ADC

After Death Communication - A universal human experience where people feel or sense a direct connection with a deceased loved one. ADCs can occur in many forms, including: 

• Sensing a presence: Feeling the presence of a deceased loved one 
• Sensory experiences: Smelling a fragrance, hearing a voice, or feeling a touch 
• Symbolic experiences: Seeing a flower bloom out of season or hearing a song on the radio that was the deceased's favorite 
• Electronic experiences: Receiving a phone call, email, or Facebook "like" from the deceased 
• Dreams: Having vivid dreams about the deceased that feel realistic and clear

Apocalypticism

The belief that the world is about to end, often due to a catastrophic global event. In Judaism around 200 BC, it provided a reason for why good people suffer with a powerful God by introducing an opponent to God’s goodness, the Devil, and a punishment for bad people.

Bardo

In Tibetan Buddhist terms, a period of transition, where one has left one place or state of being, but has not yet entered the following or intended place or state of being. 
It is a period of being “in-between”.

dharmata

A Sanskrit word meaning:  the intrinsic nature of everything, the essence of things as they are. It is the naked, unconditioned truth, the nature of reality, or the true nature of phenomenal existence.

ELE

End of Life Experience - A subjective experience that can occur during the dying process. ELEs can be spiritual or transcendent in nature, and can happen while a person is asleep or awake. They can include seeing or interacting with deceased loved ones, traveling, or preparing to travel. ELEs can occur hours, weeks, or months before a person passes away, and may become more frequent as death approaches.

Emptiness

A Buddhist teaching of a state of being that is devoid of self and other and that is the deepest level of reality.

ie: A cell phone is plastic, which are elements, which are atoms, which are subatomic particles, which ultimately and foundationally are only empty space and awareness; a state of “emptiness”.

It is a state of wisdom that is literally inconceivable, deeper than the concept of separate things and labels having their own existence as everything is interconnected. 

Therefore, when the thinking concept-based mind looks for it, there is nothing that can be intellectually grasped or comprehended.

It can only be experienced. Pure ineffability.

Exiles

In “Internal Family System” of therapy, the memories and living thoughts of a person of pain and suffering. These “parts” are hidden away from daily life by “protector parts” in order to maintain control and composure for the person to function in the world. Sometimes, a “protector” can value suicide over “releasing” an Exile.

Hope

A binary compound made of equal parts “Means” and “Map”

Means: Tangible, practical and reality-based choices one can make AND physically enact towards a goal.

Map:  A focused, values-based destination of a state of life that feels good and rewarding, being unencumbered by the weight or expectations of other unmet life goals.

A “false hope” is when one of the two components is missing. 

NDE

Near Death Experience - A profound, vivid, and often life-changing experience that occurs when someone is approaching or has begun the process of dying. NDEs can be conscious, semi-conscious, or recollected. They can include: 

• A sense of separation from the physical body
• A feeling of inner peace
• Out-of-body experiences
• Traveling through a tunnel or void
• Reviewing one's life
• Seeing a bright light
• Encountering deceased relatives or religious figures
• Transcending space and time

OBE

Out of Body Experience – A phenomenon where a person perceives the world as if they are outside of their physical body. OBEs can be caused by a number of things, including traumatic brain injuries, near-death experiences, and sleep disorders.

Protector

In “Internal Family System” of therapy, they are the living thoughts of strategies in each person to maintain control and order in the person’s life. This is done by suppressing the persons living pain/memory parts called “Exiles”. “Managers” enforce drastic coping methods and lifestyles. “Firefighters” react to overwhelming inner suffering with drastic actions intended to wash the pain away, which can include addictions or suicide.

Protectors’ intents are to always help the person by the cessation of pain and suffering… through any means necessary.

Samsara

A Sanskrit word meaning “wandering”, “world” and “cyclic change”. In some Buddhist views, it represents the belief that “life” is simply a period of one “dreaming” out of their state of existence in an already perfect awareness and understanding of everything.

Therefore, earthly life is seen as being a samsara. 

“Row, row, row your boat, 
Gently down the Stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily 
Life is but a dream”

Shade

In ancient literature and poetry, the spirit of a deceased person that resides in the underworld as an emotionless  “shadow” of their former self. 

Tibetan Book of the Dead

A spiritual text traditionally believed to have been written in the 8^th century by an Indian Buddhist Master named Padmasambhava. He designed the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet.

Uncanny Valley

The phenomenon whereby a computer-generated figure or humanoid robot bearing a near-identical resemblance to a human being arouses a sense of unease or revulsion in the person viewing it from a sense of it being "almost but not quite human" in that it just creeps people out.