“Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved.” ~ Adrian Van Kaam, via Solitude
The Art of Living and Dying [Book]
Book Overview: Why are we afraid of death? Should we tell someone they are dying? Is reincarnation true? With depth, clarity, compassion, and even humor, Osho answers the questions we all have about this most sacred of mysteries and offers practical guidance for meditation and support. He reveals not only that our fear of death is based on a misunderstanding, but that dying is an opportunity for inner growth. When life is lived consciously and totally, death is not a catastrophe but a joyous climax.
Post(s) Inspired by this Book:
“Old age is tremendously beautiful, and it should be so because the whole of life moves towards it. It should be the peak. How can the peak be in the beginning? How can the peak be in the middle? But if you think your childhood is your peak, as many people think, then of course your whole life will be a suffering because you have attained your peak – now everything will be a declining, coming down. If you think young age is the peak, as many people think, then of course after thirty-five you will become sad, depressed, because every day you will be losing and losing and losing and gaining nothing. The energy will be lost, you will weaken, diseases will enter into your being, and death will start knocking at the door. The home will disappear, and the hospital will appear. How can you be happy? No, but in the East we have never thought that childhood or youth is the peak. The peak waits for the very end.” ~ Osho, The Art of Living and Dying
The fear of death is the fear of time.
Picture Quote Text:
“The fear of death is fear of time. And the fear of time is, deeply down, fear of unlived moments, of an unlived life. So what to do? Live more, and live more intensely. Live dangerously. It is your life. Don’t sacrifice it for any sort of foolishness that has been taught to you. It is your life: Live it! Don’t sacrifice it for words, theories, countries or politics. Don’t sacrifice it for anybody. Live it! Don’t think that it is courageous to die. The only courage is to live life totally; there is no other courage.” ~ Osho, The Art of Living and Dying
“The fear is not of death, the fear is of time, and if you look deeply into it then you find that the fear is of an unlived life – you have not been able to live. If you live, then there is no fear. If life comes to a fulfillment there is no fear. If you have enjoyed, attained the peaks that life can give – if your life has been an orgasmic experience, a deep poetry vibrating within you, a song, a festival, a ceremony, and you lived each moment of it to its totality – then there is no fear of time. Then the fear disappears.” ~ Osho, The Art of Living and Dying
“A man is really a mature man when he has come to this conclusion: ‘If death is happening to everybody else, then I cannot be an exception.’ Once this conclusion sinks deep into your heart, your life can never be the same again. You cannot remain attached to life in the old way. If it is going to be taken away, what is the point of being so possessive? If it is going to disappear one day, why cling and suffer? If life is not going to remain forever, then why be in such misery, anguish, worry?” ~ Osho, The Art of Living and Dying
“Ask yourself, ‘What makes my heart sing?’ Your passion is not a passing interest or even a hobby. A passion is something that is intensely meaningful and core to your identity. Once you identify what your passion is, can you say it influences your daily activities? Can you incorporate it into what you do professionally?” ~ Carmine Gallo, Talk Like TED
“If you learned you were going to die in a few days, what regrets would you have? Which of them could you resolve if you were given another 5 years? …Do you try to envision your future and live now as you think you’ll one day wish you had?” ~ Gregory Stock, The Book of Questions
“After a medical examination, your doctor calls and says you have a rare lymphatic cancer and only a month to live. A week later, she informs you that the lab test was wrong and you’re perfectly healthy. Do you think the insights from having to face death this way would be worth the pain? …What life changes do you think a close brush with death might provoke for you?”
Gregory Stock, The Book of Questions
“If you knew you were destined never to achieve anything of real importance, how would it change your goals and attitudes? What if you knew you were destined for great things but didn’t know what? …What in your life do you think will seem most meaningful when you look back many years from now? What do you think you’ll regret when you look back?”
Gregory Stock, The Book of Questions
“What is the most outrageous thing you’ve ever done? Do you look back on it more with pleasure or regret? …Do you wish you’d been more or less cautious in your life?” ~ Gregory Stock, The Book of Questions
“It does not matter how long you live. It only matters that you love it while you’re here.” ~ Ellen Gilchrist, Acts of God
