I am afraid of death. And I am afraid of dying.

oh i remember when i had respiratory failure 12 years ago, most of it i forgot but i remember when the doctors tried to take me off the ventilator after i was treated to see if i could breathe on my own again and how my o2 dropped instantly, sounds started getting distant, muffled but i could hear and feel everything and would've felt more if not for the sedatives but what i remember the most was the calmness i felt and i only had the thought of "well damn i might actually die" and that's all it was.

makes you wonder about after death, the pain, whether you continue after or cease to be, whether immortality is possible, what a waste life is when death erases cultures, art, knowledge, culture, great leaders, artists, musicians, etc, constantly worrying when it all will happen, what form it will take but in the end it makes you ignore it and try to enjoy what you can as much as you can and to learn about everything you can and give what warnings and advice to others that you can, hoping it will do some good and that you might help after you're gone.

Death is the one thing you can be sure of eveyone gets a go at it
when yoyur time comes you can either fight it or go with it youre chioce
i had a close one omce a heart attack and when the pain went and blacknes came it was just like nodding of to sleep . dont fear it dont let it rule you it comes to us all willing or not .

So far, every person who has ever been born, ever, has died.

True story.

Some opinions on what happens after that place us in the "worm food" category, others in the "paradise" category and still others in the "recycled back to Earth" category. A few more categories after those too.

Iron Maiden - "as soon as you're born, you're dying"

Think on that for a moment and don't dwell on the "pain and separation" at the moment of death.

Prepare yourself - it's coming.

Another true story.

reply to post by droid56


most people are.i think its the way we are designed to keep us going.if we were not afraid a lot of us would kill ourselves to see whats in the afterlife

soundclick.com...

Here is my take on death 6 years ago, I wrote a track about it.
Kinda weird looking back now. I would probably perfect it a bit more these days.

reply to post by droid56


I can only tell what my father told me.He was a half breed Indian and they look at death and life a bit differently than most.He told me as a child that we all die,no one gets away from that, therefore if you are going to die no matter what.... believe in what you believe.Believe in it wholeheartedly.Anything worth believing in is worth fighting for,if its worth fighting for then its worth dying for.Better to die over something you believe in than to die for nothing and be an old person sick in bed.

I agree with others,those first moments of dying are frightening.Your normal self survival instincts kick in and make you fight it.Once you realize the futility of it you relax and let go,then you are at peace.
I lost 4 pints of blood when having my second child,not enough oxytocin in my system,so I started hemorrhaging after my uterus went lax .They fought for hours to keep me alive.They had the blood to give me but could not get my veins to stay open long enough to hook up an I.V.It was totally out of my hands to do anything to save myself.My last thoughts before I went out was "if they don't do something quickly I'm not going to make it". Then I saw I had tunnel vision.Everything was going down in a circle,outside of the circle was just blackness.It went down into a pinpoint and finally just blinked out,and I thought to myself "well I guess thats it".I didn't have any vision of heaven or hell or anything like that.I never got that far.I just got mad,Mad because I would never get to see my son I just had grow up,nor see my first son grow.Mad because I didn't even get to say goodbye to anyone at all and they didn't even know what was happening to me(they had left for the night before it all started).I kept saying to myself it wasn't fair and I was terribly angry about it.All of a sudden BAM I'm back in the room with the Doctor and nurses.And it was odd how I didn't realize at the time I was out that there was no noise anymore,but it all came rushing in at me when I got back in the room.
They still had not made any progress on getting an I.V. in,but the doctor said he would make one more attempt,if that didn't work then he would have to go into the aorta to set up the I.V. there.Well here I am still.And death doesn't frighten me.
There was silence and peace when I was there,the only emotion was mine over my children.My kids are grown up now and when my time comes,I will be ready.

If you don't fear the rain,then why fear death? You have no control over either.Your place on this earth will come to an end in time,as it will for all of us.Even those with violent deaths know peace at the end.I once read of a man surviving a african lion attack,they're jaws are so powerful most times you won't really survive it.He said after the first bite he was THROWN into shock so hard and fast that he didn't even know what was going on after that.Workers at the park got him out in time and doctors saved him.But he felt no pain while it was happening.The pain came when he was healing.

reply to post by droid56


Cheer up. It is entirely possible to be completely non-religious (as in -- no terrestrial religion "speaks to me" at all) and still be (relatively) optimistic about death. It is also possible to be religious and be terrified of death, which means that religion itself is no inoculation against the oldest fear we share.

I wouldn't worry much, but then again - I believe that the core of the illusion is that our death here in this world is simply the inside-out birthing of an entire (new) universe. Either way, don't look down.

reply to post by droid56


Don't worry, i'm also still 'scared' of death. (Not as scared as I used to be)
It's normal.

But lately, I realize that the thing that makes people fear death (the most) is the strong attachment to this world (materialism)
When you get rid of those one by one, you will take a level in bada##

peace.

Life wouldn't put something as inevitable as death into the cycle if it wasn't necessary. Death is only the next step you Will take, not the last. Death should not scare you, it is natural, meaning there is a purpose for it.

So am I

So are lot's of folks (whether they admit it or not).

Fearing death is part of being human.

Honestly - I don't know why humans are not closer to eachother because of it lol.

It's one of the few things ALL living creatures on this planet share - I find that fascinating and worth thinking about.

I believe that contemplation on death and "chewing your beard" about it is one of the best things humans beings can do to accomplish real fundamental change on this earth (and for ourselves). I don't mean analyzing the process purely scientifically (although that helps to).

A good place to start is thinking about your tombstone (or a tombstone). I found it interesting that, between the year of birth and the year of death - that dash - is supposed to be "you" lol.

Think about that dash. And think about it some more lol.

reply to post by 0zzymand0s


I know more than a few people who are religious and believe they are going to heaven yet are still afraid of dying. Like if they hear about someone dying in some certain way, they say something like "oh that must have been terrifying" or something along those lines.

Funny how that works.

" Know not the that ye are Gods". Worry not dear ones, know that you are immortal. Peace.

I don't subscribe too any religion but I don't think death is complete annihilation, think about it. How is it possible we can be something and then nothing. We transform sure but then we wake up as a flower or become the nutrition that feeds the birds, we just blend in with everything else that has ever been, the possibilities are endless, we were all born in the stars my friend, we come and go, the universe knows no death.

reply to post by droid56


Death is like falling asleep. Is that really scary?

reply to post by droid56


Sweat pea, yes it is! But your life is way longer than dying and the possible death agony. I like to be as pragmatical as possible and enjoy my life.

Go do things that scare you.

Swim in deep water.
explore a dark cave.
Skydiving.
Bungee jump.
Stand on the edge of a tall structure.
rock climb.

ect.

My guess is you're a bit of a shut in,and you don't push your personal boundaries enough. You fear death less when you face it.

Lucid Lunacy
reply to post by droid56

 

It's terrifying. I sometimes say I have a phobia for it. People often laugh at that and make a point to say 'who doesn't'. However, the fear can cripple me. It plagues my thoughts. Definitely something I struggle with regularly. I guess it hits some harder than others. I am envious of the religious people who have alleviated that fear with belief. I have no interest in accepting belief without evidence just to provide a crutch. My solution instead will be to make sure I live the best life I can now, and not bank on any hereafter.

“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.” ~Bruce Lee

edit on 24-11-2013 by Lucid Lunacy because: (no reason given)

Ask Bruce how that worked out for him. Lol

Your argument against God is ludicrous, do you hear yourself. Thought of death cripples you but you would rather live that way cus you see no proof. The evidence and proof comes through faith my friend. It is that belief, that faith, that brings that truth you seek.

See how easy it is for you to rationalize and not believe, it is just as easy to believe. Flip it. It is not hard to find your faith man. Look around you. You see God all around you. Life is amazing, look at the universe and nature and all the amazement everywhere around you. Man if you can't see a higher power, god, at work all around you something is wrong.

You see evil right, you acknowledge there are evil people etc. You can't have evil without good. To be honest I am not sure why I bother accept you are worth it. You do understand there is more to you than just your body and your mind, you have a spirit, a soul. You have to feel it.

That is why they call it faith.

The Bot

reply to post by droid56


I'm only afraid of dying before I have a chance to set my family up, and before I get to learn more of the hidden knowledge of this planet that would further help me prepare my children for all this world has to throw at them.

Apart from that....I'm not afraid of death, say from an asteroid that would allow me to die next to my family, because I know there is something on the other side and it's not 'scary' unless you've done things in your lifetime that warrant serious contemplation about said actions while on the 'other side'....that type of contemplation can seem like an eternity.

reply to post by droid56


I was afraid of death until the age of 25 when I had a near death experience. I don't recall anything 30 minutes prior to "waking up" being surrounded by a team of Drs, nurses.
What I do remember is a feeling of utter peace, it's almost indescribable.

I am afraid of the act of dying, a horrible end, a painful accident or a drawn out illness. That's what scares me.

DestroyDestroyDestroy

Lucid Lunacy
reply to post by droid56

 

“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.” ~Bruce Lee

That is your first mistake, you think immortality akin to legacy. What does being remembered after death accomplish? Will it change the fact that you'll be dead? Does it make you feel good about dying?

It doesn't matter. Death is the great equalizer; a reminder that regardless of your accomplishments and regardless of your hardships, everything you do in life is all for naught. Nothing lasts.

Look at dictators and people in power who try to immortalize themselves in the eyes of men by erecting monuments to excess and putting their names on various organizations. They all still die and people don't give two s***s about them.

Basically, it doesn't matter what you do with your life. Enjoy it, don't enjoy it, time doesn't care.

I'm going to butt in here, because this isn't in the right context. What Bruce Lee was asked was in the context of his taoism, and related to Reincarnation, which is not about being remembered, or any legacy, it is literally about our immortal soul and many lives and lessons. The question was when we stop reincarnating.

And he said, when we live a life worth remembering.

That sort of changes the context a little doesnt it?

Have a thread on Bruce Lee, he's kind of my favorite modern hero.