“The purpose of life is to familiarize oneself with this after-death body so that the act of dying will not create confusion in the psyche.”

— Terence McKenna

Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The purpose of life is to familiarize oneself with this after-death body so that the act of dying will not create confu…" by Terence McKenna?

Terence McKenna 111

American ethnobotanist 1946–2000

Related quotes

“If one is able to convey to the dying person that his mind is bound to this decaying body only for the present life span, it is calming. If one adds that mind is beyond death and birth, like space, emerging appearances of confusion and aging become more acceptable. This view confers the often missing dignity on the last part of life. It helps the dying to increasingly relax, and oneself to face one’s own death more fearlessly.”

Lama Ole Nydahl (1941) Danish lama

Fearless Death: Buddhist Wisdom on the Art of Dying (2012)

“And what is death? It is the change in the living process of a particular body. Integration ends and disintegration sets in. (…) In death only the body dies. Life does not, consciousness does not, reality does not. And the life is never so alive as after death.”

Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897–1981) Indian guru

Death
Source: "I am That." P.12.

“Someone dying asks if there is life after death. Yes, comes the answer, only not yours.”

E.L. Doctorow (1931–2015) novelist, editor, professor

“The primary purpose of meditation is to become conscious of, and familiar with, our inner life. The ultimate purpose is to reach the source of life and consciousness.”

Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897–1981) Indian guru

Meditation
Source: "I am That." P.13.

“The life of reality is confused, disorderly, almost always without apparent purpose, whereas in the artist's imaginative life there is purpose.”

Sherwood Anderson (1876–1941) writer

"A Note on Realism" in The Literary Review (25 October 1924)
Context: The life of reality is confused, disorderly, almost always without apparent purpose, whereas in the artist's imaginative life there is purpose. There is determination to give the tale, the song, the painting, form — to make it true and real to the theme, not to life. Often the better the job is done, the greater the confusion. I myself remember with what a shock I heard people say that one of my own books Winesburg, Ohio was an exact picture of Ohio village life. The book was written in a crowded tenement district of Chicago. The hint for almost every character was taken from my fellow-lodgers in a large rooming house, many of whom had never lived in a village. The confusion arises out of the fact that others besides practicing artists have imaginations. But most people are afraid to trust their imaginations and the artist is not.
Would it not be better to have it understood that realism, in so far as the word means reality to life, is always bad art — although it may possibly be very good journalism? Which is but another way of saying that all of the so-called great realists were not realists at all and never intended being. Madame Bovary did not exist in fact. She existed in the imaginative life of Flaubert and he managed to make her exist also in the imaginative life of his readers.

“The purpose of my life is to put off dying as long as possible.”

William Saroyan (1908–1981) American writer

My Heart's in the Highlands (1939)

“After realizing God, one does not identify oneself any more with the body. Then one knows that body and soul are two different things.”

Ramakrishna (1836–1886) Indian mystic and religious preacher

Source: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942), p. 319
Context: The body was born and it will die. But for the soul there is no death. It is like the betel-nut. When the nut is ripe it does not stick to the shell. But when it is green it is difficult to separate it from the shell. After realizing God, one does not identify oneself any more with the body. Then one knows that body and soul are two different things.