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Hello Everyone.. yes its the age old question I'm sure some of you have heard hundreds, countless times! I am Young never really gave death and how I would Die much thought until this past Year.
at first my fears were how I was going to die.. and whether I'd get to Heaven or be doomed in Hell?
My main concern and advice I seek is ..
How to you put your mind at ease to these type of thoughts and challenges?
If you are a good person, treat others with respect and don't kill anyone, steal, cheat etc etc then I think after death what ever god there is (Buddha/Allah/Jesus/any of the others) - if there is one will look kindly on you.
My views on this are probably now in the 'Oh, God, not again.. ' category.
There is no really sound evidence for an afterlife. If we all lived after we died, you'd think like real gods or real aliens we'd have had some lockdown indisputable proof by now. That this life is all there is probably true and we had better make something of it while we can.
That said, if there was an afterlife, then it is not the gift of any god. It is as natural as birth and death and not for any god to give or withold on the basis of who has sucked up to it during their life. If so, there's nothing to worry about, if there is an afterlife, you got it already. If there isn't better make the most of the one you have.
Therefore, reverse Pascal's wager. It is better that you live this life as though there wasn't an afterlife than waste you life trying to qualify (in a very imperfectly understood way) for the afterlife of one of the religions picked at random.
I am atheist and I am perfectly at peace with my eventual death (aka end of existence). Grasses die, insects die, deer die, and humans die. It is the natural course of things. It is expected. We see birth, life, and death all around us. As we simply accept things as they are, we become at peace with it. No struggle, no fear, just recognition that we must die like all other life on this earth. We resign ourselves to it; we submit to the flow of nature. It feels right, like things are in their proper place and the way they should be.
Sit by yourself out in nature for a long while until you feel one with the natural world. Watch the small insects as they work, never observed or noticed by human eyes until you see them. They will one day soon die and that will be the end of them. We are not much different.
I am ready for my death when my time comes. If I were told I have 6 months to live, I would not do anything differently. I am already living as I would. I love spending time with my loved ones and I work to provide for them. They will miss me when I am gone, but that too is only natural. Elephants mourn their dead, too (they cry while fondling the bones of their loved ones with their trunks). But, the living eventually move on until the day they, too, will die. It just is what it is; acceptance is how we come to a state of peace about it.
I was uncertain until about 12 years ago. I don't know if "afterlife" is the correct term, whether its another dimension, heaven, a place where time doesn't exist. After the death of my father and a close friend, I've had experiences to make me believe theres absolutely something. We're made of energy and that doesn't die it just transforms.
Hello Everyone.. yes its the age old question I'm sure some of you have heard hundreds, countless times! I am Young never really gave death and how I would Die much thought until this past Year.
at first my fears were how I was going to die.. and whether I'd get to Heaven or be doomed in Hell?
My main concern and advice I seek is ..
How to you put your mind at ease to these type of thoughts and challenges?
Input greatly appreciated.
Yes it is the age old question... One that millions have answered for themselves. Heaven or Hell? Christianity vs other religions? I only had those fears when I learned about that particular Christian doctrine. Those are not my fears now.
My concern is the here and now.
How I am as a person.
How do I treat others.
What do I do to help make this world a better place.
How am I active in my community.
I know it is hard to understand, how could others possibly be a peace and not be Christian? How could we reject what Christianity teaches?
Well here it is:
I have a relationship with G-d.
I have a relationship within my community.
I respect the right of others to have different beliefs and non beliefs.
I respect the beliefs of others or non beliefs.
I know that my way is not the only way.
It saddens me that when Christians feel the need to disrespect the beliefs of others.
it is hard and it is something that most of us think about from time to time. we want an answer so bad it is easy to be drawn to those who say they have the answer. but also in time we develop a healthy skepticism towards those who say they have the answers. unfortunately, we can't answer the big questions. but realizing they are big questions with no real answer is a good start. in the meantime, make the most of the life you have. i think if religion, spirituality, or philosophy feel like a piece of the puzzle, these activities can help to anchor your life and there is nothing wrong with that.
I'm agonistic on the question of whether or not there is an afterlife for individuals, but if I were forced to bet on the question, I would bet that there is. But if there is an afterlife, I'm fairly certain that it is nothing like the standard heaven/hell conception. The traditional concept of hell makes absolutely no sense whatsoever if there is a loving, omniscience, omnipotent God. Hell could only exist if God were powerless to prevent it and/or not all-good.
I think that experience (at least an unconscious, primitive, chaotic sort) is fundamental to reality, and I tend to think that there is ultimately only one "Self". The big question for me is whether or not there is any way in which memories/consciousness could be instantiated without some sort of physical neural network with some sort of continuous causal history. But one thing I tend to believe: If it ever happens to be the case that the functionality of my brain is ever re-created in any form, then I will be there. This follows directly from my "One-Self" thesis. All selves are ultimately the same Self, so if somehow my memories are instantiated at some future point, then I am conscious at that point, and they are MY memories – there could be no duplicate who falsely believes he is me. If any being thinks he is me, and he has my memories, then he is me.
This doesn't seem like a religious issue. It seems like a medical issue. Most young healthy people don't worry about dying, in fact, they worry too little about dying and statistically take greater risks.
You're either thinking about dying for rational reasons (you have been diagnosed with cancer) or irrational reasons (you are paranoid or hypochondriac). I don't know your situation.
If the former, then you need to (and probably are) taking steps to deal with this, seeing a doctor.
If the latter, then you might want to see a mental health professional who may prescribe treatment, counseling, meds, etc.
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' category.
