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Afraid of death

I fear it too, and am struggling to make peace with it. It's the idea of not existing that I don't like, as well as the dying itself and the lack of control I will have over the process. I try not to think about it and distract myself when I do, because it can cause a panic attack. I think of it like losing awareness like when asleep, except you don't dream and you never wake up.
 
I got some interesting insights into this question, just after my stroke a scientific with approach in tune with the laws of physics, that would allieviate, many of your fears. Stangley the world's best most influencial physicist is following the same lead. I did not know until I read Peter Woits blog. He is following the math I'm just following What I can see in my minds eye Which I've Learned to trust years ago.
 
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Progster said:
It's the idea of not existing that I don't like, as well as the dying itself and the lack of control I will have over the process. I think of it like losing awareness like when asleep, except you don't dream and you never wake up.
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That's the thing... we can't imagine nonexistence, because nonexistence doesn't exist. If nonexistence existed, it wouldn't be nonexistence because it exists. And it's because you can't imagine nonexistence that the idea of not existing feels so terrible. The ego can never understand this.

The thing about existence is... if you exist, which you do, then you always exist in some form or another. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. You are consciousness. That is energy.

There may be nothing that can be said that will put anyone's mind at ease. Psilocybin is a good way of temporarily going beyond the ego. Not everybody gets to take it. Maybe you would benefit from it.
 
SimonSays said:
And it's because you can't imagine nonexistence that the idea of not existing feels so terrible. The ego can never understand this.
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Yes - nonexistence exists as a concept, but it is impossible to imagine, that's why it's scary. Also, our instinct is to survive - we are hardwired to stay alive as long as possible.

This is the tradeoff humans have for their big brain and intelligence, an awareness of their own mortality. And one reason why religions with a belief in an afterlife are so popular - they bring comfort and peace to those who believe.
 
Progster said:
And one reason why religions with a belief in an afterlife are so popular - they bring comfort and peace to those who believe.
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Yes, that is true. But I choose to experience rather than believe. It's why there are ways we can step outside the box for a moment, and why those experiences are so helpful.
 
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SimonSays said:
That's the thing... we can't imagine nonexistence, because nonexistence doesn't exist. If nonexistence existed, it wouldn't be nonexistence because it exists. And it's because you can't imagine nonexistence that the idea of not existing feels so terrible. The ego can never understand this.

The thing about existence is... if you exist, which you do, then you always exist in some form or another. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. You are consciousness. That is energy.

There may be nothing that can be said that will put anyone's mind at ease. Psilocybin is a good way of temporarily going beyond the ego. Not everybody gets to take it. Maybe you would benefit from it.
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Information also cannot be destroyed. "see black hole wars" this drove Steven Hawking nuts as he could not explain it. See Claude Shannon information may be energy. your existence is information. every thing that has ever happened since the universe came into existence is infomation, Dark Energy?
 
Ronald Zeeman said:
every thing that has ever happened since the universe came into existence is infomation
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I like that.

Of course, the universe couldn't have come into existence, as if it did not exist before. Something was there before; something did not come out of nothing. But whatever was there before, if one could even try to think like that, would still be information.
 
SimonSays said:
Energy cannot be created or destroyed. You are consciousness. That is energy.
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From a biological perspective, isn't consciousness just a mix of electrical impulses and chemical activity in the brain? Just because consciousness exists as it does in a living human with awareness doesn't mean once a person dies their consciousness continues as is.

One thing I heard recently that I found interesting and true: Much of what we do as humans is predicated on the false idea that we'll live forever (ie or human lives on earth will never end). If we were continually aware of our impending death at the end of our short lives, for example, would as many humans watch 8 hours of TV per day as many do? Would we stand in lines for a significant portion of our lives? The point being that there are many things that we fritter away our limited time on earth in ways that a person who was keenly aware of their mortality would not.
 
The information of our existance lasts as long as the universe lasts. Can it be reassembled, that's up to God, beyond my pay grade.
 
Magna said:
From a biological perspective, isn't consciousness just a mix of electrical impulses and chemical activity in the brain?
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It can certainly seem that way from that perspective.
Magna said:
Just because consciousness exists as it does in a living human with awareness doesn't mean once a person dies their consciousness continues as is.
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True, but it doesn't mean it won't either ;)

Consciousness might not continue as we know ourselves to be, because who we know ourselves to be is mostly ego, which is a construct, and without it, reality would be far more different than we might imagine.
 
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the fact that information cannot be destroyed. Quantum mechanics along with general relativity implies that death may not be final insights I got while I was in the middle of a having stroke.it takes minutes for information of your death to reach mars. are you still alive before the information reaches mars?
 
nichinneta said:
I am scared of not existing anymore after death, and that is permanent.
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Non-existence does not scare me. I already experienced it before birth. My life is so improbable that I feel OK that I will experience death. The thought makes me want to enjoy my life as much as possible.
 
After watching my grandfather die, it's become something I think about a lot but not in a negative or anxious way. Death gives life meaning. We are all going to run out of time eventually. More importantly - YOU are going to run out of time eventually. It's better to get hip to that fact sooner than later, so it doesn't feel like a surprise once you realize it's happening.
 
I guess l think my haters will be happy when l die. I won't have to keep up pretenses anymore of liking certain people like my brother's wife who l detest to no end. I won't care about random jerks who want to waste my time with their tomfoolery. So in some ways, death is a release of masking, and really freedom. Not sure why l need to be afraid of death anymore. And no more taxes.
 
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