Fear of death

[noselfnofun]

Has any of you managed to overcome your fear of death? I still have quite a strong fear of dying, it has been the catalyst for me really pursuing enlightenment work. I have definitely made some progress but I know full well if my time to go comes up I will find it hard to accept.

Have any of you managed to overcome this and how did you do it? Dose 5meo help ?

[zeroISinfinity]

@noselfnofun meditate and time Will come for your end. You can experience it first hand. 

[SoonHei]

@noselfnofun  overcoming any fear = seeing its reality

fear is illusory

often it is the case of miidentification... such that we may find fear/danger in a place where it does not exist, but gives the appearance of danger/fear.

 

take Bob

Bob is afraid of snakes... well, most people are afraid of snakes but Bob, he is VERY afraid. He has a phobia of snakes.

Now Bob is going for a stroll around his neighborhood and sees a snake in the grass up-ahead. He freaks out and screams and starts to run the other way. Next day, Bob is again out for his stroll and goes on the same path, thinking the snake must have gone by now but he sees the same snake again in the same spot! again he screams, yells and runs away...

the fact that he saw it at the same spot and didn't move much or react when seeing him scream/run made him want to go back and see it... when he carefully approached from what he felt was a safe distance, he was surprised to find that he could keep on getting closer and closer, until he started laughing...

Bob, who has a phobia of snakes did not magically cure the phobia... but instead he saw thru the illusion. He had mistaken a piece of rope on someone's from lawn to be a snake.

with this, he continued on his stroll, not having to worry about the "snake" his fear had evaporated upon discovering the reality of the illusion

 

same thing with death. what makes you fearful is what you project/think about death. death is an illusion and overcoming fear of death = seeing thru its illusion.

keep in mind, there are some fears also must be faced to be overcome... avoiding of fears is not a permanent solution. some fears are factual - such as Bob seeing a real snake.

 

with death, what you can come to observe is that YOU cannot die... only that which is alive can die. You are beyond life and death, and thus, death cannot touch you. 

upon the discovery and as you're getting closer to it, there will certainly be fear due to uncertainty and of the unknown... just like when Bob is approaching the rope-snake... and upon discovering the truth, you, like Bob may also start to laugh

[noselfnofun]

1 hour ago, SoonHei said:

@noselfnofun  overcoming any fear = seeing its reality

fear is illusory

often it is the case of miidentification... such that we may find fear/danger in a place where it does not exist, but gives the appearance of danger/fear.

 

take Bob

Bob is afraid of snakes... well, most people are afraid of snakes but Bob, he is VERY afraid. He has a phobia of snakes.

Now Bob is going for a stroll around his neighborhood and sees a snake in the grass up-ahead. He freaks out and screams and starts to run the other way. Next day, Bob is again out for his stroll and goes on the same path, thinking the snake must have gone by now but he sees the same snake again in the same spot! again he screams, yells and runs away...

the fact that he saw it at the same spot and didn't move much or react when seeing him scream/run made him want to go back and see it... when he carefully approached from what he felt was a safe distance, he was surprised to find that he could keep on getting closer and closer, until he started laughing...

Bob, who has a phobia of snakes did not magically cure the phobia... but instead he saw thru the illusion. He had mistaken a piece of rope on someone's from lawn to be a snake.

with this, he continued on his stroll, not having to worry about the "snake" his fear had evaporated upon discovering the reality of the illusion

 

same thing with death. what makes you fearful is what you project/think about death. death is an illusion and overcoming fear of death = seeing thru its illusion.

keep in mind, there are some fears also must be faced to be overcome... avoiding of fears is not a permanent solution. some fears are factual - such as Bob seeing a real snake.

 

with death, what you can come to observe is that YOU cannot die... only that which is alive can die. You are beyond life and death, and thus, death cannot touch you. 

upon the discovery and as you're getting closer to it, there will certainly be fear due to uncertainty and of the unknown... just like when Bob is approaching the rope-snake... and upon discovering the truth, you, like Bob may also start to laugh

Lovely, I have heard the rope/snake analogy before but it really makes sense. I have been heavily on the spiritual path for awhile and have had many insights showing me death is an illiousion but none have stuck perminatley and I know when it comes I will have fear like u say but it's not grounded in any truth it's like an irrational fear of the unknown. I can see how my life is set up unconsciously to avoid death. It's a big leap in progress to make peace with it. Would You say your at some peace with death if it came ?

[Maya_0]

Yes enlightenment is the end of the fear of death, which is the root of all fears. Keep striving to awaken.

[tecladocasio]

@noselfnofun Enlightenment is dying.

Will you still want it? hahaha.

[jdenina]

I think all of us have a fear of death at some level. Meditation has definitely helped me overcome fear broadly. If I fixate on the thought of death then it can get to me. It depends on your perspective though. If you believe in nothing after death, it can be quite daunting. If you believe that our consciousness rises to a new level and we are opened to a new reality, it can be quite interesting. 

[Anton_Pierre]

@noselfnofun Hara Centering by Osho

https://www.osho.com/meditate/meditation-for-busy-people/hara-centering

Edited June 13, 2019 by Anton_Pierre

[noselfnofun]

@jdenina Yes I believe we all do and the end of the story seems to be the most humbling thing a human can go through. I would say I'm pretty certain now death is not the end to life, its impossible but I definitely use to believe it was the end or I just didn't like to even think about it. Meditation defo helps, I have had loads of insights to show me death is just an illusion but they haven't stuck.

@Anton_Pierre Great thanks will check it out.

 

@tecladocasio Yep, death of the false self.

 

[Preetom]

no death no fun 

[noselfnofun]

12 minutes ago, Preetom said:

no death no fun 

[mandyjw]

No one is afraid of death. They are afraid of being afraid of dying. It's easier to tackle it if you think of it that way. 

[SoonHei]

@noselfnofun a few things to get the ball rolling...

 

for "noselfnofun", Death is very real and WILL happen.

BECAUSE YOU (the real YOU) is currently identified and lives/acts via "noselfnofun's" body+mind, it will therefore ALSO feel and be very real for you in the moment... because "noselfnofun" will feel his death coming and you being identified with the body+mind will also feel it...

The whole message is about getting the REAL YOU to see that you are not "noselfnofun" and thus not in/off this world and therefore free from life+death already. (just as during a dream, the body which is sleeping on your bed is free from the life+death which happens in your dream)

 

The REAL YOU however, is not somewhere sleeping on a bed... The REAL YOU is no-where and thus, everywhere... Here's the deal, when you become aware during a night's dream, that you are dreaming (lucid dream) then you know that what you know to be the REAL YOU (sleeping on the bed in your room) is safe from whatever maybe happening in that dream and it becomes all safe/playful.

 

But just think what that would mean... if right now in your waking state you come to know that you are dreaming... where would the REAL YOU then be? or heck, WHAT would the REAL YOU be like?

But you are you! You always are you! and how do you know that? you just do. you know that you are aware and you know that you are... that's just it. You are the self-aware pure awareness... you are just KNOWING... 

and KNOWING isn't located anywhere...

it's like asking where a temperature is located. 

 

 

so to tie it up. death is an illusion for the REAL YOU

but death is very real for the human mind + body you... WHICH IS NOT THE REAL YOU

the whole dance is going from being identified with the human body+mind to the REAL YOU

and that process is via death... but the moment it happens, you will see that you were always the REAL YOU and just had forgot about it... like someone looking for their glasses everywhere and not finding them, finally collapsing down in defeat only to realize they were wearing the glasses the whole time and looking/searching thru them for them!  

 

analogy here I like is this... from the recent Avengers Movie... Death was REAL for Tony Stark but Tony Stark's Death was an illusion/unreal for the actor (Robert D. Jr)

death is you simply removing the mask you currently think to be your real/actual face... so it can FEEL very painful ... because YOU currently truly without a doubt BELIEVE that it IS your face and not a mask

even after though, it can still be very touchy but very light... just like movie actors also getting very attached to the characters they portray... there are many times when actors/actresses cry/are very sad upon learning the tragic fate of their character.