Thanatophobia
is the fear of death, or the fear of dying. To be human
is to be mortal, and if there is one moment, one action
which is shared by every human who ever breathed, it is
the moment of death. To be afraid of death is normal; we
are hard wired to survive, to cling to life, to live to
our full potential. Life is a journey, and it is in our
genetic makeup to make every effort to make that journey
as long as possible.
It is
inevitable that our journey will end, as all journeys
must do. What purpose is there in any journey we make if
we have no intention of ever arriving?
The fear of
dying is, deep down, a reason for living. But it is not
the only reason, and an unhealthy preoccupation with
dying will simply darken the whole journey. Imagine a
train journey which is spent perpetually in fear of
crashing headlong into some unseen obstacle. The entire
journey would be spent scrutinizing the pinpoint of
distance ahead, focussing only on the rails ahead and of
the unseen obstacle. Far better, surely, would be to
enjoy the journey – look to each side, and admire the
view, watch the changing scenery unfold before you like
the pages of an epic story, share the journey with those
fellow passengers around you, and live whilst you are
alive.
We have each
been granted a glorious and unimaginably precious gift –
a life. Each of us alive today has beaten the odds in
spectacular fashion. It has taken billions of years to
create you, and even at the moment of your conception
you beat the odds of several million to one. We are each
the culmination of eons of survival and success; we are
each a spectacular winner in the survival stakes.
If you were
to be given a gift of money, would you hide it away,
looking at it occasionally, but keeping it locked away
from sight and use for fear of losing it? Or would you
enjoy the opportunity to use it to bring happiness,
enjoyment, comfort or some experience which will become
happy memories? To use our precious gift of life
mulling gloomily on the fact that it is ultimately
limited in length is to waste the time we do have; a
time when we could be looking out of the window,
becoming a part of the unfolding story, and celebrating
the fact that we have beaten the infinitesimally small
odds and made it here, all of us, together.
No story is
successful without an ending, no poem complete without
the poet’s concluding words, no sentence without its
defining full stop. Death is our full stop, our defining
moment – our grand conclusion, the final chapter to our
current existences and this fabulous and unique passage
of time that we are sharing with others. Death is the
moment when this life becomes a sentence in the epic
tale of life, a moment when we are defined in history,
when we become the beautiful words in the poet’s last
verse. It is the moment when our whole journey becomes
worthwhile, when we arrive.
It is the
ultimate mystery to know whether death marks the end of
life, or merely the transition from one form to another.
For many people religious beliefs serve as comfort, with
the hope and faith of an eternal life beyond the
physical existence we see. There is so much mystery and
magic surrounding this world; to watch billions of
tonnes of exploding gas rise up in the East and pour
teeming life upon a globe suspended in an ultimate
darkness is to see a world where almost anything seems
possible. Science admits it has no answers, only
questions. The more our scientists probe and explore,
the more mystery is revealed. More scientists are
turning to religion today than ever before.
To admit that
a three pound lump of grey jelly is capable of thought
so advanced that it can contemplate its own place in the
universe, imagine beyond the physical world, probe deep
within the fabric of the cosmos and still be able to
remember how to boil an egg is to accept that this world
contains something more incredible than could reasonably
be expected. To consider that the imaginings of our
brain extend beyond the physical realm we see is hardly
far reaching.
We already
accept that there is much we cannot see, yet know
exists. We cannot see radio waves, or light, we cannot
see the wind or heat, yet we know that they exist. An
awareness beyond death is merely the shadow in the
darkness we can’t see yet, until the light is switched
on and it is revealed.
Whether you
believe that there is a god, an eternal life force, or a
world which exists on a parallel plane doesn’t matter –
whether god is your religion, or science, or a self
belief quite independent of others makes little
difference – the thought of a further experience beyond
death is comforting.
Perhaps scientist would do well to fall back upon the
words of one of their own. Albert Einstein told us, even
proved, that “Energy
can be neither created nor destroyed, but only
altered in form.”
We, as human beings, are a collection of various types
of energy. This energy, according to Einstein, has
always been around and will forever be around. It can’t
be destroyed, it can only change or alter in form; take
on a different shape and appearance than what it once
was. This is the reason spirit mediums are capable of
connecting with those who have crossed over. It is
because the essence of an individual’s soul, that
energy, has altered from being embodied in one form and
has changed into another form.
Yet again, to
dwell purely on this possible extension of life is to
dwell on the end of this journey. Yes, we may be on a
train hurtling down the tracks towards a destination
which may, or may not, be a station at which we
disembark only to change trains and continue our journey
– but this is a second journey, through different lands,
with different stories and landscapes and experiences.
We shall never again have the opportunity to look out of
the windows we see now, to be part of the story
unfolding right now, at this very minute.
Life without
death is meaningless, as is light without darkness, heat
without cold, happiness without pain. To consider one
without the other takes away all meaning and substance
from both.
Remember this
– you are alive, now. More than this, you are alive and
you are aware of that fact. There was a time before you,
and there will be a time after you, but there will never
again be an exact same world which you are currently
living in and where you are a living sentence, an
indisputable part of the epic tale that has been told
for all eternity.
Live, don’t
just survive; run, but not away from death – run through
life only that you explore as much of it as possible.
One does not throw away the seeds because the plant will
only die; we plant it, nurture, it, spend every day
helping it to grow not just to survive, but to bloom, to
blossom, to be beautiful and alive.
Be alive, be
beautiful. Tomorrow will come, but today is already
here. Let’s discover what part we play in today’s
chapter, and let the storyteller worry about tomorrow’s
plot.
(C) 2008
The following videos are designed to
help an learn more about the topic of death and dying. These videos are believed to
be within the public domain and were not created by John
Culbertson. Enjoy!
Carl Jung On Death A rare chance to hear what Carl Jung has to say
on the subject.
Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Goodbye A school report on Dr. Elisabeth Ross
and her stages of grief.
NBC asks - Is There Life After Death ? NBC does a n interview with Deepak Chopra on the topic.
Deepak Chopra - Life after Death
part1
Deepak Chopra - Life after Death
part2
Deepak Chopra - Life after Death part3
About the Author:
John Culbertson is a new age teacher, speaker and
lecturer. He teaches and speaks on psychic
development (a six-month course), psychic
protection, numerology, astrology, angels, tarot and
almost anything else relative to the new age field.
He is available for private psychic channeled, reiki,
and spiritual coaching sessions through his web site
http://www.mysticjohnculbertson.com