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Post by Emily on Oct 2, 2007 22:57:28 GMT -5
What if the afterlife was a place where you just 'existed'. An ageless entity that waits upon the next step in the journey of life. Heaven/hell would be one in the same place as the experience of just existing might be a pain/burden for some, yet a great joy for others. In this way no matter the age of who dies all that you take with you to the next place is your experiences from this life. This would make the phrase "you are the sum of all your experiences" pretty accurate. But what's the purpose of simply "existing" in the after-life? Sure, you get to bring whatever fond experiences you had when alive, but that's it. I don't see how you can differentiate between the bad/good after-life experience if all you're doing is reminiscing. To me, existing is synonymous with conscience, and I'd go bats*** if I simply were to spend eternity rocking in my imaginary chair like an old lady thinking of the good times.
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tbw
Full Member
Posts: 332
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Post by tbw on Oct 3, 2007 1:23:26 GMT -5
To me, existing is synonymous with conscience, and I'd go batsh*t if I simply were to spend eternity rocking in my imaginary chair like an old lady thinking of the good times. That would be you 'hell' or so to speak in the afterlife then ;D Good/bad (heaven/hell) should be a state of mind depending on the individual. I'm sure some people would enjoy reminiscing on the good times until their next rebirth I know what I think may not be 'right' at all, but I always like to think that there is something more. Although I have been christened and gone to Sunday school (wishes of father), my mother always took us to a taoist temple for prayers/lessons too. I just feel more inclined to believe in enlightenment (the completion of your rebirth/reincarnation journey.) Haven't been to any church for several years now though
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Post by Emily on Oct 3, 2007 7:28:12 GMT -5
^Hah, I still go to church as per my mom's wishes, and you're not missing out on anything.
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Post by cjsdad on Oct 3, 2007 12:36:29 GMT -5
Who knows? Nobody.
Who CAN know? Nobody.
Choose to believe whatever you want, for in the end, it won't matter. You'll still be just as dead, to THIS reality anyway.
I must confess (hehehe) my own agnostic/bordering on the atheist beliefs.
Suffice it to say I simply can't reconcile the concepts of "original sin" or the "suffering of the innocents" with any judeo-christian concept of God.
Reincarnation....perhaps. But I'd have to see tha math that shows me an accurate balance sheet of who has been here before and the number of slithering things they could have turned in to. Maybe it works just like recycling. Don't know. Don't care.
I think it just ends. And this isn't a BAD thing. Eternity seems like it would be EXCRUCIATINGLY boring. Recycled or heavenly or otherwise.
Hell.....c'mon. What are you gonna toture me with Old Scrotch? Seriously. I have no neurons anymore with which you can manipulate to your evil desires. You can't poke me in the ass with your pitchfork, I can't FEEL anymore. A lake of fire? Bring it on. If I can't FEEL it, so what? Psychological torture perhaps...well, that doesn't jive with the Bible, but I suppose you could try. Again, how will I give a damn when I can't be a party to the action taking place on Earth? I can't sense the deprivation or the hunger. What are you scaring me with.. death? Too late.
Perhaps I'm being too literal but most religion's scare tactics fall short of the mark with me.
My plan: Be a good man to my wife. Be a good father to my daughter(s). Be a good healer of toothborne illness, and check out after a (hopefully) long ratrace of life knowing I accomplished these goals to the best of my ability. Again....eternity, entirely TOO long to have to deal with ANYTHING good, bad or indifferent.
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Post by avax on Oct 3, 2007 13:49:03 GMT -5
Hell.....c'mon. What are you gonna toture me with Old Scrotch? Seriously. I have no neurons anymore with which you can manipulate to your evil desires. You can't poke me in the ass with your pitchfork, I can't FEEL anymore. A lake of fire? Bring it on. If I can't FEEL it, so what? Psychological torture perhaps...well, that doesn't jive with the Bible, but I suppose you could try. Again, how will I give a damn when I can't be a party to the action taking place on Earth? I can't sense the deprivation or the hunger. What are you scaring me with.. death? Too late. Perhaps I'm being too literal but most religion's scare tactics fall short of the mark with me. This is a rather flat and disillusioned view of religion or spirituality. Although from your response it's pretty clear you're unsure or have rejected the concept of a soul that continues (perhaps psychologically and emotionally enough to comprehend pain and joy, release, hope or peace). Not all is corporeal. I would hope there are others who are patient enough not to take the bible literally. Or maybe it's the devil's advocate speaking, although that doesn't seem like your thinking/writing style. Keep testing, questioning. What's most important is that at the end of it, there's peace. Would you agree? Noble plans. It is difficult alone for some to realize that much, that they're capable of being a good husband or father, healer or at least partake in the world in some way. Some undaunted belief in yourself. I cannot tell you how rare it really is, and I probably don't need to. You've been around much longer than I have.
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Post by truelies on Oct 4, 2007 6:08:19 GMT -5
ehh... i'm not one to believe or trust in things without evidence and logic to back it up. so basically, no science, no real argument.
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Post by truelies on Oct 4, 2007 6:10:28 GMT -5
As of now, I'm tending towards the belief that death = "non-existence". I read the first half of a book, Economia by Geoff Davies, which theorised the creation of life. Essentially all living beings consist of complex self-organising systems. where cycling chemical reactions become self-sustaining with the help of catalysts and abundant energy. Essentially every human being is a lump of chemicals sustaining itself. Death is the result of knocking this system out of equilibrium, which is why we need to live in specific conditions to sustain this equilibrium e.g. warm temperature, oxygen, water, uninterrupted flow of blood. I'm a total layman when it comes to life science, and I wish I could offer an accurate description. But personally I am content with the knowledge that I am essentially an automation. The idea of an afterlife sounds like an expression of ego, that we are individually "special". I am also a bit of a spaz when it comes to cognitive science, but I understand memories consist of neurons, which can only be made in the brain while one is still alive. Therefore "remembering" heaven or hell doesn't make sense as your body would be dead, unless these memories were created on the threshold of life, in which case they are some kind of hallucination / product of altered perception. Anyway, I personally possess some "nihilist" beliefs. I'll just c&p a summary of my thoughts that another person articulated better. edit: typo i'd have to agree with this...
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Post by ladystacey on Oct 4, 2007 11:38:53 GMT -5
There is a after life since I see dead people I lived in a haunted house and it just wasn't me that saw and experience some stuff there. I never told my friends about my creepy home so they would sleep over and they pretty much experience the same stuff I did. So what could that be if not connected to the after life? Oh and I lived on a old grave yard, my street was Graves St, LOL really it was. I watched some documentary where they took people that had near death experiences, the light and all that and do the same thing to them but medically. They saw a similar light and all but they said there was no feeling to it and that was what it was all about. It was a feeling of love that they never felt before and total wholeness. The drug induced state did not give them that at all. I think there is something, a bigger picture to it all. I do believe in past lives, I didn't before but now it makes sense, well to me at least it does. Ok I am going to go light up some incense now, heehee
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Post by attilathehun513 on Dec 25, 2007 23:31:29 GMT -5
Today I was watching a documentary on Near Death Experiences (NDEs) and it got me thinking about what happens to us after death. Is there an afterlife - or do we simply cease to exist? The people who had NDEs all saw a white light, felt feelings of great love/compassion, were cleared of all regret, and were greeted by dead loved ones. However, a few experienced something different. One woman recalled being eaten alive by sadistic demons. Scientists say that these experiences are caused by something to do wth the brain shutting down and what they saw had to do with their psychology. But, the people only seemed to experience Heaven or Hell, and their descriptions were all very similar. So, is it really to do with our individual psyche?? Do these NDEs prove that their is a God & a Devil? And what about Ghosts?? Sup with them? Afterlife. y/n? I've watched a similar doc and I from that I don't believe it one bit more than before watching it.
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