The subject of death is taboo. We feel, perhaps only subconsciously, that to be in contact with death in any way, even indirectly, somehow confronts us with the prospect of our own deaths, draws our own deaths closer and makes them more real and thinkable.
Interpretation
Discussing death is often avoided due to its unsettling nature and the reflection it incites on our own mortality.
Raymond Moody's quote highlights society's discomfort with the topic of death, suggesting that this taboo is rooted in a subconscious fear of facing our own mortality. The idea is that even indirect engagement with the concept of death can serve as a stark reminder of our inevitable end, making it a challenging subject to approach.
In practice
In a conversation about life and its purpose, this quote can serve as a profound reflection on our understanding of mortality.
People into hard sciences, neurophysiology, often ignore a core philosophical question: 'What is the relationship between our unique, inner experience of conscious awareness and material substance?' The answer is: We don't know, and some people are so terrified to say, 'I don't know.'
I have absolutely no fear of death. From my near-death research and my personal experiences, death is, in my judgment, simply a transition into another kind of reality.
No doubt many people have the feeling that to talk about death at all is, in effect, to conjure it up mentally, to bring it closer in such a way that one has to face up to the inevitability of one's own eventual demise. So, to spare ourselves this psychological trauma, we decide just to try to avoid the topic as much as possible.
What citizens of a free country would listen to any offers of good and skillful administration in return for the abdication of freedom?
All of history is moving toward one great goal, the white-hot worship of God and His Son among all the peoples of the earth. Missions is not that goal. It is the means. And for that reason it is the second greatest human activity in the world.
by making himself a priest made himself a demon.
One may not reach the dawn save by the path of the night.
The strong are strengthened by reverses; the trouble is that the true meaning of events scores next to nothing in the match we play with men. Appearances decide our gains or losses and the points are trumpery. And a mere semblance of defeat may hopelessly checkmate us.
The Buddha never intended to make desire itself the problem. When he said craving causes suffering, he was referring not to our natural inclination as living beings to have wants and needs, but to our habit of clinging to experience that must, by nature, pass away.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.