Damn it, you guys are making it very difficult to get motivated to clean house. Lemme see... do I want to dive into a pile of dirty dishes and mop the floor or do I want to sit here and talk about beautiful things with beautiful people?
Well, I do think that most know when they die but there are others who may not. But see, once the life is over, the spirit is freed and physical laws no longer apply so that is a big clue. I still really enjoy Pizza Guy's scenario though... it is a possibility but the characters who you continue to enjoy life with are segments of spirit that you have held close.... enough to give them life to you for a short period of time. One reason that people could speculate that you know when you die is to read of NDEs. My mother actually had one so I have no doubt... I know that she is not 'full of it' and she had proof to herself. She was told that she had work here to do and she was not ready to go yet. But the proof lies in the things that she saw on the other side of the hospital wall... things that she did not know were real until later. It was proof that she had left her body and viewed the hospital garden without the use of her eyes or her physical brain.