A
male
age
41-50,
anonymous
writes:Hello everyone,I am dying. At times I feel have made my peace and am ready to face it whenever it does eventually come, other times I feel sort of scared. You see I was brought up Catholic as a child but as an adult I lived my life being an atheist. Therefore I have extremely conflicting views within me. Part of me that feels there is nothing after, part of me there is judgement with good/bad. I guess I havent been helping circumstances as I have started reading up more about spirituality and re-incarnation and spirits caught in limbo. I guess this is something people may often do in my situation. So there are a whole mix of emotions. I go from being ready to feeling scared of the unknown and at times worry if I have lived a good enough life (I guess thats the catholic part of my brain) I hope I am making some kinda of sense.
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male
reader, anonymous, writes (14 April 2008): remain conscious in each moment . ask yourself regularly "am i dreaming ?".you see most of the time we dont know one dimension from the other .if you have ever had an out of body experience or a lucid dream , then you will understand where i am coming from .your body may die , but you may not notice that you have gone from one place to the next , hence states like tibetan bardo ,or being a ghost e t c . always check around you , read a sign look away , look back if the sign is different you may be dreaming , you could get a tattoo on your hand "am i dreaming" basically anything that keeps you on the lookout for truth , reality etc.once your in the next place and you realise it you can move on into the light . we are all going to be there one day , millions already are , why worry. peace and love and good happiness stuff [email blocked]
A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (11 April 2008): Aly-the thing reqd by you now is-to be detached from worldly things, persons and all!All you have to do now is-remember the Lord and Lord only!Dont take any calls-dont interact with anyone! Dont think of all what you have in the world!Just close your eyes-and meditate on the Lord!It would have been easier had you had a Living Master as a guide-to help you out! It is indeed very essential to have one-as one has a guide to learn thing sin this world since birth!Anyways-Just meditate with a relaxed mind! And be prepared to unite with the Lord!Peace and Blessings!
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A
female
reader, Laura1318  +, writes (29 March 2008):
 I am sorry to hear of the bad news.
As a Christian , your salvation is assured if you confessed
all your sins before God, accept Jesus into your heart and
believed that He is the son of God.
Your name will be in the Book of Life.
Only those whose names are in the Book of Life will go to Heaven.
You are saved by the grace of God and not by your works.
Whether you lead an atheist life before is not a concern if
you are willing to confess your sins before God , you will be pardoned.
Sin no more.
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (29 March 2008): Hunny
If you would like to private message me I can help you sweetheart WITH ALL THE LOVE AND PRAYERS MANDY XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (29 March 2008): A couple of readers have suggested the Book of John. One said also the Book of Romans. This is foundational stuff, that's why they suggest it. Remember its not enough to know God exists (Satan knows for certain God exists) you must accept the grace Christ has freely offered us.
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A
female
reader, Gena Bullock  +, writes (28 March 2008):
 Obviously, YOU BELIEVE or you wouldn't have all of these feelings and questions, right?
talk to a catholic priest is your best bet. Personally, I am christian and believe that there is life hereafter, in heaven. God will meet you at the pearly gates and the book of life will be opened and you will be judged as to whether or not you can enter the kingdom of Heaven.
Prayer is your best bet, If you believe. And, you do. Deep in your heart you do. May God be with you to this earthly end and you find peace on the other side. Hopefully, I'll meet you there some day...............Gena ;-)
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (28 March 2008): Hi There,
Wow, I can't imagine how you must feel, and so young too, please try to stay positve and make the most of the time you have left.
I too was brought up a Catholic but then became an atheist. I truly believe that we are all one, and that there is a spirituality or some kind of higer energy all around us.
Catholicism, the bible, in fact all religions are just man made attempts to explain why or how we all came to be here, so I would ignore the anon religious preachy posts and just follow your instincts and common sense!
I love Bill Hicks, you could get hold of some of his stuff, in partucular Rant in E Minor, which is not only mind-broadening but very funny and entertaining as well. He died at a young age too. Eddie Izzard is pretty funny too, he talks a lot about religion and pokes fun at it, and quite rightly too!
I can't think of much else to write here that won't sound trite and patronising but I will be thinking of you and definitely feeling a lot less sorry for myself and my daily woes about failed romance and dieting after reading your post.
Loads and loads of love xxxx
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (28 March 2008): I don't really know what to call myself in terms of belief, other than I'm at peace with the thought of death. I don't think we will be judged or damned for anything. I don't think there's a big man sitting on a throne telling us where to go, or that someone wills strike us down for our choice of lifestyle.
I think of death as passing out of the human world and becoming earth. I see it as returning what we owe to the trees, grass, animals, and the earth in general. I see my body feeding the soil its nutrients. I see the grass growing over me, and the deer and herbivores eating it. I see carnivores devouring the deer, and I see life. I see something gaining from my previous existance. Even though one passes out of the human relm, unable to speak and to touch you, one lives on forever in nature.
That's what I think, however crazy it sounds.
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A
male
reader, Danielepew  +, writes (28 March 2008):
 Poster, I wonder if any of us who is not facing death as certainly as you are can really relate to what you are feeling. I was raised as a Catholic myself, and I used to be a fervent one. Then I had the same doubts which you had. And sometimes I believe in God again, and sometimes I don't. I respect faith, however. Maybe there is a God out there, though I believe that God should be one of love and happiness, not the God of the Valley of Tears I often was taught to believe in.
In this feeling of respect for you and what you are living through, let me remind you that Socrates said once that we should not be afraid of death, as we really do not know what it is like. He said that perhaps death is even better than life, and he was curious about it. This was said in an act of pure logic and rational thought. Of course, I know that not many of us can think in this way regarding death.
G. K Chesterton wrote once that the cross could just not be seen as Christ's ultimate defeat. That it was, in any case, the greatest event of his life. His final triumph. He died, yes, but, that was the way to his success. And Chesterton meant success in this life. Can you honestly say that the cross was the time when Christ lost it all?
May I quote Marcus Aurelius?
"Let it make no difference to you whether you are cold or warm, if you are doing your duty, and whether dying or doing something else. For dying is one of the acts of life".
Finally, I want to translate for you an excerpt from a great book, "The Kingdom of this world", by the Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier.
"...[Ti Noel] understood, then, that Man never knows who he suffers or waits for. Man suffers and toils and waits for people he will never meet, who, in their turn, will suffer and wait and toil for others who won't be happy, either, because Man always longs for a happiness beyond the part of happiness that he is granted. But the greatness of man is precisely in wanting to improve himself. In setting tasks for himself. In the Kingdom of the Heavens there is no greatness to conquer, because there everything is established hierarchy, a solved unknown variable, life without end, inability for sacrifice, rest and delight. That is why, overwhelmed by grievances and Tasks, wonderful in his misery, able to love amidst plagues, Man can only find his greatness, his maximum, in the Kingdom of this World".
If you want a mass said in your name, let me know. I don't pray, but I will keep you in my prayers.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (28 March 2008): Its not about living a 'good enough life' you cannot be saved by your deeds, not one can. Only faith can save you. In the next life God says he will divide us not by our deeds but by our faith. There is but one sin God will not forgive and that is the rejection of God/Jesus. God will forgive, will save, will help but you need to draw near to him. I'm sorry I am so terrible at this. I think I would suggest reading the book of John.
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A
female
reader, Tisha-1 +, writes (28 March 2008):
 Your post certainly puts all the rest of the little worries of life into perspective for me. I hope you have lots of love and support as you face this journey we all will make....
I thought of something I saw on TV, how trite that sounds, but your post brought it up again, and I wanted to post the link to it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo&NR=1
It's a lecture from a man who knows he is dying, and he is so great and so positive and I hope it helps you in some small way...
I lost a close friend not so long ago, suddenly, so we had no chance to say goodbye.....
All the best to you.
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A
female
reader, annonymous111 +, writes (27 March 2008):
 Hello,I'm so sorry to hear your sad predicament. I can only guess at how you must be feeling. I would think there must be many emotions and thoughts racing through your mind.As a nurse I have had the privilege of sitting with patients that have been in their last moments of death.All of them have wanted contentment and peace before leaving their loved ones.These mean many different things to different people. You appear to be worried about having lived a 'good enough' life. Who is to say what's 'good enough'?I can only say that what your experiencing is normal under the circumstances. It's OK to feel scared. We are all scared of the unknown in any unfamiliar situation let alone facing death.You might find it helpful to talk to a priest about your concerns.I think you have an advantage over most of us because you can put everything in order and hopefully leave contented.Enjoy what time you have on this earth. Do the things you have always wanted to do(if possible) My advise is to not dwell to much on what might be 'after' don't let it overtake what time you have.Make sure you have someone by your side when the time comes.No one should die alone.My thoughts are with you.I wish you peace.
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A
male
reader, LazyGuy  +, writes (27 March 2008):
 Common enough, so common in fact that people with a terminal illness are given access to a shrink as part of their treatment to help deal with all the emotions.
There are no atheists in foxholes.
It makes sense, with death so close, anything is better then the idea it will all just end, that truly we are just a collection of cells and on death it all just goes away.
It is something we all got to face one day and so far nobody has come back and told us what truly awaits us, if anything at all.
Frankly I wouldn't spend to much time reading up on it. If there is nothing, then you wasted precious life, and if there is something, you are not going to be judged for reading books but for what you did with your life. I have no idea about the nature of your disease but isn't there something postive you can with the time you have left?
Being rather crude, but what is the point of reading other peoples speculations on what comes afterwards when soon enough you will have first hand knowledge.
If it becomes to much remember that you can always ask for help from a proffesional, the days the dying were just expected to quietly waste away are long gone.
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