The thought of death ever hit you?

[Euphoriet]

Do you ever visualize .. just dieing .. and nothing after... you know... no rencarnation.. no after life... its just over.

Sometimes I wish I beleived in some of this stuff...

 

[Evo]

Funny, I think that I would prefer (for me) that there is nothing after you die, but for the ones I love, I want an afterlife for them so I can still feel that they are with me.

This really hit me recently when a close friend of my daughter's was killed when he tried to break up an argument between some kids. He was stabbed in the throat and died before the ambulance got there. I was thinking about how horrible his parents must feel, he had just turned 19 and I thought that they could at least feel some comfort knowing he was in heaven.

I think that we need some assurance of connection with loved ones we have lost. It is hard to come to terms with the person being gone forever.

 

[Math Is Hard]

When I took my physics class last quarter, my teacher was actually very metaphysical and he believed that "consciousness was conserved" and that we never truly die.
Now I am taking philosophy and I expected my teacher to be very metaphysical and spiritual, but he's quite the opposite. He's a hardcore agnostic - borderline atheist.
It just seemed kind of ironic to me that it turned out that way.

 

[The_Professional]

My ethics professor believed that nothing happens after death. And that we have no soul or spirit whichever you prefer.

I personally think that there is an afterlife.

 

[recon]

Evo, why would anyone prefer there being no afterlife?

 

[Gokul43201]

Evo, why would anyone prefer there being no afterlife?

'Cause if you're a bad girl (like Evo), the afterlife may not be a fun place.

Evo, just kidding. You're among the nicest persons around and I've got nothing but good things to say about you.

 

[Artman]

Yes, I have thought about it. I do believe that there is an afterlife. Not necessarily a heaven/hell type place, but consciousness continueing I guess.

'Cause if you're a bad girl (like Evo), the afterlife may not be a fun place.

When you're good you're very very good, but when you're bad you're better?

Just kidding too, Evo.

 

[Concord]

A dream of a puppy born by a female dog
Here is how he wishes:

I want to be a turtle, I dream of being a turtle all the time. I don' t know how to be a real one when I am uglier than the ugliest street walker, and i am a born animal which my ancestors are far away from today's turtle. so i wish that after death, there will be some magic able to turn me into a turtle instead of being a puppy of a female dog.
This means animals also wish to have lives after death. I am dreaming too

 

[Euphoriet]

What I meant is that if the thought of there being NOTHING at all after death ever hit you really hard?

I mean.. for all the religions.. not all can be right.. and if one of them was right.. what happens to the other millions of people that don't follow that religion? They all just go to hell? I mean the the 'hell'.

 

[humanino]

All religions can be right, just misinterpreted.

I am among those who think there might be some form of consciousness beyond our physical shape. Penrose talks about links between consciousness and quantum gravity, in the context of collapsing the wave function, so I am not ashamed to say it ! Yet, I am afraid that agnostic people won't care to participate the debate.

Maybe what happens to you when you die might just be what you believe is going to happen ! That would be the worse !

 

[Monique]

Ever saw Rowan Atkinson's devil act? http://www.rowanatkinson.org/devil_sketch.htm

He's sorting the people who get to go to hell or heaven..

Now, as the more perceptive of you have probably realized by now, this is Hell, and I am the Devil. Good evening. [..]

Right, let's split you up then [..]

Okay, atheists? Atheists over here please. You must be feeling a right bunch of nitwits. Never mind. And finally, Christians. Christians? Ah, yes, I'm sorry but I'm afraid the Jews were right. If you would come down here, that would be really fine.

I just think we're all mortal.. from dust we came, to dust we will return..

 

[humanino]

What about "Din Din Bhar Ho Pyaari Baatein" !?

 

[Evo]

'Cause if you're a bad girl (like Evo), the afterlife may not be a fun place.

Evo, just kidding. You're among the nicest persons around and I've got nothing but good things to say about you.

Awww, thanks. You too Artman.

Recon, it depends on my mood I guess. I wonder sometimes if I'd want to spend eternity in any form. It would really depend on what that existence was. As for reincarnation, I don't care for starting over and over from scratch.

 

[Chrono]

The only thing I've really thought about dying, I mean me dying, is that who would actually come to the funeral. I wonder about stuff like that.

 

[Loren Booda]

I "dreamt" this morning about my last moments of consciousness while being incinerated by an atomic bomb (I live near Washington, DC). Great feelings of regret, humiliation and helplessness.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I believe in an afterlife. I also believe that in some way we are accountable for our actions.

I think some of the most compelling arguments for an afterlife are found in the experiences of those close to death. I forget the name right now but a few years ago a very unusual book about death came out. It was written by primarily one hospice nurse, but the book includes contributions from many other nurses [dozens I think] as well. On one point made by the authors, the short of it is that dying people often see and speak with "people" from the beyond. Often specific information is given to the dying that proves that these are not just hallucinations; if the stories are to be believed of course.

Not only did this allegedly happen to a distant relative of mine [in Illinois] but it went on for a couple of months. By all accounts, nearly every day an angel visited Doris and talked with her, and gave her comfort, and helped to relieve the pain. Doris gave very detailed descriptions of the visitor and their conversations. She was told that she would die soon. No one had told Doris that she was dying. I really doubt that her daughter and the rest of the family would lie about all of this.

I was struck by one of the stories from the book. A dying woman would see a cat outside of her room. Every day she would see and call the invisible cat and try to coax it closer to her bed. Every day the cat apparently came closer and closer. The day she thought the cat had finally jumped onto the bed and sat in her lap, she died. She died while peacefully petting the cat.

One more comment on the book that I mentioned; the thesis of the book is most striking. What are the overall conclusions and perceptions of death from these caring, dedicated people who have seen more death than probably anyone else alive? The pain and suffering can be terrible, but in the very end death is often very peaceful and even beautiful. I still remember the exact quote: "Whatever you do, don't miss your own death". If at all possible one should try to remain awake and aware until the very end.

Quite a striking thesis!

I will try to find the name of that book again. I am drawing a blank but it sold quite well for a time. It might even be "Don't Miss Your Own Death" or something similar.

 

[Monique]

Hm, so if there were an afterlife.. wouldn't it be awfully busy? I'd like to have a talk with a neanderthaler :P Do other animals get to have an afterlife too? ..I'm skeptic.. :)

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Such earthly questions for such heavenly ideas.

I'm sure that your angel will answer any questions that you have.

 

[Lucky_One1]

Hi, I am new to this forum, i think this thread is very interesting.

I just wanted to put my input,and say that i personally belief that there is life after death there is heaven and hell,and we will all be judged on judgement day...

I haven't thought about death much at all, when I do think about death, the thought of me being put into a grave and having dust on me.. creeps me out, and i agree with ivan we are all accountable for our actions.

Every soul will die,and that's a reality so i guess when ever its our time to go we will go,its all in the controle of the creator...

What I meant is that if the thought of there being NOTHING at all after death ever hit you really hard?

well no,if there would be nothing after death? then what's the point of creation?

P.s this is a nice forum:)

 

[Math Is Hard]

Hm, so if there were an afterlife.. wouldn't it be awfully busy? I'd like to have a talk with a neanderthaler :P Do other animals get to have an afterlife too? ..I'm skeptic.. :)

I am pretty sure they do. I think my pets will be the first to greet me when I move over to the next world.

 

[Monique]

Then I'm sure it's going to be busy

 

[Math Is Hard]

p.s. Monique: I searched the internet to try to find out what "Din Din Bhar Ho Pyaari Baatein" meant, but I only found out that it was a song from a movie. Can you translate? I am very curious. Thanks!

 

[Monique]

It comes from a movie song, it means 'May the days be full of lovely conversation'.. I'll change back to english soon :)

 

[Math Is Hard]

It comes from a movie song, it means 'May the days be full of lovely conversation'.. I'll change back to english soon :)

Thanks for the info. I think Indian movies are interesting and fun to watch. They are almost all musicals, it seems. But I digress.. I return now to the topic of death and eternal oblivion and such...

 

[zoobyshoe]

Evo, why would anyone prefer there being no afterlife?

Shakespeare's Hamlet explains this stance as he ruminates over the thought of suicide:

"To die, - to sleep, - No more.
And by a sleep to say we end the heartache, and thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to, 'tis a consumation devoutly to be wished. To die-to sleep,-
To sleep! perchance to dream!
Ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause..."

"Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,-
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveler returns,-puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others we know not of?"

Hamlet Act III Scene I

 

[Evo]

Thanks for the info. I think Indian movies are interesting and fun to watch. They are almost all musicals, it seems. But I digress.. I return now to the topic of death and eternal oblivion and such...

Hey, no happy talk allowed in this thread.

What I meant is that if the thought of there being NOTHING at all after death ever hit you really hard?

If you currently believe in an after life, would you live your life differently if you found out for certain that there was no after life, that this was all there is ever going to be for you?

I mean.. for all the religions.. not all can be right.. and if one of them was right.. what happens to the other millions of people that don't follow that religion? They all just go to hell? I mean the the 'hell'.

Unless the one that was right had no hell.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Wow! There is a lot of this sort of thing out there but I think this is the book mentioned. I never read the book but I listened to a three hour interview with the author. It was absolutely fascinating.

Final Gifts

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Okay I take that back. Here it is.

Love Is the Link
A Hospice Doctor Shares Her Experience of Near-Death and Dying
by Pamela Kircher, M.D.
Published in 1995. 144 pages, 5.5 x 8.5
Near Death / Spirituality
Paperback edition ISBN 0-943914-76-0 $9.56
retail: $11.95; you save $2.39!

"An extraordinary book. . . . it will bring great comfort to anyone who reads it." --Larry Dossey, M.D.

". . . read the book, hear the voice, and change your life." --Bernie Siegel, M.D.

Dr. Pamela Kircher is a seasoned hospice physician and a near-death experiencer who has worked for years with dying people and their families. In this book, she shares moving, immensely helpful stories--some her own, many from others--of moments when the veil between worlds disappears.

http://www.larsonpublications.org/catalog/love-is-the-link

 

[humanino]

If you currently believe in an after life, would you live your life differently if you found out for certain that there was no after life, that this was all there is ever going to be for you?

:surprise:
Would you live differently if the alter life is just your same life again and again and again and... (Nietzsche in Zarathoustra)

 

[zoobyshoe]

:surprise:
Would you live differently if the alter life is just your same life again and again and again and... (Nietzsche in Zarathoustra)

So that's where the idea for Groundhog Day came from: Nietzche. Who knew?

 

[humanino]

So that's where the idea for Groundhog Day came from: Nietzche. Who knew?

I don't know the Groundhog Day !

 

[zoobyshoe]

I don't know the Groundhog Day !

It's a comedy film with Bill Murray: obnoxious man gets caught in a time loop where he's condemned to live the same day over and over again until he becomes a nice guy.

 

[Gokul43201]

I mean.. for all the religions.. not all can be right.. and if one of them was right.. what happens to the other millions of people that don't follow that religion? They all just go to hell? I mean the the 'hell'.

Only Christianity and Islam condemn non-believers to Hell. I don't know for sure about Judaism. But I do know that Hinduism and Buddhism don't send you to Hell just because you follow aother religion.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Only Christianity and Islam condemn non-believers to Hell.

I'm not sure if this is true. The belief, per se, is secondary to the fact of living your life according to the ethics prescribed. In other words, a person who lived ethically without a belief in the details of the given religion would not be condemned out of hand. (These religions do assume that without belief there will be no ethical behaviour;"Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.")

I don't know for sure about Judaism. But I do know that Hinduism and Buddhism don't send you to Hell just because you follow aother religion.

Judaism doesn't have an eternal hell. They have a thing called "gehenna" which is a temporary hell, for purification purposes. (Jews also believe in reincarnation for purification purposes. A person may be reborn as a cat, if they have just that one little thing to work out.) I think this is where the Catholic "purgatory" notion came from. Buddhism has no afterlife: the reincarnation they speak of is metaphorical- a person is "reborn" many times during this life. Hinduism, I think, has the "Bardo", also a kind of purgatory where a person confronts their worst fears, and which is non-denominational. It is not a punishment for not believing. It is some kind of thing you have to go through to get you ready for your next incarnation.

 

[Evo]

:surprise:
Would you live differently if the alter life is just your same life again and again and again and... (Nietzsche in Zarathoustra)

Oh, there would be a BIG difference, I don't want to relive this life.