How do I prepare for the utlimate transformation (death)

[et-thoughts]

On Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj:

 

Who is never born can never die.

 

Taoism:

 

The Tao has no beginning, no end, no past, no future. If at the highest level of Taoist cultivation we become one with the Tao, I would assume then we would also associate with no real birth or death other than the birth and death of our assumed body.

 

The best way to realize this state? I wish I had the answers...

 

The best way to realize this state? be the best way to realize this state... only to be known when one realizes the state!

even before being born, we be one with the Tao, regardless of knowing it or not... there are beginnings with no ends... such be the state of enlightenment... and existence! I assume that when one become one with the Tao one will know the truth of beginnings, ends, and a bit more... there will be association with a real births and imagined ones...

[Death to Human Ego]

i like to know more about death meditations too..

[jacklantegi]

Funny you mention ayahuasca! I'm doing an iboga ceremony this month. I made a thread about it yesterday.

Ask someone who is versed in dream analysis what continuously repeating death experiences in dreams mean.

By the way, if the dreams are really lucid, that would mean that death can't scare you that much, right? Maybe you should try ayahuasca or something like that; Maybe life is telling you to become a shaman.

[spiraltao]

I unfortunately didn't learn much from my "trips/visions" other than the moon empowered us and we got in touch with our primal side in Cumberland County where the Native American's supposedly only hunted, because of "spirts walking" or something like. Spent many dark nites trying to walk with them.

 

 

 

If only I could have that BRAIN BACK! LMAO

[astralc]

Dream analysis is an art, it truly is, the most important thing to understand is that your dream is absolutely particular and specific to you alone, no one else. Some dreams will be precognitive, some will be past life, some will be psychological and have particular meaning to you only, and some will be created by the chilli prawns thats upsetting your stomach while you try to sleep or the fever you have when you have the flu (both are hallucinations and not always very meaningful).

 

I have worked with dreams personally and with patients for many years, and it is never an easy task. Personally, for me, they are great adventures, some are within my own mind but some are external of me, they come from outside my dimension and as such could be called astral traveling in other dimensions and are quite weird. Then there are those that predict the future or explain the past, past lives. And then there are those ones that are dying and those of flying.

 

The dying ones I have had have all had particular meaning, whether being shot in the back by a shotgun while running away from danger, having my throat slashed by a saracen during the Holy War as a knights page, betrayed and stabbed in the back by a friend during Roman times or being stoned by a rioting mob, they have all brought greater understanding and insight into my life through personal analysis.

 

I can only suggest that death dreams are personally educational and most particular to the individual having them.

[spiraltao]

I have dreamed more than once, a certain instructor invited inside his Sancturary and I could read the chinese symbols. The the master lest me see what the bagua looked like through his eyes. The gave me strict instructons which have been nothing but positive. This happened two monthes in a row, but none in a few monthes.

 

 

 

It seems Mike Lomax's Sequential Energy Activation and Dimensional expansion mos def help these dreams become more lucid.

 

 

Sorry for going off topic, but I felt the need to share!

[eye_of_the_storm]

 

...having my throat slashed by a saracen during the Holy War as a knights page...

 

 

 

Hey Astralc cool post

 

I also was killed in the 'Holy War' haha I was a Templar knight in the desert somewhere... was surrounded and game over haha (vivid dream)

 

maybe we fought together?

 

most of the dreams I would deem possible past life memories generally involve the time surrounding the death of that life... the trauma perhaps having a heavy imprint... or the message of life after life... etc

Edited June 7, 2012 by White Wolf Running On Air

[Jetsun]

i like to know more about death meditations too..

 

The White Skeleton meditation which Bill Bodri and Nan Huai Chin teach is quite good, it involves visualising loosing all of your skin and flesh, then feeling your skeleton and visualising it bright white, then visualising your skeleton crumbling away in the wind. It is a good meditation to remind you that at some point you are not going to exist and my experience with this is that instead of it being depressing or scary it is actually very liberating, in the light of your non existence all your stresses and worries and ego battles are completely irrelevant so you might as well just let it all go as it not important in the long run.

[astralc]

Hey Astralc cool post

 

I also was killed in the 'Holy War' haha I was a Templar knight in the desert somewhere... was surrounded and game over haha (vivid dream)

 

maybe we fought together?

 

most of the dreams I would deem possible past life memories generally involve the time surrounding the death of that life... the trauma perhaps having a heavy imprint... or the message of life after life... etc

 

WWROA, wow, that is so cool.

 

In my dream I was standing next to my knight attending him to get his armour on (in a real hurry!) as the baddies attacked. We were on a hill side, a sandy slope, a few low scrubby bushes, when the saracens came from the top and left side of the hill, a simple ambush was all it was.

 

Our caravan was spread out down a rough line, maybe 10 metres apart so we had no chance of forming a group to fight them off. We didn't even have our fighting gear ready, most of the equipment was still in bags and on pack horses, and not at hand except swords. Of course I had no weapon at all, I was too busy getting my knight armoured, hands reaching up to help him harness his armour. One wild looking saracen rode his horse full pelt at me and simply sliced my neck half way through. Over and out. Fortunately I had no time to panic, it was over so quickly. That maybe explains my thyroid problem

 

In many of my dreams a past life component is very very common too. I met my future wife many times in dreams before we met in real life when I was 17 yrs old, we had several lifetimes together, that was cool indeed.

 

Astralc

[Owledge]

One wild looking saracen rode his horse full pelt at me and simply sliced my neck half way through. Over and out. Fortunately I had no time to panic, it was over so quickly. That maybe explains my thyroid problem

Maybe your mind came up with that dream because of your thyroid problem.

Maybe there's even a message in it. Maybe you should take care of yourself first when the stakes are high. Maybe a feeling of blind duty is harmful to your health. Or whatever.

[mewtwo]

sorry did not really read the thread am on a time limit thing but um if this has not been mentioned already start here

 

http://www.amazon.com/Graceful-Exits-Stories-Tibetan-Masters/dp/0834803917

[eye_of_the_storm]

Maybe your mind came up with that dream because of your thyroid problem.

Maybe there's even a message in it. Maybe you should take care of yourself first when the stakes are high. Maybe a feeling of blind duty is harmful to your health. Or whatever.

 

I believe there is a difference / feeling about these types of dreams

 

they are set apart from the usual / for myself much more rare

 

as Astralc also mentioned precognition dreams - meeting his future wife etc

[eye_of_the_storm]

WWROA, wow, that is so cool.

 

In my dream I was standing next to my knight attending him to get his armour on (in a real hurry!) as the baddies attacked. We were on a hill side, a sandy slope, a few low scrubby bushes, when the saracens came from the top and left side of the hill, a simple ambush was all it was.

 

Our caravan was spread out down a rough line, maybe 10 metres apart so we had no chance of forming a group to fight them off. We didn't even have our fighting gear ready, most of the equipment was still in bags and on pack horses, and not at hand except swords. Of course I had no weapon at all, I was too busy getting my knight armoured, hands reaching up to help him harness his armour. One wild looking saracen rode his horse full pelt at me and simply sliced my neck half way through. Over and out. Fortunately I had no time to panic, it was over so quickly. That maybe explains my thyroid problem

 

In many of my dreams a past life component is very very common too. I met my future wife many times in dreams before we met in real life when I was 17 yrs old, we had several lifetimes together, that was cool indeed.

 

Astralc

 

awesome!

[RyanO]

I also think death meditation/awareness is very important. I have had a couple of scary experiences where I contemplated my own death, enough to realize that intellectualizing myself out of my fear of death is not possible. Getting to the root of our fear of death is a difficult thing to do in my experience (probably because it's at a jing level).

 

That said, two things in particular have helped me with this fear and prepare for death:

 

1) First is the teachings of Pure Land Buddhism and 'other power'. The basic idea is that if we feel our cultivation has been inadequate, we can rely on the great love and power of very high spiritual beings to assist us in the death process (however one wants to interpret that). Traditionally this is done with Amitabha, but Kuan Yin is another entity one can call on : http://www.buddhistdoor.com/oldweb/resources/sutras/lotus/sources/lotus25.htm

 

2) The Inner Smile meditation has been invaluable to me in daily life and for existential fears. There are different ways to practice it, the simplest being just sitting and smiling. Michael Winn's ebook has great theory and detailed practice: http://www.scribd.com/doc/25141317/Winn-M-The-Way-of-the-Inner-Smile The smile is a way of communicating to your jing spirits that everything is ok and that there is nothing to be afraid of.

 

Dying with love in one's heart I think is most important.

[gatito]

For me, How one lives is how one dies!

 

What makes some believe that they would actually choose a different path upon the bifurcation the last moment in time when throughout time they choose a certain way? If stuff needs changing change it now! To me death is like birth, a transitional moment from one state to the next surrounded by loving beings. To get rid of fear of the inevitable, just accept the peace of the certain with love. Like in life, circumstances present themselves over which one has little control, at most one can choose the attitude one will have... and than makes all the difference! So now what attitude do you choose to live with? How do you prepare to have it throughout circumstances? Something that has helped me involves Imagining taking stuff to the infinite and seeing how it plays out... and eye for an eye can make us all blind or make us all see... depending on wether we take it or give it... If someone slaps you in the face will you respond the invitation to slap them back or will you choose to turn the other cheek? I know many here have the ability to flow with the blow before contact is made to transform it into a loving caress!

 

We are bound to judge while free to choose how to do it... so choose loving caring merciful ways!

We are bound to love while free to choose what to love... so pick love rather than hate

We are forced to believes while free to choose the beliefs that will enslave us... so select the truth that frees rather than the illusion of freedom...

 

Know that death will eventually die forevermore... just as life will eventually live forevermore ...

 

Beautifully put. Thank you.

[zerkaloipustota]

Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day when one's body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears and swords, being carried away by surging waves, being thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightning, being shaken to death by a great earthquake, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease or committing seppuku at the death of one's master. And every day without fail one should consider himself as dead.

There is a saying of the elders that goes, "Step from under the eaves and you're a dead man. Leave the gate and the enemy is waiting." This is not a matter of being careful. It is to consider oneself as dead beforehand.

(Hagakure)

 

The link you might find useful; Zhuangzi on death

 

Wishing you a speedy recovery, jaysahnztao.

[Thunder_Gooch]

[thelerner]

Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day when one's body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears and swords, being carried away by surging waves, being thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightning, being shaken to death by a great earthquake, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease or committing seppuku at the death of one's master. And every day without fail one should consider himself as dead.

There is a saying of the elders that goes, "Step from under the eaves and you're a dead man. Leave the gate and the enemy is waiting." This is not a matter of being careful. It is to consider oneself as dead beforehand.

(Hagakure)

While one shouldn't argue with the wisdom of the Hagakure, to get too imaginative is to bring on clinging. I think there's much value in going to bed, reviewing the day impassionately and in the belief this may be it, your last day. And on waking to realize you're a new creature born again. Kinda hard to pull off though.

[ChiDragon]

Zhuang Tze:

 

Being born is the beginning of death.

Death is the end of being born.

[et-thoughts]

WHEN

Being born is the beginning of death

and Death is the end of being born

THEN

Life as we know it corresponds to death

and after the end of being born one lives on

 

Death was born with the first death

death dies with the last death

life precedes death and transcend it by being before-during-and-after it

 

Being born is the continuation of a life cycle and moving on is also the continuation of a life cycle even when it has a beginning and an eternal duration.

[Humble]

I died when I was 15. Obviously I came back, but after the experience all I ever tell anyone is, don't sweat it. Live well, love and be loved, shed your illusions and the transition is as natural as breathing.

[et-thoughts]

shed your illusions

 

can you elaborate on what you mean by that?

[RiverSnake]

This is one of my favorite videos by him:

 

[Humble]

can you elaborate on what you mean by that?

 

Well, without getting int o too much detail, one thing I remember is the feeling of being absorbed completely into,,,something,,,, infinite and so far beyond anything I could perceive. All the thoughts and patterns and what I now realize as "attachments" I realized were illusory and temporary in the face of this experience, I think this was the last realization I had until I started waking and passing back out in the ambulance with the realization of "OW!".

 

But by shedding your illusions I mean realizing that everything is impermanent, and one should live to bring more love, joy, and compassion into the world. I would figure less attachments would help someone transition easier after death and spend less time wearing and sheet and going "oooooOOOOooooOooOooooOoOoOO"

[et-thoughts]

Well, without getting int o too much detail, one thing I remember is the feeling of being absorbed completely into,,,something,,,, infinite and so far beyond anything I could perceive. All the thoughts and patterns and what I now realize as "attachments" I realized were illusory and temporary in the face of this experience, I think this was the last realization I had until I started waking and passing back out in the ambulance with the realization of "OW!".

 

But by shedding your illusions I mean realizing that everything is impermanent, and one should live to bring more love, joy, and compassion into the world. I would figure less attachments would help someone transition easier after death and spend less time wearing and sheet and going "oooooOOOOooooOooOooooOoOoOO"

 

"oooooOOOOooooOooOooooOoOoOO" I get it... the way I look at it, is that one dies as one lives... live to bring more love, joy, and compassion into the world and thereafter .-)