How to Overcome The Fear of Death

Are you constantly thinking of death? Or are you terrified of the idea so much that you don’t even dare to think about it? Either way, in this episode I’ll share some tips to help you overcome your irrational fear of death, and to have a more healthy relation towards the subject.

The most basic principle about any fear is that the more vague it is, the more we’re afraid of it. We are always afraid of the unknown, because then anything can happen. That’s why the first thing you should do is to get to know death better, to befriend it, and later even embrace it.

Don’t let it just hang there hidden in a dark corner of your mind, expecting it to scare you any moment. If you hear strange noises coming from your wardrobe, would you spend the whole night in your bed terrified of what could be in there? No, you would check it immediately, you wouldn’t waste any time with unnecessary fear.

If nobody was there, you could relax, and go back to sleep in peace. If somebody was really there, then you would face the intruder, and you would either escape to safety or you would fight him until one of you won. Either way, your fear would dissipate, and you would be better off than just staying in bed. Not facing your fear is the worst strategy in every scenario.

The same way, facing the fear of death is the only way to overcome it. The only way out is through. What really causes the fear is the uncertainty around death. Although death is the biggest mystery of life, it’s also the only certain thing in life. Therefore, it makes no sense to fear death, because it will happen anyway.

Normally, we are worried about things that may or may not happen in the future. If we worry, perhaps we can come up with an idea to avoid it somehow. But I tell you: don’t worry about death, because it will surely happen, and you can’t do anything about it. Why worry about anything, when the worst that can happen is that you die, and you will die anyway. If you become certain in your death, you won’t fear it any longer.

But the only way to become certain is to totally get rid of the hope that somehow you’ll survive. Hope is the other side of fear, so when hope goes, fear goes with it. Both hope and fear are born out of uncertainty projected into the future. But in the long run, you have no future and there’s no hope for you, because your death is certain. But this also means that there’s no need to fear death.

The other helpful strategy to overcome the fear of death is to define what you’re afraid of exactly. Are you afraid of the process of death itself? Then read about it, and find out what will happen to your body. Even better, imagine yourself dying, prepare for the great day mentally and emotionally. My guided meditation titled “Defeat Death” will help you do just that.

Are you afraid of having a painful death? Then you really have a fear of pain, because death itself is painless, death makes the pain stop. The most useful exercise I can prescribe in this case is to learn to separate yourself from the body, and with it from the pain. To have a real out-of-body experience, listen to my guided meditation “Beyond Body”.

Are you afraid of the nothingness that supposedly comes after death? Then my advice is to start a meditation practice where you can encounter this nothingness and become familiar with it. Meditation is really a practice towards death, it’s a method to reach the same infinite space, ultimate silence and undisturbed peace in your being.

Are you afraid that you won’t be conscious any longer? Maybe you will be, maybe you won’t, but I’m sure this also depends on you. But even if you become unconscious, there’s nothing to fear, because you won’t know about anything. Let me ask you: are you afraid of sleeping? I guess probably not. Then you shouldn’t fear death either, you shouldn’t be afraid of losing consciousness.

Are you afraid that you won’t be able to experience life any more? I think this fear is the most common among all. The fear of death is a fear of an unlived life. Regretting the moments you wasted, and worrying that there will be no more moments available. Then don’t waste any more moments, start living your life fully! Use the fear of death to remind you to collect as much experience as you possibly can.

And last, but certainly not least, the last question: who or what exactly do you think will die? Yes, the body will die, but you are not your body. Yes, an individual will die, but you are not your personality. The main cause of fear is that you don’t really know yourself, you just think you do. You don’t really know life either, so it’s natural that you’re also in the dark about death.

Start asking these kinds of existential questions to yourself: What is life? What is death? What’s the nature of reality? What is my nature? But be careful not to rely on anybody else for the answers, not to adopt any superficial beliefs. If you can gain true self-knowledge, you’ll realize that who you really are will never die, because it was never born either. This is the royal way of overcoming the fear of death once and for all, but this way is also the hardest.

If you want to know more about death from a spiritual but down to earth perspective, you should read my book: The Power of Death. Click on the link below, and get it now! I’m deadly serious.

Memento Mori!