I am curious to know of people's views on what comes after death, or if they think nothing. I would really like people to state their views without someone attacking anothers belief. I don't want a debate on this, just to know what other people/religions believe. Please ask questions, but not saying what someone believes is a fantasy or some such, but serious questions. Please state articulate thoughts or opinions, not like Christians or Muslims suck or nonsense like that. Thanks.

Originally posted by truth
I am curious to know of people's views on what comes after death, or if they think nothing. I would really like people to state their views without someone attacking anothers belief. I don't want a debate on this, just to know what other people/religions believe. Please ask questions, but not saying what someone believes is a fantasy or some such, but serious questions. Please state articulate thoughts or opinions, not like Christians or Muslims suck or nonsense like that. Thanks.

The body is on temporary loan to us to get about on Planet Earth. It's simply an Earthsuit. The Spirit of God which dwells in each of us never dies. It is what created us as part of the God-Head. As the body starts deteriorating, the soul starts moving in and out of the body making it's final departure. I watched my mother die. She held on because she was afraid to die, but when I went and told her it was okay to go, that my Daddy was waiting for her, she went peacefully to sleep. She just needed to hear from me that I was going to be okay. Of course my thoughts have been with her, and she has contacted me in my mind, but not only me, my daughter who took care of her in her last days. She's very present in our lives still, and she's guiding us with our daily ventures. I don't believe in death. There is no such thing--only transition of the soul. The soul never dies. It has nothing to do with X or Xianity and eternal life. The soul is non-denominational. Every human has a portion of the Spirit of God in them. There is no religion beyond the grave. This is what I believe.

I am curious to know of people's views on what comes after deathNothing. You are dead.

Cris, why do you think that? I am curious not only to what the belief is, but the reason as well.

I guess I should post my own since I asked the question. I believe in Christianity, as you may have guessed, and I believe in a literal resurrection when Christ returns due to His own death and resurrection. I believe there is one true religion, but that God will mete out reward or justice depending on what we did here. I also believe just because a person is a member of the religion I follow is guarantee of anything, rather I believe it places more responsibility on that person and is therefore answerable for more. I believe our life here is a test to see if we follow what is right and therefore be worthy of more. I believe that we will have our physical bodies again in a perfect form. This from my own religion and the scriptures.

Again, please do not turn this thread into a debate. I appreciate Medicine Woman's answer and Cris'. Thanks.

Originally posted by truth
I am curious to know of people's views on what comes after deathOriginally posted by Cris
Nothing. You are dead.Originally posted by truth
Cris, why do you think that? I am curious not only to what the belief is, but the reason as well.
Cris expressed quite succinctly what I believe about what comes after death. I believe that nothing happens after death because all the scientific evidence indicates that our consciousness and personality are manifestations of the incredibly complex and intricate structure of our brains. Therefore when our brains die, so do we. There is no evidence to indicate that our brain patterns are transmigrated; hence death is the end.

Originally posted by Jade Squirrel
I believe that nothing happens after death because all the scientific evidence indicates that our consciousness and personality are manifestations of the incredibly complex and intricate structure of our brains. Therefore when our brains die, so do we. There is no evidence to indicate that our brain patterns are transmigrated; hence death is the end.
Jade Squirrel,

The main question is whether consiousness is result of brain alone (with its trillions of neurons and dynamic synaptic connectivities which together yield intelligence). Consciousness and intelligence are 2 different things. No scientific method / evidence is present that could confirm, objectively, a purely subjective experience such as consiousness. But there are lot of such methods / evidences in respect of objectively measurable intelligence. All i can say about you is 'yes sure you have intelligence but you might be conscious of things like i am conscious of things'. An extrapolation / assumption.

Neural network experts avoid the question of consciousness as metaphysical and subjective experience and focus only on the intelligence which only is observable and often being confused with consciousness by many.

Here's my opinion:

Death is the process in which the body starts to stop working; loss of senses, stiff limbs etc

Then, in my other opinion:

I'd say humans have souls (where do the feelings come from?), so, after death, the souls will live in either of the three afterlife:
1) Heaven-> where all human's wishes come true
2) Hell-> where all human experience what they hate the most for eternity(here's some 'a little rellevant joke'-> those hell dwellers who hate boredom will be treated with nothingness, so they are bored)
3) Becomes an earthly spirit-> they either become ghosts haunting their places of death, 'possessors' to cause poltergeist phenomena, etc...

Okay, those two may sound contradictive....

When I die, that's it. Game over.

When I die, my mind will cease to work, and my body will start to decompose. I'll either end up as worm food or kept in a little vase.

The reason I believe this, is that it is the only explanation that makes any sense.

My view is that i have no clue one way or the other.

Both possibilities offer me similarly useless arguments.

1 - there ISN'T an afterlife because there is no evidence of it. Well, there is no evidence there isn't one either - so, this tells me nothing.
2 - there IS an afterlife because religion says so, its a matter of faith (the fact that the major beliefs contradict each other only complicate this further) - this also tells me nothing.

both views use circular logic to achieve their point.


Bottom line, its all speculation until my heart stops. Ask me then.

Originally posted by everneo
The main question is whether consiousness is result of brain alone
What else would you propose yields consciousness? Any supporting evidence?

Originally posted by buffys
1 - there ISN'T an afterlife because there is no evidence of it. Well, there is no evidence there isn't one either - so, this tells me nothing.

...

both views use circular logic to achieve their point.
This is not circular logic. It is simple deduction. For example, there is no evidence of an invisible purple troll on my left shoulder. It is therefore reasonable to presume that such a troll is not on my shoulder. However, I think it is also perfectly reasonable to make no claim regarding an afterlife. This is, after all, the default position.

my point was to when a claim IS made and the lack of evidence is the offered proof. If no claim is made its obviously not a circular argument because there is no argument.

when it comes to debating something as nebulous and outside of the "rules", so to speak, as religion we run into a problem. If the purple troll on your shoulder is omnipotent and all powerful it can always be argued by the believers that it is in fact there and beyond you to see it. Since spirituality is not burdened with reality as we see/feel it anything can be claimed and none of it can be shown as absolutely false.

Truth,

Jade Squirrel gave a good answer but I’ll add some more to my statement and comment on yours.

Start with the 4th post of this thread –

http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26147&highlight=Boris

Further - if you examine the neuro-physiological issues further you will find that the brain appears to provide all the mental functions we have identified, such as thinking, mind, memory, and emotions. We have discovered all of these though medical examinations of brain damaged people and by direct experimentation. While we do not yet know how many of the processes fully operate we do not have any reason to believe that there is anything else controlling the brain other than its own physical processes. We also know for certain that if a critical number of these neural processes and networks are seriously damaged then the brain cannot function and the person dies.

The other seemingly very relevant piece of information is that when a person dies then they are never seen alive or heard from again.

It seems to me a very simple deduction; you are your brain and if your brain is severely damaged then you will cease to exist.

I believe in a literal resurrection when Christ returns due to His own death and resurrection.I have a reasoned and scientific explanation for why this is impossible. Do you have any scientific explanation to support your belief?

I believe there is one true religion, but that God will mete out reward or justice depending on what we did here. I understand, but that idea is only based on handed down mythology. Can you show that God exists now and will do as you believe? I.e. is there any test or experiment you can perform today to prove your belief without recourse to ancient and highly dubious texts?

I believe that we will have our physical bodies again in a perfect form.But you have no idea how that could or might occur. But I wouldn’t find that prospect as being particularly attractive. If my neural patterns were to ever be re-constituted then I would much rather return in something far more superior than a primitive human body. But if a human form were to be for eternity then that would be a living hell.

Again, please do not turn this thread into a debate. Difficult not to and answer your questions, this is a debate forum. But I’ll leave it there.

My statement “Nothing. You are dead.” Has been reached through a great deal of thought and research. It is not just an idle opinion.

Now if you could show good reason why I might be wrong then I would be very interested.

It seems to me a very simple deduction; you are your brain and if your brain is severely damaged then you will cease to exist.

a simple point but i think it really cuts to the heart of it. Its pretty hard to argue that our consciousness doesn't reside in our brain because there are very few headless people walking around. If consciousness is not a function of the brain then we should be able to survive decapitation as easily as losing a hand.

The Universe is a sea of interacting force and energy and I am but a particular eddy that coalesced amongst the larger swirl of currents for a brief time. Eventually the particular pattern that is me will lose its cohesion and dissipate back into the larger currents. I will no longer be but all that I am will become something else. Personally, I plan to be cremated and my ashes scattered to facilitate this. Hopefully, something of my words and actions will cause some continued effect as well.

~Raithere

Rait,

Eventually the particular pattern that is me will lose its cohesion and dissipate back into the larger currents. I will no longer be but all that I am will become something else. It would seem your desire for survival is not as strong as mine. My plan is to protect my pattern indefinitely, with perhaps temporarily being forced to use vitrification before re-animation and the addition of extensions and enhancements.

The prospect of closer intricate links with other patterns and perhaps even mergers would not be inconceivable. The ultimate inevitability would seem to be the merger of all patterns into a single entity, and then……well perhaps the concept of divinity is not so fantastic.

Originally posted by Cris
It would seem your desire for survival is not as strong as mine. My plan is to protect my pattern indefinitely, with perhaps temporarily being forced to use vitrification before re-animation and the addition of extensions and enhancements.It's something I do consider (I do, after all, enjoy being) although I am a bit less optimistic about the presently available preservation techniques than you seem to be. Hopefully though, I have a good 35 years or so left so who knows what might be possible. I'm hoping that the booming geriatric population might at least drive some longevity successes. But I'm content with the available prospects in either case.

The prospect of closer intricate links with other patterns and perhaps even mergers would not be inconceivable. The ultimate inevitability would seem to be the merger of all patterns into a single entity, and then……well perhaps the concept of divinity is not so fantastic.I'm sure you are familiar with Kevin Warwick's plans along those lines but I'll place a link here for those who are not.

http://www.rdg.ac.uk/KevinWarwick/Implant/IEVersionSmall/irena.html

I've often wondered about the dispersal of the self through a network of separate but electromagnetically connected units, sort of like a swarm of insects with a telepathic single mind. One, it would afford some protection from physical threats. And two, one could disperse one's awareness over a vast area, even into space.

~Raithere

Originally posted by Cris

It would seem your desire for survival is not as strong as mine. My plan is to protect my pattern indefinitely, with perhaps temporarily being forced to use vitrification before re-animation and the addition of extensions and enhancements.
After all those extensions and enhancements, virtually there will be no limit to that then, super Cris will not be the Cris of today. Death of mortal Cris is inevitable in either case. sorry to frighten you.:D

The prospect of closer intricate links with other patterns and perhaps even mergers would not be inconceivable. The ultimate inevitability would seem to be the merger of all patterns into a single entity, and then……well perhaps the concept of divinity is not so fantastic.
That single entity is already available as God. just try to hook into that for eternity, Cris. :D Technology will take time and there is no gurantee, go for spirituality and connection will be initiated by that entity itself. God loves you. You need not recognize Him as God. let Him be a SSI as you like.

After all those extensions and enhancements, virtually there will be no limit to that then, super Cris will not be the Cris of today. Death of mortal Cris is inevitable in either case. sorry to frighten you
I wonder about that, "super chris" may not be the same as "today chris" but "next week chris" wont be the same as today either. What makes us, us? Just because we may be able to extend our lives doesn't mean we will cease to be ourselves. I am a totally different person than i was in high school, is high school buffys dead? If so who am i now then? The reason im me is because i think i am. i don't see how any successful "extensions and enhancements" would necessarily change that anymore than an artificial heart or hair plugs would.

Everneo,

After all those extensions and enhancements, virtually there will be no limit to that then, super Cris will not be the Cris of today. Death of mortal Cris is inevitable in either case. sorry to frighten you.There is only one thing that never seems to change and that is change itself. I remember myself as a 4 year old, as a teenager, my married years, the crisis years, and now the wealthy period. I was very different at each time and fully expect to change again and again. Change and growth should be welcomed – it is the spice of life.
That single entity is already available as God.I’m afraid that is just your fantasy. I’m talking about how something might be.

just try to hook into that for eternity, Cris.It is an ugly thought, that somehow humanity is the best he could do.

Technology will take time and there is no gurantee, go for spiritualityI’ll work with reality but you are welcome to your dreamworld and certain death.

and connection will be initiated by that entity itself. God loves you.I see no point in waiting forever. And besides love is significantly overrated.

You need not recognize Him as God. let Him be a SSI as you like.There is nothing to recognize, except your dreams.

Originally posted by Cris
My plan is to protect my pattern indefinitely, with perhaps temporarily being forced to use vitrification before re-animation and the addition of extensions and enhancements.
I'd also be open to those options if they became available to the public. The prospect seems somewhat optimistic considering the fact that a greater proportion of the population is entering retirement age in an era where technology abounds. But personally, I'd be content just having gotten the chance to live my life and share it with someone I truly love.

The prospect of closer intricate links with other patterns and perhaps even mergers would not be inconceivable. The ultimate inevitability would seem to be the merger of all patterns into a single entity, and then……well perhaps the concept of divinity is not so fantastic.
Sounds like the Borg. :) I'm personally more inclined to keep my own individuality or perhaps just share my neural patterns with the one person I love.

Originally posted by Raithere
I'm sure you are familiar with Kevin Warwick's plans along those lines but I'll place a link here for those who are not.

http://www.rdg.ac.uk/KevinWarwick/I...mall/irena.html

I've often wondered about the dispersal of the self through a network of separate but electromagnetically connected units, sort of like a swarm of insects with a telepathic single mind. One, it would afford some protection from physical threats. And two, one could disperse one's awareness over a vast area, even into space.
Whoa, now we're really talking Borg!

We've all been nothing once before.... (before we were born). We were non-existant, non- caring, non-thinking. We were nothing.

I don't see why it would be any different at the other end.

Originally posted by SnakeLord
We've all been nothing once before.... (before we were born). We were non-existant, non- caring, non-thinking. We were nothing.


You are too funny.

Something can not come from nothing. That defies all science rules. Only people that fall for cheap magic tricks would share your believe that we were nothing, then became something, then will turn into nothing...We are not a bunny in a hat Mr. SnakeLord.

Originally posted by SnakeLord
We've all been nothing once before.... (before we were born). We were non-existant, non- caring, non-thinking. We were nothing.

I don't see why it would be any different at the other end.
Technically, we were something before we were born since all of our matter still existed at that time (same goes after we die). Our matter just was not as organized as it is now. But I agree that we will not be able to maintain this highly-organized collection of matter that makes us alive after we die.
Originally posted by Flores
Something can not come from nothing. That defies all science rules. Only people that fall for cheap magic tricks would share your believe that we were nothing, then became something, then will turn into nothing...
This is not true. Do some googling on virtual particles to see how something really can come from nothing.

Jade,

So if God exists wouldn’t he necessarily be like the Borg?

All evidence so far indicates that everything that exists has evolved; even computers have evolved from simpler mechanisms, and planets and stars coalesce from other matter as big bangs expand. With no evidence for anything having been intentionally created from nothing then a reasonable proposition seems to be that God would also have evolved from something.

This leads us to the grouping and merging of simpler intelligences over time until everything that could be intelligent had been absorbed into a single all knowing intelligence, i.e. God.

The Star Trek vision of the Borg of course is that they are evil and other beings are absorbed into the collective against their will. But what if individuals agreed to merge because they could see no other way to grow?

Perhaps the end of a big bang universe is the final emergence of a god, with sufficient power and intelligence to start another big bang and hence procreate.

Originally posted by Jade Squirrel
This is not true. Do some googling on virtual particles to see how something really can come from nothing.

No need for googeling, I know enough about quantum physics to know that while energy can transfer between levels while emitting and absorbing, it's flat out wrong to call that or compare that with the nothing becoming something told by snakelord to explain how we didn't exist before birth.

Oh i'm sorry miss. pedantic, sure- we were a few molecules, atoms, whatever. That wasn't the point.

What were YOU before you were born, before you were a sperm?

Now.... if you can remember what you were way back then, tell me why it would be any different after you die.

To say we have an afterlife, go to heaven or any such thing seems a tad groundless. The evidence suggests we'd just turn back into a molecule or two with no conciousness, no knowledge, no memory, no sin vs lack of sin, no religious shit, no lakes of fire, nada.

Originally posted by Cris
So if God exists wouldn’t he necessarily be like the Borg?
Sure, he could be like the Borg. This might explain why God-based religions are bent on assimilation. :)

But what if individuals agreed to merge because they could see no other way to grow?
Then it's all good. But personally, I'm not ready for such growth and I don't know that I ever will be in my short time in this life.

Perhaps the end of a big bang universe is the final emergence of a god, with sufficient power and intelligence to start another big bang and hence procreate.
I presume you are only asserting this in the hypothetical context that God does exist. If so, then yes, perhaps.

Originally posted by SnakeLord
Oh i'm sorry miss. pedantic, sure- we were a few molecules, atoms, whatever. That wasn't the point.

What were YOU before you were born, before you were a sperm?

Now.... if you can remember what you were way back then, tell me why it would be any different after you die.

To say we have an afterlife, go to heaven or any such thing seems a tad groundless. The evidence suggests we'd just turn back into a molecule or two with no conciousness, no knowledge, no memory, no sin vs lack of sin, no religious shit, no lakes of fire, nada.
Not sure whether this was directed toward me (people often mistake me for a female because of the "Jade"). If it was, I understand the point you were making and agree that any person as a whole did not exist before he or she was born and will not exist after he or she dies.

Originally posted by SnakeLord
Oh i'm sorry miss. pedantic, sure- we were a few molecules, atoms, whatever. That wasn't the point.


How so ignorant of you......and since when do you actually have a point?

Originally posted by SnakeLord
What were YOU before you were born, before you were a sperm?

How am I supposed to know???, I suffered a memory misplacement due to the trauma of birth and coming down a narrow fallopin tube in my mother womb. I also hear that people can have car accidents that renders them with a temporary or permanent memory loss, where they have no idea where they were before the accident, and that doesn't mean that they didn't exist before the accident and that their memories have no existance.

Where I was before I was born is with the unified grand maker of things, god, or what quantum physics calls, "the single entity of high energy source", and that's where I'll go along with all other matters when I die. God or single entity energy is the level that I need to bounce of to transfer from one mode to another.

Watch some blues clues to further your thought process. The dog teaches you how to first think, then look for clues, then last to write things down on the notebook.

How so ignorant of you......and since when do you actually have a point?

Aww, what's the matter baby, life getting you down heh

How am I supposed to know???

Where I was before I was born is with the unified grand maker of things, god

Yeah good one...

I also hear that people can have car accidents that renders them with a temporary or permanent memory loss, where they have no idea where they were before the accident, and that doesn't mean that they didn't exist before the accident and that their memories have no existance.


Sure, that has relevance... :bugeye:

Watch some blues clues to further your thought process. The dog teaches you how to first think, then look for clues, then last to write things down on the notebook.

Time of the month is it? Calm down puppy.

Evidence would show that testosterone, nucleic acids, proteins, fats, monosaccharides, disaccharides etc etc do NOT have any concious thought, any knowledge, any awareness of being.

Sure, if you want to say the testosterone was living it up with god before being sent down into a mans testicle then fair enough but "look for clues", as you so rightly said. I see no clues leading to a belief that we were something other than simple molecules before we were conceived.

In the same way, when we die we will once again become nothing but a molecule with no thought, no awareness, no caring.

This would negate an "afterlife" in the manner many people perceive it. Perhaps we'll all go live on a cloud as simple molecules but i'd ask you to cite some evidence to suggest such a thing. I could be wrong, but i'm sure you'll provide a shit load of evidence to suggest otherwise.

Originally posted by SnakeLord

In the same way, when we die we will once again become nothing but a molecule with no thought, no awareness, no caring.


So you saying that we are first molecule with no thought, memory, consciousness, ect....then all of a sudden like magic, god and behold, we acquire consciousnees, store massive amount of memory and thoughts, and again puff god and behold, we turn back into molecules and the memory and data are swallowed up by the cat in the hat.??

Even the simple computer, can not loose it's data except to another source, recycle bin, ect....Where the hell are is our programming and data going to.

then all of a sudden like magic

I wouldn't consider it "all of a sudden like magic."

Even the simple computer, can not loose it's data except to another source, recycle bin, ect....Where the hell are is our programming and data going to.

Take that same simple computer and throw it out the window. What happens to it? It decays and any memory it had decays with it.

Originally posted by SnakeLord
Take that same simple computer and throw it out the window. What happens to it? It decays and any memory it had decays with it.

Except that decay is not the cause of memory and awareness loss in humans. A perfectly fresh corpse is as good as a thousand year mummy. A well preserved cooled body have no awareness or conscious as well. Similarly, a sleepy person has no way of reaching his consciousness until he wakes up. So bringing up the decay process is a desperate decoy effort from you to escape reasonable discussion.

A computer devoid of it's power source still have memory and data, just data unavailable for our use.

Originally posted by Flores
Except that decay is not the cause of memory and awareness loss in humans.
It is if we are talking about the decay of synapses and neurons in the brain that are responsible for memory and awareness.

A computer devoid of it's power source still have memory and data, just data unavailable for our use.
True. But if the actual hard drive decays, then the information stored thereupon will be lost.

well, i don't know about all you others (some i do, specifically the people who've posted here:p), but i don't believe in heaven. it is horribly tied to human want, when our belief's should have no impact on what IS. the pearly gates of heaven? it is just a dramatization, it is what humans want it to be. heaven about 300 years ago was just beyond the clouds, a place where everyone got fed and was warm, it was not the ubber-entity that heaven has evolved into today. i reckon it is also an ointment to the human condition of wanting to live forever.

for me religion seems all about ME (as in the individual person). it's a special form of arrogance. god SACRIFICED his ONLY SON for ME. god created US. WE are GOD'S GLORY. WE are IMPORTANT. WE are UNIQUE from all other LIFE. WE are worth the PERSONAL time of GOD. see, all that stuff doesn't sit with me. it is all too close to a humans idea of what god would be relating to US. it doesn't make sense to me that a most powerful god would not find a way to not have to sacrifice his only son.

so that little aside basically explains why i don't believe in the afterlife. it is not relevant to me, because as soon as i figured out i didn't want to live forever in some heaven, these things became transparent to me. on the other hand i believe in a semi-reincarnation type of thought based on energy, as it cannot be destroyed or created, it can only change forms. the energy that has been apart of me and has already left me is being used by something else, as the energy i used was used by something before me. it's not in anyway spiritual energy, but collective energy. yeah, in a way i guess we're all linked together somehow.

Except that decay is not the cause of memory and awareness loss in humans.

Really? So, what is? However, regardless to that, it depends on the context with which you say that..... Are we talking about forgetting what we had for breakfast yesterday or the complete decay of one's brain? If your entire brain decayed it's pertinent to state you'd have no memory and no awareness, that's the whole point. You can argue this, but i'd like you to provide something in support. You've been very quick to attempt insult and slander but haven't even begun to back up what you say- instead, trying to compare this all with car crashes and computers.

I used your analogy to show that decay is a reality and is permanent. When something decays it doesn't miraculously pull itself back together and start being aware again. While during one's life you can witness regeneration of cells etc, this does not happen when someone is dead. The cells themselves die.

We can all hope for some wispy bit of smoke that comes out of our bodies and flies off into the cosmos to enjoy some time basking in the light of the sun- the evidence just doesn't support it.

A perfectly fresh corpse is as good as a thousand year mummy.

Neither of which show any sign of awareness, conciousness, memory, or happiness of being with god. When the brain dies, it's dead- and so are you. The cells die, the brain decays, and that's that. a worm eats the remains and then poops it out- and we end up as fertiliser. Sure, worm poop might have awareness aswell.... :bugeye:

A well preserved cooled body have no awareness or conscious as well.

And if there's no activity except for cell decay- the cooled body might aswell be hung on the wall alongside the deer trophy.

Similarly, a sleepy person has no way of reaching his consciousness until he wakes up.

Maybe nobody has ever told you this before but sleepy people and dead people don't have too much in common.

So bringing up the decay process is a desperate decoy effort from you to escape reasonable discussion

Lol ok. I thought it was a perfectly reasonable discussion. Someone asked what we think happens after death, and just like everyone else, i stated my case. You then decided to hurl a few baseless insults at me for posperity, and much that i don't mind them, it leaves you in no position to be making statements about reasonable discussions.

In simple terms:

Man A dies. Cells start to decay, (including brain tissues/cells). He gets stuck in a box and continues to decay. Everything breaks down and decays, (including his brain). At the moment of death the brain ceases to function. (there may be some left over electrical impulses which cause corpses feet to jiggle and shit- but that's hardly a sign that they're actually playing football inside the pearly gates). We all die the same way- be it by cancer or old age it actually boils down to brain death. The brain decays and everything you were decays with it- UNLESS you waft off into space invisible. Provide evidence for such a notion and it will be considered carefully.

A computer devoid of it's power source still have memory and data, just data unavailable for our use.

Not if it's completely decayed.

Originally posted by atheroy
yeah, in a way i guess we're all linked together somehow.
I can agree with that. Just 13.7 billion years ago we (all the matter and energy that comprises us) were all crammed into the same small space (along with the rest of the matter and energy in the observable universe). :)

Originally posted by SnakeLord
At the moment of death the brain ceases to function. (there may be some left over electrical impulses which cause corpses feet to jiggle and shit- but that's hardly a sign that they're actually playing football inside the pearly gates).
The only exception I can think of is if the brain ceases to function and it is later revitalized before the cell decay has caused irreparable damage.

The only exception I can think of is if the brain ceases to function and it is later revitalized before the cell decay has caused irreparable damage.

I was watching this programme about cryogenics where they were saying they can 'freeze' a person and stop cell decay but currently they have no way of reversing the process, and can only hope they will find a way to do so some time in the future.

While i can understand people who are in a serious position being cryogenically frozen to prevent cell decay and hopefully bring them 'back to life' some time in the future, it doesn't really stop cell decay but merely pauses it.

Inevitably there will come a time, be it now or sometime in the next millennium, that the person will die just like everyone else and suffer the same cell decay everyone else does. It's good to prolong life, but it doesn't prevent eventual death.- Unless a way is found to make humans immortal- but then heaven/afterlife wouldn't be relevant.

If man remains mortal, he will at some stage die and decay.

Sure, we could have a 'soul' that wafts off into the next life, but there's nothing to support the notion, and in context of the word, is nothing more than a fantasy.

It is depressing to think that when i die everything i know, everything i've seen, everything i've done will die along with me but that's what all the evidence points to. As such i write, (stories, diaries, poems, etc), so perhaps one day someone can sit down and get a part of me, a part of my life.

:)

Originally posted by SnakeLord
It is depressing to think that when i die everything i know, everything i've seen, everything i've done will die along with me but that's what all the evidence points to. As such i write, (stories, diaries, poems, etc), so perhaps one day someone can sit down and get a part of me, a part of my life.Roy Batty:
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the darkness at Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain. Time to die."

Deckard :
"I don't know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he loved life more than he ever had before. Not just his life, anybody's life, my life. All he'd wanted were the same answers the rest of us want. Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got? All I could do was sit there and watch him die."

~Raithere

I didnt believe in life after death until i experienced being in a room with someone close to me who had just died. As I kissed her goodbye and later i felt her presence. I knew she was not gone.

Similarly, I knew it was wrong to kill myself at a younger age, from an appreciationt hat came upon me of the miracle of life and its asacredness and how disrespectful it would be to kill myself when we are so lucky to have happened to be alive and experiuence consciousness and fit into the environment as we do.

Similarly, I knew it was right to become engage dto my husband after we had spent time together doing something on a sunny day outside and were comfortable with each other and happy and content.

These are the sum total of the things in my life i have known through intuition or spiritual experience/instinct.

Nevertheless, they are all powerful parts of my reality. Not everything in life has to be evidenced scientifically and not every decision ahs to be made woithout reference to deep intuition.

I do not believe in God, I dont think- certainly not a creator god.

I didnt believe in life after death until i experienced being in a room with someone close to me who had just died. As I kissed her goodbye and later i felt her presence. I knew she was not gone.

Similarly, I knew it was wrong to kill myself at a younger age, from an appreciationt hat came upon me of the miracle of life and its asacredness and how disrespectful it would be to kill myself when we are so lucky to have happened to be alive and experiuence consciousness and fit into the environment as we do.
well thats the difference between first hand experience and belief isnt it. when i see a farmer that actually experienced an anal probe i cant argue that, he saw/felt it (hes either crazy or its true but until i see something like it it will be hard for me to accept).

In my case i have had no other-worldly experiences to base a spiritual belief on. If my grandfather floats through my wall to talk to me, then ill change my tune.

Originally posted by SnakeLord
It is depressing to think that when i die everything i know, everything i've seen, everything i've done will die along with me but that's what all the evidence points to. As such i write, (stories, diaries, poems, etc), so perhaps one day someone can sit down and get a part of me, a part of my life.
I prefer not to think of it as depressing, but merely a fact of life that I have learned to accept and become content with. I certainly appreciate, and share, your desire to write in order to express a part of yourself that will hopefully survive your time here and influence others in a positive way.

Originally posted by ele
Similarly, I knew it was wrong to kill myself at a younger age, from an appreciationt hat came upon me of the miracle of life and its asacredness and how disrespectful it would be to kill myself when we are so lucky to have happened to be alive and experiuence consciousness and fit into the environment as we do.
I feel the same way. :)