Separating the two contexts we think about death in

There are different contexts that we can think about death in. One is what I'll call 'gallows thoughts.' That is: thinking about our inevitable death and what it will be like - the afterlife if any, etc. - while we are still in a state of health. I.e. pondering our last breath while we are still healthy.

The other is when a human being thinks of death as they are going through the natural process of dying. (People who die a sudden death are obviously in a different category.) The big difference here is when our body is breaking down it enables our essential self, our soul, to receive influences it couldn't receive when the body was healthy; because the body dominates when healthy, and we only really have our five senses to perceive, for the most part.

So it seems we are prepared as we go through the dying process (our body is breaking down) in a real way (prepared by receiving influence from beyond the veil). Even if not a conscious way still it may be effected at an essential level of our being. But for some people it will be more conscious, especially if they aren't on pain medication and so on. Thus the thought of dying seems to be less worrisome and scary when the body is breaking down and we are going through the natural death process. But thinking about death now, in a healthy body, as if we are criminals condemned to be executed in six hours, no matter how strong our faith and knowledge of the revealed word of God, can be a scary proposition.