Too good to be true

[ningaman151]

Death seems too good to be true. For everything there seems to be a catch. We invented planes that allow us to travel very long distances relatively fast, yet it comes with the consequence that a small amount of people die in possible the most horrible way. We invented cars and road rage and car crashes are an everyday thing. Food is abundant and we have an obesity epidemic. The list goes on. It seems too good to be true that once you die you are just gone forever, no pain no worries, nothing. Heck we don't even know "nothing". Even empty space is still something. I guess anything "outside" (and I use this term loosely here) the universe is nothing, but in that case do we even know what nothing is? The problem with death is that one thing is certain, your memory is gone. We know that our memories are stored in our brains, and not some magical thing. We also now that we've always had a sense of time. You can't remember before you became sentient (around 2 years of age). If someone gets into an accident or loses all their memory, is that person even themselves anymore? They are still sentient, but then what makes us us? The way I currently see it is that life is just a phenomenon, just like gravity and electromagnetism. We know that the universe will still exist when you're not sentient (you always wake up after a deep sleep, and things around you happen, time doesn't just go by magically). Honestly, we don't currently know. I think about these things constantly. No 5 minutes go by without me thinking about these things (obviously when I'm asleep doesn't count). My curiousity is killing me (quite literally).

 

[Smilla]

Well, there is only one sure way to quell your curiosity forever: die.

Analysis is Paralysis. And I'm tired of feeling paralyzed.

 

[ningaman151]

Well, there is only one sure way to quell your curiosity forever: die.

Analysis is Paralysis. And I'm tired of feeling paralyzed.

That's the thing, your memory goes with your death. So you'll never really know.

 

[Smilla]

That's the thing, your memory goes with your death. So you'll never really know.

Guess not.

 

[ningaman151]

Guess not.

What do you mean? Also I'm afraid of karma or something of the sort being real, although logically and imperically, there is nothing of that sort.

 

[Smilla]

What do you mean? Also I'm afraid of karma or something of the sort being real, although logically and imperically, there is nothing of that sort.

If our memory dies then we cease to exist, it is a complete ego death.

Whatever karma I had from past lives must have been really really horrible because damn this life sucked.

But I don't believe in such things. Remember the words of Hitchens: "an assertion without evidence can be dismissed without evidence".

 

[ningaman151]

If our memory dies then we cease to exist, it is a complete ego death.

Whatever karma I had from past lives must have been really really horrible because damn this life sucked.

But I don't believe in such things. Remember the words of Hitchens: "an assertion without evidence can be dismissed without evidence".

I'm glad you reminded me of Hitchen's words, as that is how I think about that matter. I also learned the hard way from going through a psychotic episode that what you think and what is real are not always the same. The reason I induce karma is because without it, the universe seems arbitrary and random. But you are correct, we should not be asserting things without evidence, as an infinite number of assertions can be made that way. To be honest, the only thing that haunts me is that I will leave me little brother behind. He is 8 years old. I don't know what to do regarding this matter.

 

[JazzyWolfWhistle]

What if death frees up some part of you that lives on after you? Maybe it's like silly putty. Silly putty was a kids toy that you used to pick up ink from comic newsprint and once it did you could see the newsprint picture in the putty. But once you squeeze the putty that image is gone. Maybe the part of you that continues after death is like silly putty and the part of you that's lost is all your pain. Maybe death is a way of freeing up some life force putty to take the impression of new personality ink and we aren't punished for who we are through our eternity.

 

[Maravillosa]

What if death frees up some part of you that lives on after you? Maybe it's like silly putty. Silly putty was a kids toy that you used to pick up ink from comic newsprint and once it did you could see the newsprint picture in the putty. But once you squeeze the putty that image is gone. Maybe the part of you that continues after death is like silly putty and the part of you that's lost is all your pain. Maybe death is a way of freeing up some life force putty to take the impression of new personality ink and we aren't punished for who we are through our eternity.

That is a very pretty analogy, Jazzy. I hope that it is true. In death, I hope that all our pain and all of the more disagreeable aspects of our personalities are eliminated, allowing joy and peace and the best aspects of our personalities to shine through for all eternity.

 

[RM5998]

What if death frees up some part of you that lives on after you? Maybe it's like silly putty. Silly putty was a kids toy that you used to pick up ink from comic newsprint and once it did you could see the newsprint picture in the putty. But once you squeeze the putty that image is gone. Maybe the part of you that continues after death is like silly putty and the part of you that's lost is all your pain. Maybe death is a way of freeing up some life force putty to take the impression of new personality ink and we aren't punished for who we are through our eternity.

That too, sounds too good to be true.

 

[ningaman151]

That is a very pretty analogy, Jazzy. I hope that it is true. In death, I hope that all our pain and all of the more disagreeable aspects of our personalities are eliminated, allowing joy and peace and the best aspects of our personalities to shine through for all eternity.

As said in the previous posts, an assertion without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. You are no different in the line of thinking than those who believe in heaven. There is just no proof. I can make an infinite number of claims like that. And eternity is a concept. We don't even know if something can be truly infinite. There are some things that are technically infinite, such as pi going on indefinitely.

 

[Maravillosa]

As said in the previous posts, an assertion without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. You are no different in the line of thinking than those who believe in heaven. There is just no proof. I can make an infinite number of claims like that. And eternity is a concept. We don't even know if something can be truly infinite. There are some things that are technically infinite, such as pi going on indefinitely.

Hey, I am a practicing Catholic! Of course I believe -- or at least want to believe -- in Heaven. I know that there is no proof that there is a Heaven, but it is so soothing to believe that there is a Heaven. I suppose I will only find out for sure when I die.

 

[ningaman151]

Hey, I am a practicing Catholic! Of course I believe -- or at least want to believe -- in Heaven. I know that there is no proof that there is a Heaven, but it is so soothing to believe that there is a Heaven. I suppose I will only find out for sure when I die.

Heaven does not make sense. What comes after heaven? Is heaven infinite? Aren't you scared of that? Ever since I was a little child I used to get this awful uneasy feeling whenever I thought about heaven (I used to beleive in it). That it just goes on and on and on. Whenever I used to think about this I used to think to myself that god knows best, although I knew there was a flaw. It just doesn't add up.

 

[Maravillosa]

Heaven does not make sense. What comes after heaven? Is heaven infinite? Aren't you scared of that? Ever since I was a little child I used to get this awful uneasy feeling whenever I thought about heaven (I used to beleive in it). That it just goes on and on and on. Whenever I used to think about this I used to think to myself that god knows best, although I knew there was a flaw. It just doesn't add up.

I have always thought (or at least have thought since I was old enough to speculate on such things) that Heaven, by definition, is infinite. Hell is also infinite. (Purgatory is a finite situation, since everyone there is on their way to Heaven.) Of the two infinite postmortem situations, I would much prefer being in Heaven. The blessed in Heaven are incapable of being bored or being boring. Both Heaven and Hell go on and on and on for all eternity, but I hope that Hell is empty. I don't see why the infinitude of Heaven should be scary: it seems consoling to me.

 

[Deleted member 1465]

Karma has been hijacked as some mystical rule, but its basically this: every action or inaction has a consequence.