In the Gnostic Mass, during the Collects, the Deacon intones:
“Unto them from whose eyes the veil of life hath fallen may there be granted the accomplishment of their true Wills; whether they will absorption in the Infinite, or to be united with their chosen and preferred, or to be in contemplation, or to be at peace, or to achieve the labour and heroism of incarnation on this planet or another, or in any Star, or aught else, unto them may there be granted the accomplishment of their wills; yea, the accomplishment of their wills.”
And that’s all well and good for the deceased but friends and family still need to deal with the physical last remains. Smithsonian Magazine recently ran a feature on, for want of a better term, “green funeral services and burial.” In typical Western societies, deceased loved ones are cleaned, pumped full of preservatives, made up, dressed, exhibited, then buried in a metal casket that eventually is lowered into a concrete lined grave — as if staving off decomposition has any meaningful upside. Crematoriums often have no filtration systems and vent carbon monoxide and other gases directly into the atmosphere. Meanwhile”
“Ramsey Creek is known as the nation’s first “green cemetery,” but Campbell says it’s more than that. “The whole process of modern death seems to deny decomposition and prevent people from returning to the earth,” she says.
“To help the dead get as close to the land as possible, her team facilitates burials that look more like those of 1816 than 2016. Graves are dug by hand—not a bulldozer in sight. Bodies are preserved with dry ice and lowered directly into the ground in simple boxes or plain shrouds. This cemetery doesn’t have traditional headstones or lawnmowers, and it’s hard to tell where the graves are—rough-hewn stones serve as the only markers. Proceeds from the funerals go towards restoring the land and funding local nonprofits.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/could-funeral-future-help-heal-environment-180957953/?no-ist
Meanwhile another post-death scenario that should be available in the foreseeable future is the “Mushroom Death Suit,” funeral garb laced with mushroom spores that will spout fungi that will help the quick and efficient decomposition of physical remains designed by one Jae Rhim Lee. A Mother Nature Network report says:
“Lee’s first design as part of her Infinity Burial Project is an organic cotton suit lined with a crocheted netting containing mushroom spores. Lee chose mushrooms because of their ability to not only quickly break down organic matter, but also because they’re excellent at cleaning up environment toxins in soil. She’s currently developing unique strain(s) of fungi (called Infinity Mushrooms) trained to not only quickly break down our bodies, but also dispel the toxins they contain. ”
http://www.coeio.com/mushroom-death-suit/
thanks for Soror Hypatia for the tip!
