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.
The only way to be sure of catching a train is to miss the one before it.
If the propositions of this Discourse are tenable, the "state of progressive collapse" is precisely that state in which alone we are warranted in considering All Things.
What is the answer? In that case, what is the question?
But I'm not a saint yet. I'm an alcoholic. I'm a drug addict. I'm homosexual. I'm a genius.
I can speak of slavery only so far as it came under my own observation - only so far as I have known and experienced it in my own person.
I believe we face the question: if not now, then when? And if we are grasped by this vision, we may also hear the question: If not us, then who? And if the gospel of Jesus is not the key to this task, then what is?
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