03 Sep The Last Ecstasy of Life
Anam-Áire means one who cares for the soul. ‘The Last Ecstasy of Life – Celtic Mysteries of Death and Dying’, written by Phyllida Anam-Áire describes her approach to doing just this. She offers gentle guidance for those at the end of life, from her experience of sitting with the dying. She is now a therapist and author.
I have participated with Phyllida online, heard the music in her speech, and seen her gentle encouragement of people. She grew up in Ireland, became a nun, and then took a more mystic path away from the Catholic Church. She moved to Northern Ireland, worked with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and developed her practice. She now lives in Scotland. Reading the words on the page, I hear her brogue, remember her assured presence.
Here she offers a metaphysical perspective steeped in the old Celtic ways, known as the ‘Cauldron of Brigid’. She teaches both living fully and dying consciously. Her very particular flavour weaves her understanding of life and death, in spiritual language with wise guidance and visualisations. She focuses on the energetic non-visible processes as death comes near.
Phyllida Anam-Áire encourages the reader to attend to their inner work, to process grief in order to live well ahead of our dying days. Key to this is the Celtic vision of the ‘Universal Heart’. Once we have found self-compassion, we can access a wider compassionate experience of love. She says “This opening into grief is the most important part of recognising the presence of the Universal Heart for, like joy, which cohabits with grief, it is always there, awaiting the unveiling and expressing of grief to reveal its presence.”
I like the emphasis she places on reclaiming our shadow parts and finding self-compassion; looking at our own grief and fears in order to become a non-judgmental compassionate witness to others. ‘The Last Ecstasy’ of the title is also a reclamation of the potential of shame-free pleasure in the body, and as a transformational framing of both birth and death.
Find Grief Tending events with Sarah and Tony Pletts and the Embracing Grief team coming up here.
Sarah Pletts is a Grief Tender and Artist who offers workshops in London and online, sharing rituals where grief on all themes is welcome. For more information about Grief Tending events see here.
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