Life After Death

Death, despite what medical and scientific advances we make, this seems to be life's one inevitability. It almost seems like a myth, the idea of death. Humanity is so hell bent on prolonging their life and keeping their legacy going be it through their blood line or literature. In the rush of day to day life, it seems that many people seem to forget not to sweat the small things because one day the small things won't be there to sweat. Or, rather, we won't be there to sweat the small things.

But, where do we go when we aren't here?

Humanity seems to have many different theories regarding what happens to us after we die. A large majority of us seem to believe in something, while a good portion just see death as one big cut to black. We don't have proof that nothing happens, but at the same time we don't have proof something does happen. One can argue that there are mediums and ghosts, but how do we know the mediums aren't lying or that ghosts aren't delusions? When it comes down to it, we don't. Or, at least I don't have a solid stand on either ground.

But, this thread isn't about my inability to pick a proper answer to this question. No, this thread is about [b]you[b]. What do you believe happens to us after we take our final breath? Do we go to heaven? Do we get reincarnated? Or do we just cease to function? I figured I wouldn't make this a poll since there are so many theories and stand points on the issue that I'd like to hear them all. Tell me what you think.

I don't really know if there is anything after death. I can only hope there is.

I formed an idea of how I hope things occur, and they make sense to me, but I don't know if I actually believe it or if I'm just deluding myself.

The afterlife, reincarnation, and spirits are all hopeful ideals. I think it's an interesting theory that people are alive to learn lessons. Everyone has one soul, but that soul lives many lives. It's impossible to learn every lesson life has to offer through one, short life, so the soul has to be reincarnated into a different life to obtain all the knowledge life offers. This is also why it makes sense that history repeats itself all the time. If it didn't, the lessons of life wouldn't be around for those spirits who hadn't learned them the first time a major event occurred.

I haven't quite decided what happens after a spirit learns all the lessons of life. Perhaps it's some sort of transcendental behavior or something. No clue... It would probably be easier if I believed in deities...

Anyway, yeah. That's my belief/hope in a nut-shell.

I personally think it is just a cut to black as you put it. My mind follows more what can be proven through physical science and logic; so the way I see it is that once the brain functions cease, that's that. The rest (to me) as far as souls, spirits, heaven, hell, etc. is just human's way of coping with death and a way to provide incentive for living a good and decent life.

As far as what I hope, however, I would much prefer the act of reincarnation. Something about starting over with a completely clean slate and reliving life's experiences in another set of shoes just seems more appealing than the other beliefs.

I'm with Kathryn, in that I really just don't know. I do have opinions of what I think, but I just really don't feel like I can possibly decide definitively.

I don't believe in God or the pearly white gates of Heaven. I, therefore, don't believe in the fiery depths of Hell and the Devil either. I don't believe good people go somewhere nice and bad people go somewhere to suffer for all eternity.

Having had experienced and investigated into paranormal phenomenon myself, I can say that I do believe in ghosts. I just simply have to, after what I've experienced again and again (in the form of EVPs - electronic voice phenomena). I find it hard to believe that every single person throughout the human history that has reported seeing ghosts or experiencing the paranormal is just making it up or bonkers, lol. So, let's say ghosts do exist. What does that tell us? I suppose it tells us that we simply don't just die when our bodies give out. There is some essence of us that lives on. Does that mean that spirits are real or just simply that these ghosts are remnants of our memories? If they are our spirits, then why are they here? Do all dead people remain here as a ghost after they die? Or are they meant to move on to somewhere different? Again, I really don't know.

I would hope that there is something that waits for us after we die. However, it does all seem rather silly, thinking about it in realistic terms. It's hard to do that though, since most of us have grown up and lived most of our lives believing that something awaits us. If we hadn't been taught that though, would it even seem possible that we could be doing something else after we die?