Traveling Light
by Andrew Holecek One of the biggest problems in death, as in life, is looking back, or being held back by unhealthy attachments. By cutting our attachments and lightening our load now (by writing wills and other advance directives), we can free ourselves to move forward. Dealing with all the emotional, medical, legal, and endless practical details that surround death is overwhelming at the time of death, so it behooves us to prepare in advance. The single best thing you can do to have a good death is to relax, and the best way to relax is to have all your affairs in order. These practical preparations have spiritual implications. When we die, we want to travel light into the after-life, what the Tibetans call “bardo” or “gap, transitional process.” Traveling light allows our consciousness to move forward to our next destination. This is actually a form of “phowa,” which means “transference, or ejection,” and refers to the movement of consciousness after death. There are esoteric and exoteric forms of phowa, and getting all our affairs in order …