Mortality

[uniquemand]

I was sitting at dinner with my son, tonight, discussing the death of my father and his grandmother, who were both struck down by cancer at relatively young ages.

Made me start thinking about my own brushes with death. Seems like a fitting topic for Halloween. How many of you have faced imminent death, or are facing it now? How do you feel about mortality? Do you believe you are immortal?

For me, I was faced with intubation, and I remember thinking "this is it, my choice is between death right now, and death in a few hours or days, after I'm unconscious... this is really it... goodbye world". I was angry. I felt like I had been horribly tricked. about twenty days later, I woke up. Amnesia. Couldn't believe I was alive. Again, I felt tricked. I thought someone was going to tell me "no, really, you're dead", or some such. Took a while to get used to the idea I was alive, and not about to die.

Made me re-evaluate what was important to me. I didn't change behavior much, but there are subtle changes in my thinking and feelings.

Anybody else have brushes with death?

 

[TheSneakster]

Anybody else have brushes with death?

Last time I spoke of such a thing here, some fuckwit armchair psychiatrist-wannabe figured it was their duty to convince me I couldn't possibly remember such an incident, so I'll pass.

Michael A. Hobson
I am *not* anonymous. I *do* forgive.

 

[programmer_guy]

I was sitting at dinner with my son, tonight, discussing the death of my father and his grandmother, who were both struck down by cancer at relatively young ages.

Made me start thinking about my own brushes with death. Seems like a fitting topic for Halloween. How many of you have faced imminent death, or are facing it now? How do you feel about mortality? Do you believe you are immortal?

For me, I was faced with intubation, and I remember thinking "this is it, my choice is between death right now, and death in a few hours or days, after I'm unconscious... this is really it... goodbye world". I was angry. I felt like I had been horribly tricked. about twenty days later, I woke up. Amnesia. Couldn't believe I was alive. Again, I felt tricked. I thought someone was going to tell me "no, really, you're dead", or some such. Took a while to get used to the idea I was alive, and not about to die.

Made me re-evaluate what was important to me. I didn't change behavior much, but there are subtle changes in my thinking and feelings.

Anybody else have brushes with death?

I think that when your parents finally pass away while YOU are in your middle-age makes you think about "coming to terms" with your own death.
That is what it is. (I don't think that youngsters would understand this.)

 

[MrNobody]

I was sitting at dinner with my son, tonight, discussing the death of my father and his grandmother, who were both struck down by cancer at relatively young ages.

Made me start thinking about my own brushes with death. Seems like a fitting topic for Halloween. How many of you have faced imminent death, or are facing it now? How do you feel about mortality? Do you believe you are immortal?

For me, I was faced with intubation, and I remember thinking "this is it, my choice is between death right now, and death in a few hours or days, after I'm unconscious... this is really it... goodbye world". I was angry. I felt like I had been horribly tricked. about twenty days later, I woke up. Amnesia. Couldn't believe I was alive. Again, I felt tricked. I thought someone was going to tell me "no, really, you're dead", or some such. Took a while to get used to the idea I was alive, and not about to die.

Made me re-evaluate what was important to me. I didn't change behavior much, but there are subtle changes in my thinking and feelings.

Anybody else have brushes with death?

Not really. I've had quite a few "OK, this was it. Game over." experiences though. I survived all of them "miraculously" unharmed or with only insignificant little bruises.

It taught me not to take my life for granted. It taught me that I'm immortal until proven wrong. Sound contradictory? It isn't - it taught me that death will definitely come one day, but why fear it? It comes when it comes, and when it comes it will be inevitable. Until then, I'm immortal. This feeling of "immortality" was the scariest feeling I've ever had in my life. Months and months of steadily increasing horror and panic.

I know I'm leaving you with a bit of a cliffhanger here, but it's a very long, sad story and still an emotional drain to tell it. Some snippets are scattered over some of my posts here, but that's all for now. One day I might post the full story here, but not today.

However, what did I learn from this scariest experience of my life?

It ain't over until the fat lady sings ....and I'm not sure I want to hear her anytime soon.

 

[IMMORTAL]

I was sitting at dinner with my son, tonight, discussing the death of my father and his grandmother, who were both struck down by cancer at relatively young ages.

Made me start thinking about my own brushes with death. Seems like a fitting topic for Halloween. How many of you have faced imminent death, or are facing it now? How do you feel about mortality? Do you believe you are immortal?

For me, I was faced with intubation, and I remember thinking "this is it, my choice is between death right now, and death in a few hours or days, after I'm unconscious... this is really it... goodbye world". I was angry. I felt like I had been horribly tricked. about twenty days later, I woke up. Amnesia. Couldn't believe I was alive. Again, I felt tricked. I thought someone was going to tell me "no, really, you're dead", or some such. Took a while to get used to the idea I was alive, and not about to die.

Made me re-evaluate what was important to me. I didn't change behavior much, but there are subtle changes in my thinking and feelings.

Anybody else have brushes with death?

This is a very interesting topic to me. Thank you for bringing it up.

I've been giving this quite a bit of thought lately. Not that long ago, I would've answered "Of course, I'm immortal!" But that was when I was still involved in Scientology and a "true believer". Now..... I have questions and I am, again, searching. Actually, I have picked back up the search I was on before I got side-tracked by Scientology.

I haven't had any near death experiences as you have described that were medically involved. The only thing that came to mind when I looked at it was an experience I had under the influence of drugs and alcohol. This is probably going to sound very strange. And, I'm sure, there are people who have very definite opinions about this kind of thing, one way or another.

I'd been drinking straight whiskey and doing some drugs. Marijuana for sure and maybe some pill. I don't remember anymore it's been so long ago. What I do remember though was that I thought the grass on this little hill looked very inviting to me and I wanted to lie down on it and feel it under my back. It was night time and most everyone was asleep in the apartment complex where I lived, so I allowed myself to succumb to my desire and laid down on my back on this nice little hill of green grass.

I was looking up at the sky. It was full of stars. Such a clear, crisp night and the sky was full of stars. All of a sudden I felt myself rushing up into the sky toward one of the stars. The speed I seemed to be traveling was mind boggling. It happened so fast and it seemed I was moving so fast that I knew that if I didn't get my body up, like right now, I would never get it up from that nice little green grass hill and it would be found dead there the next morning.

Well, I seemed to have snapped myself back to my body, jumped up and ran inside as fast as I could. It really scared the bejesus out of me.

I don't know really what happened here. I only explain what it seemed like to me. At that moment, I was not the body laying on the hill. I was something intangible traveling at warp speed into outer space, completely aware of the motion, the closing distance to the stars, the feeling of the motion of travel, knowing I'd left my body behind at an alarming rate of speed.

That was one of my experiences which, to me, is on the side of consciousness separate from the physical existence. Is this what you mean?

 

[Feral]

I've had several, all accidents. Tree falling within feet of me at last years bush fire, big busters from a young horse, nearly getting caught by a croc and a near miss on the highway.

Apart from the fact that I'm aging I don't feel particularly "mortal". I'm fairly certain that you and I are in fact quite immortal.

So I guess I'll see you in hell boy!

 

[The Anabaptist Jacques]

I've had a few very close calls in my life.

But I didn't have time to contemplate anything.

When a serious illness struck me, I gave it a lot of thought.

I realized I would miss my wife and she would be very upset if I died.

As for immortality, I don't like that word.

Because the Anabaptist Jacques is not what I believe will continue.

I bellieve my consciousness will continue, but my identity, even my level of what I now call my consiousness, is all part of a mortal thing.

I don't think we are aware now of that part of ourselves that continues.

The Anabaptist Jacques

 

[Hatshepsut]

I've had a few very close calls in my life.

But I didn't have time to contemplate anything.

When a serious illness struck me, I gave it a lot of thought.

I realized I would miss my wife and she would be very upset if I died.

As for immortality, I don't like that word.

Because the Anabaptist Jacques is not what I believe will continue.

I bellieve my consciousness will continue, but my identity, even my level of what I now call my consiousness, is all part of a mortal thing.

I don't think we are aware now of that part of ourselves that continues.
The Anabaptist Jacques

I think you only relinquish your identity package if you have bombed out that lifetime and need a change. A successful identity package and the way of looking at the world that went with it might be a little more tenacious.

 

[uniquemand]

Thanks, folks. Immortal asked if his sort of contribution was what I was looking for.

Yes.

Mostly, I was interested to hear from other people who had faced what they thought was their death, or are currently facing it now, but I realize it's a heavy topic, and not something everybody wants to talk about on a message board. Also, I figure everybody has some ideas, and I'm interested in hearing all of them.

So, I'll keep listening!

 

[degraded being]

Do you ever hear that someone not related or in any way a friend
etc, (so no strong feelings of loss,) has died, and you think
"Lucky bastard"?

 

[uniquemand]

Depends on the situation. If the person's life was miserable, and they had no hope of improvement, then, yes. I'm with Kevorkian on that point. I could live with a certain amount of disability, but when it got to a point where I was nothing but a burden, I would want to do what wild animals do, and just go off somewhere and die.

 

[Alanzo]

I have no fucking idea, and I'm sick of thinking I do.

I'm a human being.

And human beings are mortal.

If I was immortal, then I would be something else.

But I'm not. Right now, I'm a human being. And human beings have limits on what they can know and what they can see.

Maybe there's a part of me that's not a human being. But as a human being, that part of me would not be who I am.

I'm a human being.

And human beings are mortal.

I believe that trying to be immortal while being a human being, is attempting to escape your fate as a human being. Embracing your fate as a human being can bring great happiness as a human being, and can inform one profoundly as to how to live your life before you die.

Because as a human being, you are going to die.

Embrace it. Don't try to figure it out. Let that inform your life and decision-making, rather than trying to escape it.

Be here now.

Live life fully.

Die as happy as humanly possible.

That is the path to immortality.

 

[Feral]

That's the way I see it too, as well as what TAJ says earlier.

People think of themselves in the terms of their human construct being immortal. As David Graham would point out, "that includes their ego" which is related to your ephemeral human identity.

The other thing is that immortality does not equal "all knowing" or infallible I think that was Hubbard's connotation...just sayin'

 

[uniquemand]

So, are you saying there is some non-ephemeral, non-human identity that is immortal? Because if you don't remember "the next life", what's the point?

 

[Dilettante]

oh death

Yup. I was gonna die at one point, pretty traumatic story, but I lived. When it was made clear to me that there was nothing I could do to stop it, my viewpoint changed to my family, not them grieving or sad but whether or not I fulfilled my obligations and did what I was supposed to. I was 13 at the time and I felt a wonderful sense of not right/wrong but complete/incomplete. Does this make sense? All the counseling afterward mostly annoyed me because I found peace in my existence in the trauma. No huge releif about living through it but knowing I lived up to it, really lived. The bonus is I continue to live. I like your topic! Feliz Dia De Los Muertos.
Dilettante

 

[HelluvaHoax!]

I once had a near-death experience that utterly convinced me of my Immortality.

However, when Scientology failed to complete that cycle (handling/correcting me to death) I luckily escaped from that misconception.

Now, I happily reside at 1234 Letsseewhathappens Road in the town of Idontknowandeitherdoyou, Missouri.

For those who are not familiar with it, Missouri is called "The Show Me State". It is not the same as my former residence, Misery, which is called "The Bridge State".

"The Show Me State": The most widely known legend attributes the phrase to Missouri's U.S. Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1897 to 1903. While a member of the U.S. House Committee on Naval Affairs, Vandiver attended an 1899 naval banquet in Philadelphia. In a speech there, he declared, "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me." (Wiki)

 

[HelluvaHoax!]

How to handle an All-Knowing OT:

OT
...and you are immortal and you need to put your
exchange in for your eternity which we are offering
to you at a discount if you pay before 2:00, today only!
That'll be just $ 360,000--cash or charge?

WOG
So Scientology knows everything about life and death?

OT
Yes, my dear little man, I am an OT and I know
alllllll about transcending body death.

WOG
I'm from Missouri. Show me.

OT
What? What do you mean, show me?

WOG
I mean drop dead.
​

 

[uniquemand]

Yup. I was gonna die at one point, pretty traumatic story, but I lived. When it was made clear to me that there was nothing I could do to stop it, my viewpoint changed to my family, not them grieving or sad but whether or not I fulfilled my obligations and did what I was supposed to. I was 13 at the time and I felt a wonderful sense of not right/wrong but complete/incomplete. Does this make sense? All the counseling afterward mostly annoyed me because I found peace in my existence in the trauma. No huge releif about living through it but knowing I lived up to it, really lived. The bonus is I continue to live. I like your topic! Feliz Dia De Los Muertos.
Dilettante

That's exactly where my attention went, Dilettante. I was 38, but even when I was totally incapable of remember who I was, I was still very concerned about my children, who I'd been disconnected from. I had no information about them. I didn't know what they looked like. But in my coma, I thought about them, and when I awoke, they were the reason I clung. No, I don't think I've met my obligations. I do what I can, but it's not very much.

I'm with you on the bonus, though. All things being equal, I'd rather be alive.

 

[Dilettante]

Helluva, HI

You are a hoot! I would get really leery when I hear "make it out of here" or "save the planet from ...". All that time I would think there are some fantastic punchlines but I would get in trouble for joking and degrading. I did think it was funny and I knew no comedian could ever do it justice without full indoctrination. When I came across your humor I was so elated! And I feel smart because I get the jokes. Most of them.
Dilettante

 

[degraded being]

That's the way I see it too, as well as what TAJ says earlier.

People think of themselves in the terms of their human construct being immortal. As David Graham would point out, "that includes their ego" which is related to your ephemeral human identity.

The other thing is that immortality does not equal "all knowing" or infallible I think that was Hubbard's connotation...just sayin'

That's interesting (last sentence). The attributes or qualities that are believed to be inherent in immortality. Immortality is where a lot of people expect to find...? and .....? etc.
Usually the nasty things are mortal. Good things are immortal, love, etc. So redemption is sought by finding or making immortality real. Can easily become escapism.
Although......there are nasty immortal things too, they may be treated as fantasy, (the devil, exnu, etc) to avoid the everyday evil and the nasty aspects of life that exist with the good. .......whatever.