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#31
10-14-2007, 10:15 PM
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Re: Scared of death
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] I enjoy a lot of Buddhist thoughts on this, not the real supernatural stuff, but the very basic concept of appreciating the moment. I find myself trying to be more aware of each instant in and of itself. [/ QUOTE ] I have been reading this thread and feeling kind of sorry for some of the people that have sheer terror about death. I am not Buddhist and naturally have come to the conclusion to appreciate the moment and be aware of each instant. I can't control certain things in my life such as afterlife or death or whatever entails but I can control each moment. I say this b/c I was afraid of death for a period in my life, for a lot of reasons mentioned in this thread. Then something happened in my life that snapped some perspective into me and made me realize that worrying doesn't really enhance my life in any way (I did my best to exclude a Van Wilder quote there). [/ QUOTE ] t, Similar for me. Coping is easier as I get older but the latent dread is always there and sometimes it's overwhelming. 
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#32
10-14-2007, 10:19 PM
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Re: Scared of death
[ QUOTE ]
I've heard a quote before...but I can't remember the exact wording or who said it...it was something like... "I'm not afraid of death. I was dead for a long time before I was born and I wasn't the slightest bit inconvenienced by it." anyone know who said something like this? [/ QUOTE ]Mark Twain "I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it."
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#33
10-14-2007, 10:22 PM
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Re: Scared of death
[ QUOTE ]
Coping is easier as I get older but the latent dread is always there and sometimes it's overwhelming. [/ QUOTE ] I think this right here is the crux of this thread as well the situation. Also, a huge reason for religion.
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#34
10-14-2007, 10:23 PM
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Re: Scared of death
I only read the op:
Ok, I agree with you. I believe anyone who thinks something happens after you die to be a fool but they are entitled to that and that's that. Why are you scared of it though? Life is hard from the start. Life is nothing but a struggle; a struggle to stay alive and a struggle to make it to the top if you do that easily. That is why I live my life with no regrets, whatever that means. Just try to have as much fun as possible and do what makes you the most happy. Anything other than that is a waste of time/life.
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#35
10-14-2007, 10:25 PM
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Re: Scared of death
I don't like the "I was dead before I was born" stuff. It's fine in a glib way, like that famous quote, but (imo) it stops you from getting to the truth, which is that before you were born there was no you. After you die, you aren't dead, because there is no you.
As Metric said in my earlier linked post, you only exist within a certain area of space-time, and birth and death are just some of the boundaries. I never lived in China, the same way I never lived in 1927, the same way I never lived on Mars, the same way I never lived in 3011.
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#36
10-14-2007, 10:26 PM
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Re: Scared of death
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] In the billions of years before you were born, you didn't exist. After you die, you don't exist. It can't be that bad if you've done it already for that long of a time. [/ QUOTE ] Wow. Interesting point. [/ QUOTE ] Life, lol. T-shirt?
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#37
10-14-2007, 10:28 PM
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Re: Scared of death
[ QUOTE ]
I don't like the "I was dead before I was born" stuff. It's fine in a glib way, like that famous quote, but (imo) it stops you from getting to the truth, which is that before you were born there was no you. After you die, you aren't dead, because there is no you. As Metric said in my earlier linked post, you only exist within a certain area of space-time, and birth and death are just some of the boundaries. I never lived in China, the same way I never lived in 1927, the same way I never lived on Mars, the same way I never lived in 3011. [/ QUOTE ] IMO, you were always alive. Life is all you have ever known so it is everything to you. There is no before and there is no after.
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#38
10-14-2007, 10:38 PM
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Re: Scared of death
[ QUOTE ]
IMO, you were always alive. Life is all you have ever known so it is everything to you. There is no before and there is no after. [/ QUOTE ] I kinda agree with this, but deep down, there's an everything is everything element if you take that idea the whole way, trying to pin point exactly when your life "began". Also, consciousness hasn't been a part of your entire life and for all purposes, it is consciousness what most people want to keep. It's trying to wish an inconsistent and impermanent quality as pretty much an analogue to the soul.
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#40
10-14-2007, 10:45 PM
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Re: Scared of death
Everything is everything; that is my point in a way. In life, since the time you were born, you always had a consciousness. If you remember it or not depends on your memory.
FWIW, I can remember things since I was two years old. I have a friend who can remember when he was hit by a car in his stroller at 10 months old, and to this day he tells me that he has already died. I am not sure I 100% believe him but it definitely says something about consciousness and "when it all began".
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