Reader Question: What about those who have dementia? Do they select this path before they come or is it just a physical/mechanical breakdown of the neurons? How are they on the other side? Does it take time to clear their thoughts or is it like a sudden awakening?
Ann: Robin, I feel you here. Is this a question you could answer for this reader and for the rest of us?
Robin Williams: Yes, although I doubt that “answer” is the right word. What I want to say to each and every one of you that a “demented “ person is still there. I know it may not seem like it. I too have felt that maybe it doesn’t matter if I don’t go to visit him or her, but it does. The hand on the shoulder, the talk of the day’s matters, the funny story that maybe gets a rise or nothing at all is still felt as love coming to the person still living inside the seemingly still exterior.
Although I did not have dementia in the way that many suffer, that is, almost catatonic or completely unconnected states, I knew that I was losing my connection to the outside world, that my control was going and that I was a danger to those I loved. My dementia was of a more violent and eternally explosive type, and I imagine that some of you have experienced this with loved ones also.
As you know, I ended my life because of what I saw coming. Many if not most people with dementia do not have this option because, by the time the disease is far enough advanced to see what is coming, the capacity for such an action has been lost. Others do not see suicide as an option at all.
Either way, there is agony, I will not deny it. When you see the fits, the outbursts, and then the gradual withdrawal, you are seeing the processes of death much like grieving, that is, some version of disbelief, anger, bargaining, frustration, acting out, withdrawal, then, sometimes but not always, acceptance. These may not be visible, but in many cases this is what is happening. And yet, whatever the stage, we still live, we still know of our existence in some way.
Death comes differently to all of us. I recognized and accelerated mine. Some just give up and wait for it to come. Some, though outwardly non-responsive, continue to fight. It is much the same as those of us dying from causes that let us remain more visibly conscious during the process. I will not lie to you, dying is not easy - nor is birth - and each of us experience it differently.
But for all of us the actual passing is a gift given to each in the way they need to receive it. Our beings have had many personalities. Our most recent sojourns on the planet have been undertaken for a purpose which each of us will need to work out on the other side as we try to come to terms with what we were able to accomplish in our journey towards God and what is still left to do.
Some have chosen this life to teach themselves to relinquish control. Some have journeyed here to rest and be cared for and be the vehicle for others that teaches love for the helpless. Others simply need to try fight their way out of something that cannot be won in a fight. Everyone is different, but everyone gets what they need when they pass. Karma is not a punishment, my lovelies. Karma is the continuation of the learning path.
Ann: Reader comments most appreciated.
March 10, 2020
All blog entries are works of the imagination and are for spiritual and entertainment purposes only.
Really helpful insights. Thanks Robin. Thanks Ann.
This was lovely. I appreciated this question and the response. My loved one died of a brain tumor and his last year was difficult because of losing memory and changing personality a bit. I know he's ok now, back to his normal self, or better!
Thanks to all for the kind comments, I really appreciate them as it is sometimes hard to know what resonates and what does not. So please keep them coming!
I so look forward to reading your blog entries and learning more from the teachers on the other side. You have a wonderful gift.
Beautifully translated, Ann and Robin. On a plethora of levels.