Plane Crash & Spirituality

Off Topic
1

Just wanted to express my condolences to the passengers who died in the plane crash Sunday. I actually live right in the take off/landing path of the Bluegrass Airport. It really is a sobering incident since I(and I’m sure a lot of you) fly out on those Delta Comair flights all the time…especially to Atlanta. That easily could have been me.

I 've been doing some thinking since then. Is there such a thing as being ready to die? Is there some type of spiritual enlightenment that can prepare you for such a sudden departure? I know I’m not prepared. What are your thoughts? Is accepting religion enough? Or is there more?

2

This could be a good discussion if people aren’t rude enough to discount religion or belittle the idea of spiritual development.

3

So basically what you are saying is that you are afraid of dieing and you need to know that you will still be alive after you die. Great. Take the religion that have the most convenient death benefits or if you want to be reincarnated as a cow or seagul choose Buddhism, or you could just face the fact that you will die someday.

4

[quote]ill wrote:
So basically what you are saying is that you are afraid of dieing and you need to know that you will still be alive after you die. Great. Take the religion that have the most convenient death benefits or if you want to be reincarnated as a cow or seagul choose Buddhism, or you could just face the fact that you will die someday.[/quote]

I’m glad I posted that before this one.

Moving on,
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aKw7oox15gco&refer=us

This just screams human error.

5

This is really good. It is something that could be talked about until…we die. I wont do that. I will only say something that live by… that only 2 things are for certain in life
1)Change
2)Death

because we never know when we will die, death is always within arms reach of us waiting to touch us, so whenever things get down, look to your left and thank Death for not touching you yet. Because he is always so close to, strive to always be impeccable at whatever you are doing…so that when Death does touch you…you are living fully and not half-assing anything.

THUS RESPECT YOUR DEATH because IT REMINDS YOU TO LIVE ALIVE not live like all of those people coasting through…

6

[quote]nolecat wrote:
Just wanted to express my condolences to the passengers who died in the plane crash Sunday. I actually live right in the take off/landing path of the Bluegrass Airport. It really is a sobering incident since I(and I’m sure a lot of you) fly out on those Delta Comair flights all the time…especially to Atlanta. That easily could have been me.

I 've been doing some thinking since then. Is there such a thing as being ready to die? Is there some type of spiritual enlightenment that can prepare you for such a sudden departure? I know I’m not prepared. What are your thoughts? Is accepting religion enough? Or is there more?

[/quote]

I think accepting a religion is not enough, especially a dogmatic one can hinder spiritual growth instead of advancing it.

What I am missing in western, monotheistic religions is the spiritual growth aspect that there definitely is in Taoism or Buddism.

They have exercises, Ko-ans and so forth designed to help you see things another way or to let go of ideas you are emotionally attached to.

For them spiritual growth is real and you see it in them, you hardly see that quiet peace in “religious”- western people.

I think I`d rather be spiritual than religious.

7

[quote]nolecat wrote:
Is there such a thing as being ready to die? [/quote]

The first thing that comes to my mind is those facing a terminal illness. Some finally reach the point of wanting to die, but of course this is very different from an unexpected tragedy like a plane crash.

I have an older family member with a terminal illness who has fought the fight for years, hangs on to life by a thread, is literally skin and bones and is in pain every day. He’s said his goodbyes to his loved ones and wants it to be over.

He takes meds for pain but no longer receives treatments for longevity purposes. As far as spirituality, he’s made his peace with that, but for him it doesn’t include a belief in a higher power or eternal life.

8

Religion isnt the only form of spirituality. I dont follow any religion but am “spiritual” to a certain degree.

Also, being prepared to die can be brought upon by anything. Someone who cant take life anymore is prepared to die when the commit suicide. Someone who has had a fullfilled life may feel as if they are ok to go. Going in to save someone or a pet shows that you are prepared to do. Just look at the military, many of those people are ready to die and religion isnt playing a part for some of them.

9

[quote]nolecat wrote:
I 've been doing some thinking since then. Is there such a thing as being ready to die? Is there some type of spiritual enlightenment that can prepare you for such a sudden departure? I know I’m not prepared. What are your thoughts? Is accepting religion enough? Or is there more?
[/quote]

I’m ready.
I have a nice full and complete life. But I’m ready to die.

Spirituality? may be… but it is not what I believe that make me ready. But how i live.

In 2003 I was really near death… “she” touch me but I’m to ugly so “she” scared and left me inside the car :slight_smile:

After a summer of blindness I return to life… work, friends and girls…

After that I think death is after the corner… watching and waiting… and it is a think we can’t controll… so why be afraid?

10

[quote]PGA200X wrote:
Religion isnt the only form of spirituality. I dont follow any religion but am “spiritual” to a certain degree.

Also, being prepared to die can be brought upon by anything. Someone who cant take life anymore is prepared to die when the commit suicide. Someone who has had a fullfilled life may feel as if they are ok to go. Going in to save someone or a pet shows that you are prepared to do. Just look at the military, many of those people are ready to die and religion isnt playing a part for some of them.[/quote]

I, respectfully disagree with one part of this. When someone commits suicide, I feel, they are not prepared to live life.

Today is a good day to die is a Native American saying that basically means, a life was lived to the fullest and if death comes there would be no regrets and death can be faced peacefully. That’s what I think of when I hear things like prepared to die.

I also agree with the other posters who mentioned the terminally ill. There comes a point where the pain and the fight are just too much. For some who believe the thought of an afterlife is of great comfort. For others, leaving the suffering is more than enough to prepare them.

11

I think accepting a religion is not enough, especially a dogmatic one can hinder spiritual growth instead of advancing it.

What I am missing in western, monotheistic religions is the spiritual growth aspect that there definitely is in Taoism or Buddism.

They have exercises, Ko-ans and so forth designed to help you see things another way or to let go of ideas you are emotionally attached to.

For them spiritual growth is real and you see it in them, you hardly see that quiet peace in “religious”- western people.

I think I`d rather be spiritual than religious.[/quote]

That is exactly what I was missing from western religion…spiritual growth. I am embarassingly naive when it comes to religion. I also agree with the post above about living life everyday to its fullest. Perhaps my real concern is the after life. I’ve never given this much thought, but what purpose would I(or anyone) serve in the afterlife based on how I’ve lived? This may sound strange, but do we became some guardian spirit of God if we are deemed worthy? Where will this spiritual growth take us?

12

Saturday night I am sitting on my couch going through the newspaper and my barefeet are on the ground.something in me says “look down” and as I look down I see a scorpion about to crawl onto my foot, not even an inch from it. If you live in Az you hear the death horror stories of scorpion stings.

Even if you spray you are never really safe from them. I have lived through cancer and the thought of a sting (or my children getting stung) for some reason scares me more. It was a sobering rest of the night and really made me think more of my own mortality.

It made me think of “close calls” in my life and what is it inside of us that gives us that intuition. There are small blessings around at all times. I guess it’s just my guardian angel working overtime. -Jules

13

[quote]nolecat wrote:
That is exactly what I was missing from western religion…spiritual growth. I am embarassingly naive when it comes to religion. I also agree with the post above about living life everyday to its fullest. Perhaps my real concern is the after life. I’ve never given this much thought, but what purpose would I(or anyone) serve in the afterlife based on how I’ve lived? This may sound strange, but do we became some guardian spirit of God if we are deemed worthy? Where will this spiritual growth take us?
[/quote]
Generally, eastern philosophy place heavy emphasis on meditation for spiritual growth. Western philosophy use to empahsize on this too, but the tradition has been lost. The central belief is that all the answers you need is within you and meditation is the tool to acquire that knowledge. Meditation is supposely how Buddha saw the truth and became enlightened. Virtually all buddhist texts are the accumulative knowldege from his own insight meditation. From this point of belief, God, or single entity that controls all, does not exist. You are your own individual that evolves from life time to life time. How much one evolves depends upon your karma and the wisdom you gain. Not here to push religion upon ya (hope you didn’t take it that way), as I’m not religious myself. Just providing some information that might help you.

14

[quote]orion wrote:
nolecat wrote:

I 've been doing some thinking since then. Is there such a thing as being ready to die? Is there some type of spiritual enlightenment that can prepare you for such a sudden departure? I know I’m not prepared. What are your thoughts? Is accepting religion enough? Or is there more?

What I am missing in western, monotheistic religions is the spiritual growth aspect that there definitely is in Taoism or Buddism.

They have exercises, Ko-ans and so forth designed to help you see things another way or to let go of ideas you are emotionally attached to.

For them spiritual growth is real and you see it in them, you hardly see that quiet peace in “religious”- western people.

I think I`d rather be spiritual than religious.[/quote]

I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t met peaceful “western” religious folks.

There are many spiritual western people who are staunch believers in monotheism. There is a huge difference between religion and spirituality, of course, and people can be religious without being spiritual. (very common in cultural religions)
Just like people can go to the gym without working out.

Be wary of throwing away truth in your quest for peace and spirituality.

15

[quote]orion wrote:
nolecat wrote:
Just wanted to express my condolences to the passengers who died in the plane crash Sunday. I actually live right in the take off/landing path of the Bluegrass Airport. It really is a sobering incident since I(and I’m sure a lot of you) fly out on those Delta Comair flights all the time…especially to Atlanta. That easily could have been me.

I 've been doing some thinking since then. Is there such a thing as being ready to die? Is there some type of spiritual enlightenment that can prepare you for such a sudden departure? I know I’m not prepared. What are your thoughts? Is accepting religion enough? Or is there more?

I think accepting a religion is not enough, especially a dogmatic one can hinder spiritual growth instead of advancing it.

What I am missing in western, monotheistic religions is the spiritual growth aspect that there definitely is in Taoism or Buddism.

They have exercises, Ko-ans and so forth designed to help you see things another way or to let go of ideas you are emotionally attached to.

For them spiritual growth is real and you see it in them, you hardly see that quiet peace in “religious”- western people.

I think I`d rather be spiritual than religious.[/quote]

Being a Catholic, I can tell you for a fact that there are “exercises” for spiritual growth within the Catholic faith. To say that “western monotheistic” religions (whatever that means) don’t believe in meditation is false as meditation (quietly being in the presence of God is meditating, is it not?) is a part of Catholic prayer.

Some of the greatest Catholic theologists regularly left society for weeks at a time to seek spiritual enlightenment, including the traditionally Buddhist practice of communing with nature.

As for other “exercises”, have you never heard of prayer groups/meetings, Bible study groups, weekend or weeklong retreats, sacraments? These are very basic, attainable and widely practiced activities. From my years in NC, I also am familiar with the Protestant churches’ Revivals, where they take part in many spiritual exercises over the course of a few days.

Part of enlightenment is thinking before you make a factual statement, particularly one that you have not sufficiently researched.

To the OP, yes, I think you can be prepared to die, but like some of the other posters have said, it seems to be determined by how you live your life and having an inner peace that you always strived to do the best you could.

DB

16

[quote]Professor X wrote:
This could be a good discussion if people aren’t rude enough to discount religion or belittle the idea of spiritual development.[/quote]

Using the ability to reason, people often come to the conclusion that religion is false. How does that make one rude?

17

[quote]nuwayv wrote:
Professor X wrote:
This could be a good discussion if people aren’t rude enough to discount religion or belittle the idea of spiritual development.

Using the ability to reason, people often come to the conclusion that religion is false. How does that make one rude?[/quote]

Because it assumes that those who believe deeply in a spirit and that which can not be seen live without the ability to reason.

18

I’m by no means ready to die yet but to be honest the anticipation about what occurs after life and finding “the answers” is exciting to me so in a way I suppose I look forward to the inevitable.

All those quotes about living life to it’s fullest each day are inspirational but are they really possible? I know a full life means different things to different people but if I lived each day as if it were my last I would either end up dead or serving a life-sentence in prison.

19

[quote]Professor X wrote:
This could be a good discussion if people aren’t rude enough to discount religion or belittle the idea of spiritual development.[/quote]

I completely agree. That is one thing I have never understood. Why people who aren’t spiritual or religious feel the need to look down upon people who are. What’s the difference if someone believes in a higher power? Why look down upon someone for wanting to believe in life after death?

Is it because they feel like they are being looked down upon by spiritual people for not believing?

20

[quote]Professor X wrote:
nuwayv wrote:
Professor X wrote:
This could be a good discussion if people aren’t rude enough to discount religion or belittle the idea of spiritual development.

Using the ability to reason, people often come to the conclusion that religion is false. How does that make one rude?

Because it assumes that those who believe deeply in a spirit and that which can not be seen live without the ability to reason.[/quote]

I would disagree. Everyone has the ability to reason and uses said reasoning daily. Not everyone, however, turns an objective, scrutinizing eye towards their religious beliefs.

Many, many millions of intelligent people are religious and/or spiritial. That doesn’t mean that the beliefs they hold regarding spirituality are true or worthy of respect.