Q: What is your attitude towards your own death and how can Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy be used to help anyone deal with the consciousness of his or her mortality? 

  A: At the age of 85, I am not at all anxious or depressed about my own death, which I assume will probably occur within the next decade or so. Some rational thoughts that I use to fully accept my mortality are: (1) All humans die, including me. So immortality is most unlikely--as also is life after death. (2) I'd greatly prefer to live forever in good health, but I obviously don't have to do so. (3) Having a limited existence is highly unfortunate, but not awful or terrible. (4) I'd better gather my rosebuds while I may, for old time is a flying. (5) Worrying about death will not postpone it and may accelerate it. (6) The state of being dead includes no pain whatever--and no trials and tribulations! (7) When I dies I shall probably have 50 books yet unwritten and many joys unexperiences. Too damned bad! (8) I shall probably not die very painfully but if I see that that is happening, I have arranged to have the plug pulled. 

                                 --Dr. Albert Ellis, December 15, 1998 

Dear Dr. Ellis:  I read your answer about your attitude towards death. I would like to graciously ask you some challenging questions to follow-up on your comments.  You say you believe that "the state of being dead includes no pain whatever--and no trials and tribulations" and that there is no life after death. You probably know that you are disagreeing with the greatest person who ever lived- Jesus Christ. Have you ever studied His life, miracles and teachings?   Two verses from the Bible out of many verses come to mind when Jesus talks about this: in John 3:36, Jesus said, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him". Also, in Matthew 10:28 Jesus said,  "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell". Jesus talked about heaven in John 14:2-3, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (NIV)

You have every right to believe what you want to believe, Dr. Ellis. 
C.S. Lewis, a Christian author and theologian, was once an atheist but after studying the evidence for Christ, the truth of His existence, miracles, and resurrection and the authenticity of the Bible (containing the historical records & account of His life), he declared that the evidence was so convincing he was brought  "kicking and screaming into the kingdom of God". 
You have lived your life telling people to believe the truth about life and events; to think rationally. Now, you claim to know about life after death: ie., "So immortality is most unlikely--as also is life after death". How can one know about life after death unless he or she died and then came back to life (rose from the dead) to tell others about it?  Jesus Christ did just that. St. Paul writes in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8: "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born". (NIV)
Jesus' resurrection from the dead was verified by hundreds of witnesses.  Today His grave still remains empty. Jesus also claimed to be the only way to heaven and to God because He Himself is God: John 14:6. 
I challenge you to examine the claims of Christ by reading the gospel of John in the New Testament and Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. I pray that you will investigate spiritual truth, Dr. Ellis!  Don't miss out on knowing and believing in the author of all truth, Jesus Christ, at the end of your life and discovering that everything He said was true after all.  Jesus said that He was the Son of God, that He would rise from the dead, that He was the only way to heaven, that He forgives sins. He made many other claims about Himself which He backed up by performing miracles.  That gives people only 3 choices to believe about Christ: that He was who He claimed to be- God; or that He was a liar or a raving lunatic. A rational cognitive approach to life needs to acknowledge that there is objective truth.  If one misses the spiritual revelation of God in Christ and the Bible... the truth that He reveals, then one's perspective of life is no longer rational, but based on the false assumptions of humanistic thinking.  
I believe what Jesus said because He proved it through His life and works. There is more evidence to prove His existence, miracles, teachings and resurrection than any evidence ever presented in a court of law to convince any jury of any event or crime (see the New Testament and other historical writings by Josephus & other historians. Read about how the disciples witnessed the empty tomb and Jesus after His resurrection in John chapters 20 & 21.).
May you find real peace and joy in your latter years, Dr. Ellis by choosing to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ Who said in John 14:28: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you", and in John 14:6 & 3:36: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me."  and  "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." His disciple John wrote in John 20:31,  "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name". (NIV)
Respectfully yours,
Lynette J. Hoy, NCC, LCPC   Web site: http://www.hoyweb.com

Other scriptures about Jesus' identity & claims:
John 5:18  For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.   (NIV)

John 19:7 The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God." (NIV)

Please read my article on Faith to discover more about the evidence for Christ and how to have a personal relationship with Him.
Some other books I recommend are: (you can order them now or check out our resources page for more selections about topics on faith):
Answers to Tough Questions Skeptics Ask about the Christian Faith by Josh McDowell and Don Stewart or  How You Can be Sure You will Spend Eternity with God by Erwin Lutzer. 
Praying for you.   Lynette Hoy, NCC, LCPC