death

 

death

The central illusion, the idea that eternal life can be lessened, compromised, can lose vitality and be extinguished. The single idea behind all forms of pain, lack, or limitation. The most stark example of this idea is death of the body. Death seems to be the final power in this world, for it overpowers all things in the end (see W-pI.163.2).

  1. The ego tells us that if death is god in this world, then death must issue from God. It must be His punishment for our sins. Therefore, says the ego, we should fear Him.
  2. Yet physical death is our punishment of ourselves. We made it ourselves (T-1.I.24:1) and are attracted to it.
  3. We made it to give ourselves justification for the fear of God. For the ego wants us to fear Him and stay away from Him, since it fears disappearing in God’s unlimited Life.
  4. This fear of God’s Life makes the ego want to conquer His threat. It does this by apparently killing His Son, which “proves” that it has defeated, even killed, the God of Life (see W-pI.163.5, 7).
  5. Death, however, is a complete illusion, for life, spirit, cannot be lessened, killed, or changed in any way. Bodies do cease to function, but do not die since they were not alive in the first place.
  6. Since death is not real, physical death does not accomplish anything. It is not a way to escape the pain of life nor a way to get to Heaven (see T-6.V(A).1).
  7. When we realize that death does not exist, we will be able to lay our bodies down voluntarily when our job here is done (see W-pII.294.1:5-10). Or, as with Jesus, our bodies will simply vanish.

See T-19.IV(C), M-27.