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it's been on my mind recently. it seems to me that once you truly accept that death is a part of life and have no fear of it, you can finally live completely freely and happily. of course, that's easier said than done, which i guess is why afterlife is such a popular concept. i've been striving to find some way to experience true ego-death, but the closest i've come is just feeling insignificant (during some shroom adventures). thoughts?
well, personally i look forward to death like a child looks forward to christmas... everything is there-suspense, excitement, mystery, trust, anticipation, a nearing culmination, celebration, uncertainty, etc...
and yet i can honestly say fear, opposition, or anything of that nature is no longer present when i dwell on death. it sounds sort of cheesy and dramatic, but i have thought of death for quite some time as my absent 'mistress' :P only when my 'self' and 'death' fully merge will 'truth' remain. and as truth is my one desire, i can't wait to meet her.
(death, self, truth).
ultimately, it will be only 'ourselves' who confront the mystery. in that sense i think death is the only way to truly know one's self. and if no permanent self exists, well, we are all dead already.
many times i have seriously debated committing suicide, not out of despair or hopelessness like times in the past, but simply out of such intense curiousity and wonder at the concept of death.
I have to admit I'm a bit fearful of death. Not because of the death factor so much but because I don't want to leave my kids yet in this life. I'm not at peace with the thought of leaving my family yet. I may one day be ready but I know I'm not at this moment in my life. The thought of a sudden death at this point in my life gives me knots in my stomach. I'm sure I shouldn't fear death but I can't help it.
I don't fear my own death at all. But I really fear the death of a close loved one. I think that's my biggest fear of all.
Oh yeah, I have sensed those on the other side, so I am not too concerned about that, either.Quote:
Originally posted by wombing+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(wombing)</div>When one goes out of body, or astral projects one gets a glimpse at the afterlife. I guess whatever substances you experiment with may cause the same.Quote:
many times i have seriously debated committing suicide, not out of despair or hopelessness like times in the past, but simply out of such intense curiousity and wonder at the concept of death.[/b]
As far as I'm concerned, I have a part of me that will always have the death wish. It is extremely exciting what exists on the other side. Of course, becoming too disconnected would be unhealthy, so there is a balance that keeps me here.
<!--QuoteBegin-Burns
I don't fear my own death at all. But I really fear the death of a close loved one. I think that's my biggest fear of all.
Death is a funny thing. I have also been thinking about death a lot. As I have stated previously in other threads, one of my best friends was murdered this summer. Unfortunately, I've yet to get over this occurance. It has really made me delve into my mind and contemplate it closely. I am afraid of death, of course, but I don't think it should hang over our heads like some shadow. I would like to survive as long as I can, but to me, the things that come after death are rather unimportant. It's not relevant to my current situation. I don't want to die, but I will not fight it when it comes. It's the natural way, and I have accepted this fact.
'becoming too disconnected would be unhealthy'...yes, i agree, which is why i always decide against prematurely experiencing the ultimate mystery. psilocybin mushrooms have temporarily transported my consciousness (many times) into a state where death and life were seen as inextricably and beautifully interwoven.Quote:
When one goes out of body, or astral projects one gets a glimpse at the afterlife. I guess whatever substances you experiment with may cause the same.
As far as I'm concerned, I have a part of me that will always have the death wish. It is extremely exciting what exists on the other side. Of course, becoming too disconnected would be unhealthy, so there is a balance that keeps me here. [/b]
ultimately i have concluded that consciousness is not confined to this particular space-time universe, i chose to sojourn here to increase 'cosmic consciousness', and i have much growing to do before my body melts back into the ground and air.
incidentally, i also feel that the sleep state, and meditation can both serve as portals to the deathless state, but i have simply not learned how to traverse them fully.
i've had the same experience...not really that serious of a debate, but honest consideration...Quote:
Originally posted by wombing
many times i have seriously debated committing suicide, not out of despair or hopelessness like times in the past, but simply out of such intense curiousity and wonder at the concept of death.
i guess lately i've been feeling like a fear of death is a little silly. we were all wrought of the universe, and we are all fated to return--what's so frightening about that? i think fear of death might stem from an overbearing possessiveness of material goods and especially people--at least, that's one of the points made in the tibetan book of the dead.
I suppose I should vote "something else". I'm curious about death - I mean, who wouldn't be? It's a shadowed one-way door, essentially - something which everyone experiences and yet which no one alive can know. Mysteries are always appealing, and death is the ultimate mystery of life. I'm not afraid of my own death - why fear the inevitable? - but I do regret the pain and sorrow which my eventual death will inflict on those I love. It doesn't matter what one believes about the afterlife (whether one exists or doesn't, what happens, etc), having an integral part of one's life removed as happens when a loved one dies necessarily causes a painful sense of loss. I can only hope that when I die, my friends and family throw a kick-ass wake and party deep into a night filled with laughter, not mourning death, but celebrating a life that was.
To me death doesn't end an existence.Life continues at some other level.After death you just change dimension.So I chose "death=life".I couldn't agree more.I also believe that this life is somekind of rehearshal for the real show that is after death.
yes, i think fear of death is often caused by possessiveness. it seems many people feel "i have worked so hard for this house, car, reputation, lawyer son and doctor daughter....and i don't want to lose it". not seeing that they never 'had' anything.Quote:
Originally posted by mongreloctopus
i've had the same experience...not really that serious of a debate, but honest consideration...
i guess lately i've been feeling like a fear of death is a little silly. we were all wrought of the universe, and we are all fated to return--what's so frightening about that? i think fear of death might stem from an overbearing possessiveness of material goods and especially people--at least, that's one of the points made in the tibetan book of the dead.
few people fuly real-ize the ONLY possession one can take with them after death (if anything) is awareness...consciousness.
the tibetan book of the dead is very interesting (though my evans-wentz edition is quite obscure, and i am waiting for a different version to arrive via mail). i find it highly noteworthy that immediately upon death the clear light is presented, but usually refused.
union with the simple, primordial awareness requires too much letting go for most. the distillation of everything coarse, petty, ego-based, and delusional. the very things which define us while on earth.
the dominant mindset is "if i can't possess it, what good does it do me?"
the more i examine personal motivations, i see that we do not even control the "me" which possesses. in the end it hijacks our awareness for futile, delusional ambitions. and in actuality, it is inseparable from its possessions. they are twin sides of an empty, meaningless coin.
unconditioned awareness can not do any conditioned creature any 'good', because it is beyond all conditions.
and i truly have felt this state, more than once. many will say "oh, you were just tripping on mushrooms" but i disagree. the fact i knew i was tripping fully before 'the moment" is what made the 'experience" all the more real.
it is like first my material possessions are stripped away. i realize that none of them really matter, and they are empty of worth. then i have the self-delusions which normally define me stripped away. eg. "i" am "smart", or "adventerous", or even "compassionate".
eventually even the ultimate delusion of an unchanging "i" is shed, leaving only unspeakable primordial symbols.
and eventually, on a handful of occasions, even symbolism was transcended. there was simply awareness, without and conditioning, striving, uncertainty.
'amness", free of space, time, thought....the clear light.
of course, some will say that this state was only the absence of all superfluous brain actitivty, and they may be right. which is why i look forward to physical death all the more. i feel i have experienced full ego-conceptual death. i suspect being unfettered by physical existence would be even more ?--------?.
it is interesting to note that "enlightenment" is said to be simply pure unconditioned awareness, without self-consciousness. nothing is more terrifying for the temporal, fluctuating possessing/possessive ego.
blah blah blah...i suspect i am starting to ramble...take it for what you will :wink:
Death might not be possible.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Immortality
I myself have had long conversations with the concept of death, and I can positively say that I have come to terms with the notion. I don't fear death the way I used to; I look forward to it, like my first breath of air. If my ego survives, I hope to find new ways to explore the infinite possibilities of existence. If I am lost, then I am simply one with the rest of the universe, like I have always been, just without all the grasping and aversion experienced through sentience. I take great comfort in the idea that I am objectively indistiquishable in the unnameable oneness that encompasses all things.
I look forward to death, but I don't have a death wish. Even though life sucks the big one, frequently and ferociously, I value the experience, and I intend to hang on to life as long as I can. To quote the great Willy Wonka: "The suspense is killing me; I hope it lasts." When I die, it won't be for giving up, or even giving in. It will be an affirmation of my existence; a sublime coup de'ta.
Of course, I wouldn't turn down an offer od immortality ... as long as I got an interstellar spacecraft capable of sustaing my health, safety, and comfort, and the freedom to fly around the universe to my heart's content. I don't ask for much!
By the way Mr Blank, thank you for that link! I had never considered this implication of quantum reality! This has given me a great deal to contemplate! :goodjob:
Boy, have you nailed that one. Mostly I fear having to face the death of anybody younger than me or my wife. I know I'd survive... but man.Quote:
Originally posted by Burns
I don't fear my own death at all. But I really fear the death of a close loved one. I think that's my biggest fear of all.
I can't go much further without getting into a combination of spirituality and quantum physics - that's why I chose "something else." So you've been warned if you want to read further or not.
First and foremost, I believe time is part of creation and that God is outside of time, and I am absolutely secure in the knowledge that my spirit is eternal.
Second, I recognize time mathematically and physically as a dimension. The only thing that differentiates it from the other dimensions we know is that we are locked into experiencing it in one very narrow way. Like all of "life," that is something that is an illusion... something our brains construct from sensory input for our inner "observer" to experience.
Our perception of time is an anomoly. Death, I believe, simply marks a point in the time dimension when we will be free of that anomoly. In other words, eternity is NOW.
This brings up other interesting issues though. What is a thought or experience outside of time? What is a choice? What is creativity when you don't have a line between concept and creation? That being said, I also believe that our Creator locked us into this experience of time for a reason... and that reason may have something (or everything) to do with our ability to think and create and choose.
So there's my "something else" for you. I believe death is a point in the time dimension when our perception of EVERYTHING will change to something completely different and unknowable to us right now, because we are all already part of eternity. The implications of all this are very tied in with my Christianity, which really isn't affiliated with or bound by any religion or organization. I anticipate death as I savor life.
I'm in no hurry to die, I want to live past 100, but only if I am healthy. If I am in a coma and am hooked up to machines to live, then I want to be taken off after 1 month if I don't have major brain damage, otherwise I would rather be dead than alive adn unable to do anything :mad: . I definitely don't want to live forever. Death is part of life, and living forever would get boring and just be...weird.
Well, I voted something else 'cuz I was kinda torn between choices two and three...
I look forward to death as just another part of life -- another life, even, as I'm a firm believer in reincarnation (though, not that I don't believe in living EVERY life to the fullest).
Yeah reincarceration :lol: , but I'm still not in any hurry to die. I'm happy with my life, and want to live it to the fullest, and want to see what the world is like 90 years from now, it would be really interesting, though the way things are going it may be interesting in the wrong way :shakehead2:. if only we could have world peace, then I would realy be happy. And less materialism, really peaople need to get that material goods aren't everything, there are much better things in life (how about happiness, peace, freedom)
Death is fun! :)