• Thank you to Carol and Steve Bowman, the forum owners, for our new upgrade!

Are you afraid of death..?

:laugh: Re the Albert Einstein comment:laugh:


Errrm....at a guess....we will all have some "bog- standard" just-get-through-in-one-piece and learn what we can/while we can type lives. On the other hand - I would presume that we will all have lives where we have Done Summat that is a bit "special" and have made A CONTRIBUTION that is noticeable and will live on after that particular lifetime of ours.


Does that sound about right?


From where I'm standing - nowt wrong in being proud of any "A CONTRIBUTION" lifetimes we have - as long as we remember that (like most people) the vast majority of lifetimes that we have will be "bogstandard just-get-through" type lifetimes. Errr...maybes the analogy is "Sometimes one makes a super-duper haute cuisine type meal and nowt wrong with being pleased with that - as long as one remembers the other times when something very ordinary got mucked up by us and stuck to the bottom of the pan and wasn't even edible".


I use the cooking analogy - because many of us will have cooking for a particular interest of ours and will understand that one :rolleyes:


***************************


Re our incarnate wants and desires being expanded after death - I would say that probably is the case from what I can see. I think personally that it will probably help a lot in being more "super"conscious/aware, etc after death with the knowledge and sheer relief from no longer having to be aware of/fend off/deal with all the "bad stuff" that is so prone to happening on Earth. Another analogy that comes to mind is that - here on Earth the vast vast majority of us (and I doubt I personally am any exception to that...) see life from within our own particular "bubble". I expect the rich and powerful see things through a very different perspective to the rest of us - because they are so protected from many of the worries that the rest of us have that it probably never occurs to them that all sorts of things might rear up and "hit them round the head". Whatever "position" we are in in Society - it's probably/almost certainly going to be a struggle to relate to problems we know we personally don't expect to experience (as we have done or think we've done enough to insulate/protect ourselves from them). We all of us have things that we are quite sure we are "safe from" personally and can look at them dispassionately - as they won't affect us.


To me - I tend to think we will all find it MUCH easier to view things dispassionately/feel so much more "lovingkindness" towards all once we know we personally are now "safe" (ie off Planet Earth - as we have now died - so nothing bad at all can touch us anymore - unless we choose to come back here again) iyswim. Words are failing me a bit at explaining clearly what I mean - but I hope you get my drift...
 
I once sent a Congregational Pastor into gales of laughter, when I told him that I wasn't afraid of death, so much as "I didn't know what to pack!". Of course he knew what I was referring to in the context of our conversation. When you consider that we spend the greatest majority of our conscious existence in the physical world, surrounded by the things and people we depend on and take for granted; it is difficult to conceive of any existence without them. No matter how prepared we are spiritually, we are suddenly confronted by a new reality. For some people, that reality may be non-existence, which is more frightening than any other concept. Anyone who is not in utter terror of non-existence is refusing to consider the concept, for it is neither brave nor intellectual.


On the other hand, I am not so far removed from the philosophy of non-existence, myself; and I can understand those who say that a belief in the afterlife is just wishful thinking. But, I have seen and heard enough evidence for the afterlife which goes well beyond mere blind faith and wishful thinking, religious indoctrination and cultural conditioning. Yet, I still held reservations about what I should take with me into the next life, and that concerned me greatly. I have often viewed death as not so much a graduation from one level to the next, but rather as the final exam in the course we call this lifetime. As a result I have often wondered what knowledge I should focus on before that final test. What texts should I cram at the last minute before the exam? What should I take with me into the next life?


Above all, more than anything else, I fear the possibility that I may have failed my mission in this life.
 
Nightrain said:
Yet, I still held reservations about what I should take with me into the next life, and that concerned me greatly. I have often viewed death as not so much a graduation from one level to the next, but rather as the final exam in the course we call this lifetime. As a result I have often wondered what knowledge I should focus on before that final test. What texts should I cram at the last minute before the exam? What should I take with me into the next life?
Above all, more than anything else, I fear the possibility that I may have failed my mission in this life.
Click to expand...
Using the analogy of the Final Exam, I don't see it as a pass/fail test. We are not here expecting perfection, we're here making progress. There is a reason we have an unlimited number of times we get to experience this adventure called life. I believe being fearful of the outcome of life is coming from a place of expecting some sort of punishment, be it dogmatically based in social conditioning or seeing having to come back again as a punishment in itself. Some people seemed to be overwhelmed by the idea of coming back over and over and over again, which is why I believe we are meant to forget, so the here-and-now is our only focus and concern. Life is not a punishment, it is a blessed opportunity. If we are fearful of the outcome or fearful of making a mistake on the Final Exam, we are not seeing ourselves through the eyes of our Higher Source, through the eyes of unconditional love and forgiveness. Relax and let your positive feelings guide you. I believe that feeling good about what you are doing is our Higher Source's way of letting us know if we are on the right track.


Of course, I know that stumbling through daily life that it's all easier said than done. :D
 
Truthseeker said:
Using the analogy of the Final Exam, I don't see it as a pass/fail test.
Click to expand...
Hi Jim!


Although I agree with you wholeheartedly, that we should not view life as a pass/fail test; I do believe that we all encounter the moment of death with some last-minute reservations as to whether we have lived our lives as we would have wished. This is evidenced by the numerous cases in which our lives pass before our eyes in sudden and complete review, wherein we judge ourselves. It is that last moment in which all the planning and preparation for death, all the wonderful inspiration and philosophy and all the experience and education we may undergo throughout life seems to amount to nothing as we suddenly stand at the threshold wondering if we have made all the right moves.


Certainly, beyond that moment, there is nothing more we can do; and having moved past that point we undoubted accept ourselves and find ourselves accepted by the spirits that surround us and find comfort therein, regardless of how successful we were in life. But, it is that very moment in anticipation of death when all possible doubt enters our minds, that I am speaking of. While life is clearly not a pass/fail test, and I would counsel anyone facing death that it isn't; I do know that we are all conditioned in life to the pass/fail model that I think it still enters our consciousness in spite of our metaphysical belief.
 
No, I am not scared of death. Some days I'd actually welcome it, but my reason for welcoming it is not important. I used to fear death, until I learned that you can't have life without it. I don't know what happens when we die, but it's not as important as this life we have. What we do with this life matters more than anything.
 
While I share your lack of fear, my acceptance of death is based more on the idea that while I am here, here is important and has a purpose, though upon my death and my return to the other side, I become one, once again, with my greater soul...the eternal being which animates my incarnate being. I get no sense of my lifetime here as the most important occupation of my soul, but rather one of many, possibly countless other activities with which my soul is involved.


I just got a little jab from guidance with a quick mental vision...there was a man standing with a glove on...one finger had "YOU" written on it and that one finger was being dipped in water...I take that to mean my soul is the entire body while the portion living this lifetime is the portion of the hand in glove dipped into our incarnate world.
 
If "that's it, forever" is true, it in itself is a contradiction to the concept of eternity. I guess you can consider death to be a "here-on" type of phenomenon, whether it be a complete cutoff of consciousness, or an permanent afterlife. These types of views resemble a straight line with a starting point but no end. From so many observable things, the universe works in the ways of a circle.


Eternity is never starting or ending.


Death itself, I am not afraid of. Two years ago, me and 2 friends almost drowned in the ocean. During that moment in the choppy water I became really serene about it. Odd feeling, but it was kind of comforting.
 
death?


No.. not afraid of death.. that is inevitable. Rather am afraid of pain and causing pain and discomfort to others as I leave...
 
Same here, not afraid, except for the pain and discomfort in the physical body during the dying process, but once the veil lifts and the pain ends and I cross over, then it's another new adventure for me, looking forward to whether I can finally rest a bit or whether I have to go right back out again!!! :angel:
 
I am writing this for those who fear death to let them know that it is not enough to simply say there is nothing to fear. Instead, I think it is sometimes more helpful for us to dare and step into the shoes of those who have gone before us by examining what was on their minds when they passed. Certainly some of those stories are available from those who have come back to talk about it. But we can also consider the diaries and testimonies of those who were close enough to danger and disease to have resolved their fear and looked forward to death with happy expectation.


Their stories are remarkable in that they look forward to death as a final release from the pain and discomfort of their situation. Of course they often look with regret at leaving their loved ones or leaving a child without a parent. But the fear which has been ingrained in them by society is so often non-existent.


On this Memorial Day weekend in the United States, as well as my own 44th anniversary of returning from War, I think it appropriate to think about what soldiers of every nation went through while facing the ultimate sacrifice; and I have to admit how often I have considered them lucky. Some may think me irreverent and lacking in remorse for their passing, but it is not for lack of respect and honor that I say this. Indeed, I revere and honor them as much as anyone; yet, I still feel that they got off somewhat easy. For, in my humble opinion, it has been far more difficult to live through the pain, suffering, continued loss of many friends and loved ones and broken dreams of these past decades. After all, eventually we will follow the same path. But, it is we who have to carry on without them.


I think the only thing to fear about death is that it interrupts our earthy plans and expectations. When that final bullet strikes, that unseen car around the corner, or that final heart attack or aneurysm hits, everything we thought was important suddenly ceases to be. We are powerless to take care of those last minute issues that we left for next week, and we no longer have time to make sure that the lawn is cut, our underwear is clean and our children are well cared for. As I once told our local Pastor in jest, "I don't know what to pack!"


Packing and preparing is so much a part of our routine in life that death becomes a fearsome concept in spite of the fact that it occurs all around us and is as inevitable as breathing. And, as long as we live our lives in a material world and depend, as we all do, upon material things, we shall all fear death to some degree. So, yes, I do fear death—even though I know that there is nothing to fear. It isn't the pain, for I see it as a release from the pain. It isn't the loss of loved ones, for I have already lost so many and look forward to being reunited. But, it is simply that I don't know what to pack.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jet
Well said, Nightrain. I recently watched a series on TV exploring the minds of people who are on death row. The one i found the most interesting was about a man called George Nevas (I think) who has just been executed on the 29th of Febuary.


George said was he was glad that he was going to be killed as he did not want to get old in prison. He said he obviously didn't know if there was an after life or not, but either way he was going to be free. He did point out that the only thing that worried him about death was "the unknown".


I think prisoners in similar situations as George can be linked with people who have an illness they cant cope with, or have severe physical damage. When life doesn't have much to offer, the only thing a lot of people have to keep them strong is that death(and/or after) will treat them better than what situation they are in on earth. The psychology of how people view death is amazing. Naturally death is one of the most feared things we know, while to others, death is a key to freedom.
 
Your Reputation


As a postscript to add to my earlier post, I really have no regrets when leaving this body, everyone in my blood family is dead already except for some distant blood cousins, the people who composed my Mother's and Step-Father family from their marriage don't visit anymore and no one speaks to each other.


I never married, partly because of viewing my blood parents failed disastrous attempt at a marriage and secondly because of my career with the FD took up so much of my time.


The only thing I leave behind is a few material items, a few memories (both good and bad) and yes, I almost forgot, my reputation, a respected reputation that was earned with the FD, and elevated in my personal life.


Money in the bank will be taken or will decay, but my reputation will live on, at least for awhile, where my fellow colleagues and retirees will gather for some Cuban coffee and the conversation will turn to those deceased.


“Yeah, old so-and-so, he was a good guy to work with and work for, especially on Rescue, he always had your back” and the conversation would drift to something else, but the respect shown to my reputation would be worth far more than my meager savings in the bank!
 
I'm not really afraid of death per se, I had enough experences to guess that death won't destroy my spirit.


The dying though, being gripped by the pain and distress of the physical body facing it's end-of-function, that is something which shouldn't be underestimated.


But what happens afterwards, that I am frightened of. I acknowledge that an eventual reincarnation is probably unavoidable, but that doesn't mean I want to live again, at least not again like this.


Some say we choose our lives ahead of time, to which I must question "oh, really?". Was that an informed choice? Or was it like clicking "I accept these terms" in order to install some computer software, where you have to blindly accept any terrible terms being dictated, or else get nothing? That's not a choice.


I fear being dragged backed to earth without being allowed any choice with realistic alternatives, or that the process of dying might somehow blind my judgement enough to make intrinsically slavelike lives on earth look good.


When I meditate, it is that someday after death I my spirit should have the wisdom and force of pure will to successfully demand a better sort of reincarnation that every individual should deserve upon request. Or failing that, to have the self-control to continue saying "no", forever if necessary.
 
I believe that we return multiple times to learn specific lessons to allow our spirit to grow. If we only choose lives that we feel we deserve we certainly won't choose the hard ones, and those, I feel, are the ones we learn the most from.


Personally, when this lifetime is over I plan to take a vacation from this place ... hang around and enjoy the afterlife a bit. Maybe even haunt this site ... :laugh:


Just kidding. :)
 
usetawuz said:
I don't feel fear for death...I feel fear for pain. To me, death is just the transition...and I would like that transition to come without feeling the effects causing that death.
I also have a strong belief we are spared that sense of being ripped limb from limb by large cats (in Rome), or flying through the air from the car and staving in our heads against a metal railing (in Newport, R.I.), or having our innards blown to outards by machine gun fire (in southern Italy). Each of those transitions were met solely with bodily pressure at the points of impact, but no agonizing realization of pain, although the image I got of the lion pulling off my arm included a look of agony on my face at the time, I felt only the pressure. Then immediately after the pressure came the unbelieveble sense of relief...absolute relief, love, happiness, and lightness.


If this is something we do time and again, why not make it so our ends, despite the views from the human side, are as easy, painless and smooth as possible?
Click to expand...
Strangely enough, although I have no recollection of any of my PLs, I have always believed the same. I just cannot see the necessity of experiencing the pain.
 
I've never been afraid of death, but i was always afraid of how im gona die (violent death) i think that i fear the moments before.
 
I'm the same way, from the two Past Lives I remember, the time you are in spirit is very peaceful, almost a sense of relief of being back, it's the potential for suffering at the end of this life, that I worry about so much.


As I posted once before, being in a body and dying, is like driving an old car and it quits for the last time on the side of the Highway, so you get out and start walking down the road and you come upon a New Car lot run by a very nice, old man (God or your Spirit Guides) and he shows you numerous cars (bodies), there are tall and short cars, many colors and makes and models and finally you choose a very nice looking car and you set off on another journey in another lifetime.


Different body, but same Soul in roughly the same words as Benjamin Franklin put it so aptly.


No, I don't fear returning to a Spirit state without a body, just suffering while in a body, let's hope not and that it's real quick and painless. :thumbsup:
 
Yes, I am afraid of it.


Death means wiping the slate clean. It means leaving behind everything you had- the bad and the good- and you're lucky if you have any memory of it.


I still wonder how life would have been if I'd stayed where I was instead of going to war. I can't hate this life too much, but the life I left behind was a tragic loss that to be honest, I'm still hurt over.
 
Sometimes I fear death.


I lay in bed and think of transitioning to a spiritual state and, for a brief moment, fear grips me as I think of departing this life, with all its trials and travails, for something as yet "unknown." But the fear is mercifully brief, as I realise I'm being irrational. I chide myself: how can I, a lifelong believer in an afterlife and reincarnation, succumb to such a negative emotion?


I sometimes hear and read of people being eighty or ninety percent certain of an afterlife, and inwardly I think, well, that is no certainty at all! Only a hundred percent conviction removes the fear of death, and I have such a conviction, yet still I lay awake in bed, and sometimes, briefly, fear death...
 
JLamar said:
Yes, I am afraid of it.
Death means wiping the slate clean. It means leaving behind everything you had- the bad and the good- and you're lucky if you have any memory of it.


I still wonder how life would have been if I'd stayed where I was instead of going to war. I can't hate this life too much, but the life I left behind was a tragic loss that to be honest, I'm still hurt over.
Click to expand...
It appears your slate has not been wiped clean after dying in Flanders by virtue of your current research (by the way, your missive is wonderfully descriptive and your work on it is remarkable). Certainly death ends that previous individual's sojourn on this plane, but it also provides another opportunity to experience something different...and it appears you are doing just that.


Another way to look at it is that your life ending in Flanders was intended, by you, to end there. My own death in Italy in WWII was described jocularly as "checking off the war-death box" by my guidance while in my akashic records. That death, while seemingly wasteful and tragic, served to provide me some of the best friends I have right now...they were all in the "band of brothers" who died with me.


I cannot and would not advise or tell anyone not to fear death...everyone faces their mortality in their own way and for me that fear has diminished over the years. I have decided fearing the unavoidable and inevitable to be energy better used elsewhere.
 
Not afraid of death, but am not quite happy bout the idea of possibly having to come back, and where I may come back too. I know people say, we choose to come back, and sometimes I wonder, what exactly they say to convince us to come back, haha. I am thoroughly done with the idea of coming back.
 
I' m not afraid of death itself and I' m not afraid of how I will die either because I know it' s going to be probably quick, at least the moment of death itself. Waiting for death could be a pain, however, we are kinda waiting for death all the time. I don' t want to die though, at least not now because I have still a lot of things I want to do in this life before passing onto another one. I am a bit concerned though that I will make decisions in the astral regarding how I will come back, that I will regret later, however, it' s probably just my head messing with me and maybe underestimating my soul' s ability to make good choices, I can' t really complain much this time so I guess my soul is not that stupid.


I remember a reincarnationist who had terminal cancer saying that they were afraid of death because they were afraid of losing the sense of self in the next life and that they were afraid of being someone different in the next life. I' m not sure if that can happen, seems like we always end up recovering the important, and besides, changes can only happen in life, death never changes things.


So no, I' m not afraid of death, but I don' t want to die now, otherwise I will just have to reincarnate to do the same in the next life.
 
Good question. I haven't been afraid of death for quite some time. When I didn't have faith in my younger days I was afraid, and depressed which increased the fear. Once I opened my mind to the universe I noticed that angels are everywhere and will carry your soul up into heaven no matter how you die. A psychic once told me that my uncle was carried into heaven by a group of angels after he took his own life. Many people think that committing suicide brings you to hell, which isn't the case, at least for my uncle. I know he's there because I can feel his spirit around all the time. Another reason I'm not afraid anymore is because I know this is my last time on earth. No psychic told me this it is just an inner knowing. And since I know who I was in a previous life I am on my way to healing and move forward which will help me (and others in m soul group) in the afterlife. Being afraid of the moment when the time comes is different. I can't picture myself growing old which makes me think I'm going to pass sometime in my fifties or sixties. This is just a guess however, but I know angels and family on the other side will be there.
 
I am somewhat fearful of death. I am fearful of dying now more than ever because of my health, and heart diesease and mortality in my family seems to happen early, around 60. I have now reached that age. I know that we have no control of death outside of suicide, and I think that it is this lack of control which most scares me. We tend to want control over every aspect of our lives, at least to some nominal degree. I feel like it is not long away,as I've had dreams of my death. The dreams frighten me.
 
At this moment, I say no. But, I also recognize how easy it is to claim 'no fear' while sitting here in a chair, at a desk, in a building, in a calm environment, staring at this computer.


My hope would be to be able to give the same response while facing a known prospect of death directly in front of me. That is where the true test is.


Every day, we deal with the unknown prospect of it, and given that it is beyond our immediate control or knowledge, I don't want to give up my own sense of well-being to that potential looming fear. Therefore, I say no, and I base that on the belief (or hope) that a seamless transition exists to whatever is on the other side.
 
Dying


I've never been afraid of death, only of the suffering that can lead to it. It has always seemed like a welcome tunnel or happy reunion somehow. I get to be with all those I've missed so after they left this life, friends, family, and the many happy reunions with those I didn't get a chance to meet this time around. Sometimes I go to the length of imagining who I would want for friends and relations, and that always makes me smile.


But I don't think I want to come back too soon. After this one and the one previous I'm going to need some down time, relax, remember, recuperate and just bathe in light.:thumbsup:
 
I have never really had a strong fear of death; however there is always a little bit of fear of the unknown. The thought of death had always been that someday when I was very old I would eventually die and continue on in another plane of existence until I choose to return to earth for another human incarnation.


When something happens in your life, and suddenly you are looking at the possibility of your own possible death much sooner then you had expected, your view of death will go through close examination. I was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. I was staring at the possibility of my death with-in a couple short years rather than a few decades in the remote future. To be honest, there were a couple of scary uncertain moments, but I came back to the basic belief I had before. Ironically, I now have even less fear of death than I had before.


The good news is that the cancer is treatable. I am now minus a right breast, undergoing chemotherapy, and my prognosis is good. I am making plans for the future and looking forward to living my life. When the time comes, whether it is a decade, or 3 or 4 decades from now, I will be ready to face the next adventure of my existence.
 
Val, I thought about your post all weekend. I'm sure other members did also. It deserves so much more than a flippant reply. It is comforting to know that your basic feeling about death didn't alter after "facing it down." I have found that as I age, my belief in reincarnation grows stronger, and that allays my fear of death, just as it seems to for you. I find it perplexing that so few people are willing to consider the prospect of death squarely, and firmly. One of my great regrets is that as my father lay dying, and wanted to talk about it, I didn't have the courage. In my defense, I was only thirty at the time, and not ready to face that kind of reality. The feeling I got from what you said, is that you're looking forward to living your life joyously. I hope to be here to read your posts for years to come!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top