MSI Press Blog

  1. The Question What happens when we die? Not biologically. Spiritually. Existentially. Is it a doorway? A judgment? A return? A release? 2. The Human Angle You lose someone. You face your own mortality. You wonder: Is this the end? Or the beginning of something else? Different traditions offer different answers — each shaped by their deepest hopes and fears. 3. The Inquiry Here’s how Eastern and Western religions describe the end of life: Western Religions (Judgment and Eternity) Christianity : Life ends in judgment. The soul is either united with God (heaven) or separated (hell). Some traditions include purgatory — a place of purification. Resurrection is central: the body will rise again. Islam : After death, the soul enters Barzakh — a waiting period until the Day of Judgment. Then, based on deeds and faith, the soul enters paradise or hell. The body is resurrected and judged. Judaism : Views vary. Some believe in bodily resurrection and a world to come ...

  We often confuse the soul with the mind, or the body. But they are not the same. The mind can falter. The body can writhe in pain. And yet the soul may still be present—intact, luminous, enduring. This is one of the great tragedies of being human: when the mind decays or the body suffers long before the soul has left it. When the person we love is still here, but unreachable. When their body remains, but their joy, their clarity, their ease have vanished. Weep. Weep for the cruelty of it. Weep for the long goodbye. Weep for the moments that should have been gentle but were not. But do not despair. Because the soul is not so easily broken. It does not vanish with memory loss or tremble at physical pain. It may be quiet, but it is not gone. It may be hidden, but it is not erased. Sometimes, the soul waits. Sometimes, it endures. Sometimes, it teaches us how to love without answers, without reciprocity, without ease. To love someone whose mind has unraveled or whose bod...

  Sharing information about a great and highly useful book by Barbara Karnes, RN, who has written a unique series of books on death and dying of immense support to those diagnosed with cancer and other life-limiting, life-threatening, and terminal illnesses. Here is what she says about the book: When a person receives the diagnosis of a life-threatening illness, life as they know it ceases. They find themselves in uncharted territory with no script to follow. Too often they withdraw from the world, as if they have already died. All activity becomes centered on their living with disease and its treatment. Fear and uncertainty replaces confidence and self identity. The joys of living are more or less put on hold while living as long as possible is pursued.   A Time to Live  honors whatever life prolonging choices are being made while at the same time suggesting we look at the gifts life offers each day. A Time To Live: Living With Life Limiting Illness - BK Books For other ...