Call me a damn hippy if you want but I believe our energy is meant to be transferred back to the mother - Earth. We enter another phase of the life cycle - becoming nourishment. Our decomposing bodies provided fertilizer in the soil which promotes the growth of flowers, grass, shrubs, trees, weeds. Our flesh provides food for animals whether it is insects and bugs feasting on our flesh or berries that bloom on a shrub. Obviously this isn't the case any more since we are buried in steel caskets and pumped full of phelmaldahyde. We are animals too, we are part of the cycle of life and part of that is returning back to the earth and providing the tools for survival to other species. When a bear dies its body become food for another, it decomposing flesh goes back into the earth to act as fertilizer and nourishment for plants, flowers, etc. I suppose I am not the same as most people. I am not religious, I don't believe we have a soul, I do not consider humans superior to other species on this planet, I value an animals life just as much as a humans and a lot of people don't understand that and I understand why.
Personally I don't want to buried. I want to be left out in the open so my remains can provide food for the indigineous animals. I am a huge animal/nature lover(who ironically lives in NYC, go figure) so the thought of providing nourishment, energy, for a mama bear and her cubs, or a pack of wolves and their pups is really beautiful to me. It is a little morbid but I don't think it is as morbid as being pumped full of chemicals that unnecessarily preserve my body, dressed up in a pretty dress, someone applying make-up to make me look not-dead, put into a box(i'm clausterphobic - nightmare) and lowered into the ground where my weirdly preserved remains will stay in some manicured, zoned cemetary in the middle of town that looks just like the one on the other side of town.
These are just my feelings on the issue. I am not meaning to offend or insult anyone.

if we are wise , there is much we can learn from listening to those who spoke thru the direct voice mediumship of leslie flint.
most of the communicators were asked what their life is like now, since they have progressed past the border we call death.
and they give some ineresting answers.

ive downloaded them all onto an ipod meself.

http://freewebs.com/afterlife/flint/flintrecordings.htm

Well now that it's explained better I think I get what he meant. Our souls are a part of us, the most integral part if you think about it...how could they have a mind of thier own? Although the next time I give my brother a wet willy I'll be sure to blame my soul.

Evil- If you have thousands of NDE's there might be something wrong, lol. Now I really have to do some research on him, why the hell would you almost die a lot like that? XD