The fear of death pervades within you, whether you are aware of it or not. This fear is at the core of your subconscious mind, driving your every attempt to chase pleasure and avoid pain, blocking out your ability to perceive the balance of the physical universe, causing you to go around in circles, bouncing back and forth from extreme to extreme. This fear lurks beneath the surface of your identity as you continually and foolishly identify with the energy that constantly changes and flows, causing you to fail to see that you are the consciousness that that is eternally present, receiving the energy. Fear of death spawns the ego, strengthened by comparison and competition, and it feeds off of the fear in a vicious cycle of separation and ignorance. The ego/mind stays in control and persists because it gives you the illusion of permanence, a false sense of security in identity, thoughts, hope and expectations, effectively blocking out the fear of death that perpetuates the illusions. This fear is shuddered from your awareness as you attempt to gain material security, to preserve beliefs, and to acquire information; but information is not wisdom, and wisdom is not intellect.
The fear of death is an important issue, maybe the most important issue, for humanity to bring into conscious awareness in this time of transition. The weather is bent more toward thinking/reflection, which works well with the topic of death. I am seeing first hand that facing the subconscious fear of death is very intense, hence this post. The fear of death is the core of the mind and the reason for the existence and the persistence of the ego. This fear is very uncomfortable and difficult to overcome. The fear is hidden from conscious awareness by attachment to beliefs about the past and future. The fear drives our desires and aspirations, like chasing wealth, power and fame, and it is the reason why myths, fantasies, and religions are more popular than reality. There is nothing the ego fears more than the truth. The fear of death is a subconscious force that separates humanity, perpetuating the illusions of false security and control, keeping people from seeking the truth of life.
Mind = Death | Truth = Life
Life is always present, just as it will be right after you exhale your last breath. What truly matters at that point?
Take a deep breath right now, and exhale it all out. Imagine you will not get another breath. Refrain from inhaling again until you finish reading the next paragraph.
Read this slowly and let it sink in. Does it make a difference how famous and renowned you are? Even the most famous and beloved pass on. Does it matter how much money you made and how many nice toys you had? You aren't taking them with you. Does it matter how many times you had sex, or how big your muscles are, or what you look like? The body ceases to function -the heart slows down - the blood runs cold - the limbs go numb. Does it make a difference if you have bounds of intellectual and scientific knowledge or if you have memorized every word in religious scripture? The illusion of identity and security in knowledge is stripped away as you feel your body slowing down. Confusion, fear and worry ensue, mixed with pain and extreme discomfort as you realize death is upon you. Are there any thoughts, beliefs or theories to hide behind anymore? The brain ceases to function as neurons stop firing due to a lack of oxygen. The mind can no longer block and filter out reality. Here now, face to face with reality, no more "you" - just life as it is. The moment of truth.
Now breathe in, breathe in the air. Don't be afraid to care. If you have any imagination whatsoever, and if you really halted your breathing, that should have scared the shit out of you. Imagine your heart just stopped right now. It happens all the time to people of all ages. Imagine the reality of physical death. Hopefully, you are as scared as you should be. Fear is a good motivator, a force behind evolutionary progress. Now read the above paragraph again and pay attention to your breathing as you read it.
Isn't it amazing to be able to breathe? Realize that you are not in control of how many more breaths you will take - it is not up to you. When you are truly unable to take in another breath of oxygen, you will not be given another one, no matter how much you want it. Be conscious of your breathing, don't take it for granted, see that every breath is a gift of life, and know that there will come a time when "you" will not receive another one, no matter what you think.
Do not wonder for whom the bell tolls...
The bell tolls for thee.
If there is one realization you should have gotten out of that uncomfortable barrage, it is that there is no true security in identifying with possessions and hiding behind concepts and beliefs. There is no pride to be had in intellect, fame and fortune. There is no comfort to be had in fantasy and identity. They are all passing illusions of the mind, kept alive by avoiding the fear of death - the fuel for the ego and the reason for its existence and persistence.
Be afraid. The fear is no longer hidden from you - let it enfold you. Do you see how your mind tries to hide it? It is far more important to be aware of the fear of death than to feel good and comfortable in your fantasies, beliefs, and aspirations. Realize how unprepared you are. Don't try to deny it by regurgitating your beliefs and concepts. Death happens in the present, not in the future. You are going to die. Your body will cease to function, and you have nothing to hide behind. Are you ready?
Death is not a comfortable subject, and it never will be, but death is part of life, and it cannot be avoided. We must acknowledge and recognize our fear of death to overcome it. You are going to have to face life as it is sooner or later, whether you want to face reality or not. It is important that your mind is uncomfortable and shaken up as you read this. The mind is death - it perpetuates the waking sleep and deception that enslaves and separates mankind - lost in the fantasies about the past and the future. The mind will pass, as it is an impermanent array of bio-electric activity in your brain, which ceases to function when your body shuts down. The fear of death is of the mind, thus it will also pass. The mind can be overcome, thus the fear of death can be overcome, but you must become aware of it and see how it drives your actions and holds you in bondage.
To overcome the fear of death and prepare for the inevitable experience of that final breath, you must have the ability to accept life in its totality - the good and the bad - to love life completely as it gives itself to you unconditionally. To have the ability to love life completely, to live completely, you must overcome the mind which picks and chooses, wants and avoids, and serves to separate consciousness from life. You must make the two, one. To overcome the mind, you must know the truth of life and surrender to it. How can you love/live completely what you do not know completely?
This is why the truth comes before life.
It is impossible to know what life is, but it is possible to know how it works, what it does, and how you fit into the big picture. We have finally progressed/evolved enough to know and understand the fundamental truth of life. It will transform us and our world. This means that we do not have to guess anymore. Blind faith is no longer necessary, and hope is but a waking dream. The truth is the truth, no matter what you do, say or believe.
To know the truth, you must seek and understand your true nature as a receiver of life, which is not your mind. You must recognize true life, which is always present and coming directly to you from all directions. You must see the nature of the mind and how it filters and distorts true life - you must separate the wheat (what life gives you) from the chaff (what the mind creates). You must learn and accept and the the eternal, unchanging laws of the universe and surrender to them, realizing that you are not in control. The universe will always balance, regardless of what you do, what you say, and what you think. Knowing and seeing the balance is key, because it shows you that you are not control, thus the mind loses control. Knowledge and recognition of the balancing nature of the universe leads directly to the ability to accept life in its totality, regardless of what is happening. Knowing the truth is the only way to overcome the fear of death, to overcome the mind, and to prepare for the experience of physical death. The truth is the way.
Know this to be true: The laws of the physical universe are unchanging, and we can know them and surrender to them. We can know how life works, but not what it is. The universe is perfect, thus there is only one truth as to how it works and how we fit in. It is the truth you can check in reality, the truth that the evidence supports. The truth you can check with the rational mind shows the perfection of life, "that which is." The kind of truth you can check shows you the truth that can be experienced (true life), and vice versa. The truth makes you ready for anything, because it gives you the ability to be fulfilled regardless of what happens to you (true freedom). It gives you the ability to surrender to life and let go of this world.
The only way to prepare for death is to get into life by surrendering to the truth of life. There is nothing the mind is more afraid of than the truth, because the truth is life, and the only way to accept and know the truth and life is to surrender. The mind does not want to lose control, and it will resist giving up control using defense mechanisms including but not limited to jumping from extreme to extreme, wanting more, and even expecting to make progress. The mind will do everything it can to try to get you to skip the truth. We have evolved a rational mind to control and manipulate the environment, and only the truth can show the mind it is not in control and reprogram it to serve.
There is a transition. It takes time for the mind to get used to giving up control, but once it really knows it is the problem, it will help by shutting itself off when it is not needed. It takes 100% commitment to overcome the mind and become the truth. You have no control - the Universe leads the dance of life. Will you submit to the will of the Infinite Universe and dance in harmony with the whole, or will you neglect to seek to know the will of God/Life until you come face to face with Reality as you exhale that final breath? To know completely is to surrender completely.
It is getting into life to overcome death.
How could it be any other way?
I spend so much time spreading the truth and regurgitating philosophical meanderings, intellectual concepts, and words of thinkers and prophets before me, because I am afraid of death. I have to be honest with myself. I can't hide from it anymore. Spreading the truth and writing these words gives me a sense of control over life, but in reality, even these conceptual truths and thoughts that I hold onto and hide behind will not save me from facing reality as it is. The situation could not be more perfect and it does not bother me, because it is necessary to spread the truth to bring heaven (truth and life) to earth. Everything starts with the truth, and I feel driven to spread it. Knowing why I am so driven to spread the truth only serves to motivate me further, because it shows that I am really not in control - that there is a higher power that I must surrender to, a higher power that I am not separate from. It is.
The truth you can check shows that life is always perfect and that you don't have to think all the time, or even very much at all for that matter, and that is how it reprograms your mind and why it can't be skipped. I am seeing that the subconscious and instinctual parts of the mind are revealed as the conscious mind shuts down when it is not needed after the truth sinks in. The key is to recognize the fear as it comes into conscious awareness, and to use it as a cue to pay attention to life. Make fear work for you to make you more aware of life - make the fear your friend, and it will be overcome.
Nothing could be more important than seeking the truth to overcome the mind, to surrender to life, to be reborn to life. The only thing that will matter after you exhale that last breath is whether you had sought, learned and surrendered to the truth of life, because life is eternal, undying and here now. Seek the truth.
Read this post whenever you need to become more aware of your fear of death, and do what needs to be done to overcome death (the mind) while you are still breathing the air. Let it be a reminder to you from the collective unconscious that the path to destruction is wide, and the truth narrow. Make the fear of death work for you by motivating your transition and by using it as a cue to pay attention to the life that is always present - here now - nowhere ...
Fear of death is fear of losing control of what you never had control over.
The fear of death is the fear of life.
