Recently I've been reading some general texts on science and psychology and I'm amazed at how modern scientific thought is arriving at many of the same conclusions that are being drawn by the better spiritual thinkers out there. Specific to this topic, that it is man's fear of death, that is root cause of the misery found in the world as a whole, and that same fear denies individual spiritual growth as well.
On the scientific side of things, Ernest Becker's theory (described in the books "Denial of Death" and "Escape From Evil") that fear of death and the anxiety it causes drives mankind to seek self-esteem through heroic acts and safety through loyalty to groups or culture. Thus, any criticism or threat to a person's group (religion, nationality, race, or whatever) is a reminder of that person's mortality, often on a subconscious level, that results in antagonistic and violent behavior. I highly recommend reading Becker, he was obviously a brilliant man. (See link to his book in the right hand column of our blog.)
The book "In the Wake of 9/11: The Psychology of Terror" (by
Pyszczynski, Solomon, Greenberg) describes many recent pyschological
studies that cleverly, thoroughly (and sometimes tediously) confirm Becker's thesis. Until mankind can escape this fear of death, there will be no escaping war, murder, violence and mayhem we are constantly surrounded with. Becker was rather pessimistic concerning mankind's ability to escape this most basic fear.
Looking at the spiritual level, many authors have discussed the importance of coming to terms with death as one of the key requirements to achieving true spiritual growth. (See books by Carlos Castaneda and Jon Peniel in the World Beyond website's reference section.) The bottom line is, we really can't do anything to fix all of mankind, but we can work to overcome our own individual fear of death. You can't grow spiritually if you continue to fear death and the end of this mortal existence. What I've been able to take from these books is that we need to make a deal with death. Accept it, make friends with it, only then can we develop past this fear and open ourselves to the full possibilities life presents.
My wife has a very close friend who works daily with terminal cancer patients. She lists fear of death as the key factor preventing her patients from being able to constructively live their last few months. Instead of accepting death as a fact, they run from it, or ignore it, robbing themselves and their loved ones of many last opportunities to experience love and peace together.
I made a deal with death more than 15 years ago. I was flying on a military aircraft from Germany to Turkey prior to the start of the Gulf War in January, 1991. At the time we weren't certain how the war would turn out. We were expecting some strong resistance form the Iraqi Air Force. Our plane was unarmed and rather ungainly, and our missions would take us within a few miles of Iraqi airspace, we believed there was a good possibility we'd face hostile action. During the several hour flight to our forward base in Turkey, I had time to reflect on the subject of death....more specifically, my own death. I accepted my death.
During my meditation, I had the strong impression that my time to die wasn't yet near, but more importantly, death held nothing to fear. Death was simply a transition to continued existence and continued growth. Death will come to us all, but for now we need to truly live. I made my deal with death. I knew my soul, my spirit, my essence was eternal. I knew that if death separated me from my loved ones here, it would be only for a short time, then we'd be able to experience each other's company again, just as we had prior to this life. I was struck with the idea of the importance of making the most of the time alloted to me. Take time to smell the roses, visit beautiful places, spend time with my children, question outmoded beliefs, and seek new experiences and ways to grow.
In so many tragic ways over the past several years, at many spots all over the world, sudden violent death has come to thousands of innocent people. If you really think about it though, isn't that the way it's always been? Any sudden death, whether from accident, disease, or murder is a tragedy. A tragedy for those left behind to deal with. Feelings of loss and pain will remain with loved ones, but at some point you have to examine your feelings and make a deal with death, the death of your loved ones, your own death, and then move on.
Today, terrorists are killing and continue to threaten people all over the world. If we live in fear, they've achieved their goal...they win. No matter where you live, no matter how much your government spends, you will never be totally safe. Why? Because sooner or later, death comes to us all.
I urge all of us to take some time, better yet, make the time to think about death, contemplate it, accept it...make a deal with it. Once we've done so, we can overcome our fears and get on with the business of life: follow your heart, chase your dreams, love all people, live life fully!
