How To Stop Fearing Death
It has been said that the two biggest fears in life are death, and public speaking. It’s only natural to fear the unknown. But you don’t have to fear death if you don’t want to. Fearing death is a choice. If you haven’t experienced it yet, why assume it’s going to be something horrible? Besides, you are alive now, and life and death cannot co-exist. It's one, or the other.
In reality, it is your belief about death that causes you to fear it. Do you fear death because you believe it will be the end of you, your essence, and you don’t want to end? Do you fear death because your faith system has taught that God will judge you and you may not score so well? Are you afraid you’re going to go to Hell? Do you fear you’re going to be floating like a cloud for eternity? Are you concerned that you might be “alive” in your body in your coffin forever? Do you fear death because you don’t want to meet up with abusive parents on the other side? Or, are you like me and have a fear of how you will die and how long you could suffer?
The solid answer as to why we fear death, is because we really don’t know for sure what’s going to happen when we die ... and therefore we don’t know if we should be afraid of it, or look forward to it.
Let's look briefly at what evidence we have about the existence of an afterlife? There are books that include accounts of people who have had near-death experiences (NDE's), where they died, had an experience, and came back to tell of it. I myself had an NDE on December 28th, 2012 in the back of an ambulance while being rushed to the hospital for emergency cardiac surgery.
Some would say they weren’t really dead if they were able to come back, so it may be assumed their accounts aren’t real and were probably hallucinations. Some will say that if the "silver cord" (or invisible consciousness lifeline) is severed, there's no being brought back.
There are books that contain accounts of those who remember their past lives, suggesting there is a life, and then an afterlife, and then more lives (reincarnation/transmigration). There are people who have had out of body experiences, and know that their soul can live without their body. And of course there are mediums claiming to actually communicate with those on the other side; if the Spirit energy of the dead isn't there, we have to ask how could mediums communicate with them?
Some say these near death experiences, past lives, out of body experiences, and communication with deceased relatives are illusion ... smoke and mirrors. These people, certainly have probably never experienced any of them, because I can tell you that people who have experienced them ... tend to have no doubts that our consciousness survives death.
What if death was something wonderful? What if when you die you go to a loving, peaceful place? What if you’re reunited with the energy and consciousness of your loved ones that you’ve been missing terribly? What if death releases you from pain, disease, illness, and misery ... and puts you back together again, whole (holy)?
Since most people have not had a personal experience that convinces them of the existence of an afterlife, they have no choice but to bring their dominant belief about death into every discussion of it. What is your belief? And do you realize that with no personal experience, you’re adopting a belief for which you have no evidence? This process of adopting someone else's beliefs at their word, has caused much trouble throughout human history.
If you have no evidence for your belief (good or bad), then your belief is based on speculation ... opinion, or blind faith. Why fear something terrible happens after death instead of investigating and researching for yourself if there's possibility that something wonderful happens instead? Since you have an absence of evidence either way, why choose something that scares you? In what way does that empower you?
We all seek empowerment from our spiritual beliefs. In fact, all of your beliefs in life should empower you. If you lack evidence for a belief, at least for the moment, adopt one that empowers you instead of one that scares you. It will lead you to better mental and physical health.
If you want to stop fearing death, first get clarity on what you believes happens when we die. Then ask yourself if you have evidence to support that belief. If not, ask yourself if there is a more empowering belief you could adopt that, if it were true, would cause you to stop fearing death. Then consider an investment in that belief.
I’ve actually felt my spirit/soul leaving my body ... and I know the body is just a shell that houses my soul. It's my vehicle of matter here in Earth School that will allow me to experience life in a physical experience. I have memories of past lives that fade in and out at times ... a rock solid deja vu. As a young child I use to call it "inherited memory" and thought perhaps it was a trail of subconscious knowledge passed down in my genes and DNA from deceased relatives and ancestors.
And lastly, even though there are times when I fear the journey towards death with all of it's possible pain and suffering (fears that I am working on myself), I don’t fear death itself because my personal evidence strongly suggests to me that death is nothing to fear and that we do go on with our consciousness intact. When you aren’t afraid to die, you find you aren’t afraid to really live, because in the end, nothing can truly harm you, not even death. We are eternal energy having a momentary physical experience.
Do the best that you can to overcome your fear of death. Adopt a new, more empowering belief about it, and then share your release with others. Empower them by sharing your own personal journey. We are here to help each other whenever possible. Who knows, it may even help with a fear of public speaking:)
Just a thought ...
~Justin Taylor, ORDM., OCP., DM.
