Phil Forum : Fear vs Peace of Mind

[Gnomon]

What happens after you no longer fear death? What comes next?
https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussi ... es-next/p1


The compulsive thoughts are not due to fear, but instead a loss of what to do next, and a curiosity in the loss of fear to be some sort of abnormality that would effect optimizing function and habits. — Cobra

What comes next is unknowable, but different religions & cultures have imagined a variety of sequels to our "brief candle", some good, some bad : the grave; gloomy Hades; non-existence; eternal existence in Heaven or Hell; punishment for sins during life; alternative afterlife as ghost; sequential lives in various animal bodies; transference into a new human body; promotion to ruler of a new planet or world; a new role in a parallel world or astral plane; and so on, ad infinitum. Hence, your attitude toward death may depend on how you envision the afterlife. Some may dread eternal torture, or look forward to an afterlife of bliss, or simply accept whatever happens with equanimity.

Regarding "what to do next", I'd say that if you can plan your afterlife like a European Vacation, or Mediterranean Cruise, you should start by making reservations. Or, if you have lived an unworthy life of egregious sin, it's time to "get right with god" --- whatever you conceive that to be. But if the after-death is not under your control, there's no need to worry about it : whatever will be will be. In my case, as I approach The End, I simply assume that the Afterlife will be similar to the Before-life : nothingness. So, I have nothing to worry about, nothing to fear, nothing to plan for. Is that attitude "abnormal"? Since I was raised as a fundamentalist protestant Christian, it is indeed.


Compulsive Thoughts : https://www.healthline.com/health/menta ... hts#causes

[Gnomon]

How has nothing to fear, worry about, or plan for manifested in you? Did/do you also experience the peace of mind? — Cobra

It took me many years to deprogram my youthful propagandizing to fear death without God's seal of approval. Other than the nagging question of losing a one-way ticket to heaven, I've never been much of a worrier about future events that I have no control over : que sera sera. Instead, my "peace of mind" probably results from an innate attitude toward Life & Death that is similar to Buddhism. I'm not talking about the various Buddhist religions, but the philosophical core of the Buddha's teachings regarding the mysteries & uncertainties of life. His precepts tended to be rational & objective instead of the emotional & subjective approaches of traditional religions. His key to peace on earth is not political activism to gain control over mass government, but to focus on gaining control over your "Self". Toward that end, he recommended the dispassionate notion of "no-self". By observing your inner neurotic feelings of Fear, Anger, and Anxiety objectively, you can may learn to manage your irresistible urges and unconscious motivations. When you no longer "suffer" from the self-abuse of out-of-control feelings, you may begin to "experience peace of mind".

I should point out however, that while I am not religious, I am still "spiritual" in the sense of an interest in the metaphysical aspects of reality. I have developed my own personal worldview, to replace the abandoned religious mindset of my upbringing. And, ironically, the core axiom of that science-based overview of reality is what I call "G*D". That hypothetical Cause of Reality is not imagined as a personal Father-in-heaven or Lord-of-Lords, but as the Abstract Force behind the Creation and upwardly-mobile Evolution of our imperfect, but progressing, natural world. That rational conclusion doesn't inspire chop-licking anticipation of personal salvation for My-Self, but it does contribute a positive rationale for my day-to-day peace-of-mind.

G*D :
An ambiguous spelling of the common name for a supernatural deity. The Enformationism thesis is based upon an unprovable axiom that our world is an idea in the mind of G*D. This eternal deity is not imagined in a physical human body, but in a meta-physical mathematical form, equivalent to Logos. Other names : ALL, BEING, Creator, Enformer, MIND, Nature, Reason, Source, Programmer. The eternal Whole-of-which-all-temporal-things-are-a-part is not to be feared or worshiped, but appreciated like Nature.
I refer to the logically necessary and philosophically essential First & Final Cause as G*D, rather than merely "X" the Unknown, partly out of respect. That’s because the ancients were not stupid, to infer purposeful agencies, but merely shooting in the dark. We now understand the "How" of Nature much better, but not the "Why". That inscrutable agent of Entention is what I mean by G*D.
http://blog-glossary.enformationism.info/page13.html

Why Buddhism Is True : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Buddhism_Is_True