Ask: How do I overcome my fear of death?

I have been a student of A Course in Miracles for many years but I have to admit I still fear death. How do I overcome this?

            What you experience as fear of death is really not your fear but the personal thought system’s (ego’s) fear of ceasing to exist. So you will overcome the fear of death when you release yourself from the limitation of identifying with a self and you identify with Truth instead.
            There is no death. The Truth within you is eternal. It has no beginning and no ending. It just is. Growing your awareness of the Truth within you brings you peace of mind precisely because It is eternal and never changing.
            There is no death for the self, either, because it doesn’t really exist. It was never really “born” so it never “dies”. It is just a mistaken way of thinking about yourself now. It is an idea that you can just put aside now. And that is not death, but reawakening to your Reality.

            Meditate on these facts. You may find that over time you have to revisit them again and again. But as your awareness of the eternal Truth in you grows you will find that you are released from the fear of death.

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Learn about the books The ACIM Mentor Articles, The Plain Language A Course in Miracles, 4 Habits for Inner Peace, and Releasing Guilt for Inner Peace at www.acimmentor.com.
If you have a question the answer to which you think will help others send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered in the ACIM Mentor Newsletter/Blog.

Comments

Sage Starfield said…
Thanks Liz for once again skillfuly hitting the nail on the head for us!
6:24 AM
will said…
For a while now when I am reading from Course material (or not) I just kind of flip the pages find something that looks good and start reading. If it doesn’t hold my interest after a little while, I just flip the pages some more or go to the Table of Contents or maybe listen to a CD of something. I usually listen to Tolle,’ he’s easy to listen to and I can just kick back. I had been reading Ken Wilbur four or five years back and recently received as a present some CD’s of an interview he was doing. It must be 10 CD’s long. I ran across Krishnamurti on Youtube a few weeks ago and checked out a DVD of his from the library to see what he was talking about. I had been receiving spiritual books in the mail as presents things people were finding interesting and wanted to share with me. But I’m not shopping just curious what is going on out there. Searching ended some years ago. The first five or six years when I was getting sober I bought quite a few books on alcoholism or adult child stuff. At that time it was just becoming the next new rage in Recovery and we were all jumping on board, buying all kinds of books. It seemed important to have a library of spiritual books although I rarely read them. We were all picking a guru of the moment (pick a name) and if they fell out of fashion or some new star came on the market you could always switch over at a moment’s notice. The fight for “Guruship” was fierce in the book stores. Nothing really wrong with all that but at some point reality hits (over and over) that you really aren’t feeling better or more spiritual or something. The books may have been intellectually interesting but it was shallow stuff because I made it that way. I was shopping and searching, buying books was fun. It is a blessing to be settled in.
7:08 AM
Aleta said…
Yeah, Will, I have done that too and still do to an extent, although the Course is my main concentration. We have a Course study group at our home each week -- only 5 of us in attendance, but it is fun and very helpful. One thing that I have noticed is that in the spiritual teachings I have looked at (i.e., Krishnamurti, Tolle), the common thread, if you would call it that, running through them all, is Course-like. They may not emphasize "forgiveness" like the Course does, but they may use a different word; for example, recently I realized that Tolle's word for forgiveness is Presence, at least that is what I think. The problem I encounter with myself is that I love to read, and I love being a STUDENT, and I have to APPLY the teachings! Liz's website is SUCH a BLESSING and her books are so helpful. I have found many helpful Course books to read. One Course in Miracles author who is really really good too, but somewhat obscure, is Tara Singh, and his book "Nothing Real Can be Threatened" is awesome. The Course rocks! Thank goodness for teachers like Liz, Tara Singh, etc.
9:35 AM
will said…
I am very grounded in what I am doing with the Course. I occasionally get curious who is saying what but it's just curiosity. The comments I made about when I was searching years ago was one of the most important things I have learned on my spiritual journey. It has been 25 years since that period of my life and it took some years for the importance of it to sink in. But it was a lesson for me not for others as I have found out. I talk about it sometimes but have no illusions that anyone else would pay attention to it.
12:15 PM
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