streak_56

I'm really curious about death. It bothers me but I accept it. I basically have two theories about death....

1) The brain is basically a big chemical and electrical conduit. It conveys messages, feeling and all that we experience. When we die, we just don't exist anymore. The impulses that drive out brain just stops. Our personality, thoughts, memories and conscience are just impulses from our brain. And once those stop, we just stop existing and return to where we came. It stops right there, our "souls" are just an impulse. I believe that all these things are made up so that death seems like a palatable concept.

2) Death is alot like birth. Initially we came into this world not knowing what would be happening. Death could be seen the same way. We pass from one place to another. For example, going to heaven. But the difference is that the "place" that we go to is entirely new to us, we don't know anything about it and if there are other people we may rely on for guidance. Hence being a little bit like birth.

Suave

I personally would like to think that we have spiritual energy/consciousness that is a part of an immeasurable expanse of this energy, and when we die our energy is simply released from its bond with our bodies.

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"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions." - Albert Einstein

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato

*Nikki*

Your number one sounds a lot like what I am leaning towards. However I would really love to believe that there is an afterlife of some kind.....

World's King

I don't put much thought into death. I don't know if that's good or bad. I guess you could say I'm in the middle. I'm Catholic and would like to believe that if I play my cards right I'll end up in Heaven. But I'm a realist and know that I'll just stop 'being' and end up in a hole in the ground full of chemicals. I'm okay with that.

Ghosts interest me but not to the point that I really believe in them. I like the idea of the afterlife... good or bad but it all seems to far fetched for me. Saddly, ghosts have been lumped in with sci-fi. I like to lean toward the religous side of spirits. Good and Evil. Heaven and Hell. It's more romantic.

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heavy is the head that wears the crown

grumpyolddude

I like to think that my dad and brothers, Harold, Tom and Phil are drinking coffee and playing pinochle together forever, argueing every trick and replaying every hand ad nauseum. They'd think they were in heaven!
I'll join 'em one day... but not too soon, please!

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"Regret can be a harder pill to swallow than failure .With failure you at least know you gave it a chance..." David Howard

Craven Morehead

Its the one thing we all have in common, yet none of us know anything about it. Its come into my life too many times recently. The older you get, the more frequently that happens. Maybe that prepares one for the inevitable. When you're young, death isn't that frequent of a visitor. But as you get older, there it is, and then again. And then again. And pretty soon, its a bigger part of life than you ever thought it would be. At times I think its our egos that want to think we're larger than life and there is an afterlife for us, in any form. But I think your #1 is probably what it is and all it is.

Zeraph

Life and death is like the sun. From our perspective the sun rises (lives) and sets (dies) but that is an illusion, if we go outside our current perspective (like space) we can see that it is the Earth turning (and us with it) and that the sun itself does not go anywhere. It is only ourselves that loose sight of the sun. I think that life and death are an illusion of a sort, it is only our current perspective that makes it seem the way it is.

PS This should be in the philosophy section and if you want to read more about death we have had some previous discussions there.

ThrasheR

Don't worry about death. There is no impending countdown of days until your demise. it is now and always will be NOW. Whatever may come when your brain ceases to function is beyond our scope.

FatFreeGoodness

I personally have had experiences that convince me that there is indeed more than what we see in the physical world, and further that there is an intelligence out there that takes an interest in us personally and individually. In fact, this individual aspect is why I do not spend the time recounting the specific instances that have convinced me. They were quite sufficient to convince me once I was willing to consider them with an open mind. However, they were clearly personal, and not beyond being discounted if I chose to do so. They would be even easier for a third party to discount.
I note that if God does exist it would be easily possible for Him to prove this to the entire population at once in such a way as to leave no room for doubt. That He does not regularly do so demonstrates either (a) He does not exist; (b) does not care whether we believe or not; (c) chooses to interact on an individual basis, and in such a way that only those who are seeking / willing to accept will do so.
Only if you accept that perhaps God exists and is personally interested in you can you can ask what He wants of you, and decide whether or not you are interested in the deal.
I personally have decided that Christ told the truth, but one has to bear some things in mind: (a) Follow Christ, not Christians. (b) Consider what scholars of the subject have to say, but read for yourself. (c) I am not good enough to actually do this perfectly (follow Christ), and neither is anyone else; what is demanded of me is that I try.

If I am right I will be better off for having done this. If it’s all over when we die, then I will still have been better for having done this. In either case, I think it is the “right” thing to do, both in the moral and in the “optimum path” sense.

Zeraph

You forgot a 4th option, FatFreeG, on the first list and that is (d) we are here for different reasons and not everyone should find God therefore making itself apparent to all would spoil some meaning for those that arn't meant to find God in that way.

Just a little nit pick I see a lot of people make, we all tend to assume there is only one true meaning of life or one true purpose and that ours is the same as everyone elses. Thing is we know nothing for sure, perhaps half the population is not even "real" and is only here through God to guide the other half. Or even more so like 95% of people arn't real or maybe only you or me is real. Point is God wouldnt need to show itself to those people in such a dramatic way in that case. So Who knows?

The_Jazz

There's a 5th option (and probably a 6th, 7th, etc.). The universe is not a wasteful place, and all the energy that makes up our "souls" is recycled and used again. It may not be used as a whole or even all at once, but it is reused again somewhere else by somebody else. I always thought that heaven and hell would be very crowded places, espeically if you read the Old Testament versions of what is supposed to go on there. As I've gotten older, I've found myself drifting more towards forms of Budhism and reincarnation since that makes more sense to my view of the universe. Then again, I'm one guy out of 7 billion on a planet circling an insignificant star in one corner of one galaxy. What do I know?

FatFreeGoodness

"(d) we are here for different reasons and not everyone should find God..."

I suppose you could include that under "c", by expanding it only slightly:
"(c) [God] chooses to interact (or not) on an individual basis, in such a way that only those who are seeking / willing to accept will do so." The individual interaction would allow room for different people to receive different messages.
I personally believe that God does not act in ways that are self contradictory, nor does he change His nature.
This (to me) would seem to preclude Buddhism and Christianity from both being true. However, I admit that (1) my vantage point is of necessity inferior to that of Gods; (b) God is certainly within his “rights” to accept any one or any path He may choose to.
In any case, while I believe I am told to follow a certain path and encourage others to follow the same path, I am also emphatically and repeatedly warned not to judge those who do not.
A point that I may not have been clear on was that I think my belief should be followed not because it is “good” or “healthy” but because it is literally true. I am willing to listen to those who think they have evidence it is not so, just as I am happy to discuss with those who are interested why I believe the way I do. However, I also realize that due to the individual nature of the interaction, I will never truly persuade anyone on my own. The best I can hope for is to encourage someone to seek the truth with an open mind, and that in so doing they will find it.