-You have written, at one time and another
some sentences which have surprised me a little, about death.
Now, in particular I remember you said
that death is psychologically
just as important as birth
and like it it's an integral part of life.
But surely it can't be like birth if it's an end, can it?
Yes, if it's an end,
and there we are not quite certain about this end
because you know there are
these peculiar faculties of the psyche
that it isn't entirely confined to space and time.
You can have dreams or visions of the future,
you can see around corners, and such things.
Only ignorance denies these facts, you know;
it's quite evident that they do exist,
and have existed always.
Now these facts show that the psyche, in part at least,
is not dependent upon these confinements.
And then what?
When the psyche is not under that obligation
to live in time and space alone,
and obviously it doesn't,
then to that extent the psyche
is not subjected to those laws
and that means a practical continuation of life
of a sort of psychical existence beyond time and space.
-Do you yourself believe that death is probably the end
or do you believe that-
Well, I can't say.
You see, the word belief is a difficult thing for me.
I don't believe.
I must have a reason for a certain hypothesis.
Either I know a thing, and then I know it
I don't need to believe it.
I don't allow myself, for instance, to believe a thing
just for the sake of believing it.
I can't believe it.
But when there are sufficient reasons for a certain hypothesis
I shall accept... naturally.
I should say: "We had to reckon with the possibility
of so and so" - you know.
-Well now, you've told us that we should regard death as being a goal--
Yes.
-and that to shrink away from it is to evade
life and make life purposeless.
-What advice would you give to people in their later life
to enable them to do this, when most of them must in fact believe
that death is the end of everything?
Well, you see, I have treated many old people
and it's quite interesting to watch
what the unconscious is doing with the fact
that is apparently threatened with a complete end.
It disregards it.
Life behaves as if it were going on, and so I think
it is better for an old person to live on, to look forward to the next day
as if he had to spend centuries,
and then he lives properly.
But when he is afraid, when he doesn't look forward
he looks back, he petrifies, he gets stiff
and he dies before his time.
But when he's living
and looking forward to the great adventure that is ahead
then he lives, and that is about what the unconscious is intending to do.
Of course, it's quite obvious that we are all going to die
and this is the sad finale of everything;
but nevertheless, there is something in us
that doesn't believe it apparently.
But this is mereley a fact, a psychological fact
it doesn't mean to me that it proves something.
It simply is so.
For instance, I may not know why we need salt
but we prefer to eat salt
because we feel better.
And so when you think in a certain way
you may feel considerably better
and I think if you think along the lines of nature
then you think properly.
