Certain subjects and human functions are considered taboo in today's society, I've noticed - you don't see them in TV shows, movies, advertisements...they don't exist, but we all do them, or we know someone who does...for example: going to the bathroom, smoking pot, menstruating, picking scabs...not acceptable topics for polite conversation, or as part of a TV show or movie...although when you do see one of them in a movie or TV show, it's considered "ground-breaking" (witness - pot-smoking on Entourage, or in the movie "Marty", they showed someone on the toilet - both were NOTICED)...
But the one taboo subject, that nobody wants to even mention, is something near and dear to all of us, and I don't understand why nobody wants to broach this subject, EVER - and that is our own DEATH...nobody wants to talk about this...aren't you the least bit curious to know what OTHER people think is gonna happen to them when they die? I am, and I can't get anybody to discuss it...do they think we'll "jinx it" just by mentioning it?
I also don't understand people who live their whole lives avoiding the issue...I could never get excited about football games in high school....I used to sit on the window ledge of my room, and stare out the window, thinking about the trees, and that I will miss them when I'm dead...and wondering how the cheerleaders and jocks seemed so engaged with their sports...as if they don't know, don't care, or have no knowledge of the fact that none of this matters, in the face of their own mortality...why doesn't anybody want to discuss this...what do YOU think happens when you die? Don't you want to be prepared for it, somehow?
I want to know your opinions, or has the fear gripped you too much to discuss it?
Sunday, April 4, 2010
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I decided way back in high school what I thought death would be like, after reading William Cullen Bryant's Thanatopsis: http://www.bartleby.com/102/16.html
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ReplyDeleteThanks for that, KaliDurga...I try to approach life with that attitude, and understand that when I am "in flow with universe", it all feels good, and can logically surmise, therefore, that one's passing, if you are at peace, and in harmony, should also be smooth, and calm, and not painful...yet, where does the gripping fear come from? What EXACTLY happens? Nobody has the answer...I doubt there's a big palatial mansion in the sky waiting to greet us/or a burning inferno waiting to engulf us...but do you believe that the soul comes back in another body (I have had glimpses of that on psychedelics)? If not, what is that feeling of recognition when I meet someone for the first time, and yet, our eyes lock, and we feel like old souls reuniting?
ReplyDeleteTara,
ReplyDeleteIf this is a subject that you are genuinely, deeply concerned about and interested in, then I HIGHLY suggest that study the works of Dr. Ian Stevenson. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Stevenson
And Dr. Brian Weiss http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Weiss
My father is now 71, a PhD metallurgist who never really believed in much of anything. Until, about 25 years ago, he and my mom were on vacation, and he didn't have anything to read. My mom had just finished reading a book, so she said, "Here, read this." That book was Many Lives Many Masters, by Dr. Brian Weiss, and it completely changed my dad's life. He was so blown away by it, that he found Weiss's phone number and called him at home! They talked for about an hour. My dad said that his one criticism of Weiss's work was that it wasn't very scientific, and Weiss's response was that he didn't need to be, because he wasn't presenting it as science--it was simply a true anecdotal story. Then he told my dad the thing that changed his life. He said, "If you want science on the subject, you should study the work of Ian Stevenson." My dad ultimately wound up buying a dozen or so of Stevenson's books (they aren't written for laypeople, so they're not easy reading, unlike Weiss's), and he now gives lectures on the subject of reincarnation. Takes your breath away. If you really read Stevenson's work with an open mind, it's almost impossible to conclude that reincarnation isn't at the very least, highly likely! I believe in it totally, both after reading Weiss's book, and just a little of Stevenson. And now, here's a kicker: One thing my dad always says now, is that when you come across a strong, or shocking coincidence, it's a sign that there is something there that needs to be followed up on. I agree with him. Wanna hear a coincidence? The night before you posted this blog post about people not wanting to talk about death, I posted a blog post on that very subject. My blog is one I started as a challenge to myself (a la Julie and Julia if you saw the movie or read the book), in which I write one rhyming poem per day. More often than not they are kids' poems, since rhyme (not to mention my mind) tends to lend itself to that, but not always. Last night, not so much. My poem last night was called, "My Epitaph." http://primerhymedaily.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-123-my-epitaph.html#comments How's that for a coincidence?
Batsheva ~ I'm so sorry I didn't even see that you had responded to my post. I used to get a message whenever I got a new Blog comment, but not lately. So apologies, I try to respond to every comment I get...
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, I will definitely read the work of Dr Brian Weiss...I read Bridey Murphy when I was a teenager, as did my Mom, who, btw, also had her own enlightenment experience while in the dentist's chair, but just could not maintain believing in her own experience, and ended up going back to being an atheist, as believing in Reincarnation would have totally upset her whole premise of existence, and put a huge rift between her and my dad...
She died a few years ago, I hope she found some solace in having seen the White Light previously, and therefore being a bit more familiar with the process than many, so to speak...
Thanks so much for your response, it may be just what I am looking for - YAY, the Interweb!!!