Fear death as nothingness?

Question

Try a thought experiment. Close your eyes and imagine you will die and that your consciousness will cease to exist forever, eternally-- never to return. Death then, is not sleep, because the comfort of sleep is that we are partly dreaming, and even when we aren't conscious, our unconscious mind is at rest. But death is the end of your consciousness, so you cannot logically call it sleep. Your world (you only know of this world as a subject) will cease forever. Whether humanity lives on for thousands or millions of years, or whether another species eventually evolves is irrelevant to the world you lose, because you will never be apart of it. Nothingness is not a state, and neither is it sleep or bliss. The nothingness before you were born is irrelevant here, because you had not come into being yet. But here you are. Now to the question: Does that scare you?

Answer 1

Not any more.

Several years ago I had an unusual experience concerning an uncle, a distant relative who lived over a thousand miles away.

While driving my car I suddenly felt the unmistakable presence of this relative that I hardly even knew. He was more like someone I had heard about than someone I knew. It was very strange; it felt as though I was momentarily lifted right out of my physical body. I seemed to be suspended somehow beyond space and time, bathed in a love so intense It felt like I could have just disappear into it at any moment if It would have let me. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it seemed to last forever at the same time. I realize how crazy this must sound. The experience was so strong that at first I was afraid I was loosing my grip on reality. I finally managed to chalk it up to an over active imagination.

Three days later I got a call from my aunt telling me that this uncle we are talking about had gone into a coma and died the day I had the experience. It felt like ice water had been poured down my back when she told me this. I had lost any real ideas of God or faith and had become somewhat of an atheist. Needless to say this experience caused me to rethink some of the conclusions I had come to.

I feel blessed to now understand that even in our darkest confusion something loves us so much that it went out of its way to assist me and bring me back to a state of absolute certainty about Gods love for us.
During the experience it seemed like there was a vast amount of information that I was somehow allowed access to. One thing that I came away from this experience understanding beyond any shadow of a doubt was that any Idea that God is unhappy with us or would judge or allow us to be punished for any reason is simply impossible.

I can’t explain the love I felt with words. They simply don’t make words big enough or complete enough to do this. The only way I can begin to convey this love to you is to say that there was simply nothing else there. Nothing but love. No hint of judgment, no displeasure of any sort. It is as though God sees us as being as perfect as we were the day we were created. It is only in our confused idea of ourselves that we seem to have changed.

I hope this is of some help to you. Good luck. Love and blessings.

Your brother don

Answer 2

You're talking about Nihilism. It has long been a held belief in many societies. My mother had an out of body experience during open heart surgery where her body (while actually going into traumatic seizures) was plunged into a universe of nothingness as she grappled in the blackness among the stars. She was fighting to grab hold of something - ANY THING, but only felt fear, confusion and wretched dispair. Over ten years later, after having experienced that, she still is terrified of what she now envisions death to be - a vast nothingness where we are sent adrift. She is a devout atheist and always was agnostic as I was growing up. I believe she created her own sense of the hereafter reality at the point of death and therefore can conceive only of this as the ONLY reality.

Answer 3

To answer a question(s) with a question:

Is not the very reality of your imagination of the nothingness proof enough that it is not in fact nothingness? Or rather, what you think is meant by nothing?

It wouldnt be nothing if you could conceptualize it. Why is it that you can? And what does it mean to be able to do that? Is to know anger not to be anger, whether we act on it or not?

Do I fear the nothing?

I am the nothing

Answer 4

When we are born
and we are not scorned
our mother is there
and we do not fear
We begin our journey
in close company.

However,
when we face death,
we do so alone,
frequently,
with baited breath

How many people are about,
gives us no redoubt
It is our death and ours alone
we must face.
No one will come with us,
pace for pace.

It is this fear of being alone
that terrifies most people
and leaves them undone.
Unless some trauma
renders us unconscious
we are aware of the drama
We are dying and no one
or nothing can alter it being done.

The complete and total aloneness
of it all petrifies us.
It leaves us boneless.

Here,
at last,
no one but ourselves can face it
and in the end accept it.
Accept it because we can do nothing
to change a thing
We must accept our mortality.
and thus accept our life
in its full and inevitable fragility.
We will be no more!

Dying is the one thing we all do completely alone.

Answer 5

the idea of my consciousness ending doesn't scare me. because once it ends, i'd cease being aware, which means i'd no longer be aware of having just ended.

i wouldn't be aware that life was going on without me, that the world was evolving without me, etc. i'd just cease to exist.

there is no reason to fear death, because fear of death us unreasonable.

religion is designed to fan the flames of the fear of death in humanity so that we will follow the rules and be good citizens, motivated by fear of a fiery afterlife.

in fact, the knowledge that you will cease to exist when you die should inspire you to do something with your life, have adventures, be happy, etc.

live today as though you will live forever; live today as though you will die tomorrow.

enjoy the moment, live for the moment!

and for whoever it was that said "if anyone says they don't fear it they're lying"....you're wrong man, sorry. death doesn't scare me ;)

Answer 6

You wouldnt realize your missing out on anything, who knows? maybe you won't be missing out on anything at all. Besides, as you fade out from life it seems to me that your thoughts and feelings would take over since you lose control of your body while your mind is still going soooooo, if your at peace with the thought of death and oblivion, the last feelings you recognize would be peacefulness and content. On the other hand, if you would fear death in this situation your last true feeling would be uneasy to say the least, i dont fear it but just sitting would be a bit of a let down, wouldnt it?

Answer 7

This is the only fear I've ever had about death. Even when I was young, I always thought about how terrible it would be to cease being conscious. I never thought "I wonder what it'll be like" because I always assumed it would be eternal nothingness. Anyone who says they aren't afraid is lying, either to themselves or you or both.

Answer 8

No. Cause we have no control over it and there would be no feelings. But I personally believe there has never been nothingness and never will be. What scares me is what lies behind death, nothingness is the least of my worries.

Answer 9

yes it scares me but were dead before right? the times that we are not yet born, its nothing you know i recall my mom telling me stories before she got me, that time i was not yet existing. its really teribble to think taht some day well die too but its a fact that we are all gonna die i will just accept it.

Answer 10

Glory be and behold, today is the tomorrow we spoke of yesterday while considering that, What I give form to in daylight is only one per cent of what I have seen in darkness. lest ye shall not forget, what, does it mean, after all to have integrity in matters of the spirit? that one is severe against one's heart, that one despises "beautiful sentiments," that one makes of every yes and no a matter of conscience. faith makes blessed: consequently it lies.