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

reply to post by droid56


"How Roland Rolls is a story about a wave named Roland who's afraid that, one day, when he hits the beach, his life will be over. But when he gets deep, he's struck by the notion that he’s not just a wave - he's the whole big, wide ocean!"

You are roland in this scenario, please don't take any insult in that, we've all been there but fear isn't real and death is just horribly misunderstood, death is the opposite to birth; not life. life doesn't have an opposite. Death is just the transition from one stage to the next, like a hermit crab shedding its old shell for a new one.

Imagine two twins in the womb, one twin says to the other "what do you think comes after this? there has to be more" and the other says "don't be stupid this is it, we get so long in here then poof! you're flushed out and gone, that's it, wake up..." and the first twin says "that can't be right, what about that voice we hear from the outside? where did we come from then? what is here? I'm telling you there's more than this"....

We know which twin is right in that situation but yet We live our lives here as the cynical one.. it's the same thing, We're just waiting on the next birth... this is just a bigger womb. From Mother to Matter, Matter to Mother... Another reason She is Mother Earth... She nurtures us here in the 2nd womb, seems like all there is at the time, just like if We were this conscious in the first womb, that fleeting time would seem like it's all there is... and we'd be terrified, if We didn't know....

How Roland Rolls

Well I just joined this forum because of this post. I have been studying science,metaphysics and the esoteric for some time now. I was born into Christianity. I think when you fear death it makes you question. This is a good thing. I wouldn't look to deep into the literal words of religious text but know that the literal interpretations have a role to play. There is a much much deeper and spiritual meaning to all sacred texts from the holy bible to the zohar. There is a natural law or laws that the universe and all of physical nature runs on. I think through what I have studied you have absolutely nothing to fear. It is the unknown that scares you not death. If you knew that death was your final awareness of self you would learn to accept it. If you knew there was an afterlife you would accept it an live as well. The truth is inside you and through the teachings of India,Judaism,Science,Physics,and every sacred text you can think of you will find that what lives inside of you is much greater than any atheist,christian,or Jew will have you believe. It makes sure that you don't remember and the beauty of life is not in the heavens but the promise of heaven on earth and the key to that is inside you. All the choices you will make in your life are all laid out like a video game on a disc. You decide. That's why you are here. It is not a school to graduate on to better things, unless you decide it is. It or you has chosen to be the personality you are today and just as you don't remember where you go when you sleep know that when your awake the other image is asleep. If you want the truth it is there for you to discover but you must think outside the box or go into the wilderness. See that Einstein and Newton knew more not because of a better brain but they both studied laws and truth only. Know that your thoughts and words and actions are playing a bigger role than you know and don't become a studier of only the letter but look deeper. When you start connecting science and spirituality is when true wisdom comes. You don't have to do this though you can live out the rest of your life never knowing and I assure you everything will be fine. You are what you say you are so if you don't want to experience something in life don't say it. I can't tell you how long I was broke because everyday I said I AM ..broke. Hope this helps.

reply to post by droid56


I can feel your fears. I used to have them. However, lets try something. (oh and read Tuesday's with Morrie)

Ok, on the assumption religious people don't fear death: i'd say that's wrong the majority of the time. It is my understanding that many people are fearful about their death and afterlife so this is why they join a religion. If the truth was revealed, and I mean the absolute truth, I think we would find that people do not care to practice religion solely because of morals, love for a god, etc. Not saying that this doesn't happen....just that most people's first instinct is to want to live forever. So when you have people who practice religion, most only talk about how they will live in the future. Their fear lives with them their entire lives which is why they continue to practice religion-to convince themselves that they will live forever. I think secretly, people of religion are just as scared as anybody about death and need to reassurance everyday by practicing religion.

Next, for the person who isn't religious. Why fear death? You have been dead for billions of years and you were fine. Well actually, you might find that you have been alive for billions of years already. It just depends on how you view it. We are essentially a combination of atoms and molecules (all that have been part of something in the past). So we will be something of the future. The universe will be around for a very long time, enough time for an atom to experience everything possible. Once you have experienced everything (to the point of entropy), then whats the point on continuing to live? Now wrap your head around this: a future life form must consist of molecules and atoms which currently you possess. This isn't a reincarnation belief, but merely what you are now will be part of something in the future. I'm having trouble explaining my entire belief on this theory but hopefully you can do some thought off of this and get to where I reached.

Personally though, if you don't believe in either of the theories above, is living forever really what you want? I personally do not want to live forever in "heaven". The idea of that freaks me out. Think about it, you will never die! You will never see an end, it just keeps going and going and going. Imagine going through pain forever, that's where i'm at on this point. I want to die after my life on earth, if I become a different life for (or part of me becomes a different life form) then I still exist right? Maybe not in the form i'm in now, but something of what I once was.

Scared of not living your entire life before something horrible happens to you? Listen, living an entire life in fear of death is not living. That's dying. Chance brought you to this point, so just be happy. Don't be scared to die, accept that death is real and focus on the positives of you life already lived and be thankful.

Hope that helped.

Then there's the tale of "Chandrasekhar's Other Limit", which is another way of looking at it.

'It is an old folk story he is supposed to have liked to tell. It is about dragonfly larvae. You see, if you are a dragonfly larva, swimming around in the water and getting ready to metamorphose, you don't know what will happen to you; you only know that from time to time your friends suddenly go to Heaven. That is, they go up through the surface of the water. What happens to them then? You don't know. What really happens, of course, is that they change into adult dragonflies; but you have no way of knowing that until you yourself become one, and then you never come back to tell. No one ever does. Can't, because they can't penetrate the surface tension of the water, even if they had the desire to. So, being a stupid larva and not knowing this, you call all your friends around you and say, "I will be different! I will come back, I promise! And I will tell you what lies beyond this shiny wavery thing we see over our heads!" But you can't do it, when the time comes. It is an irreversible process.'

You can't die if you didn't live.

Besides, dying means paying no more taxes. No more back aches.

reply to post by droid56


I understand.
This helped me regarding death, and has allowed me to be more at peace with it.

www.releasetechnique.com

(Also know as the Sedona Method)
It isn't a cult or anything too "weird" or out there.
I'm not affiliated with it, it just helped me a lot.
All the best to you.

SBMcG

tsingtao i am more afraid of dying in a slow horrific way, than dying.

Agreed. I had to watch someone burn to death once, and despite my best efforts, could not stop it. I sustained burns myself in the process...

Not the way I would want to go. It haunts me.

If I found out I had terminal something, I would do the math on the timeline, and when that time came, find a nice spot while I was still in control of the matter, and that would be that.

sorry about that, that sounds terrible.

if it was in my power, i would do the same.

i am christian, tho. so that is not really an option.

but when one thinks about the horrific ways people have been killed, what can ya do?

you have to go out defiant or willingly.

dying in your sleep is easy. so it seems.

in a fire would suck.
sorry for the drift, op.

There is a clear difference b/w the body and the spirit ..

The very day you start lucid dreaming and start experiencing OOBE's you will understand there is a lot to existence more than the body ... Quantam physics itself states the very reality we live in is not a physical reality ...

Do not be afraid..open your mind to all possibilities...

Why don't you people who are scared try to practice having out of body experiences , just trust in yourself and try it , your first experience will numb your mind..making this planet worth living..

droid56
Death is scary. Unless you are not awake.

NO... Death is scary unless your life in this world is so terrible, full of frustrations and/or failures or you're a huge fan of Klingon honor codes!

No one with at least an "okay" life commits suicide because an "okay life" is good enough to live for, bad/scary enough to lose in death.

I heard this woman speak on late night talk radio about "Near Death Experiences" here some videos from

"Nancy Evans Bush NDE researcher" the night she was on the radio show I couldn't get enough.

www.youtube.com...

www.youtube.com...

castroller.com...

www.youtube.com...

www.youtube.com...

Dealing with an intense fear of death is like dealing with an intense fear of anything. The less you actually know about it, the bigger and scarier it can seem for you. Get to know about the death experience from the overwhelming wealth of information that you can get by just Googling "The dying process" or "The death experience". There's no shortage of people who have shared their own dying process with the Internet as their moment neared. Lots of 1st hand near-death stuff too. It can really help with anxiety.

My own research has given me a very well-rounded view of what to expect from the process of dying, and since there's not much that's really expected of me as it unfolds, I'm pretty comfortable with the idea that I'm probably not going to screw it up somehow. All I have to do is smile and keep my self interested in the sensations and perceptions as it gathers around me, and I'll make a fairly decent exit (leaving a good impression) as I busy my mind on what's actually happening (thereby preventing fear from spoiling my one chance to experience the biggest transition I'll ever be a part of).

I hope I get to fully experience my own death. How could any other experience ever compete with the enormity of such a transition? Seriously. What else could be more fascinating than the migration of your whole self to a completely different existential platform? The fact that it happens to you, and that it's not something that you have to accomplish for yourself, is just that much more potentially astounding when viewed as a total immersion experience you'll get to have. I'm in no hurry, but since learning a lot more about death, I'm certainly not fearing 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)

I feel exactly the same way. You're certainly not on your own in this.
No matter how hard I try, I just cannot comprehend my own death. And what happens afterwards is equally as scary.
I mean...what is this place? the vast nothingness of space with these massive rocks hurtling through this vast, black, nothingness and caught up in the middle of it is tiny little me, in this incredibly fragile body that is destined to wither away into nothing.
I cannot think of a scarier prospect.
And what is it all for? what is the point of all this? Who am I? Am I just my own illusion or am I something more?
Is there an actual point to this game? Am I being taught a lesson? or is this just random happening?
I am haunted with these thoughts constantly.

reply to post by droid56


I've been feeling the same way. I'm not religious but I'm not an atheist. And it scares me knowing death is inevitable... It's gonna happen no matter what, any time, anywhere, alone, or not. I just hope I don't die from choking or drowning. That's gotta be the worst. Or burning to death:\

Just please let it be quick and not so painful!

Oh, and also, I'm afraid to incarnate again on earth. I really hope my soul makes the decision to not come back to earth, but another planet or another level.

reply to post by droid56


"the Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself"

~Franklin D. Roosevelt

Actually i want to die slow , in the arms of my wife/daughter staring at their smiling faces and making the final transition ..

Fearing death is only natural. It's hardwired into our mind to survive and to survive by any means necessary so naturally when your very existence is threatened you're put into a "fight mode" to either get rid of that threat or to get away from it. However, if it is determined that both fighting or fleeing would be pointless and or impossible then the brain most likely shuts down the central nervous system thus the feeling of "signing out" of this existence . . .

Now, for an afterlife, I believe there is something -- We just do not know what it is. . .
Certainly our eternal destiny can't be in some god forsaken abyss where infinite other creatures rip each other apart in an endless cycle of fire and torture.
All I know is that after I die, I don't want to "reincarnate" or whatever, If my energy can float around the universe and what not, I'd prefer to do that for eternity -- in fact, I often fantasize about the idea of my soul exploring the universe and learning everything the heavens have to offer -- of course, like I stated, no one knows what happens, we'll just have to wait and find out

~Sovereign

droid56
Getting really feeble, and then ending up on the floor of my apartment,alone, or ending up in an ambulance heading towards a nearby hospital scares me. Dying, losing the ability to breath without help scares me.

I'm not trying to be morbid. Death is freaking scary.

And then there is the whole question of sailing without control into the great beyond after we die. You religious types say, no problem. We non-religious types say, "Yikes!"

The whole death thing scares the heck out of me. If you aren't close to it, or you are a member of a very soothing religion, you don't understand what I am saying.

Death is scary. Unless you are not awake.

Taking a guess that you are young maybe middle age?

I died and came back. Dying is easy .... it happens before you know it. You find out after you died that you just died! It is the pain prior to the act of dying....... that hurts.

Because the act of death comes so fast... a Tip for those who believe in God - Pray while dying VERY IMPORTANT - don't be running your mouth with family and friends - they can not help you - get straight with God because he will be the next person you see.

Something you might find informative (or comfortable) nearly everyone that has had NDE (according to several sources) no longer fear death!
Really something to think about. Also, it seems the very young are more afraid of death older people don't seem to dwell on it as much.
Oh, im my first response I meant "hope you find PEACE", not PIECE! LOL!

reply to post by NorEaster

What else could be more fascinating than the migration of your whole self to a completely different existential platform?

Predicated on there actually being that existential platform. My research has brought me conflicting information. You're right there are lots of 'near death' accounts. They range from experiencing absolutely nothing to experiencing a Christian hell to pretty much every other iteration of familiar stories. That doesn't fill me with confidence, hence fear of dying. I love consciousness, and I don't want to give it up. I realize the futile nature of investing so much thought and energy into this fear. Alas, my brain is fixated on it.

Still, I only understand what you're saying if it were true there were some kind of transition. Then again, if it were wholly transcendent and I was no longer functionally myself (personality of Zach), perhaps that's not much different than nothingness as far as Zach is concerned.

1 Corinthians 15

Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.


2 Corinthians 5

herefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

For we walk by faith, not by sight

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.