Death and Dying

November 20, 2009 by  
Filed under Food for Thought, New Posts




Yesterday, Paloma Baertschi-Herrera was a guest speaker at the Animal Communicator Forum.  Her talk was “Animals and the Final Journey.”  She spoke about her experiences as she allowed animals to die naturally, without euthanasia.  

Paloma explained that there is a natural dying process, just like there is a natural birthing process.  She proposed that when humans choose to interfere with that process, we may rob ourselves and our animals of something extraordinary and important for the spirit/soul to experience.

In a society where human death is hidden away in hospitals and hospices and where we are encouraged by veterinarians and each other to euthanize an elderly or sick or severely injured animal without considering what the animal might want or need, the courage to explore the topic of death seems to be lacking.

Everybody dies.  That is a fact of life.  And you or a loved one (human or animal) can die at any moment.

What does it mean, “die?”  Maybe that’s the place to begin a discussion.  So many of us only think about what may or may not be true AFTER we die, and because we have been conditioned by religions to fear the afterlife or because you may not even believe in the “after life” the subject of dying is frought with fear.

But each of us will, one day, leave our body behind.  If you believe that you are a spirit or that you have a soul, then something of who are believe you truly are with continue beyond the physical form.

“Death” and “Life” are part of the duality of our existence at the level of our current physical existence.  They are the “yin” and “yang” of this reality.  So doesn’t it make sense to begin exploring the topic of death while you are living so you can prepare yourself for the experience ahead?

My favorite book on this subject is called Deathing: An Intelligent Alternative for the Final Moments of Life by Anya Foos-Graber.  I found this extraordinary book when I began preparing myself for the eventual passing of my equine companion, Echo.   There were no books on this subject that focused on animals at that time, and I found this one to be multi-cultural in its approach, as well as to explain how to prepare yourself and/or a loved one for the final journey.

Paloma Baertschi-Herrera has recently published an e-book on this subject.  It is called Animals and the Final Journey and is available at her website,

If you feel ready to explore this topic, for yourself, for your human family and friends, and/or for your animals, I strongly recommend these two publications.  You can purchase Deathing at

Some other ways to explore this subject include TV shows and movies.  My favorites are

  1. Six Feet Under,  a TV series which teaches us about grieving and the struggle that we have in our culture coping with death of a loved one and the knowledge that we each will someday die;
  2. Dead Like Me, a TV series which explores this topic from a different perspective;  
  3. Defending Your Life, a movie that illustrates for us what the life review process may be like during the transitional phase the soul experiences after leaving the body;
  4. What Dreams May Come, a movie which also explores some ideas of the afterlife;  
  5. Ghost, a movie which is mostly about Love knowing no boundaries.

Exploring the subject is death does not have to be morbid (or deadly).  It can be an affirmation of choosing to live life fully!  I so choose!



2 Responses to “Death and Dying”
  1. Thank you, so much for providing much needed information related to one of the most natural events of all life. Creation, birth, death, evolution, dissolution, and destruction is the essence of truth of existence. We can choose to be conscious participants or sleep walk our way through it all. Makes no difference. However, a detached observer has a ringside seat to the best drama available. Our friends with fur can provide an insight that is filled with joy and love, if we take the time to share their short journey through our lives.

  2. I seldom comment,however your saunter stuck me. that is acutely excellent