Living at Deaths Door

This is for I.R. Why do we fear death so much? It is an inescapable fact and when it will happen cannot be known for a certainty, only that someday it will happen. Despite the reality of it, we avoid it, in conversation and in our activities. Yet it is always there, just a moment away. If we were to actually realize how many times we have avoided death by a millisecond over our lifetimes it would probably surprise us. Why does something so natural and part of the existence of all things give us such turmoil. Perhaps we have not realized something that is buried in the psyche of the human thought process. If one really wants to find out the truth about death, shouldn't one look directly at death and not try to cover it up with religious or spiritual escapism or philosophical dialogue.

How is it possible to look at death directly? What does it mean to "look" directly? Whenever we attempt to examine intellectually, we have to contend with our own mind which is filled with opinion and conclusion. These opinions and conclusions are the result of our religious and political affiliations. It is part of our system of belief. So we are not able to look directly. We look though our prejudiced and opinionated mind that is heavily influenced by our experiences. Our experiences are laced with cultural, racial, and ethnic bias. Death does not discriminate, it knows no restraint, it comes regardless of your affiliations. If it is possible for one to realize that the self is trying to escape the reality of death, of the unknown, then one may have a realization that transcends the fear that the mind associates with death. To live in the moment is to live the reality of death and in so doing find peace and freedom in life. Life and death are one in the same, they are the reality of the unknown. One cannot know the future, the future is the unknown. It is the only reality there is, all else is the projection of thought. Thought is the conditioned consciousness, the self that is seeking its continuity in what is. If one can go beyond ones conditioning to a consciousness that is unconditioned, then one will realize the truth of life and death. Its duality which is the duality of the self will dissipate. Death as an ending is the illusion of the self absorbed. There is no ending there is only the unknown.

We all live at deaths door, it is the reality of each and every moment. If we realized it fully we might live life differently. We might love a little more, forgive a little more, and be less inclined to exploit and judge others. The mind is very selfish, it wants what it wants for whatever reason. But if one were to realize the truth of death in each and every moment, then perhaps one would not induldge in so much unchecked self promotion. One might realize the futility, conflict and yes violence of self gratification at the expense of others. If one has the realization, one can die to each moment, and realize the beauty of death as the flower of life.