to growing as fully as possible (Grof, 2000; Levitan, 1985; Sheikh, Twente, & Turner, 1979; Yalom, 1980, 2002).

Thus the acceptance of death brings one to the threshold of living authentically. This thought is a cornerstone of existential philosophy. Herman Feifel (1961, p. 71) says, “Life is not genuinely our own until we renounce it.” Rollo May maintains, “With the confronting of non-being, existence takes on vitality and immediacy, and the individual experiences a heightened consciousness of himself and his world, and others around him” (May, 1958, p. 47). Irvin Yalom (1980, p. 163) feels that “by keeping death in mind one passes into a state of gratitude for the countless givens of existence.” Santayana (see Yalom, 1980, p. 163) remarks, “The dark background which death supplies, brings out the tender colors of life in all their purity,” and Nietzsche (1974, p. 37) states, “Out of such abysses, from such severe sicknesses, one returns newborn … with a more delicate taste for joy, with a more tender tongue for all good things, with merrier senses, with a second dangerous innocence in joy.”

Literature is replete with examples of individuals who underwent extensive personal transformation due to their close brush with death. Thomas Mann’s (1969) Hans Castorp in The Magic Mountain, Max Frisch’s (1957) Faber in Homo Faber, Tolstoy’s (1931) Pierre in War and Peace, and Ivan Ilyich in the Death of Ivan Ilyich (Tolstoy, 1960) are obvious examples. Another striking and well-known illustration is the repentant Ebenezer Scrooge. We may forget that his cold heart was not melted simply by the warmth of the Christmas Spirit—to that it had proven itself totally impervious. What transformed Scrooge was the encounter with his own death. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come used a potent form of death-imagery therapy: Scrooge had the opportunity to witness his own death, to overhear acquaintances dismiss lightly his passing, and to observe strangers quarreling over his worldly possessions. Then Scrooge attended his own funeral, and finally, in the last scene preceding his transformation, he examined the inscription on his tombstone (Yalom, 1980).

DEATH IMAGERY: AN OVERVIEW OF ANCIENT AND MODERN APPROACHES

It has become apparent that many thinkers agree that learning to die is a prerequisite to living meaningfully. While the time when death is imminent can be a fertile period of personal growth, we should not and must not wait until then to learn the lessons of death. For centuries, and in several cultures, variations of the experience of death in imagination have been used effectively. These death-imagery techniques provide the opportunity to confront death and to come to terms with it. This section reviews a number of such approaches.

Death Imagery in Ancient Initiatory Experiences

As Metzner (1986) points out, death/rebirth fantasy and associated ritual practices have been an essential component of initiatory experiences in several traditional cultures. For example, the training of shamans/healers involved sloughing off all old attachments and old ways of living. “Sometimes the older shaman, while instructing the apprentice, would symbolically ‘kill’ the apprentice. This was then followed by a restoration or reconstitution … into a new more power-filled form, endowed with healing and magical abilities” (Metzner, 1986, p. 146). This aspect of shamanic training is very similar to the process of mortificatio in alchemy, which has a literal meaning of “killing” or “dead making.” Mortificatio involved conscious and intentional attempts to reduce ego attachments through symbolic meditations and visualizations that stressed “darkness, defeat, torture, mutilation, death and rotting,” followed by positive images of “growth, rejuvenation, fruiting, ripening, and rebirth” (Metzner, 1986, p. 146).

Death/rebirth imagery and rituals are also very common in the initiation rites or rites of passage, as Arnold van Gennep (1960) calls them, of numerous tribes around the world. Their common denominator is profound confrontation with death and subsequent transcendence (Grof, 2000). Neale (1969, pp. 169-170) describes one such initiation ritual:

After the older men have prepared a sacred place in the bush, the mother brings her son to the edge of the village. She does not know the content of the rites. She has heard only rumors about death and manhood. She does know that occasionally a child fails to return. The little boy knows the same. Both are filled with excitement and pride, but also with great anxiety. The men rush forward and force the boy away from his mother. She weeps and wails over the forthcoming death of her son. He is taken to a hut where he lies down on his back with his arms crossed over his chest. He is covered with a rug and told not to utter a sound. During the coming days, he may be symbolically burned by a fire, buried in a shallow pit, be ritually dismembered, or have a tooth knocked out. All these things—the separation from his mother, the darkness, and the physical dangers—are symbolic experiences of death. The boy is told that the gods are killing him. He does not know for sure whether he will literally survive or not. By means of this first half of the puberty ritual, the world of the child and his personality are destroyed. The second half of the ritual takes place over an extended period of time. The boy meets his god and receives his name. After this he may have to be fed by a guardian for as much as six months, for newborn infants cannot feed themselves without help. During this time he is instructed and trained to meditate on his experiences. By story, dance, and pantomime, he is introduced to the gods, the history of the tribe, and to the way he is to live. Finally, the boy is returned to the community to take his place as a new person in a new world. The boy and his mother may not acknowledge each other for some time to come. After all, her son has died, it is a strange adult who returned to the village. In the spiritual sense, the boy does not know his mother. His old world and old self have been destroyed. Death has led to rebirth and a new creation.

Buddhist Meditation on Death

This type of meditation is very commonly used by Buddhist monks. The monk sits down in the graveyard or crematorium and reflects upon the corpses or ashes, and he even imagines his own body to be among these remains. This exercise renders him more profoundly aware of the brevity and uncertainty of life and the inevitability of death. He realizes that human beings and their objects of pleasure do not endure for long. This insight prompts him to abandon all ambition to shape the world in accordance with his wishes. “And, with the passing of the habit of living a life of willfulness (and its offspring, anxiety and fear) will come automatically a peace of mind and tranquility which will abide unaltered in all conditions of life and all states of mind” (Long, 1975, p. 69).

Many Buddhist teachings concerning death are contained in The Tibetan Book of the Dead. It presents not only the most effective method of “living toward death,” but also contains instructions on how to die well (Evans-Wentz, 1960). The dying person is advised to remain calm and alert in the face of death and to shun distraction and confusion. He/she is reminded too that his/her life forces are about to disengage themselves from the body and that he/she should focus upon this event. He/she is then prepared for the meeting with death by its description: death is the “brilliant light of Ultimate Reality” or “the luminous splendor of the colorless light of Emptiness.” The moribund should immerse himself/herself in that supernatural brilliance, sloughing off all belief in an individual self and realizing that the “boundless light of this true Reality” is his/her own true self (Evans-Wentz, 1960; Long, 1975; Rahula, 1959; Robinson, 1970).

In a technique involving mindfulness of one’s death, Buddhaghosa (1976) encourages the subjects to imagine people who are already dead but who had enjoyed the good things of life, and to repeat, “Death will take place.” After a degree of mindfulness has been achieved, the practitioner is advised to remember death in eight ways. These are summarized here from Ramaswami and Sheikh (1991, pp. 182-183):

1) One should reflect on the fact that death is inevitable for that which is bom and imagine death appearing like a murderer with poised sword. 2) Death should be imagined as the ruin of success—health ending in sickness, prosperity turning to loss, youth yielding to age. 3) One should imagine the death of others and thus infer one’s mortality. 4) One should remember that one shares this body with numerous families of worms that live in and depend on our body. They are born, grow old, excrete, and die within one’s body. 5) One should reflect on the frailty of one’s body. 6) One should reflect that death often attacks without providing prior warning. 7) One should reflect on the limited span of life. 8) One should remember that in the last analysis our life is limited to a single conscious moment: we are constantly dying and being reborn anew every moment.

Benefits of the successful practice of mindfulness of death include conquering attachment to life, avarice, and lust; realizing the impermanence of life and developing serenity; and developing the ability to face death in a composed and fearless manner (Ramaswami & Sheikh, 1991).

Sufi Contemplation Upon Death

The Sufis, in keeping with the Prophet Mohammed’s advice, “Die before you are dead,” have given great importance to the contemplation of death. They reflect upon the inevitable future decay and disintegration of all living beings and upon the fact that their own bodies soon will be nothing but rotten flesh and dry bones upon which worms will feed. Thus they achieve the awareness of the impermanence of temporal life. For the Sufis, this meditation on death is a vital step toward beatitude—the ultimate goal of all spiritual striving. Death represents the dismemberment of the present imperfect state, which then renders possible the rebirth of a personality with spiritually...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• CHAPTER 1 Is There Life Before Death? Healing Potential of Death Imagery
• CHAPTER 2 Opening to Loss: Connecting with Life Through the Meditations of Stephen Levine
• CHAPTER 3 Confronting Death Through Mental and Artistic Imagery
• CHAPTER 4 Near-Death Experiences: Heading toward Omega?
• CHAPTER 5 Death Imagery in the Buddhist Tradition
• CHAPTER 6 The Dynamic, Clinical Use of Imagery to Promote Psychotherapeutic Grieving
• CHAPTER 7 Hypnotic Death and Suicide Rehearsal
• CHAPTER 8 Death Imagery and Death Anxiety
• CHAPTER 9 The Use of Guided Imagery in Death Education
• CHAPTER 10 Confronting Death: An Experiental Imagery Exercise
• Contributors
• Index