As a result of this change, he becomes much more self-reliant and is healed of his psychological problems. In this training, he is forcibly introduced to the certainty of his own death. In the course of this training, he learns to choose which mental state he will operate in, and to function independently of pre-programmed mental states. Recently, a friend of mine was forced to move out of a house he had owned for some years, abandoning most of his possessions. He reflected on the change in perspective that resulted from shedding his possessions, and commented that death, the shedding of the physical body, would be a more extreme form of this.
Death is a powerful force in our lives.
It reminds us that there is a time limit on what we can achieve. It also spurs our quest for something more, for something that exists beyond that final deadline. Often this quest leads us into spiritual explorations, and it is in the course of this quest that we encounter the concept of initiation. Given the parallels between initiation and death, it's worth reflecting on one more parallel. The five stages of death apply to initiation as well.