To you "Spiritualists" out there:
How were the "rules" of your afterlife set up? How did your "spirit" know to inhabit your body? How does it suddenly know to leave your body when you die? How does it know how to fly around when it's freed up? How was it created, or why don't you remember before you were born? Why should a disembodied spirit exist in the universe? What are the physics of spirits? Why should these physics exist at all -- is there a reason for it? Random chance? Design? Why do you have so much faith in the existence and mechanics of spirits, but scoff at the idea of a god (all-powerful disembodied spirit). And so, you believe the reason for the universe to exist is for souls to play around in? What is the basis for this? Why should this be the reason for the universe to exist? Who set up this system, or just how was it set up? Do you have an option to opt out? Why or why not?
In my opinion, you can't have spirits and afterlives without a creator to set it up or direct it. Unless you can answer the questions above, you should start believing in a Creator or you should give up the idea of disembodied spirits.
There is no credible evidence, or reason consistent with the known universe, to allow the existence of disembodied souls. Everything in the universe seems to be finite, and so seems your consciousness.
So, I believe your consciousness dies when your brain dies. End of story. Harsh, but true. Start dealing with it. To know and believe in the truth is being a better person. Be a better person.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.If you are lucky when you die you will be taken to heaven on a winged horse. NO, that was Moe Hamid. It might have been Moe Howard for all I know.
I once asked a Spiritualist minister in Houston, Texas why he went on with this sham. His answer was that it gave the old people so much comfort.
DenoPenno
Level 9
Oct 14, 2018
0
Nobody wants to die. It's part of evolution to want to survive. And that includes the efforts to create spirits that never die. Good try, but that whole schema crashes like a house of cards with today's science and knowledge.
I have been with uncountable people, patients while being a Nurse and then my own Daughter, when they have died and NEVER once have I seen or heard a Soul/Spirit depart the body, ergo, WHEN someone can show me EMPIRICALLY proven evidence that Souls/Spirits true exist then, perhaps, I might start to believe in them.
Triphid
Level 9
Oct 14, 2018
0
Your mind is open, so that you can know and believe truth, even if it conflicts with what you currently believe. That's opposite of the indoctrinated, closed mind, which only looks for evidence bolstering what they already believe. You are the good. They are the bad.
I put myself down as “spiritual”, but none of your questions apply to me. I am not claiming that there is a soul that flies up to heaven at death, etc. “Spirituality“ to me means that a person realizes that our perception of reality is illusional and that behind the scene lies true reality that we can not detect with our senses or understand in terms of our matter/space/time model. The nature of that higher reality is a profound mystery. Science, with its mathematical models gives only a superficial glimmer. Viewed in this way, the implications of existence are staggering.
Sir Arthur Eddington:
“The universe is of the nature of a thought or sensation in a universal Mind... To put the conclusion crudely — the stuff of the world is mind-stuff.”
“We are no longer tempted to condemn the spiritual aspects of our nature as illusory because of their lack of concreteness.”
“The scientific answer is relevant so far as concerns the sense-impressions... For the rest the human spirit must turn to the unseen world to which it itself belongs.”
So far as “believing in a creator”, I for one have not ruled out that possibility, but I would never phrase it in that way. It’s not about belief, and it’s not about “a creator” IMO. To create means to bring into existence at a particular time. The meaning of existence is very obscure and time does not exist in the most recent theories of physics, so questions about a creator are probably meaningless. What does it mean to say that you believe in something when you haven’t the faintest idea of the nature of that thing. The most rational response IMO is not belief but total bewilderment.
So far as your last paragraph, you are stating your opinion that consciousness arises from the body and disappears upon death. That is just your opinion and is not proven fact. The nature of deep conscious awareness is unknown and possibly unknowable.
I lean toward the idea of universal consciousness, or Ultimate Reality as embodied in the Brahman concept. There is no proof but my confidence level is currently 89.46%. 
WilliamFleming
Level 8
Oct 14, 2018
1
In other words, you prefer mysticism over rational thought. You don't trust the workings of your own mind, and allow any whimsical idea to nullify anything your mind has built. And you're proud of this?
Go back to church.
@GlyndonD You would be more persuasive if you actually addressed the issues and made intelligent arguments. Just saying “I’m right and you are wrong” is not a legitimate argument. It’s more like something that would be heard in an elementary schoolyard.
It is perfectly legitimate to think about and discuss metaphysical ideas. If we limited ourselves to only proven assertions we would never discover anything new. Open your mind.
@WilliamFleming You would be more persuasive if you didn't take my questions and turn them into a simplistic "I'm right and you're wrong" statement. I asked a bunch of questions -- I suppose you couldn't or didn't want to answer them, right? A deflection? And it's not legitimate argument to say someone is still in elementary school (when they're not). Maybe you should consider that it is you that needs to grow up, and stop thinking of the world as just another Harry Potter movie?
You need to think about and discuss your metaphysical ideas. Right now, your mind is closed to anything that might disrupt your current supernatural beliefs. I get it -- realizing your consciousness is finite, and the universe will have to function without you in the future, is disturbing, but holding such a thought about oneself is quite arrogant, don't you think? Or do you also not want to confront your arrogance?
As for me, I've traveled the road of mysticism earlier in life, and had all kinds of metaphysical thoughts enter my open mind. But fortunately, I let my mind go to work on it and throw out the trash. And I'm still very open to new ideas so that I can further my quest for Truth, but I'm getting really good at spotting trash these days. And with this, I don't think I have anything to gain from further discourse with you.
Back to the monastery for you, Bud!
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