Body and Soul

The other morning I woke up thinking about the soul and the body. Most of us believe that at the moment of death the soul leaves the body. And what exactly is the soul? Maybe it’s just Consciousness and Awareness. After all, when we die we lose both, right?

When I see an animal by the side of the road I know immediately if it is dead or alive. And I don't base it on whether or not it is moving.

Of course, one can still be alive and unconscious. But the moment the heart stops beating, the lungs no longer breathe, the brain stops functioning, the body dies. And the soul leaves. Because it no longer has a living body to inhabit?

The two people that I have sat down next to shortly after their deaths in the past 5 years were my stepfather, Tom, and 9 months later, my mom. It was obvious to me that Tom was no longer THERE, in his body. He had been wasting away with cancer for 6 months, we had gone away for a few days, and arrived at their house 10 minutes after he died. Lying there was obviously a vacant body.

When the assisted living house owner called me to tell me that mom had passed away, I rushed over there and arrived perhaps 20 minutes after the call. She was lying on her back with her left arm reaching up toward the ceiling. And she was not in her body. It was so very clear.

As far as where the soul goes, great thinkers and philosophers have been debating this for centuries. Plato and Socrates just had opinions. Besides, how can we prove any of this while we’re not of that realm?

I don’t want to die, that thought is frightening -- but it’s the HOW that really scares me. What is reassuring, however, is that we always hear that so and so died peacefully… I think everything and everybody dies peacefully.

I hope.