Why should anyone be afraid of Dying?

So I decided to bite the bullet, look 80, 90, and 100-year olds in the eye, and ask them: "When people reach your age, they begin to realize that there are more years behind them than in front of them. What are your feelings about the end of life?" We discussed what they thought about dying and whether it concerned them and occupied their daily thoughts.

One question repeatedly entered my mind while listening to the interviews: Where's the terror? Because what the elders told me is that the intense, overpowering fear of dying is very much a young person's game. I did not detect denial from these elders but rather a matter-of-fact approach to dying and a willingness to discuss it and what it means.

The vast majority of our respondents described themselves as not thinking about death much, and much less so than when they were younger. It's true, by the way, that research shows lower death anxiety with advancing age. Nevertheless, I wasn't prepared for the comfort level most of the elders expressed about their own deaths. Here's how some them talked about their own mortality.

www.huffingtonpost.com...


Herr is the thing major religions throughout the world make clear that death is but a doorway or a veil that, keeps us whole after life.


So what is the problem?

Understandably dying before one reaches old age is a problem......but death is inevitable so why be afraid of it????

a reply to: Kashai

I believe it is a fear of Non existence...

Something that we can't even attempt to contemplate...

Most attempts end in "nothingness"... or blackness... which ultimately makes life meaningless, and leaves it without purpose...

Can YOU imagine what Non-existence is like?

a reply to: Akragon


Death is inherent to nature as all things die.

Being afraid of something inherent to nature is like being afraid of a wave collapsing when it arrives upon a shore.

One way to understand Death is that when it results from old age it is reasonable to conclude it ha something to do with nature.

Is one way of looking at it is that there is something wrong if nature?

To be truly perfect one must also be imperfect, so to encompass all things.

Survival is an instinct. It's in our best interests to avoid death whenever possible. It's the same when you blink and close your eyes when an object comes toward your face. It's built-in to protect your eyes at all costs.

In the vein you seem to be headed in, young people can still reproduce. Historically, we never lived past menopause. Now, we do. That may be why older people are less afraid of death--because reproduction is not an issue.

Or not. I dunno. I fear hurting, and insofar as death hurts before you actually get there, yeah. I don't like that.

a reply to: schuyler


As I understand it Birth can be very painful and so in general is Death.

a reply to: Kashai

Death is inherent to nature as all things die

Perhaps it is really a question of whatever pain might occur just before death...

Fear of pain is nature as well... even though it is a temporary issue

a reply to: Kashai

There is absolutely nothing to fear. Not even the way.

Blood eagle if you like. I know its seconds compared to eternity kicking ass.

There is nothing but fear, the mind killer.

You have to respect others though and their journey.

a reply to: Akragon



There are many people who are ready to die for a cause and yes they will feel pain should that happen to them.

originally posted by: Kashai

Kashai: Herr is the thing major religions throughout the world make clear that death is but a doorway or a veil that, keeps us whole after life. So what is the problem? Understandably dying before one reaches old age is a problem......but death is inevitable so why be afraid of it????

Perhaps they don't realize they made a contract before incarnation; part of that involved understanding why in the first place you chose to be a human got the slot for your immortal soul to insert itself in a human body; (remember this agreement) including what your relationship with the Absolute was/is. Its is a lot to ask of someone taking on this false carnival ride experience. The odds you will understand this truth are astronomical. Ones death is planned; as you planned it prior to incarnating (the circumstance; your age). The purpose of life here is to remember what you planned prior to becoming a third dimensional being. Once understood; you realize your soul/spirit is an immortal being regardless of the temporal body it inhabits.

a reply to: tadaman


If death means nothing than being afraid of death means being afraid of nothing.

originally posted by: Kashai
a reply to: tadaman
If death means nothing than being afraid of death means being afraid of nothing.

Physical death is meaningless regarding your soul as it was on a mission to eventually experience physical death. This is not accidental (you chose to be human).

a reply to: vethumanbeing


I subscribe to the consideration that when we access past lives, we access the Collective Unconscious.

Where those in the past of similar temperaments seem parallel.

But then again there is the issue of environment that in context to history. Presents a much, much more violent environment compared to what in general people experience today.

a reply to: vethumanbeing

Exactly.

This was all known. What was not is if you wont go crazy and forget....if you get caught up in your station in life and try to avoid death like a fish trying to breath out of water.

a reply to: Kashai

Fear, is death.

True death.

a reply to: vethumanbeing


Actually I support such a position.

Nonetheless fear of death is rampant and despite its membership claims, faith over the idea. We are nothing and shall return to nothing.

It would seem apparent that faith does not replace fear.

originally posted by: Kashai
a reply to: vethumanbeing

Kashai: I subscribe to the consideration that when we access past lives, we access the Collective Unconscious.
Where those in the past of similar temperaments seem parallel.

You realize you have an individuated spirit? Its called "personality" that is of the Absolute but very much your OWN identity describing it?

originally posted by: tadaman
a reply to: Kashai

Fear, is death. True death.

Ad 'Pride' to that equation (what would it look like)? Annihilation of the spirit. Hey but there is the opposite in place. Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies.

a reply to: tadaman



Say for example one takes a totally Atheist veiw upon life....


in which case we are all made of Carbon (and so on), so it is actually very possible that if Earth was destroyed beyond repair. Because of how we are structured and in the countless years that relate to the decay rate of carbon.

The elemental materials that constitute our physical structure could again become animated.

a reply to: Kashai

That is the problem with atheism. It denies the spirit and forces people to deny all those things that lead the crazies into religiosity.

Its just as flawed as hard line religion.

its an extreme and forces ignorance of more.

That ignorance brews fear you never develop the tools to address.