Festival of the Dead - Reflections on the NDE

This is extracted from a letter I wrote when a relative lay dying. The bottom portion is a follow-up.


All,

Of all footsteps, that of the elephant is supreme;
Of all mindfulness meditations, that on death is supreme.

The Buddha

It was my great good fortune to spend several hours this weekend speaking with someone who, several years ago now, had a full-blown Near Death Experience (NDE). I hope you will indulge me for a moment and allow me to share with you my joy. Together, we may learn from this and I am happy to share something of this with you. This person is only the second one I have met in a lifetime of seeking out people such as this, but something about this person's manner captured my attention and I asked them if they were familiar with the experience and then pressed the issue and somehow won their trust enough for them to relate the entirety of the experience to me. I am immensely grateful to this person for giving me their trust and I will not breach it nor will I relate the details of their particular expeience since the literature is filled with such stories, but will generalize for the benefit of us all.
 

I don't care for the term, NDE, and the whole genre has become sensationalized since was it was first brought to national attention in the US in the 1970's by Dr. Raymond Moody. This is due to marketing and the pathological obsession we have with being young all of our lives. The experience itself is as old as mankind and the reports, from Plato in the West to the Upanishads in the East, have generally agreed on the basic outline of the phenomenon. Such an experience, like all religious experience, belongs to the realm of myth and dream. Due to our materialism (much needed, yes, but also something quite new and overblown) we tend to discount these realms, but they have generally been understood to be both the origin of true knowledge and the means by which that knowledge is communicated. Consult your Bibles, in whatever religion you follow (if any), and you will see that dreams, visions, and experiences such as the NDE play a staring role. They are natural and it is wise to pay attention to this part of nature.
 

From what I can discern the NDE here in the West is a little different than what is experienced by traditional peoples in the sense that we have a more developed sense of independent self. Also, our moral actions are not dictated by our clan or caste, but it is a function of the individual (which doesn't exist as we think of it in clan or caste). The most interesting side effect of this is the panoramic life review. The person I spoke to this weekend underwent this. Most NDE's generally involve several factors, but it is only the rarest that has them all together and the panoramic review is among the most fascinating. Much has been written about it and I would encourage you to investigate the literature.
 

During the panoramic life review the individual sees every thought he or she has had, experiences every event from not only their own perspective but as if they were everyone else, too, and are responsible for those people's feelings, and often, even people those people affected. This is arresting. They are usually at this stage in the presence of a Light, which they identify later according to their cultural beliefs. This Light is understood and experienced as the repository of all that is loving, good, true and holy. Not a single one of them ever wants to leave its presence. However, as the spindle of their lives unwinds the experiencer is often left with a feeling of utter shame and amazement: shame that one has not lived according to the minimal standard that is revealed by the love emanating from the Light, and amazement that one is more fully conscious than ever before. From what I can gather, this Light seems to be a Prime Identity whose being is so powerful and explosive that it spills over into and as all consciousness, like sparks from a welders torch. It seems to be aware of Itself as being everything else, as some of the experiencers testify ("What you do to the least of these, you do to Me").

 

 

So, the lesson seems to be this. Our lives have a purpose and meaning beyond what our conscious mind can fathom and we truly are our brother's keeper. The Golden Rule isn't some nifty phrase, but a mandate woven into the very fabric of things. Further, it isn't the big things that stand out to this Light such as getting a new car or volunteer work, say. It is the little things and sacrifices made along the way. Implicit in the life review is the question, "What have you done with your life (to show Me)?" Again, this has nothing to do with our human accomplishments, but with the little everyday things (How can you impress something that is aware of Itself as everything?). During this review the experiencer is pure soul (for lack of a better word) and the ego, which finds reasons for how and why we treat each other the ways we do and seeks to explain them away, is unavailable to defend us. It is not who or what we really are, it seems, but even a little self-reflection will tell us that these social selves we forge and pay so much attention to by creating boundaries and acquiring possessions, do not represent ourselves, but like Emerson said, misrepresent ourselves. God, help us make those little everyday acts our church and to consider one another as the immortal beings we already are and act accordingly.
 

As I was writing this I got word that my grandmother has just died. Some years ago she hovered near death and saw her favorite brother and her mother, both of whom told her it was time for her to go with them. She was always a fearful woman and tenaciously clung to her body, but it is soon to be sent to the crematorium and the ashes buried. All she has now are her thoughts and her deeds and the feelings inherent within them. It is a chilling thought - death; but a liberating one, at the same time.
 

I hope you enjoy the video's even though they are somewhat sensationalized as so much of everything is. They will give you a flavor of what was told to me this weekend, though in much more detail. I have several copies of my favorite NDE book if anyone would like one. It is a compilation and deals with the life review more extensively and better than any other I have come across. I bought a stack of them years ago and have been careful about who I give a copy to, but if you are sincerely interested you may have or borrow one (though I doubt anyone will). If you do, I will not tell anyone. If you would like a reading list I can put one together for you - some of the books are worthwhile and some are not.
 

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy"

Hamlet
 

Live well,
 

Gordon
 

Videos/Photos - cut and paste if needed
 

Dr. George Ritchie: I first read his little book, Return From Tomorrow, way back in the mid 1980's. I highly recommend it, but not his second book. He even had to rewrite it to make it more "marketable". Better to stick with the first story of a first hand account. He also is the man who met Raymond Moody on a street corner at UVA and inspired Moody to write, Life After Life, which opened the door to public discussions about this topic.Honestly, I've lost a lot of respect for Moody over the years, but will always be grateful to him for writing that first book.
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do8f8QaRGuE&feature=related
 

This one is an account from a neuroscientist who taught at Harvard Medical School for 15 years. It is narrated by Morgan Freeman. All I know about this one is this video, but it is beautiful nonetheless.
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlwyU0_M88o&feature=related

 

Beautiful photos of our little corner of the world:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/28/nasa-space-photos_n_1635689.html#slide=more22393
 

 

Addendum: From an e-mail concerning a new book and an article critiquing it.

 

Here is another take on the Dr.'s new book. I think the article is hammy and the objections are getting old and miss the point entirely.
 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/victor-stenger/not-dead-expereirnces-nde_b_1957920.html?utm_hp_ref=religion-science

 

 

I disagree with the author. As I implied in that e-mail when my grandmother died, I don't think this is a supernatural experience - I think it is a preternatural experience. It is inherent within nature and is something we should pay attention to. I also don't think there can ever be any "hard" evidence of such occurrences. After all, the mind is a story-teller. It spins stories always and about everything. Even "visions" or experiences of the Void (to Buddhists) or Absolute (to Christians) beyond time and space where there are no images or reference points must later be recounted as a story and so the gaps must be filled in. That is what ultimately makes these experiences ineffable. If a kettle is boiling the scientific way of looking at it is to say it has reached 212 degrees. But, it may have been placed on the stove to begin with because a long lost friend is coming for tea. Which is "more" true? I think it is the explanation that tells a more coherent story (the second one) to the human mind here and now.
 

John Keats once wrote as the Industrial Revolution was gaining ground in England, "There was a rainbow seen in heaven the other day; now it is listed in the catalogue of common things." The point is that the NDE and the Life Review that many have takes us back to first things philosophically - namely, how are we to best live our lives? That is the Socratic question and it is for me the point of studying NDE's; of contemplating death and the consequences thereof.

Dollars to Doughnuts - Accounting Paper

This is a rough draft of a Managerial Accounting paper I turned in to Dr. Jackson last year. I am meeting with Dr. Jackson Wednesday to get her advice on taking on-line accounting classes through LSU. Dr. Jackson was a fantastic professor and brought a sense of humor to the classroom that made me look forward to her weekly meetings.
I think this is the paper (though not finalized) for which I received the highest grade in the class. I was always proud of this accomplishment. There is another paper I have kept, but it was a group project and is nine pages long!

Accounting 6300                                                                                                                

Dr. Pamela Jackson

November 8, 2011                                                                                                                

 

Charley’s Family Steak House Parts A & B

 

1. Describe the business and organizational structure of Charley’s Family Steak House.  What are the current concerns of the owner of Charley’s Family Steak House?  How does he propose to remedy his concerns?

     Charley’s Family Steak house is comprised of four units that are owned solely by Charley Turner through a private corporation.  Each unit has the menu posted on the wall and customers place their orders and pay for their food, which is then brought to them by servers. Although each unit has the same menu the prices are not fixed. The manager of each location is given discretion to raise or lower certain prices by no more than 5%.

     Mr. Turner and an assistant purchase the food for each unit based on requests placed by the managers of those units.  Labor costs vary at each unit depending on position. Cooks are paid $12 per hour with a $1 raise being considered by Alex, the General Manager of Unit 2, which tells us that managers have some discretion in how much the cooks are paid. Servers are paid a standard wage and tips are split among them. Each manager has a POS system installed that allows them to view gross sales by menu item, how often coupons are used, and by net sales.

     Advertising is handled almost exclusively by Mr. Turner.  Once a month he places ads in local newspapers that contain coupons that expire within two weeks. However, each manager is given a small budget to with which to promote their individual unit. Overall, Mr. Turner budgets 3.5% of gross sales for advertising.

     Despite his business model and organizational structure, Mr. Turner is not without concerns. Fixed costs and how to cover them are on his mind as we are told that he is considering test market serving breakfast at one of his stores to cover them. Also this would help in more fully utilizing his facilities.  Also, one of his managers had recently been caught falsifying reports and this is making him wonder how to improve his overall planning and control system.

     Operating expenses have also been a concern as he has had to convince Alex that these expenses are basically fixed and vary with customer volume, but only above a certain base amount. Mr. Turner and Alex agreed that identifying each cost would be too time consuming and had compromised and left the budget the same for the coming year as it had been for the year before.

     Insurance, too, is a concern. Premiums are expected to rise and this expense is allocated to each unit based on square footage. In the coming year Mr. Turner is deciding whether or not to add another restaurant and this will affect the allocation amount to each unit. Other costs related to running the business such as licenses and fees are paid by headquarters.  

     Finally, Mr. Turner is considering creating a bonus package for his store managers. This package would be based on how well the unit performed as measured against predetermined sales and profit goals. Mr. Turner thinks that this will give each manager greater incentive to careful review their annual forecasts and to meet target goals.

2. Given the information provided in the case and the parenthetical calculations provided below by your accountant, explain the factors that are used to arrive at the forecast of Gross Sales and Net Sales in the company’s 2008 Operating Plan in Exhibit 2 on page 118.

a.            Gross Sales (3850 x 40% x $7.50) + (3850 x 60% x $10.50)

b.            Net Sales (3850 x 40% x $7.00) + (3850 x 60% x $10.00)

                (Explain the source of each number in the parenthetical calculations)

 

A.      Gross sales are determined by taking the average weekly customer count of 3,850 (multiplied by 52) and multiplying it by the percentage of those customers who eat at lunchtime, which we are told amounts to 40% and multiplying that by the average amount of the diners check, which we are told is $7.50.The same is done for dinner customers using 60% and $10.50 for the check amount. Alternately, we are told in the case that the unit expected to sell 182,000 meals over the whole year with a 10% increase being calculated which would be added to 1, thus making it 1.1. This in turn would be multiplied by 40% and the average meal cost and the same would be done for dinner, but 60% and $7.50 would be multiplied by 182,000 and 1.1. These percentages are targets set by Mr. Turner and Alex.  

B.      Net sales are determined by multiplying 182,000 by 1.1 (last year plus the projected increase) by .50 (the average of 40% and 60%). This comes to 100,100 which is subtracted from the gross and this leaves us $1,761,760

 

3.            Given the information provided in the case and the parenthetical calculations provided below by your accountant, explain the factors that are used to arrive at the forecast of for each of the following expenses from Exhibit 2 on page 118. (Note:  Miscellaneous, Insurance, and Management expenses are all given in the case and require no calculation, and, therefore, no explanation.)

a.            Food ($1,861,860 x 55%) = 1,024,023. Food sales are 55% of gross sales.

b.            Labor [(2000 x 4) x $13] + [(.16 x 3850 x 52) x $3] = The budgeted labor hours per year for 4 full-time cooks (2000x4) for 182,000 customers. They are paid $13 per hour and this is added to budgeted labor hours for servers. The budget labor hours for 2007 was 28,800 (1800 x 16) for 182,000 customers.  This calculates into .16 hours per customer (28,800 total hours/182,000). In 2008, they expect 3850 customers a week (.10 increase in customers). 3850 x 52 = 200200 customers.

Thus, 200,200 customers requiring .16 hrs. each for cashier and server services x$3 per hour = $96,096.

Cooks = $104,000 (as you calculated) Cashiers/Servers = $96,096 (per explanation above)

TOTAL = $200,096

c.             Other Operating Expenses ($1,861,860 x 8%) is gross sales x’s actual gross sales from 2007 (they agreed to keep the percentage the same) = 149,949.

d.            Advertising ($1,861,860 x 3.5%) = $65,165. We are told that Mr. Turner plans to incur advertising expenses of 3.5% of gross sales.

e.            Depreciation ($2,000 x 12) = $24,000. This is the monthly amount by the number of months in the year and is a fixed cost.

f.             Licenses and Fees ($11,250 x 1.04) = $11,700. The cost is increasing by 4%, so it is 1.00 + .04.

g.            Rent ($6,000 x 12) = $72,000. We are told rent is fixed for 10 years.

h.            Rent Overage ($61,860 x 5%) =$95,000. We are told that each year payments equal to 5% must be made on gross sales above $1,800,000.

 

 

4. Assume the forecasted sales volume for Unit No. 2 in 2008 is reduced to 3,700 meals per week from 3,850 meals per week.  Prepare a revised 2008 Operating Plan for similar to Exhibit 2 for this reduced forecasted volume.

 

Revised budget

Gross Sales                                         $1,789,320

                                                                   $96,200

Net Sales                                               $1,693,120                                        

Food                                                       $984,126

Labor:                                                     $196,352 (cooks - $104,000/Servers - $92,352)

Other Operating Expenses                 $143,146

Contribution                                         $369,496

Operating Expenses:                                     

Advertising                                            $62,626

Miscellaneous                                         $3,000

Depreciation                                          $24,000

Insurance                                                  $9,400

Licenses and Fees                                $ 11,700

Rent (Base)                                            $ 72,000

Rent (Overage)                                                  0 -Under $1,800,000

Management                                         $95,000

Total Operating Expenses                  $277,726

    Profit                                                   $91,770

To Autumn

I walked this evening in the gloam as the sky tuned first vanilla, then calico, then inky black as darkness fell. I love this time of year and I thought about one of my favorite poems, "To Autumn", by John Keats. It is considered one of the greatest poems in the English language because it is almost perfectly descriptive. In other words, the "I" of the author is hardly in evidence. Keats called this "negative capability" if memory serves me right and it is the goal of poetry (or was until everyone started prattling on about themselves in the 20th century). It is the ability to see clearly because one is not standing in one's own way. If only we cultivated this ability and applied it to business, relationships etc. This isn't a cold or impersonal attitude. On the contrary, it is precisely in those moments when we forget ourselves and our sense of "I" and look with wonder at a person or an object or perform an action correctly or morally that we are truly free.

I have visited where Keats died in Rome and read two or three biographies about him. He is second only to Shakespeare to me. He died when he was 25 and had written for only 4 years. He was a serious artist who left an enduring legacy. How different from our pop stars and beatniks.


John Keats (1795-1821)

TO AUTUMN  

SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep,
Drows’d with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

A song by the English folk singer Nick Drake to accompany that captures the mood of  such an evening. Another bright star who eclipsed too soon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2jxjv0HkwM

MEMOries

I thought I would preserve some of my papers here since computers can be temperamental and thumb drives can be misplaced.
I got the highest grade in the class for the first one and post the second for sentimental reasons.

TO: Dr. Catherine P. Slade, Ph.D.

FROM: Gordon Jackson, MBA Student

DATE: March 16, 2011

SUBJECT: Group 4 – The Master’s Table Project

The Master’s Table is an organization dedicated to feeding the homeless and has been operating in the Augusta area for almost thirty years. They have opened a new facility on Fenwick Street and plan to host events such as weddings and large meetings. The task before them is to inform the community that the facilities are available for use.

Event Planning Project Cancelled

Group 4 met with Jason Lutes, the Founder and Director of “B3” and contractor for The Master’s Table, on March 7^th and proposed either hosting an introductory event for The Master’s Table or exploring other advertising options. Mr. Lutes was enthusiastic about the idea of an event and hoped it could be coordinated to coincide with Master’s Week. However, subsequent discussion revealed this goal to be untenable due to the short notice and scheduling conflicts invitees would have during Master’s Week. So, by the end of the meeting we had agreed to create a “Starter Kit” for prospective clients. During the meeting the target audience was identified as consisting of the following:

· Second marriages

· Socially conscious individuals, groups and businesses

· Donors and their heirs

The target audience is to be informed that use of the facility is tax-deductable. The main competition is determined to be Enterprise Mill, which also has a complete catering kitchen, so supporters are to be encouraged to use a “venue with a social conscience.”

Starter Kit Project -New

Mr. Lutes sent Group 4 a brochure on March 9^th to give the group ideas for the project. A conference call was held on March 14^thand the project was discussed in greater detail. Mr. Lutes appears to be highly receptive to this project because he has Starter Kits for his other business concerns and this will an asset that can be used well into the future. The Starter Kit will contain the following information:

· Why the Master’s Table should be chosen by client

· Rules and regulations

· List of approved vendors and procedure for approving new vendors

· Detailed information about the facilities and how to use the kitchen etc.

This will be collected and put in the form of a brochure and perhaps, a CD. It is to contain photos of the facility and is intended to be a permanent part of the Master’s Table’s rental operation – an advertisement and a selling point that is professional enough to convince the target audience that the facilities and staff are competitive. This is our group’s planned outcome.

Follow-up

A meeting has been scheduled for 9:00 p.m. on March 16^thin Allgood Hall with Mr. Lutes. After the conference call an e-mail was sent to Mr. Lutes detailing the information the group will need to get started.

Personal Efforts and Observations

I have participated in each meeting and was the main enthusiast for the Event idea since my role would have been to travel the area and meet new people. During the physical meeting with Mr. Lutes it is my opinion that I was the most vocal socially and drilled down on the target audience, the competition and asked, “Why the Master’s Table?” – which I think is the most important question. Others were more detailed oriented from that point on in the meeting, mainly Ms. Thomas-McKie. The conference call was held in the office of Ms. Thomas-McKie and she did almost of all of the talking due to her proximity to the phone. Afterwards, a group member who had been late to meetings or silent came up with the body of the e-mail’s talking points, which was impressive.

My greatest challenge will be to find a new role in the project. I will propose at the next meeting that I write the main body of the brochure and proofread it. Also, I find my strength to be building rapport and grasping the “big picture” and whittling it down to a few succinct points. However, as an introvert I probably over estimate my social skills and I may not be as detailed oriented (idea wise) as others due to laziness. I have always had a fondness for the “big picture” and tend to let details “take care of themselves”. In a group setting, of course, this means letting others do it for me. I will say that my background in sales prompted me to ask the all important questions of “why would someone rent here, who is our target audience, and who is our main competition”?

In conclusion, my goal for the next meeting(s) will be finding a role in the new project and becoming more detail oriented in conception.

This second was for a proposal for an extracurricular paper.

Augusta State University

Memo

To:        Dr. Catherine P. Slade, Ph.D.

From:   Gordon Jackson; Krutiben Zemse

Date:    10/27/2011

Re:       Faculty Sponsor Request

Janice Sherman, CEO of the Neighborhood Improvement Project, has requested that we conduct a research study on the impact of community health centers on the utilization of ER visits by the uninsured and underinsured. Previous research has been done for the Spring Creek Health Cooperative (SCHC), a multi-county partnership in Southwest Georgia, and we hope to replicate this study. The study is a Return-on-Investment analysis based on hospital admissions, medication assistance, medical home referrals and medical supplies. The study was conducted between June of 2007 and June of 2008 using 780 patients enrolled in SCHC. The study determined that by avoiding ER visits, reducing hospital admissions, and by providing medication assistance to the uninsured and underinsured the SCHC was able to save community hospitals over $3,000,000 with a minimum of investment.

We intend to identify a representative sample of Belle-Terrance Health Center’s new patients since 2007 from the Greater Augusta Health Network’s (GHAN) database. We will examine the patients use of the ER prior to their becoming a patient at the center. ER visits will be classified as urgent, emergent or non-urgent. With the data collected and categorized we will determine the economic impact, if any, of the Belle-Terrace Health Center on community hospitals.

We kindly request that you advise and assist us as our Faculty Sponsor for the duration of the project. Please, let us know if you require further information.  

Dog Story

All,


I found this story and thought I would share. I think we all love a good dog story.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2222892/Animal-VC-dog-died-broken-heart-Theo-s-handler-killed-Taliban.html
 

Some of you have heard these before but they are favorites of mine and I love to share them and they are always worthy of a moment's reflection.
 

I don't know how many of you have read the Mahabharata but it is the epic of India and the story of the wars and founding of her peoples. It ends with the hero/king,Yudhisthira, going to the Himalayas to die. He has grown old and weary and is thinking of his parents and uncles and brothers, his beloved and faithful wife, and the allies who all fought beside him and who have now passed on. All he has left is his old, mangy dog who has always followed him, even in battle, one step behind. With a heavy heart these melancholy musings are running through his mind when before him on his path a shining god appears and tells him that he has been granted immortality for his deeds and he can now ascend to heaven without dying where he can live forever (something only gods and heroes get to do) while enjoying happiness and light.

On seeing and hearing this Yudhisthira is delighted, Who wouldn't be? It sounds kinda cool - but he looks at his dog and asks the god if he can come, as well. The god says there are no dogs in heaven - only the immortal souls of heroes. After a lot of struggle and grief Yudhisthira listens to his heart and finally tells the god that he cannot leave his faithful dog alone and has to decline the offer and die a painful death like an ordinary man. At that moment the dog transformed himself into the god Dharma (you can think of it as the Oriental counterpart of Natural Law here in the West). He has passed the final test - Loyalty - and immortality and the highest heaven is granted, not only to him, but also to his loved ones. I always hoped when reading this that Dharma went back to being a dog in heaven. I suspect he must. He once appeared to me in the form of a dachshund.
 

In the same vein there is another story from modern India I love that comes from the biography of a doctor I read years ago in Austin. When this doctor was a young intern he went on duty one evening and learned that a woman patient wouldn't last through the night and later her husband showed up and he had to tell the man the bad news. They had been married for nearly their whole lives. The man thought for a moment and said, "Well, a gentleman always holds the door open for his lady." The doctor thought it a peculiar response and patted his shoulder in solace and went about his rounds for a few minutes until he was called back to the woman's room for an emergency. The old man had sat beside her and died of a heart attack. His wife passed shortly thereafter. Only later did he understand the meaning of the mans words.

Quis ut Deus?