Bury Your Worries
by Being dead and alive has come into vogue as a new form of stress relief.
The “Premature Burial” by Antoine Wiertz, 1854: Image via Wikipedia
I had heard of it once before. It is supposed to help you face your fears, bury your worries and help you make contact with your inner self. In Japan, some people are putting themselves into ventilated but light-free, coffins, under supervision, to experience death in order to appreciate life. Some of the participants could last only a few seconds, needless to say. In the US and Canada, as part of an Austrian performance art show, people agreed to rest in an open coffin, surrounded by dirt, for 15 minutes. In Dusseldorf, Germany, a pastor promoted to his parishioners lying in an open grave in their cemetery for 20 minutes as a way of resurrecting oneself through “Grave Therapy” to cope with the stress of modern life.
Now in Russia, according to Russia Today, the practice has been changed to actually being buried. Yes – buried alive. Wrapped in plastic sheeting with a tube to aid breathing, the participant is buried under 30 centimetres of soil for 20 to 40 minutes, depending on what one pays for. A day of psychological training precedes the event. The depth and distribution of soil and the time are the limits a conscious body can endure. The entire event is supervised and no one is left unattended. The company Enlightenment Territory claims the exercise is based on shamanic practices of attaining enlightenment in the past. They feel it is not as risky as bungee jumping or any of the extreme sports currently in vogue.
I can find other ways of being alone with my thoughts and appreciating life without going to such extremes. This is one” underground” trend that should be terminated before it gives too many people ideas they should not be having!
The Martyr Vitalus being buried alive: Image via Wikipedia
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