Interesting stuff Paradox. Looks like you are quite an existentialist thinker. For me, death per se is not as frightful as losing someone I love, to death. Now THAT is a thought that really scares me - to accept the reality that someone who was living, breathing, laughing, crying, fighting, loving, and doing much more is no more. I admire those who have gone through such pain and lived on despite their immense loss. I wonder if I will ever be able to bear seeing a loved one end up as the one in Paagal's picture. As a psychologist, I often deal with the mixed views on Freudian theories, not just academically but on a personal level as well. While most of his theories have become either rejected or heavily revised, I cannot help but to be drawn to his incredible insight into dreams and what they can reveal about our inner feelings and thoughts. I have often believed myself to be unafraid of my own death. That's why I said earlier that death per se is not frightful to me. It's a reality I have reconciled with. But last night, I had a curious dream where I found myself hanging from the 4th floor of a building, in danger of falling, possibly to my death. In hindsight, I don't think I could've died falling from the 4th floor -- perhaps had massive injuries but death is less probable. But what jarred me was the absolutely fantastic fear that gripped "me" in the dream. I found myself saying frantically, "I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die." I can feel the vibrations of that fear in me even as I write! I was saved by some construction workers in an interesting twist to the dream which I don't want to bore you all with. But I woke up thinking "Geez, I really am afraid of death after all," with a true Freudian fervor for dream interpretations. So, I guess on a primitive level, which is what dreams are supposed to reflect, I do view death with trepidation. I don't want to overgeneralize, but am tempted to think that perhaps on this primitive level most of us do possess this fear of our own death as well. We may mask this fear with agility for different reasons, but if confronted with a threatening situation, I am sure most of us, if not all, will at least flinch in the face of death! Some people say that those who fear death are those who love life to death. So, does it mean that those who proclaim otherwise in fact hate life? Now that's an interesting thought, isn't it?? : )