Death

[Select]

like when you're in a really deep sleep and not dreaming.

You're not aware then. Who cares

[Harlowe]

You are kidding, why repost internet bs.
http://www.snopes.com/business/bank/deadcard.asp

[Freecare Spiritwise]

Still, if there's a hell I'm guessing you'll see all the big corporate names there

[Ariannda Kusanagi]

Sense of humor run over this week ? it made me chuckle anyway. My mom went through something very similar when her father died

[Klast Brell]

My main fear that almost gave me a heart attack last night is that there is no afterlife and after yo die it's just a void, like when you're in a really deep sleep and not dreaming.

That doesn't scare me. It's weird that different people look at it in such different ways. To me that nothingness is just nothingness. If nothing of me survives to be aware of it why worry about it? Does that make sense?

[Alluveal]

My main fear that almost gave me a heart attack last night is that there is no afterlife and after yo die it's just a void, like when you're in a really deep sleep and not dreaming.

Well, that's not uncommon. I don't mean to lessen your fears, but it seems pretty normal to go through that sort of thing. If it is just void/blackness, the thing is, we won't know it when we slip away. We'll just be gone. So, there's something to be said for that.

I would start by checking out some NDE experiences. See if that sparks something in you. Stay away from the ultra-religious kind or the uber-skeptics. Just read some accounts. They're out there. Some are extremely powerful in their own right. Reading that kind of material doesn't necessarily give me "peace" but it fulfills a longing to know. Maybe if you confront this head on and really start educating yourself about all that's out there, it will help?

[Ddrak]

I'm not a big fan of near-death experiences. The brain does some fucked up shit when it's starved of oxygen and/or coping with massive trauma. You might just as easily look for some sort of global truth in an acid trip.

Dd

[Freecare Spiritwise]

I've found at least one global truth by taking acid - Pink Floyd rules.

[Alluveal]

It does, but there have been some that have gone above and beyond the "tunnel vision" and so forth. =)

Tunnel vision can be recreated. And not all NDE'rs go to the white light. =D

[Freecare Spiritwise]

My prediction is that science will eventually prove an afterlife and the existence of a soul, but it may never prove the existence of a higher power.

But science certainly doesn't preclude it, and we already know that whole frameworks can be part of larger frameworks and so on. Science has a long history of scoffing at something it can't quantify, only to have to scramble around and integrate that knowledge once something's proven.

So science should be testing the boundaries of our corporeal existence, and NDE's are one avenue. The wife is fond of those ghosthunter type of TV shows, and I have to admit they've documented some interesting stuff. I still think we're barking up the wrong tree though, and there will have to be some quantum leaps of understanding before we even begin to scratch the surface.

[Saevrok]

Meh I dont worry about death, its that magical time when you finaly get the answer. If theres an afterlife then its joy at the continuation of existence, and if not then you're freaking dead and wont really give a damn now will you?

[Alluveal]

My prediction is that science will eventually prove an afterlife and the existence of a soul, but it may never prove the existence of a higher power.

But science certainly doesn't preclude it, and we already know that whole frameworks can be part of larger frameworks and so on. Science has a long history of scoffing at something it can't quantify, only to have to scramble around and integrate that knowledge once something's proven.

So science should be testing the boundaries of our corporeal existence, and NDE's are one avenue. The wife is fond of those ghosthunter type of TV shows, and I have to admit they've documented some interesting stuff. I still think we're barking up the wrong tree though, and there will have to be some quantum leaps of understanding before we even begin to scratch the surface.

I'm working on a novel as we speak about science being able to prove the existence of souls. They also prove reincarnation and can tell who is popping up where. It centers around the prison system where people have to serve consecutive life sentences. So, they die, they've served one sentence. They're reborn and they immediately begin serving the next (from infancy on,) even though the "second incarnation" has no idea what the first has done.

[Klast Brell]

That sounds very cool.

Can we see a sample chapter?

[Harlowe]

I hope you aren't kidding, because I really like the concept and would love to read it when you are ready to share any of it!

[Garrdor]

Before i die I'mma hook my brain up to a computer and live inside the virtual world, like that bad Keanu Reeves movie.

[Ddrak]

like that bad Keanu Reeves movie.

Oh yeah, THAT narrows it down...

Dd

[Partha]

I've found at least one global truth by taking acid - Pink Floyd rules.

Not since Waters left.

[Ddrak]

I've found at least one global truth by taking acid - Pink Floyd rules.

Not since Waters left.

I thought Momentary Lapse was one of their best. Can't say as much for The Division Bell though.

Dd

[Klast Brell]

I remember falling in love with The Wall when I was 15. I found that album at just the right time in my life. It fit pretty well with my relationship with my mother and my desire to escape from the realities of my life. For 2 years I listened to it constantly. I had it memorized. I could sing the whole album word for word from begining to end.

[Riggen]

I'm working on a novel as we speak about science being able to prove the existence of souls. They also prove reincarnation and can tell who is popping up where. It centers around the prison system where people have to serve consecutive life sentences. So, they die, they've served one sentence. They're reborn and they immediately begin serving the next (from infancy on,) even though the "second incarnation" has no idea what the first has done.

Back in the day I used to have a subscription to Analog, and there were a few stories along those lines that were pretty interesting. I don't ever recall seeing one with a "consecutive life sentences" kind of twist. If I were to weigh in on such a thing I'd have to say that death settles all accounts.

Another brain-bending idea could be rooted in reincarnation: In literature, death is sometimes held to transcend time and space, right? So, what if there is really only one "soul?" And what if it is fated to experience the life of every aware being in the entire universe? Upon death in one life, it moves on to another, even if that life is lived in an overlapping time frame. Again, and again, over and over and over for all the billions or trillions or quadrillions or whatever ridiculously huge number of lifetimes of aware beings that have ever been or ever will be lived. Meaning that every evil great or small, every act of malice, every act of kindness, or compassion is really that one soul interacting with itself? It surely would be the ultimate form of karma.