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I was my father’s favorite child. After his death, nothing. One dream a few years later, like a horror movie. My father wouldn’t scare the hell out of me. My mother died in 2010. Once again nothing. No feeling of a presence, no signs, nothing.
My husband died last year, nothing. He loved me more than life itself, with his diagnosis he didn’t care about himself, he only worried about me. If he could he come back, he would. Nothing.
I spent a great deal of time looking up my ancestry, including going to the cemeteries where my ancestors were buried to see their graves. And to leave a token for them. A flower, a stone, something. Nobody’s ever come back to say thanks, or answer my questions that I got, because I got a lot of them.
And I love ghosts. Out of all the paranormal phenomena you can think of, ghosts seem to me as if they would be real. They make sense to me. It makes sense when you hear the story of Catherine Howard running down that hallway to get to the king to beg for her life. It’s an imprint — something so traumatic that it stuck there like a film. And it makes sense that sometimes when something awful happens or something really good happens the spirit wants to stay in that area for whatever reason.
But I don’t think it’s real. I just want to believe. It’s comforting to think when I get emotional my husband is there with his arms around me telling to get over myself. That would be so him.
It could be an ability that I don’t have. I have a very intelligent street-smart kind of brother-in-law who can’t go some places because of what he feels. He’s very uncomfortable — someone is there. I don’t doubt him. But my sister who’s with him doesn’t feel this. It’s just a restaurant, or a comedy club, or a theater. And they live in an area that was both heavily impacted by the Revolutionary War and the Civil War.
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Originally Posted by fisheye
To me eternity is a very long time. To believe in sprits could be condemning myself to a very boring afterlife. No matter what scenario one believes of the afterlife; all could get very boring in the countless years after death.
It isn't only that; but we know what happens to the human body after death. Eventually we all turn to dust and nobody has ever proven that dust 'thinks'. Even our dreams come from a live, thinking, brain.
OK; so lets even think that maybe our last second is where time stops. In other words we would be frozen in time to repeat our last breaths. Would that mean that we would have an immortal world where all we felt was the pain of dying?
I am very happy with believing that this is it. Once it is over; it is over and we do not have to worry about anything ever again. My son and I were at the bedside of my wife when she died of cancer. She took her last breath and a second latter a peaceful smile was on her face. She was no longer suffering. That is what I believe will happen when I die. I want "nothing" to be my heaven.
Both of you & specifically you two, will not leave this life before having seen something unexplainable. You won't have to try, it will happen on its own.
To me eternity is a very long time. To believe in sprits could be condemning myself to a very boring afterlife. No matter what scenario one believes of the afterlife; all could get very boring in the countless years after death.
It isn't only that; but we know what happens to the human body after death. Eventually we all turn to dust and nobody has ever proven that dust 'thinks'. Even our dreams come from a live, thinking, brain.
OK; so lets even think that maybe our last second is where time stops. In other words we would be frozen in time to repeat our last breaths. Would that mean that we would have an immortal world where all we felt was the pain of dying?
I am very happy with believing that this is it. Once it is over; it is over and we do not have to worry about anything ever again. My son and I were at the bedside of my wife when she died of cancer. She took her last breath and a second latter a peaceful smile was on her face. She was no longer suffering. That is what I believe will happen when I die. I want "nothing" to be my heaven.
That's not a bad thing to wish for. I am sorry for the loss of your wife.
My mother died about six weeks ago. She was a churchgoing Christian, though not the type inclined to preach at anyone else. I was staying with her for a few days, and I found her dead in bed. She was 91.
Parts of her were deteriorating, but her brain was sharp to the end. She'd asked me to bring her books to read because there was no baseball to watch on TV and she'd read everything she had.
To have all your mental faculties and then die in your sleep in your own bed in the house where you have lived for over sixty years is a gift, no matter what happens afterward.
I think there is something of us that survives our physical death. If there isn't, and "nothing" is the answer, it just doesn't matter. The thought doesn't horrify me.
To me eternity is a very long time. To believe in sprits could be condemning myself to a very boring afterlife. No matter what scenario one believes of the afterlife; all could get very boring in the countless years after death.
It isn't only that; but we know what happens to the human body after death. Eventually we all turn to dust and nobody has ever proven that dust 'thinks'. Even our dreams come from a live, thinking, brain.
OK; so lets even think that maybe our last second is where time stops. In other words we would be frozen in time to repeat our last breaths. Would that mean that we would have an immortal world where all we felt was the pain of dying?
I am very happy with believing that this is it. Once it is over; it is over and we do not have to worry about anything ever again. My son and I were at the bedside of my wife when she died of cancer. She took her last breath and a second latter a peaceful smile was on her face. She was no longer suffering. That is what I believe will happen when I die. I want "nothing" to be my heaven.
I hope you are correct! I have a real fear of dying/death.
Alot of it comes down to what someone believes, some people believe our 'spirits/souls' lives on, others do not. What scares me the most is the UNCERTAINTY...no one really knows what happens, or if we are able to feel it (in the way we think of feeling anyway).
Im not really religious, but I do have a feeling, there is some kind of judgement after our death, however, I do not believe 'ghosts' are the spirits of once living people.
Firstly, it's millenia of stories, stories that were created by people who lacked the knowledge to explain the events occurring in the world around them. They are stories, tales born out of ignorance. Our knowledge has advanced much since then. We can choose knowledge over ignorance, we can choose to become educated.
There is PLENTY of evidence that we have lost a great deal of knowledge, so assuming the ancients were stupid does not take into account all the knowledge of the stars, stonemasonry, math (for example) which ancient man had and lost - only to discover again some centuries later.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zymer
I am also educated in Psychology, and I understand why people may want to believe certain things, and how people can be convinced to believe certain things, even though those things may not be true.
I understood hypnosis is used by the medical profession, isn't it? In fact on the other hand, we are led to believe all kinds of things through advertising, the media and through government authority figures, so where is the reality or truth in all of this? What IS real, what IS the truth? You sound as if you can tell what is fact and what is fiction, so would you say your scientific training allows you to do that?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zymer
Because I am educated in the sciences. I understand how bio-electric energy powers our bodies and brains. I understand what happens to that energy when the body dies and the neural circuits fail, and there is no longer a cohesive container or field to constrain it.
What do you reckon happens in Near Death Experiences then? I think I am correct in saying that science has detected a small weight loss at the moment when someone dies? What is that weight loss attributed to at that time?
That's not a bad thing to wish for. I am sorry for the loss of your wife.
My mother died about six weeks ago. She was a churchgoing Christian, though not the type inclined to preach at anyone else. I was staying with her for a few days, and I found her dead in bed. She was 91.
Parts of her were deteriorating, but her brain was sharp to the end. She'd asked me to bring her books to read because there was no baseball to watch on TV and she'd read everything she had.
To have all your mental faculties and then die in your sleep in your own bed in the house where you have lived for over sixty years is a gift, no matter what happens afterward.
I think there is something of us that survives our physical death. If there isn't, and "nothing" is the answer, it just doesn't matter. The thought doesn't horrify me.
I am very sorry for your loss. We all hope that our brains will be sharp to the very end. The idea of surviving as a vegetable is not high on anybody's agenda. It sounds as if your mother had a long and fruitful life. Celebrate her life and don't dwell on her death.
My wife was in a lot of pain. As much as I did not want to see her go; nobody wants to see a loved one suffer. The fact that she looked so peaceful after she left made me feel better. We were only two months away from our 50th. She also died at home and in her bed.
It might be wishful thinking on my part. But 'nothing' after death is the most appealing to me. Even in my younger days when I was a little religious; the idea of 'heaven' was not something I would embrace. I was never a fan of flutes and harps. Chances are I would get bagpipes! Plus I cannot get past wondering how any spirt can think? Many think that after death they will somehow remain the same age or younger in spirt form. Of course they are also wishful thinkers.
What I think is that we really do not know. Nobody comes back from the dead after decomposition. So we can all speculate. Most of us have heard the theories over the years. We have seen the books and writings from those that say they can contact the dead. Researches have estimated that over 100 billion humans have died before us. One would think that we could not move without bumping into the spirt of another.
On the note of feeling that 'nothing' is the answer: To me what I do and say now is my only legacy. I try to treat people the way I would want to be treated (the Golden Rule thinking). 'Now' is what makes me immortal or lets me disappear forever. Some of us disappear fast and some fade away after thousands of years. Hitler was immortalized - but that is not how most of us want to be remembered. On the other had many would like to be known for our philosophy like Socrates. But, if 'nothing' is the true answer; does it make any difference?
^I know what you mean by the peaceful look! My mother looked so peaceful in death, also. Had a slight smile on her lips.
I'm not hoping for harps and flutes, either, and I heard enough bagpipes being played after 9/11 to last an afterlife.
I don't know about spirits "thinking". Someone I spoke to who said she died in the OR and then was revived said it is not frightening. You don't care that you are dead.
As for what is the purpose, I guess we can just hope to leave something that the living who knew us can learn from.
^I know what you mean by the peaceful look! My mother looked so peaceful in death, also. Had a slight smile on her lips.
I'm not hoping for harps and flutes, either, and I heard enough bagpipes being played after 9/11 to last an afterlife.
I don't know about spirits "thinking". Someone I spoke to who said she died in the OR and then was revived said it is not frightening. You don't care that you are dead.
As for what is the purpose, I guess we can just hope to leave something that the living who knew us can learn from.
That may depend on the person...Ive read some truly scary experiences and someone close to me had one as well, (and not so surprisingly, he was not the best person in life, he was a nice person, but at the same time, he was involved in money schemes, he was cheating on his wife, he was a bar hopper, IM sure he was into alot of other things I wasnt aware of).
I also wonder about those 'NDEs', as the person really didnt die...they may have been declared dead by the doctors or machines, but the fact that they were revived is significant imo.
Im not sure what to make of them, I do admit its strange, nearly all NDEs are either good or scary and usually its related to what kind of person they were in life.
I hope your moms spirit comes to visit you and let you know she is ok
I truly believe there are spirits all around..... Some will not pass over so they stay in the spiritual world...... Those who have unfinished business and wanting resolution especially....
What I mean is: Why would you think after centuries of stories - that they absolutely do not exist
not even a maybe ? You could stop here or read on.
Why I have a hard time understanding is: because in this entire Universe our little peanut brain
is like the size of a molecule in a grain of sand.
To think our logic, our intellect could know something absolutely could not exist is
the height of folly or arrogance....ie, thinking our pea brain knows
much at all, thus, limiting possibilities.
(That's why i respect agnostics more than atheists...because there is an openness....that's all,
a humility that
'Hey, maybe there is a Creator of some sort. But, I want to see It myself.')
I do believe seeing is believing.
Why not say, "Hey, I've never seen one, but maybe there are spirits that come around..."?
Is it because you hold your personal logic in such high esteem?
Is it because a spirit can't be seen under a microscope? So that is your criteria,
that, 'The unseen must be seen, darnnit? Nothing not seen does not exist. Period.'?
Thanks for answering or explaining your reasons- hopefully without insults.
Very good post. I have similar trouble with atheists. How are they so cocksure that there is no supreme being?
These people also insist upon using scientific method to understand supernatural events. It can not be done. That's akin to attempting to judge art, music or literature by using scientific method. Different fields. Different criteria. Art, literature, music etc., also have a subjective factor.
When it comes to disbelief in ghosts, spirits, and other phenomena, I think that die, hard skeptics, are just uncomfortable with what they cannot control or manipulate.
That says more about them, and their mindset, than it does about those of us who believe.
I am comfortable not having an answer for everything, and open to learning new things and exploring different philosophies, possibilities, and viewpoints.
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Plus I cannot get past wondering how any spirt can think? Many think that after death they will somehow remain the same age or younger in spirt form. Of course they are also wishful thinkers.
