X-Message-Number: 8791
Date: Sun, 16 Nov 1997 23:11:04 -0800
From: Hara Ra <>
Subject: Re: CryoNet #8780 - #8784
References: <>

> Message #8784
> From: Thomas Donaldson <>

> I've also encountered a good number of people who don't doubt, even now, that
> it will work. Usually when I ask such people why they haven't joined the
> most I can get out of them is a shrug. I've never found such a person who
> could tell me why.

I had an interesting experience a couple of years ago when I visited
CryoCare. The woman who picked me up at the airport works as a RN and
does some work for Mike Darwin. Of course I asked her if she were signed
up and she vehemently replied NO!

Her reason was that life is painful enough as it is, and the idea of
more of it was beyond comprehension.

I have spent many years exploring the depths of my psyche and undergoing
experiences which may be called shamanic and other experiences having to
do with my early childhood. My sense of many people is that deep inside
the experience of life is painful and only a sense of duty and shame
prevents many suicides. Since one can't kill oneself, the passive
approach is just to live and then die and that's that.

Nearly all books on psychology stress that many painful experiences lie
buried within one's early childhood, and that fundamental attitudes
about life are hidden there. Many if not all families are dysfunctional,
and the attitude:

	"Life Sucks, and then You Die"

is very prevalent. The reason for this is that most childrearing
practices are not exactly nice to the child. If you want further
reading, look at Alice Miller's "For Your Own Good" subtitled "The
hidden tragedy of childhood".

I must stress that these attiudes are both DENIED and UNCONSCIOUS. No
amount of
logical persuasion (ie, "nanotechnology will work","reversible
suspension is any day now") will work. Neither will socialization
approaches ("all of your friends can be suspended too") work.

I am frankly at a loss on how to provide an approach which will work. I
have had the good fortune to persuade two people to sign up, and
eventually I think a third one will also. One is an extropian, the other
two very close friends of many years. I don't know if my partner will,
she may, but I think it will take several years.

This is a real problem, and a very deep one. I think it is better to
find how to locate those inclined to cryonics, and this will still be
0.1% or less of the general population.

O----------------------------------O
|  Hara Ra <>  |
|  Box 8334  Santa Cruz, CA 95061  |
O----------------------------------O

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