Atheists is there life after death

[I'mConvinced]

8 minutes ago, davros of skaro said:

I have a quick story. My aunt & uncle had a place where the kitchen at night had noises of someone pacing back and forth with what sounded like a newspaper's pages being flipped. I tried to debunk it looking for signs of mice, and other stuff to no avail. One night with just my aunt we heard it, I ran to the kitchen, the sound immediately stopped, and then a loud bang came from the basement. Soon afterward my aunt & uncle moved to Florida, and the house demolished. I regret that I never set up my video camera in that kitchen, and rip out some of the walls for any ghost treasure.

That's crazy! Some strange stuff like that happened to me when I used to live in this families basement without them knowing. I would hear them moving about and stuff but I'd never actually seen them.

Like, I used to wait till they were watching TV or gone to bed, I'd come up and take a bit of exercise strolling about the kitchen, sometimes read the days paper they occasionally left on the side.

Nearly got caught a few times when this kid thought he heard something but I always managed to slip away you know. One day I was out getting supplies and came back in through my tunnel to find the place empty. Never saw the people that lived there again, it's like they were ghosts and just vanished!

 

[XenoFish]

8 hours ago, danydandan said:

I couldn't make head nor tails of it.

 

8 hours ago, I'mConvinced said:

Bingo!

I'd like to add that he was with his daughter who was going loopy and the ghost had short curly hair, she did.

 

Yeah it's not the first time I've 'translated' a post like that. 

[XenoFish]

2 hours ago, davros of skaro said:

Same here. 

That's friggin weird. If I heard this on one of the listener submitted ghost story podcasts I listen to, I would chalk it up to some sort of shared suggestable hallucination? Or someone playing a joke? It's too weird, and more Halloween fare. It makes no sense. I would've gone back and checked the floorboards, or any hideaway for treasure near that bed. There's lots of folklore of Ghosts associated with hidden treasure. A skeleton can open it's mouth at me all it wants if there's gold coins to be had.

I have a quick story. My aunt & uncle had a place where the kitchen at night had noises of someone pacing back and forth with what sounded like a newspaper's pages being flipped. I tried to debunk it looking for signs of mice, and other stuff to no avail. One night with just my aunt we heard it, I ran to the kitchen, the sound immediately stopped, and then a loud bang came from the basement. Soon afterward my aunt & uncle moved to Florida, and the house demolished. I regret that I never set up my video camera in that kitchen, and rip out some of the walls for any ghost treasure.

I spent years practicing magick. I've experience some weird stuff. If I hadn't been so critical of my experiences, I'd be a nice target for the skeptics around here.

[Davros of Skaro]

3 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

I spent years practicing magick. I've experience some weird stuff. If I hadn't been so critical of my experiences, I'd be a nice target for the skeptics around here.

Well from what I previously heard from you there was an aptitude on your part to manifest thoughts to the outer senses. You were tweaked on your chaos majick rituals. 

A thread was deleted (op admitted lying) with my post about my hallucination seen in the reflection of my cellphone. It was an hypnopompic hallucination of "Frisky Dingo" looking gargoyle-ish on the back wall of my tent (camping). At first I thought it was a branch that fell on my tent in the night, and the shadow coming through was pareidolia. Then I realized I was hallucinating, but it took me looking behind me then back to make the image disappear from the cellphone. 

A good unexplained experience is when you have an eyewitness. When I was a kid I had a sleepover at a friend's house. We were in our own beds getting ready to sleep when he said "Wanna check out the ghost cat?". Of course I was interested. He mentioned his house had alot of cats over the years. He took his blanket, loosely drapped it over his legs, and right away it looked like an invisible cat gently moved into sleeping position between his legs blanket being depressed as such.

I tried it. Just like cats I've had that go straight to that position to my annoyance because I do not sleep like that, the same phenomenon happened to me. I did not feel a weight on the bed, but the blanket pressed down just like an invisible cat came there to settle down. I was spooked, and I kicked my legs to like shake it off mentally. I wish I was more brave, and equipped with a video camera then. It could have been just the blanket settling, but twice it did the same thing to two different bed setups. It was strange.

To me the majority of paranormal stuff is bunk because people are people. But I'm open minded yet hold onto skepticism. 

 

[XenoFish]

All I can say is be careful of the ideas you implant in your head space. Sometimes they can have a lasting effect. 

[StarMountainKid]

1 minute ago, XenoFish said:

All I can say is be careful of the ideas you implant in your head space. Sometimes they can have a lasting effect. 

Yes, I think generally, ideas are bad for us.

[XenoFish]

4 minutes ago, StarMountainKid said:

Yes, I think generally, ideas are bad for us.

Depends on the idea. 

Sigil magick is the most effective form of magick. As it works through psychological principles. They work like background programs in your subconscious. If you create and fire a sigil that state, "I will see ghost". You will see them, feel them, and hear them. Your brain will work overtime filling in the blanks. You will develop an unconscious desire to see spirits. 

Edited April 2, 2018 by XenoFish

[XenoFish]

Then one night you wake up and check the backdoor. Seeing something rather 'demonic' with piercing red eyes staring at you. You freak out a little, turn the light on anyway, poof, nothing.

[StarMountainKid]

2 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

Then one night you wake up and check the backdoor. Seeing something rather 'demonic' with piercing red eyes staring at you. You freak out a little, turn the light on anyway, poof, nothing.

Wouldn't it be more productive to have an empty, clear receptive mind without inducing some psychological special effects into it? 

[XenoFish]

8 minutes ago, StarMountainKid said:

Wouldn't it be more productive to have an empty, clear receptive mind without inducing some psychological special effects into it? 

Why do you think I quit practicing magick....

Like I mentioned before. Be careful of the ideas you put in your head space. 

[Sakari]

I want to call B.S. to many people. And, I do not mean just here, but friends of mine. I still do not know what to believe in, but I sure the hell wish I did. If this topic were up 4 months ago, I would have answered no, and posted about how life is like a light switch. On, than off.

Here is where I call BS. When death slaps you in the face, and you now realize you are mortal, and you realize you may not have as much time as you thought on Earth. Basically, if you find out you have a terminal disease. One thing you will wish, ans start searching for is a faith of some kind. It will be one of the top things that is scaring the **** out of you, and will haunt you. You will wish you had one. And, you will start trying to find one.

It is all fun and games, until reality sets in. You do not want to "not know" what happens to you.

 

 

Edited April 2, 2018 by Sakari

[StarMountainKid]

2 minutes ago, Sakari said:

I want to call B.S. to many people. And, I do not mean just here, but friends of mine. I still do not know what to believe in. If this topic were up 4 months ago, IO would have answered no, and posted about how life is like a light switch. On, than off.

Here is where I call BS. When death slaps you in the face, and you now realize you are mortal, and you realize you may not have as much time as you thought on Earth. Basically, if you find out you have a terminal disease. One thing you will wish, ans start searching for is a faith of some kind. It will be one of the top things that is scaring the **** out of you, and will haunt you. You will wish you had one. And, you will start trying to find one.

It is all fun and games, until reality sets in. You do not want to "not know" what happens to you.

 

 

I understand your situation from your recent status update. I'm 14 years old, in good health, but I see my mortality clearly. When my time comes I will miss being alive, but I've come to the conclusion that the mind is fundamentally empty of knowledge. 

In this sense, knowledge is an 'extra' imposed upon this empty, quiet mind. A sort of an artificial mind, like static.   there may be some comfort in this perception, as one needn't worry about what the mind conjures up in difficult circumstances.

The mind has an intelligence of its own that I think we can rely on if we do not impose upon it, just allow its original nature to operate. 

Thought creates fear of the ending of thought. That that perceives thought in this sense is not thought, therefore it is beyond this fear. 

Maybe easy to say, not easy to realize. I believe the mind is capable of accepting the switch without needing some extra knowledge to ease its passing. 

[Sakari]

1 hour ago, StarMountainKid said:

I understand your situation from your recent status update. I'm 14 years old, in good health, but I see my mortality clearly. When my time comes I will miss being alive, but I've come to the conclusion that the mind is fundamentally empty of knowledge. 

In this sense, knowledge is an 'extra' imposed upon this empty, quiet mind. A sort of an artificial mind, like static.   there may be some comfort in this perception, as one needn't worry about what the mind conjures up in difficult circumstances.

The mind has an intelligence of its own that I think we can rely on if we do not impose upon it, just allow its original nature to operate. 

Thought creates fear of the ending of thought. That that perceives thought in this sense is not thought, therefore it is beyond this fear. 

Maybe easy to say, not easy to realize. I believe the mind is capable of accepting the switch without needing some extra knowledge to ease its passing. 

Oh just trust me, It isn't your mind that needs to accept it, it is YOU. And, you do not want to know what it is like. I hope you never have to worry about that though. I would not wish it on many people.

And, by the way, I plan on being around a very long time. Not going anywhere any time soon.

Edited April 2, 2018 by Sakari

[+joc]

13 hours ago, Sherapy said:

No consciousness. 

No consciousness, and no...Sub-consciousness.... 

[Only_]

9 hours ago, Podo said:

The bolded first sentence is all you need. The rest of it is drivel. Not knowing is okay, y'know? You don't need to make stuff up.

Does that mean that people who claim 'nothingness' or 'eternal oblivion' is awaiting us at death are also making stuff up?

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Edited April 3, 2018 by Clockwork_Spirit

[Only_]

18 hours ago, bigjim36 said:

I'm not a spiritual atheist. It just so happens that I believe in ghosts. That doesn't mean god put them there or that I believe we can sit around a table in the dark and summon them. It just means we haven't figured out what they are yet. God is no more involved in this discussion than next doors cat! 

We may not know what it is. But would you at least agree that the phenomenon appears non-material in nature?

You consider the ghost subject as a scientific question. Still, it does have philosophical repercussions.

Edited April 3, 2018 by Clockwork_Spirit

[jmccr8]

On 01/04/2018 at 2:51 PM, bigjim36 said:

First of all let me say I'm a firm atheist. I do not believe in a god or Jesus or a heaven or hell. I do however believe in ghosts and yes I have seen one before you ask. I also don't believe in psychics and mediums just to be clear. So how many atheists are there that share my beliefs? 

Hi bigjim

I didn't vote because I don't see myself as an athiest or a thiest, as for whether there is something after this life, I don't know. When I was 20 the first of my best buds died and 7 years later 9 more were gone and I was the last man standing. I couldn't figure it out as I ran faster and harder than most of them. I really never thought I would see 30 and have had my bags packed and ready to go but they are just sitting there collecting dust and cobwebs. I enjoy living but can't say that I have cared much one way or the other or maybe it's just that I know it will happen and live life for the thrill of it all one day at at time with no real significance on tomorrow. I am glad that I have had the time to get to know my daughter and granddaughter and be a part of their lives and enjoy them as my greatest achievement in life. I don't really think that I need more after this life as this one has been full of adventure and I have rang that doorbell many many times over the years and nobody has answered the door yet.

I guess for me it just doesn't matter if I made this life a good one.

jmccr8

Edited April 3, 2018 by jmccr8
If there is a afterlife I hope there is no auto correct

[Rlyeh]

15 hours ago, Clockwork_Spirit said:

I don't know. You may imagine yourself as being in some sort of 'nothingness' state prior to birth but then you weren't in a physical body and reality wasn't been interpreted through the lenses of your physical brain.

You don't need to imagine. Just remember your first memory, what do you remember before it? Nothing. Ever been unconscious? You remember and experience nothing.

Prior to your birth or conception you lacked awareness, reality wasn't interpreted at all.

[XenoFish]

6 hours ago, Clockwork_Spirit said:

Does that mean that people who claim 'nothingness' or 'eternal oblivion' is awaiting us at death are also making stuff up?

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Have you ever consider that death is just an eternal dreamless slumber. Where no one wakes up, no one dreams, an eternal sleep. 

If there was some after life that we passed on to after suffering though the pains of life, and that place was of eternal suffering, would it not be wiser to create an immortal species that will never die in the first place. That is born to eternally suffer existence and the existential pain it generates?

[Galactic Goatman]

I like this quote (though I forget who it isn’t by):

”Lots of things will happen after you die, they just won’t involve you.” 

Personally, I think we should be happy with the lives we have, rather than hoping we will get another one after we enter the Long Sleep. 

[I'mConvinced]

10 hours ago, Clockwork_Spirit said:

Does that mean that people who claim 'nothingness' or 'eternal oblivion' is awaiting us at death are also making stuff up?

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Yes.

Everyone is making it up and the very greatest minds have no more clue than the simplest as to what the real meaning of existence is or it if even has one.

This doesn't mean we have to accept every answer as valid however. It is demonstrable that the creation story in the KJB is not a historical account of what happened and so can be discounted as a 'possible truth'.

This is why knowledge and the scientific method should be the most important things in helping form your worldview. It is the only method that helps you eliminate the impossible so you may consider the improbable. 

People need to accept that we'll go to our graves without ever knowing the reason we were here in the first place. Maybe then we can begin to move forward to our next evolutionary stage.

[Podo]

11 hours ago, Clockwork_Spirit said:

Does that mean that people who claim 'nothingness' or 'eternal oblivion' is awaiting us at death are also making stuff up?

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

That depends on how they've arrived at their conclusions. There's no evidence-based reason to believe that there is any form of afterlife, therefore nothingness is currently the most logical conclusion based on the body of evidence. If someone declares that they 100% know that it is nothingness because that's what they believe, as opposed to where the evidence is, then they are guilty of the same woo as theists are. 

[Guyver]

I do love me some ghost stories.  

[Einsteinium]

Do you believe in life before birth?

Thinking that nothing existed forever into the past, then suddenly one comes into existence for a brief period of time only to return to forever non-existence seems...I don't know...lacking.

Asking if there is life after death is only half of the question, the other half is was there life before ones current birth for this life? In my opinion, existence is likely the normal state of things and non-existence is unstable and does not last long. Now, that does not mean that memories transfer after death, only that existence will be experienced in some form or other as the normal state of experience.

[StarMountainKid]

1 minute ago, Einsteinium said:

Do you believe in life before birth?

Thinking that nothing existed forever into the past, then suddenly one comes into existence for a brief period of time only to return to forever non-existence seems...I don't know...lacking.

Asking if there is life after death is only half of the question, the other half is was there life before ones current birth for this life? In my opinion, existence is likely the normal state of things and non-existence is unstable and does not last long. Now, that does not mean that memories transfer after death, only that existence will be experienced in some form or other as the normal state of experience.

I mostly agree, but if non-existence is unstable and existence is the normal state of things, one's personal conscious existence may be a fleeting configuration of existence, a unique event that may not be repeated after this personal configuration ceases to exist.

This specific configuration or event did not exist before one's birth, either.

It seems to me if this were not so, we could remember our self before we were born. After all, the universe is configured in some specific way moment after moment, we just happen to be a momentary configuration of matter and energy. 

.