Would you even 'want' a life hereafter?

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1) There's have to be another universe for the next life 2) That would mean we're all first-timers.


Thinking about what 'perfection' really drills down to it would mean no thought, no movement if taken to its extreme. Hence it ends up pretty much the same as oblivion.


If it could be entering the universe and really being alive inside it in the way that I can with music where I can find entire galaxies between the kicks and snares, feel it like the ultimate rush, and then go back to the pub to both debrief my friends on what I saw and give them directions to the spot that I was at and vice a verse - sure, that could be neat.


A Buddhist looks at a western atheist and says "Lucky SOB..."

I definitely wouldn't want to live forever, no matter in what kind of scenario. I could imagine to spend 300 or 500 years here on Earth, provided that I would be 25 years old for the entire time, as well as rich, healthy, and insanely good looking. Perhaps even a thousand years, depending on how interesting future entertainment technology turns out to be. But I'm pretty sure that I would want to get out at some point. Religious ideas of eternal life seem even less appealing to me than eternal biological existence.

Dude, if you lived for 500 years and put $100 in the bank today, you'd want to stay alive an additional few hundred years to spend the billions of dollars you'd have due to the miracle of compound interest. Note that I'm not suggesting anything supernatural with the use of the word "miracle".

Interesting, it would have probably been an unusual thought for the majority of our ancestors, never fully assured that one would make it through one day. Of course, that's the reality of many that exist on the planet today, and what appears to be a more simple way of life for animals other than ourselves.

In essence we contain billions of years of existence in our genes and in the composition thereof. The contributions of all of our ancestors, providing our current experience of life, not only through genetics but through collective intelligence as well.


Our current experience is only limited by our access to that collective intelligence, and the imagination of those who have provided so much of our reality in the totality of our lives.

Just through the medium of TV, we are able to vicariously experience thousands upon thousands of personalities, places, and events, that none of our ancestors could have have imagined, in a lifetime, that took them to relatively to the same area and sights of existence.

And, able to capture the events of our lifetime to re-live vicariously, through different mediums, time and time again, not only through our conscious efforts, but through all the manmade things that stay the same.


We have had the opportunity to experience a slice of heaven in many ways through the efforts of our ancestors.

No matter how long we survive in this life, there is no question that all of our ancestors were outstanding survivors.



In essence we have been part of a living chain of organisms that have not died for millions of years, and part of a material essence that existed much longer than that.

Parts of us, will go on, in others, for many years after our consciousness is gone, whether or not we achieve the common goal of reproduction.


One of the most amazing things is that we have gained an ability to understand reality in this way, something else that none of our ancestors could have imagined.

And perhaps the most amazing thing is that some of us have the opportunity to feel a sense of immortality in our youth, in part, because of the comforts in our lives, that the collective effort of our ancestors have provided.



Forever never lasts longer, than the present moment. Anticipation for the next moment is a slice of heaven of forever, and dread is the price we can pay for the same.

The hardest thing to escape is our will to survive. It is likely harder for those that have had that sense of immortality.



Do I want to live forever? Been there done that for years, it only takes a moment of conscious illusion/awareness. And likely something many of my ancestors never fully experienced. I owe all of it to them.

The reality of many, is mostly a sense of dread. We owe parts of that to our ancestors as well.



The ultimate reality though, is, at this moment is forever. And we are part of what "is" been forever. Everything else is an illusion created by our mind.



That is, if collective intelligence is close to correct.

What about four years? Oops, you live in Canada, you have already escaped that potential fate.

I'm hoping for re-incarnation in fleets of 'soul families'. Sounds most appealing to me but I wonder if it's only wishful thinking. Out of all the possibilities any specific one is unlikely.

No.

Well, in a sense I get what you're saying. My own interpretation of it is something like this; my best deductive guesswork brings me to full determinism. Full determinism makes all of life, all of experience, all of anything, essentially a bit like either a three-dimensional object - like a book or a Heron play. I could also look at the possibility that such a thing could simply be 'data' which we're essentially finding our universe to be filled with.

Regardless though that brings our forward interpretation of time into question and essentially makes known existence a bit like a DVD; sure there's a start and end to viewing but there really isn't a start and end to the DVD and, if there is, it has nothing to do with the playback of the contents. A better analogy perhaps might be that, I exist on pages 1,672,537,886,345,865,345 through 1,672,537,886,348,234,162 of a publication and even though its the most gargantuan of books and dwarfs any of its contents I'm immortalized on those pages; not in a conscious way necessarily but in totality as a character from beginning to end.

Not at all, I also would not want to be immortal. The biggest reason for this is that all my life, my brain keeps thinking about all sort of things; only time when it catches a break is when I'm sleeping (of course if I am not dreaming, because in dreams it thinks too). I even tried some meditating but I was unable to willingly shut the thinking off. Because of that I must say that I honestly cherish the idea that one very nice day, this thinking process will stop forever. I must say that enough of sleep time is the only thing that keeps me sane for now.

It might sound silly but I recently considered this as a serious thing when thinking about eternity.

What makes you so sure you would stay 'you' after death?

Eternity is an awfully long time, especially near the end.

---woody allen.

Last edited by simon_says on 24 Feb 2012, 6:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

That's really a couple of questions:
1) Is there an ultra-life?
Even if I were someone else essentially and forced to be 'this' in my temporal existence, it would have an impact if I had any memory. I can't imagine it being a good one though.

2) When you die do you remember the life you just left any longer?
If there's a life hereafter with no memory of life, I'm really not sure what's there, what its like, though I'd really have my doubts that its worthwhile in any way, shape or form as we'd still be slaves to the universe and it seems like wisdom would be pretty well locked off from us.

what makes you so sure you are 'you' before death

If I could be a non-feeling entity. On second thought I have heard of this type of entity and doubt that would be good. If I could come back as a tree with no feelings, maybe.

The Nordic concept of Hell sounds like a fun place. A widely misunderstood religion, although their idea of "Heaven" was of a fairly vicious nature, their concept of "Hell" was correspondingly softened, and it actually sounds like an interesting and kind of cool sort of place.

Neither question can really be answered unless there's an afterlife, and even then we all would have to wait until death.

As for your specific answer, no. I would not want to retain the self I am now. Don't get me wrong, I like myself just fine. I just don't think I could take an eternity in this head of mine.