While the human consciousness, in its own terms, may be independent of time and space and free of causality, the body which houses it is a prisoner of time and causal processes. Consciousness perforce imagines continuity—indeed, it cannot really imagine its own cessation. It is nonetheless confronted by the unassailable facts of aging and death. This is more than simple recognition of natural processes or the body’s vulnerability in a dangerous world. It is a final doom and negation of personal identity and hope. Consciousness cannot fathom nor accept the apparent fact that its own presence and life are totally dependent on the functioning of the fragile and corruptible body. It cannot accept being a mere and temporary thing.