Amazing read. Happy that he made it out. Loved the closing comment as well (I wonder why everyone of us can't live like this without going through a NDE, I myself am a guilty party):
>You know, sitting on the beach in Greece with friends I've heard people complaining that because we had a financial crisis they miss some of the comforts they used to have. I am like, "Come on! Enjoy your life and health. You are eating sardines and drinking Ouzo by the beach. We are free, we have good friends around and we laugh - this is what people are supposed to do."
>Don't concentrate only on work, stressful and bad things in your life. Concentrate instead on creating good moments and being around good people, because life is so beautiful.
I discovered last week that my best friend, who's in her 20's, has lung cancer and a 36% chance of survival. That's only 3 months after being in a car crash where the doctors said she might never walk again, yet she made a full recovery.
It's really put things into perspective for me. There's no point in spending time and effort doing things we don't like, there's no point in staying in a job you hate, or spending time with people you don't like. I might get hit by a car and killed tomorrow and it would be fucking awful if my final thought was how I wasn't looking forward to going to work in the morning.
Obviously I understand that I'm privileged that I'm in this position. There's so many people out there who need to work shit jobs to feed themselves or their family. But most of us here on HN are in the same position as me. Why spend time working working some shit corporate job in the valley, paying a fucking fortune for rent, just so that you can get a job somewhere else earning more money? I earn enough money to be comfortable, I'd rather direct my efforts towards making meaningful human connections and enjoying life.
Worked 20+ years in the Bay Area. 3 years ago, I got tired of the rat race, I sold everything I own and moved to Saigon, Vietnam. For the last month, I've been on a motorbike driving all over Southern Vietnam and Cambodia with my gf. Technically, we are homeless, living out of low cost, but decent hotels.
We live a completely minimal lifestyle. We own just enough to fit on the motorbike. In the last month, we've used a single plastic bottle (because we were on an island and wanted water and couldn't get it any other way) and created just a tiny bit of trash. We aren't religious about it. I'm only bringing it up because by focusing on making a minimal impact on this planet, it has allowed us to really let go of so much.
It isn't easy, but it is possible to do exactly what you're saying.
You don't need to go through a NDE. Try going hiking on the mountains. You'll come back with a better attitude about life and your usual problems will look meaningless. I used to go at least once a year. Need to get back on it.
True, it doesn’t always take a NDE, but I think it does require a certain amount of hardship and/or trauma. People need to be pushed into a corner to find out who they really are. They need to be truly alone, and often not by choice.
> “Compared to non-experiencers, NDErs report greatly increased concern for others, decreased fear of death, and increased belief in an afterlife, increased religious interest and feeling, and lessened desire for material success and approval of others (Flynn, 1982).”
Even for those who did not have a NDE,
> “Compared to persons who had come close to death but not had NDEs, experiencers place significantly lower value on social status, professional and material success, and fame (Greyson, 1983a), and find death less threatening (Greyson, 1992).”
I had an experience while extremely high on magic mushrooms. I was completely and totally convinced I was going to die. It was just before a fireworks display With utmost certainty I knew when the fireworks started I would die. I was terrified. I started going over everything i'd done in my life, everything i'd regretted, all the times i'd acted shitty to people, just everything.
During that time, I didn't realize until later, different layers of my personality were stripping away and each layer was a new thought about my life.
Then the fireworks started...I didn't die. I rememer.I didn't really feel relief...just happiness and a new feeling that just existing and making the best od life was good enough.
Since then i've found my attitude towards a lot of things has changed. I used to worry about my health a lot, not quite hypochondriac but sometimes pretty close, i'd get overwhelmed with anxiety about dying from different things. In all the years since then I haven't worried about it any more.
I find little things that would frustrate me or i'd put a lot of energy into worrying about don't bother me any more. Generally my interactions with people.have improved. I find i expect less from them now while at the same time I find myself generally caring about people's lives and the things that happen to them more than I used to.
I also lost interest in watching graphically violent movies or just senseless violence on general.
I dunno...I know it's not the same as a real near death experience but reading your comment really made me think of that time.
I think NDE was being used as shorthand here for an experience where one could have died, not the much more clinical definition where one's body is physically near death as above. It's a very interesting study.
>You know, sitting on the beach in Greece with friends I've heard people complaining that because we had a financial crisis they miss some of the comforts they used to have. I am like, "Come on! Enjoy your life and health. You are eating sardines and drinking Ouzo by the beach. We are free, we have good friends around and we laugh - this is what people are supposed to do."
>Don't concentrate only on work, stressful and bad things in your life. Concentrate instead on creating good moments and being around good people, because life is so beautiful.