I hadn't heard of Bob Olson before but just watched the whole video. I've spent 20+ years interested in this topic and can say that on the whole, I agree with all of his research conclusions. There are some small details that I could nitpick, but overall his commentary is very well-researched and on-point to the best of my knowledge.
Given the quantity of points made, it's frustratingly hard to qualify the depth of study that goes into summarising conclusions as he did. Even worse, mobs of fear-mongering religious people will propagate myths like eternal hell and get away with it just because their perspective aligns with the cultural norms of the day. Thoughtful and intelligent researchers like Mr. Olson are worth the effort to find.
Entire fields of research (After-Death Communications, pre-birth memories, spiritually-transformative experiences and near-death experiences, the consensus of mediums and the list goes on) tend to converge on the most critical points. If it were possible to have mature discussions on each of these points, we could go into detail on that evidence. But I've never found a forum environment where that type of discussion is available (both spiritually aware and tolerant of suicide).
I was particularly interested in Mr Olson's point about suicide being a disappointment in the face of various beings involved in the lifetime's pre-planning and execution. This one splits me right down the middle.
On the one hand, I've had times in my life when I've had exactly the right thing happen at the right time, which is sufficient evidence that there is help in the background along the lines of spirit guides or similar. And yet, the overall trajectory of this lifetime has been one of ever-increasing pain despite endless efforts made, poverty despite very hard work/investment, isolation despite endless attempts to reach out, and an ultimate failure to master the lowest level of Maslow's pyramid despite decades of fighting like mad. And dedicating myself to purely spiritual pursuits has proven impossible in the face of chronic discomfort and fatigue.
I have learned to cultivate a reasonably loving state despite coming from a rough background, but I must say this: even if God almighty accused me of not trying hard enough, I would very politely tell Him to go fuck Himself. I remember the ex-forum user GoodPersonEffed's final thread made a similar remark - accountability is a two-way street and people who are absolutely left to die in agony despite begging for assistance and taking all possible practical action should be the ones on the receiving end of an apology, not the other way around. This is the only reason why my ultimate conclusion on this issue is unresolved.
Thanks for sharing!
Reading your post gave me so much more clarity and understanding. "And yet, the overall trajectory of this lifetime has been one of ever-increasing pain despite endless efforts made, poverty despite very hard work/investment, isolation despite endless attempts to reach out..." and here's my story in a nutshell and how I ended up here. I was alone and lonely for 10+ years not by choice but just seemed to have THE WORST luck in finding someone, as if it was planned that way; after my partner of four years left me while pregnant, he told me to go f* myself and go get an abortion. And I did, at a very young age 20+. I lost my child and the one who I thought I'd spent the rest of my life with. I don't know how I managed to survive those 10+ years alone, worked really hard on myself and did well in the material world through endless efforts.
Finally last year, I thought I met someone. I found him in a really bad place. He was living with his dad in a small rental in the middle of nowhere, hating his job of five years. His family was in poverty. I literally pulled him out of obscurity and despair. I cooked him nourishing food, countlessly, showed him all the cool places I knew that he's never been-central park, the met museum, Washington monument, and restaurants I've been that I thought he'd like. I took him to Hawaii, I helped him with his almost non-existent resume and getting a new job with NASA, helped him move his entire shit to Maryland for free with my SUV, getting new apartment and setting up furnitures, and he couldn't have done any of these alone and he was relying on me to be his guide the entire time. Then here comes the best part, he told me he couldn't reciprocate, he couldn't love or give. I left the apartment out of self respect. He deleted me and discarded me like a piece of garbage, after all that I've done. A mean-ass stray cat would love you back with the amount of love and care I showed, yet people can be so nasty. I wish karma comes back to him tenfold and I will witness it from the other side.
I'm now back in my dark abyss. And you tell me, where was God, spiritual guides or help in all of this? Where was the warning when I was falling in the trap of that selfish monster? My mother told me to suck it up and refused to talk to me after. Oh believe me when I said I've tried, now 11 years of endless efforts and agony. "accountability is a two-way street and people who are absolutely left to die in agony despite begging for assistance and taking all possible practical action should be the ones on the receiving end of an apology, not the other way around."- It feels like whoever planned this script wants me dead, and yes they should apologize to me.
I'm sending all the love and healing out to the whole world but I'm done, and the rest of you, enjoy the game.