What happens after we die? Why do we really fear death?

Question

I've always been under the belief that since we don't know, definitively, where or how life on earth began then how do we know where or when it ends?

I guess I need to ask where can I start learning about what to possibly expect as I get closer to death &/or dying. I know many will point to religious material but many religions contradict ea. other. I'm looking for info regarding those that have witnessed death or are around it often. Maybe even those that have been brought back from the dead. Or am I asking a question that simply cannot be answered by the living.

Answer 1

That's a good place to start thinking, Ericz. There are as many answers to your question as there are people to answer it, and they are probably all wrong.
There is no point in fearing death, even though we don't know what's beyond it (if anything). It will come to each of us anyway, so what's the point of worrying? If you must have a grip on it, then take any belief you like, believe in it, and stick with it. As long as you're prepared to be proven wrong at the end, you'll survive the meantime.

Answer 2

Hey, I get that too, and so does a friend of mine. It's this feeling where you think about it so much that for a moment you almost stop breathing and you feel like this wave of absolute panic has swept over you. Death is the ultimate fear of the human mammal. I was not afraid of what happens after I die, because I know nothing will happen. THAT is what I was afraid of, not remembering anything, not being able to look back on life, because I won't be there, I won't even be conscious-so there will be nothing. Freaky, eh :) But I have since realized that if you fear death all the time, it stops you from living life. Everyone has this time bomb over their head, but the best thing is to not dwell on it and go out and do things that make you feel alive. After a while you will find that death no longer frightens you anymore. It's just another bridge to cross. I think the best advice is from The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy-'Don't Panic.'

Answer 3

I know that when we die,we drop our bodies like a heavy overcoat and walk away.Where we go depends on our spiritual standing.I firmly believe that my father was around for a few years and then passed over to the right side.His last communication seemed peaceful enough.(Believe it or not,he made a toy telephone say "Bye-Bye" which could only happen when you hold down the pound and star keys at the same time.Right before that happened ,I felt some one walk right thru me as I was leaving for work at 4:00 a.m.,you don't think that was not unsettling?But I wouldn't show it.I calmly looked at the phone a second or two,as it lay on the living room floor,mumbled a "Hmmph" and walked out.I got to my truck and almost peed myself.True story,by the way my Dad worked for the Phone Co.for 40 years)
The reason we fear death is ,if we didn't ,we'd all walk off cliffs.Or be nuts like Evil Kenivel.

Answer 4

We have had many lives. Our memories are very faulty. We can't even remember when we were in our mothers womb or things we said just a month ago!

Death is scary because everything that we have come to know in THIS life, will change. We will have a new mother and father and family, perhaps be born as an ant. Or maybe stay in a subtle ghost body for a while before we are Born again and again.

Birth, Death, Old age, and disease are painful and scary.

Answer 5

In Buddhism, we have six planes of existence; The highest plane is the devas, then comes the demons, us humans, hungry ghosts, animals and finally the hells.

If during our lifetime, we are filled with pride, we shall be reborn as devas or the planes of the gods. If we are always jealous we will be reborn as demons. If we have passions, then we will be reborn as humans.

If we are always have desires, we will be in the hungry ghosts plane. For those who are filled with stupidity then they shall be in the animals plane. Finally if we are filled with hatred, we shall be reborn in hell.

Now, all this death and rebirth is not forever, a being could be in hell for only one lifetime and be reborn again in another realm depending on his actions.

So it is better for us to practice the Middle Path and go for the final rebirth at Nibana rather than in this Samsara or suffering world.

Answer 6

--IN ACCORD WITH Genesis 2:7 human life did begin with Adam in the Garden of Eden--PLEASE NOTE where & how:

--WHERE:
(Genesis 2:10-14) “. . .Now there was a river issuing out of E′den to water the garden, and from there it began to be parted and it became, as it were, four heads. 11 The first one’s name is Pi′shon; it is the one encircling the entire land of Hav′i·lah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. There also are the bdellium gum and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gi′hon; it is the one encircling the entire land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is Hid′de·kel; it is the one going to the east of As·syr′i·a. And the fourth river is the Eu·phra′tes. . .”
--BOTH the Euphrates River & Hidekel(Tigris River) exist near Iraq & Turkey!
--NO EXACT LOCATION but the approximate above!

--HOW--Special creation:
(Genesis 2:7-8) “. . .And Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul. 8 Further, Jehovah God planted a garden in E′den, toward the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.”

--AS FAR AS FEAR of death, since doctrines like hellfire & purgatory have been taught as truths by the churches many have been implanted with fears that have no basis.
--THE Bible teaches very clearly that death is a complete unconscious sleep, with no activity or suffering of any kind:
(Ecclesiastes 9:4-5) “. . .For as respects whoever is joined to all the living there exists confidence, because a live dog is better off than a dead lion. 5 For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten.”

--ALSO it is not just fear of old age death that cause humans to have weakening dread by in actuality premature death that dominates our emotions:

(Hebrews 2:14-15) “. . .Therefore, since the “young children” are sharers of blood and flesh, he also similarly partook of the same things, that through his death he might bring to nothing the one having the means to cause death, that is, the Devil; 15 and [that] he might emancipate all those who for fear of death(premature death,ESPECIALLY by mans hands)--my comment) were subject to slavery all through their lives. . .”

Answer 7

I am an atheist. I am also realistic. If I am able to sense my imminent death I expect to be afraid. Afraid of dying, afraid of leaving behind something I wanted to finish, afraid of not seeing my grandson graduate, afraid of leaving my wife with too many bills, etc. So to say one is not afraid of death, wait.

The only thing I am almost 100% sure of is that I won't think, "What if I am wrong?"

Answer 8

Perhaps we can find some insight in a talk Mark Twain once gave to the Chamber of Commerce in his hometown of Hartford, CT. Well known for its insurance industry and Colt's Patent Firearms Company, the maker of the famous pistols, he extolled the virtues of the city's industry, in which one could have his life insured, the instrument to assure his end, and the fire insurance to take care of him in the afterlife.

Answer 9

The only thing I fear about death is dying young and it being very painful.

Answer 10

Indeed...man has always had a natural tendency to fear the things he understands the least. Death is inevitably one of them.

~PhoeniX~