“Even people who want to go to
heaven, don’t want to die to get there.”
This quote from Steve Jobs 2005 commencement speech to Stanford’s
graduates made me really think about what my thoughts were on death. There are four types of death, a clinical
death, brain death, biological death and social death. A clinical death is considered the least
useful to the medical profession because it can be unreliable and
temporary. Clinical death refers to the
stopping of breathing and the heart.
Brain death occurs when oxygen has failed to reach the brain for eight
to ten minutes; many times the person will fall into an irreversible coma. A biological death follows a clinical death
after brain cells start to die from lack of oxygen. David Sudnow is a researcher who first
suggested the concept of social death, it examines the phenomena when a person
is still biologically alive but is treated as dead; patients start the process
of death, closing of the eyes, before death actually ensues. Death’s processes take a toll on the living
as well as the dying, it is something that we will all have to face one day.
I often think
that it must be a sad existence to have nothing to believe in when you sit down
to wonder about your impending death. As
a Christian, I know that our time here is temporary, but our spirit will live
on in heaven. Steve Jobs’ quote sums up
the uncertainty that I feel about death, but at least I have reassurance in
knowing that there is ‘something else.’ Although
I grew up in church practicing my beliefs well before I understood what they
truly were, Viktor Frankl and Carl Jung, two psychoanalysts developed theories
about spirituality that develops with age. Frankl developed three
interdependent stages that describe human connectivity to spirituality. The first stage is the somatic or physical
dimension. This first stage deals with
the human motivation to stay alive, an intention that begins at birth. The second is the psychological dimension,
which is an extension of the physical dimension but relies on the interactions
that you make with the environment; it results from instincts and drive. These first two stages deal with our ability
to survive and how we survive, the paths that we take and the choices that we
make. Frankl believed that during the
first two stages in life we are trying to find purpose in life. We’re trying to find the things that we are
meant to do, how can we interact with out environment in a way that makes us
feel successful. The last stage, which
Frankl calls the noetic dimension, is when Frankl believes that we are searching
for the meaning of life, when we are trying to find the answers to life’s
biggest questions which makes people search for spirituality. Whatever leads us to our spiritual journey, I
think that spirituality greatly eases our thoughts on death and dying. Figuring out that our life has some greater
purpose and destination, can give you solace in those last moments.
There was a
chapter entitled, ‘Dealing Successfully with One’s own Death,’ and I really had
to think about whether that is truly possible.
I’ve read many pieces that dealt with Psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler –
Ross’s stages of death. I have
unfortunately even seen very special people in my life deal with these stages
before being laid to rest. I struggled
with the words to say as they developed through these stages, but I realize
that death is the most complicated and mysterious stage that we face. In knowing that, all that we can do is live
our lives in the best way that we can, be listening ears to those who face this
stage before us, and pray that we are filling God’s purpose for us in our life.
For the connections between dying and spirituality, you drew on Viktor Frankl and Carl Jung who asserted that spirituality developed with age and that older people often loosen previously rigid ideas about life and humanity. E.O. Wilson's view that humans have a need to develop simple rules for handling complex problems and that religious practices which are generally simple like praying, singing, meditation, fasting, self denials of pleasures, all which translate to spirituality will enhance the survival of practitioners. E.O. Wilson asserts that those who practice religion are more likely to stay alive than those who do not practice religion. The potential for self-sacrifice can be strengthened in this manner because the willingness of individuals to relinquish rewards or even surrender their own lives will favor group survival. (Lifesmart, p.294)
ReplyDeleteFrankl and Jung's theories of spirituality describe mostly the human development and the moments in which faith arises and to what extent. For another class taught by Eric Mollin, we read an article by James Fowler, who's research described the development of faith. His theory implies that faith develops, regardless of intent or age, for different purposes and at different occasions. It's a really interesting article, it made me question why God isn't a subject that is brought up in schools because developing some sort of spirituality is inevitable.
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