If there is no god , heaven or hell. Were do we go upon death, is it just nothingness, do we just cease to exist in any form ? So if that is the case then we come from nothing, do nothing and return to nothing. So what the hell is the point ? Someone please tell me this life or experience will not be worse or repeated . I can't go thou this shit again.. I can honestly say that If I had a choice and could go back ,. I would not be born . Thanks, Tim
All we can do, is the best we can do, right now.
"What happens after death?" It really depends on whether it is someone else's or not. If it is some else's, then those left alive and who cared can morn. If it is not someone else's death then those "left behind" can morn. All that is left are memories. That's about it.... GROG
One of the big existential problems is assuming there is a purpose.
Drop the need for a purpose and it doesn’t matter if there is anything after death or not.
You’ll find out one day and there isn’t much you can do about the outcome anyway.
The thing about mortality, is that. If you have a life of suffering, then there is a limit to that suffering. And if you are one of the lucky few who gets a life of joy and fulfillment, then you will not lose the joy in satiation and boredom. Either way it is better to have a limit set.
As to meaning I do not think there is any, but meaning certainly is not an prerequisite to happiness, many of the greatest thinkers have found, that the greatest joy is not in the pursuit of meaning, but merely in the appreciation of "being there".
For myself I aim to do the best I can to enjoy life , to appreciate the world and its people, and to try to help as many of them do the same as I can. If there is a god who looks down on us, then surely that is the best any fair god, will expect. (Not talking about the stupid monster in the Bible.) And if there is no god, then what else can you do ? Either way it makes no difference.
Some theists will say that without god/meaning, a life of self indulgent hedonism and evil doing, but that is just boring, and does nothing for yourself or anyone, only a fool would choose that. And usually it is only those fools who have been sold the idea that they will get another chance, who try.
Did anyone ask to exist? Did any God thingie ask anyone if they wanted to be created? What are we? A body that causes energy retention for cognition capability to be self aware or are we a self aware cognition capability energy incased in a body? When our body dies, does our cognition energy dissipate as to decay our cognition capability that it would not ever again hold our self awareness capabilities once brain dead?
The point is to be a part of an ongoing chain of improvement in the life quality of the human race.
What happens after death, decomposition and recycling.
There is no evidence of a serial or parallel counterpart to our existence. There are only Quantum theories and the budding sciences of immortality. I try to make the best of the one life we have.
There are a lot of questions I don't know the answer to, and some seem impossible to answer with any certainty. But there are some things that I do know, so I start with that.
I know (with reasonable certainty) that I'm here now.
I know that, even if I do nothing at all, life continues to throw experiences at me, some of which I find enjoyable, some of which cause me to suffer, and some of which I experience as neutral.
I know that I have a preference for the pleasant or neutral ones over the unpleasant ones.
I know that, in some cases, if instead of doing nothing I take action, I can influence which experiences I have.
I know that being human is an extremely complex phenomenon, and it isn't always immediately obvious how to best manage those experiences, but that with curiosity, a bit of courage, and lots of practice, I can improve my skills at managing those experiences to my liking.
Though I haven't always known this, I now know that it's possible, with effort and perseverance, to reach a tipping point beyond which life is consistently very much worth living in the here and now, regardless of what came before, or what will or won't come after.
I know that the unknowns and unknowables cannot stop me from enjoying the brief time that I will be alive, and that it's up to me, and me alone, to make the difference.
I know that I'm no genius or rare talent, so if I can accomplish this, most anyone can.
It is an illusion that you exist as an individual self in a body. Time is an illusion—there is no “after”. You can’t lose what you never had.
Existence is now—the present moment, and is of infinite value. If life looks bad to you it is only because of your untrue and judgmental thoughts. Think only true thoughts and you’ll feel joy and even ecstasy.
I recommend Help Yourself to Happiness by Maxie Maultsby. Also Hindu scriptures address your questions.
Bill you're so close to advaita vedanta and non-duality in general that you may as well make the leap. there's no reincarnation or anything like that. it's just the acknowledgement that WE aren't the body or the mind. WE are just the awareness underlying them. And we're all one awareness with our individuality merely an illusion created by this limited mind and body.
Ari Shankara, Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi, Swami Nisargadatta, Sri Ramakrishna, Alan Watts, Rupert Spira, Yuval Harari, Sangson and the Hsin Hsin Ming.
@JeffMesser On an intuitive level I agree perfectly.
It takes a lot of time and effort to read all those people. I’m a lazy old guy.
@WilliamFleming I was just giving a gamut of useful material. just read Nisargadatta's "I am that" and then maybe the Hsin Hsin Ming. The first is a few hours and the second a few minutes.
@WilliamFleming and just to make it even easier ... here are links for both so it's free:
Nisargadatta
[holybooks-lichtenbergpress.netdna-ssl.com]
Hsin Hsin Ming
[holybooks.com]
@JeffMesser OK, my $25 out of print copy of Nisargadatta's "I am that" paperback is on the way. It better be good or your ass is grass.
@WilliamFleming it's the goods Bill. sorry my free link above isn't sufficient. I'd also say Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi but he taught by silence mostly. This is Nisargadatta in the flesh (who was a student of Bhagwan Ramana). I interact with his last student (Bob Adamson in Melbourne).
@JeffMesser OK, I canceled the paperback order. Paperback copies are going for up to a hundred bucks.
I am trying now to get the free copies. Balky Internet but we’ll see.
Thanks a ton!
@WilliamFleming they're pdf files so you should be able to dload them and read like a book.
@JeffMesser I’ve got both of them—now on my Apple reader.
Thanks again Jeff.
@WilliamFleming that makes me SO happy. I hope they mean as much to you as they do to me. namaste
The world continues without you but you're dead. But that's ok because you don't know you're dead. Because you're dead. What's the point? Ask the cockroach or the dog. The point is to forward your species and try to carve some degree of fulfillment out of your life for yourself and that is different for everyone.
And PS. See your doctor about an antidepressant.
your body dies and you go on as awareness.
awareness of what?
The only thing that happens after death is a burial or cremation... That's all folks...