Meeting My Death with Peace? (without using beliefs)

[Louisa]

How does one meet death bravely and with a heart of peace, even if they have no real, solid beliefs of a beneficial afterlife?

At various times, death has weighed heavily on my mind and I have been faced with my own potential death a few years ago. When that happened, I found that at first I was terrified of a bad reincarnation or hellish realm (I don't think I can really believe in a permanent hell). Then I tuned away from all my fears and ran from the thought of my death at all, including avoiding facing the medical situation, until it resolved itself and the coast was clear. It was too much for me to face, on top of all the stress and fear of death, but gratefully I was okay. When the time comes that I actually will die, I want to be able to face it with less fear and running away.

Even though I don't confidently believe in Hell realms (except, obviously, quite hellish lives I see here on earth) and reincarnation, I firmly believe in spirits and other realms, because of direct experiences I have had. But I can't shake my fear that there is something I am supposed to do, before I die, which may prevent a terrible rebirth.

Its not that I think I've been an awful person, but that my soul might be more tarnished than I realize, in spite of exterior signs, so I might be up for a bad rebirth next time around, due to past karma (and the karma of intentions and thoughts and "sins" I've done in this life which might be worse than they seem, to myself or outside observers). Even though I don't firmly believe in Hell or reincarnation, the possibility weighs so heavily on me.

I don't have any firm beliefs on these things and I will not adopt a belief unless I have some experience to back it up, so how do you think would be the best way to philosophically, psychologically, and/or emotionally deal with death, and the fears, terrors, and denial and escapism they tend to evoke in me, when the time comes? I want to prepare now so that when the time comes I will be ready. I have thought if I could die in a beautiful natural environment, conscious of my surroundings (even if in great pain), maybe I could be at greater peace and harmony and therefore somehow go to a better realm. I do fear that perhaps I will die young (I'm now 30), because I keep having dreams that suggest that to me, but it could be my subconscious mind creating the dreams to help me face my fears. I don't know. Well, any ideas?

I'd say few people have a solid conviction of what the afterlife will be.
Yet there is a tremendous amount of information and first person accounts of those who died for several minutes, visited the afterlife , and returned.

Yet unless one has a personal experience, glimpse or dream , it's still theoretical-second hand information to us.

But I've found great comfort in these things ,as well as mediumistic connections with souls who've gone over.

When one visits a radically different culture, they typically do some research to learn what to expect, and make the visit less stressful. But it's still a belief, that such information is true.

Unless you journey to the afterlife as a visitor, you're pretty much gonna have to research & accept others experiences and believe it's worth trusting.

Perhaps one day science will be able to safely, reliably induce a near death experience. Till then we will have to rely on other sources of information.
I doubt you know anyone who's visited hell, yet you seem to feel such a place may exist... why is that?

A couple of excellent resources (films) I've shared before.

Also recent threads in this forum heading-topic have tons of other resources.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Whv7HDqDLEs

Jurgen has astrally visited the betweenlife/afterlife many many times , interviewed souls-people there, and has astonishing insights on the varied dimensions we call heaven... his videos are mindbending,, and the one on "heaven" is remarkable
(also on youtube if Vimeo doesn't work, on slower computers) I've downloaded all his video presentations)

http://www.multidimensionalman.com/M...ter_death.html

[knightofalbion]

Life is a continuum. There is no death. The physical body, which is merely a vehicle of expression for the spirit perishes, but the spirit within - the real you - lives on.
So death is nothing to be feared. It has become a 'black' ominous mystery through the centuries thanks to the misteaching of orthodox religion, who profited hugely from muddying the waters and attributing ownership of the 'keys to Heaven' to themselves.

We're all human. We're all going to make mistakes, say and do things we regret. The thing is to learn from them, hopefully, not make the same mistake again and move forward.

Guidance for the present and the future? Live as kindly and harmlessly as you can; think before you speak and act; help wherever, whenever, whoever and whatever you can.

Guidance for the past? Accept one's karma with dignity and grace.
If one has a sincere, heartfelt desire, not to escape the karmic consequences of one's action, but to earnestly make amends...
'You cannot redeem yourself by fruitless regret. If you have brought harm to some part of the Creation you can help to set things right by giving a greater amount of good or helpful action to that part of the Creation so harmed' (From 'Wisdom of Ramadahn')

[Tobi]

All I can tell you which may help is I know there is a beneficial beyond. The Soul continues its journey there.
I do not believe this. I hardly ever believed in anything. I know it. This is from my own experiences. It is real.
Like Knightofalbion says we all make mistakes. But we will not be "going to Hell" for stumbling now and again on our path of discovery and learning. We all stumble sometimes.

Live well, and when it comes time to pass on, remember love, and thanks for your life. You will be fine.

Every single moment of every single day we have an open opportunity to raise our consciousness and "vibrations". In every single incident of life we have some touchstone to hold, (usually formed of love) to show us what decisions to make, what to give energy to, and what to let pass by us. If we continue to live like that every day of our lives -yes we could still make mistakes here and there, but they will not be very bad ones. And it's amazing how even a short time of committing to living that way can raise a person up. This factor will be the deciding factor as to what level of consciousness you "die" with, and what vibration your Soul holds when you pass over, where you will go to (vibrationally-speaking) and any incarnation-to-come will reflect those conscious decisions.

[Nameless]

I was raised Catholic, so I have first hand knowledge of fear of the devil and hell, and the fear of death that all of that instills....

What happened for me is I discovered Syliva Browne (think about 12 years ago). I saw her on Montel Williams one day, someone had the TV playing and I was walking by and I heard her laugh - and that laugh caught my attention - she sounded just like an Aunt I had had with the same deep gravely voice and boisterous laughter. I was drawn to the sheer normalness of her. She is the first psychic I had ever seen, and here she was, so normal. So I went and bought her book, Adventures of a Psychic. And while it was her first attempt at a book and maybe not the best literary thing in the world (even thought she had help) it spoke to me. I hadn't been Catholic at that point for many years and I was missing something, some thing that I needed to put spirituality into perspective. I knew I loved Jesus and Mother Mary and I feared God and what he could do it I was bad, and once I started reading, it changed something in me, added something that hadn't been there before.

She was the first one to tell me that there was no devil. And I instantly believed her. I knew it at a soul level, that religions had made up this devil. And it freed me in a way I can't explain. And the more I read of her, the more I didn't fear death anymore. It actually sounded like fun.

And it was the answer for me. it was what I needed to hear.

I have no fear of death and haven't for years. I'm not ready to go yet, but what there is "over" there waiting for me when I do get there is awesome to think about.

It changed my life, when I no longer feared death. She has a book, the Other Side and Back, that speaks about it from her spirit guides perspective. It is quite a lovely thing to believe, and whether or not it is true, that's really all I needed to hear.

Just my 2 cents.

And I really enjoyed reading your other responses too. They all really sound "sound" to me.

[Michelle11]

Dreams are mostly a direct reflection of what we are currently thinking, feeling and wrestling with so it is not surprising you contemplating your death would conjure up dreams about death. In that same vein, if you want to understand how to overcome your your fear of death or your personal demons and general fears for that matter ask for clarifying dreams on how to do that. The guidance most definitely will come. It may come in little bits at first but be persistent about your goal to work through this asking for guidance often and you will be led to your answer and subsequent freedom from your issue. Best of luck. It sounds like an important issue for you to work through but I am sure it will be well worth the effort if you choose to work on it. At least that is what I was guided to believe when faced with my own personal demons. Take care.

[Louisa]

Thanks for all the responses. They have been very helpful.
I think one of the main reasons I fear the afterlife so much is because I have suffered so much in this life and I don't believe everyone has much, if any, influence to heal their problems, so some people seem caught in the painful, miserable clutches of fate. As bad as I've sometimes had it, I fear even far worse in a next life, and that's my greatest fear, I guess. But I guess I can see how maybe I could let go of those fears.

Henri, I watched the first video. Haven't had time to watch the second, but I will get around to it sometime. That first video was inspiring and made me think outside the box a bit and consider other possibilities. In the past, if I saw and read enough convincing sounding stories of near death experiences, I'd believe. I think I get a feeling of intuition about some things. If that gets strong enough, and especially combined with synchronicities and signs, maybe I will believe and that will help quell my fears, so whether or not I believe in all the belief systems presented about near death experiences, it has been helpful to consider it. Certainly more uplifting that dwelling on hell. lol

knightofalbion, I think if anything distracted me from the fear of hell, perhaps it would be a life of selfless love, if I could find a cause I could believe in. I have been there before, but then I lost faith in my cause. Maybe I'll look for another cause, and then even if I still fear I might go to hell, it will matter far less, outweighed by the bliss of giver's high. (lol, yes I have a bit of a materialistic view of it - I figure its brain chemicals and structure affected by empathy that swamps me in so many positive emotions I don't care about the fear anymore. Wise? I don't know. But love makes us blind, altruistic as well as other kinds, I think).

Tobi, I do kind of believe in some life after death, and benificial ones too, I guess I worded it wrong - it's why would I believe that will necessarily happen for me. I don't firmly believe in afterlife, but I have had some strange dreams, synchronicities, vivid thoughts/visiosn and such, so I am more inclined to believe than not. But that severe skeptic is still a part of me.
I agree with what you say about having a touchstone to focus on. I think it comes down to awareness and self-control, and also fear can be valid... Fear of afterlife, who knows? Anyway, I guess if I can shape myself to be both conscious enough and in control enough to always be focused in the positive and never get too lost or carried away in emotions/confusion. Or if I remain in a state of being swept up by positive emotions of altruistic love, ...then one of those two paths might put me in a good state for passing over and going to a better next life. Thanks for your thoughts.

Nameless, thanks. I will look into Sylvia Browne's work too. I hope that it will also help me move beyond my fears. Anything that might help, for fear of death can keep me from living the life I really want to live. When I thought I might die, the first thing I wanted to do was to go through all my writings, collected information and such that has helped me through the years which I have written in journals, and to write it in a readable format, excluding all the negativity which was also rampant, to leave behind for my loved ones. I never really started that because I was just caught in fear.

Michelle Petkus, thanks for your suggestion. I do hope it is just subconscious fears creating these dreams. And they haven't been all bad either - I've had dreams and messages about being taken away by some dear beloved person who I don't know. I will try to ask for more dreams to help deal with the fears. For the last several months, I've had trouble with dream recall, but I'll see what I can do about it and maybe it will help. Good idea.

[Belle]

The only thing I can think - and I may well be wrong for you Louisa - is without a substantive belief system, you still have your own moral compass of what is right and what is wrong. And if you can adhere to that, then that should ultimately bring you peace inasmuch as you have been true to yourself.

And to know that you did your best at all times - there will be times which take you away from your moral compass but if you did your best possible in the situation then you can relax.

Finally, for the moments when you let yourself / others down, seek forgiveness of yourself predominantly and also others.

[Louisa]

I think that is a great idea. Be my own moral compass. Well, maybe with the help of Spirit guidance, which I receive continually in my life as it is. Why not just flow with it, in death as I (try?/remember/let go and) do in life.

I didn't trust my moral authority or judgment or capacity to do much of anything till a few years ago, so wasted my life a while, but now maybe it's time to change that. I guess I want all the answers now, including how to resolve all my karma, if I have it. But that's probably a crazy thought.

Let go, give in to the flow, even if it changes me into something I never wanted to be. Because I couldn't have fought it to start with. I can't escape karma's debt if it is in my path, except by what I can actually see to do and then trust and have faith to do with Spirit's help.

Much to think on, but it's getting clearer.

I watched those second set of videos from Henri. They are very thought-provoking, like them a lot. I found them on youtube (multidimensional man - jurgen weise), because the link didn't work for me.

[norseman]

The Cycle of Life is Death, Renewal, and Rebirth. Hell, damnation, judgement and the Devil are christian fixations !