The power of Thanatism is that, in an instant, it can create a new mind. It is a belief that is so core to the rest of our beliefs, that once accepted and truly experienced, it rips through all of our other beliefs so thoroughly, that it can fundamentally change who we are.
Having said that, we are much more than what we think or believe. We are fascinating and unique combinations of our biology and personal histories. We’ve “been” these things that have been built up over our entire lives much longer than we’ve been Thanatists, and because of this, they still have a huge impact on who we are. That’s one reason why if we want Thanatism to be more than just a one time insight and would like it to rather live and grow into something powerful enough to change us and this world for the better, it’s critical that we develop the practices to teach and train both of those more ancient parts of ourselves.
There are other reasons as well. As I explained in Death and Ourselves, in Thanatism, death serves the role of the “existential tool” that gods in most faiths play. Like all of these existential tools, death works because it wrenches us away from our day-to-day thinking to remind us something important about ourselves. It can do this because it is so utterly foreign to our normal daily thinking, but this foreignness, which is the source of its power, is also its greatest weakness. As humans, we’re relatively simple creatures. We’re fascinated by that which is directly in front of us. This means that unless we develop daily practices to remind us of our mortality and what it means for our lives, it won’t have the daily impact we need it to in order to transform our lives.
Worse, death is even harder to make present than traditional existential tools because, not only is it foreign, it is also sad and terrifying. Once again, we’re relatively simple creatures. Our brains have evolved to turn away from things that we don’t like–in fact, that’s almost what those feelings of sadness and terror are by definition–aversion reactions. Death is so powerful as a focus of faith because it possesses these characteristics, but it also makes our daily practices all the more critical.
Beyond this, and perhaps most importantly, the practices that will follow aren’t just daily rituals to help Thanatism transform you. We shall also discuss practices that bring us together. As I’ve explained before, Thanatism isn’t a philosophy of life, it is a faith, and as such, one of its most exciting possibilities is that we might be able to experience it together.
Worshiping together is important for all faiths, but particularly so for Thanatism because as Thanatists, we each allow death to destroy our personal immortality projects. Although, in sum, these self-centered fantasies do a great deal of harm to our relationships with ourselves, others, and our society, they also provide us meaning. Because of this, once we’ve exposed the ever-me as a fantasy, we’re left with a void, and as I’ve tried to suggest, what fills that void most naturally and most meaningfully is our ability to build deeper and richer relationships with each other.
With Thanatism, like with all faiths, there is something uniquely powerful and exciting about the moment of conversion. Because of this, we naturally see the daily practices of faiths as the boring part. This sentiment is entirely fair and I encourage you to bask in the afterglow of your new mind as long as life will allow. Having said that, if you want that new mind to last, I encourage you to explore, adopt, and even help us as a community develop these practices that are the only way to transform Thanatism from a moment of insight into a new way of life.