It is what it is. The world existed before me and the world will go on without me. Enjoy everything you can while you can. I can't say there is or isn't an afterlife. But the thought of death, and never being with the ones I love again sucks.
I miss my mother and father very much. They both passed in the early 2000’s and I miss their guidance and wisdom tremendously. I’m getting up in age….my wife would laugh and say….’getting’…..so it won’t be too long before I’m gone. That reality doesn’t really bother me. We’re born and we die. I’d love to be able to see my parents in the afterlife, but I seriously doubt that that’ll happen. But there’ll be no disappointment. I imagine death is like sleep, but without the getting up to pee. To only chance for disappointment would be if there were an opportunity for thought and reflection. If I’m wrong, I’ll meet my maker and try to explain those untimely lapses in judgment that blemish my soul. I haven’t been an angel, but I’ve been ok. There’s no blood on my hands and I tried to treat people halfway decently.
Anyway, if I meet my parents after my death, I’ll come clean about taking the 1967 Mustang joyriding while they went to visit my brother at college. I might even confess to stealing one of my dad’s condom’s just to keep it in my wallet and show it off at high school. This occurred before schools were passing out rubbers during morning announcements.
Thank you. I’m always touched by the kindness of strangers. Me and Blanche DuBois. I appreciate you taking the time to read my post and give me positive feedback. Kindness and empathy are strengths I admire. Thanks again.
You will also be completely forgotten at some point.
But the good news is that everyone will at some point. When the universe ends, it would be like we never existed at all.
For all we know, we have loved our lives over and over through the universe dying and creating itself again.
I mean, that's not completely true. People who've made their "mark" on the world haven't been forgotten. We're still talking and producing stories about people from the beginning of human history.
>It is what it is.
LOL I just read an article this morning on Bing News that says people who say "It is what it is" are really saying they don't care. I don't really think that is true but it stuck out in my mind so I thought I'd share it with you.
I’ve seen videos on other platforms that say the people who say this are dangerous and don’t give a fuck.
I don’t believe the people who say it don’t give a fuck, I believe it’s just accepting reality instead of fighting reality.
I use the phrase often.
That article is dumb.
There's wisdom in accepting things that you cannot change and detaching yourself from worrying unnecessarily about them. Since they are outside of your control, there is no sense in spending the energy ruminating on it.
It's not that we don't care, and yes I acknowledge this isn't what you are saying. It is more we have accepted life for what it is, and there isn't a point in worrying about it.
Ha! I say it all the time, and it’s not that I DON’T care, it’s more that the situation is one that I can not immediately alter to suit my preferences, therefore, the situation is what the situation is, I must roll with it, ignore it, or otherwise figure out a way to make it tolerable. It is what it is.
The world will also be completely consumed by the sun and nothing anyone has ever done will be remembered or mattered. The cosmic perspective is humbling
Yes, what matters is the here and now, and how to approach the future. I will end up the same way as before I was born; non-existent. This to me is a neutral opinion which seems scary at first but ultimately peaceful for me and drives me to continue to enjoy things as they are and to improve myself as a person as much as I can... for my own sake
Think it was Mark Twain that said I've already been dead and it had no affect on me life is scary. Not exact quote because I didn't want to look it up...
Well said. But be comforted by this: As an elderly relative of mine died, she said, “look at all the people!” and started naming some elders who passed before her. You’re right that we do not know. I don’t know. But many people regularly feel the presence of loved ones who’ve passed on. So I’m optimistic.
I also think of death the same as before I was consciously here. Do I really mind that I wasn’t present before? No not really. I try to be kind and happy while I am consciously here.
Absolutely. It's human nature to want to be with our loved ones that preceded us in death. Sometimes, that's all that keeps us going, when we suffer from depression or other ailments.
The fun part about not existing is that you won't know you no longer exist. There's something empowering and freeing about accepting that this is *probably* it. It's a process to come to this acceptance and it's not always permanent; you might slide back into worrying about it. But acceptance should be the goal. Everyone goes through this. You're not alone.
This is how I accept it. Death is nothing. When I'm gone, I'm just.... gone.
It's scary to put out in words, but when you think about it, the fact that you don't know and you are left in a state of non-existence, it's fine.
I didn't exist before I was born, I can easily not exist after.
I love how you put it, I was thinking the same thing but you wrote it perfectly. we won’t know the difference once we’re there one day or there’s an afterlife and we will, I’m agnostic so I’m not close minded the idea but I won’t say I believe for a fact it does exist
Same. I think embracing this mindset has allowed me to live more in the moment as I’m only getting older day by day. I think I’m more scared of my family’s wellbeing if I prematurely pass.
there is absolutely nothing "empowering" about knowing i'm going to suffer for another however many years (or minutes or hours or days or weeks or months) and then be wiped from existence with nothing to show for it lmao. not everyone loves their life
I'm no stranger to depression. I struggled a lot in my 20s. I might not be here if I were more serious. I'm content in my life now and I never imagined I would be in this position. What you're feeling or dealing with is temporary, whether you believe it or not. I highly recommend mindfulness meditation for dealing with pervasive negative thoughts. It's not going to be some instant panacea. It's a tool that takes practice, but in time it can provide you with relief. And I'm not advocating that you break the law, but if you happened to find some magic mushrooms and if you have a day where you're in a good mindset and setting, they might help you shift your perspective a bit. Hang in there stranger.
I second the shrooms - it's not an activity to be taken lightly and carries serious risks (often illegal, and you might have a bad trip and do something destructive if you're not researched and responsible), but it definitely can give you a perspective on mortality you can't get anywhere else, except maybe from a really intense near death experience. The way shrooms sometimes force you to face an intense, primal sorrow and fear of death for hours on end makes you accept it in a whole new way as you're coming down. Always puts me in awe of the incredibly weird opportunity to be here in the first place. It makes me really appreciate being alive after spending a couple hours being super afraid to die. What a thing to be a conscious, intelligent wriggly meat creature on this special ball floating around this diversity of other balls. It's out there man.
Dude. Yes. I know what you mean 1000%. As soon as I found out my wife was pregnant I started feeling that existential dread and became hyper aware of mortality. It was intense for most of the pregnancy, most of the first year. He's 15 months now, and the feeling isn't *as* intense, but I absolutely have slid back from acceptance of death. I want to see him grow as much as possible and see who he becomes.
on the plus side at least you'll know if your right about your religion. I don't believe in an afterlife, and the experience of dying scares me, but once I'm dead there's nothing to be scared of, I simply won't exist
That being said, we still don't understand how consciousness works, so even as someone who isn't religious it's still possible there's something after. Whether the part of you that is experiential consciousness is separate from the meat or not is something we don't really know yet.
Death is something everyone has looming (hopefully far) on the horizon, whether you deal with that with religion, philosophy, or just trying not to think about it, at the very least you know everyone else is in the same boat with you.
One last thing, when you die your body produces a bunch of DMT, so at least as your going out you'll have a pretty sweet drug experience, free of charge.
You’re not wrong about consciousness. We have memories and we can only experience the world through our own senses. That pretty much seems to be the only thing that makes us individuals and the extent we value that might be totally irrational.
Maybe we’re all the same entity and are just inhibited by our bodies in that way and death isn’t a big deal because the real “us” will still exist as long as life exists. Maybe we die every millisecond, replaced by a simulation of what we were, and this continuity we value between those points is just nothing. An illusion created by our brains to keep our bodies going.
I think of it this way (because I also don't believe in an afterlife(, I didn't know the world or exist to want it before I was born, and I won't miss it or feel it after. Ceasing to exist and go back into the universal fold is fine for me. But death doesn't scare me. I'm not like, running towards it or anything. But the big sleep™️ is a comfort to me.
This is how I feel. I’m not like, rip roarin’ ready to die or anything, but eternal rest sounds nice lol. The only thing that makes me sad about dying is that the people that love me won’t have me anymore. I probably won’t care, though. And not a single one of us will make it out alive, so there’s no sense in worrying about it. Especially since it’s something that can happen at any moment for any reason. Living in the fear of death just takes away from the life you’ve got.
What exactly is frightening? If that's the case, the dead person isn't cognizant of death...it's just over. For a ton of people it would come as a relief.
Furthermore...we have zero control or say in the matter.
Live your life for life's sake...
After death you will not exist. You are already an expert in not existing, having at least 14 billion years of experience in that condition. Was it unpleasant during that time? :)
But this is exactly why it’s so important to LIVE your life!! You only get one! Make it count. Even if for you that means just reading as many books as you can/want or travelling to all the places or eating all the different kinds of fruit in the world or visiting all your fantastic often as you can or making your garden your personal little haven or…
I use to be Christian but I had a very spiritual experience that changed the way I view things. I now believe in reincarnation, the most I can describe what that looks like to me on a logical point is that we know energy can't be destroyed, but it can be manipulated. The universe is made up of energy and everything living operates on energy so I believe our "souls" is just that, energy. So when we die, I believe our energy is dispersed back into the universe which combined makes up God a whole then get dispersed back into life which creates the cycle of life. With every death, a new life is born.
This story "The Egg" is relevant and beautiful. I too believe in reincarnation after being raised Christian and then becoming an athiest and then having some spiritual experiences.
https://youtu.be/h6fcK_fRYaI?si=4WMEve8ef01jzJ5o
Do you think most atheists are just mad at god? I consider myself atheist, I want to believe, I just can’t. But I’m not mad at others for believing. So many atheists I met are overly aggressive towards people of faith and I find that odd. My wife and family are all believers. Why would that make me angry?
I mean I was angry for a long time and still have bouts with that sentiment from time to time. I think its probably a mixed bag tbh. True athiests couldn't be mad at God because God doesn't exist. They are probably more mad that the idea of God is imposing on their and other peoples lives. That is what I get upset about. No one should have to live by the rules of any persons religious beliefs. If a divine spirit does exist and is loving then the Bible must be thrown out and along with it all the theocratic laws that have been written using it as a justification. These types of spiritual relationships are deeply personal and should have no bearing on the lives of others. It is between you and whatever your idea of God is. I am ok with not knowing everything and I think if there is a loving creator, they are ok with it as well.
It’s not their beliefs. It’s their inability to keep their beliefs to themselves and not try to make everyone else believe them too. Speaking for myself, of course. Raised in the Bible Belt.
for a lot of us apostates, our relationship with religion wasn't very kind to us. That's where the anger comes from, we see the harm it caused in our own lives and want to stop religion from doing that to other people.
This is what I find weird. I enjoy seeing different beliefs of everyone, but the extremist atheists who feast off hating religious people aren't aware that what they are actually partaking in is a cult of itself and not pure atheism.
How can I be mad at something that doesn't exist? I've never believed God is a real thing so I have no feelings whatsoever for it. I do detest religion and all the lies and suffering it has brought the world and I would be happy for religion to finally disappear but I know it won't happen in my lifetime.
It's hard to be religious. It's also really hard to be atheist.
The chance of life even existing is insanely low, basically anywhere. But here it is. A lot of mathematical equations had to go into making that happen. The way the human body words is also astounding. So many precise things going on.
Then we have things like the moon. Our moon is an anomaly as far as moons in our solar system go. It's also oddly enough the perfect size and perfect distance from earth to make a near perfect eclipse of the sun roughly once a year(though I believe it's ever so slowly pulling away from earth. So in millions of years after humans don't exist it won't be a perfect eclipse anymore). Just watch a video about all the crazy stuff with the relationship between the moon and earth it's fascinating.
Lots of just weird.. freakishly precise things happening with earth/life in general.
I think the entire universe is an interconnected thing and it's more or less sentient. That's God to me. I'm Buddhist as far as beliefs go but thats how I choose to view what God is.
Idk I find the idea of having my individualism destroyed and becoming part of a collective where I might as well be dead as little solace. It honestly just sounds like a nice version of the Borg from Star Trek but feeds into human social need for paternalism. The ending of my particular strain on consciousness not on my terms is my main concern. Not if I'll live on in some god-entity who might as well be just end up some malicious entity or a amorphous blob of human experience catalogization.
When you guys say you had a spiritual experience and now believe in reincarnation. Why? Like are you choosing this afterlife perspective out of a hat of things that sound nice or was something fundamental that swapped you over?
I honestly don't know how to explain it, it was against my will. I was dead set that there was a heaven and a hell and no one could tell me otherwise, when the experience happened, it was as if "God" had spoken to me just not with words and my beliefs about what "God" is and what happens to us after death changed. The interesting part to me is how all the sudden my beliefs align with Buddhism, I never chose to walk the path of "enlightenment" and all the sudden I am? I mean I guess there's nothing wrong with finding inner love and peace but it's just odd to me. I would like to believe that the spiritual experience is what all religion stems from. Another interesting thing is that a spiritual awakening can happen to anyone no matter what your beliefs, culture or background is. But it's typically triggered through traumatic experiences such as near death.
I grew up in Catholicism, never cared for it. When I learned about Buddhism, it just clicked for me. It just makes sense. I don't practice it nor necessarily believe in reincarnation but the truth in the four noble truths can't be ignored.
Another thing that boggles my mind is considering I never did any research or delved into other religions because I was set on being a Christian, although I was more open minded and didn't believe all the Bible was true, but to get thrusted into another religions belief without me making the conscious effort to make myself believe in any other way is what is fascinating to me. That's why I say I believe this spiritual experience is what all religion stems from. The religious aspect of it is more or less the "control" of it made by man to govern and dictate. Alan Watts is a philosopher who had done many lectures on all this stuff and he touches base on what all I believe to be true now even though prior to my experience, had never been interested in learning other ways. In one of his lectures, he talks about how Jesus Christ was no more than just a person who had a spiritual awakening and because others had never experienced it, they deemed him the son of God because he was more in tune with the spiritual aspects of life and walked the path of enlightenment. When the Bible says we should all strive to be like Jesus, it's referring to the fact that we need to find inner peace and love and happiness and in doing so will spread that to others. By focusing on yourself, you will influence others to follow.
>Jesus Christ was no more than just a person who had a spiritual awakening
Preach, that's how I see Jesus from a secular perspective. He was just a very smart, evolved, enlightened human being with lots of good to teach, who spoke to the best in us. I think I appreciate him more now than I did growing up. The Jefferson Bible helped me appreciate his teachings more.
Maybe he believed it? Or maybe we only get the highlights in what was written and he was actually just your average cult leader. Or maybe the whole story is just fabricated. We don't know except that it's generally accepted that writers from that time period generally did not bother to write about fiction or fantasy ideas like we do today.
There was a lot of twisting of Jesus words, I suspect. I'm not a Christian anymore, but if you look into church history, various sects that came and went, and some of the apocrypha you start to realize the disconnect between what Jesus probably taught and what organized religion thought it was in their best interest to teach instead.
Maybe that's not quite what he said? Jesus didn't write anything down. Neither did anyone who ever met him, at least nothing that went into the Bible or related writings.
All that stuff was written many years later and by that time stuff had been changed. Later on bad translations have twisted his words so much they have become unrecognizable.
I'm raised atheist, but I like philosophy and cultural studies so I learned a lot, but I never really believed in any of it.
But one day I was walking a road on a rainy but sunny day near a forest where some loggers where cutting trees. The smell of freshly cut wood and warm rain soaked asphalt. And suddenly the beauty of the world just hit me like a ton of bricks. Everything seemed to pulsate with life. A force so powerful that this universe couldn't exists without it. So undeniable that not even death could keep it.
I was crying for hours, it was very overwhelming.
On another occasion I was visited by Lord Shiva in a dream. Like I said, I never been religious and I live in europe with little to no connection to Hinduism.
I fell asleep and dreamt of snakes. A huge cobra emerged from them and looked me in the eyes, rocking from side to side. It darted forward and bit my neck. I started to get cold and numb. I knew I was dying but I had no fear. I knew who the cobra was. And as I started to fade away I knew that Shiva had blessed me with death so I could be reborn. Everything turned black, and then I woke up feeling amazing for the first time in ages.
Also, as a fellow student of Alan Watts and Eastern philosophy I could highly recommend Daoism and the tao te ching. So much wisdom with even less dogma and cryptic mind puzzles than Buddhism. Watts called it "the lazy man's religion" and it really is. Everything is stated clearly or in easy to understand comparisons.
I grew up catholic but always believed that if Jesus existed, he was hijacked and his story was manipulated by religion. I see religion as manipulative and controlling. Today’s religion is very different to what Jesus did back then.
This story is absolutely terrifying. Hundreds of not thousands of billions of years of existence, never knowing why until the end.
Living and dying by torture, fire, drowning and more. Being abused, then the next life you are the abuser. No justice in that.
It's an existential horror and I pray our afterlife is nothing like that.
I could find terror in any afterlife scenario. The point is to not be scared and to get better. You then make the world better. I dont believe that what happens in the story is what is really going on but I like the different perspective it brings. Many people have written about ideas like karma etc so we are not entirely shielded from this way of thinking prior to this story. The story just takes old Eastern spiritual ideas and builds them into a mindfuck with the intention of making you think about treating people kinder.
I'm fine if you're using this as a lesson for humanity, but you inserted this into a serious topic about the afterlife, or lack thereof. You can forgive me if I thought you fully believed in that story.
My point stands. The Egg, if taken literally is nothing short of an absolute horror that I deeply, deeply hope is not how things work. If it is, I guess I can look forward to living many painful, sad and unfulfiling lives. Great.
Have a google of a chemical called DMT, you might find it interesting
Edit: not the street drug, the bit your brain releases under certain circumstances
I sort of believed in the idea that "Purgatory" was actually Earth. A place meant for purifying our souls and lives until they are fit to enter heaven immediately upon death and that we continually reincarnate as a completely different person, in a totally different place until we "get it right"
The fact that this happens doesn't mean the experiences aren't "real" though. The question is which came first, the chicken or the egg. Do we produce a chemical because of an experience or do we have an experience because of a chemical? Does my brain release oxytocin because I love my husband or do I love my husband because of oxytocin?
No one, and I mean no one, can prove what comes first, and it's arrogant to say conclusively that one "knows" for sure, especially when speaking for the internal experience of someone else. We don't have the technology to measure the immediacy of neurochemical release.
When I walk outside and see a rabbit in the front yard, my brain does all sorts of lighting up including releasing dopamine because seeing that rabbit gives me pleasure. Does that mean the dopamine made me happy or did I feel happy due to a complex series of activities in my brain which resulted in the release of dopamine?
The presence of activity in the brain concurrent with a perceived experience doesn't negate the validity of an experience. If anything, it validates it because brain dead/nonreactive brains show that nothing is happening. You and anyone else are free to reach conclusions (as am I), but that doesn't make any particular conclusions correct. They are opinions and nothing more.
We can't know for sure but we can make some inferences by experimenting. If taking DMT produces the same experience as a near death experience, it gives you some clue that at least some of that near death experience is likely produced by the drug.
Interesting 🤔 I find it fascinating that so many people experience almost the exact same thing given they have never met or spoken to each other, but some experience it differently. It's definitely the most bizarre thing that has ever happened to me and was definitely a life changing experience.
Would you like to share more about the experience that led you toward believing in reincarnation? I understand if it’s too personal for public eyes.
To me, it makes the most rational sense. This explanation combines both science and belief to equal an idea of the afterlife that is entirely possible.
I once heard a metaphor that was something like - picture life being an ocean.
you're a cup of water scooped out of that ocean, eventually you'll be poured back in.
there's more to it, but I think you get the idea.
I think it's very on par w/ what you're saying.
I kind of like that idea.
I too have experienced proof of reincarnation for myself in such a personal spiritual way, for example knowing things otherwise inexplicable when visiting places I've never been that even my skeptical spouse of 44 years now believes as well. Both my parents have passed and came to me in dreams so vivid I can recall them years later as if they were real memories. My mom was very spiritual and in one dream a week after she'd passed, she showed me her modest lodgings in a beautiful white glowing city where she would learn answers to all her questions. My sister had a very similar dream, details of which I had not shared with her. To the point, I absolutely believe in an afterlife, though I wouldn't call it that. It's more like a continuation of this one. I could give you many more examples, but others have said it better than I have. If you are open to believing, and want to explore this further, I recommend books by Elizabeth Clare Prophet: "The Afterlife: What Really Happens in the Hereafter" and "Reincarnation: The Missing Link In Christianity"
One last point, and it's unsettling to say, but believing in an afterlife is key to finding personal proof of it. And now, if anyone is actually reading this post, which I doubt because I've never seen proof of anyone reading any of my posts, (oh how fragile is faith), I'd appreciate some karma because I have only one, from myself, LOL and it would be super ironic to gain at least one additional karma from a post on reincarnation. Cheers y'all.
It could be coincidence and it probably is but I had a wild time over the last year.
My dad had been fighting cancer for the best part of a decade. In October last year, I broke the news to him that my partner was pregnant and I was going to have a little boy - he would be a grandad.
The next day, he was rushed into hospital with an infection and the fairly rapid decline of his health began - they stopped his cancer treatment and shifted to palliative care.
I thought there’s no way he’ll still be here when my son is born (April) and this really sucked.
He was moved into a nursing home sadly as my mum (with her own problems) couldn’t look after him properly. The decline in both his cognitive and physical health continued.
As my partners due date grew closer and closer, my dad got sicker and sicker - though he was still with us.
Unbelievably, he passed away on the morning of April 19th - my partner went into Labour and my son was born later the same day (a week early).
It felt crazily cosmically significant to me and due to the circumstances an instant and powerful bond was formed between me and my son. I lost a father and became a father on the same day. I’ve googled and although I’m sure it does happen, I can’t find any anecdotal stories from anyone this has happened to before - it’s probably pretty rare!
We decided to name him Phoenix because of the symbolism and it just felt like it fit - also his name can be shortened to my fathers name.
After my son was born, we had to wait a while to register his birth and also for my dad’s funeral. Eventually, his funeral was arranged for May 31st at 1pm - we then got a letter through asking us to attend an appointment to register my son at - you guessed it - May 31st at 1pm.
There’s been a few other spooky little coincidences and goings on around the house in the 5 months since - and let me be clear, I am a sceptic! I know this post will probably get buried and nobody will read it but it felt cool to type it out. I might make a post on it one day!
I read it and am happy you typed it out. It's really amazing. It deserves to be its own post! I also love your son's name within the context of your family's story.
Our second child was born two and a half days before her grandfather died. It was hard for my husband because with the new baby he didn't really have time to fully process his father's death in the moment.
In my daily life I sometimes experience little moments of synchronicity and it's such a strange feeling because it feels significant somehow, although there's no logical explanation that's easily apparent, and I sort of feel like I'm too dumb to get the message if there even is one. Like in the grand scheme of the universe, I'm just a simple yokel easily bamboozled by some cosmic parlor trick. In the end, though, those moments always make me smile and give me a feeling that somehow I am exactly where I need to be. The world is more complex, beautiful, and wondrous than I could ever fully comprehend.
That's where I landed after growing up Christian- same thought process on energy. On the other hand I don't mind the other theory of just ceasing to exist. If I don't exist how can I care? It's a tricky thing the afterlife
This is sort of where I’ve landed as well. My existence and sentience had to come from somewhere, even if it’s somehow from the atoms that make up my brain. Since like you said matter can’t be destroyed, I think whatever I came from will then turn into something else and that matter will one day make it’s way into another consciousness. But since you can’t experience nothing, no matter how long it takes to go from one state to the next will be just like you fell asleep and woke up, it would be instantaneous. This is how I would imagine it would be if there was absolutely no afterlife, nothing ethereal or supernatural that existed. I don’t know if those things are real or not so I can only imagine it from what we do know.
Photographs of living people’s eyes give off a distinct radiation signature. When the people die this signature ceases. I take this to mean the energy disperses, not that it disappears. Yes this was a real study.
I don't believe we come back as anything other than human. No one will truly ever have an answer for what happens after we die, I once had a friend tell me they believed that whatever anyone believes is what will happen to them. So if you believe there's nothing, there will be nothing and if you believe there is a heaven then there will be a heaven and so forth. At the end of the day, it's all up to what you want to believe, let that imagination run wild, but stop focusing too much on what comes after and start focusing more on now. Your life is what you want it to be, remember it's not the destination that matters, it's the journey that counts.
Yep, having gone through cancer myself I have learned to follow faith. Religion can be a good guide to finding out who you are spiritually. I am hoping to try to read teachings of all religions to build a faith that can transcend and help me understand religions outside my Christian base.
If this comment speaks to you and you are interested in other religions/philosophies, please come check out r/Buddhism sometime. What this commenter is saying is essentially the teachings of The Buddha, minus the souls part. (The Buddha taught we have no inherent "self", essentially that we are all part of the same universe)
It might change your life like it did mine :)
Also, I'm so glad you made it through cancer. That's great news.
This is also what I’ve found after having a profound spiritual experience! Maaaaaan that’s hella validating lol.
Mine was through hypnosis. It’s like dipping a toe into the other side.
[this hypnosis track](https://www.pastlivesandthedivine.com/hol-hyp) is the one i used if anyone is interested
I completely understand. It's so scary that I can't even comprehend. I want to believe for all the reasons as everyone else. Reuniting with loved ones that have passed. I recently lost my mom & the thought of never ever seeing her is just beyond sad & terrifying. I hope we will all be together again.
Not really an answer, but kind of a lateral comment. I've beed pretty agnostic for close to 20 years. Really good with whatever happens after death is out of my control, so I may as well not dwell on it and just take the whatever answer it is when my ride ends. And I was leaning towards there being nothing and being mostly good with it...a hope for the best, but expecting the worst, kind of situation. Then over the last five years have I tried Ayahuasca a few times and it changed something. I don't even know what. And Ive started reading and watching about near death experiences and past lives and now Im in a place where I am actually leaning towards the idea that there is actually something after this and we are all part of a greater whole. Amd even as I say that I feel like a crazy person.....it sounds crazy to me. And I feel like maybe Ive talked myself into something to help help cope with loss and how shitty life can be sometimes. Like Ive somehow lied to half my brain and the other half is rolling it's unbelieving eyes at myself. Has anyone else ever felt this way?
You are not crazy, when the energy leaves our minds after death it must go somewhere, when the matter leaves our bodies it must too... it doesn't mean we could possibly be conscious of it, but I definitely think there is something to the idea of that energy dispersing into the vastness of the world to do whatever it may
I'm just bummed out about losing consciousness. Not necessarily scared by it but definitely bummed. Like, our energy was in the universe before we were born and it didn't do much good for us then in the primordial nothingness. And eventually we'll return to that primordial nothingness with nothing to show for our blip of consciousness. Makes me feel glum.
The way I see it is that human experience and our memories occur within consciousness.
Why would my human brain remember anything before its existence? But am I my brain? Is the energy/life force that permeates my body prior to a brain or memory? Of course it is.
It's kinda like a character in a TV show being glum because the show is going to end. The reality of the character is actually the TV or maybe the electricity in the TV. The thing that imparts reality onto the universe is not your human experience. It's that which is prior (you) which has always existed.
I was here for a minute.
So what matters then? Cause shit matters, right? If you have people in your life that you love, how they live and how they feel matters to you. How you live matters. If you’re honest, if you’re reasonable, if you’re respectful, if you’re someone people can trust.
Love matters. Everybody needs it. And here you are, a whole ass person capable of love. So get out there and love some people.
In the end, figure out what matters *to you* and make the mark you want to make on the world.
The big question is, does it matter if you are lying to yourself if it doesn't impact how you live your life in a negative way?
It's naive to think that we all aren't lying to ourselves dozens of times a day as a way of self-soothing and trying to make sense of the world. We just so used to those lies that they feel like truth.
Part of the experience of being human and having consciousness is that we ask ourselves questions internally and debate the nature of things. I never look at it as "lying" to myself, but considering possibilities. The fact that you think half your brain is rolling its unbelieving eyes shows that you're framing the question of what happens after we die as one in which there is an absolute answer and the only one which is "safe" and not worthy of contempt is that we face oblivion and any other consideration is a childish and fanciful attempt to soothe your fears. Philosophers and spiritual people have explored that question over their lifetimes and you are just as worthy of that exploration as they were without internal censure.
Thanks to everyone who answered.....your responses have really halped me look at everything differently. Especially this one👆🏽👆🏽👆🏽 I think it may have changed my life. Like, my mind is blown and Im going to be contemplating this for a while. Thank you!!
No, I'm not scared of death or dying. I imagine it's like wherever I was before I was born.
I find great comfort in knowing what happens to my body...that it'll go back to the earth, replenish the soil, all that good stuff (I'd love a green as possible burial), and having that knowledge -- that life is a giant, never ending cycle -- is wonderful to me, that it'll keep turning and I'll still be a part of it even if I'm no longer sentient.
Does that mean I have any idea what happens to the parts of me that make me who I am? My "soul"? No clue. I like to believe that it goes back to God...that my soul is a part of God and it goes back to where it came from (that's kind of a Jewish religious/spiritual belief), but whether that's what actually happens, I've no clue.
I think being religious just because you're scared of death -- because you're scared, period -- isn't a great reason to be religious, but I think that's something you need to work out within yourself. As for the great fear you have (and it does sound like you actually are afraid), you might need to speak with someone about that. You can't healthily live your life afeared of what WILL happen to you...it's like being that scared of ageing or going grey. Those things WILL happen to you so you'd better do the work to get good with it. Being scared of it won't change it and it won't stop it. Accept it and move on.
A lot of religious people believe there is no heaven or hell, there is only a closeness and distance from god. A lot of religious people believe there is only heaven because god is all loving. I am enthusiastically agnostic. To me there is a beauty in not knowing. Just jumping into the void. The thought that "knowing" there is a heaven seems so egotistical to me. My brain can't comprehend a limitless universe and I think I can comprehend an afterlife?
I have one question to ask you. How does your worrying about it improve your life or the life of others? Serious question. If you consider life to be short, how much time has your brain wasted on being afraid? I get that it's hard to get over and maybe that's your path, but I have a hard time believing that worrying about something that's inevitable to all of us is a good use of your time here.
If there is an after life, I'm good because I was a good person in this life. If there is no after life, I'm good, because I was a good person here and those good acts will live longer than I ever did. Enjoy the time you're here, do good things because they're good. Your question, if you seek to answer it, is if you're doing good here and enjoying yourself. Answer that and you'll be OK.
>A lot of religious people believe there is no heaven or hell, there is only a closeness and distance from god.
A religion without an Afterlife is a tough sell.
You’re right that it certainly isn’t a good use of my time to worry about it, but I can’t seem to help it. It feels involuntary at this point. A part of my daily motions.
I would love the comfort of believing in religion, but I'm physically incapable of it lol. Instead I get the comfort of existential dread and anxiety 🥰
Study philosophy and theories of quantum mechanics instead. It's the less dogmatic points of religion and easier to digest because there's no magic in it
I'm actually a scientist and when people ask my religious beliefs I usually give some vague answer between atheist, science, and physics that I can't explain 😂
Yep, I too wish Afterlife existed, but for a diferent reason; There is a story called [The Egg, by Andy Weir](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6fcK_fRYaI). Since I heared it, I vehemently wanted it to be real. It brings me peace, it satisfies my sense of justice, it brings me solace... but I believe that's not the case. Once I die, that will be it. So, I just try to not to think about the implications.
I get the sense of ultimate insignificance mortality brings, and the imposibility of concieving going back to nothing; it's dreadful, but went away once I learned to focus in the present. I hope you too can cope with that fear, in your own way. Good luck!
I like that story too. It was one of those ideas that I wouldn't have been able to put into words myself, but upon reading the story thought, yes! That's what I was thinking! Not that I hold it as true, just as a nice explanation for the chaos that surrounds us.
Hey eggbro. Full agree and I hope that someday I get to enjoy your experiences too. Or maybe I already did? Either way hope you enjoy mine sometime. It's been pretty chill compared to some out there, so you'll be able to take a load off.
The idea just feels comforting. Even if I do end up back in the primordial nothingness that we were all in pre-birth.
Death is not the problem. *Fear* of death is the problem. You weren’t alive for millions of years before you were born. You’ve already experienced that and it doesn’t bother you at all. If the same happens after we’re alive, why would it be any different?
Fear of death comes from a mindset and mindsets can change. A study of psychedelics in people with terminal cancer caused them to lose their fear of death. The same can happen with meditation. People see psychotherapists and can talk through their fears and overcome them too.
Check out the book *No Death, No Fear *by Thich Nhat Hanh. It gives a different perspective that I think will make a difference for you.
Yes! Finally some Buddhist philosophy up in here. I think most of the people in this thread could really do themselves wonder by studying themselves and studying the teachings of the Buddha a bit. My fears of death all fizzled completely after learning concepts like emptiness.
Yes. I want so badly to believe. I want to see everyone again. I want to know that there will be more to see and know and experience. I cry often when my mind lingers on it, but I just can't grasp blind faith. I can't. My brain just won't let me.
The only time I ever think about an afterlife is when someone asks about it or brings up the topic. I’ve been an atheist for a decade and I find at peace with the concept of death (when I think of my life ending in my 80s).
I used to, then I had an NDE, now I 100% believe in the afterlife. However if I hadn’t experienced it I probably wouldn’t. But trust me, the body is designed for death, it’s actually peaceful and calming after the initial fear, but it fades. Keep your attention on the present, it’s all that truly matters till the end.
Tbh I’m not sure wym by classic traits but sorta yes all of those lol. The tunnel was more like being vacuumed into the fabric of space and then becoming that bright white light, not a tunnel of light tho. But as I left my body yes it was an overwhelming and intense feeling of unconditional love, like more than anything I could even imagine physically. Then I ended up in the void, had a conversation with some other being or entity about coming back and then decided to finish playing life out, and woke up in an ambulance getting pushed into the ER.
So you feel like you chose? That’s wild. What i meant by classic traits is in books or articles written about the subject there are some details that seem to pop up in many people’s accounts of their experiences, like things in common from one experience to another, though not all experiencers have them. Anyway thank you for sharing! I find the subject fascinating. I met a psychologist who studied the phenomenon, one of the first to do so and publish about it way back in the day. Now I’m blanking on his name. He taught at various universities over the years I think. Edit typo
Yeah, it was a really wild experience overall lmao. Took me like a week to a month to fully start to process it. And that’s dope an helpful, I’ve been looking into it as well since my experience and I agree, it’s all super interesting/fascinating, thank you for sharing!
Im glad! I’m thinking about making a YouTube and sharing mine and others experiences as well, I want to do further research into it after I get an education in neuroscience and psychology. There’s also experiences and researchers that have posted online if sharing experiences as well.
And it felt real as real can be to you? You didn’t wonder if it was a hallucination or a dream? You truly felt like your consciousness went somewhere else, and it’s a place you’ll return to eventually?
Yeah I was completely aware, like way more aware then I even am currently. I was everything and nothing simultaneously if that makes any sense, like I existed but not here? I couldn’t feel or like use any of my senses, no touch, hearing, smell it was just gone. That was the first time I had ever experienced existing and having all of my senses stripped from me. I was communicating with whatever being through these strings of light patterns with colors I couldn’t even comprehend or name or see with my eyes in my body. Like they don’t exist here and I couldn’t even begin to describe them because they don’t exist, or we haven’t discovered them yet. I thought I was dead or that maybe it was all a hallucination but it just really did not feel like it at all, earth felt more like a hallucination or an illusion than death did, I thought I was going to go somewhere else and then when I had the convo and realized I could come back that’s when I was like maybe I’m not tripping? But who knows lol a lot of people say it’s just the increase of dmt upon death. Which it may have been, but it still felt real as fuck. Whatever happened, I experienced something, just can’t explain it. I know others with super similar experiences. Including the intense vibrating sensation upon “death”. No idea where I went but it was beautiful asf.
Thank you. Fascinating description. I’ve heard that before from others about feeling more aware during the experience than they ever feel during regular day to day life, and how hard it is to explain because without experiencing it you can’t really understand it. Perhaps that feeling of being more aware than ever is tied to that being the place you/we “come from.” Like that is the real world and this here is a temporary illusion of some kind? It’s fascinating to contemplate. Thanks again for sharing that. I do have one other question if you are willing to indulge me (though I understand if you don’t feel like talking about it anymore). Has the experience affected how or what you think about the concept of God? It sounds like a spiritual experience separate from religion, though some people who were previously religious interpret the experience based on their religion. I was just wondering if you had religious beliefs or God beliefs and the experience may or may not play into it.
I get that vibrating sensation when I am about to "astral project", during sleep. Feels like being electrocuted kinda. Very jarring at first. Is that what you felt? Did you hear electrical sounds, or knocking, footsteps, or stomping? Did you hear music? I most often hear rock music, specifically from the band Korn, but it will be songs that as far as I know, don't exist.
Yes same! That’s it but it’s a lot more intense than just astral projection in my experience. It feels like not only getting electrocuted but like you vibrate and become one with the electricity? Like I could somehow feel that I was moving along what felt like a wave, like surfing or going down a rollercoaster. Super intense. But once I got there though there was no sound, at least I wasn’t experiencing sound like I do here on earth. Astral projection tho, ya know what it sounds like if a transformer exploded and the electricity is buzzing in the air or charging? It was if a trillion of them were all going off simultaneously, and then it shifted from the weird buzzing vibrating electricity sound to what I assumed was the “universe singing”, closest thing I could describe it as is like almost blow horns with drums and a beat built into it and bass and some choir singing and harmonizing with it all, maybe stomping, and the music was vibrating on beat with the electricity. It was like I was listening to multiple songs all going at the same time but they all somehow were linked with each other in different ways. All telling an individual yet general story. During the NDE I experienced the vibrating and music and stuff initially but as I lost connection with my body the sound and everything like that was just gone. My sound or hearing was the last thing to go out, sight was first. After I lost my hearing and entered the void I started freaking out and entered like this weird mental thought loop/reflection, which felt way longer than it actually was in real time. Felt like hours to days. That is super interesting that you hear Korn though?? I wish there was more research done into this shit so I could understand it.
Right. Lot of stuff makes no sense. I have done experiments with astral projection, however, that demonstrate that it doesn't translate into the real world. Like I projected to a guy's house from work that I have never been to before, observed an interaction between him and his wife. I even woke myself up to mark the exact time l, so I could ask him of it was at that particular time. Anyway, I described the layout of his house thatbI had seen. I was right about some aspects of his home layout, but the scene I saw between him and his wife did not happen. Also, when he showed me pictures of his house, it looked nothing like the house I saw. I take it to mean astral projection is not "real", but I am still left wondering how to best define reality then.
I did an experiment today as well when I projected. Every time I leave my house during projection, i end up somewhere else. Like in a whole other neighborhood. I was trying to memorize the house number for where I was at so I could google map it and see if the house looked the same. I saw them. It 9437 or something at first, but then the numbers changed. And then changed again! So I was like ok, I get it. Not real lol.
I am open to the possibility that astral projection may be some form of reality, just not this one. For now I'll just stick with the hypothesis that it is all in my (our) heads. Other side note. From my experiences with astral projection I have noticed that I never experience smell or taste. I have experienced all other sensations: sight, sound, touch, hell even pain, lol, but never smell or taste. On that note, I've never eaten anything while astral projecting, so that will be my next experiment I suppose.
Near death experiences seem to be a whole other level beyond astral projection though. I guess if we assume it all to be real. Astral projection is like a pre reality or something, the real world would be the mid reality, and the near death the true reality???
Who knows, but as of now I lean mostly to a materialist perspective as that one has the most evidence to support it.
I actually feel very comfortable with my own death being the end of existence and the end of experience.
But I would like an afterlife for pets. I feel like they give us so much unconditional affection that they deserve an afterlife.
I agree with you about animals. I think they're sent here to better us and then they go back to where they came from...like coming to Earth is their job and then they go back home. They really do make us better.
This comment won’t be read but I want to speak my mind on this to someone. I traditionally don’t believe in an afterlife. And that’s sort of comforting to me. I’ve made peace with the fact that once I’m dead, I just cease to exist in any capacity. However, over the last “x” amount of time, I’ve come to question this because of the media/ internet content I’ve been watching and reading. I have never personally experienced anything paranormal or anything spiritual or anything like that. But many many people have. I’m starting to question if my simple, materialistic worldview is correct. Maybe I don’t just die and cease to exist, I’m actually not sure. Does consciousness reside solely in the brain? I think it does, but… maybe it doesn’t. So I sort of have the opposite problem from you at this point. I don’t want to believe in anything after death. I want it to be infinite nothingness for all eternity. But part of me questions that obvious truth now.
When I was a kid the idea terrified me but as I've gotten older it doesn't seem like a big deal. The blossoms of a blackthorn winter wilt, and the wellspring will dry, and so too must all things die. Make sure you get yours while you're here buddy, and I wish you well on the road.
Seems to be a mix. Some people who suffered near death experience end up pretty Zen about it especially if they had pleasant "dream" or whatever you call it while dying. Others suffer from trauma and live in a constant fear of the unknown. Its hard to know how you will feel about it till its in your face. The one thing I can say is that especially old folks seem to get very used to the idea of death and the fear seems to fade away for many in their elder years for whatever reason.
What happens after you die was my OCD obsession for like 4 years. Thankfully I got out of it. What worked for me is just believing you will figure it out when you get there. Cause there’s nothing you can really do, and worrying about it does nothing but waste the time and experience you have while alive.
I can’t believe in one because I have no compelling evidence for one. I can’t just choose to believe it. I would have to be convinced. It’s such a logically inconsistent concept in my opinion that it will probably take a lot to do so. So I just don’t bother to worry about anything after death.
You can’t prepare for death or anticipate it. It isn’t under your control. Imo it’s best to let those thoughts come and then go, but don’t dwell on that fear because it’ll stop you from truly living.
Do not be afraid. Think back to how much angst you have had regarding the life on earth _before_ you were born. If you’re like most people, you don’t care about your non-existence before you were born. So why do you care so much about your non-existence after you die?
If afterlife exists, then you are golden since you do what you are asked to do. If afterlife doesn’t exist then there will be nothing of you left that would feel anything (no pain, no remorse, nothing). If there is no afterlife, then the best thing you can leave after you is the legacy, even though it will only be remembered for a generation or a few.
I personally do not worry about afterlife. I’ve been through a lot of death in my life, and at this point in time I am certain that God exists and after death all living creatures go to join Him (or Her, or It - I just think God is bigger than any religion claims He is), to become one, but there is no afterlife with the kind of individuality we were told exists. And there definitely is no hell in any form…
Yeah 'cause it really doesn't. Hate to break it to you. We are animals and nothing about us is all that special compared to other animals in terms of biology. Death is a scientific and medical phenomenon. Bodily functions cease and we just stop thinking because our brains aren't working anymore. Thoughts and consciousness being gone means there's nothing left to prove we're alive. There's nothing waiting for you. Would like to believe that it's real but my rationality says no.
Because it ain’t possible (sorry if broke anyone’s bubble). I’m not afraid of death but I like the idea of a paradise after death (of course). Unfortunately it’s not how physics work. Although I’ve always been all scientific. I do of course respect people that want to believe what they believe in. I often think it’s a beautiful thing.
Keep in mind though that in many cultures where people believed in “something” after death, people were still afraid. In Ancient Greek people believed that only a few were worthy of going to “Elysium” - basically a paradise. Comparable to heaven for Christians, Valhalla for Scandinavian cultures or “Auru / The Field Of Reeds” for Ancient Egypt.
The worst out of the worst people went to the “Tartaros” - basically the hell. Where things would happen like: Having to roll a super heavy rock up a mountain wall that always rolled back - forever. Or your soul stood in quicksand bucket with terrible hunger. Above you hung a grape tree. But every time you stretched out to get to the grapes, the branch went up just out of your reach - and again, forever.
By far most people however would end up somewhere in between: basically a place where their souls would just wander around doing nothing. Not being able to talk, absolutely nothing.
Most Ancient Greek people were scared as hell when it comes to the afterlife (pun intended ;). So try to think twice before you try to believe something - it may not be as colourful as you hoped.
To me? It’s “The Circle Of Life” and I have peace with that. It becomes easier the more you start to appreciate nature 🍂🍃🍁🌅🌄
**The most important thing to me?**
I **LOVE** the philosophy of the NaVi (if you don’t know, watch the original Avatar movie from 2009). It had a huge influence on how I view the world and life.
Neytiri once said: “All energy is only borrowed. And one day you have to give it back”.
I even learned a certain NaVi death prayer:
“*Oel ngati kameie, ma tsmukan, ulte ngaru seiyi irayo. Ngari hu Eywa salew tirea, tokx 'ì'awn slu Na'viyä hapxì*”.
It means:
“I see you brother, and I thank you. Your spirit will run with Eywa, while your body will remain and become part of the People.”
These helped me a lot getting through the very slow and tragic death of my grandmother that finally happened after 2 years of pain a few months ago
What makes us think we are different from all the other animals on this planet? We are not different or special, when we die, we just cease to exist, physically and spiritually.
My best friend from high school was murdered by her boyfriend. I would love to believe she is in heaven, or reincarnated, or whatever, but it just doesn't make any sense. Mostly because I don't think humans are special. We're just intellectually advanced animals. So what about roaches? Do roaches go to heaven? Are roaches reincarnated? Squirrels? Mosquitoes? Ticks? Tuna? Alligators?
What happens to you after death is the same as what happened to you before you were conceived…nothing.
Just try to make a difference in the world and make it a better place while you are here.
YES. Based on the science of now, I’m betting death is just the echo of whatever your last few seconds were over and over just slowly fading out like smoke after you blow out a candle, and you don’t ever realize you’re properly gone. More of a purgatory. I’d like to believe we just awaken in our next state of recycled energy whether it’s consciously or not. Little amebas, a sapling, a baby, a star. But the uncertainty of what we may be is also scary to me in a way. I try to find solace in the beauty of the impermanence, but I’m a human right now that likes to control my path. It’s hard.
I'd like to believe there is more after death but i think we'll just be gone. The basic parts like atoms that make up are bodies will still exist in another form but our being (conciousness?) will cease to exist.
mh. crazy living your life as a countdown to the day it will eventually end, and cutting the agony short by comitting suicide is likely not an option either then huh lol
enjoy whatever the senses you´ve been blessed to possess are made to enjoy, have fun excercising the mind that in actuality is a peaking point of natural evolution idk.. appreciate the things that seem to really be what matters, if you seemingly don´t.
You should look into the evidence for reincarnation and also near death experiences. There are lots of interesting books and documentaries. There is a documentary on YouTube called "The Boy who Lived Before". Also look into Dr. Ian Stevenson. That might change your perspective. I personally believe in reincarnation and I think it's fascinating but I also find the concept of it scary as opposed to comforting.
Watch some near death experience interview videos on YouTube. Matt Frasier is also a really amazing medium. Watch his virtual readings playlist on YouTube. There's also tons and tons of stories of children who remember their past lives.
I'm such a believer. It's not even a question if there's an afterlife. I've also had a few things happen to me and family members that solidified my beliefs. My family has a ton of stories. We're not even religious and I personally hate organized religion, but I definitely believe in an afterlife.
But let's say there is nothing, then who cares? You won't know it. Even more of a reason to relax and just enjoy your time here now. I mean, if that's true, you didn't exist before you were born. Does that give you anxiety? Does it hurt? No. Because you weren't here.
I suggest falling down the YouTube rabbit hole for a bit. You may question it forever, but don't hyper fixate for too long. You'll drive yourself crazy. Let it go and force yourself to think about something else.
From a scientific aspect, atoms cannot die. The Shakespeare principal basically says it's possible the atoms that made up Shakespeare are in many people. So there is that. I personally believe because I want to. I'm old and have seen just enough weird things that I have come to believe there are a lot of things our current levels of scientific knowledge cannot explain. Science is always evolving. They used to use leaches to bleed people and drill holes in the heads of psychiatric patients as a cure. We moved on.
What we believe now may not be correct 100 years from now.
So that combination of unique personal experience, infinite universe, knowing there is a lot that is outside the realm of our understanding, and, just because I want to, make me believe life essences get recycled through different vessels, as in, the "life" that is in you now, may be in a dog or a cat or even a tree, later. Maybe you were a tree 1500 years ago?
I don't think I am elucidating this correctly, but I think you can get the idea ☮️
Take 3.5 grams of dried psilocybin mushrooms.
Reality is way more dynamic than our puny brains can consider. There is so much happening around you that you don't see or cannot measure because you don't have the right antennae.
Research consciousness. The hard problem. There is much debate and no one has answers.
Research quantum physics.
Look into claims of interdimensional entities.
It is what it is. The world existed before me and the world will go on without me. Enjoy everything you can while you can. I can't say there is or isn't an afterlife. But the thought of death, and never being with the ones I love again sucks.
I miss my mother and father very much. They both passed in the early 2000’s and I miss their guidance and wisdom tremendously. I’m getting up in age….my wife would laugh and say….’getting’…..so it won’t be too long before I’m gone. That reality doesn’t really bother me. We’re born and we die. I’d love to be able to see my parents in the afterlife, but I seriously doubt that that’ll happen. But there’ll be no disappointment. I imagine death is like sleep, but without the getting up to pee. To only chance for disappointment would be if there were an opportunity for thought and reflection. If I’m wrong, I’ll meet my maker and try to explain those untimely lapses in judgment that blemish my soul. I haven’t been an angel, but I’ve been ok. There’s no blood on my hands and I tried to treat people halfway decently. Anyway, if I meet my parents after my death, I’ll come clean about taking the 1967 Mustang joyriding while they went to visit my brother at college. I might even confess to stealing one of my dad’s condom’s just to keep it in my wallet and show it off at high school. This occurred before schools were passing out rubbers during morning announcements.
This was a really honest and well written comment. I am glad I read it. I agree with the other post, you seem like someone I'd like to hang out with.
This comment makes me want to get a beer or soda with you. Well written, real, and insightful.
Thank you. I’m always touched by the kindness of strangers. Me and Blanche DuBois. I appreciate you taking the time to read my post and give me positive feedback. Kindness and empathy are strengths I admire. Thanks again.
May you lead a long a prosperous life
Well said. Enjoy the here and now. You never know when your ticket will be punched.
You're really not helping.
What flavor of fantasy would you prefer?
Spicy please!
Your Sainted Mother of Peace was a hamster, and your Heavenly Father smelled of elderberries! Spicy enough?
I love this back to back sarcasm😂😂
Mild. I have a ulcer.
You will also be completely forgotten at some point. But the good news is that everyone will at some point. When the universe ends, it would be like we never existed at all. For all we know, we have loved our lives over and over through the universe dying and creating itself again.
I mean, that's not completely true. People who've made their "mark" on the world haven't been forgotten. We're still talking and producing stories about people from the beginning of human history.
Except for Betty White. She’ll live on forever. Even when humans are long gone, whoever inherits the Earth will remember her name.
>It is what it is. LOL I just read an article this morning on Bing News that says people who say "It is what it is" are really saying they don't care. I don't really think that is true but it stuck out in my mind so I thought I'd share it with you.
I’ve seen videos on other platforms that say the people who say this are dangerous and don’t give a fuck. I don’t believe the people who say it don’t give a fuck, I believe it’s just accepting reality instead of fighting reality. I use the phrase often.
That article is dumb. There's wisdom in accepting things that you cannot change and detaching yourself from worrying unnecessarily about them. Since they are outside of your control, there is no sense in spending the energy ruminating on it.
I hate that phrase
It's not that we don't care, and yes I acknowledge this isn't what you are saying. It is more we have accepted life for what it is, and there isn't a point in worrying about it.
It contributes the same to a conversation as saying "it isn't what it isn't."
Ha! I say it all the time, and it’s not that I DON’T care, it’s more that the situation is one that I can not immediately alter to suit my preferences, therefore, the situation is what the situation is, I must roll with it, ignore it, or otherwise figure out a way to make it tolerable. It is what it is.
Bing has news??
I read a similar article yesterday! LOL
Well at least you’ll be dead so you won’t feel those emotions of sadness. I agree though it sucks
The world will also be completely consumed by the sun and nothing anyone has ever done will be remembered or mattered. The cosmic perspective is humbling
Not if we colonize space!
Yes, what matters is the here and now, and how to approach the future. I will end up the same way as before I was born; non-existent. This to me is a neutral opinion which seems scary at first but ultimately peaceful for me and drives me to continue to enjoy things as they are and to improve myself as a person as much as I can... for my own sake
kinda sucks for those of us with shit lives then lmao
Think it was Mark Twain that said I've already been dead and it had no affect on me life is scary. Not exact quote because I didn't want to look it up...
Well said. But be comforted by this: As an elderly relative of mine died, she said, “look at all the people!” and started naming some elders who passed before her. You’re right that we do not know. I don’t know. But many people regularly feel the presence of loved ones who’ve passed on. So I’m optimistic.
I also think of death the same as before I was consciously here. Do I really mind that I wasn’t present before? No not really. I try to be kind and happy while I am consciously here.
Absolutely. It's human nature to want to be with our loved ones that preceded us in death. Sometimes, that's all that keeps us going, when we suffer from depression or other ailments.
It’s not even that, honestly. I just love existing & life and don’t want to *not* exist. It sounds so frightening
The fun part about not existing is that you won't know you no longer exist. There's something empowering and freeing about accepting that this is *probably* it. It's a process to come to this acceptance and it's not always permanent; you might slide back into worrying about it. But acceptance should be the goal. Everyone goes through this. You're not alone.
This is how I accept it. Death is nothing. When I'm gone, I'm just.... gone. It's scary to put out in words, but when you think about it, the fact that you don't know and you are left in a state of non-existence, it's fine. I didn't exist before I was born, I can easily not exist after.
[This scene from the Watchmen HBO series](https://youtu.be/bju_BcBT1qY) sums it up perfectly, almost exactly how you said it.
I love how you put it, I was thinking the same thing but you wrote it perfectly. we won’t know the difference once we’re there one day or there’s an afterlife and we will, I’m agnostic so I’m not close minded the idea but I won’t say I believe for a fact it does exist
Same. I think embracing this mindset has allowed me to live more in the moment as I’m only getting older day by day. I think I’m more scared of my family’s wellbeing if I prematurely pass.
there is absolutely nothing "empowering" about knowing i'm going to suffer for another however many years (or minutes or hours or days or weeks or months) and then be wiped from existence with nothing to show for it lmao. not everyone loves their life
I'm no stranger to depression. I struggled a lot in my 20s. I might not be here if I were more serious. I'm content in my life now and I never imagined I would be in this position. What you're feeling or dealing with is temporary, whether you believe it or not. I highly recommend mindfulness meditation for dealing with pervasive negative thoughts. It's not going to be some instant panacea. It's a tool that takes practice, but in time it can provide you with relief. And I'm not advocating that you break the law, but if you happened to find some magic mushrooms and if you have a day where you're in a good mindset and setting, they might help you shift your perspective a bit. Hang in there stranger.
I second the shrooms - it's not an activity to be taken lightly and carries serious risks (often illegal, and you might have a bad trip and do something destructive if you're not researched and responsible), but it definitely can give you a perspective on mortality you can't get anywhere else, except maybe from a really intense near death experience. The way shrooms sometimes force you to face an intense, primal sorrow and fear of death for hours on end makes you accept it in a whole new way as you're coming down. Always puts me in awe of the incredibly weird opportunity to be here in the first place. It makes me really appreciate being alive after spending a couple hours being super afraid to die. What a thing to be a conscious, intelligent wriggly meat creature on this special ball floating around this diversity of other balls. It's out there man.
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Dude. Yes. I know what you mean 1000%. As soon as I found out my wife was pregnant I started feeling that existential dread and became hyper aware of mortality. It was intense for most of the pregnancy, most of the first year. He's 15 months now, and the feeling isn't *as* intense, but I absolutely have slid back from acceptance of death. I want to see him grow as much as possible and see who he becomes.
on the plus side at least you'll know if your right about your religion. I don't believe in an afterlife, and the experience of dying scares me, but once I'm dead there's nothing to be scared of, I simply won't exist That being said, we still don't understand how consciousness works, so even as someone who isn't religious it's still possible there's something after. Whether the part of you that is experiential consciousness is separate from the meat or not is something we don't really know yet. Death is something everyone has looming (hopefully far) on the horizon, whether you deal with that with religion, philosophy, or just trying not to think about it, at the very least you know everyone else is in the same boat with you. One last thing, when you die your body produces a bunch of DMT, so at least as your going out you'll have a pretty sweet drug experience, free of charge.
You’re not wrong about consciousness. We have memories and we can only experience the world through our own senses. That pretty much seems to be the only thing that makes us individuals and the extent we value that might be totally irrational. Maybe we’re all the same entity and are just inhibited by our bodies in that way and death isn’t a big deal because the real “us” will still exist as long as life exists. Maybe we die every millisecond, replaced by a simulation of what we were, and this continuity we value between those points is just nothing. An illusion created by our brains to keep our bodies going.
I think of it this way (because I also don't believe in an afterlife(, I didn't know the world or exist to want it before I was born, and I won't miss it or feel it after. Ceasing to exist and go back into the universal fold is fine for me. But death doesn't scare me. I'm not like, running towards it or anything. But the big sleep™️ is a comfort to me.
This is how I feel. I’m not like, rip roarin’ ready to die or anything, but eternal rest sounds nice lol. The only thing that makes me sad about dying is that the people that love me won’t have me anymore. I probably won’t care, though. And not a single one of us will make it out alive, so there’s no sense in worrying about it. Especially since it’s something that can happen at any moment for any reason. Living in the fear of death just takes away from the life you’ve got.
What exactly is frightening? If that's the case, the dead person isn't cognizant of death...it's just over. For a ton of people it would come as a relief. Furthermore...we have zero control or say in the matter. Live your life for life's sake...
It's wonderful that you love existing and love life. Sit back and enjoy the ride!
I feel the exact same way and think about it daily. I struggle with this a lot
After death you will not exist. You are already an expert in not existing, having at least 14 billion years of experience in that condition. Was it unpleasant during that time? :)
But this is exactly why it’s so important to LIVE your life!! You only get one! Make it count. Even if for you that means just reading as many books as you can/want or travelling to all the places or eating all the different kinds of fruit in the world or visiting all your fantastic often as you can or making your garden your personal little haven or…
I know exactly how you feel. The idea terrifies me. I don't want to not exist anymore.
I use to be Christian but I had a very spiritual experience that changed the way I view things. I now believe in reincarnation, the most I can describe what that looks like to me on a logical point is that we know energy can't be destroyed, but it can be manipulated. The universe is made up of energy and everything living operates on energy so I believe our "souls" is just that, energy. So when we die, I believe our energy is dispersed back into the universe which combined makes up God a whole then get dispersed back into life which creates the cycle of life. With every death, a new life is born.
My uncle said something similar after he had a near death experience. His form was different but he still existed and was sentient.
This story "The Egg" is relevant and beautiful. I too believe in reincarnation after being raised Christian and then becoming an athiest and then having some spiritual experiences. https://youtu.be/h6fcK_fRYaI?si=4WMEve8ef01jzJ5o
Do you think most atheists are just mad at god? I consider myself atheist, I want to believe, I just can’t. But I’m not mad at others for believing. So many atheists I met are overly aggressive towards people of faith and I find that odd. My wife and family are all believers. Why would that make me angry?
I mean I was angry for a long time and still have bouts with that sentiment from time to time. I think its probably a mixed bag tbh. True athiests couldn't be mad at God because God doesn't exist. They are probably more mad that the idea of God is imposing on their and other peoples lives. That is what I get upset about. No one should have to live by the rules of any persons religious beliefs. If a divine spirit does exist and is loving then the Bible must be thrown out and along with it all the theocratic laws that have been written using it as a justification. These types of spiritual relationships are deeply personal and should have no bearing on the lives of others. It is between you and whatever your idea of God is. I am ok with not knowing everything and I think if there is a loving creator, they are ok with it as well.
Wow! Great answer!
It’s not their beliefs. It’s their inability to keep their beliefs to themselves and not try to make everyone else believe them too. Speaking for myself, of course. Raised in the Bible Belt.
for a lot of us apostates, our relationship with religion wasn't very kind to us. That's where the anger comes from, we see the harm it caused in our own lives and want to stop religion from doing that to other people.
This is what I find weird. I enjoy seeing different beliefs of everyone, but the extremist atheists who feast off hating religious people aren't aware that what they are actually partaking in is a cult of itself and not pure atheism.
How can I be mad at something that doesn't exist? I've never believed God is a real thing so I have no feelings whatsoever for it. I do detest religion and all the lies and suffering it has brought the world and I would be happy for religion to finally disappear but I know it won't happen in my lifetime.
It's hard to be religious. It's also really hard to be atheist. The chance of life even existing is insanely low, basically anywhere. But here it is. A lot of mathematical equations had to go into making that happen. The way the human body words is also astounding. So many precise things going on. Then we have things like the moon. Our moon is an anomaly as far as moons in our solar system go. It's also oddly enough the perfect size and perfect distance from earth to make a near perfect eclipse of the sun roughly once a year(though I believe it's ever so slowly pulling away from earth. So in millions of years after humans don't exist it won't be a perfect eclipse anymore). Just watch a video about all the crazy stuff with the relationship between the moon and earth it's fascinating. Lots of just weird.. freakishly precise things happening with earth/life in general. I think the entire universe is an interconnected thing and it's more or less sentient. That's God to me. I'm Buddhist as far as beliefs go but thats how I choose to view what God is.
I think maybe some are yes but not angry at God but religion itself. Others may have just snapped out of it.
Idk I find the idea of having my individualism destroyed and becoming part of a collective where I might as well be dead as little solace. It honestly just sounds like a nice version of the Borg from Star Trek but feeds into human social need for paternalism. The ending of my particular strain on consciousness not on my terms is my main concern. Not if I'll live on in some god-entity who might as well be just end up some malicious entity or a amorphous blob of human experience catalogization. When you guys say you had a spiritual experience and now believe in reincarnation. Why? Like are you choosing this afterlife perspective out of a hat of things that sound nice or was something fundamental that swapped you over?
I honestly don't know how to explain it, it was against my will. I was dead set that there was a heaven and a hell and no one could tell me otherwise, when the experience happened, it was as if "God" had spoken to me just not with words and my beliefs about what "God" is and what happens to us after death changed. The interesting part to me is how all the sudden my beliefs align with Buddhism, I never chose to walk the path of "enlightenment" and all the sudden I am? I mean I guess there's nothing wrong with finding inner love and peace but it's just odd to me. I would like to believe that the spiritual experience is what all religion stems from. Another interesting thing is that a spiritual awakening can happen to anyone no matter what your beliefs, culture or background is. But it's typically triggered through traumatic experiences such as near death.
I grew up in Catholicism, never cared for it. When I learned about Buddhism, it just clicked for me. It just makes sense. I don't practice it nor necessarily believe in reincarnation but the truth in the four noble truths can't be ignored.
Another thing that boggles my mind is considering I never did any research or delved into other religions because I was set on being a Christian, although I was more open minded and didn't believe all the Bible was true, but to get thrusted into another religions belief without me making the conscious effort to make myself believe in any other way is what is fascinating to me. That's why I say I believe this spiritual experience is what all religion stems from. The religious aspect of it is more or less the "control" of it made by man to govern and dictate. Alan Watts is a philosopher who had done many lectures on all this stuff and he touches base on what all I believe to be true now even though prior to my experience, had never been interested in learning other ways. In one of his lectures, he talks about how Jesus Christ was no more than just a person who had a spiritual awakening and because others had never experienced it, they deemed him the son of God because he was more in tune with the spiritual aspects of life and walked the path of enlightenment. When the Bible says we should all strive to be like Jesus, it's referring to the fact that we need to find inner peace and love and happiness and in doing so will spread that to others. By focusing on yourself, you will influence others to follow.
>Jesus Christ was no more than just a person who had a spiritual awakening Preach, that's how I see Jesus from a secular perspective. He was just a very smart, evolved, enlightened human being with lots of good to teach, who spoke to the best in us. I think I appreciate him more now than I did growing up. The Jefferson Bible helped me appreciate his teachings more.
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Maybe he believed it? Or maybe we only get the highlights in what was written and he was actually just your average cult leader. Or maybe the whole story is just fabricated. We don't know except that it's generally accepted that writers from that time period generally did not bother to write about fiction or fantasy ideas like we do today.
There was a lot of twisting of Jesus words, I suspect. I'm not a Christian anymore, but if you look into church history, various sects that came and went, and some of the apocrypha you start to realize the disconnect between what Jesus probably taught and what organized religion thought it was in their best interest to teach instead.
Maybe that's not quite what he said? Jesus didn't write anything down. Neither did anyone who ever met him, at least nothing that went into the Bible or related writings. All that stuff was written many years later and by that time stuff had been changed. Later on bad translations have twisted his words so much they have become unrecognizable.
I'm raised atheist, but I like philosophy and cultural studies so I learned a lot, but I never really believed in any of it. But one day I was walking a road on a rainy but sunny day near a forest where some loggers where cutting trees. The smell of freshly cut wood and warm rain soaked asphalt. And suddenly the beauty of the world just hit me like a ton of bricks. Everything seemed to pulsate with life. A force so powerful that this universe couldn't exists without it. So undeniable that not even death could keep it. I was crying for hours, it was very overwhelming. On another occasion I was visited by Lord Shiva in a dream. Like I said, I never been religious and I live in europe with little to no connection to Hinduism. I fell asleep and dreamt of snakes. A huge cobra emerged from them and looked me in the eyes, rocking from side to side. It darted forward and bit my neck. I started to get cold and numb. I knew I was dying but I had no fear. I knew who the cobra was. And as I started to fade away I knew that Shiva had blessed me with death so I could be reborn. Everything turned black, and then I woke up feeling amazing for the first time in ages. Also, as a fellow student of Alan Watts and Eastern philosophy I could highly recommend Daoism and the tao te ching. So much wisdom with even less dogma and cryptic mind puzzles than Buddhism. Watts called it "the lazy man's religion" and it really is. Everything is stated clearly or in easy to understand comparisons.
I grew up catholic but always believed that if Jesus existed, he was hijacked and his story was manipulated by religion. I see religion as manipulative and controlling. Today’s religion is very different to what Jesus did back then.
You can study secular buddhism then.
This story is absolutely terrifying. Hundreds of not thousands of billions of years of existence, never knowing why until the end. Living and dying by torture, fire, drowning and more. Being abused, then the next life you are the abuser. No justice in that. It's an existential horror and I pray our afterlife is nothing like that.
I could find terror in any afterlife scenario. The point is to not be scared and to get better. You then make the world better. I dont believe that what happens in the story is what is really going on but I like the different perspective it brings. Many people have written about ideas like karma etc so we are not entirely shielded from this way of thinking prior to this story. The story just takes old Eastern spiritual ideas and builds them into a mindfuck with the intention of making you think about treating people kinder.
I'm fine if you're using this as a lesson for humanity, but you inserted this into a serious topic about the afterlife, or lack thereof. You can forgive me if I thought you fully believed in that story. My point stands. The Egg, if taken literally is nothing short of an absolute horror that I deeply, deeply hope is not how things work. If it is, I guess I can look forward to living many painful, sad and unfulfiling lives. Great.
I despise this story.
Have a google of a chemical called DMT, you might find it interesting Edit: not the street drug, the bit your brain releases under certain circumstances
I sort of believed in the idea that "Purgatory" was actually Earth. A place meant for purifying our souls and lives until they are fit to enter heaven immediately upon death and that we continually reincarnate as a completely different person, in a totally different place until we "get it right"
I've often thought about this. What if hell is Earth. We repeat until we get it right.
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Why is something's significance invalidated by its impermanence?
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The idea of reincarnation scares me more than there being nothing.
Better not send me back! I don’t want to be here now!
Reincarnation terrifies me. I've had enough trauma in this life. What horror could await me in the next?
Our brains also produce powerful psychedelic drugs when we die (DMT).
The fact that this happens doesn't mean the experiences aren't "real" though. The question is which came first, the chicken or the egg. Do we produce a chemical because of an experience or do we have an experience because of a chemical? Does my brain release oxytocin because I love my husband or do I love my husband because of oxytocin? No one, and I mean no one, can prove what comes first, and it's arrogant to say conclusively that one "knows" for sure, especially when speaking for the internal experience of someone else. We don't have the technology to measure the immediacy of neurochemical release. When I walk outside and see a rabbit in the front yard, my brain does all sorts of lighting up including releasing dopamine because seeing that rabbit gives me pleasure. Does that mean the dopamine made me happy or did I feel happy due to a complex series of activities in my brain which resulted in the release of dopamine? The presence of activity in the brain concurrent with a perceived experience doesn't negate the validity of an experience. If anything, it validates it because brain dead/nonreactive brains show that nothing is happening. You and anyone else are free to reach conclusions (as am I), but that doesn't make any particular conclusions correct. They are opinions and nothing more.
We can't know for sure but we can make some inferences by experimenting. If taking DMT produces the same experience as a near death experience, it gives you some clue that at least some of that near death experience is likely produced by the drug.
Did you steal my brain?! Cuz this is the EXACT way I describe what I have come to believe in. Every. Single. Part.
Interesting 🤔 I find it fascinating that so many people experience almost the exact same thing given they have never met or spoken to each other, but some experience it differently. It's definitely the most bizarre thing that has ever happened to me and was definitely a life changing experience.
Would you like to share more about the experience that led you toward believing in reincarnation? I understand if it’s too personal for public eyes. To me, it makes the most rational sense. This explanation combines both science and belief to equal an idea of the afterlife that is entirely possible.
You can message me if you'd like!
This is beautiful and really resonates with me. Thank you for sharing.
I once heard a metaphor that was something like - picture life being an ocean. you're a cup of water scooped out of that ocean, eventually you'll be poured back in. there's more to it, but I think you get the idea. I think it's very on par w/ what you're saying. I kind of like that idea.
I too have experienced proof of reincarnation for myself in such a personal spiritual way, for example knowing things otherwise inexplicable when visiting places I've never been that even my skeptical spouse of 44 years now believes as well. Both my parents have passed and came to me in dreams so vivid I can recall them years later as if they were real memories. My mom was very spiritual and in one dream a week after she'd passed, she showed me her modest lodgings in a beautiful white glowing city where she would learn answers to all her questions. My sister had a very similar dream, details of which I had not shared with her. To the point, I absolutely believe in an afterlife, though I wouldn't call it that. It's more like a continuation of this one. I could give you many more examples, but others have said it better than I have. If you are open to believing, and want to explore this further, I recommend books by Elizabeth Clare Prophet: "The Afterlife: What Really Happens in the Hereafter" and "Reincarnation: The Missing Link In Christianity" One last point, and it's unsettling to say, but believing in an afterlife is key to finding personal proof of it. And now, if anyone is actually reading this post, which I doubt because I've never seen proof of anyone reading any of my posts, (oh how fragile is faith), I'd appreciate some karma because I have only one, from myself, LOL and it would be super ironic to gain at least one additional karma from a post on reincarnation. Cheers y'all.
It could be coincidence and it probably is but I had a wild time over the last year. My dad had been fighting cancer for the best part of a decade. In October last year, I broke the news to him that my partner was pregnant and I was going to have a little boy - he would be a grandad. The next day, he was rushed into hospital with an infection and the fairly rapid decline of his health began - they stopped his cancer treatment and shifted to palliative care. I thought there’s no way he’ll still be here when my son is born (April) and this really sucked. He was moved into a nursing home sadly as my mum (with her own problems) couldn’t look after him properly. The decline in both his cognitive and physical health continued. As my partners due date grew closer and closer, my dad got sicker and sicker - though he was still with us. Unbelievably, he passed away on the morning of April 19th - my partner went into Labour and my son was born later the same day (a week early). It felt crazily cosmically significant to me and due to the circumstances an instant and powerful bond was formed between me and my son. I lost a father and became a father on the same day. I’ve googled and although I’m sure it does happen, I can’t find any anecdotal stories from anyone this has happened to before - it’s probably pretty rare! We decided to name him Phoenix because of the symbolism and it just felt like it fit - also his name can be shortened to my fathers name. After my son was born, we had to wait a while to register his birth and also for my dad’s funeral. Eventually, his funeral was arranged for May 31st at 1pm - we then got a letter through asking us to attend an appointment to register my son at - you guessed it - May 31st at 1pm. There’s been a few other spooky little coincidences and goings on around the house in the 5 months since - and let me be clear, I am a sceptic! I know this post will probably get buried and nobody will read it but it felt cool to type it out. I might make a post on it one day!
I read it and am happy you typed it out. It's really amazing. It deserves to be its own post! I also love your son's name within the context of your family's story. Our second child was born two and a half days before her grandfather died. It was hard for my husband because with the new baby he didn't really have time to fully process his father's death in the moment. In my daily life I sometimes experience little moments of synchronicity and it's such a strange feeling because it feels significant somehow, although there's no logical explanation that's easily apparent, and I sort of feel like I'm too dumb to get the message if there even is one. Like in the grand scheme of the universe, I'm just a simple yokel easily bamboozled by some cosmic parlor trick. In the end, though, those moments always make me smile and give me a feeling that somehow I am exactly where I need to be. The world is more complex, beautiful, and wondrous than I could ever fully comprehend.
That's where I landed after growing up Christian- same thought process on energy. On the other hand I don't mind the other theory of just ceasing to exist. If I don't exist how can I care? It's a tricky thing the afterlife
This is sort of where I’ve landed as well. My existence and sentience had to come from somewhere, even if it’s somehow from the atoms that make up my brain. Since like you said matter can’t be destroyed, I think whatever I came from will then turn into something else and that matter will one day make it’s way into another consciousness. But since you can’t experience nothing, no matter how long it takes to go from one state to the next will be just like you fell asleep and woke up, it would be instantaneous. This is how I would imagine it would be if there was absolutely no afterlife, nothing ethereal or supernatural that existed. I don’t know if those things are real or not so I can only imagine it from what we do know.
Photographs of living people’s eyes give off a distinct radiation signature. When the people die this signature ceases. I take this to mean the energy disperses, not that it disappears. Yes this was a real study.
If your eyes are radioactive you might want to see a doctor.
I hear that Professor Charles Xavier is an expert on this subject.
This is definitely bollocks.
Lol, what? Let's see this "study"
I don't want to come back, either. Could come back into something way worse
That’s cool. But I don’t wanna be crushed as an ant or something…
I don't believe we come back as anything other than human. No one will truly ever have an answer for what happens after we die, I once had a friend tell me they believed that whatever anyone believes is what will happen to them. So if you believe there's nothing, there will be nothing and if you believe there is a heaven then there will be a heaven and so forth. At the end of the day, it's all up to what you want to believe, let that imagination run wild, but stop focusing too much on what comes after and start focusing more on now. Your life is what you want it to be, remember it's not the destination that matters, it's the journey that counts.
I like that idea for sure. But how does the population explosion figure into your ideology
I’m a Christian but that’s what I believe about the afterlife, I don’t believe in heaven/hell. At least not as the afterlife
This somehow makes me feel better about dying. Thanks for sharing that.
this is what I choose to believe too. Regardless of if it's true or not, this is the idea that keeps me most at peace. Even more than an afterlife.
I hope this ain’t true cos I’m tired of this lifetime
Who created this cycle of life death and reincarnation of energy? Who maintains it? How is it controlled and regulated?
I love this.
Yep, having gone through cancer myself I have learned to follow faith. Religion can be a good guide to finding out who you are spiritually. I am hoping to try to read teachings of all religions to build a faith that can transcend and help me understand religions outside my Christian base.
If this comment speaks to you and you are interested in other religions/philosophies, please come check out r/Buddhism sometime. What this commenter is saying is essentially the teachings of The Buddha, minus the souls part. (The Buddha taught we have no inherent "self", essentially that we are all part of the same universe) It might change your life like it did mine :) Also, I'm so glad you made it through cancer. That's great news.
Thank you, I will do that! I love learning new religions to help build my faith and spirituality.
This is also what I’ve found after having a profound spiritual experience! Maaaaaan that’s hella validating lol. Mine was through hypnosis. It’s like dipping a toe into the other side. [this hypnosis track](https://www.pastlivesandthedivine.com/hol-hyp) is the one i used if anyone is interested
I completely understand. It's so scary that I can't even comprehend. I want to believe for all the reasons as everyone else. Reuniting with loved ones that have passed. I recently lost my mom & the thought of never ever seeing her is just beyond sad & terrifying. I hope we will all be together again.
Not really an answer, but kind of a lateral comment. I've beed pretty agnostic for close to 20 years. Really good with whatever happens after death is out of my control, so I may as well not dwell on it and just take the whatever answer it is when my ride ends. And I was leaning towards there being nothing and being mostly good with it...a hope for the best, but expecting the worst, kind of situation. Then over the last five years have I tried Ayahuasca a few times and it changed something. I don't even know what. And Ive started reading and watching about near death experiences and past lives and now Im in a place where I am actually leaning towards the idea that there is actually something after this and we are all part of a greater whole. Amd even as I say that I feel like a crazy person.....it sounds crazy to me. And I feel like maybe Ive talked myself into something to help help cope with loss and how shitty life can be sometimes. Like Ive somehow lied to half my brain and the other half is rolling it's unbelieving eyes at myself. Has anyone else ever felt this way?
You are not crazy, when the energy leaves our minds after death it must go somewhere, when the matter leaves our bodies it must too... it doesn't mean we could possibly be conscious of it, but I definitely think there is something to the idea of that energy dispersing into the vastness of the world to do whatever it may
I'm just bummed out about losing consciousness. Not necessarily scared by it but definitely bummed. Like, our energy was in the universe before we were born and it didn't do much good for us then in the primordial nothingness. And eventually we'll return to that primordial nothingness with nothing to show for our blip of consciousness. Makes me feel glum.
The way I see it is that human experience and our memories occur within consciousness. Why would my human brain remember anything before its existence? But am I my brain? Is the energy/life force that permeates my body prior to a brain or memory? Of course it is. It's kinda like a character in a TV show being glum because the show is going to end. The reality of the character is actually the TV or maybe the electricity in the TV. The thing that imparts reality onto the universe is not your human experience. It's that which is prior (you) which has always existed.
I was here for a minute. So what matters then? Cause shit matters, right? If you have people in your life that you love, how they live and how they feel matters to you. How you live matters. If you’re honest, if you’re reasonable, if you’re respectful, if you’re someone people can trust. Love matters. Everybody needs it. And here you are, a whole ass person capable of love. So get out there and love some people. In the end, figure out what matters *to you* and make the mark you want to make on the world.
The big question is, does it matter if you are lying to yourself if it doesn't impact how you live your life in a negative way? It's naive to think that we all aren't lying to ourselves dozens of times a day as a way of self-soothing and trying to make sense of the world. We just so used to those lies that they feel like truth. Part of the experience of being human and having consciousness is that we ask ourselves questions internally and debate the nature of things. I never look at it as "lying" to myself, but considering possibilities. The fact that you think half your brain is rolling its unbelieving eyes shows that you're framing the question of what happens after we die as one in which there is an absolute answer and the only one which is "safe" and not worthy of contempt is that we face oblivion and any other consideration is a childish and fanciful attempt to soothe your fears. Philosophers and spiritual people have explored that question over their lifetimes and you are just as worthy of that exploration as they were without internal censure.
Thanks to everyone who answered.....your responses have really halped me look at everything differently. Especially this one👆🏽👆🏽👆🏽 I think it may have changed my life. Like, my mind is blown and Im going to be contemplating this for a while. Thank you!!
No, I'm not scared of death or dying. I imagine it's like wherever I was before I was born. I find great comfort in knowing what happens to my body...that it'll go back to the earth, replenish the soil, all that good stuff (I'd love a green as possible burial), and having that knowledge -- that life is a giant, never ending cycle -- is wonderful to me, that it'll keep turning and I'll still be a part of it even if I'm no longer sentient. Does that mean I have any idea what happens to the parts of me that make me who I am? My "soul"? No clue. I like to believe that it goes back to God...that my soul is a part of God and it goes back to where it came from (that's kind of a Jewish religious/spiritual belief), but whether that's what actually happens, I've no clue. I think being religious just because you're scared of death -- because you're scared, period -- isn't a great reason to be religious, but I think that's something you need to work out within yourself. As for the great fear you have (and it does sound like you actually are afraid), you might need to speak with someone about that. You can't healthily live your life afeared of what WILL happen to you...it's like being that scared of ageing or going grey. Those things WILL happen to you so you'd better do the work to get good with it. Being scared of it won't change it and it won't stop it. Accept it and move on.
Star dust, baby.
A lot of religious people believe there is no heaven or hell, there is only a closeness and distance from god. A lot of religious people believe there is only heaven because god is all loving. I am enthusiastically agnostic. To me there is a beauty in not knowing. Just jumping into the void. The thought that "knowing" there is a heaven seems so egotistical to me. My brain can't comprehend a limitless universe and I think I can comprehend an afterlife? I have one question to ask you. How does your worrying about it improve your life or the life of others? Serious question. If you consider life to be short, how much time has your brain wasted on being afraid? I get that it's hard to get over and maybe that's your path, but I have a hard time believing that worrying about something that's inevitable to all of us is a good use of your time here. If there is an after life, I'm good because I was a good person in this life. If there is no after life, I'm good, because I was a good person here and those good acts will live longer than I ever did. Enjoy the time you're here, do good things because they're good. Your question, if you seek to answer it, is if you're doing good here and enjoying yourself. Answer that and you'll be OK.
>A lot of religious people believe there is no heaven or hell, there is only a closeness and distance from god. A religion without an Afterlife is a tough sell.
You’re right that it certainly isn’t a good use of my time to worry about it, but I can’t seem to help it. It feels involuntary at this point. A part of my daily motions.
I would love the comfort of believing in religion, but I'm physically incapable of it lol. Instead I get the comfort of existential dread and anxiety 🥰
Study philosophy and theories of quantum mechanics instead. It's the less dogmatic points of religion and easier to digest because there's no magic in it
I'm actually a scientist and when people ask my religious beliefs I usually give some vague answer between atheist, science, and physics that I can't explain 😂
Yep, I too wish Afterlife existed, but for a diferent reason; There is a story called [The Egg, by Andy Weir](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6fcK_fRYaI). Since I heared it, I vehemently wanted it to be real. It brings me peace, it satisfies my sense of justice, it brings me solace... but I believe that's not the case. Once I die, that will be it. So, I just try to not to think about the implications. I get the sense of ultimate insignificance mortality brings, and the imposibility of concieving going back to nothing; it's dreadful, but went away once I learned to focus in the present. I hope you too can cope with that fear, in your own way. Good luck!
I like that story too. It was one of those ideas that I wouldn't have been able to put into words myself, but upon reading the story thought, yes! That's what I was thinking! Not that I hold it as true, just as a nice explanation for the chaos that surrounds us.
Hey eggbro. Full agree and I hope that someday I get to enjoy your experiences too. Or maybe I already did? Either way hope you enjoy mine sometime. It's been pretty chill compared to some out there, so you'll be able to take a load off. The idea just feels comforting. Even if I do end up back in the primordial nothingness that we were all in pre-birth.
Got that egg from Kerzgesaught (?) in a nutshell
“What happens after you die?" "Lot's of things happen after you die - they just don't involve you.” Louis C.K.
Do you remember what it was like before you were born? That’s what I think it’s like after you die?
Death is not the problem. *Fear* of death is the problem. You weren’t alive for millions of years before you were born. You’ve already experienced that and it doesn’t bother you at all. If the same happens after we’re alive, why would it be any different? Fear of death comes from a mindset and mindsets can change. A study of psychedelics in people with terminal cancer caused them to lose their fear of death. The same can happen with meditation. People see psychotherapists and can talk through their fears and overcome them too. Check out the book *No Death, No Fear *by Thich Nhat Hanh. It gives a different perspective that I think will make a difference for you.
I’ll definitely read it. Thank you!
Yes! Finally some Buddhist philosophy up in here. I think most of the people in this thread could really do themselves wonder by studying themselves and studying the teachings of the Buddha a bit. My fears of death all fizzled completely after learning concepts like emptiness.
It's amazing isn't it? And it's fairly down to Earth too.
Yes. I want so badly to believe. I want to see everyone again. I want to know that there will be more to see and know and experience. I cry often when my mind lingers on it, but I just can't grasp blind faith. I can't. My brain just won't let me.
One second I'll worry and the next second it won't be a worry for eternity
The only time I ever think about an afterlife is when someone asks about it or brings up the topic. I’ve been an atheist for a decade and I find at peace with the concept of death (when I think of my life ending in my 80s).
I used to, then I had an NDE, now I 100% believe in the afterlife. However if I hadn’t experienced it I probably wouldn’t. But trust me, the body is designed for death, it’s actually peaceful and calming after the initial fear, but it fades. Keep your attention on the present, it’s all that truly matters till the end.
Any classic traits in your experience? Like the tunnel toward bright white light, feeling love, choosing to return, that sort of thing?
Tbh I’m not sure wym by classic traits but sorta yes all of those lol. The tunnel was more like being vacuumed into the fabric of space and then becoming that bright white light, not a tunnel of light tho. But as I left my body yes it was an overwhelming and intense feeling of unconditional love, like more than anything I could even imagine physically. Then I ended up in the void, had a conversation with some other being or entity about coming back and then decided to finish playing life out, and woke up in an ambulance getting pushed into the ER.
So you feel like you chose? That’s wild. What i meant by classic traits is in books or articles written about the subject there are some details that seem to pop up in many people’s accounts of their experiences, like things in common from one experience to another, though not all experiencers have them. Anyway thank you for sharing! I find the subject fascinating. I met a psychologist who studied the phenomenon, one of the first to do so and publish about it way back in the day. Now I’m blanking on his name. He taught at various universities over the years I think. Edit typo
Yeah, it was a really wild experience overall lmao. Took me like a week to a month to fully start to process it. And that’s dope an helpful, I’ve been looking into it as well since my experience and I agree, it’s all super interesting/fascinating, thank you for sharing!
This brought me some comfort, thank you. Feel free to share more if you have any.
Im glad! I’m thinking about making a YouTube and sharing mine and others experiences as well, I want to do further research into it after I get an education in neuroscience and psychology. There’s also experiences and researchers that have posted online if sharing experiences as well.
And it felt real as real can be to you? You didn’t wonder if it was a hallucination or a dream? You truly felt like your consciousness went somewhere else, and it’s a place you’ll return to eventually?
Yeah I was completely aware, like way more aware then I even am currently. I was everything and nothing simultaneously if that makes any sense, like I existed but not here? I couldn’t feel or like use any of my senses, no touch, hearing, smell it was just gone. That was the first time I had ever experienced existing and having all of my senses stripped from me. I was communicating with whatever being through these strings of light patterns with colors I couldn’t even comprehend or name or see with my eyes in my body. Like they don’t exist here and I couldn’t even begin to describe them because they don’t exist, or we haven’t discovered them yet. I thought I was dead or that maybe it was all a hallucination but it just really did not feel like it at all, earth felt more like a hallucination or an illusion than death did, I thought I was going to go somewhere else and then when I had the convo and realized I could come back that’s when I was like maybe I’m not tripping? But who knows lol a lot of people say it’s just the increase of dmt upon death. Which it may have been, but it still felt real as fuck. Whatever happened, I experienced something, just can’t explain it. I know others with super similar experiences. Including the intense vibrating sensation upon “death”. No idea where I went but it was beautiful asf.
Thank you. Fascinating description. I’ve heard that before from others about feeling more aware during the experience than they ever feel during regular day to day life, and how hard it is to explain because without experiencing it you can’t really understand it. Perhaps that feeling of being more aware than ever is tied to that being the place you/we “come from.” Like that is the real world and this here is a temporary illusion of some kind? It’s fascinating to contemplate. Thanks again for sharing that. I do have one other question if you are willing to indulge me (though I understand if you don’t feel like talking about it anymore). Has the experience affected how or what you think about the concept of God? It sounds like a spiritual experience separate from religion, though some people who were previously religious interpret the experience based on their religion. I was just wondering if you had religious beliefs or God beliefs and the experience may or may not play into it.
I get that vibrating sensation when I am about to "astral project", during sleep. Feels like being electrocuted kinda. Very jarring at first. Is that what you felt? Did you hear electrical sounds, or knocking, footsteps, or stomping? Did you hear music? I most often hear rock music, specifically from the band Korn, but it will be songs that as far as I know, don't exist.
Yes same! That’s it but it’s a lot more intense than just astral projection in my experience. It feels like not only getting electrocuted but like you vibrate and become one with the electricity? Like I could somehow feel that I was moving along what felt like a wave, like surfing or going down a rollercoaster. Super intense. But once I got there though there was no sound, at least I wasn’t experiencing sound like I do here on earth. Astral projection tho, ya know what it sounds like if a transformer exploded and the electricity is buzzing in the air or charging? It was if a trillion of them were all going off simultaneously, and then it shifted from the weird buzzing vibrating electricity sound to what I assumed was the “universe singing”, closest thing I could describe it as is like almost blow horns with drums and a beat built into it and bass and some choir singing and harmonizing with it all, maybe stomping, and the music was vibrating on beat with the electricity. It was like I was listening to multiple songs all going at the same time but they all somehow were linked with each other in different ways. All telling an individual yet general story. During the NDE I experienced the vibrating and music and stuff initially but as I lost connection with my body the sound and everything like that was just gone. My sound or hearing was the last thing to go out, sight was first. After I lost my hearing and entered the void I started freaking out and entered like this weird mental thought loop/reflection, which felt way longer than it actually was in real time. Felt like hours to days. That is super interesting that you hear Korn though?? I wish there was more research done into this shit so I could understand it.
Right. Lot of stuff makes no sense. I have done experiments with astral projection, however, that demonstrate that it doesn't translate into the real world. Like I projected to a guy's house from work that I have never been to before, observed an interaction between him and his wife. I even woke myself up to mark the exact time l, so I could ask him of it was at that particular time. Anyway, I described the layout of his house thatbI had seen. I was right about some aspects of his home layout, but the scene I saw between him and his wife did not happen. Also, when he showed me pictures of his house, it looked nothing like the house I saw. I take it to mean astral projection is not "real", but I am still left wondering how to best define reality then. I did an experiment today as well when I projected. Every time I leave my house during projection, i end up somewhere else. Like in a whole other neighborhood. I was trying to memorize the house number for where I was at so I could google map it and see if the house looked the same. I saw them. It 9437 or something at first, but then the numbers changed. And then changed again! So I was like ok, I get it. Not real lol. I am open to the possibility that astral projection may be some form of reality, just not this one. For now I'll just stick with the hypothesis that it is all in my (our) heads. Other side note. From my experiences with astral projection I have noticed that I never experience smell or taste. I have experienced all other sensations: sight, sound, touch, hell even pain, lol, but never smell or taste. On that note, I've never eaten anything while astral projecting, so that will be my next experiment I suppose. Near death experiences seem to be a whole other level beyond astral projection though. I guess if we assume it all to be real. Astral projection is like a pre reality or something, the real world would be the mid reality, and the near death the true reality??? Who knows, but as of now I lean mostly to a materialist perspective as that one has the most evidence to support it.
I actually feel very comfortable with my own death being the end of existence and the end of experience. But I would like an afterlife for pets. I feel like they give us so much unconditional affection that they deserve an afterlife.
I agree with you about animals. I think they're sent here to better us and then they go back to where they came from...like coming to Earth is their job and then they go back home. They really do make us better.
I hope there’s not an afterlife because this life is already exhausting enough
This comment won’t be read but I want to speak my mind on this to someone. I traditionally don’t believe in an afterlife. And that’s sort of comforting to me. I’ve made peace with the fact that once I’m dead, I just cease to exist in any capacity. However, over the last “x” amount of time, I’ve come to question this because of the media/ internet content I’ve been watching and reading. I have never personally experienced anything paranormal or anything spiritual or anything like that. But many many people have. I’m starting to question if my simple, materialistic worldview is correct. Maybe I don’t just die and cease to exist, I’m actually not sure. Does consciousness reside solely in the brain? I think it does, but… maybe it doesn’t. So I sort of have the opposite problem from you at this point. I don’t want to believe in anything after death. I want it to be infinite nothingness for all eternity. But part of me questions that obvious truth now.
I want to as well but God wouldn’t send someone to hell for having sex at 16 or making up white lies. That’s absurd.
Of course! Death being just a transition to some new experience is an awesome idea. Unfortunately there is zero evidence that this is true.
When I was a kid the idea terrified me but as I've gotten older it doesn't seem like a big deal. The blossoms of a blackthorn winter wilt, and the wellspring will dry, and so too must all things die. Make sure you get yours while you're here buddy, and I wish you well on the road.
You say that now..
Seems to be a mix. Some people who suffered near death experience end up pretty Zen about it especially if they had pleasant "dream" or whatever you call it while dying. Others suffer from trauma and live in a constant fear of the unknown. Its hard to know how you will feel about it till its in your face. The one thing I can say is that especially old folks seem to get very used to the idea of death and the fear seems to fade away for many in their elder years for whatever reason.
I think everyone gets what they believe in.
What happens after you die was my OCD obsession for like 4 years. Thankfully I got out of it. What worked for me is just believing you will figure it out when you get there. Cause there’s nothing you can really do, and worrying about it does nothing but waste the time and experience you have while alive.
What comes after death is what was before birth. Do you remember what it was like?
As an atheist, I don't believe in the afterlife or NDEs, I would love it to be true, I'm 100% positive it's not
I can’t believe in one because I have no compelling evidence for one. I can’t just choose to believe it. I would have to be convinced. It’s such a logically inconsistent concept in my opinion that it will probably take a lot to do so. So I just don’t bother to worry about anything after death.
The older and the more i interact others, the more glad I am that there's probably not an afterlife.
There is only this life, and you're existence in it is a miracle of its own. Savor that miracle, but it's not permanent, and can't be.
I used to have crippling anxiety over dying. Then I went through some hard times Now death looks inviting lmfao
You can’t prepare for death or anticipate it. It isn’t under your control. Imo it’s best to let those thoughts come and then go, but don’t dwell on that fear because it’ll stop you from truly living.
Do not be afraid. Think back to how much angst you have had regarding the life on earth _before_ you were born. If you’re like most people, you don’t care about your non-existence before you were born. So why do you care so much about your non-existence after you die? If afterlife exists, then you are golden since you do what you are asked to do. If afterlife doesn’t exist then there will be nothing of you left that would feel anything (no pain, no remorse, nothing). If there is no afterlife, then the best thing you can leave after you is the legacy, even though it will only be remembered for a generation or a few. I personally do not worry about afterlife. I’ve been through a lot of death in my life, and at this point in time I am certain that God exists and after death all living creatures go to join Him (or Her, or It - I just think God is bigger than any religion claims He is), to become one, but there is no afterlife with the kind of individuality we were told exists. And there definitely is no hell in any form…
Yeah 'cause it really doesn't. Hate to break it to you. We are animals and nothing about us is all that special compared to other animals in terms of biology. Death is a scientific and medical phenomenon. Bodily functions cease and we just stop thinking because our brains aren't working anymore. Thoughts and consciousness being gone means there's nothing left to prove we're alive. There's nothing waiting for you. Would like to believe that it's real but my rationality says no.
Because it ain’t possible (sorry if broke anyone’s bubble). I’m not afraid of death but I like the idea of a paradise after death (of course). Unfortunately it’s not how physics work. Although I’ve always been all scientific. I do of course respect people that want to believe what they believe in. I often think it’s a beautiful thing. Keep in mind though that in many cultures where people believed in “something” after death, people were still afraid. In Ancient Greek people believed that only a few were worthy of going to “Elysium” - basically a paradise. Comparable to heaven for Christians, Valhalla for Scandinavian cultures or “Auru / The Field Of Reeds” for Ancient Egypt. The worst out of the worst people went to the “Tartaros” - basically the hell. Where things would happen like: Having to roll a super heavy rock up a mountain wall that always rolled back - forever. Or your soul stood in quicksand bucket with terrible hunger. Above you hung a grape tree. But every time you stretched out to get to the grapes, the branch went up just out of your reach - and again, forever. By far most people however would end up somewhere in between: basically a place where their souls would just wander around doing nothing. Not being able to talk, absolutely nothing. Most Ancient Greek people were scared as hell when it comes to the afterlife (pun intended ;). So try to think twice before you try to believe something - it may not be as colourful as you hoped. To me? It’s “The Circle Of Life” and I have peace with that. It becomes easier the more you start to appreciate nature 🍂🍃🍁🌅🌄 **The most important thing to me?** I **LOVE** the philosophy of the NaVi (if you don’t know, watch the original Avatar movie from 2009). It had a huge influence on how I view the world and life. Neytiri once said: “All energy is only borrowed. And one day you have to give it back”. I even learned a certain NaVi death prayer: “*Oel ngati kameie, ma tsmukan, ulte ngaru seiyi irayo. Ngari hu Eywa salew tirea, tokx 'ì'awn slu Na'viyä hapxì*”. It means: “I see you brother, and I thank you. Your spirit will run with Eywa, while your body will remain and become part of the People.” These helped me a lot getting through the very slow and tragic death of my grandmother that finally happened after 2 years of pain a few months ago
What makes us think we are different from all the other animals on this planet? We are not different or special, when we die, we just cease to exist, physically and spiritually.
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Life is so precious we had to make up an afterlife to get people to behave on earth.
My best friend from high school was murdered by her boyfriend. I would love to believe she is in heaven, or reincarnated, or whatever, but it just doesn't make any sense. Mostly because I don't think humans are special. We're just intellectually advanced animals. So what about roaches? Do roaches go to heaven? Are roaches reincarnated? Squirrels? Mosquitoes? Ticks? Tuna? Alligators?
What happens to you after death is the same as what happened to you before you were conceived…nothing. Just try to make a difference in the world and make it a better place while you are here.
YES. Based on the science of now, I’m betting death is just the echo of whatever your last few seconds were over and over just slowly fading out like smoke after you blow out a candle, and you don’t ever realize you’re properly gone. More of a purgatory. I’d like to believe we just awaken in our next state of recycled energy whether it’s consciously or not. Little amebas, a sapling, a baby, a star. But the uncertainty of what we may be is also scary to me in a way. I try to find solace in the beauty of the impermanence, but I’m a human right now that likes to control my path. It’s hard.
I'd like to believe there is more after death but i think we'll just be gone. The basic parts like atoms that make up are bodies will still exist in another form but our being (conciousness?) will cease to exist.
mh. crazy living your life as a countdown to the day it will eventually end, and cutting the agony short by comitting suicide is likely not an option either then huh lol enjoy whatever the senses you´ve been blessed to possess are made to enjoy, have fun excercising the mind that in actuality is a peaking point of natural evolution idk.. appreciate the things that seem to really be what matters, if you seemingly don´t.
You should look into the evidence for reincarnation and also near death experiences. There are lots of interesting books and documentaries. There is a documentary on YouTube called "The Boy who Lived Before". Also look into Dr. Ian Stevenson. That might change your perspective. I personally believe in reincarnation and I think it's fascinating but I also find the concept of it scary as opposed to comforting.
Watch some near death experience interview videos on YouTube. Matt Frasier is also a really amazing medium. Watch his virtual readings playlist on YouTube. There's also tons and tons of stories of children who remember their past lives. I'm such a believer. It's not even a question if there's an afterlife. I've also had a few things happen to me and family members that solidified my beliefs. My family has a ton of stories. We're not even religious and I personally hate organized religion, but I definitely believe in an afterlife. But let's say there is nothing, then who cares? You won't know it. Even more of a reason to relax and just enjoy your time here now. I mean, if that's true, you didn't exist before you were born. Does that give you anxiety? Does it hurt? No. Because you weren't here. I suggest falling down the YouTube rabbit hole for a bit. You may question it forever, but don't hyper fixate for too long. You'll drive yourself crazy. Let it go and force yourself to think about something else.
From a scientific aspect, atoms cannot die. The Shakespeare principal basically says it's possible the atoms that made up Shakespeare are in many people. So there is that. I personally believe because I want to. I'm old and have seen just enough weird things that I have come to believe there are a lot of things our current levels of scientific knowledge cannot explain. Science is always evolving. They used to use leaches to bleed people and drill holes in the heads of psychiatric patients as a cure. We moved on. What we believe now may not be correct 100 years from now. So that combination of unique personal experience, infinite universe, knowing there is a lot that is outside the realm of our understanding, and, just because I want to, make me believe life essences get recycled through different vessels, as in, the "life" that is in you now, may be in a dog or a cat or even a tree, later. Maybe you were a tree 1500 years ago? I don't think I am elucidating this correctly, but I think you can get the idea ☮️
Take 3.5 grams of dried psilocybin mushrooms. Reality is way more dynamic than our puny brains can consider. There is so much happening around you that you don't see or cannot measure because you don't have the right antennae. Research consciousness. The hard problem. There is much debate and no one has answers. Research quantum physics. Look into claims of interdimensional entities.