There is an idea, that when we die, that is it, there is no more of what it is we are in the present, or have been in the past. Surely one day, there will an end to our experience, as in, "an off" just as there will be an end to this sentence, but nevertheless, time itself, doesn't have to be ending, and therefore the self, the energy that is you doesn't have to end, as in "never turn back on."
These are the reasons why one can not experience death with the awareness that is the "I" that is you.
1. Awareness doesn't exist when the brain shuts down. Consciousness, or self-awareness, and the brain go hand in hand. When the brain dies, one's consciousness goes off. So, to be aware of death in and of itself, is a logical fallacy. Its a double negative to say, "I" (aware) will be "dead"(unawareness) when to experience self one needs to be aware.
2. Before we, life, came into existence, it was star dust. From the particles left over by stars, earth formed, and then on that earth life formed. We grew out of the world, from a dead state, and not once was any self-aware "I" present at the time.
3. Nietzsche - Eternal Return - It may just be true that life here, even in this moment is an eternal passing. Some people find this hard to believe, or understand. To understand this, one must think outside of time. What would experience of self be like with out the flow of time? I see time, and fading of self, as a necessary factor. My questions that normally awakens those that don't understand what I mean by this is: "Who would you be if you were never born but always were? What sense of identity would you have for yourself?" We should live as if we are here forever, for to live as if we are here as a joke, an accident, is not nearly as motivational.
How do we "experience" death...
We experience death by "dying" which is fading at a rapid speed, or breaking down. A person dying from an illness, will normally die faster then some one dying with out some internal conflict breaking them down. There is pain in dying some times. I don't doubt for a second that we experience pain, for we are aware when it comes over us, but when death comes over us we are no longer aware of any feeling. Life is a pain-pleasure experience, death is sleeping, till recreation.
We experience death, when someone else dies. The closer the person is to us, the more we love them, or find reality in them, the more it hurts us when they pass away, for their life was a part of our own in a direct way.
There is no need for the spirit, it serves no purpose. There is mind and that should be enough, however if there is a spirit, so what? As long as one does good there is little to worry about in the life that may come after this one, if the rules of the "spirit" are just. If there is no spirit, you could come back as a gremlin, a pig, an alien creature of some sort, with no say in being otherwise. So enjoy being here as you.
~Pure Consciousness
If we remove everything in the mind, what remains is pure consciousness. It is the canvas on which everything is drawn. Wherever mind exists, so to does pure awareness. It is universally accessible. We now live with an ego that separates the world into many things, but in meditation one can practice the art of returning to pure consciousness.