Past Lives, Death, Dying, and the Afterlife

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PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS

“Our task is to learn, to become God-like through knowledge . . . Then we can come back and help others.” – Catherine, or a Master Spirit, in Many Lives Many Masters¹

Last Friday, Friday the 13th, lived up to its Western superstitiousness reputation for the world and myself. Historically, its meaning seems associated with the death of Jesus. In a certain kind of way, it represents the importance of the serendipities that I often discuss, here being the coexistence of the day Friday and the number 13. I have concluded that serendipity is essential to what I choose to write about in these columns. A psychiatric view of it might be a sort of magical thinking or unconscious associations to explain fortunate or unfortunate coincidental experiences.

Coincidentally or serendipitously, here is what happened to us last Friday, which then led to consideration of some of the most crucial questions about life and death: past lives, dying, death, and any afterlife. Here is how it emerged and continues on.

Early on Friday the 13th, central time US, Israel launched an unexpected major airstrike on Iran, setting off the ensuing military responses on both sides. No matter the ultimate existential concerns, the deaths and injuries of apparently innocent people are happening on both sides.

Temporarily putting this disturbing news aside, we were scheduled to have dinner with our good friends, the Simons. With the backdrop of the Middle East conflict, as well as that of our own aging, we got to talking some abut death and dying. Talking about death and dying seems a rarity in America, even somewhat so in psychiatry. Yet, the very limited research that exists suggests that intermittent discussion about death helps to reduce death anxiety. Moreover, psychedelics are now being studied to assess their role in addressing undue death anxiety. As I was to find out that night, there may be another way.

In Psychiatric Times, we have also discussed the controversy about medical aid in dying recently. I have also written about the various cultural and religious variations about death, dying, and the afterlife.² Now I sense that the recent series of redemption may be leading deeper to this new series.

Now, I was not at all surprised that Al was interested in talking about death and dying. We have become late life male friends, a relative rarity. In so doing, we have recognized and discussed mutual meaningful serendipity after serendipity. Al is not in the formal psychiatric field, though he thought of becoming a physician, but he is very psychologically attuned. He is also a writer, particularly about Aphorisms. Here is one of them on his listing:

“Until you know, you don’t know.”

Like me about past lives? About future progressions?

No wonder that I was a bit surprised, challenged, and affirmed when he ended the evening by giving me 2 books to read and to take notes while doing so. One was on past lives by another psychiatrist, from which the opening quote was extracted.¹ The other was on the afterlife, written by a sister about her brother.³

Over the columns for next week, then, I plan to cover these and other related parapsychology related topics in some sort of order of occasion: past lives, death, dying, and the afterlife. Understandably, this coverage will be controversial in the very least. I will look forward to your reactions and perhaps examples that you have encountered. After all, this is a matter of life and death.

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry and is now in retirement and retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekday column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He was chosen to receive the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Association for Social Psychiatry. Previously, he received the Administrative Award in 2016 from the American Psychiatric Association, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Assembly of the APA in 2002, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1991. He presented the third Rabbi Jeffrey B. Stiffman lecture at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis on Sunday, May 19, 2024. He is an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physician burnout, and xenophobia. He is now editing the final book in a 4-volume series on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, and now The Eastern Religions, and Spirituality. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.

References

1. Weiss B. Many Lives Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives. Touchstone; 1988.

2. Moffic HS. Social Psychiatry: Death and Dying, in The WASP Textbook on Social Psychiatry: Historical, Developmental, Cultural, and Clinical Perspectives. In: Gogineni RR, Pumariega AJ, Kallivayalli R, et al, eds. Oxford University Press; 2023.

3. Kagan A. The Afterlife of Billy Fingers: How My Bad-Boy Brother Proved to Me There’s Life After Death. Hampton Roads; 2013.