Excerpt from new book – in progress.

Overcoming depression.

In spite of what you feel in depression, it may be possible to overcome depression with treatment. Then also spiritual or religious “awakenings” could be considered. It is not a matter of point of view, or mental illness beliefs. If attitude is changed dramatically then “relief” can be dramatic. This seems to occur more in the “rock bottom moments” of say, alcoholism, when relief is experience after a “religious or spiritual” experience. Mind magnifies a problem and makes it impossible to move on. There are techniques to stop this. By not listen to the promptings of the mind. Rejecting them. Modifying them, talking back to them. (Think C.B.T & A.C.T therapy.) In 12-step progammes it’s about “stinky thinking”. Participants say, “I don’t go there”. (Into my mind).

A cure?

Maybe this is the wrong question. Maybe it is about why.

Maybe it is about what we are.

We are spiritual beings because we are spirit.

We do not then really have to be spiritual or do spirituality. We are already that.

There is of course choice. Do not believe anything. Leaving out an external God. Choice or not, what is true is true. The universe and all its elements including there being a deity or not, cannot be other than what it really is interests.

Ego based personalities would have it otherwise and hence choices from that direction tend to lean towards the destructive.

Proof.

The history of mankind.

There is also too much mental health disorder, and we are seeing what seems to be an ever increasing trend towards high levels of depression and anxiety. this of course comes with high levels of suicide.

Often it is not our fault it seems. We experience abuse trauma unhealthy or poisonous environments poverty bullying. We get PTSD or some elements of effects from our past experience now of course we add in the factors of social media the expectations of society did you minds we put on our young to perform the price of housing. All this drives us to what?

Possibly drive us to drink. I whatever our poison is. We take poison to alleviate the poison in our system.

The reckoning of all this perhaps is to hit rock bottom. Alternatively, perhaps end up under a mental health service or on serious levels of medication.

We may not be able to change much. When we are in severe strife even though we might try. We may have around us supports in the guise of professional health workers, therapists, social welfare and other options.

The change that occurs when we clean up our act by claiming our birth right. What does that mean?

I am a special entity because I am part of a special world created with our enlightenment in mind.

We are here for a purpose and the ultimate purpose is to return not just theoretically realistically do our true nature.

Realistic realisation otherwise known as Nirvana – enlightenment and self-knowledge.

Finally

The Buddha says life is suffering.

If you get that and really feeling strongly you can probably be diagnosed as clinically depressed. Take some medication for every bad get the electric shock treatment.

You will be fine. Back to work and society and all that you do. Otherwise, you end up in a ministry or as a derelict alcoholic. However, the gods say you are divine. I am Divine. All is Divine Do you want to accept this? What will it mean?

Suicide

Depression is common today, and most get some experience of it in a life time. Some are not able to overcome it and remain in a negative state of mind, and probably will seek medical or psychiatric help. Depression can lead to suicide, and the thinking behind that may seem “logical” to the sufferer. It also may seem to be an escape from life.

Religion generally strongly condemns suicide. It all very well to say that nothing is solved by suicide.

When the soul is to depart from the body, the dying person sees, actions done during the lifetime. According to many teachers.

What is mostly being focused on engages the soul in that state of consciousness.

Attachment will remain in the soul memory and affect future passage onwards. Especially if it predominant in thought at the time of death .intoxication, may have a negative regressive effect on entering the next realm. Unfortunately so may the morphine given often to relieve pain around that time, because of cancer etc. However, the power of mantra and faith will cut that delay short and re-enable the onward journey.

“I you lead a pious and virtuous life, you will go to heaven” Prove it!

Tibetan Buddhist say that your last thoughts determine the next birth. The Christians say: “there is no next birth”. (If you are born again).

What am I to believe?

It up to your choice how you decide to interpret the phenomenon of death. I hope that that choice turn out to be correct!

I believe the last dominant thought is very important, but that though is very dependent on our spiritual practice, called Sadhana in Sanskrit. Even so, some scriptures say that a very bad person can invoke Krishna or Rama at the point of death and the emissaries of the King of Death, will be told to go away. This is why I do not pay much attention to the “holy books”. There is a lot of twaddle involved in all religions. I am Multi faith, but I take only what I need for my sanity, what makes sense, and what seems somewhat “provable”, by science or evidence. I include her the writings of those who have been realized as more important as they have had the experience and can better advise accordingly.

The bottom line is that at the time of suicide, the thoughts are very dark and negative, and depression is in control. Hence, why some people are placed under the Mental Health Act after serious suicide attempts.

The works of the Yogis clearly state that if the soul departs with thoughts of anger, fear, or hatred for life, then that mental turmoil will be carry on into the next experience. Yogis or Rinpoche’s from Tibet have written volumes about the realms of experience, after death.

This soul state will determine which realm we go to next. “It’s Karma Man”.

Suicide then does not solve anything but makes things worse. Hence the value of “suicide prevention” services.

Another injunction is that the soul can become a ghost, for a long time. Perhaps so that the soul can contemplate to mistake of suicide. Accountability for others responses of suffering cause by the person leaving so abruptly may complicate matters, and even attract retribution, such as a curse.

Religion has injunctions about many behaviours, which seems to vary as per religious beliefs. It pretty clear though on the Divine injunction against suicide. Or is it?

In Japan people have committed hara-kiri, often by self-disemboweling, and there has been societal approval regarding this if deeply shaming act have been committed. I can comment on this area only in regard to the practice of fasting to death deliberately as a spiritual penance. It has been practice in Eastern religions.

The ancient and tiny faith of Jainism in India, has a tradition called santhara, (literally thinning out), bur India’s Supreme Court is considering whether to ban the practice as a form of suicide, which is punishable under law.

Some Jains consider that not eating is a nonviolent way to detach from this life and prepare for the next while purifying the soul.

Apparently, a Jain holy man has assisted some 60 other holy men in carrying out santhara. It is performed only when death is imminent, but it’s estimated that some 200 Jains fast to death each year, many of them monks.