Thanatophobia

👍 Humour du jour 😁

Petit partage entre amis ! 🍜

J.R.R. Tolkien

There is much we will miss about life, much we could have seen, but eventually, every journey ends. 

A Near Death Experience is what it says – an experience that occurs when you are near death. Many people who do experience them, see a bright light, loved ones who have passed on, heaven, or even the surrounding environment of their body (some have reported knowing what was going on during life-saving surgery). Personally I don’t know how to explain that last one, but the others I imagine are mostly due to our brains, well, dreaming as it shuts off.

I’ve posted articles about this before, notably one from Scientific American, and that we still don’t fully understand why our brains may interpret dying into a positive experience for us – though recognized not just in near death experiences, but in people who enjoy sexual choking, for example.

Take a look at this:

The Near Death Experience this person had, was Stargate-based.

I’ve always assumed Near Death Experiences would take information in our minds already, and amplify it. It would tap into our beliefs, memories, and information, to give us a positive end. I can only hope for a Star Wars NDE.

You can also see how an atheist experiences NDEs here:

They have the same experience of peace and love, but without the angelic beings or anything else. It’s still a wholly peaceful passing.

It’s me, back with another thing that may or may not help: Showering and/or bathing! Which is also a bit of a discussion on Smell.

I know this sounds weird, this activity is usually something that is low thought. The mix of sensations from the temperature of the water, to the scents of the soaps, and even the texture and sights of the soaps, I’ve found can make it a space where the thoughts don’t intrude as much, at least for me.

I am a self-admitted soap whore, though. I love soaps. I have an addiction to Lush and Posh. The shapes of their soaps, the smells of their soaps, the things for my hair – it all relaxes me immensely.

If it does the same for you, this may be something you could do to just help in the moment, or even longer if the effect lasts. I usually take my showers in the evening because it helps me to settle down a bit from the day and is one of my mental “cues” that I should be winding down (which is part of a routine – I’m sure I’ll get into that at another time).

It also latches on to how sensations can make you more present.

Smells can bring you into the moment, and if you don’t have good food cooking, you may as well use good soaps, or shampoo! It works in the same way as cooking food does – it brings you into the moment. It may not make you salivate, but nonetheless, you are very aware of the scent and what is around you, and not so much what is going on elsewhere.

Add that in with the texture of the soap, the feeling of the water, and you have a multiple-sensory experience to help you stay rooted to the present moment and not go too far beyond it, even if the activity itself is low thought.

I wish I could say the same for activities like dish-washing, but that doesn’t seem to work for me. However, maybe the same principal will apply to you!

In general, though, smells have a way of either rooting us in the present, or taking us back to a memory. In either case, it could help you get out of the darker thoughts of impending death. If it helps, buy some candles of scents you know many draw up familiar memories (they have scents for campfires now, so you don’t need something like potpourri. Even fruit loop candles!). If you’re concerned about the fire hazard, buy a warmer and set the candle on that. It’s what I do, and it still works out wonderfully!

You can also use an oil warmer and oil, which may get the scents out more quickly, though I’ve found they don’t last as long. That may be more effective if you need a “quick fix”, though.