A MAN buried himself alive in a mock funeral – so he could see what death is really like.
Spanish writer Victor Amela had always been intrigued by death and wanted to experience it whilst he was still alive.
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Amela planned the stunt to coincide with his 62nd birthday.
He dug his grave on the farm where he was born, bought a coffin, invited his closest friends and family, and a priest to carry out the service.
The writer bade a solemn farewell to his friends and family before lying in his coffin and going underground for an hour.
Friends even chucked earth over his closed coffin and read eulogies.
Amela, now 63, said that the stunt gave him a renewed vigour for life.
Speaking to the Spanish TV show Horizonte, he said: “My friends spoiled me. It was wonderful and I enjoyed it immensely.
“When they covered me and I was left in the dark, I could hear the shovefuls of dirt landing on the coffin.
“For a second, I was gripped by panic. But it came and went away. I then started to relax and enjoy it.”
Amela said that he could hear the eulogies his loved ones read out, and that it was very emotional for him.
Reflecting on the fact that he could hear them crying, he said: “they really lived it.
“I wished I could stay there longer.
“Afterwards, I was born again. I wanted to continue living for another 40 years.”
Amela has had a morbid curiosity with death since he was 15-years-old.
He remembers playing with an Ouija board with his friends and asking the spirits at what age he would die.
Amela said: “The glass marked 65. For a 15-year-old boy, 65 feels like immortality, it is very far away.”
He told filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky during an interview that he was plagued by the memory during a chat 8 years ago.
Jodorosky told him: “Victor, you are going to die at 65 because your unconscious is going to try and fulfil that mandate.”
It was only by holding his own funeral that Amela has stopped fixating on the possibility of dying at 65.
Instead, he has been able to “strengthen the bonds of friendship with people who love me and who I love.”
He preaches the practice of staging a fake funeral, and hopes that he has set a good example to his friends so that they are also encouraged to do it one day.
Although the practice is uncommon in western culture, attending your own funeral has a long standing history in Japan.
‘Seizenso’, having a funeral whilst still alive, is a common practice in Japan to help people gain a new perspective on life. It is now growing in popularity in the US and UK.
Baltazar Lemos, a Brazillian man, staged a fake funeral for himself earlier this year. His goal was to see who would actually show up – although he was disappointed by the result.
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