Life After Death

[Sam Fisher]

We all have a soul.

People like Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, the fuckers who flew the jets into the WTC, child molesters, murderers, used car salesmen, will all have an afterlife filled with demons and nightmares. And their souls will wander aimlessly for eternity suffering more pain and misery than they ever placed on one of their human victim.

People like Stan Musial, Red Skelton, Billy Graham, and the like, will have an afterlife filled with eternal joy and happiness.

 

[Ulysses31]

Who knows, sometimes when I see all the injustice in the world I think it doesn't matter if you have a great and wonderful soul, once your body gives out then the mind goes with it and you cease to exist, other times when you see how complicated our bodies, the planet and the universe really is you think that 'death' can't be the end and great minds/souls go on to other things, I also know a few people who claim to hold seances and talk to the dead and they've got no reason to lie to me. Sometimes I'm sick of this life and wonder if I really want to live through another one but then again an afterlife might be something completely different where we don't experience pain and suffering as we do now, I was sort of brought up to believe in reincarnation (my parents had a Buddhist phase) but when you think the earths population started with 2 (?) then went up to 100s, 1000s, millions and now billions where are all the new souls coming from? People are dying later and birth rates are up so births outnumber deaths so new souls are being introduced unless 1 soul can go into several bodies but then again what would that be all about? I say respect all those who either believe in an afterlife or those who think we just rot in the ground, normally these opinions are formed during traumatic life events and you can understand the reasoning behind it and just live your life being pleasant to others so you brighten up their lives regardless of whether there's an afterlife or not, if you're 'nice' just to get into heaven then your being led by fear and not true love for your fellow man/woman.

 

[24 Grams]

I'm sorry to burst your bubble but there is no life after death. In fact, life after death is a complete contradiction...adopted into the Christian religion by pagan beliefs (also the concept of Hell which was influenced by the Greek Hades).

Think about it for a moment. How can there be LIFE (the absence of death) after DEATH (the absence of life)? ...If there is LIFE after DEATH then nobody DIES IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Why else do you think the concept of Jesus' resurrection is so important to Christianity (although most Christians are completely oblivious to this).

Jesus had to be RESURRECTED (i.e. be risen from the dead...NO LONGER DEAD) in order to live again...If the Son of God has to be resurrected don't you think everybody else does too? You can't LIVE if you are DEAD.

It's almost as bad as the title of George. A Romero's "Night of the Living Dead"...which is a complete impossibility, as you can't be "living" if you are "dead".


BTW I do believe in God and the Bible (as opposed the Christians) to a degree as the Bible is full of errors and mistranslations....why else do you think there are 100s of different versions?

 

[espnaddict]

Who volunteers to kill themselves then report back to us?

 

[bobjustbob]

I'm not going to obsess about it. When death comes to me then it will be what it is. One thing that I do think is that people have an impact on others. Most slight and passing but we don't really know how much more there is. Think about all of the people that come into our lives. People from past jobs. Kids you went to school with. Waitresses from all of the restaurants you've eaten at. You may have forgotten most of them but you have no idea how many of them still remember you. You made a funny or rude comment. You happened to be there to give them directions when needed. Some of them still remember you and you still remember them. It is that kind of spirit that stays with us all yet the other will never know of it. So, our afterlife doesn't commence upon our death. It's just how much of an impact we made upon others to determine it's volume and longevity.

 

[CptHa]

This go around is all you get, make it count.

 

[eric2136]

I feel sorry for all the non-believing hapless empty souls with so little faith in their heart, how sad. Well if you need paranormal proof of existance of the supernatural realm, here it is ! Turn up the volume all the way, pay very close attention, and keep your eyes focussed on the rocking chair. I garauntee you will ABSOLUTELY and UNDENIABLY get the proof that you seek.

 

[Nester6]

After losing my mom a few months ago and my dad many years ago, there are times i think about what happens when it's time to go. I'd like to believe that i will see everyone when it's my turn.

Wondering and curious what others think and believe.

I've also had many dreams where my mom was in them. I was told this is a gift. I cherish every dream i have of her and still remember some of these dreams !

I absolutely believe that we are "eternal" and there is a higher power, although I can't prove this. We will be together again in my opinion. Condolences. Nester

 

[Patrick_S]

I don´t know if most people who say that they believe in "life" after death actually have given any kind of thought to what it is they´re actually saying. Some poeple say that it´s the "mind" or their ability to think that live on on some other plane of existence. What these people seem to fail to understand is that their ability to think is directly dependent of the physical condition of the body (or at least the brain). Let´s say that someone for example developes a brain tumor, which completely changes their personality, or even worse, turns them into a vegetable. When this person dies, what is it that "lives on"? Is it the person they were when they died? The person they were before the brain tumor? I saw a documentary on tv a couple of years ago about people who had basicly turned into sociopaths after developing brain tumors. What happens when these people die? Is it the normal person they were a few years ago or the sociopath that live on?

Then there are those that refer to the "soul". Let´s for argument´s sake say that there is such a thing as a soul. Then this something must be entirely separate from the "mind", since the ability to think, memories and how a person interprets the world is dependent on the physical condition of the brain. If you take away all meories, the ability to think, and everything that a person have experienced in this plane of existence, then what is really left? Some sort of "infant" state that have the potential to become a "person". That´s not continuing to live after death, that´s more like "rewinding" and starting over (now when i think about it i guess it´s kind of like reincarnation).

I have tried to discuss these kind of things with religious people before, and it was about as pointless as trying to explain quantum mecanics to a gold fish, so this is the last thing i will say on this subject.

 

[Rattrap]

I don´t know if most people who say that they believe in "life" after death actually have given any kind of thought to what it is they´re actually saying. Some poeple say that it´s the "mind" or their ability to think that live on on some other plane of existence. What these people seem to fail to understand is that their ability to think is directly dependent of the physical condition of the body (or at least the brain). Let´s say that someone for example developes a brain tumor, which completely changes their personality, or even worse, turns them into a vegetable. When this person dies, what is it that "lives on"? Is it the person they were when they died? The person they were before the brain tumor? I saw a documentary on tv a couple of years ago about people who had basicly turned into sociopaths after developing brain tumors. What happens when these people die? Is it the normal person they were a few years ago or the sociopath that live on?

Then there are those that refer to the "soul". Let´s for argument´s sake say that there is such a thing as a soul. Then this something must be entirely separate from the "mind", since the ability to think, memories and how a person interprets the world is dependent on the physical condition of the brain. If you take away all meories, the ability to think, and everything that a person have experienced in this plane of existence, then what is really left? Some sort of "infant" state that have the potential to become a "person". That´s not continuing to live after death, that´s more like "rewinding" and starting over (now when i think about it i guess it´s kind of like reincarnation).

I have tried to discuss these kind of things with religious people before, and it was about as pointless as trying to explain quantum mecanics to a gold fish, so this is the last thing i will say on this subject.

Well-put. These are important things to consider for an 'after-life'; or reincarnation, or what-have-you. If everything that makes you, you (i.e., your memories, personality, thoughts, dreams, etc) is gone, what 'worth' is an afterlife, or reincarnation? At this point you might as well take the scientifically sound avenue of saying 'reincarnation' is effectively your corpse decomposing to give way to new life. My less-than-romantic language to that aside, there can be something spiritual in that, no? I've always wanted to be buried under a tree when I go. Then I'm literally living on in that tree.

Just not with anything that makes me, me.

 

[Deepcover]

I certainly believe in a spirit world consisting of good spirits and bad spirits, the reason is because my aunt has seen an evil or bad spirit herself. She is a high school principal, but at the time she saw the spirit she was a vince principal at the same school. She was living in a small apartment and one day shortly after she moved in, she was watching TV, and a black misty/smoky mass in the shape of a person floated thru the kitchen in her peripheral vision. She pretended like it was just her imagination, but then she started seeing it all the time, and this spirit would always talk to her telling her things like "your daughter is lazy and irresponsible, you should kill her", or, " your mother is old, senile and a drain on your finances, you should put her out of her misery". It got to the point to where she would see this spirit day and night in her bedroom, bathroom and all over, and always the spirit would come to her with negativity in thoughts and words.

Well it got so bad, that my aunt finally decided she had to move, so she called one of her brothers, my uncle, to come spend the weekend with her and help her move to a new location. He agreed and got there on friday morning before she went to work, when she got back friday evening, my uncle said, "well i can see why you are moving , this place is haunted !", my aunt, who never told anybody of her experiences before then, asked him whey he would say that. My uncle responded that he had been sitting watching TV during that day, and a black cloudy mist floated up to him and began whispering in his ear to kill his sister, and then kill himself. My uncle, being from the hood, told the ghost to "fuck off", but nonetheless, the experience left quite an impression on him. My aunt moved that same day and has never experienced anything supernatural since that time.

The reason I especially believe this story is because my aunt and uncle, as well as everyone else on my mother's side of the family is EXTREMELY religious. But they are baptists, and baptists don't believe in spirits, so speaking of any type of supernatural occurrences is strictly forbidden. So for my aunt, who is a career proffesional educator, and who has never lied to me in life, to tell me this story, corroborated by my uncle, makes the story absolutely true to me.

So if there are bad spirits such as the one that haunted my aunt, there must also be good spirits and a whole spirit realm. I think what happens and where you go after you die has a lot to do with the kind of life you lived. But I do believe strongly that there is a spirit realm, and I do believe that it is very possible that you could see your loved ones again someday.

No disrespect but if any bad spirits were to torment or haunt my house, they would have to be able to come up with their side of the mortgage/rent.

 

[eric2136]

No disrespect but if any bad spirits were to torment or haunt my house, they would have to be able to come up with their side of the mortgage/rent.

:1orglaugh My thoughts exactly ! The sad thing though is that my aunt took alot of heat from her family because of that incident to the point where she has distanced herself from all of her sisters, including my mom.

They blamed her in some way for attracting the evil spirit and said she was weak and open-minded to the ways of the Devil. Because, according to them, evil spirits only approach the impressionable and the weak in spirit. The incident happened at least 10 years ago, but she was so hurt by how her sisters turned on her, she never forgot it, or fully forgave them.

 

[Shifty]

Life after death? There is no such thing.

 

[passenger57]

Nobody really knows "what's on the other side."

I like to believe that there is life after death. I'm not sure how, or in what form that would be. But, having a positive outlook is a lot better than not having one at all.

Definitely about being positive. Too much negativity in the world........i too want to believe.

 

[passenger57]

This is the ultimate question upon which all religion is based (the corollary to "what is the meaning of life?) and for which there can be no definitive (scientifically verified) answer.

The closest evidence I have found to provide an answer is based on both the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Buddhism) and on the development of the pineal gland in a human fetus. According to the TBOD, the journey of the human soul from death to rebirth (reincarnation) takes 49 days (7 weeks). It is also generally agreed in the scientific community that a fertilized human embryo develops its "identity" around 49 days after conception (the sex is determined, EEG tests reveal the first signs of brain-wave activity and the pineal gland is formed). The pineal gland is sometimes called the "third eye" and it has been speculated that it is the doorway by which the human essence (or soul if you prefer) enters and leaves the body before birth and after death. It is also speculated that the pineal gland may produce dimethyltryptamine (DMT), an extremely powerful psychotropic drug that may be responsible for everything from dreams to near-death experiences. DMT may act as a natural defense mechanism during the pre-death process, being released and putting the human mind into another state of consciousness until actual death occurs and the soul leaves the body. The soul then spends the 49 days between death and rebirth in a new human form in "bar do" (limbo, purgatory, whatever you want to call it) before it enters a new body.

Think of how many things in nature are circular....cyclical....the "yin and the yan". If you give it some consideration, you realize that almost everything is. Why would life and death not follow that same pattern? It makes sense to me (unlike Christianity, Judaism or Islam) so I'd like to believe that our individual spirit lives on in the form of a continuous and infinite cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

Beside the TBOD, a really good book to read on this subject is DMT: The Spirit Molecule by Dr. Rick Strassman.

A big thank you for the info............i will be getting these books to read very soon !

 

[Jagger69]

A big thank you for the info............i will be getting these books to read very soon !

You're welcome. I've studied all the major religions ad nauseum and, for all it's faults, Buddhism is the only one that truly makes any real sense to me. Others will surely disagree. The fact is that no one knows for sure but that we will all find out the hard way when our day to die becomes reality.

 

[RangerDick]

Let me state first that I am not a religious person, however I consider myself spiritual. I am not convinced there is a true heaven or hell--however I believe in the afterlife to an extent. I have absolutely no basis for my belief except it is what I have believed for years. My thought is we all come back as another living thing. I also believe that individuals who donate their hearts, kidneys, corneas or other body parts are born as babies with these defects (i.e. a cornea transplant donor is born blind). People may think I am strange in my beliefs but believe you me, my drivers license has a big NO next to organ donor.

 

[Deepcover]

The only religion that makes sense to me is Catholicism and Deism. I'm more of a spiritual person from the heart.

 

[passenger57]

Unlike many others, I think it matters not at all.
You die, you're dead.
Residual effects from a being's life are there but fade over time. Memories and such change and become less real and more fantasy; someone's impact is more real from someone's being in the world for as long as they are. Like ripples, most impact has a short time span of effectiveness. We determine the level of impact, not the person.
There could easily be more than one way after death, but humans want a reassuring concept to grasp and hold close. In the end, it is what we make of it.

And the reality has nothing to do with what we want.

Believe

 

[passenger57]

My father died when I was 22. a Couple of days after his funeral, I had the most wicked dream. I was coming home from somewhere and as I was walking through the door, my father was sitting on a couch and was cannulating himself with dialysis needles. I say needles cause he had already stuck 5 of them in his right arm and on his left arm, he was on his third needle. He looked up at me and told me to tell my little brother that he was sorry. You see, our father was angry that his youngest son was born with kidney disease. When my little brother was 15, his kidneys finally shut down and was put on dialysis. Our father was mean to him for whatever reason. Most of the time I had to intervene to keep him from belittling my little brother. Now, do I believe in life after death? I do not. Once you are dead, you're dead. Theres no coming back, whether in a ghost, phantom, spirit form or even in a dream, in no way do we come back. I have told this story many times to people and they say it was my father trying to communicate to me. I tell them no, cause I know my father and he died to the very end being a fucking asshole, he wouldn't say that, even in death. I tell them it was just my consciousness in sleep mode telling me what I had wished my father would have told my little brother before he died. When I told my baby brother about the dream, he simply said, "fuck him, I'm so glad he died before I did." There is no Heaven or Hell and I take comfort in that.

I can't even imagine what you and your brother had gone through after reading this. At the same time, the feeling a parent has after losing a child is devastating. Some cases are different but still...........well, i am glad you have found comfort.