Death has always been an uncomfortable topic and hidden in the western world, almost taboo. The only thing we know about death is that our loved ones and friends who have died, are gone as they have evaporated and become nothing. That is all we know.
Thus have arisen strange and false ideas about death, that causes we have difficulty to understand what death is, and so have ideas and theories about reincarnation and belief in life after death, in whatever form, had easy access to us and become popular and attractive in our minds. We want to believe that we have lived before and will live again. But no matter what we want and believe, it is only a simple desire for immortality. Nothing more.
We do not want to die. We do not want to face the fact that we are mortal, so we create all kinds of ideas, about the continuation of the ‘me’. It is in fact the ‘me’ that requires eternal life, continuation of itself, it is always about the ‘me’. But the fact remains that we are mortal and will die.
It may well be painful and frustrating, but we have never lived before and we will never live again. Not only because the body is not reusable but also because there is no such thing as was and will be, not really. Was and will be are only ideas we have created as a scale on events, and for comparison, one compared to another, death and life, yesterday I did not exist, now I do, and tomorrow I will be dead.
It is certainly sensible and sometimes necessary to be able to measure, and compare, otherwise we could not organize a meeting tomorrow or the day after, but we have made the scale to unshakeable fact in our lives, which it is not.
We want to believe that time is real, even though we know better. We have the moment, the now and the eternity, all united in one. Nothing else.
We are life and death is part of it, it can never be separated. To die is unavoidable part of life and that in itself is nothing to fear.
We have probably all heard some sort of descriptions of what happens when we die. There have been recorded many and varied stories of peoples near-death experiences and we let it affect us, we want to believe it all, because we fear death.
Many argue that they do not fear death, and perhaps it is true, on the surface, but deep down in all of us, there is fear of death. It is inborn, to ensure that we do everything we can to survive.
Death is a tiny offshoot of life, something we all have to go through, so it would be interesting to view it and explore, in the hope of seeing what happens in the dying body, what happens to the memories and consciousness and everything else we do not know about to name.
The credibility of stories about people’s experience of the near-death process is often evaluated based on what the stories have in common and then is often looked past many and well known things regarding the death process, mainly because most of us do not want to see anything other than what pleases us and comforts.
One thing is certain, the body knows when it is dying and it knows how to do it, that is why the experience of the near-death process is similar in all of us, if not identical. It does not mean that what we experience is reality, it may well be inherent method, a beautiful play, internal system to mitigate the fear, and part of it might have come about because of our ideas and expectations.
Although the body knows what is going on and what to do, the knowledge is not on the surface, because when it happens, and while it is happening, we are not aware of that we are dying, at least most of us. If we are dealing with an illness, it is at the top of our minds to recover and it is often a long and difficult process, which needs all our attention. This also applies to accidents, they are not predictable so if we have a serious accident, even deadly, then the thought is all about keeping track of it and get relief and recovery. The idea of death is far away, as it is quite enough to think about and deal with recovery.
Before the body dies permanently, the brain empties itself of its contents, all the memories fade, and while it is happening, we experience a journey through a tunnel, where we re-live various events of our lives and at the end of the tunnel we meet deceased relatives and friends.
The first thought, or memory, we place in the memory of the brain, is a journey through a narrow tunnel into a bright light where beautiful creatures greet us a warm welcome. This description should not need an explanation, we call it normally birth. This is our first memory and also the first to disappear in death.
It is said, that immense energy is released at the moment of death and that the minds of people are then the clearest, but it is also known that the same thing can happen if and when people think they are dying, so what causes this could be either innate or learned, but this is obviously of physical nature.
It is pretty clear that some of what we experience in this process is inherent, to make the moment of death easier for us, and other we create ourselves, from our hopes and expectations, for the same reason. But no matter the process and how we experience it, the death is unavoidable, we know this all deep down, even though we do not want to recognize it and there lie the roots of all fears. It is in the fear of death where all the problems lie.
All problems are rooted in our fear of death and the loss that follows. It is a simple fact.
To say that we fear not death is an illusion, which we hide in different ideas about life after death. We do not expect death, but other forms of existence, or continuation.
Since all our life is about the ‘me’ then it should not be a question of life after death, but the existence of the ‘me’, whether it will have an existence after the death of the body and what it will lose in death.
The ‘me’ is in fact the creation of the brain, which the brain can easily get rid of, so it will die with the brain. The creation of the brain can never be outside of it, or without it.
We can nonetheless be free from the authority of the ‘me’ at any time, die the ‘me’ so to speak.
That, which can die and disappear while the body lives on, is because of the body and cannot live without it, or after its death, which means that it is our creation and our to change it or let go of it.
The fact that we dare not see what happens when we let go of the ‘me’ is fear of death, for it to let go is a kind of death and thereby the loss off all.
Death is the loss of all our personal qualities, abilities, family and friends and worldly assets and somewhere within us is something that knows this and it awakens in us fear. We dare not face up to what we know deep down, because we fear the loss of all.
We know that dying is inevitable and that life will continue to be. It was before we appeared and it will be after we die. The question is only, if something continues, if anything survives the bodily death.
Dying does not necessarily mean that we are forever lost, that we are thrown out of life, abandoned, separated from life forever, or we go into some heaven to be born again.
It only means that we change form, our bodies will dissolve and become dust and thus be united with earth again, from where it came, and from it will rise new people, to live and die. Another form, the same life. New people, the same life.
Life is common to us all. There is no my life and your life, no ‘me’ and life. Just life.
The truth is life and life is we and everything that exists, we are in fact no-thing that contains everything. All is united in one for eternity.
Life and death are nothing personal, not conflict, some kind of revenge, it is not something that happens to us, to hurt us and torture, fear has created these ideas. Life and death are one, like everything else. The body came from the earth and will return back to earth, and life has always been united and one with everything and will continue to be so.
We can never be outside of life because there is nothing outside it. We are life and life is all there is.
We do not need to worry about ourselves and our loved ones in death. The body will return to the earth and the spirit will be one with all life, as it has always been. That is all.
There is nothing to fear. We have this moment forevermore. We are this moment, all, united in one.
It is here and now we are. This moment is the only one that ever has been. Nothing else.
IH, 1990
We are truth 