Although this photo may bring up strong feelings and is certainly not a pretty sight, being with Stephen Keyser as his hospice social worker was a very beautiful and sacred experience. Stephen is pictured in a coma five hours before his death. He had pre-arranged for this photo to be taken because he believed it would help others be less afraid of death. As I cradled Stephen's head with my hands, I was keeping my spiritual focus and praying for his spiritual welfare. The spiritual energy in the room was very sacred. Chapter 17- The Final Frontier: From Outer To Inner Space Astronaut Captain Edgar Mitchell--Sixth man on the moon, consciousness researcher and author of The Way of the Explorer. The consciousness of man has an "extended nature" which enables him to surpass the ordinary bounds of space and time--suggesting that there is a more ephemeral informational aspect to the material world. --Dr. Edgar Mitchell Pictured is Apollo 14 Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, sixth man on the moon, who had a profound spiritual experience during the Apollo 14 mission. Upon his return to Earth, he said, "On the return trip home, gazing through 240,000 miles of space toward the stars and the planet from whichI had come, I suddenly experienced the universe as intelligent, loving, harmonious. My view of our planet was a glimpse of divinity... We went to the moon as technicians, we returned as humanitarians." Chapter 18- Ram Dass--Internationally known lecturer, (also known as Dr. Richard Alpert), former Harvard psychologist and author of several books, including the classic, Be Here Now. Dying can be used as a profound vehicle for awakening of consciousness because as we make our transition to other dimensions at the time of death, the door between dimensions seems to be more open. This doesn't mean that the door to these other dimensions are closed at other times, just that at the time of death there is a natural shift to non-ordinary, expanded states of consciousness. --Ram Dass "Dying" by Alex Grey. I had a vision of dying in which a tunnel of eyes opened above me. The ectoplasmic wisp of my consciousness was excruded through the crown of my head toward the Clear Light. Chapter 19- The Healing We Took Birth For Stephen Levine--Poet, workshop leader and author of many books on conscious living and dying, including A Year to Live: How To Live This Year As If It Were Your Last. As one person put it, "Death is just a change of lifestyles"--an opportunity to see the cause of suffering, our clinging, and to discover the surrender that opens the way to our essential wholeness. Death puts life in perspective. A great gift which if received in love and wisdom allows the clinging mind to dissolve so that nothing remains but truth. And we become just the light entering the light. --Stephen Levine Chapter 20- Dying Before Dying Dr. Stanislav Grof--Transpersonal psychiatrist/researcher and author of many books, including Beyond the Brain. For any culture which is primarily concerned with meaning, the study of death--the only certainty that life holds for us-- must be central, for an understanding of death is the key to liberation in life. --Dr. Stanislav Grof