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The Afterlife
 

offline marlowe from Antarctica on 2004-05-16 17:00 [#01190964]
Points: 24588 Status: Lurker



I read that in the afterlife, it's just like this life,
with all its petty trivialities. What do you think the
afterlife is like? When you suddenly realise that you can't
breathe, and disappear from this life in a cloud of panic,
what do you think happens afterwards?


 

offline ambsace from canaDUH. on 2004-05-16 17:02 [#01190966]
Points: 6326 Status: Lurker



if it's not any better than this, i don't think i want there
to be one.


 

offline ecnadniarb on 2004-05-16 17:04 [#01190972]
Points: 24805 Status: Lurker | Show recordbag



I don't beleive there is an afterlife. This is your lot so
make the most of it.


 

offline marlowe from Antarctica on 2004-05-16 17:04 [#01190973]
Points: 24588 Status: Lurker | Followup to ambsace: #01190966



Perhaps you'll re-evaluate when you're lying there, gasping
for breath, feeling your lifeforce ebbing away, as your
personality begins going haywire attempting to deal with its
impending termination.


 

offline ecnadniarb on 2004-05-16 17:06 [#01190976]
Points: 24805 Status: Lurker | Show recordbag



Personally I welcome death. Like a long lost friend who
will arrive to take me home from this meaningless existance
back into a state of non-being.


 

offline scup_bucket from bloated exploding piss pockets on 2004-05-16 17:07 [#01190977]
Points: 4540 Status: Regular



i hate life yet i can't live without it. *baboom kshshshsh*


 

offline clint from Silencio... (United Kingdom) on 2004-05-16 17:07 [#01190978]
Points: 3447 Status: Lurker



Hmm there is something there, although it is futile IMO to
try and imagine what it is. Yumm philosophy!


 

offline scup_bucket from bloated exploding piss pockets on 2004-05-16 17:07 [#01190979]
Points: 4540 Status: Regular



that wasn't in the least bit funny or clever or anything,
i'm sorry


 

offline ecnadniarb on 2004-05-16 17:08 [#01190980]
Points: 24805 Status: Lurker | Followup to scup_bucket: #01190977 | Show recordbag



*feins applause*LAZY_TITLE


 

offline Peter File from the future!!! Ooooh chase me! on 2004-05-16 17:11 [#01190986]
Points: 2020 Status: Lurker | Followup to marlowe: #01190973



I don't think you'd be conscious of the fact that your
lifeforce is ebbing away.


 

offline marlowe from Antarctica on 2004-05-16 17:13 [#01190989]
Points: 24588 Status: Lurker | Followup to Peter File: #01190986



Of course you would be, there is no reason why you wouldn't
be. Face it, one day you'll probably be lying there, knowing
you're about to die, and hastily trying to come to terms
with it. If you're lucky, I guess you'll die very suddenly,
before having time to come to terms with it. Remember, have
your head severed after death, it's very humane.


 

offline Q4Z2X on 2004-05-16 17:50 [#01191077]
Points: 5264 Status: Lurker



What happens really depends on how you define "yourself"..
regardless if you believe in god/a higher power or not, the
energy that makes you an animate form and not just a pile of
flesh and goo, will "live on" in some form or another.. but
i don't know if that charge just gets flushed away
somewhere into the earth and/or scatters, or if it would be
utilised in the conception of a newborn life, a
plant/beast/human or some other kind of force we don't
really understand. but, my point is, the energy or force
who/that created you, all that you are and can perceive,
will salvage and most definitely, in one way or another,
reuse that energery given. but just because the energy of
life leaves your body and moves on into some other form,
doesn't mean that "you" (in the sense that most of us equate
with the word) live on.. unless there is a being that
guides, or at least had created or moulded the shape of
existence, the "you" or at least what is perceived by you,
(experience, personality, individuality) cannot continue
along with the energy that leaves after death. God would
need to intervene to salvage/archive the contents of your
mind/brain cells for later retrieval.. it really is the
"incentive" for most religions.. that the "you", in the
sense that you already recognize, will live on, if you live
life in the "appropriate" way. I am not sure exactly what
happens, but the whole idea of existing at all is pretty
damned farfetched.. many of us wouldn't be too surprised if
there was a network of order hiding behind the chaos of
everyday life, it gives a comforting and inimitable sense of
structure and comprehensibility to existence, and in a way,
that's really the whole point. but only some of us
are willing to trade the (un)certainty in firm logic for
blind faith and trust in unfounded idea(L)s.


 

offline marlowe from Antarctica on 2004-05-16 17:54 [#01191084]
Points: 24588 Status: Lurker | Followup to Q4Z2X: #01191077



have you read "the occult" by colin wilson - I think you'd
enjoy it.


 

offline Komakino from Tan-giers USSR (Russia) on 2004-05-16 17:55 [#01191085]
Points: 682 Status: Lurker



nothing


 

offline Q4Z2X on 2004-05-16 18:52 [#01191163]
Points: 5264 Status: Lurker | Followup to marlowe: #01191084



nope. i might keep an eye out for it, though.


 

offline korben dallas from nz on 2004-05-16 18:56 [#01191164]
Points: 4605 Status: Regular



Why concern oneself with the beyond/immanent future, when
one finds oneself in a "now" and present? As soon as we
concern ourselves with questions of "what is?", error
is indispensable: insofar as that is, I think the
eternal return of the same is a wonderful thought . . .

"This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will
have to live once more and innumerable times more; and there
will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and
every thought and sight and everything unutterably small or
great in your life will have to return to you, all in the
same succession and sequence - even this spider and this
moonlight between the trees, and even this moment and I
myself. The eternal hourglass of existence is turned upside
down again and again, and you with it, speck of dust!" -
from The Gay Science, Nietzsche


 

offline REFLEX from Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) on 2004-05-16 19:05 [#01191168]
Points: 8864 Status: Regular



I dont think there is an afterlife. and if there is then why
worry about it. thats stupid.


 

offline diemax from somewhere in tennessee :( (United States) on 2004-05-16 19:25 [#01191177]
Points: 2040 Status: Lurker | Followup to marlowe: #01190964



life after death is an oxymoron
i'm pretty sure you die
you're soul goes on
but 'you'
cease to exist
and as far as petty trivialities go, i'd have to say that
discussions about the afterlife have to be the lowest sort



 

offline Q4Z2X on 2004-05-16 19:25 [#01191180]
Points: 5264 Status: Lurker | Followup to REFLEX: #01191168



"...if there is then why worry about it. thats
stupid.
"

..because most people who do believe there is an afterlife,
also believe that their actions in this life
determine what will happen to them..
if there is an afterlife, the possibility that it
would, in some way, relate or interact with this life is
obvious.. that's pretty much the whole reason for there to
be an afterlife.. it would mean this life has some kind of a
purpose..
if there is an afterlife, that was created/made
possible some kind of higher being, then you need to
worry about it.. otherwise why would we even be here in the
first place? how could this life be just a gateway to
another, more rewarding life, if this one is completely
meaningless, trivial and your actions/intentions mean
nothing?


 

offline Q4Z2X on 2004-05-16 19:43 [#01191193]
Points: 5264 Status: Lurker | Followup to diemax: #01191177



how is discussing the mysteries life/death trivial or
petty?
i mean, no one knows for sure what happens after we die..
and not everyone is going to share your views, and it could
lead to some heated debate/bickering.. but even then.. it's
a good thing, i'd say.. it causes both sides to at least
consider a different way of thinking.. i could see someone
being annoyed if some religious twit is barking what appears
to be nonsense and orders, but at least, in their eyes, they
are doing you a huge favour. they think your soul is at
stake, and are trying to "save" you.. even if you don't want
or need to be.. but general "objective" spiritual
discussion, i don't see how it could be any more useless
than any other explanation or discussion that humans could
muster.
i mean, is something only worth discussing if there's
provable answers to everything one could ask about it?
it seems to me, the only things still worth discussing are
those topics which currently have no solid answers..


 

offline Ophecks from Nova Scotia (Canada) on 2004-05-16 19:44 [#01191195]
Points: 19190 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



I don't think I have a belief when it comes to afterlife,
and the act of living after life. I'd like to believe, but
like most things, I don't know WHAT to believe. Yet, I worry
about it.

I'm a fairly devout Christian, church every Sunday and a
cross in my room, and I don't even know if I believe in God.
Plus, I jerk off a lot.



 

offline korben dallas from nz on 2004-05-16 20:03 [#01191209]
Points: 4605 Status: Regular



i mean, is something only worth discussing if there's
provable answers to everything one could ask about it?
it seems to me, the only things still worth discussing are
those topics which currently have no solid answers..


Sure .. there's no proof of proof.

If, then we find ourselves dealing with unprovable answers -
then does it still make sense to base the merit of these
answer's on proof - on what actually "is the case"? or even
just "could" be the case? because surely there are an
infinite alternative possibilities? an infinite amount of
superstitions!

What is stopping us from creating new superstitions - one's
that at least suit us - and benefit our here and now?


 

offline korben dallas from nz on 2004-05-16 20:04 [#01191211]
Points: 4605 Status: Regular



*benefit my here and now*


 

offline epohs from )C: on 2004-05-16 20:12 [#01191213]
Points: 17620 Status: Lurker



i think our souls/lifeforce/conciousness - whatever you want
to call it - entropy's and returns to the pool of energy
that everything comes from.

like our body's decay and become nutrients for plants and
bacteria, the same happens to our souls. all sense of self
is lost and the energy and thoughtwaves spread back into the
pool of life. i don't really seperate the energy that makes
up our souls from the energy that makes up our skin... or
the energy that makes up dirt for that matter. they're just
molded into different forms this time around.

so, i guess i don't really believe in an 'afterlife'.


 

offline epohs from )C: on 2004-05-16 20:15 [#01191214]
Points: 17620 Status: Lurker | Followup to epohs: #01191213



"so, i guess i don't really believe in an
'afterlife'."


but i also don't believe that our lifeforce is lost. it's
recycled.


 

offline diemax from somewhere in tennessee :( (United States) on 2004-05-16 20:36 [#01191227]
Points: 2040 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ophecks: #01191195



you're going to hell.


 

offline diemax from somewhere in tennessee :( (United States) on 2004-05-16 20:37 [#01191228]
Points: 2040 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ophecks: #01191195



seriously
i don't think jesus cares what you do with the captain-
but keeping the major symbol of his decidedly gruesome death
over your bed?
that'd piss me off a lot if i were jesus


 

offline Q4Z2X on 2004-05-16 21:37 [#01191267]
Points: 5264 Status: Lurker | Followup to korben dallas: #01191209



well i am not saying you need to conform to a
specific religion/dogma in order to benefit from
spirituality or the questioning/discussion of who we are,
and why we're here, where we're going, etc..
like you say, religion is basically a way to explain the
unexplainable, suited to meet the needs of that culture. you
can choose to believe that since each claims to be the
truth, none of them can be true, and because some religions
say every other religion is wrong that they are all
completely wrong about everything. if one of them says that
it is the only true religion i won't completely discount all
other religions because i find them to each be, for the most
part, different expressions of the same basic ideals, suited
for different cultures. to those different cultures, the
difference in the way the ideas are presented and practised
can seem like black and white, even if the basic principals
are the same. but that doesn't mean that someone of a
certain religion or culture can't learn from a person of
another religion/culture, or discuss religion in a sensitive
way.. it doesn't necessarily have to end in bickering.. if
done right the two individuals can learn something new and
appreciate or understand the world in a new way.
on the other side of it, two people who don't necessarily
believe anything at least when it comes to religion
can still discuss things of a spiritual nature and gain
something from doing so. no two people view/express their
spirituality the same way, so virtually everyone is someone
you could learn something from. the fact that all of what
they believe is completely improvable really doesn't
matter.
i mean.. should we all not just discuss any scientific
theory or anything that is in any way speculative
because it is speculative? most everything worth
knowing, understanding or believing in had to have been
proof-less sci-fi-esque crackpot-fodder at one point..


 

offline Q4Z2X on 2004-05-16 21:38 [#01191270]
Points: 5264 Status: Lurker | Followup to Q4Z2X: #01191267



(cont)
the whole problem with religion is, there is no proof.. but
like any other form of study/learning it usaully has to
start with speculation before analysis.


 

offline rockenjohnny from champagne socialism (Australia) on 2004-05-16 21:41 [#01191275]
Points: 7983 Status: Lurker



i am most intrigued by ideals of reincarnation


 

offline b0nk from 1969 in the sunshine (United States) on 2004-05-16 21:55 [#01191290]
Points: 1121 Status: Regular



as long as its better than this shit .. who cares


 

offline rockenjohnny from champagne socialism (Australia) on 2004-05-16 22:05 [#01191306]
Points: 7983 Status: Lurker



im strongly of the opinion that we should learn how to deal
with this world rather than aspiring for something
intangible.


 

offline happy cycling from berlin on 2004-05-16 22:06 [#01191307]
Points: 2786 Status: Regular



d4nt3 the h4x0r wrote some long txt on this, da d1v1n3
c0m3dy. available at a bbs near you. also
LaZaRUS_31337@aol.com.


 

offline korben dallas from nz on 2004-05-16 22:33 [#01191329]
Points: 4605 Status: Regular



I think its worth drawing a distinction between metaphysical
and physical speculation. To use the terminology employed by
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: it's a difference between
"unknown knowables" and "unknown unknowables" - to my mind
there is no point in worrying about the latter. (Rumsfeld
distinguished between known unknowables and unknown
unknowables)


it is the only true religion i won't completely discount
all other religions because i find them to each be, for the
most part, different expressions of the same basic ideals,
suited for different cultures.


Whilst there may be a lot of similarities in the "same basic
ideals" some religions express - i don't think this adds to
their worth. E.g. if it so happens that a lot of religions
use different customs/language/myths to talk about unknown
unknowables - i.e. the "same" thing. If this is your
definition of "religion" then I'm quite happily a-religious,
simply because the metaphysical matter is by definition, by
nature, unprovable/unfalsifiable ... but more - not of
"this" world, "here and now".

I think the doctrine of eternal recurrence is profoundly
different in nature to the traditional "afterlife" - as it
re-directs and puts the focus always in the "here and now",
in the little details. It does not involve any
"day-dreaming" of an afterlife ... what is more, if
one were granted such an afterlife, one wouldn't even know
how to "live it"! Because one had always been concerned with
the always futural beyond - the most likely way one would
then spend time in "heaven" would be hoping one doesn't lose
it! How can someone be convinced Heaven is eternal, if one
can't convince oneself existence is, in some sense at least,
eternal?


 

offline happy cycling from berlin on 2004-05-16 22:38 [#01191330]
Points: 2786 Status: Regular | Followup to korben dallas: #01191329



bring out the "laser".


 

offline marlowe from Antarctica on 2004-05-17 04:44 [#01191596]
Points: 24588 Status: Lurker



There's certainly nothing wrong with meditating upon the
Afterlife. If we can prove to ourselves that it exists
somehow, it may alter radically the way we live our lives,
and our outlook on life. There are intriguing cases which
merit researching, and mulling over. Whilst it may not make
one a believer in the Afterlife, it could be construed as
proof for Jung's theory of group consciousness, the
collective, shared race memories and all that kind of
thingummybob.


 

offline mappatazee from ¨y¨z¨| (Burkina Faso) on 2004-05-17 04:48 [#01191597]
Points: 14294 Status: Lurker



Nah.


 

offline Gwely Mernans from 23rd century entertainment (Canada) on 2004-05-17 04:49 [#01191598]
Points: 9856 Status: Lurker



there is no afterlife, this is a fact, if you do happen to
have common sense. the state of non-being is too brilliant
to comprehend for most. its nothing to fear and everything
to fear at the same time. either way, before we were born we
didnt exist, and after we die we cease to exist, but we do
enter that non existence a different way then when we came
out of it and into our lives. its all about your attitude,
fears, guilt, love, and all that stuff that will truely take
you into what you feel most during your last minutes.


 

offline 3051 from Vietnam on 2004-05-17 07:29 [#01191803]
Points: 626 Status: Addict



afterlife and aphex logo
hmmm.......


 

offline epohs from )C: on 2004-05-17 07:35 [#01191810]
Points: 17620 Status: Lurker



this is what it's like.

then you hit reset and start over, 'cept you're wearing a
bikini the second time around if you finish in under 50
years.


Attached picture

 

offline marlowe from Antarctica on 2004-05-17 10:02 [#01192053]
Points: 24588 Status: Lurker | Followup to Gwely Mernans: #01191598



What nonsense, Gwely - you obviously haven't researched the
subject deeply at all, and are spouting hackneyed garbage!


 

offline sons of august from the sacred cycles on 2004-05-17 10:04 [#01192063]
Points: 308 Status: Regular



its something people constantly think about yet its somewhat
of a futile question. that idea in itself interests me.


 

offline epohs from )C: on 2004-05-17 10:05 [#01192067]
Points: 17620 Status: Lurker | Followup to marlowe: #01192053



any ideas about the afterlife are purely guesses. that's
why spending a lot of time meditating can be bad and even
dangerous. because it can lead to the conclusion that you
are learning about something that can't be learnt about.

... fueling statments like this.


 

offline epohs from )C: on 2004-05-17 10:06 [#01192070]
Points: 17620 Status: Lurker | Followup to epohs: #01192067



"spending a lot of time meditating" should've been
spending a lot of time meditating about it [the
afterlife]
.


 

offline sons of august from the sacred cycles on 2004-05-17 10:11 [#01192091]
Points: 308 Status: Regular



meditation is about having an open mind and letting whatever
thoughts come into your mind. but coming to a conclusion
about anything has positive and negative consequences.


 

offline brokephones from Londontario on 2004-05-17 10:14 [#01192095]
Points: 6113 Status: Lurker



The afterlife feels like it was before you were concieved.

That's my definition I've settled upon after refining it
over the years.



 

offline marlowe from Antarctica on 2004-05-17 11:32 [#01192175]
Points: 24588 Status: Lurker



Well I was always skeptical concerning the afterlife, but
I've read some very interesting, and verified, accounts, and
I'm wondering why there isn't more "serious" research into
the subject.


 

offline epohs from )C: on 2004-05-17 11:33 [#01192181]
Points: 17620 Status: Lurker | Followup to marlowe: #01192175



verified how? got a link? i'm pretty interested.


 

offline J Swift from United Kingdom on 2004-05-17 11:44 [#01192207]
Points: 650 Status: Regular | Followup to Gwely Mernans: #01191598



that is pretty shallow.

We don't even know what 90% of the Universe is made of, and
we don't really understand reality itself yet, or what
anything is actually made of - The closest we have to a
Unified Theory is M-Theory, and the ideas you're dealing
with at that level of physics leave a lot of possibilities
open.

It's often noted how much modern physics is starting to
resemble the philosophy behind Hinduism, Taoism and
Buddhism.

Also, science and philosophy really are no closer to
understanding what self-realisation actually is - Sure you
can imagine a lump of bio-mass with an intelligence and
consiousness - But to actually explain what it is on the
other end of the line, actually experiencing these things,
is just an impossible question to answer with conventional
science.

You really do need some medium between middle dimension
physics, quantum physics and philosophy, to get any kind of
balanced perspective.

Personally, I think the only way to find any real answers is
to attain enlightenment the traditional way - I don't think
any amount of rationalising will ever get you nearer any
kind of useful understanding.

I think individuality is the only thing you lose at death -
I think that's the only illusion - I do believe it's created
by the brain purely for the survival of the physical body -
Which I see as a propagator of souls.

I also see God as a collective consiousness that we are all
a part of, which I think is fundamental to the universe.

And Christianity and things don't really go against that -
They say god is everywhere and lives in all of us - It does
suggest a collective consiousness.

I see life as a constant battle between the bodys' animal
urges and your spirit/connection-to-god.

If you look at nature you see these kinds of collective
consiousnesses everywhere - From termites nests to the human
body.


 

offline J Swift from United Kingdom on 2004-05-17 11:48 [#01192220]
Points: 650 Status: Regular | Followup to marlowe: #01192175



There was a near death experience a few years back, fully
recorded an verified at the time, that made a big splash,
because it was during brain surgery when the brain was
completely inactive for about 20 minutes.

There were no brain waves whatsoever from the patient, but
she had a full near death experience, including remembering
almost every detail from the surgery.

Then there were some interesting ideas that consiousness
might exist at the quantum level, in microneurons - So at
death this quantum information could realistically leave the
body - And apparently there is some reason why they all stay
grouped together - Can't remember much more of it than that.


 


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