Is the Survival of the Self or Ego an Important Facet of your Afterlife?

[CynthiaCypher]

The complex structure of many zillions of molecules can have temporary memory. But when the structure breaks down, the individual molecules have no memory as I see it.

I hate to be a pain.

Memory is the storage and retention of information

Everything that exist is essentially information. Everything informs us Split a piece of wood, you'll see information. Lift up a rock, you'll find information.

 

[Runewolf1973]

The complex structure of many zillions of molecules can have temporary memory. But when the structure breaks down, the individual molecules have no memory as I see it.

I hate to be a pain.

If I were to say "according to my theory"...This is because a complex stucture is larger and therefore has more gravity or attracting force to retain such a memory. As that complex structure breaks down into smaller parts, it has less gravity or attracting force and therefore does not retain as much information. If one were to say "Well, according to this, the Sun should be really smart." Lol, no. It just retains information differently, just as a coil spring on a car retains information differently. The human brain evolved to retain information in it's own unique fashion.


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[Runewolf1973]

Memory is the storage and retention of information

Everything that exist is essentially information. Everything informs us Split a piece of wood, you'll see information. Lift up a rock, you'll find information.

Gospel of Thomas?

 

[dust1n]

Matter and information are not synonymous. Yes, all the matter in the world is necessary for the interpretation that is information. If I write a novel in a book, and then burn it, the information from the novel is not preserved by any measure.

Because the universe expands, entropy increases, and all energy eventually becomes increasingly inaccessible and un-usable.

 

[CynthiaCypher]

Gospel of Thomas?

:yes: Gospel of Thomas.

 

[Runewolf1973]

Matter and information are not synonymous. Yes, all the matter in the world is necessary for the interpretation that is information. If I write a novel in a book, and then burn it, the information from the novel is not preserved by any measure.

Because the universe expands, entropy increases, and all energy eventually becomes increasingly inaccessible and un-usable.

Like I said earlier, the information changes.

 

[Sees]

My own religious traditions have the now rare survival of soul/self/energy-being/thingy but I don't know if it's important to be that way or just is :areyoucra

It is an odd man out position these days where dissolving into the Abyss/One/All/Self/God reigns supreme.

 

[Runewolf1973]

:yes: Gospel of Thomas.

One of my favorite religious quotes.

 

[CynthiaCypher]

One of my favorite religious quotes.

It's my favorite Gospel.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

According to your faith, I assume?

I would say according to my different, relative rational path, if you are one to agree that rationality is relative. But according to my faith wouldn't be inaccurate if you disagree

 

[The Sum of Awe]

I think Jiddu Krishnamurti was most likely right: Nothing remains.

But how can nothing remain if nothing ever was?

 

[Runewolf1973]

I think Jiddu Krishnamurti was most likely right: Nothing remains.

No-thing remains because "things" are illusions, but since no-thing is ever destroyed and no-thing ever ceases, no-thing is ever lost. There is only change in which new illusions arise.

 

[Penumbra]

I think oblivion after death is most likely.

I can see that the notion of destruction of self in one way or another would be attractive to some people. A lot of people seem uncomfortable with themselves, or uncomfortable with separation, or uncomfortable with what they've faced in life. Personally, I guess my ideal scenario would be to live several lifetimes before total death, because there's so much to experience and so much injustice and randomness between different types of lives and it feels so incomplete for each consciousness to only get a small and unequal experience before it extinguishes for good. But it's not like obliterated consciousness can feel anything so if people die and don't get what their idealized worldview is, it's not like they'd be able to know or care at that point.

The merging with god or basically becoming a timeless spaceless entity that nonetheless is conscious tends to be so poorly described that it almost sounds indistinguishable from oblivion. It's kind of like when stories end with something like, "and they lived happily ever after" and then it's just kind of left like that.

 

[Tumah]

I believe that when I die not only will my body return to star stuff but whatever spirit that animates and informs Cynthia will return to it's source. In other words the Divine Spark within me will return to God. In this process, I will have achieved theosis, My Will and Self will be completely transformed into God and the person and personality known as Cynthia will be subsumed and obliterated by holiness of the Divinity.

In other words, the things that make me me will not survive the transformation into divinity, anymore than the things that make up your physical body will survive the transformation into star stuff. My persona, my identity and individuality will be gone. And I am perfectly fine with this and this belief is a source of comfort to me. There is more to it than that but I am just offering the simplified version.

Anywho....

How important is it to you for your ego and self to survive death and enjoy an afterlife?

I think the survival of the self after death is an inherent requirement of an afterlife. Without it, your not actually after-living.

Also, I would like to understand how you view G-d as to make it logically possible for Him to consume and integrate you into Himself.

 

[Quagmire]

One scenario that appeals to me is that once you die, you drop your ego in the same way that you drop your body: your body is just the physical costume you wear while you're here, and the ego is just the mental costume.

All we really are is whatever it is that's going along for the ride experiencing whatever through our bodies and egos.

Once you die, you might remember what it was like to have a body and an ego, ie., you might remember what it felt like to have a body and you might remember what it was that your ego cared about, but none of it will matter to you.

 

[Penumbra]

Also, I would like to understand how you view G-d as to make it logically possible for Him to consume and integrate you into Himself.

Logically for merging with god all one would need for that is for pantheism or panentheism or some other variation of non-dualism to be the metaphysical foundation of the universe.

As in, god = all, or all is in god and god expands behind all. That's the basis of many religious worldviews, rather than an idea of god and the universe being these separate things.

Then it's not so much being consumed by or integrated with god but realizing that one never left in the first place.

Of course with such a broad set of worldviews, many people would view it in many ways and explain their view differently, including probably the OP.

 

[Penumbra]

One scenario that appeals to me is that once you die, you drop your ego in the same way that you drop your body: your body is just the physical costume you wear while you're here, and the ego is just the mental costume.

All we really are is whatever it is that's going along for the ride experiencing whatever through our bodies and egos.

Once you die, you might remember what it was like to have a body and an ego, ie., you might remember what it felt like to have a body and you might remember what it was that your ego cared about, but none of it will matter to you.

And then what do you do from there?

 

[Sleeppy]

Only God exists eternally.. But, because God is God, and His will is done, eternally- every moment, past, present, and future- must continue existing.

Linear time is an illusion, due to limited perception and receptivity. God doesn't forget the past, need to investigate the present, nor is He ignorant of the future.

 

[Quagmire]

And then what do you do from there?

Beats me.

I still have my ego.

 

[CynthiaCypher]

Beats me.

I still have my ego.

I guess after you leave your ego and body behind...you live happily ever after.