In this dream, I was
a little worm inside a giant balloon full of other worms. One
day the balloon deflated and in the process I saw all of my worm
family die except for another worm who managed to escape the
balloon with me.
The moment we left
our balloon, we found ourselves in a bigger balloon shaped
world. Time passed and I noticed we were both changing, morphing
into these unusual looking creatures with arms, legs, a body,
and a head.
We lived for what felt like a lifetime in this world. All our
needs were met and it felt warm, nice, quiet and comfortable
inside.
Then one day, all of
a sudden, I felt this immense pressure pushing me out of this
world. I tried to hold on to my friend unsuccessfully, I saw a
tunnel of light and as I looked back, my friend was crying and
demanding that I don't die, that he didn't want to be alone.
At the end of the
tunnel I saw a new reality - a reality I live in today.
1. The moment you
were born, you already died
Let me explain that.
The moment you are born, there is an unbroken line between you
and your grave.
In fact, you are
really lying in your grave every bit as much as you are sitting
where you are. Life and death arise mutually, the beginning and
the end of a spectrum exist at the same time.
It's no coincidence
that in our society there are two main taboo's which are in fact
just one:
Sex and Death.
Sex is the process
through which we come into existence, and death is the way we
leave it.
The problem is that we
perceive reality from the third
dimension, almost like a straight line; our birth
seems like a separate event from our death.
At a quantum level,
all of time occurs simultaneously and if we could perceive
four-dimensional space we'd be able to see our own death.
Life is a build up toward the climax we have labeled "death".
2. Death
essentially makes you alive
It may sound like a paradox, but only through death can we be
truly "alive" beings - which makes life all the more exciting.
If you knew that you
were going to live forever, life would be extremely dull and
uninteresting. If we knew everything was safe and nothing could
ever happen to us… what motivation would we have to do anything?
It is the ephemeral nature of life, the impermanence of
it that gives us perspective. Death makes love and vulnerability
so joyful, or pursuing a risky path of heart so worthwhile.
Whenever something in life is disturbing you, ask yourself:
3. Death makes you
grateful
We are all
lone wolves deep down whether we know it or
not.
Life
and death are solitary journeys full of
visitors that we encounter along our paths. We often take for
granted the moments when our paths collide with others.
An example of this can be witnessed in an experiment. Whenever
you're experiencing a moment with a loved one; a friend, family
members or beloved, take a step back.
Become aware of the
impermanence of life and observe that moment with all its
mundane details, as if you were experiencing the moment from the
future once that person's not in your life anymore.
This future perspective of the present moment is one of the most
beautiful ways of experiencing gratitude for others.
4. Death is a
perspective
Death is at the root of most fears.
Even public speaking
could be considered a primitive fear of being rejected and
outcasted by the tribe to fend for yourself, or making yourself
vulnerable in an open space to the audience we perceive as
'predators'.
But why are we so
afraid of death?
What we
know as "death"
is only our external perception of it - just like in my
dream when my friend in the womb experienced my birth into this
world as my death in the womb world.
Most of us are afraid of death because we've associated it with
physical pain, or we are afraid of the uncertainty of
an afterlife.
If you dedicate
yourself to enough self-exploration you come to realize that it
is not you who dies, but what you think you are, i.e. your body,
your feelings, your thoughts, your brain's perception of
reality, your history and memories.
But when we die,
our souls, or our deep and pure
unchanging consciousness, returns to its original source (I
recommend the book
Biocentricism for the
science behind this).
5. Death and
rebirth
Philosophers, religious figures and thinkers have dedicated
their entire lives to speculating what happens after death, and
whether there's an afterlife or not.
However, very few
people have actually inquired as to where we came from before
birth.
We invest much more
energy in solving what makes us afraid than to what has already
happened.
The truth is that if we understand energy, we realize that
nothing can ever be destroyed; it is constantly
changing shape, transforming and flowing.
Life is a
forgetfulness of this original source that is ever-present
within us, and in death we are reminded of that source once
more.
6. "Let the dead
bury the dead"
I remember reading that phrase by Jesus and it struck me;
most people are so concerned with life after death but they
never stop to question whether they are even alive to begin
with.
We assume that we're alive because we breathe, we eat and move.
But that is simply existing, it is not really
feeling wholly, completely alive.
Your personality can
be in this world, but your soul still never touches it.
Many people fear death because they've never really felt fully
alive. They've never felt full of ecstasy and joy, experienced
life beyond temporary happiness, or moments of complete
harmonious unity and bliss with existence.
These people spend
their lives constantly preparing for such exhilarating and
timeless moments like this - but their very act of avoiding
death never allows the moment to arise completely.
These moments never arrive because we're too afraid,
-
to take risks
-
to be
vulnerable
-
to be
authentic
-
to face the
uncertain...
We're too afraid to
be alive. It's only once we've tasted real aliveness - even for
a single moment - that death diminishes its hold on us.
If life is the polarity of death, your fear of life will be
proportionate to your fear of death.
7. Death is
the mirror of your life
Death works like a mirror:
whatever you have
dedicated your life towards, whatever you have given
importance to in life, will be reflected in your moment of
death.
-
If you have
spent your life pursuing materialistic wealth,
egotistical respect and a life of physical pleasures,
then death will be very painful for you. You'll have
to give all that up...
-
If you've
spent your life pursuing your passions for art, music
and finding your personal meaning, then you've tasted
life beyond its physical external qualities which death
can't take away.
-
And if you've
truly tasted something beyond your individual sense of
self, if you've become in tune with your soul, then
death is not fearsome at all. You know that death is
an external illusion; it is the
background that is the contrast to life's foreground...
