dssg (07/16/82)
Along the line of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, I recently received a copy of the book Thinking and Destiny by Harold Percival Lowell. I haven't finished it (it will be a long time, it is huge) but I have read enough to desire to send this article. It was written in the early part of this century, and contains myriads of information about life and death and good stuff like that. In particular it describes the after death stage in a similar manner as the Book of the Dead, but it is worth mentioning that between births it is said that there are 11 other birth-to-death-like stages in the cycle (the last one happens during the first three months of one's mother's pregnancy!). It also mentions that the 'purpose' of life is to elevate beyond this cycle and to attain a perfect balanced body, and reside in the Realm of Permanence. In fact it says that it is possible to make the existing human body perfect and indestructible, resulting in eternal life in THIS life -- a rare concept that I personally find extremely intriguing. More directly to the subject of this newsgroup, I some time ago read a book that said the act of suicide resulted in the 'soul' (PLEASE no flames) of the victim (perpetrator?) 'hanging around' in some undesirable state for as long as he would have existed sans suicide. The book may have been the Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception, but I am not sure right now. In any case the one reference is the only one I know of that makes this claim; if anyone has heard of such or similar descriptions elsewhere I would be pleased to hear of it. Happy seeking! Mark Ingram CCNG (Distributed Systems)