The Other Editorial By Judith Wise-Rhoads Suicide and Spirituality Pagans know the value of life, and that death is a part of life. So too, is personal choice. We are made up of our choices from this life and past ones. Our karma is determined by our choices. Or karma is the consequence of every decision we've made. So make damn sure that what you do is your choice, since you are paying for it. Letting someone else choose for you, even society, can be harmful. Remember: Do what you will if it harms no one, for love is the law. Sometimes we forget to include not hurting ourselves in our law. Society's laws are supposed to be for our good laws that we agree upon and which are necessary for living together. Traffic laws are a good example of needful laws. But laws that govern your personal beliefs can be controlling instead of helpful. For example, it is against the law to commit suicide. This is an unusual law in that you are punished if you fail, and relatives may be punished if you succeed (e.g., insurance polices that don't pay for suicide). If someone is intent upon killing themselves, the law isn't going to stop them. What makes anything a good or bad choice for anyone is intention, the why of it. Only you and God/Goddess/All That Is know for sure what is in your heart. We can lie to others, maybe even ourselves, but never to God/Goddess/All That Is. Your true intentions are known and karmically accounted for. You do not get out of Justice, but thank Goddess for Mercy. Mercy you receive according to how much you extend it to others. Lip service does not count except against you. If you are tired of this world and long for release, you can discuss it with your High Self. You can go over what you contracted to do before coming here. Determine if you feel you are finished with your contract for the most part it couldn't be completely finished or you would already be gone. Or perhaps you have changed your mind about some issues. Changing your mind is OK. Remember you have free will. Meditate and talk it over with your family. Hopefully you can talk with your family and friends and not be locked-up for your own good. Do a true soul-search and let some time pass so it is clear it's not a question of mood or whim. (If it is, meditations and talks will relieve it.) If after this you are still very sure it is what you want, you may ask God/Goddess for release. It seems that everyone has gone through times when they consider suicide, especially teens. I thought about it once while driving on the freeway. (This is definitely the wrong thing to do! Be responsible for others.) I was soul-tired and depressed. Sometimes the world is too much. I wanted to go home. I think all spiritual people get homesick for the other side. Our souls remember and long for the love and the peace we know exists there. In my case, an amused voice asked, Is that really what you want? I felt a chill that made me sit up and pay attention. All of a sudden the world brightened. The colors were loud. The earth looked beautiful, more beautiful than it had a moment before. I didn't really want to leave Mother Earth yet. The chill came from realizing I had just come very close to getting my wish. I felt I had been offered a choice. That snapped me out of my homesickness. Remember that one's sense of humor comes from your High Self who just loves to display it from time to time. I distinctly heard laughter. There are many good reasons to commit suicide, and there are more not too. Even some of the obvious reasons, like constant pain and immanent death, have a side you may not have considered. It is thought that the more one goes through on this side, the less one needs to atone for on the other. Whatever is killing us physically, the pain is the tearing free of negative thoughts and beliefs that have lodged in the body. Forgiveness and release is the answer. Let go and let God/Goddess take over. At least the pain of death is not useless. After death, there is usually an adjustment that we ourselves determine. And who will be harder on us than ourselves? The personality judges itself for what appears, on our level, to take three days. That is why it is taught not to disturb the body during that time. Do not cry loudly or call out the deceased's name because it takes their attention away from their life's lessons that need to be assessed and impressed during the judgment. Then, if the soul makes any negative judgments, it atones for these before going any farther. All the hurts done to others are felt by the personality three times over. The personality feels others' humiliation, their mental and emotional pain and their physical pain three times over. Killers see each body before them constantly. The pain is felt triply, but for a third of the time spent in life. That is, if one lived to age 45, the pain would be felt for what seems like 15 years. Then the personality is allowed to go as far as it can to upper levels (again determined by the life lived) where all the good done is felt triply for what seems like three times the number of years lived135 years for a 45 year life. That is the short version of one of the teachings. Things are much more complex and vary a great deal from person to person, depending upon their beliefs. Those who do not believe in an afterlife sleep a long sleep until they can be roused. Those who believe in a hell and that they belong in it suffer until they listen to helpers who lead them out. Those who die an addict suffer all the pains of withdrawal. These people usually do not go far up the ladder, so to speak, before going back to life for another round. Addicts come back with a messed up body, sometimes for several lifetimes, because you pick up where you leave off. Drugs and alcohol are not worth it. I've known of children who, addicts last life, now have to take drugs in their present life to keep from having convulsions. Not a fun life! There is another aspect to consider: a lady friend of mine had a habit of taking a dive from some high place whenever a life became too difficult. Spiritual as she is, this became a habit, and hard one to break. This life, in dealing with this problem, she is doing Crone work. She is working with dying and suicidal people. Her brother took his own life, as did other close people around her also. She has sat with dying family members and friends trying to help them and to get over her compulsion. So far she's doing fine this life. The suicide question has many ramifications; and it does not get you out of anything because most, though not all, suicides have to stick around earth-bound for the number of years that they would have lived otherwise. But you can't communicate with anyone and you can't do anything about your situation or problems then. Frustrating! I have to say a word about Heaven's Gate. The media always goes bananas about cults that they define as anything not mainstream. They are looking for something to blame for these people's decision. Suicide is not politically correct. I am trying not to judge the Heaven's Gate people, I have no right. I am not in their space or their heads. Judgment is so hard to give up; we do it even when we know better. Discernment is what we need to learn, discernment about who we want for friends or for a lifestyle, etc., not judgment. Splitting hairs? Maybe, but it's a place to start. But I digress. Talk about faith! And putting your money where your mouth is. Wow! These people were courageous to die for their beliefs whether you think their beliefs were silly or not. Consider Roman times and the martyrs; these people died for a crucified criminal who rose from the dead. How different does that sound? The Heaven's Gate people were totally in tune with each other and committed. This was a true family commune. This was not the same as the Jones Town or Branch Davidian debacles. There was no force here, just belief. Suicide has many aspects, but first consider this: You'll leave this life sometime anyway, why not stick around till the fat lady sings? Don't leave early to beat the traffic, you might miss something. Blessed Be!
JR | 
