Where do we go from here?

Written by Darrell Hagan on March 13th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Paranormal.

Hmm. Good question. People have been pondering this since the beginning of humankind. Various religions throughout the world offer as many answers. Some believe that if you live a “good” life, then you will arrive in heaven and join loved ones, but if you lead a “bad” life, then you will be banished to hell, to be tormented throughout eternity. Another belief is that at death, you will be transferred into the “spirit realm”, where you will join ancestors and departed loved ones. Still others believe that the dead are taken before God in order to be judged, and are then reincarnated or reborn into another body. But all of these beliefs share one thing in common - the idea that some part of us survives beyond the death of the physical body. That somehow welive on along with the ability to see, hear, think, and be self-aware. But, this is apparently impossible medically. The five senses - Sight, Smell, Hearing, Touch, and Taste, are linked to the brain. The brain dies along with the body and therefore, these senses must also cease to function. Nothingness Memories and feelings are also lost. So according to this belief, a person who dies simply ceases to exist. Like an extinguished flame, you simply go out. This was touched upon in the Star Trek: Voyager episode Mortal Coil in 1997. In the episode, one of the show’s main characters, Neelix, gets killed suddenly and unexpectedly. Using 24th-century magic, Neelix is revived after approximately 18 hours of being dead. He is quite shocked and upset to discover that during such a long period of being dead, he didn’t see, hear, feel, or be aware of anything. All of his life, he had believed that after death, he would rejoin family and friends in “The great forest”, his people’s version of paradise. Although ST Voyager is simply a TV show, the idea which that episode tries to convey is valid nevertheless. Lets assume for a moment that this is true. If so, then it really doesn’t matter because after death, you will certainly not suffer in any way because you will no longer be aware. By the same token, you will also not feel pleasure. In fact, since you have totally and completely ceased to exist, you won’t feel nor be aware of anything. The idea sounds pretty scary because just as in the ST Voyager episode, it shakes your belief in your reasons for living because if you’re simply going to be poofed into nothingness, then why try to be a good person? What’s the point of living? Well, as our fictional friend Neelix discovered, there are people in the here and now who love, need, and rely on you. That’s the reason for living and doing your best. In other words, since you’re not dead yet, you should make the best of your existence in this life. Simple pleasures such as eating, sleeping, being warm, making love, watching TV, being with loved ones, etc. should never be taken for granted, even if you believe in the above non-existence idea. Its kinda like a really good bowl of ice cream: love and enjoy it until its gone. Now, lets assume for a moment that you don’t simply cease to exist and that there is indeed life after death. There certainly seems to be evidence to support this. Throughout the ages, there have been many reports of Near Death Experiences or NDEs. An interesting website on the subject can be found here. So if we really do continue after death, then what? Whoo boy, does that ever change things. For openers, you can kiss your computer goodbye. Not that you’d need it anyway, because you probably will no longer have arms, legs, hands, feet, or any of your other physical attributes. Also, you might have to get used to floating from place to place rather than walking. Simple physical pleasures will be no more. But then again, you won’t need to go potty anymore, weight won’t be a problem, and if you currently suffer a painful existence, then hopefully you will find relief and happiness. Ultimately, I’m not sure that it really matters whether or not there is life after death because you cannot change whatever happens anyway. So don’t worry about it - just be and do the best you can, and enjoy the ride.