Life Is Meant To Be Lived Irregardless Of The Big Picture

[Jimmy]

I think life repeats itself infinitely for all things. They are exactly alike each time. In other words I believe there is an ultimate end to all of existence as well as another beginning and so on and so on. This can be suffocating to think about. The good news is, it has no bearing in the here and now. The last life is gone and not remembered and the next life is not here yet. Hence, free will. The idea of free will is comforting. The big picture is for God to understand, not us. I heard somewhere once, lean not onto your own understanding.

I believe it’s beliefs such as mine that have driven many many people away from similar beliefs. My belief is quite an uneasy and fearful thing to believe. People like to be comfortable and so they choose things to make them feel comfortable. Whether it be the belief of having a different life in heaven or being an atheist. People like comfort, rightly so.

 

[Balthazzar]

I view things in a similar way, only it's not so much an appeal to an afterlife, as it is an acknowledgement of the continuation of life apart from the life I live present day. I will presume mine ends when I die. I will also presume that I'll live on in some way, whether through others or as part of the recycle mechanics we know to help sustain life on earth.

Awareness? I have no idea, but likely nothing after I die, at least not until whatever I become through the evolutionary cycles, spawns a consciousness again, whereby whatever that may be, becomes a living soul and aware of it. This is it for me - as I exist today. One life to live. That's how it goes.

They say: "make it count", so ... I'm always working on something.

 

[GoodAttention]

I think life repeats itself infinitely for all things. They are exactly alike each time. In other words I believe there is an ultimate end to all of existence as well as another beginning and so on and so on. This can be suffocating to think about. The good news is, it has no bearing in the here and now. The last life is gone and not remembered and the next life is not here yet. Hence, free will. The idea of free will is comforting. The big picture is for God to understand, not us. I heard somewhere once, lean not onto your own understanding.

I believe it’s beliefs such as mine that have driven many many people away from similar beliefs. My belief is quite an uneasy and fearful thing to believe. People like to be comfortable and so they choose things to make them feel comfortable. Whether it be the belief of having a different life in heaven or being an atheist. People like comfort, rightly so.

There is nothing comfortable about the word irregardless.

It is abominable American-speak straight from the mouth of Satan himself!

 

[Spice]

I agree that life goes on and we should make the most of the here and now. I also agree that the former lives are fully in the past and those to come are yet unplanned mysteries, but I find it very comforting. Anything I found disappointing in this life I have another chance to experience satisfactorily. Anything I did not have an opportunity for, I may achieve next time.
Death just means on to the next great adventure!

 

[Balthazzar]

I agree that life goes on and we should make the most of the here and now. I also agree that the former lives are fully in the past and those to come are yet unplanned mysteries, but I find it very comforting. Anything I found disappointing in this life I have another chance to experience satisfactorily. Anything I did not have an opportunity for, I may achieve next time.
Death just means on to the next great adventure!

I wonder how long our sleep vacations might last? Honestly, I just kinda figure I'll end up being born again somehow, but without recollection of this life. If nine months in the womb equates to the time it took to evolve into what we are on earth from a single cell organism, it makes me wonder how many billions of years we have before we get to come through the way of life we acknowledge again?

 

[Madsaac]

Whether it be the belief of having a different life in heaven or being an atheist.

I thought you believed in afterlife, and wouldn't that make things 'easier' knowing that?

Death just means on to the next great adventure!

Being an atheist, death is the one thing where I'm 'jealous' of a believer. It would be great to think that I'm going to another life after I die however I think that when I die, I'm going into a very, very deep sleep for eternity. I'm very sure of this, because all we are, are intelligent animals that die, like everything else in the world and universe.

Could I ask a couple of questions, please.

How can you be so sure that there is an afterlife? Isn't it likely that there is no afterlife, knowing what we know?

What's the secret to getting to that point of belief? Any evidence at all?

Are you frightened of dying? Why is it important?

 

[Jimmy]

I thought you believed in afterlife, and wouldn't that make things 'easier' knowing that?

Being an atheist, death is the one thing where I'm 'jealous' of a believer. It would be great to think that I'm going to another life but I feel when I die, I'm going into a very, very deep sleep for eternity. I'm very sure of this because, all we are are intelligent animals that die, like everything else in the world and universe.

Could I ask a couple of questions, please.

How can you be so sure that there is an afterlife? Isn't it likely that there is no afterlife, knowing what we know?

What's the secret to getting to that point of belief? Any evidence at all?

Are you frightened of dying? Why is it important?

I do believe in an afterlife but it’s the same exact life as I’m living now. Most people that believe in an afterlife don’t believe this because it’s uncomfortable.

 

[Jimmy]

I thought you believed in afterlife, and wouldn't that make things 'easier' knowing that?

Being an atheist, death is the one thing where I'm 'jealous' of a believer. It would be great to think that I'm going to another life after I die however I think that when I die, I'm going into a very, very deep sleep for eternity. I'm very sure of this, because all we are, are intelligent animals that die, like everything else in the world and universe.

Could I ask a couple of questions, please.

How can you be so sure that there is an afterlife? Isn't it likely that there is no afterlife, knowing what we know?

What's the secret to getting to that point of belief? Any evidence at all?

Are you frightened of dying? Why is it important?

I think you are correct that you do go into a very deep sleep when you die, and nothing happens, but when all of existence ends when the chosen one dies, you will be raised imo.

 

[Madsaac]

I do believe in an afterlife but it’s the same exact life as I’m living now. Most people that believe in an afterlife don’t believe this.

Can I ask, why you believe this? Not proof that this may happen, more your motivation behind it?

 

[Jimmy]

Can I ask, why you believe this? Not proof that this may happen, more your motivation behind it?

I know that when I die all of existence ends and begins again. That includes everything and everyone btw. I know that I’m that person in the way that other people know that they’re not. Do you really think God would make a person like me and not let him know who he was? Of course nobody’s gonna believe me and I wouldn’t want them to for obvious security reasons.

 

[Spice]

I wonder how long our sleep vacations might last? Honestly, I just kinda figure I'll end up being born again somehow, but without recollection of this life. If nine months in the womb equates to the time it took to evolve into what we are on earth from a single cell organism, it makes me wonder how many billions of years we have before we get to come through the way of life we acknowledge again?

This is where I think "judgment" comes in, as well as the saying of "seeing your life flash before your eyes." It's my view that with our death, we will have an epiphany of our life's effect on the world, and from that our next life's circumstances will be determined. Then it's just a matter of matching karma/dharma needs to worldly opportunity. It'll still be up to us and our free will to make the most of that opportunity.

Rudolf Steiner had some very specific ideas on that process, to the degree of ridiculousness IMO, but was interesting reading never the less. I've read some of the anthroposophic work studies of Steiner's as written by Edward Reaugh Smith. It's a lot to take in and I doubt I'll ever finish the books I have on hand.

 

[Balthazzar]

This is where I think "judgment" comes in, as well as the saying of "seeing your life flash before your eyes." It's my view that with our death, we will have an epiphany of our life's effect on the world, and from that our next life's circumstances will be determined. Then it's just a matter of matching karma/dharma needs to worldly opportunity. It'll still be up to us and our free will to make the most of that opportunity.

Rudolf Steiner had some very specific ideas on that process, to the degree of ridiculousness IMO, but was interesting reading never the less. I've read some of the anthroposophic work studies of Steiner's as written by Edward Reaugh Smith. It's a lot to take in and I doubt I'll ever finish the books I have on hand.

I can agree with most of this, but as we progress into what we're becoming as a collective, we each have areas that require more attention, so the "judgement" may be based on those specifics and accomplished through next life realities, where we learn and develop according to our specific needs. I'll suggest it's a give and take between us and the world, acknowledging that we affect each other.

 

[Spice]

I thought you believed in afterlife, and wouldn't that make things 'easier' knowing that?

Being an atheist, death is the one thing where I'm 'jealous' of a believer. It would be great to think that I'm going to another life after I die however I think that when I die, I'm going into a very, very deep sleep for eternity. I'm very sure of this, because all we are, are intelligent animals that die, like everything else in the world and universe.

Could I ask a couple of questions, please.

How can you be so sure that there is an afterlife? Isn't it likely that there is no afterlife, knowing what we know?

There's no "certainty" beyond what science as thus far given us, that the basic foundation of varying religious belief agrees with. Neither energy nor matter can be destroyed. But both are reconfigured. I say basic foundation of religious belief because IMO religious text are the understanding of humankind at the time of the conception of the ideas, so therefore the polish, or rather the stories, are subject to reinterpretation.

What's the secret to getting to that point of belief? Any evidence at all?

The "secret" for me is Faith, or more simply put, living with an attitude of gratitude in a que sera, sera world. To focus on what's good. To aim towards what's good. And let the good cushion the hard blows that WILL come from time to time. Build up that cushion, and don't worry about it!

So I take it that my body, including the brain containing memory, will decay and return to the earth to be reconfigured in some other form. That includes the electric components of the brain. But then, IMB, there is another type of energy that is the life force. Again, a type of energy that can not be destroyed but will be reconfigured. This, at this time in humankind's journey of evolution and discovery, many of us believe to be the eternal image of "God" or our spirit/soul.

Traditionally this spirit/soul is the essence of humankind that has a debatable future. Even the most conservative believe it to be eternal. I just don't believe in heaven & hell, and "the world to come" in my personal belief just means this world in a future time. Some believe in another deminsion, some another planet, and so forth. I have a more simplified belief that sticks with what we know until it evolves into the Mystery. The Mystery? Que Sera, Sera. Can't control it, so don't worry about it.

Are you frightened of dying? Why is it important?

I'm a wuss when it comes to pain, but that's my only fear. I'm not the least bit concerned about what comes, or doesn't come, next. Do the birds fear what comes next? From my experience they only fear the pain. When I take one away from my cat, their little hearts are all a flutter. But I leave them alone and they calm down, get themselves together, and fly off to safety. OR sometimes they lie there calmly until their heart just stops.

 

[Spice]

I can agree with most of this, but as we progress into what we're becoming as a collective, we each have areas that require more attention, so the "judgement" may be based on those specifics and accomplished through next life realities, where we learn and develop according to our specific needs. I'll suggest it's a give and take between us and the world, acknowledging that we affect each other.

I agree. But where the idea of eternal torment may come from could be those who stubbornly refuse to grow and evolve. They are stuck in "hell on earth" by their own insistence to be willful, uncooperative, and "evil." How many lives do you think Charles Manson had been through before the one we know him from? How much "goodness" did he gain in the life we know him from to bring to his next? Or does he have a long journey to travel still?

 

[Balthazzar]

I agree. But where the idea of eternal torment may come from could be those who stubbornly refuse to grow and evolve. They are stuck in "hell on earth" by their own insistence to be willful, uncooperative, and "evil." How many lives do you think Charles Manson had been through before the one we know him from? How much "goodness" did he gain in the life we know him from to bring to his next? Or does he have a long journey to travel still?

Possibly, but I view this more as a refining process or conditioning, than a punishment or any sort of mandated suffering for wrongs committed, apart from societal intervention. It's a natural mechanism associated with adaptation and the evolution of the living, as I understand it.

 

[Spice]

Possibly, but I view this more as a refining process or conditioning, than a punishment or any sort of mandated suffering for wrongs committed, apart from societal intervention. It's a natural mechanism associated with adaptation and the evolution of the living, as I understand it.

Agreed. Evil is a concept of man. Conditioning, refining are good descriptives. Jesus "conquered the world" and that's how I generally think of it. How to be what was meant in the Garden despite the world we entered into. It's a process and I believe we don't lose our steps forward from one life as we begin another. Jesus certainly didn't have a life of blue skies and honey, but he made it to a very bitter end without succumbing to the world. Even from the cross he offered love and forgiveness to his "neighbors."

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

I'm a wuss when it comes to pain, but that's my only fear. I'm not the least bit concerned about what comes, or doesn't come, next. Do the birds fear what comes next? From my experience they only fear the pain. When I take one away from my cat, their little hearts are all a flutter. But I leave them alone and they calm down, get themselves together, and fly off to safety. OR sometimes they lie there calmly until their heart just stops.

As a spiritualist and former Christian, I no longer fear death after disavowing my Christian beliefs. I also reject all of the Bible's erratic depictions of the afterlife. That being said, I am curious about how my life will end, and I'm not sure if I will choose to remain earthbound or cross over into the spirit world. However, I'm not concerned about what will happen to me when I do. Personally, I think that people generally speculate about what will happen to them when they die. I don't believe that anyone, whether religious or not, truly knows exactly what happens beyond death until they die. Some people seem to believe that their personal religious beliefs provide them with a unique spiritual insight into the afterlife. However, I think they are only speculating about life after death, just like everyone else. In fact, I believe that their afterlife and the spirit realm could be significantly different from what they expected. I believe the same is true for those who don't believe in an afterlife. I also believe that a person's afterlife is primarily defined by them, meaning that their character and decisions in life could determine what happens to them after death. Of course, this is what I believe, and I know that others may disagree.

 

[Madsaac]

There's no "certainty" beyond what science as thus far given us, that the basic foundation of varying religious belief agrees with. Neither energy nor matter can be destroyed. But both are reconfigured. I say basic foundation of religious belief because IMO religious text are the understanding of humankind at the time of the conception of the ideas, so therefore the polish, or rather the stories, are subject to reinterpretation.

The "secret" for me is Faith, or more simply put, living with an attitude of gratitude in a que sera, sera world. To focus on what's good. To aim towards what's good. And let the good cushion the hard blows that WILL come from time to time. Build up that cushion, and don't worry about it!

So I take it that my body, including the brain containing memory, will decay and return to the earth to be reconfigured in some other form. That includes the electric components of the brain. But then, IMB, there is another type of energy that is the life force. Again, a type of energy that can not be destroyed but will be reconfigured. This, at this time in humankind's journey of evolution and discovery, many of us believe to be the eternal image of "God" or our spirit/soul.

Traditionally this spirit/soul is the essence of humankind that has a debatable future. Even the most conservative believe it to be eternal. I just don't believe in heaven & hell, and "the world to come" in my personal belief just means this world in a future time. Some believe in another deminsion, some another planet, and so forth. I have a more simplified belief that sticks with what we know until it evolves into the Mystery. The Mystery? Que Sera, Sera. Can't control it, so don't worry about it.

I'm a wuss when it comes to pain, but that's my only fear. I'm not the least bit concerned about what comes, or doesn't come, next. Do the birds fear what comes next? From my experience they only fear the pain. When I take one away from my cat, their little hearts are all a flutter. But I leave them alone and they calm down, get themselves together, and fly off to safety. OR sometimes they lie there calmly until their heart just stops.

Awesome, thanks. You have some good stuff going on there and plenty to think about.

 

[Jimmy]

As a spiritualist and former Christian, I no longer fear death after disavowing my Christian beliefs. I also reject all of the Bible's erratic depictions of the afterlife. That being said, I am curious about how my life will end, and I'm not sure if I will choose to remain earthbound or cross over into the spirit world. However, I'm not concerned about what will happen to me when I do. Personally, I think that people generally speculate about what will happen to them when they die. I don't believe that anyone, whether religious or not, truly knows exactly what happens beyond death until they die. Some people seem to believe that their personal religious beliefs provide them with a unique spiritual insight into the afterlife. However, I think they are only speculating about life after death, just like everyone else. In fact, I believe that their afterlife and the spirit realm could be significantly different from what they expected. I believe the same is true for those who don't believe in an afterlife. I also believe that a person's afterlife is primarily defined by them, meaning that their character and decisions in life could determine what happens to them after death. Of course, this is what I believe, and I know that others may disagree.

I know 100% beyond a shadow of a doubt what happens when I die.

 

[Trailblazer]

I know 100% beyond a shadow of a doubt what happens when I die.

What do you think happens and how do you know?