In life modern man today there are so many fears that poison this life that all the behavior of people is based only on fear. And every day, new fears are carefully imposed on a person, oppressing his psyche and will, making him controllable through fear. But in fact, there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of in this life, many people live in constant fear, not even understanding its nature, not to mention its comprehension. To what does all our fear come down, if not to the fear of death, because our life is the most precious thing we have, and death is unknown to us, and therefore it frightens us.
It is the fear of death that is the root of all other fears that grow and flourish in our head. But even death is not terrible when you understand that it is an integral part of our life. If you realize that your life can end at any moment in any place, and that you do not know the reasons for this, then the very fear of death will lose its meaning. There is no point in fear, because what should happen will happen anyway, but what we have not done will never happen. That is why it is so important not to be afraid, because fear fetters our actions, and we must act, because this is the meaning of the whole life process.
A person is afraid of loneliness, and therefore he acts, he is looking for a mate, a person is afraid of hunger and poverty, and therefore he works, a person is afraid of death and therefore tries to prevent it. All this suggests that we need to act, and fear forces us to do this, but we should not be afraid, why not step over this stage and immediately begin to act? Why is it necessary to be afraid of something, in order to either do something or be inactive, obeying your fear, but not obeying it? As soon as you stop being afraid, but at the same time you are not an indifferent person, but remain as purposeful as fear makes you, you will take a leap forward.
It is impossible to scare or stop a person who is not afraid of anything, including death, but at the same time he has a goal in life. But an apathetic person who is not afraid of anything, but at the same time has no goal, can be frightened at any moment when his measured and calm life ceases to be such. And all because such a person lives with the illusion of stability, which does not exist, he is afraid of losing something that does not exist in principle. That's where the absurdity is, that's where there is no understanding of the nature of one's fear. Fear acts like the fuel that drives human body into working condition, but this fuel can also paralyze a person, limit him if he does not want to start.
But in general, this is just a stupid measure of coercion, because if you are not stupid and ask questions about life, you do not need to be coerced, and fear is just ridiculous fun for you. Who and what can deprive you in this world, if you already own nothing, but people are afraid of this. Everything will someday go into oblivion, everyone dies, time spares no one, and in this case, what can you regret about the inevitable? The whole universe consists of the same parts, we are all a single whole, and whatever one may say, we will remain so, and what can we be afraid of in this case? It is enough just to think about it a little to understand the whole meaninglessness of fear, and that we may not need the function that it performs.
You are not smart enough if only fear forces you to do something, but you are very stupid if you do nothing at all because of fear. Transform your thinking by realizing your fear, find its root and its meaning, and you will understand that there is nothing to be afraid of in this life, you just needed the illusion of fear, because you don’t understand otherwise. Fear recedes before those whom it makes no sense to frighten in vain, who see the true state of affairs, and understand the need for everything that is in this life. Your psyche will change significantly, and your opportunities will increase when you understand why you are afraid, what you are afraid of, and decide for yourself whether you need it.
- British Louise Brown. On the eve of her 40th birthday, the President of the Russian Association for Human Reproduction (RAHR), Vladislav Korsak, proposed establishing a World ART Day. The global community of reproductive specialists supported this initiative. Now on July 25, reproductologists will celebrate their professional holiday. The editors of Vesti.Medicina talked with Vladislav Stanislavovich about how assisted reproductive technologies have changed the world.
How has the attitude of Russians towards IVF changed in the last 10-15 years?
As far as I know, polls on this topic have not yet been conducted, but we can definitely say that in last years The topic of IVF is becoming more and more open. A lot of information about the treatment and, importantly, the diagnosis of infertility, both female and male, appears in the public domain.
According to world standards, the absence of pregnancy during the year, subject to regular sexual activity, is an indication for examination of both spouses. Diagnosis is accepted - it is easier and faster, because the only analysis to decide on the presence possible problems is a spermogram.
The main areas of examination of a woman include an assessment of the state of the organs of the female genital area, organs of hormonal regulation, analysis for latent infections. To assess the condition of the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, a woman is given laparoscopy (instruments equipped with optics are inserted into the abdominal cavity) and hysteroscopy to assess the condition of the endometrium to which the embryo is attached (a piece of the endometrium is taken for a biopsy).
Of course, the processes of diagnosing female infertility are complex and time-consuming, but today they cannot last more than 3 months, and the choice of treatment methods depends on the results of the examination. Conducting an examination is the first step to successfully overcome infertility.
Today, IVF is the basis for a number of options for its use, which are united by the term ART - assisted reproductive technologies. This is what every year brings thousands of couples closer to happy parenthood.
This year, the International Center for Reproductive Medicine (ICRM) has been allocated funding for 313 cycles for residents of St. Petersburg, the Leningrad Region, there are no such restrictions for the regions - the patient has the right to choose any medical institution in Russia, this is regulated by law. The procedure for applying for a quota is simple, you need to contact a special commission and indicate the center where you plan to receive treatment.
In a word, the more information about IVF is available to couples who face difficulties on the way to a long-awaited child, the less doubts and fears they will experience.
What are the most common misconceptions doctors face about IVF?
There are many misconceptions, for example, ignorant and religious prejudices. In particular, citizens who despise science, who stand on the position that doctors interfere in God's work, the creation of a new life. I want to say right away that this is not the case. Modern technologies only reproduce the conditions female body, in which the meeting, the “date” of the male and female germ cells takes place. Fertilization - the fusion of the female and male halves genetic information contained in the egg and sperm, the further formation of the future human genome occurs independently, this occurs without any human influence, beyond his control. Therefore, it is obvious that the sacrament of conception remains a sacrament.
Another common misconception about which it is very important to speak openly is the health of children conceived with the help of ART. Children born through IVF are no different from children conceived in the traditional way. Many gossip that such children are more likely to have genetic abnormalities and other diseases. No, it's not. Genetic diseases associated not with IVF, but with other factors, most often with the age and health of the mother. On the contrary, ART technologies today make it possible to detect chromosomal and genetic disorders of the embryo before it is transferred into the uterine cavity. This is the so-called preimplantation genetic testing.
Today it has been proven that taking one or more cells from an embryo does not interfere with its normal development. And we, as far as possible from a medical point of view, exclude the risk of genetic abnormalities of the fetus. In terms of child behavioral patterns, statistics on non-genetic diseases and development, none of the studies found differences between pregnancies after IVF and natural pregnancies. Accordingly, the theory that children born through IVF need special medical care is obviously a myth. Moreover, often neither the doctor in the antenatal clinic, nor the pediatrician, nor, especially, the child, knows that the mother underwent the IVF procedure.
Separately, I would like to note multiple pregnancies, in which there are indeed complications, which in obstetrics, even with natural conception, are considered as complications. Pregnancy with twins or triplets will never go as smoothly as a single pregnancy. That is why only one or two embryos are transferred today.
What are women and men afraid of when deciding on a procedure?
They are afraid that pregnancy will not occur, they will not be able to bear the child. Most frequently asked question, which is asked by future parents who came to the first appointment: "what is the frequency of pregnancy as a result of treatment?". Of course, success depends on a large number factors, including the age of the patient, the duration of infertility, the reasons that caused it. In the group under 35 years of age, pregnancy occurs in 35-45% of cases, after 40 years the rate is much lower. But for women of older reproductive age, there is the possibility of using donor eggs. In this case, the pregnancy rate reaches 60%.
Separately, I would like to note such a program as sperm donation. This allows single women or couples in cases of absolute male infertility to have children. The health status of donors is under medical control, they undergo a serious selection, including genetic counseling. Patients can choose a donor based on a phenotypic description.
And, of course, future parents are afraid of negative comments and condemnation of the "public", so it is very important that assisted reproductive technologies, which include IVF, about their real achievements and opportunities, be spoken openly and at different levels.
What are the statistics on IVF in Russia? Is it comparable to the world in terms of the number of successful attempts?
Yes, comparable. Moreover, it is important to say that Russia is in second place among European countries in terms of total number ART treatment cycles performed in our country. Pregnancy rate after IVF vs. European countries even slightly higher (38.7% for embryo transfer in Russia versus 36.5% in Europe).
During perestroika, the state could not provide infertility treatment using ART. This direction of ART in our country has been preserved thanks to the private initiative of enthusiasts who paid tribute to non-state centers. In the early 1990s, we started creating laboratories with our own hands, and the ICRM was opened at the same time. Now this area of medicine in Russia is on high level supported by the state. Thousands of happy and healthy children and parents serve as proof of this.
What do you call people who are not afraid of anything? Maybe daredevils? Or extremely self-confident? And do such individuals really exist? It is human nature to experience fear, there is nothing strange and reprehensible in this. When people around say the common phrase that there is nothing to be afraid of, they really do not understand what they are talking about. Our relatives and friends are often cunning, because they themselves do not always have only a rosy mood. It is impossible to completely protect oneself from negative impressions, even if they really interfere with a full existence, in some way destroy a person.
Otherwise, we would become robots who react to everything that happens with the same forced smile. But in such a gesture there will be no life, no joy, because the very position to feel only satisfaction is insincere! You can get rid of the all-consuming fear only through fruitful work on yourself. This will be discussed in this article.
The nature of fear
Why is a person afraid of something? Most often, this feeling arises when we are faced with something unknown. The psyche reacts in the usual way with fear, because it does not have in its arsenal suitable model behavior. This emotion often causes them to aggravate the situation even more, to look for someone to blame. Fear is felt as a binding tension in the body, general mental discomfort and anxiety. Every human emotion has its own individual purpose. Fear performs protective function: Protects us from the invasion of a traumatic event or feeling.
Otherwise, the boundaries between comfort and life-threatening dangers would be blurred. There are no people who do not experience a sense of fear at all. We must think not about how not to be afraid of anything, but about learning how to independently minimize the destructive effect of an unpleasant emotion. Not to let fear take over your soul means to acquire the ability to remain free in any situation.
Overcoming fear
Anything can happen in life: the loss of a job, a quarrel with a loved one, an unexpected event that will turn any idea about the world upside down. All this cannot but injure our inner being. The emotional state begins to suffer in the first place: there are intrusive thoughts about a possible unfavorable development of events, trembling in the body, distrust of others. How to overcome fear? Quite simple, but effective methods will help.
Event Analysis
Reflections on life contribute to the answer to the question: how not to be afraid of anything? It is necessary not only to think about what happened, but to analyze the situation in detail. Why did this happen to you? Have similar events happened before? What did you feel about it? With a little research, you will most likely find that the fears are far-fetched.
Your fear is the result of negative experiences in childhood and adolescence. Positive influence have conversations with spiritually developed people, confidential conversations. Indeed, in most cases, a person simply needs the attention and support of others. Misunderstanding and loneliness only undermine strength, hinder personal growth.
meditation
Today, probably, no one is surprised by spiritual practices aimed at strengthening emotional balance. Through meditation, even the physical condition improves. In addition, consciousness opens up, an understanding comes of how to behave with people in order to live in harmony with everything that happens. Meditation helps to strengthen faith in yourself and your abilities. How not to be afraid of anything? Just start doing spiritual practice - and soon you will see a satisfactory result that will surely please you.
Meditation leads to the disclosure of all chakras, the inner nature of a person. Such an activity not only helps to cope with fear, but also neutralizes the destructive effect of all negative emotions. You will feel like a different person: cheerful, optimistic, worthy of all victories.
Intimate talk
following a dream
Setting achievable goals and enjoying their achievement is the best cure for any fear. How to learn not to be afraid of anything? Direct all efforts to the sphere of your dreams. This is the only way to overcome the all-consuming fear of not being up to par or unsuccessful. Personal victories incredibly motivate, lead forward, liberate, temper character. In this successful people and concluded main secret. “Fear nothing” - this phrase becomes their internal motto, thanks to which they achieve everything they want.
Why does following your dreams help you overcome fear? The fact is that any internal doubts limit our ability to think and reason sensibly. When we conquer them in ourselves, fear also rapidly recedes. The sphere of dreams always inspires a person to new achievements, teaches him to act quickly, and does not give him time to get hung up on existing problems.
Harmony with yourself
A person who is constantly afraid of something is highly susceptible to stress. nervous emotional condition can eventually lead to psychophysical disorders, significant disruptions in the work of the whole organism. In order to get rid of constant worries, it is necessary to carefully work through the existing limiting beliefs. What does it mean? Allow yourself to find freedom, those very inner wings that will help you strive for great achievements. No matter how incredible your goals may seem right now, you can achieve them if you believe that they are really achievable. Dealing with fear is not easy, but we must continue to fight. One day you will realize that you have become so confident in yourself that you will overcome any obstacles.
Thus, overcoming any fear begins with systematic work with your character. Then you will feel that you can hold the whole universe in your palms.
A person can worry, worry, be afraid of something - this is normal if there are objective reasons for that. However, there are situations when the strength to cope with their emotions is not enough, and the advice of friends and relatives does not help. If fears become obsessive, aggression arises on empty place, and anxiety interferes with life - this is an occasion to seriously think and seek help from a specialist.
the day before world day of Mental Health, which is celebrated annually on October 10, we asked questions to the Dean of the Faculty of Psychology of Moscow State University, the chief freelance psychologist of the Ministry of Health of Russia, Yuri Zinchenko, and psychiatrist, psychotherapist Konstantin Olkhovy.
Psychologist and psychiatrist, psychotherapist - what's the difference?
The psychologist is engaged in non-drug correction of mental disorders. A psychiatrist and psychotherapist are medical specialties. These doctors make a diagnosis and may prescribe medication.
Which of them should be contacted for help at the initial stage?
In a difficult psychological situation, you can call the hotline of a single helpline: 8-800-2000-122. If the anxiety seems uncontrollable and unnecessary, it is better to contact a therapist in the district clinic. If necessary, he will issue a referral to a specialized specialist - a neurologist or psychiatrist. The referral itself does not oblige the patient to attend an appointment. “Appeal is always voluntary,” emphasizes Yury Zinchenko, chief freelance psychologist of the Russian Ministry of Health.
You can also contact a psychiatrist directly at the neuropsychiatric dispensary (PND) directly.
Depressed state, anxiety, emotional excitability, other symptoms may have a physiological basis and be the result of a malfunction of any internal organs, hormonal disorders. To exclude this, the doctor may prescribe an additional examination.
I feel that I need psychological help, but I'm afraid to go to the doctor. What are the consequences?
"There can be no more serious consequences than the consequences of the disease itself," Konstantin Olkhovoy is convinced. Experts agree that in order to put a person on a psychiatric register in the PND, which everyone is so afraid of, you need good reasons. In general, everything is determined by the severity of the condition, and not by the presence of a diagnosis. For example, two people with neurosis can be in completely different states: one lives normally and fully, the second cannot leave the house, work, take care of himself and needs drug therapy.
What does registration in a psychoneurological dispensary mean? What is it for?
Registration occurs only after the patient is hospitalized, at the same time the issue of disability due to mental or neurological disorders is resolved. There are two types of accounting: psychiatric and advisory. In fact, psychiatric registration in the PND means that a person is under regular medical supervision. When the diagnosis is established, the doctor prescribes treatment, builds a method of therapy, taking into account the complaints and the somatic condition of the patient. People with serious illnesses or conditions that require specialist supervision are registered in the psychoneurological dispensary. Consultative accounting does not imply such observation.
Who, by law, has the right to request information about whether I am registered with the PND?
The diagnosis can be reported in three cases: the patient himself, relatives, if the patient is under 15 years old (up to 18 years old - if the condition threatens life and health), and at the prosecutor's request. In all other cases, for example, when the employer requests information, the dispensary does not report the diagnosis, but informs about the absence or presence of contraindications to work. It is important that the list of employers who have the right to request such information is limited and strictly regulated. Information about the presence of contraindications has the right to request law enforcement organizations, the public transport system (Russian Railways, aviation, passenger urban transport), educational institutions.
In what cases can a driver's license be revoked?
There are indications that limit activities for certain professions, for driving vehicles and owning weapons. Olkhova noted that, as a rule, we are talking about severe conditions. “There are conditions in which the rights of category B will be issued, but the rights of category D, for driving a bus, will not be issued,” the psychotherapist explained. So, people with psychotic symptoms, hallucinations, epilepsy, who are registered for these mental disorders, will be legally restricted in their rights to drive vehicles, because this can lead to death.
After being registered with the PND, they were asked to resign of their own free will. Is this legal or can I complain to the employer?
It's illegal if there's no recusal medical indications. If before registration a person worked as a subway driver, the requirement is legal. When a person's profession is not associated with restrictions, such a requirement would be discrimination.
For example, according to Zinchenko, a person with epilepsy cannot work in mines, near open-hearth furnaces, or be a driver of vehicles.
Can they be forced into a psychiatric hospital for treatment? What about prescribing treatment without the knowledge of the patient?
Distinguish between compulsory and involuntary treatment. The first is appointed only if a person is involved in a criminal case, and the court decided to replace his term with compulsory treatment.
Involuntary treatment can be prescribed in three cases: a person is dangerous to himself (suicidal tendencies), a person is dangerous to others (acute psychosis, delusional disorder, etc.), a person is not able to take care of himself and there is no one to take care of him (dementia, deep mental backwardness, etc.). In these cases, involuntary hospitalization is carried out in a medical institution, after which a collegial decision is sent to the court, and the judge already approves (or does not approve) that involuntary treatment is prescribed in accordance with the law. "By own experience I will say that it is very difficult to hospitalize a person involuntarily, for this you need very good reasons, ”added the psychotherapist Olkhova.
What to do if the behavior of a loved one is dangerous for him and for others?
Relatives can first contact the MHP and tell the whole situation. "IN good option may issue a referral for hospitalization. In case of an acute condition, psychiatric treatment can be called ambulance", - explained the psychotherapist Olkhova. He noted that very good reasons are needed to receive a referral for hospitalization. If a person behaves aggressively, for example, is in a state of acute psychosis, you can call the police and then, having a protocol, ask the PND for involuntary hospitalization, but in this case it will not be easy.
What to do if a person is in a psychiatric hospital and he himself - or his relatives - believes that his rights are being violated?
First, you can contact the management of the department, then to the management of the hospital. The next step is to contact the prosecutor's office. A person can leave a psychiatric hospital if he does not undergo compulsory treatment. “No one can keep them in the hospital by force, if we are talking about adults and able-bodied people. The decision for patients under 15 years old is made by parents,” Olkhovoy added.
In a divorce, does the fact that one of the spouses is registered affect the court's decision on who the child will live with?
It depends on the person's condition, since the diagnosis and capacity may be unrelated: a person with a severe diagnosis may be socially adapted, work, take care of himself and loved ones, while a relatively mild diagnosis may be accompanied by a serious condition and disability. The court should take into account the condition of the person, and not the very fact of diagnosis and registration in the dispensary.
Under what circumstances can they be deregistered in the PND?
“You can apply to the PND on your own with a statement. “I ask you to protest the diagnosis that I was given in such and such a year,” said the dean of the psychology department of Moscow State University. “A forensic psychiatric examination is being appointed, which can remove the diagnosis.”
A person can be deregistered in the IPA and as a result of re-examination. In this case, the stability or instability of the patient's condition is noted, attention is paid to the manifestation of the disorders with which the person initially asked for help. In the outpatient service of the dispensary or in the dispensary itself, they note whether the patient is taking medication or not, how he communicates with doctors. It also matters whether he uses alcohol or drugs. If everything is in order and for a long time (depending on the severity mental disorder- approx. TASS), doctors assess the person's condition as stable, he is removed from the register.
Inna Finochka, Vera Klyueva
Materialistic philosophy says that there should be no fear of death at all. She advised people: “Don't be afraid of death. What is natural cannot be scary.” Can this convince anyone?
It was clear to our ancestors that death is as natural as life, and they accepted it calmly. The dying might have a sense of grief; he was sorry to leave loved ones, nature, everything that he loved on earth, but regret and grief are not a fear of death, but a completely different feeling.
Everyone who has been beyond this world said that at the very moment of the transition there was no pain. Pain and other symptoms were related to the disease itself, but they only lasted until the transition. During the transition and after it, there was no more pain. On the contrary, a feeling of peace, peace and even happiness came. The very moment of transition is imperceptible. Some spoke of losing consciousness only for a short time.
It is joyful to know that there will be no pain or any unpleasant physical sensations at the critical time. And yet, each of us sometimes comes to mind and other restless thoughts: “What will happen to me then? What if it's not? But what if death is not the end, and after the death of the body, I, unexpectedly for myself, suddenly find myself in completely new conditions, retaining the ability to see, hear and feel? And most importantly, what if our future beyond the threshold to some extent depends on how we lived our time and what we were like when we crossed the threshold of death?
One must try to understand that death does not permanently destroy conscious experience. It can be confidently said that a certain part of a human being - his consciousness - continues to live even after physical body ceases to function and is completely destroyed.
For someone who has never seriously thought about what awaits him after death, it is difficult to immediately accept new data. They contradict the very spirit of our time, and to a person who lives by material interests, they seem unusual and implausible.
Of course, even having understood this, we will not stop being afraid of death. But still, if you feel with your mind and heart that death is not our enemy, but part of the life process, then it will become easier to look for an answer. By refusing to think and learn, we make the unknown even darker.
We now know that the transition itself is not terrible, and that the beginning of life “there” is also not terrible. There is no loneliness, but there is help, and the first perceptions are safe and even pleasant. But the ultimate fate of the soul is unknown. What will be the definition of the Lord, man does not yet know. We are all sinners, and “our deeds follow us,” and our destinies will be different for all of us.
Elder Ambrose of Optina taught:
"Before the judgment of God, it is not the characters that matter, but the direction of the will. The main thing in the Christian attitude towards death is fear and uncertainty ... however, this fear is not hopeless. People who live a good life are not afraid of death."
There is no nonsense in the Universe, and the meaning of earthly life is real only if the death of the body is not the end of human existence.
Christianity and all the great scientists have taught that there is an all-encompassing mind in the universe, much higher than the human mind. They always talked about the existence of higher conditions of life for the soul.
The Church Fathers teach that the perfect sense of death is free from fear. The Bulletin of the Russian Christian Movement (No. 144, 1985) contains an article by the Christian philosopher O. Matta el Meskin. He writes: “The first and definite sign that the life of God has begun to work in us will be our freedom from the sense of death and its fear. A person who lives in God experiences a deep feeling that he is stronger than death, that he has emerged from its clutches. Even dying, he will not feel it; on the contrary, it will strong feeling unceasing life in God."
There is also the experience of the Christian life. One of the Fathers of the Church advises:
"Try to live according to the precepts of Christ, and you will cease to be afraid of death; your life will become full and happy, emptiness will disappear, dissatisfaction, ambiguity and fear of the future will go away."
Having left the dead body, the Human Soul passes into other conditions of existence and continues to live there. In addition to the visible material world familiar to us, there is another reality that we, living on earth, do not see. There is life in this other world too.
Death does not separate the two worlds with an impenetrable wall. Death is only a transition from one world to another. We also know that the souls of dead people can sometimes visit our world. Now we know a little more about it than before.
New knowledge and understanding will not come immediately, but they will definitely come. We must try to understand that we do not have two lives, but one. Life after life is a natural continuation of our life on Earth. During the transition, the personality of a person does not change and his individuality is preserved. After the death of the body, the development of the soul will continue, but in other spheres of Being.
As an example, let's take the story of a soldier who survived clinical death. It happened in 1917.
“Physical death is nothing. She really shouldn't be afraid. Some of my friends grieved for me when I went "to the next world." They thought that I really died. And here's what actually happened.
I remember very well how it all happened. I waited in the crook of the trench for my time to take over. It was a beautiful evening, I had no premonition of danger, but suddenly I heard the howl of a shell. There was an explosion somewhere behind. I involuntarily squatted down, but it was too late. Something hit me so hard, hard and hard - in the back of the head. I fell, and while falling, not noticing even for a while any loss of consciousness, I found myself outside of myself! You see how simply I tell it so that you understand everything better. You will know for yourself how little this death means...
Five seconds later I was standing next to my body and helping two of my comrades carry it down the trench to the dressing room. They thought I was just unconscious, but alive. I didn't know if I had jumped out of my body permanently or for a while due to the concussion from the shell explosion. You see how little death means, even a violent death in war!...
My comrades need not fear death. Some are afraid of it - of course, behind this is the fear that you can be destroyed, that you will disappear. I was also afraid of this, many soldiers are afraid of death, but they rarely have time to think about it... My body was put on a stretcher. I kept wanting to know when I would be inside it again. You see, I was so little "dead" that I imagined that I was still alive...
I started a new chapter in my life. I will tell you what I felt. It was like I ran long and hard until I was sweaty, out of breath, and took off my clothes. This garment was my body; it seemed that if I had not thrown it off, I would have suffocated ... My body was taken first to the dressing room, and from there to the morgue. I stood next to him the whole night, but I didn’t think about anything, I just watched ...
I still felt like I would wake up in my own body. Then I lost consciousness and fell fast asleep. When I woke up, I saw that my body had disappeared. How I was looking for him!.. But soon I stopped looking. Then came the shock! It fell on me suddenly, without warning: I was killed by a German shell, I was dead! ..
What is it like to be dead! I just felt free and light. My being seemed to expand...
I'm probably still in some kind of body, but there's not much I can tell you about it. It doesn't interest me. It is comfortable, does not hurt, does not get tired. It seems that in shape it resembles my former body. There is some subtle difference here, but I can't analyze it...
I felt very lonely. I realized that there was no one next to me. I was not in the material world, but I could not be sure that I was anywhere, in any place at all! I think I fell asleep for the second time... and finally woke up. The load fell from me. I think that now I'm in in perfect order and I can already use my new abilities. I can think, move, I feel...
Now I'm not alone anymore. I have already met my own brother, who has been here for three years and now came to meet me. William said he couldn't get to me for a long time. He wanted to be with me at the right time to save me from the first shock, but he did not succeed. He works with those who are just arriving here, and he has a lot of experience.”
For illustration, we present famous story about the soldier's prayer. During Patriotic War in the battle, the Red Army soldier Alexander Zaitsev was killed. His friend found in the pocket of the dead man's tunic a poem written on the eve of the battle.
Listen, God, not once in my life
I didn't talk to you, but today
I want to greet you.
You know, I've always been told since childhood
That there is no You, and I believed the fool.
I have never beheld your creations.
And so tonight I watched
To the starry sky that was above me.
I suddenly realized, admiring their flicker,
How cruel deceit can be.
I don't know, God, will you give me your hand?
But I will tell you and you will understand me.
Isn't it strange that among most terrible hell
A light suddenly opened to me, and I saw You?
Other than that, I have nothing to say.
I also want to say that, as you know,
The battle will be wicked;
Perhaps at night I will knock on You.
And so, even though I have not been your friend until now,
Will You let me in when I come?
But I think I'm crying. My God,
You see what happened to me
What have I seen now?
Farewell, my God! I'm going, I'm not likely to come back.
How strange that now I am not afraid of death.
Faith in God came quite suddenly, and this faith destroyed the fear of death.
We need to understand that our dead loved ones don't go anywhere. They live in the same universe as us. The difference is that they, being in that world, are more free than we are. However, both of our worlds are one and the same.
Chapter 2
2.1. Man and the subtle world
Consider the fundamental question - who or what is a person - homo sapiens? The Latin definition itself says that a person is, first of all, a rational being endowed with consciousness. Moreover, unlike animals that are also endowed with consciousness, a person can develop his consciousness, can improve himself. This desire for self-improvement is inherent in its nature.
Basically, a person interacts with the outside world through his senses. At the same time, it should be noted that even the physical world that we perceive with the help of the five senses is much more diverse than we perceive it.
There is another - the subtle world. It is fundamentally different from the rude physical world- the world of visible matter. In this subtle world, a person, or rather his soul - the basis of any personality, lives until his next incarnation on Earth, if he has not reached a level where there is no need to return.
The languages of many nations testify to the fact that in the world there are material concepts and spiritual concepts. Even primitive pagan savages in one form or another believe in the other world and that death is not the end of existence. Belief in spirituality is inherent in mankind from the very beginning of its history to this day.
There are phenomena that can be seen, felt, heard, measured, perceived by one or all of our senses. And there are concepts of a different order: love, hatred, compassion, envy, conscience, shame. You cannot see, weigh, or measure them, but they all exist. These concepts are also real and, perhaps, more important than all the phenomena of the visible physical world. In Saint-Exupery's book A little prince” there is a wonderful phrase about this: “The most important thing is invisible to the eye.”
We have almost ceased to feel that behind all manifestations visible world there is some invisible reality, primordial and eternal. We have almost ceased to feel the Divine Plan behind every natural phenomenon. We have ceased to understand that the ancient icons, frescoes and temples that we never tire of admiring are evidence of the spiritual wisdom of their creators. Artists, sculptors, architects of that time saw not only the manifested world, but also its spiritual component.
The subtle world was well known to the ancient Indian sages and Greek philosophers. Plato wrote:
“In my opinion, not all of our Soul permanently resides in a sensual body, but only a certain part of it, which, being immersed in this world ... and becoming clogged and darkened, prevents us from perceiving what the highest part of our soul perceives.”
Luther wrote: “The created soul of man has two eyes - one can contemplate the eternal, the other can only contemplate the temporal and the created. But these two eyes of the soul can do their work not both at the same time... and only when a person is close to death, when his physical eye is dead or almost dead, does spiritual sight open...”
The mere recognition that there is a subtle, unmanifested world is a serious step for the person himself on the Path of knowing himself.
2.2. Soul and body
All world religions claim that a person is not just a combination of chemical elements. Man has a soul and a body. As long as a person is alive, they form a single whole. At the moment of death, the Soul does not die, but leaves the body and continues to live and develop in new conditions. Some prominent scientists have come to the same conclusion today (see Nat. Bekhterev on the soul).
After the release of the Soul, the body becomes motionless and loses all signs of life. At a time when the Soul and the body exist separately, it is the Soul, and not the body, that maintains contact with the environment.
This statement has evidence. The stories of people who have experienced clinical death often describe events that took place not in the place where the body was, but in the place where the Soul of a person was. His body at that time was in a state clinical death and didn't see or hear anything.
Here are excerpts from the Bible, from which it follows that the body has a living Soul:
“And to all the beasts on the earth, and to all the birds of the air, and to every creeping thing on the earth, in which there is a living soul, I have given all the herbs for food. And so it became”
(Genesis, chapter 1, 30)
“Because the soul of the body is in the blood”
(Leviticus chapter 17, 14)
“For the soul of every body is its blood”
(Leviticus chapter 17, 14)
“Just be careful not to eat blood, because blood is the soul: do not eat souls with meat”
(Deuteronomy, chapter 12, 23)
In the material world, the Soul needs a certain body for its activity. A counter question arises - can the body live without a soul?
In nature, at some lower levels, existence is possible without the Soul, or, in any case, without what we usually call the Soul. However, conscious human life without the Soul is impossible.
Christianity understands death as the separation of Soul and body. The Bible in the book of Ecclesiastes (12:7) says:
"And the dust will return to the earth as it was; and the spirit will return to God who gave it."
What is being said here? The fact that the biological body is not eternal. It cannot be kept indefinitely. As any object serves us only for a certain period, so our body serves us for a limited time.
All that is not eternal, in fact, is dust. Eternal is only the Soul, which was given to us by the Lord and which has a Divine nature.
The Christian understanding of death can be seen from a letter from Bishop Theophan the Recluse to his dying sister: “Farewell, sister! The Lord bless your exit and your way according to your exit. Because you won't die. The body will die, and you will go to another world, alive, remembering yourself and all the world recognizing. Father and mother, brothers and sisters will meet you there. Bow down to them and give our regards to them and ask them to take care of us ... grant you, Lord, a peaceful outcome! A day or two, and we are with you. Therefore, do not worry about those who remain. Farewell, the Lord is with you."
A good letter, quite calm and full of confidence in the future blissful life. As if he was seeing his sister off not on a long journey, not to an unknown country, but to Father's house where our loved ones who died before us are waiting for us.
A prominent scientist, surgeon, professor Valentin Feliksovich Voyno-Yasenetsky (Archbishop Luke) wrote a book with a very deep content “Spirit, Soul and Body”. He's writing:
“Between the body and the spirit there is a constant connection and interaction. Everything that happens in the soul of a person during his life is important and necessary only because the whole life of our body and soul, all thoughts, feelings, acts of will(...) are closely connected with the life of the spirit. It is imprinted in it, it is formed and in it all acts of soul and body are preserved. Under their formative influence, the life of the spirit develops and its orientation towards good or evil.
The life of the brain and heart and the combined, wonderfully coordinated life of all the organs of the body necessary for them are needed only for the formation of the spirit and stop when its formation is completed or its direction is completely determined.
The ancient Indian scriptures, the Vedas, say almost the same thing, emphasizing such a concept as “reincarnation”. The soul, depending on its deeds in past life, receives a new body, which is most adapted for the realization of the qualities of this Soul in this life. The body is born, lives, produces offspring and dies. The soul gets a new body. And this happens many times. This is reincarnation.
A person who has chosen the Path of spiritual perfection is gradually freed from all material attachments, develops in himself a pure and selfless love to the Lord and gets the right to leave material world. The person then returns to Spiritual world, World of Pure Spirit.
To illustrate, here are a few quotes from the Bhagavad Gita, greatest work Indian religion.
“The incarnated soul gradually changes the body of a child to the body of a young man, and then to the body of an old man, and in the same way, after death, she passes into another body. A sober-minded person is not embarrassed by such a change.
(Bhagavad-gita, 2.13)
“The sages who saw the truth came to the conclusion about the frailty of the non-existent [material body] and the immutability of the eternal [soul]. They arrived at this conclusion by carefully examining the nature of both.
(Bhagavad-gita, 2.16)
“Know that what permeates the material body is indestructible. No one can destroy an immortal soul.”
(Bhagavad-gita, 2.17)
“Just as a person, taking off old clothes, puts on new ones, so the soul enters new material bodies, leaving old and useless ones.”
(Bhagavad-gita 2.22)
“The soul cannot be dismembered by any weapon, burned by fire, wet by water, or dried up by the wind.”
(Bhagavad-gita, 2.23)
“This individual soul cannot be broken into pieces, dissolved, burned or withered. Unchanging, motionless and eternal, it is everywhere and always retains its properties.
(Bhagavad-gita 2.24)
“The soul is invisible, incomprehensible and unchanging. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.”
(Bhagavad-gita 2.25)
Of course, science does not recognize all this. It does not operate with such concepts as “God”, “Soul”, etc. However, facts are stubborn things. Only the most ossified minds can not recognize the existence of the phenomenon of life after life.
Scientists who belonged to the category of unbelievers, having begun to study the processes associated with this phenomenon, came to faith in God and in the immortality of the Soul. From this we can conclude that the problems are not in science itself, but in individual scientists who are not able to recognize obvious facts.
2.3. Methods of knowledge
There are several ways to get to know the world around you. The first and easiest way is the method of sensory perception, when a person receives information with the help of his five senses. Often people use only this method and mistakenly consider any knowledge to be reliable only when it is based on direct human experience.
It is clear that this path is far from perfect.
Firstly, human feelings cannot be called sufficiently developed. For example, everyone knows that the sense of smell is better developed in dogs, and vision in some species of birds.
Secondly, some people are limited in knowing the world through the senses. For example, a person may have poor eyesight, hearing, smell, or none at all.
Thirdly, even well-developed sense organs are subject to error. The eyes can perceive a huge object as small if it is located far away. The ear may not correctly perceive what we are told, etc. As a result, we may get a wrong idea about the nature of things.
From this we can conclude that the knowledge of the world with the help of the senses is not the most complete method knowledge. We can say that the knowledge of the world is limited by our imperfect senses. We cannot fully experience and appreciate reality until we go beyond the physical senses.
The second way of knowing the world around us is with the help of logical conclusions based on generalized experience. That is, a person receives information with the help of feelings, analyzes them and comes to some logical conclusion. For example, by the smell coming from the kitchen, a person can conclude that in this moment a meal is being prepared in the kitchen. And not just dishes, but a dish that he knows.
This approach also has its drawbacks. The first disadvantage is that the initial data for logical analysis can be obtained with the help of imperfect senses. The second drawback is that it is impossible to comprehend events that are beyond our experience and logic.
The third way of knowing is to obtain knowledge from an authoritative source. Such an authoritative source can be scientific literature, Holy Scriptures, as well as people whose authority we do not doubt.
It has long been known that many of the world's scriptures contain knowledge that can be trusted. The only problem is to be able to find them.
The use of cognitive methods can be illustrated by the following example. Let's say you want to know the distance between two cities. To do this, you can arm yourself with a pedometer with a step of 2 meters and use it to walk the entire distance (cognition through the senses). Then the number of “steps” must be multiplied by two (inference). This way you will get the distance between the two cities. But, most likely, you will turn to an authoritative source (map, special tables) and take the required distance from this source.
Many generally tend to notice only what catches the eye, only what is really tangible. The invisible, although unconditionally existing, is ignored or simply not noticed.
Thus, the limitations of conventional scientific methods and logics play an essential role in the knowledge and recognition of life after life.
The unwillingness to admit that there are other spheres of being does not mean that these spheres really do not exist, but that our consciousness is not yet ready to accept the fact that these spheres really exist.
To cognize the subtle world, the world of spiritual beings, a person, in addition to the natural five senses, must also have some kind of “sixth sense”. Everyone has a feeling of the presence of spiritual forces in the world, but, like any other feeling, without use, without exercise, it can fade away. IN modern conditions, with continuous bustle, it never occurs to many to think about the spiritual side of life.
Unfortunately, materialistic science operates only with concepts that can be measured, weighed or touched. She stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the existence of other planes of existence. However, this does not prevent these plans from existing. They do not depend on whether we recognize them or not. And therein lies their value.
The mystical enlightenment of the mind was known back in Ancient Greece. Plato believed in the mind and its ability to know the truth, but only to a certain extent. He believed that the highest knowledge can only be obtained by mystical perception - insight or enlightenment of the mind.
Isaac the Syrian taught that there is natural vision and spiritual vision.
Theodore of Edessa wrote about the same thing - “one can know with the corporeal mind and the incorporeal mind”, and Simeon the New Theologian - “is the external wisdom and hidden wisdom”.
On this occasion, the astronomer and philosopher Medler writes:
"A true scientist cannot be an unbeliever, since the laws of nature and the laws of God are one and the same."
Science needs to return to direct, immediate observations, without discarding anything and simply describing what it knows. It must be admitted that all mystical phenomena are also accessible to research.
2.4. Why we cannot accept the existence of the phenomenon of life after life
There are several factors that make it difficult to accept the very possibility of the existence of an afterlife. Sometimes we just do not want to soberly and calmly look at this problem from the other side.
Mankind is ready to believe that there is life after life, but only with a caveat - if he is provided with evidence. For a modern person, evidence is the only argument for accepting a statement. No proof means it doesn't exist. It is easier for us to deny everything, acting on the principle: “This cannot be, because this can never be.”
In general, humanity can be divided into three categories:
those who believe unconditionally in the life after life;
willing to believe in life after life if they are presented with indisputable evidence;
who do not believe in life after life.
It seems to us that the most important delusion is our false idea that our five basic senses - sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste - are universal and that only through them can we learn something.
But we have more than just these five senses. No one has ever seen love, mind, reason. But we know very well that they really exist. That is, we receive knowledge about people and the world around us not only with the help of five senses, but also with the help of more subtle mechanisms of consciousness.
It is also impossible to convince yourself and another person of the existence of life after life with the help of arguments and evidence. This must be assimilated by our inner consciousness. It is something like faith.
Scientists in many countries have been arguing for centuries whether life like ours exists on other planets. The inability of our senses and instruments to detect this life does not mean that it does not exist. It is possible that the inhabitants of other worlds have forms of existence different from ours, it is possible that they are represented in images invisible to our eyes, and so on.
It can be compared to a big fan. If its blades rotate at high speed, then we do not see them and are able to observe objects that are located behind the fan. If the blades rotate slowly, then we see the blades and do not constantly see objects that are located behind the fan.
Also, we are too accustomed to trusting science. Until science officially declares the existence of the phenomenon of life after life, it will probably be difficult for many of us to accept this fact. However, the experience of science itself shows that if something else is not recognized by it, this does not mean that it does not exist. A striking example - for many centuries, scientists believed that the Sun revolves around the Earth.
We believe that only our worldview, our upbringing, our exclusive trust in science determine our inability to believe that there is life after life.
Often skeptics refer to the fact that there is no evidence of an afterlife, because no one has yet returned “from there”. Yes it is. In a new or old physical body, no one has yet returned “from there”. But there is indisputable evidence of the transfer of information by people who have already left from other planes of Existence.
To the new, if it goes against the generally accepted, in general, they are often treated with suspicion. The abstract is especially difficult to accept. A person often believes only in the direct perception of his senses, forgetting that not everything that exists in nature is known through the senses. It has long been known that in order for a large scientific discovery became the property of the broad masses, at least two or three generations should be replaced. That's what "dynamics" sometimes decides the fate of many brilliant projects and ideas! One can only regret such human limitations.
It is not always easy to realize something new, but it is especially difficult for some people to accept the idea of immortality, since this idea will inevitably lead to the idea of responsibility for everything done during life on Earth.
In conclusion, we present famous saying Pascal:
"The last step of the mind is to recognize the existence of many such things that are beyond our knowledge, and if the mind does not come to this knowledge, then it is a very weak mind."
It is worth noting that thanks to even a slight expansion of our ability to perceive the vibrations of the world around us, we could become aware of the presence of people outside our world.
Consciousness individual people sometimes it is tuned to the frequencies of the other world and they have the opportunity to look at this world from the outside.
Dr. Ralph Harlow, professor at Smith College, recounts an experience that happened to him and his wife as they walked in the woods near Ballardville, Massachusetts, one spring morning.
“Behind, at a considerable distance, we heard muffled voices. I told Marion that we are not alone. Marion nodded and looked around. We did not see anything, but the voices seemed to be approaching much faster than we ourselves were walking, and we realized that the strangers would soon overtake us. Then it became clear to us that the sounds were coming from behind and above, then we looked up.
About three meters above us and slightly to the left, a group of amazing, beautiful creatures, glowing with spiritual beauty, floated through the air. We stopped and watched intently as they passed us. They were six young beautiful women in fluttering white robes, absorbed in serious conversation. If they were aware of our presence, they didn't show any signs of it.
We saw their faces quite clearly; one of the women, a little older than the rest, was especially beautiful. Her black hair was swept back and appeared to be tied with a ribbon, though I can't be sure. She was talking intently to a younger spirit woman, her back turned to us and looking into her face.
Neither Marion nor I could understand the words they were saying, although we clearly heard their voices. They seemed to float past us, and their graceful movements looked naturally soft and peaceful, like the morning itself. As they moved away, their conversation was heard weaker and weaker, and finally became completely inaudible.
We all stood as if dumbfounded. Finally, they looked at each other, as if asking each other the same question. “Let's go,” I said to my wife and led her to a fallen birch. We sat down and I said: “Well, Marion, what did you see? Tell me everything exactly, with all the details. And tell me what you heard."
She understood that I wanted to test my own eyes and ears, to see if I was the victim of my own hallucinations. Her story in all respects coincided with what my own senses had told me a little earlier. “For those few seconds,” she concluded calmly, “the veil between our world and the spiritual world has lifted.”
As an illustration, let us quote the words of Bishop Ignatius:
"A person becomes able to see spirits due to some changes in his senses. He does not notice how these changes occur, and cannot explain them, he suddenly notices that he began to see what he had not seen before, and hear what he never heard before."
2.5. Messages of death in the distance
Quite a few cases are described in the literature when a person is the most in a mystical way learned about the departure of his relative or friend, who at that moment was far away. There are quite a few of these cases. Surely, many of the readers have heard about such cases from their friends.
There are also many cases when a person suddenly wakes up at night and feels that his close relative is standing near him, who is very far away at that time. And then it turns out that this man died just at the moment when the awakened one felt his presence next to him.
It is known that at the time of death the Soul of the deceased can overcome any space and visit their loved ones, who can see, hear, and more often only feel the presence of the deceased.
Animals can sometimes perceive such presence better people. The cat arches its back, its hair stands on end; the dog starts barking, “digging” a hole.
The great Indian sage Yogananda describes his analogous experience in this way. About his death spiritual teacher, Sri Yuktesvara, Yogananda recognized almost immediately. Yogananda was on a train when his teacher died in a distant city. “A black astral cloud suddenly appeared before me, then a vision of Sri Yukteswar appeared before me. He sat with a very serious expression on his face, on both sides of him there were lights. "Is it done?" I raised my hands pleadingly. He nodded and disappeared."
Sri Yukteswara, as Yogananda later found out, died at the very moment when this vision happened. He predicted the time of his departure. As his departure approached, he fell into meditation and left this world with an expression of joy on his face.
After some time, Yogananda was able to communicate with his teacher again. The great guru appeared before Yogananda at about 3 pm on June 19, 1936, three months after his death. Excited, Yogananda immediately rushed to his teacher and made sure that he was embracing the physical body. “Yes, this body is made of flesh and blood. To your eyes, it looks like physical. I created a completely new body from cosmic atoms, exactly the same as the one that was buried.”
After talking for two hours, Sri Yukteswar said to Yogananda, “Now I am leaving you, my dear!” – and melted into the air.
Chapter 3 Faith The science. Religion.
3.1. Introduction
The birth of man and his death are the two greatest mysteries of nature. And these sacraments cannot be explained from the standpoint of material science. As difficult as it is to explain the process of the all-pervading Soul entering the human body, it is also difficult to explain the process of leaving this mortal body by this Soul.
Modern science, as well as people with a materialistic mindset, of course, deny the existence of the Soul and life after life. Some of them are ready to admit this fact if they are provided with evidence. This is quite natural. Our skeptical society demands its own.
However, it cannot be said that science has not tried to investigate the phenomenon of life after life. Such attempts have been made repeatedly. But everything rested on the lack of an evidence base for the phenomenon itself. Indeed, for science, someone's statements and experiences are not direct evidence.
Modern society also, apparently, is not inclined to recognize the existence of life after life. This state of affairs is explained, first of all, by disbelief in God, in His Plan, in the Unity of the World.
3.2. The Problem of Unbelief
The main reason for such unbelief is the loss of Faith in God and in everything spiritual, which has developed over the past 100 years. The main influence on this process was exerted by materialistic philosophy, which recognized only the visible and accessible to the senses, and which denied the presence of the Soul in man.
People who live a simple working life, people who are close to nature, instinctively feel the presence of God. A. I. Solzhenitsyn said well about this: “I think that the feeling of the presence of God is available to every person if he does not let himself be swept up in the bustle of daily life.” This is the answer to why many do not believe in God. Often people just don't have time to think about it.
The origins of this disbelief are obvious. First, we all the time have to deal with information that is unreliable or severely distorted. Grains of truth often have to be collected bit by bit.
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