Before we get into how you might convert to Thantatism, I want to first discuss more generally what “conversion” means. First and foremost, conversion is the most magical and powerful thing a human being can experience. Let me repeat that–conversion is the most magical and powerful thing a human being can experience! Although it can happen in a myriad of ways, fundamentally, when a person converts, they replace a long-held core belief with another that is so alien to their previously held core belief, that often instantaneously, it changes how they perceive themselves, others, and their entire world.
Given its power and magic, it may seem somewhat surprising and confusing that it is also one of the rarest human experiences. To understand why conversion is so rare, it helps to understand why most of us believe what we do. First, we don’t choose what we believe. By the time we even understand what a belief is, we’ve already had most of our beliefs laid out for us by our parents and society. Further, unless we encounter another society or something else in the world that fundamentally and radically challenges our originally held beliefs, we’ll never change them.
Additionally, our original beliefs are incredibly powerful. The reason for this, is that these beliefs are so fundamental that they actually affect how we see things. What may appear to be an ordinary act of nature to someone with one set of beliefs, will appear to be nothing short of an act of God to another person with a different set of beliefs. In other words, we don’t understand the world in a vacuum. Rather, we tend to use what we already believe to even understand what we experience, so experience itself is in some ways subservient to those beliefs.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, building a reality that is survivable, nonetheless one that is meaningful and enjoyable, is incredibly hard. Once we achieve this, it’s terrifying to even consider giving up a long-standing and comfortable worldview for one that has yet to be experienced. Worse, since our original beliefs are often shaped by and shared with our families and society, changing a core belief often feels like a betrayal of those people and institutions that define our identity as humans.
Given the difficulty of even seeing the world outside of the frame of our original beliefs and the perceived risks to both ourselves and our community, it’s no surprise how rare conversion is. Unfortunately, Thanatism also has perhaps the greatest barrier to acceptance that any belief can have–namely, we don’t want to believe it. Given how deeply our beliefs are affected by what we want to believe, it’s a miracle that anyone could ever convert to Thanatism.
[Are these two paragraphs too “evangelical”?] Because of Thanatism’s simplicity though, and I hope, perhaps, because of some of the power and benefits I’ve endeavored to convey through these writings, your core beliefs about death may be subtly changing already. There are a myriad of reasons why you might convert to a traditional faith–they offer community, support, and most importantly, the assurance that you matter and that what you build now will have everlasting consequences, but that can’t be why Thantism may be leaking into your life.
Thanatism makes no such promises–just the opposite–it requires us to accept that we are temporary and that ultimately, we are the only ones who care about our personal human project. There is in fact only one reason that anyone would ever convert to Thanatism–because it’s true. If you’re beginning to feel the tug of this truth and if you’re beginning to feel comfortable with living with the tragedy it insists we accept, it may already be too late for you.
At some point soon, you may wake up and realize that you’re no longer the person you used to be. You may find that what you used to care about no longer matters, that your previous fears have vanished, and that you’re seeing yourself, others, and this world with a clarity and consistency that you’ve never felt before. Should that be the case, I want to welcome you to Thanatism, for you are already here.