I'm scared to die.. is that bad?

Wise point, Edgar.

The closest I ever came to a NDE was many years ago driving on highway 101 south of San Francisco. The traffic in front of me stopped, so I stopped. I looked into my rearview mirror and saw the car behind me coming at full speed. I thought to myself, "this is it!" I wasn't scared.

He hit my car at full speed, and my car hit the car in front of mine. The car in front of me, hit the car in front of him. It was a chain reaction. The traffic on the other side of the freeway was rubbernecking our accident, and they also had some accidents.

When the policeman was driving me to the police station, I mentioned to him about the accident on the other side of the freeway. He told me that was very common from rubberneckers not watching the traffic in front of them, and they have accidents.

My car was totally demolished, but the insurance company ended up "repairing" the car, even though the trunk was pushed into the back seat, and the frame was crooked. The front end of my car was also bashed in, although not as badly as one would imagine from such an impact.

I'm here, still with the living.

Gasp! What was your insurance company? Do us all a favor, C.I. buddy.

JLN, That was so many lifetimes ago, I don't remember, but we now have State Farm. They've been very good for us as long as I can remember.

On my recent trip to San Francisco, somebody broke into my car by breaking the front passenger side window, and stole my GPS, XM radio, and a jacket.

They replaced the GPS and XM radio with a newer model, and the travel company sent me a replacement jacket. I had to pay $100 for the replacement of my window, my deductible.

That was good. State Farm, eh?

Yeah, State Farm; we've had them "forever." One of the rules I learned early was don't change your nsurance company often.

Lucky for me, I haven't had a traffic ticket in decades. All the claims made during the past ten years were accidents not my fault or that burglary.

This life is nothing more than a transition. Death is only expected, except for those who love this fleeting existence. Live your life expecting death tommorow; you cannot prevent it. This is Decreed Destiny, just live as a believer and do good throughout your life expecting that one day it will be time to return to your Creator.

Say: "Death, from which you are fleeing, will certainly catch up with you. Then you will be returned to the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible and He will inform you about what you did." (Surat al-Jumu'a: 8)

As we say, 'This life is prison for the believer and bliss for the disbeliever'

The essential problem with death is that it brings up the question of the meaning of life.

Are you afraid of death, or afraid of dying? There's a big difference.

For my part, I'm not afraid of death at all. I was dead for all of eternity until I was conceived, and it never did me any harm.

How do you know?

I have had several near death experiences in my life and I can tell you..... alive is better.

That doesn't mean death is frightening... it's the fear of retribution... that little voice in the back of your head that constantly reminds you that maybe you will be punished for the life you led.... that's the function of religion... to reassure you of the unknown.

I used to be scared shitless about death and judgement, now I'm merely apprehensive.... and I hope I live long enough or get smart enough to come to terms with that.

BPB, I'm sure I went through similar stages, but learned early in life that we do not control our birth or death. I find it miraculous how some people live after so much trauma to them, while others die with much less injury.

When it's our time to go, nothing will stop it. As the saying goes "live with it!"

I'm enjoying life to the fullest now, and have been since retirement in 1998 by being active in world travel. My first 22 years was not too good, but everything changed after that. Life has been good! I'm one of the lucky ones.

Wilso said: "For my part, I'm not afraid of death at all. I was dead for all of eternity until I was conceived, and it never did me any harm."

I agree. It is because of our sense of ego that we consider AFTERLIFE a problem (once the ego has been experienced) but we do not consider BEFORE BIRTH (before the illusion of self was formed) a problem.

Strictly speaking, Wilso's notion of "death" presumes a self that is in a state of death. Of course, once one ceases to exist after dying there is no-one to be in a state of death--just as there was no-one to be dead before birth.

Chumuly's question misses the point altogether.

It's two different things, you're an innocent soul beforehand but the same can't be said when you pass away unless you happened to die before puberty.

Raul-7, I don't mean any disrespect but that is totally irrelevant to the matter of living and dying as I see it--a totally distinct sphere of discourse.

It requires belief in a soul that I don't have. We're just an organism of chemical reactions and electrical impulses. We arrive here for a while, do our thing, and then we're gone. The soul is merely an invention of the mind to avoid the abyss.

Wilso, yes, an unnecessary invention. But that's a matter of perspective.

Then what about the scientific evidence that proves the World of the paranormal exist via voice recordings and electrical impulses?

"voice recordings and paranormal" doesn't prove anything - except to those that wants to believe in magic and the supernatural.