I have always believe that when you die your soul lives on and goes to a better place. I also believed that death cannot be avoidable and when you time comes it comes. But a month ago I lost someone very close to me and I have started to question things. Like if we did things differently would they still be alive and what really happens when people die. I just wondered what people’s opinions were.

I, for one, have a very "logical" view to the subject.
When you die, there's nothing more.
Your soul don't go some better place, your body rot, and there is nothing to attend.

In the mean time, just try to make the better living with your pairs.
Put goodwill in the universe, don't wait too much in return, and live happy of small things.

Originally Posted by shona

I have always believe that when you die your soul lives on and goes to a better place.

I have to agree with tripy. When you die, you're nothing but worm-food.
What is your interpretation of a better place??? Heaven? Limbo? A waiting line for a new body/species?

Originally Posted by shona

I also believed that death cannot be avoidable and when you time comes it comes.

When our time comes??? Are you saying that our deaths are pre-determined??? Dude, that's fate...and I don't believe in fate! "FATE" is a word that describes something that has already happened. It's a fake word that can't be used in the present (or future) context! It's an after-thought. (like the word "Destiny") It's what people say "AFTER" something happens. I believe that I have FULL control of where my life is going. Nobody can tell me when I'm going to die.

Originally Posted by shona

But a month ago I lost someone very close to me and I have started to question things. Like if we did things differently would they still be alive and what really happens when people die.

That's natural. We always start second-guessing ourselves when people close to us drop off. That doesn't change the BIG picture. Just watch the news on TV...people are dying every day!!! Thousands of people are dying all over the world. People die. We can't change that.

Unless you have a time machine, there's no reason to wonder if "Gee, if I took a right, instead of a left...",things might have gone differently. It's a moot point.

BTW, I'd be highly surprised if you actually respond to this thread. Your track record isn't that good.

Hi Lance,
What do you know about my track record? Im new on here!! Thanks for your thoughts on the subject they were intesting to read.... but why so much anger... just chill out a little, as you said you have FULL control of your life.... but do you have FULL control over your emotions.... carm down!!!

Yay, I'm glad you proved me wrong. Welcome to the forums.
Trust me, I was very calm when I wrote that.

I'm not trying to start an argument. Remember, you asked for opinions.

I grew up with a Psychic for a Father and a Christian for a Mother, as for me I belong to no Religious Organizations but believe in Reincarnation and constantly try to stay current with the science fields. With my Father, he was a prominent and well known businessman in the city of Chicago, his Psychic abilities were unknown to the public, only known to the immediate family.

My suggestion would be to do some research not into the religious field, but into the scientific field, the basics of Quantum Physics is a good start. Einsteins theories most have been all proved if not all.

Throughout my life I have had numerous positive experiences on the subject, but I have nothing to prove to anyone, they are personal for me and normally don't share because those who wouldn't understand.

Out of curiosity, what was Einsteins take on life after death?

Originally Posted by cbwm

Out of curiosity, what was Einsteins take on life after death?

I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature.

Personally, I do believe that your soul continues after death. I believe that we are more than just our bodies for a variety of reasons not the least of which is my Christian faith. However I believed that we have souls that go on long before my Christianity was cemented.

I also believe that we all have to find our own truths. None of us will be able to prove what happens when we die until our own deaths and then we will not be able to recount it to others. Just because I hold my beliefs does not necessarily make a different belief wrong.

Despite the above quote, Einstein did believe in God, and said so on multiple occasions. He had said, I believe, that his conception of God was closer to the Buddhist conception than the Judaio/Christian one.

Part of the problem, I believe is "conception" in the first place. Our individual minds cannot extend in the first place to conceive of something that is unlimited and infinite, in other words, Eternity. Those that believe, assume that their own limited, individual nature is prolonged after life, while those who do not believe, assume that it does not.

I think the real question is one of Self, and Who we really are, not a question of whether an individual can survive death.

Originally Posted by KML9870

I also believe that we all have to find our own truths.

I don't believe that there are many truths out there and whatever that person believes is fine for that person. I believe there is one truth, anyone who believes in logic should not be able to dispute this either. For example 1 + 1 = 2 end of story, someone might believe that 1 + 1 = 3 but they would be wrong. Now on a greater scale there are many, many, many different beliefs out there but there can only be one true one. I don't know if what I believe is the right one... I am constantly questioning and trying to learn as I hope most people are; but don't think that just because you have thought about life and made some conclusions, that you are right.

That's not quite what I meant Phil. While only one belief can be correct, it might be my belief or it might be Thierry's & Lance's. I hold my beliefs because of my experiences and things I have learned over my lifetime. I am sure that their experiences differ vastly from my own. My point was simply that I, nor you, nor Theirry can/should our force beliefs on another person. What we believe about life after death is not something that can be proven and each person has to make the choice of what they believe.

Originally Posted by KML9870

That's not quite what I meant Phil. While only one belief can be correct, it might be my belief or it might be Thierry's & Lance's. I hold my beliefs because of my experiences and things I have learned over my lifetime. I am sure that their experiences differ vastly from my own. My point was simply that I, nor you, nor Theirry can/should our force beliefs on another person. What we believe about life after death is not something that can be proven and each person has to make the choice of what they believe.

Ha... Kandi... I believe that is what you meant; and my post was just to point out my thoughts on your statement.

Kandi your first response was well put and so was your second response.

Shona lost someone very close to her, and was asking our opinions about what really happens when people die, that's it. So we are giving our opinions, no one is trying to prove anything nor change anyone's belief, that is a very personal matter and opinion. I was raised in two different worlds from baby on, I have made my own choice of what I believe, I don't have to prove anything to anybody, this is personal for me. When someone asks for an opinion, is questioning life after death, I suggest research, especially in the scientific field.

Abel as far as that quote Kandi gave, yes Einstein said that and many other things. He didn't believe in a God like the Christians nor of his own faith the Jewish religion. Einstein was way ahead of his time wait........

Thank you everyone for your thoughts... Giselle i have read things regarding the science route and find it very interesting. Have you seen the film "What the bleep do we know" its a good watch if you havent.

I still believe in life after death and wanted peoples personal opinions not ones based on a religion. When you lose someone close you really start to wonder and question life and death!!

I think some pause should be given to the literal answer to that question. What happens for certain is you begin to decompose, at a decelerated rate if you're embalmed or accelerated if you're cremated or left as you lie. Whatever else happens or doesn't remains for the remaining to believe, never to know.

For those that remain, especially those that are close to those who left, they are left to face grief: shock, loss, anger, guilt over feelings that are only coming by nature's design, fear of their own mortality, hopefully resolving in loving those we've lost like we loved them in life. But that only happens if we let grief take its course and we're honest with ourselves about our experiences. Life after death becomes a moot point when you can't experience life before it.

That being said, even as a Christian I demand some backup to thinking there's something beyond this life, though the demand falls forever short. Yet, when I think of things like quarks expressing themselves differently by whether they are "up" or "down" it sounds much like the universe speaks binary. It makes me wonder whether the very nature of the universe is information, or "thought"? While no one could possibly qualify it or disqualify it, it suits me to ponder whether everything that has ever happened might be written on a gigantic hard drive, perhaps with space and time themselves serving as such, or if there's some intelligence beyond our comprehension typing furiously at the command line. That's a different way of looking at life after death, probably more in keeping with Teilhard de Chardin's philosophy, but I think it's a view worth exploring.

tim

No Shona I haven't seen "What the bleep do we know," I put that movie on the list to rent next. Thanks for the tip!

The thing about this is that no matter what religion we have there is a common thing in them. They all believe that each human being born in this world has a spirit and a soul inside them. I am Catholic and I respect other religion, there might be some things that I dislike or something that I cannot fully understand and comprehend in their teachings, still I respect it.

And I believe that when we die, life does not end just because our body does. Somehow, someplace what we did when we are still in the physical realm of our life, will be based when you are in the ethereal phase. And we are judge by what it is that we have done in our living time here.

Originally Posted by jhun phil

The thing about this is that no matter what religion we have there is a common thing in them. They all believe that each human being born in this world has a spirit and a soul inside them. I am Catholic and I respect other religion, there might be some things that I dislike or something that I cannot fully understand and comprehend in their teachings, still I respect it.

And I believe that when we die, life does not end just because our body does. Somehow, someplace what we did when we are still in the physical realm of our life, will be based when you are in the ethereal phase. And we are judge by what it is that we have done in our living time here.

This is going to be long, hope you all don't mind reading. I'll try to make it interesting and clear to understand.

My belief is similar to yours. Although not all religions believe in an afterlife. Hindus, rosicruicians, spritists, and wiccans believe in reincarnation. Now I'm not saying all of the people believe in reincarnation, that's like saying all christians believe you go straight to heaven... not true.

I personally don't follow any one religion unless you call my belief a religion. I do believe in a higher being. In other words I do believe in 'a god' or 'God'. I lost interests in 'religion' because they all have way too many differences that doesn't make any difference. The basic premise is to do good and you go to your afterlife. Yet they all have a different history that has yet to be proven and won't be in my opinion. Also they have different rules, mormons aren't suppose to drink cafiene, 7th day adventists are vegetarians from my understanding, your not supposed to blah blah blah, etc. Why have these rules if they don't have any effect on your afterlife? If it's not tied into your afterlife it shouldn't be tied into religion...

Well I do believe in an afterlife! I think it's silly to think we just clashed and bam we're here. After reading a few quantum science books it's hard to imagine that this was an accident. But I suppose it may be silly for one to believe that there is a higher being that created us. But quantum science has been doing a really doing a good job of changing the way I look at the word 'random'. I believe random is what we label things that we don't understand yet. Like how the universe works and how we came to life.
definition of random: governed by or depending on chance; Thus I don't believe in chance. Because I don't believe in chance it kind of forces me into believing in God and an afterlife. Because it'd be weird to have a God and not have an afterlife. Wow, that's a scary thought... just came to me. Anyways, I'd see my life as pointless if I didn't have an ultimate goal of doing good to go to zen, heaven, whatever you want to call it.

On the lighter side of things, I thought of an idea to write a code that demonstrates the arguement of afterlife vs no afterlife.
ENJOY!

<body><!--material form-->
<brain><!--hardware for body to function-->
<mind><!--This is who we actually are, where your thoughts come from-->
</brain><!--cpu was overclocked too fast-->
</body><!--end of material form-->
<soul><!--immaterial form-->

realist syntax error: no closing tag for <soul> and <mind> tag.

Now who wants to do the styling sheet and insert the divs?

Every one died but the reality is there, body die but the soul never die, soul go to heavens and the God's specified angels ask the soul about its piety and/or evils done in world. pious souls are granted with the shower of blessings of God, and evil souls are punished.

I might be a little "out there" but I believe we were constructed by a superior human race kind of like we would develop embryos in a test tube. We're living on a experimental planet with experimental dna. Eventually, we will have proven to be too violent and detrimental to the universe, so we will be allowed to be wiped out by natural universal powers. I believe this relates only to our earthen race and not our souls. At one time, we wanted to come here for the advancement of our souls and the challenge it represented. It is hard, to live here on earth... Someday we'll realize that, and hopefully learn from our time here.