Re: What are the Principal Causes of Deathin CR Rodents?

[Guest guest]

> How did you conquer the fear of death?

I doubt anyone does, but there are any number of ways of displacing it or

buffering against it. I'd say find the healthiest worldview that you can

and invest yourself in that, but beware of how closely you hold to it --

people can get very nasty when they encounter a challenge to their belief

systems.

From a TMT perspective (let me know if you're actually interested & I can

post article references on or off list), reminders of mortality promote a

unique increase in derogation of perceive difference, increased liking for

perceived sameness, and worldview defence (one's 'brand' of CRON to many who

get too serious, IMHO). Self-esteem plays a role too, and apparently acts

as a buffer against mortality salience, but in an Israeli study (not sure if

it has been duplicated yet), reminders of mortality prompted young male

subjects to pursue a self-esteem boost through reckless driving on a

simulator... The symbolic defence against death can, therefore, actually

displace the defence against death itself, and that would be profoundly

unhealthy in many situations.

Cheers,

________________________

Gifford

3-5 Humanities Centre

Department of English

University of Alberta

www.ualberta.ca/~gifford

[Guest guest]

Please post article references , if you can and it isn't too much

trouble. I, for one, am keenly interested and I imagine others are too.

on 1/7/2004 6:53 PM, Gifford at gifford@... wrote:

> From a TMT perspective (let me know if you're actually interested & I can

> post article references on or off list), reminders of mortality promote a

> unique increase in derogation of perceive difference, increased liking for

> perceived sameness, and worldview defence (one's 'brand' of CRON to many who

> get too serious, IMHO).

[Guest guest]

--- In , " Gifford " <gifford@u...>

wrote:

> > How did you conquer the fear of death?

>

> I doubt anyone does, but there are any number of ways of displacing

> it or buffering against it. I'd say find the healthiest worldview

> that you can and invest yourself in that, but beware of how closely

> you hold to it -- people can get very nasty when they encounter a

> challenge to their belief systems.

*****Oh yes, most of the wars that have been fought have not been

over food or resources (certainly there are those too); most of them

have been over belief systems and faulty thinking.

Your other point, ...

While the fear of death may never be conquered, in many ancient - as

well as modern - meditation and spiritual traditions & practices, the

fear may be seen for what it is: a mental construct, another belief

system, actually. Just one that is very widely ascribed to, giving

it much more " legitimacy. " The fear is tied up with the sense of

self, the belief in a persistent, ongoing " me " which is the object

that is believed to " die. " See, we really aren't afraid of death.

We have *no* idea what death is. What we are afraid of are the

THOUGHTS of death. We've got LOTS of ideas about that!

If that notion is seen through, then it is realized that the only

thing that dies is thought. The body is actually immortal. It

changes form, like ice to water to steam to rain, but it never ends,

merely exchanging one container for another. But the *thought*

of 'me' ... the ending of *that* is where the fear of death arises.

In the absence of that thought, there is no fear, no imagining a

future without a " me. " All that exists for one expressing this

understanding is the eternal moment of " now, " repeatedly infinitely.

And one may get a glimpse of the 'death of me' every night, as I said

in post earlier today. In deep sleep, there is no " me. " For me,

chasing dreams or simply in a dreamless state, there is no world, no

existence, no sense of self. I am temporarily put on " hold " for six

or (if I'm fortunate) eight hours. Bedding down, there is a feeling

of assurance that I will " return " to myself upon awakening. But that

is not a guarantee. It is, like much else in this life, simply a

belief. As sleep overcomes me, I have no idea at all whether I will

return. And yet, there is never fear about that possibility. On the

other hand, an insomniac is just one who recognizes more acutely the

possibility of not returning! Hahaha!!!