What happens once we are gone?

[destinationlosangel]

I'm curious. There are many different schools of thoughts regarding this. There's of course what the various religions say. There's also alternative theories which seem more plausible to me at times lol. But I'm curious to know what happens once we are gone. What are your theories on this?

Is it just like a light going off. And you go to a forever slumber? That does seem appealing because I am a huge fan of sleeping lol.

Or is it an immediate jump to heaven or hell? In that case, I would be very happy because I know I would go straight to heaven. I'm quite confident that I've been a good person to everyone and deserve heaven if there is such a thing. I've always identified more with Christianity for this regard.

With other religions like Hinduism and Buddhism, they talk about rebirth blabla. Which I dont know if i want really. I'd prefer to just go be one with the universe. Which is also what the hindus say.

Then there's of course the whole 'loosh' thing which is interesting to me because it talks about us from the perspective of being factory farmed lol. Very interesting but i would say, considering a lot of tragic situations ive had to deal with in my life, im pretty sure i am good fodder. Anyway i dont know if this theory is correct or not.

Ok and also, another theory. Being born again but in a different universe. Is this even an actual theory? I just made this one up now actually.

I'd really love to hear ur thoughts on all this stuff. Since we are all quite deep thinkers here on this forum, I imagine we might all have some answers soon regarding this stuff.

Personally I'd love to subscribe to the Christian theory of going straight to heaven. And enjoying a big party there. Of course nobody in heaven has health issues or any reason to be sad. One big party where we all come together to have fun. I'd love that :)

 

[rozeske]

In the end the truth is no one really knows and there seems to only be one way to find out and the dead can't speak so...

 

[Little_Suzy]

I doubt there is a heaven or anything resembling the Bible.

Most churches are evil! Scammers, human traffickers, poor people, sinners, and tax evaders.

If we come back, I'd like to return to the United States! Return to last known address, please! lol

 

[hadenough58]

I'm curious. There are many different schools of thoughts regarding this. There's of course what the various religions say. There's also alternative theories which seem more plausible to me at times lol. But I'm curious to know what happens once we are gone. What are your theories on this?

Is it just like a light going off. And you go to a forever slumber? That does seem appealing because I am a huge fan of sleeping lol.

Or is it an immediate jump to heaven or hell? In that case, I would be very happy because I know I would go straight to heaven. I'm quite confident that I've been a good person to everyone and deserve heaven if there is such a thing. I've always identified more with Christianity for this regard.

With other religions like Hinduism and Buddhism, they talk about rebirth blabla. Which I dont know if i want really. I'd prefer to just go be one with the universe. Which is also what the hindus say.

Then there's of course the whole 'loosh' thing which is interesting to me because it talks about us from the perspective of being factory farmed lol. Very interesting but i would say, considering a lot of tragic situations ive had to deal with in my life, im pretty sure i am good fodder. Anyway i dont know if this theory is correct or not.

Ok and also, another theory. Being born again but in a different universe. Is this even an actual theory? I just made this one up now actually.

I'd really love to hear ur thoughts on all this stuff. Since we are all quite deep thinkers here on this forum, I imagine we might all have some answers soon regarding this stuff.

Personally I'd love to subscribe to the Christian theory of going straight to heaven. And enjoying a big party there. Of course nobody in heaven has health issues or any reason to be sad. One big party where we all come together to have fun. I'd love that :)

I think you are being a little disrespectful to Buddhism which as a non-theistic belief and is far more plausible than christianity with a God.
For your information Buddhist do not believe in reincarnation but that one's "self" what you may describe as one's spirit lives on and that existence is determined by Karma or in other words how well you lived your previous life.
This is a very simplistic overview of Buddhism but will hopefully make you reflect on your disingenuous comment.

 

[mtoro998]

We dont suffer anymore.

 

[juna]

I really hope there is nothing after death. Wouldn't want to repeat life again. I consider myself a good person, I deserved so much better, yet all I got was pain.

 

[destinationlosangel]

In the end the truth is no one really knows and there seems to only be one way to find out and the dead can't speak so...

Yes lol

 

[juna]

Also I watched a documentary about people who woke up from the dead, and they described a white light and calmness befalling them.

 

[Squidward]

Way I see it, all the options boil down to the same 2 concerns.

1. An eternity of any existence, if inescapable, is an inevitable hell.

2. All other recycling/reunion programs would be the conclusion of any understanding "I" could hope to comprehend or remember. (Makes no difference to "me" how it's ultimately parsed out.)

I too most like and prefer the idea of "becoming one with the universe" again, but it kinda just feels like saying I prefer vanilla over chocolate to someone who's not even offering me ice-cream.

 

[juna]

In hindu culture, it is said that people get reborn again and again till they achieve nirvana that is enlightenment and then they are free from the cycle of birth. Seems odd to me. They ask people to pray a lot. I would rather help a person or do something useful than pray. I know my mother spent hours at the temple when she should have been there for her family. Does God even want worship? Shouldn't being good and nice person be enough?

 

[Rhizomorph1]

I think you are being a little disrespectful to Buddhism which as a non-theistic belief and is far more plausible than christianity with a God.
For your information Buddhist do not believe in reincarnation but that one's "self" what you may describe as one's spirit lives on and that existence is determined by Karma or in other words how well you lived your previous life.
This is a very simplistic overview of Buddhism but will hopefully make you reflect on your disingenuous comment.

According to Buddhism, the "self" does not reincarnate (that is, our personality, beliefs, etc.), as Buddhists believe in Annatta which translates to "no-self". The attachment we have to a self is illusory as it attaches to a perception of permanence that does not exist.

However, our attachment and aversion to specific sensory experiences translates to how our consciousness re-emerges upon transitioning from one embodied state to another (AKA rebirth/reincarnation) The longings we have at the end of this life set out propensities in the next life.

The issue westerners have with conceptualizing this is that they want a way of relating to rebirth with the current fixed state of consciousness; assuming the self to be independent, discrete, etc. Upon closer inspection, the self could just as easily "become" the person across the street if the right conditions emerged.

I'm not saying I believe in this objectively, but as a novice scholar of Buddhism, I think I can accurately share their beliefs, if it's of interest or benefit to anyone.

 

[BardBarrie]

No idea, but I'd imagine it's whatever happened before we were born.

My worst existential fear is that we're reborn here, destined to endlessly experience this reality.

 

[ringo99]

We cease to exist. Period. Reincarnation, heaven and hell are fictional constructs designed to ease our fears about the afterlife and are useful tools for people in positions of power to control the masses

 

[Rhizomorph1]

Way I see it, all the options boil down to the same 2 concerns.

1. An eternity of any existence, if inescapable, is an inevitable hell.

2. All other recycling/reunion programs would be the conclusion of any understanding "I" could hope to comprehend or remember. (Makes no difference to "me" how it's ultimately parsed out.)

I too most like and prefer the idea of "becoming one with the universe" again, but it kinda just feels like saying I prefer vanilla over chocolate to someone who's not even offering me ice-cream.

I would say that number 1 relies on the premise of an existence where suffering is a fundamental characteristic of said existence.

Existence alone is not hell; is a rock in hell? Is a tree in hell?

Even if we predicated hell based on consciousness, what if the hardware for suffering were removed?

This has never been witnessed but it's absolutely possible to imagine a fundamentally desirable existence.

Existence in itself could be considered as desirable as non-existence precisely because both do not demand suffering. It may just be existence within this frame of consciousness where suffering occurs fundamentally that existence is deemed undesirable; potentially valued as either greater or less than non-existence depending on how we quantify good and evil.

And then it becomes incredibly subjective and complex.

We cease to exist. Period. Reincarnation, heaven and hell are fictional constructs designed to ease our fears about the afterlife and are useful tools for people in positions of power to control the masses

I don't think rebirth eases anyone's fears who have reasonably studied it.

Heaven and hell is certainly appealing as one can guarantee access to heaven through subscribing to the belief.

The vast vast majority of people who seriously practice eastern religions have to cope with a feeling of being "stuck". Indeed, the secular view is actually more appealing as it promises far less suffering.

For most eastern religions, it would be just as well, if not better, if we all just died and experienced emptiness.

I'm not claiming rebirth to exist, only that it's not viewed as ideal to serious practitioners. Perhaps to laypeople in the West who haven't really studied the samsaric prison.

 

[destinationlosangel]

In hindu culture, it is said that people get reborn again and again till they achieve nirvana that is enlightenment and then they are free from the cycle of birth. Seems odd to me. They ask people to pray a lot. I would rather help a person or do something useful than pray. I know my mother spent hours at the temple when she should have been there for her family. Does God even want worship? Shouldn't being good and nice person be enough?

Yeah I'm Hindu and this is something i have often thought about. So prayer leads to freedom from the cycle of birth perhaps? I've done a fair share of praying but at this point, kinda at a loss.

And yes, being a good person and being nice to ppl should be ideal imo.

 

[Rhizomorph1]

Also, to answer OP's question, it's probably emptiness.

Still, the hard problem of consciousness in philosophy still remains. And it is at the core of our experiences; including all the axiomatic (assumed) judgments we make about scientific materialism.

The best explanation I've come to if we are to reduce it to materialism is that consciousness is fundamental; AKA panpsychism. Which posits consciousness emerges from some basic rudimentary building blocks of consciousness that exists in all matter.

To me this sounds just as magical as notions of rebirth, etc. and begs many ethical questions around AI, and other forms of non-biological sentience (what is it about "this" vs. "that" configuration of ionic charges that produces awareness vs. simply simulating awareness?)

The jury is still out as far as I can tell.

Abrahamic gods, heaven and hell, are all fallible due to the problem of evil. But, just because God is dead, doesn't mean we should assume nothingness. In the absence of data we should not refute the null hypothesis. And this is principally a scientific tenet.

The only source of true knowledge is a-priori because your direct phenomenological experience is the most relevant slice of the space-time continuum in this very moment of reflection upon this primordial question.

Who knows where consciousness emerges from? You? Me? The dead?

Keep meditating on it Or exercise your autonomy by dying and finding out. It's not up to me to decide but I wish you peace in either living or dying. Suffering is too indifferent for me to have any other intention

 

[destinationlosangel]

I would say that number 1 relies on the premise of an existence where suffering is a fundamental characteristic of said existence.

Existence alone is not hell; is a rock in hell? Is a tree in hell?

Even if we predicated hell based on consciousness, what if the hardware for suffering were removed?

This has never been witnessed but it's absolutely possible to imagine a fundamentally desirable existence.

Existence in itself could be considered as desirable as non-existence precisely because both do not demand suffering. It may just be existence within this frame of consciousness where suffering occurs fundamentally that existence is deemed undesirable; potentially valued as either greater or less than non-existence depending on how we quantify good and evil.

And then it becomes incredibly subjective and complex.

I don't think rebirth eases anyone's fears who have reasonably studied it.

Heaven and hell is certainly appealing as one can guarantee access to heaven through subscribing to the belief.

The vast vast majority of people who seriously practice eastern religions have to cope with a feeling of being "stuck". Indeed, the secular view is actually more appealing as it promises far less suffering.

For most eastern religions, it would be just as well, if not better, if we all just died and experienced emptiness.

I'm not claiming rebirth to exist, only that it's not viewed as ideal to serious practitioners. Perhaps to laypeople in the West who haven't really studied the samsaric prison.

U seem quite knowledgeable about this. Would u explain to me what u know about rebirth? is it a real thing? is it to be feared? especially by those who want to ctb

 

[Stoked]

we would just cease to exist. whatever it is, we would not have any knowledge or consciousness about it, same as before we're born. for me, from a logical perspective. it would be a state of non-existence and total oblivion.

 

[destinationlosangel]

thats awesome. So an eternal sleep

 

[cantthinkofusername]

whatever happens to us, life goes on

 

[Fennec123]

I wouldn't describe it as sleep, because during sleep we're still experiencing things.

I'd assume and hope it's just like things were before we were born.

Or maybe we wake up from the simulation!

 

[theboy]

I believe in what the bible says

 

[FuneralCry]

Nothing, I believe we simply cease existing which is why I only find comfort in death. All I wish for is the peace of an eternal, dreamless sleep where all is finally forgotten about, only non-existence is beautiful to me as it's the permanent absence of all suffering. I'd be glad to cease existing, in my case I'd always see it as better that this existence permanently disappears into nothingness.

 

[pthnrdnojvsc]

Evolution has been proven to be true .

imo a human is just an animal. an animal is just a group of cells. a group of cells is that cell. that cell is a machine and chemical reactions. can a human be different than what it was before? when did this mystical change of a machine acquiring a soul occur ? at the primate level did apes or monkeys suddenly acquire a soul? at the mammal level did cats suddenly acquire a soul? at the fish / vertebrate level did fish suddenly acquire a soul? when did a soul get assigned to an animal and how by whom , what is the process? at the cell leveL? does a single cell ameoba have a soul? Do chemical reactions have a soul. Do the neural networks of chatgpt ai have a soul. No all cases . The soul afterlife reincarnation god etc are purely fictional tales

here is a diagram of evolution. at what stage did an organism acquire a soul?

imo there is no soul no god , nothing mystical supernatural or magical. a human is just that first cell with added extreme horrors like a brain than can suffer excruciating constant unending unbearable pain : but this this consciousness / brain / life which can suffer to such unbearable extremes is constantly lectured to us that is a beautiful gift that we must be grateful for. i think it's pure torture an abomination

A chimpanzee has 98% same genes as a human . A cat 92%. So they are different ,? Do they have a soul

 

[sserafim]

Life goes on

 

[divinemistress36]

I'd like to believe we return to the source as energy . I love the idea of spirit guides I would like to meet up with them in the next realm and my deceased dogs . Although there is no proof of it , it brings me comfort

 

[destinationlosangel]

Life goes on

i think it was on some thread u talked about the 'loosh' stuff. That's the most confusing part.

I'd like to believe we return to the source as energy . I love the idea of spirit guides I would like to meet up with them in the next realm and my deceased dogs . Although there is no proof of it , it brings me comfort

And this ties into that. The spirit guides. Who are they? are they there to guide us or to misguide us?

And oh yeah, I like the idea of being able to meet deceased ppl or animals we loved.

 

[divinemistress36]

It's rumored that they do help us but we aren't aware of it and we still have free will. I feel like they are just sipping beers cheering us on the sideline from above

 

[restless.dreams]

I'd like to believe we return to the source as energy . I love the idea of spirit guides I would like to meet up with them in the next realm and my deceased dogs . Although there is no proof of it , it brings me comfort

This right here. Hold onto what brings you comfort and let go of everything else. Whether that's heaven, eternal sleep, or something else. I know there's no evidence for the afterlife, but I like to imagine that I will go to a warm, green place and see my childhood pets again. That's what brings me peace.

 

[destinationlosangel]

Evolution has been proven to be true .

imo a human is just an animal. an animal is just a group of cells. a group of cells is that cell. that cell is a machine and chemical reactions. can a human be different than what it was before? when did this mystical change of a machine acquiring a soul occur ? at the primate level did apes or monkeys suddenly acquire a soul? at the mammal level did cats suddenly acquire a soul? at the fish / vertebrate level did fish suddenly acquire a soul? when did a soul get assigned to an animal and how by whom , what is the process? at the cell leveL? does a single cell ameoba have a soul? Do chemical reactions have a soul. Do the neural networks of chatgpt ai have a soul. No all cases . The soul afterlife reincarnation god etc are purely fictional tales

here is a diagram of evolution. at what stage did an organism acquire a soul?

imo there is no soul no god , nothing mystical supernatural or magical. a human is just that first cell with added extreme horrors like a brain than can suffer excruciating constant unending unbearable pain : but this this consciousness / brain / life which can suffer to such unbearable extremes is constantly lectured to us that is a beautiful gift that we must be grateful for. i think it's pure torture an abomination

A chimpanzee has 98% same genes as a human . A cat 92%. So they are different ,? Do they have a soul

Yeah makes total sense actually but i dont know.i guess years of being indoctrinated into thinking that there's a soul n all these birth cycles blablabla make a lot of us thing there's kmore to this life thing. but the reality is this maybe the truth lol