Let's Talk About Death & Dying

There are experiences that have the power to change one's life. Such experiences tend to be recorded as random events and, because they appear to be unbidden, become classed as either delusions of the mind or religious truths.

But what if they are neither? What if they are just accessing ordinary states of mind that appear to be extraordinary only through their lack of use? What would happen if everyone was able to generate the same experiences?

I am talking about death.

OK, it obviously isn't terminal death, else we would be talking about funeral rites, but close enough to be named near-death experiences, or NDEs. Such experiences come with many narratives, but one overwhelming consequence is the lack of fear of the real death to come.

In a world paralysed by the fear of dying, it strikes me as bizarre that this has transformed into the fear of life itself. Life has become so precious that it must be locked away... and made lifeless. Especially if it is someone else's life.

So let me go through a few videos, articles and websites about the transcendental experience of almost dying.

Here is an amusingly titled video: Why He No Longer Has Faith After His Near Death Experience (NDE).

The full interview is here.

I don't really care what anybody believes, as I treat such beliefs with the same lack of interest. What is important is the experience - and the transformation. Some day, all of us will experience something similar, but not many will live to tell the tale. In order to do that, we need to gain some mastery over the experience of this otherwise mysterious state of mind.

That would achieve three things: an articulate language in which to describe such experiences; a tentative map of such transcendental spaces; and an expanded sense of what humans can achieve.

There is no app for this.