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Originally Posted by Starman
Just my perspective; one among many differing points of view.
Death is when something ends, dying is when something is in the process of ending. It has been said that fear comes with the prospect of death and calm comes when death is imminent. Human life is a terminal condition, and human beings are experiencing death-like situations everyday of their lives; even if it is no more than the loss of some money, or a toy, it prepares us to let go of what we think is ours.
For many the after human death experience may, and I repeat may, be more familiar to them than their human experience here on Earth. It is definitely a fuller experience not limited to three dimensions like here in this physical world and the sensations are different as well. I am a believer that human beings should always be prepared for death because today could be our last day here on Earth.
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Yes, definitely. People are terrified of endings (all the more reason to prepare oneself). Most can barely handle the ending of a relationship, let alone the notion of death. And it seems that rebirth, too is equally terrifying for many. People want to cling and clutch; they do not want to surrender and let go. They want familiarity and predictability, whereas death is viewed as this unknowable dark void in a sense in which we lose ourselves. So, it helps, I think, to not view it as a loss. But that's easier said than done. There's death and then there's the dying process-- the latter I think can be initially terrifying regardless of how prepared one is, especially if it's long and drawn out.. I imagine it might be similar to a disassociative fugue state at first, or an extreme sort of depersonalization (both of which I experience somewhat regularly) in which it feels like the ego is aware of being aware of itself and spinning in panic as it crumbles. Resisting such feelings likely makes it 100x worse, too. But yes, absolutely, it's something that will be different with each person.
That's very true about how the way one handles stress reflects how they'll possibly handle death-- makes me worry about many people in my life, honestly. (Like my father, who cannot handle even the slightest inconvenience without exploding into a blind rage)
I've actually always done the same exercise that wolf mentioned-- that one is helpful (in many ways-- often if I'm anxious about something I'll ask myself "When I'm on my death bed will this matter at ALL??"), but others are too. Really, just shifting one's perspective helps a lot. And living in the moment and not zooming in on stress-inducing minutiae. And really-- although death is a fairly intense transition, we could stand to be a bit less dour and grim in our perspective toward it. (The dying process can be quite gruesome and unpleasant, yes, but death itself is so routine in the grand scheme of things. It's just like walking off a stage.)
This one lovely quote comes to mind..
"I hope to arrive at my death, late, in love and a little drunk.”