"I could lose the ability to walk, see, hear " Seriously, if that is the worst that happens to you, consider yourself blessed.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. What you fear, you create. What you resist, persists. You are putting your focus or your attention on what you do NOT want - thus creating a reaction - which is fear and your "fear" ends up becoming a self fulfilling prophesy. Be careful what you dwell upon - what you think, you create. So - create what you want out of life - health & be healthy. It's Cause and Effect. Its the Law of Attraction in ACTION!

As for when you should die - personally, I think it is already written in the stars. Of course, I believe you can change your destiny which also may have Karmic repercussions. Nevertheless, let me share a true story with you. A couple years ago, a man who was just like a second father to me said to his wife one night "I'm going to die tomorrow". She scoffed and asked him if pancakes sounded good for breakfast in the morning. He said "yes". In the morning, after she mixed up the batter - she went to wake him and he had passed away in his sleep. He was elderly; but not ill and he ONLY said pancakes sounded good.

The most natural way to die and commonly accepted by most of mankind would definitely have to be passing away in your sleep peacefully preferably with a smile on your face.

Personally I feel that the reason why people can die in their sleep is not because their time is up, but they have almost fulfilled all of their desires they have always wanted to since there is a lot you can do in 50 odd years. As for the others who seem to struggle a lot before they die, usually you can trace their lives back to something they were struggling with which caused them to be unhappy.

I remember Dr. Kevorkian he wanted to kill everyone off that felt they were too old to live. He made suicide machines so people could kill them selves. I am not sure what makes people get to that point but it is not a good choice. You end up staying stuck of the earth plane regretting your decision for the rest of your life until you can be convinced you are dead and you must turn away and forget.

I know scientist are working on immortality and aging, once we achieve this we can explore deep space time would no longer have any meaning of importance because we would live forever so it would not matter if it took a thousand years to get there.

I think this is the goal not dying before we age but not aging anymore.

This is a deeply philosophical question, and euthanasia for those who are suffering is hotly debated right now, let alone dying at any specific age. I just visited my Grandmother back home in Illinois; she is 101 and a half, and is fading. I do not wish to live to her age at all. She is mostly deaf and blind, and is incontinent...it is hard for me to imagine feeling happy about living under those circumstances. She is bleeding internally, but anything that they would do to deal with it would kill her, so they are not doing much of anything.

As our population ages, I think the question of quality vs. quantity of life will be debated more and more. I know some people who seem to thrive no matter how old they get; I know others that seem tired of life and they are not yet 60. I can only imagine how much thought you are putting into this subject. I would be afraid, too. I guess that is what it boils down to: fear. Being alone. Dealing with pain and diminishing strength. All of that.

I worked as a CNA in a nursing home two summers during college, and it really sucked (pardon my language, please). I vowed to kill myself if I ever had to be put into a nursing home. To me, they are classy warehouses for the old and dying. I do not care how nice the home is- it is still a warehouse. There are no kids, no pets, no other people except the staff and all the other old people. Ugh. I especially remember the Medicaire wing- what a horror that was. Those people got only the bare necessities and were lucky to get that. They never had visitors, and mostly just laid in bed and waited to die. No thank you.

You are right to ask this question. It is one that needs to be talked about and brought out into the open. I am already afraid of aging past eighty and I have years to go before I get there. I have seen from my nursing home experience just how horrible it can be. Yet, some people live well into their nineties and thrive. My mom, who is 75, has a good friend who is 95 and just fine. It really is quite a "crap shoot".

I guess only you can decide where to draw the line. If you are not in pain, not suffering, I would try to embrace life to the fullest. Appreciate each day. Savor the good ones. Share your wisdom and strength with younger people. And please avoid those "warehouses" for the old. They suck.

Blessings and Long Life to You,

Jaianniah

I personally don't believe there is a "good way" to die, nor that we should concern ourselves with the means by which we accomplish it.

To quote myself: I believe life is a journey. Not about the starting point, nor the ending point, nor even the paths we take in between, but about the people we choose to journey with.

If I had to answer.. For me? I'm a bit of a 'thrill seeker' so to speak, I liked skydiving and plan on going more, I enjoy rock/mountain climbing, snowboarding, etc. That being said... I hope that when my time does come it happens very quickly, and preferably while doing something I enjoy [even better if it were of a 'rush inducing' nature].

I've been thinking about this all night. This question is actually really.. difficult to think about for me.

It makes me wonder, is it bad to encourage or allow your own death? Is that still suicide? For example, many people use "suicide by cop" to facilitate a death that they can claim isn't their fault.. But are there 'workarounds' in God's eyes? For example... does it only count if we are pulling the trigger ourselves?

What about if I go skydiving with a parachute I know doesn't work?

Is it possible to find 'exploits' in the 'rules' of God, or does he notice?

well not by destroying the body but by knowing in spirit that the time has come and making the choice to remain in the light.(Mahasamādhi (the great and final samādhi) is the act of consciously and intentionally leaving one's body at the time of enlightenment. [1][2] A realized yogi (male) or yogini (female) who has attained the state of nirvikalpa samadhi (enlightenment), will, at an appropriate time, consciously exit from their body. This is known as mahasamadhi. This is not the same as the physical death that occurs for an unenlightened person.

Enlightened yogis take their mahasamadhi during their final practice of samadhi: and they expire during this final sadhana practice. Therefore, mahasamadhi occurs only once in a lifetime, when the yogi finally casts off their mortal frame and their karma is extinguished upon death.[3]

An enlightened or realized yogi is one who has attained the nondual state of nirvikalpa samadhi where duality of subject and object are resolved and the yogi becomes permanently established in the unity of full enlightenment.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahasamadhi for those who will say this is not christian:Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.Psalm 31:5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Matthew 27:50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

Mark 15:37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Hebrews 5:7 During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. http://bible.cc/luke/23-46.htm

or by having a natural death(dying with out suicide when the body is a corpse) what ever comes first. experience and enjoy.