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Living Arts
Dying to LIVE: A Conversation with Sharon Lund
by Catalina Andrade
In life, we embark upon many journeys. The inevitable one we must all take is the journey of death. Sharon Lund, author of Sacred Living, Sacred Dying: A Guide to Embracing Life and Death and The Integrated Being: Techniques to Heal Your Mind-Body-Spirit, is changing how we think about life and death. After being sexually abused for nine years, suffering from anorexia, twice attempting suicide and being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, Lund came to understand death as a part of life.
Lund’s new documentary, Dying to LIVE, directed by Monica Hagen, not only features real accounts of near-death experiences, it lets people open up to the experience of death to find acceptance with it. Lund feels blessed by having been active with the AIDS and cancer communities, where she was a witness to the healing process that the journey of death brings. Dying to LIVE is like an opening rose; all of the people who shared their near-death experiences connected to each other like beautiful flower petals. The commentary of both children and adults in the film initiates a conversation of our own as we seek to experience the unity of the energy that is behind it all, because that too is part of death.
In the comfort of her home, Lund discussed the great journey she has traveled to find the holiness of death.
Vision Magazine: What made you decide to write a book on death and create a documentary on near-death experiences?
Sharon Lund: With my second near-death experience in 1997, I was told that the next life purpose was to break the silence about dying and death and bring back the sacredness. I asked, how do I do that? and the answer was to write a book. That is how Sacred Living, Sacred Dying came about. Then I was guided to write The Integrated Being and when I completed that in October, I was told in meditation to produce a documentary on near-death experiences. I’m not a movie producer, but I knew I was divinely guided. And that’s how Dying to LIVE came about.
VM: Why do you think people are so afraid of dying?
SL: I think people are afraid because we don’t talk about it. It’s my job and purpose right now to open up that communication, to show the sacredness and how beautiful it can be when a person dies and how healing the experience is.
VM: Do you think there is a reason for that?
SL: In the past we had home funerals where everybody just accepted that somebody had died. People died in their homes and were buried on their properties. Now when somebody is sick, they go to the hospital, you expect them to live, and sometimes they don’t. So we have lost the reality of what life and death are all about.
VM: In Sacred Living, Sacred Dying, you discuss all the important arrangements that people need to make before dying. Do you think that if people put more importance into all of these decisions that they would be less intimidated by death?
SL: Yes, I think Sacred Living, Sacred Dying is a guide for people to start opening up to conversations about death. When they record their life stories and what really represents who they are, it creates an honoring memorial. Then it is easier to talk about death. When people create their legacy, it will live forever. Also when they create their memorials, it releases the burden from grieving loved ones. Their memorial celebration represents the tone of who they truly are.
VM: Why do you think death should have the same importance as birth?
SL: Why not celebrate people’s lives rather than mourn their deaths? I believe that when people die, their spirits are still around. You can still talk to them and communicate with them. Some people are even fortunate enough to see them.
VM: The Integrated Being is more like a manual of different healing techniques. What made you decide to write a book that is so different from your first book?
SL: All the techniques in The Integrated Being are methods I have taught around the world. More and more, people were asking, why don’t you write a book about them? The Integrated Being takes you step by step through the process. It is a positive and uplifting book which has something for everyone.
VM: Is there anything else you want to say to our readers about Dying to LIVE?
SL: The point of Dying to LIVE is to break the silence—break the taboo. It is about how peaceful and loving death can be and to really embrace it. I think that Dying to LIVE shows how we are all connected. There is no separation. All there is, is love. We are only separated because we’ve forgotten.
The world premier of Dying to LIVE is June 13 at La Paloma Theater in Encinitas, CA. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. and the film starts at 7:30 p.m. After the film there will be a Q & A and Lund’s books will also be available. Get your tickets at www.SacredLife.com (click on events), the Controversial Bookstore at 619.296.1560 or 3063 University Avenue, San Diego, CA, Amethyst Moon at 619.441.0413 in El Cajon, CA and Soulscape at 760.753.2345 in Encinitas, CA.