Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

 As noted on the blog last Wednesday, instead of an "ask me anything" post this week on ecosophia.net, I'll be hosting a "Magic Monday" today. What does that mean? It means "ask me anything about occultism, and I'll post an answer here." Since this Monday is a busy day for a lot of people, being sacred to two popular religions -- Christianity on the one hand, and Consumerism on the other -- if comments trickle in on Tuesday et al., I'm not going to be a stickler for the point. 

That said, have at it! 

***PLEASE NOTE: as of midnight, 26 December 2017, this Magic Monday has packed its tents and gone away. If you have questions you haven't posted yet, please save them for the next Magic Monday on January 1!.***

Comments

Alive but "already gone"

[quietmagpie]

JMG,

A lot of the previous thought about spirits, the will, and death has led me to a question. A number of people in my social circle have had to deal with friends and relatives who are suffering from Alzheimers. One of them described the experience as having to watch their mother die twice, because although she was still technically alive "she" was gone. I was reading in the Divine Comedy that Dante meets a number of souls in hell who's bodies were still living on earth and it got me thinking: is it possible for the part of the self that wills beyond simple instinct to pass on while the body is still alive and even speaking and walking?

Re: Alive but "already gone"

[ecosophia]

If there's speaking and walking going on, there's more than simple instinct present, and that means there's still at least some connection between the material body and the personality. In Alzheimer's, as I recall from my days working in nursing homes, there still seems to be some connection until the last voluntary actions stop and you've got an empty shell lying in a bed.