The first time I've read your post, I didn't really check what you've meant with this. A thought came up: „Great, Sam had the insight that fear of death would be helpful“... Haha :) And yes, fear of death is really helpful, it helps the body to survive, it is just a surviving tool. Otherwise, why jump away from the nearing car? Or maybe one day the coffee tastes horrible, the meal is cold – ok I'll jump out of the window... ;))In answer to your question. The fear of death would be helpful.
The second time reading I got it...
Ok, let's have a look at this.
What is this fear of death made of? Where and how in the body is the sensation called fear, and what of this fear of death is just a story told by thoughts? Dive deep and try to feel the sensations...
What is the true self? Is there a false self and a true self? Can this „true“ self be found in direct experience or is this just hearsay? What if there is neither a true nor a false self? What if there is always just THIS, just whats going on from moment to moment and the perceiving of it? No hidden truth which you haven't found yet?I get that my true self - awareness cannot die, but it feels more intellectual at this stage.
Does the word „sweet“ carry some sweetness? Or is it just a description of something you have experienced sometime? If you never had experienced sweetness could you then do something with this word?The thought of eating the banana was not incongruous to the experience. They did correlate on some levels. I could see the banana in my mind. I knew what it would look like when I peeled and I had an understanding of what it would taste like. All conjured from thought about an upcoming experience. I also experienced the predicted sweetness of the banana.
Imagine you would like to try to describe someone who never saw or ate a banana the banana experience... Would this be possible?
The point with these exercises is to see how much the thought content has to do with the reality of experience and subsequently if „I“ or „self“ is more than just thought... :)
Do this exercise more often in your everyday life before you eat or drink, before you take a shower or whatever. Imagine it first and then compare the current experience with the description. See if words and mental images can actually describe reality or if they are just a kind of sketch ...:)Interesting exercise.
Before I answer in full can I add another question please
How can we draw from previous experience and observe a correlation between the imagined and the predicted event? Who is the l drawing from experience? The imagined banana preceding the direct experience of eating the banana?
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