This thread is intended for everyone to give their opinions about whether or not there is an afterlife, what their proof or why they believe what they believe, and their opinion is about what happens to us from our own point of view when we die.
This thread is not intended for people of different faiths to get into religious arguments over their faiths. It is for people to each give their own opinions and to perhapes make some new ones.
I myself believe in an afterlife because I cannot imagine our conscious awareness that we exist just fading away when we die and we cease to exist. It may be just me but I cannot accept that when we die, we just cease to exist. I believe that something happens to our consciousness and that it continues to exist after death, and that it goes somewhere when we die. Believing that we just cease to exist just seems wrong, and that belief does not come from my brain but from my heart and soul.
Scientists say that reality is formed from our perspectives and interactions, so perhapes death is too. Maybe the afterlife is whatever we imagine it to be.
Full Version: Does the Afterlife exist and what is it like?
Unexplained Mysteries Discussion Forums > Unexplained Mysteries > Spirituality, Religion and Beliefs
I believe in an afterlife as well, although it is more of resting place before we reincarnate rather than the ultimate destination. Also since time does not exist there, you spend as long as you like there and be able to come back not long after you left. Heck, you can come back before you left if you really want to. 
If you haven't read about NDE's you should. There is a lot of information about the afterlife from people that have visited there and returned to tell what they saw.
I believe in the afterlife too..as for what it's like..I can't say cuz I don't know..I don't think anyone does
I believe we exist after death however the state in which we exist is up to us perhaps.
Why do I believe it?
Ever since I was kid I had this nagging feeling, almost like a word on the tip of your brain that you can't remember or a word on the tip of your tongue that you can't say. It was like an almost memory of another place, a place I knew beyond what I was seeing.
As I grew up I had experiences that made me a believer in life after death. What happens in that afterlife is anyone's guess, maybe we get what we expect, maybe we get what we create, and maybe we become what we are.
Why do I believe it?
Ever since I was kid I had this nagging feeling, almost like a word on the tip of your brain that you can't remember or a word on the tip of your tongue that you can't say. It was like an almost memory of another place, a place I knew beyond what I was seeing.
As I grew up I had experiences that made me a believer in life after death. What happens in that afterlife is anyone's guess, maybe we get what we expect, maybe we get what we create, and maybe we become what we are.
All I know is what teh bible says
We die and the earth and worms have their way with us,or we sit in an urn on someones mantle piece.
Death is very frighteneing for many , as a humanity we ahve lots of conditioning around DEATH" I can see wherre manywould find comfort in afterlifes, but are there really afterlifes at this time no one knows.......Death is a releasing of identification with life IMO....
I just find it hard to believe that this is all there is.
My religion teaches that there is life after death, or rather life after life. But I'm always one to research things and read up on things and try to formulate my own view.
I just have to believe that the power of sentience is too much to be contained in a physical shell for a limited amount of time, only to wither away into nothingness when the shell is no more.
It just seems to me that something as special as what we experience isn't limited to a 4 dimensional cage.
As for what I believe is beyond? I don't really know, but like many others I've spent time thinking about it. I envision a dimension or "place" where there is no pain or suffering. A place where there is only love.
As for any physical properties of that "place", again...I don't really know. As I am now is all I know and as is human nature we often don't want to change. So I guess I would like there to be a physical aspect to it. Green grass to sit on. Water in streams.
....and two women on either side of me with really, really huge breasts.
My religion teaches that there is life after death, or rather life after life. But I'm always one to research things and read up on things and try to formulate my own view.
I just have to believe that the power of sentience is too much to be contained in a physical shell for a limited amount of time, only to wither away into nothingness when the shell is no more.
It just seems to me that something as special as what we experience isn't limited to a 4 dimensional cage.
As for what I believe is beyond? I don't really know, but like many others I've spent time thinking about it. I envision a dimension or "place" where there is no pain or suffering. A place where there is only love.
As for any physical properties of that "place", again...I don't really know. As I am now is all I know and as is human nature we often don't want to change. So I guess I would like there to be a physical aspect to it. Green grass to sit on. Water in streams.
....and two women on either side of me with really, really huge breasts.
I do not believe in life after death. I think that it is really no more than wishful thinking, steming from a natural human fear of death. We are biologically programed to fear death, as we have a very strong sense of self. The realization that we will eventually cease to exist forever is something we naturally have trouble accepting. I am certainly for an afterlife, and would really like to live forever in a dimension of infinite love. But we have to look at the facts, and not just go by what feels good.
Here is my main argument for this. It is proven that the brain is what gives us our consciousness, memories, emotions, and sense of self. If you were to lose the back part of your brain, the visual cortex, you would not be able to see. If you cut out other areas of your brain you would not be able to remember various things. If you get hit in the head with a baseball bat, you may lose consciousness. We have to accept that "we" are our brains. There is no soul, there is no higher self, we are just our brains. No one has ever come up with any theory as to how memories, emotions, consciousness, senses, etc can survive death. The idea of a "soul" is based on the idea of the survival of the totality of our being. The soul is an idea, mere wishful thinking. Really, how you can expect to be yourself without your brain is just beyond me.
It may be hard to accept, but the evidence strongly points to the hypothesis that death really is death. We are born, we live, and we die. We will eventually cease to exist forever. We were not aware of anything before we were born, and that wasn't bad was it? Likewise, we may be terrified of death while we are living, but when we are dead, we won't care. We won't be able to care. And that is why we should not waste this life by believing it to be a mere staging ground between lives. We should really strive to live this life to the fullest, as it is the only one we will ever get. In my opinion, to be alive at all, even for such a short time, is the greatest gift the universe ever gave us.
Here is my main argument for this. It is proven that the brain is what gives us our consciousness, memories, emotions, and sense of self. If you were to lose the back part of your brain, the visual cortex, you would not be able to see. If you cut out other areas of your brain you would not be able to remember various things. If you get hit in the head with a baseball bat, you may lose consciousness. We have to accept that "we" are our brains. There is no soul, there is no higher self, we are just our brains. No one has ever come up with any theory as to how memories, emotions, consciousness, senses, etc can survive death. The idea of a "soul" is based on the idea of the survival of the totality of our being. The soul is an idea, mere wishful thinking. Really, how you can expect to be yourself without your brain is just beyond me.
It may be hard to accept, but the evidence strongly points to the hypothesis that death really is death. We are born, we live, and we die. We will eventually cease to exist forever. We were not aware of anything before we were born, and that wasn't bad was it? Likewise, we may be terrified of death while we are living, but when we are dead, we won't care. We won't be able to care. And that is why we should not waste this life by believing it to be a mere staging ground between lives. We should really strive to live this life to the fullest, as it is the only one we will ever get. In my opinion, to be alive at all, even for such a short time, is the greatest gift the universe ever gave us.
QUOTE(Skeptic102 @ Apr 5 2006, 08:42 PM) [snapback]1135286[/snapback]
I do not believe in life after death. I think that it is really no more than wishful thinking, steming from a natural human fear of death. We are biologically programed to fear death, as we have a very strong sense of self. The realization that we will eventually cease to exist forever is something we naturally have trouble accepting. I am certainly for an afterlife, and would really like to live forever in a dimension of infinite love. But we have to look at the facts, and not just go by what feels good.
Here is my main argument for this. It is proven that the brain is what gives us our consciousness, memories, emotions, and sense of self. If you were to lose the back part of your brain, the visual cortex, you would not be able to see. If you cut out other areas of your brain you would not be able to remember various things. If you get hit in the head with a baseball bat, you may lose consciousness. We have to accept that "we" are our brains. There is no soul, there is no higher self, we are just our brains. No one has ever come up with any theory as to how memories, emotions, consciousness, senses, etc can survive death. The idea of a "soul" is based on the idea of the survival of the totality of our being. The soul is an idea, mere wishful thinking. Really, how you can expect to be yourself without your brain is just beyond me.
It may be hard to accept, but the evidence strongly points to the hypothesis that death really is death. We are born, we live, and we die. We will eventually cease to exist forever. We were not aware of anything before we were born, and that wasn't bad was it? Likewise, we may be terrified of death while we are living, but when we are dead, we won't care. We won't be able to care. And that is why we should not waste this life by believing it to be a mere staging ground between lives. We should really strive to live this life to the fullest, as it is the only one we will ever get. In my opinion, to be alive at all, even for such a short time, is the greatest gift the universe ever gave us.
I appreciate your straight forward belief, and yet I cannot help but disagree. Perhapes it is just wishful thinking, but I cannot accept that the brain accounts for all that we are. I think that the brain does allow us to experience this life but I don't believe that the brain can account for all that you mentioned. No one has come up with explanations that explain how the brain can create self awareness or how memories and emotions can be stored or created in the brain. What we have are theories but nothing that is concrete. How can something composed of cells, atoms, and electrical impulses and neurons create self awareness beyond basic instinct.
I don't know how much i accept the testimony of NDEs and Mediums, but from the effect that NDEs have on the people who experience them I don't think that it can be ignored as just the brain coming up with the images and feelings to help us die. Why the brain would come up with this seems to be very odd and unneccesary if we just cease to exist at death.
Regular animals aren't programmed with a fear of death, so why would we be. If we are just products of evolution the same as them then I think that it would be the same regardless of how aware we are. We would just accept it as a fact of life or not even think about it. Yet we do and I think something beyond the physical gives us that ability.
I sometimes ask this to people. Do you truely believe that we cease to exist after death, or is it what you were taught to believe? The same with the belief in an afterlife.
I dont think anybody knows what the afterlife is like...if we did i dont think we would be on the computer
I do belive there is an afterlife. What it will be..what it may be..I have no idea, and never will.
My reason for believing it is from an experience my mom had with a physic after her friend passed away. I'm not one who really believes in physics even after that, but what she was told was more than enough for me to suddenly become a believer of alot of things I never believed in before.
My reason for believing it is from an experience my mom had with a physic after her friend passed away. I'm not one who really believes in physics even after that, but what she was told was more than enough for me to suddenly become a believer of alot of things I never believed in before.
QUOTE(Skeptic102 @ Apr 5 2006, 08:42 PM) [snapback]1135286[/snapback]
I do not believe in life after death. I think that it is really no more than wishful thinking, steming from a natural human fear of death. We are biologically programed to fear death, as we have a very strong sense of self. The realization that we will eventually cease to exist forever is something we naturally have trouble accepting. I am certainly for an afterlife, and would really like to live forever in a dimension of infinite love. But we have to look at the facts, and not just go by what feels good.
Here is my main argument for this. It is proven that the brain is what gives us our consciousness, memories, emotions, and sense of self. If you were to lose the back part of your brain, the visual cortex, you would not be able to see. If you cut out other areas of your brain you would not be able to remember various things. If you get hit in the head with a baseball bat, you may lose consciousness. We have to accept that "we" are our brains. There is no soul, there is no higher self, we are just our brains. No one has ever come up with any theory as to how memories, emotions, consciousness, senses, etc can survive death. The idea of a "soul" is based on the idea of the survival of the totality of our being. The soul is an idea, mere wishful thinking. Really, how you can expect to be yourself without your brain is just beyond me.
It may be hard to accept, but the evidence strongly points to the hypothesis that death really is death. We are born, we live, and we die. We will eventually cease to exist forever. We were not aware of anything before we were born, and that wasn't bad was it? Likewise, we may be terrified of death while we are living, but when we are dead, we won't care. We won't be able to care. And that is why we should not waste this life by believing it to be a mere staging ground between lives. We should really strive to live this life to the fullest, as it is the only one we will ever get. In my opinion, to be alive at all, even for such a short time, is the greatest gift the universe ever gave us.
Go by the facts? Please do show us facts that disprove an afterlife.
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from the effect that NDEs have on the people who experience them I don't think that it can be ignored as just the brain coming up with the images and feelings to help us die.
I will admit that NDE's may theoretically be an afterlife. However, there are some serious probems with this. For example, NDE's have been replecated in the lab by stimulating the temporal lobe with electrical signals. NDE's have also been observed to occur when too much G-force is applied to a person. And here is the killer in my opinion. There are many instances were a person experiencing an NDE reports seeing a person in heaven....even though that person is still alive. We cannot prove that NDE's are in the brain, but it is a pretty sound theory. We should always look for natural explanations before we jump to supernatural conclusions.
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Why the brain would come up with this seems to be very odd and unneccesary if we just cease to exist at death.
I agree, but that does not dismiss the theory. There is much about the brain that we don't understand. However, we do understand that the brain is one of the most powerful things there is.
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Regular animals aren't programmed with a fear of death, so why would we be.
Because we have a much greater intelligence and sense of self than other animals. This sense is much, much greater and it is unfathomable to us that we simple cease to exist at death. I believe that is the origin of stories of the afterlife. And yes, other animals do fear death. Survival is the basest of all animal instincts.
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I sometimes ask this to people. Do you truely believe that we cease to exist after death, or is it what you were taught to believe?
I am not 100% certain that there is no afterlife as that cannot be proven. However, I am pretty confident that we really do die. I was not taught to believe this, I was actually brought up religious. I just couldn't take the conflict between religion and science. So far, the evidence points to a very real death. I accept this. If I am wrong, great. If I am right, then I am right, and I'm not going to care when I'm dead.
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Go by the facts? Please do show us facts that disprove an afterlife.
There is no disprove of the afterlife, but the burden of proof is not on the skeptic. It is on the believer. Until sufficient evidence exists that consciousness survives the death of the brain, then the assumption that death is the end of our consciousness we prevail. Again, we can't prove there is no afterlife. However, it is very, very, very well accepted that memories are in the brain, and that these can continue when the brain dies is very unlikely.
Survival instincts and fear of death are very different. All life feels the need to survive, but very few beyond us, if there are any, actually fear it the way that we do. I do not think that evolution would intend for that.
The fact that we are so aware of ourselves seems to go beyond what evolution would be capable of.
Ass for NDEs, you gave information of exams done while they are alive. What makes NDEs so compelling is that there was no brain activity for the brain to use to come up with these images; and what of verified reports of them being able to see outside of their bodies when they are clinically dead. When their heart is stopped, they are not breathing and most importantly their is no brain activity.
I agree that there is much about the brain that we do not understand but perhapes we will never understand it all. I read somewhere about a lobe in the brain that is not active, and scientists belive that if it was active, we may see and be able to do things that we cannot do now. Perhapes even see spirits and other nonphysical things.
The fact that we are so aware of ourselves seems to go beyond what evolution would be capable of.
Ass for NDEs, you gave information of exams done while they are alive. What makes NDEs so compelling is that there was no brain activity for the brain to use to come up with these images; and what of verified reports of them being able to see outside of their bodies when they are clinically dead. When their heart is stopped, they are not breathing and most importantly their is no brain activity.
I agree that there is much about the brain that we do not understand but perhapes we will never understand it all. I read somewhere about a lobe in the brain that is not active, and scientists belive that if it was active, we may see and be able to do things that we cannot do now. Perhapes even see spirits and other nonphysical things.
QUOTE(Skeptic102 @ Apr 6 2006, 06:47 AM) [snapback]1135682[/snapback]
I will admit that NDE's may theoretically be an afterlife. However, there are some serious probems with this. For example, NDE's have been replecated in the lab by stimulating the temporal lobe with electrical signals. NDE's have also been observed to occur when too much G-force is applied to a person. And here is the killer in my opinion. There are many instances were a person experiencing an NDE reports seeing a person in heaven....even though that person is still alive. We cannot prove that NDE's are in the brain, but it is a pretty sound theory. We should always look for natural explanations before we jump to supernatural conclusions.
I agree, but that does not dismiss the theory. There is much about the brain that we don't understand. However, we do understand that the brain is one of the most powerful things there is.
Because we have a much greater intelligence and sense of self than other animals. This sense is much, much greater and it is unfathomable to us that we simple cease to exist at death. I believe that is the origin of stories of the afterlife. And yes, other animals do fear death. Survival is the basest of all animal instincts.
I am not 100% certain that there is no afterlife as that cannot be proven. However, I am pretty confident that we really do die. I was not taught to believe this, I was actually brought up religious. I just couldn't take the conflict between religion and science. So far, the evidence points to a very real death. I accept this. If I am wrong, great. If I am right, then I am right, and I'm not going to care when I'm dead.
There is no disprove of the afterlife, but the burden of proof is not on the skeptic. It is on the believer. Until sufficient evidence exists that consciousness survives the death of the brain, then the assumption that death is the end of our consciousness we prevail. Again, we can't prove there is no afterlife. However, it is very, very, very well accepted that memories are in the brain, and that these can continue when the brain dies is very unlikely.
NDEs have infact been replicated but...the replications also induce paranoia which is something that NDEs have not produced.
Also NDEs produce life changing results in many experiencers, I'm not sure if replications in the lab have done so with those people. However as you said we just don't know and maybe we never will until we die.
I suppose the best evidence of an afterlife is information that people aquire while separated from their bodies that they tell others when they return to their bodies and it can be verified as accurate, what was actually said and done, in an area in which their body was not present and there was no time possible for someone to have reached them before they stated it to tell it to them.
I believe there is a heaven & a hell, as for what they are, like I dont think anybody really knows, I guess hell would be a horrific place that none of us which to ever know & as for heaven a beautiful peaceful garden.................... 
We all have souls, & no matter what religion an individual practices, all religions have in common of believing in higher power, acknowlodging there's evil in the world & I think HOPE that there is a better place. we just all practice it differntly....
We all have souls, & no matter what religion an individual practices, all religions have in common of believing in higher power, acknowlodging there's evil in the world & I think HOPE that there is a better place. we just all practice it differntly....
Now people are REALLY scared of dying...why? Maybe fear is what we have to live by. We are curious, we have the ability to love and fear is a definite...
now afterlife is possible...i usually like to know....BUT I GUARNTEE YOU THIS, IF THIS LIFE REALLY IS AS BAD AS WE SEE IT AS....THEN KNOW THIS, THERE IS A AFTERLIFE....many people who don't believe in God believes dead is dead...what about all the ghosts, everything we see...
thats why SCIENCE is a subject that can be surely taught without stating real facts. SCIENCE is a subject in school that can be possibly fake...the bible, todays bible could be wrong or 100 % right...but i believe that over the years, people want to be famous and what to make up things in THIER imagination...SCIENCE isn't evil, its false..wanna know why? Global warming, and all the bad weather..scientists say its over...they dont know anything....nobody does...we live to work, love, have fun, pain, dream....why is it that our bodies have to be a robot when we die, function all life and die without memory....
WE ARE ALL BRAINWASHED from all media and hype.......
BELIEVE WHAT YOU want to believe...and believe that everyone in this world is the same! no one is different, some are born with extreme talents, which could be another way of afterlife....
just dont deny yourselves...deny history before your deny others, cause for all we care, it could be FAKE...we are born at a certain time and born to know what things to be known as an individual...we have souls and you wanna know why? if people say that there is nothing in the afterlife, and they dont believe in God, then explain the miracles, tell the person to explain things that they saw in life THAT COULDN't be explained, scientifically!!! ask them that, and the answer you will always get is "I dunno"..........
thats why we are here....IT's a test......everything is a test.....
now afterlife is possible...i usually like to know....BUT I GUARNTEE YOU THIS, IF THIS LIFE REALLY IS AS BAD AS WE SEE IT AS....THEN KNOW THIS, THERE IS A AFTERLIFE....many people who don't believe in God believes dead is dead...what about all the ghosts, everything we see...
thats why SCIENCE is a subject that can be surely taught without stating real facts. SCIENCE is a subject in school that can be possibly fake...the bible, todays bible could be wrong or 100 % right...but i believe that over the years, people want to be famous and what to make up things in THIER imagination...SCIENCE isn't evil, its false..wanna know why? Global warming, and all the bad weather..scientists say its over...they dont know anything....nobody does...we live to work, love, have fun, pain, dream....why is it that our bodies have to be a robot when we die, function all life and die without memory....
WE ARE ALL BRAINWASHED from all media and hype.......
BELIEVE WHAT YOU want to believe...and believe that everyone in this world is the same! no one is different, some are born with extreme talents, which could be another way of afterlife....
just dont deny yourselves...deny history before your deny others, cause for all we care, it could be FAKE...we are born at a certain time and born to know what things to be known as an individual...we have souls and you wanna know why? if people say that there is nothing in the afterlife, and they dont believe in God, then explain the miracles, tell the person to explain things that they saw in life THAT COULDN't be explained, scientifically!!! ask them that, and the answer you will always get is "I dunno"..........
thats why we are here....IT's a test......everything is a test.....
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