Do you believe in an afterlife? If you do, why do you believe in it?

[raccoon]

If you don't, why don't you?

[quadriga]

1. Yes

because my momma did

[RebelOne]

2. Nope, I'm an atheist.

[qwertyMike]

54. What's that got to do with believing

in an afterlife?

Mike

[China_cat]

58. An afterlife is a religious construct.

It's simply a way to try to deny the fact that the essential 'you' will not always exist.

I've always felt that (christians especially) would rather believe that they will end up in eternal torment than accept the idea that they won't always exist in some form they will recognize as themselves. Believers in re-incarnation will tell you they don't remember their past life but they're sure they will remember this one in the next.

The only ones who actually come close to the truth are the Jehovah Witnesses...their concept of hell is nothingness. With a caveat. You will know nothing until judgement day when you will be resurrected and thrown into torment.

Life after death? A better question would be 'is there life after birth'?

[amitten]

67. No...most people I know who believe in reincarnation

don't believe they ever remember any of their lives.

It's just a constant recycling...into infinity...which makes infinity not seem so very long.

[qwertyMike]

99. Really? n/t

[amitten]

106. Yes. While some believe certain "lessons" might be imprinted

on the soul from previous lives, I don't know anyone who thinks they can "remember" any of those lives at all.

If you could remember them, you'd probably go nuts.

[UncleSepp]

74. A well thought out answer, except for the generalizations

This:

Believers in re-incarnation will tell you they don't remember their past life but they're sure they will remember this one in the next.

simply isn't true. Some believers may say this, but it isn't true that they all will, and that seems to be the implication. Maybe I'm not reading the implication correctly, and there is an implied (some) at the beginning of that statement.

Is it true that the belief in reincarnation is a reaction to the fear of ego death? Maybe it is. It's certainly a strong enough point to stand on its own without misrepresenting people.

(edited for clarity)

[qwertyMike]

93. No it's not

It's 1000 harder to believe in an after life because you have to rationalize it.

People who believe (I don't mean Religion) have a quantum leap of Faith.
Buddhists, Christians, Islam, on and .....

Mike

[YankeyMCC]

3. No

because there's no clear evidence and the idea seems fairly repellent to me anyway.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

4. God, please let it be...this one has sucked so bad. I demand

a do over of some sort ;)

[BarenakedLady]

5. No. Agnostic.

[azmouse]

6. Yes.

Why? It's called Faith.

[Blue Diadem]

7. Yes,

suffice it to say I've experienced some things that only can mean there is an afterlife.

[pokerfan]

8. No, because I'm an atheist

Want to see what happens after you die? Go look at some dead things.

It's the ultimate in conceit, I think, or at least wishful thinking to think that this insignificant biological organism born in 1958 is going to somehow live forever.

[Inchworm]

9. I think I'll wait a few years to answer

since there is no way I can know the answer with certainty until it plays out.

:hi:

[ZombieNixon]

10. No, life can't possibly go on without me.

:P

[momophile]

11. I don't believe we would be concious if there wasn't an

afterlife. I feel that this life has already happened and that we are only remembering it. this is something I feel strongly.

[raccoon]

14. I could see how that would be a comfort at times. nt

[LanternWaste]

31. Seems a rather discomforting though to me... eom

Seems a rather discomforting though to me...

[halobeam]

23. Care to go deeper into that rabbit hole?

I'd love to hear more on this. Very interesting.

[momophile]

46. I'll try

I feel that there is no way that we could be conscious - that is, aware that we are alive - if there was nothing afterwards. If all we were after this life is worm food (as I always think of it), then our lives wouldn't mean anything and we would be such a small blip on the history of the world that we couldn't even have consciousness. Like we can't even be aware if there is nothing that follows. And so, the only way for us to be aware of the life that just happened is to look back at it.

It also explains a lot of stuff - deja vu, instinct/gut feelings, dreams.

It's all so hard to explain but I really do feel it.

[halobeam]

49. very cool

You did explain it well enough to me. I wish I could tap into my deja vu, sometimes I can slow it down if I am completely centered at the time it happens, so that I can continually say what is coming next.. that's happened a few times, but only a few times in my life where I was able to control it for a very short time. Now if I could get a handle on the gut feeling/instinct part a bit better, I'd love that. I have strong instincts that are usually right on, and I trust them implicitly.. it's helped me and others in my life at one time or another. My dreams on the other hand, are only truly intense when I am on the nicotine patch!! LOL... I wake up early on purpose, to chance that I like the dream I was just having and I go into it again willingly.. vivid beyond all belief. I've gone back to my dreams, even back tracked to my fav. part and re-dreamed it, but only on the patch! I wish I could do that naturally. I've had a lot of fun, trying to quit smoking. Hey, since the habit is so horrible, at least there is something good from it (other than the obvious)

[youthere]

86. Wow..that is a very interesting theory...

and a real mind-bender. That's going to keep me occupied for awhile.

[deepthought42]

12. Pfft.

No.

[grasswire]

13. yes

Because I can't bear the thought of never seeing family members again. I was raised to believe there's a heaven and hell, and while I doubt a lot of things I was taught in Sunday school, I still believe that we live after death and that some of us will be together again in some place of safety.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

15. Not really believe.

Hope is more like it.

[CreekDog]

33. I think I'm with you on that

and all you girls and boys had better be good just in case there is an afterlife! :spank:

[qb]

16. My afterlife will consist of...

organ/tissue transplants (if anything still works) & microbial and/or plant life fertilized by my remains.

[Deep13]

17. No. I have no reason to think so.

[Heidi]

18. I'm a Buddhist, but it doesn't matter much to me, either way.

If the afterlife is no more than my life having helped a couple of people and my remains feeding the worms and flowers, that's a fine afterlife, in my opinion.

[CreekDog]

35. Oh heck, I'm much more selfish than that

I want there to be a heaven where I can post in the DU Lounge all day using any any size avatar I want without fear of threads getting locked.

:pals:

[Fox Mulder]

19. No, but I want to believe in one.

[SteppingRazor]

20. I guess not. But, really, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it.

The existence of an afterlife seems to defy all logic and reason, but of course, it's tough to accept that this is all there is.

But, really, the logical position on the afterlife question doesn't seem to be "there is no afterlife," but instead, "who the hell cares?"

You cannot know there is an afterlife until you're there, so there's no point in dwelling on it. It comes down simply to belief itself. I hesitate to support the (to my mind) somewhat silly notion that one should believe whatever one wants if it makes one be a better and happier person. But at the same time, I don't believe it's my place to call out other people's beliefs about ineffable subjects -- who am I to say?

I would suggest, however, that the conventional view of an afterlife -- as a place of reward or punishment -- is not only illogical, but also rather morally repugnant. The idea that we only perform morally righteous actions because of fear of punishment and/or expectation of reward strikes me as a nullification of the morality of the acts themselves.

[LynzM]

60. Heya SteppingRazor

Have you read The God Delusion? Dawkins talks quite a bit about what you mention in your last sentence, and effectively proves that it's not true - that is, we don't "need" religion to behave morally, nor do most people truly follow the moral tenets of their religion. Very interesting. :hi:

[johnnie]

21. I have no doubt whatsoever that there is

This has to do with decades of personal experiences, but I don't dwell on it. I don't have a problem with people who don't believe it except for people who attempt to belittle people who do.

Remember, science is only as advanced as the human mind.

[bikebloke]

22. Not in this life.

I think I did in a previous couple.

[CreekDog]

36. Errr

:dilemma:

[Midlodemocrat]

24. Yes.

Because I couldn't bear to think I would never see my departed family/friends again.

[easttexaslefty]

25. Didn't 6 months ago

Now I have to believe in a afterlife or go insane....

[orleans]

71. why? n/t

[easttexaslefty]

76. Because my son suicided almost 6 months ago n/t

[orleans]

85. my god--i am so sorry. i can't imagine anything worse. (i have a daughter)

i believe in an afterlife because of an experience i had when i was a kid--around 5 years old. i posted about it on post #73 if you want to read it.

i hope you're doing okay. :hug:

[Fire Walk With Me]

26. Because of all of the virgins that I have been promised.

SILENCE! I KEEL YOU!

[Critters2]

27. I hope there is, I suspect there is, but, of course, I can't prove it.

I acknowledge that some of my belief is wishful thinking. But I continue to wishfully think.

[Taverner]

28. Nope - no proof

You cannot prove there is a 'soul'

You cannot prove that there is anything other than non-existence when we die.

In fact, there isn't a shred of evidence for it.

Even these "bright light" stories can be explained rationally and naturally. You see, when you heart goes out, your brain lives for quite some time. You go into a dream like state - and parts of your brain (because the cells themselves are dying) make you think you are seeing a white light. Being as you are in that dream like state, its not uncommon to think of long lost relatives, etc.

[Dangerously Amused]

29. In the sense of "Heaven" and "Hell"? No.

In the sense of molecular energy recycling via the colossal perpetual cosmic blender, sure.

[Oeditpus Rex]

66. What speed?

:shrug:

[Dangerously Amused]

77. Frappé.

Definitely frappé.

[Oeditpus Rex]

81. Good choice

Most people would've said "purée."

[underpants]

30. I believe in catching the 5:03 bus

beyond that I need to make chicken nuggets for dinner

[youthere]

32. Can you be an atheist and still believe in an afterlife?

I think you can, I don't think they are mututally exclusive.

[billyskank]

Buddhists do

Straight-up Buddhists believe in a continuous cycle of birth and death, which must be a kind of 'afterlife', but they do NOT believe in God. Buddhism is an atheistic philosophy. So I would say yes.

[laconicsax]

64. Technically, I guess you can,

but you'd just be dishonest with yourself--If you're an atheist, then you likely don't believe in the existence of gods, goddesses, FSMs, IPUs, etc. because there's no rational basis for those beliefs. There's no rational basis to believe in an afterlife, so to believe in it would be to say it makes sense to hold an irrational belief on par with an invisible sky daddy.

[billyskank]

34. I believe in the afterlife, just to piss people off.

[Critters2]

37. Try being a pastor and saying you're not sure about the afterlife.

Now THAT pisses people off!!

[youthere]

39. A good friend of mine is a pastor who doesn't believe in heaven or hell.

It irritates the shit out of his congregation.

[Critters2]

45. I don't either. But my good lefty progressives still worry that I'm too conservative.

I'm a little too convinced of the existence of God for their comfort.

[JVS]

63. I like you critters, but if one of my pastors pulled that, we'd have him tried for heresy.

[Critters2]

105. Well, I don't believe in the traditional heaven or hell.

I'm Girardian. It's all very confusing. But then, I'm UCC. So, heresy trials are the least of my worries.

[Lorien]

38. No. No brain function, no consciousness

but it didn't bother us to not be conscious before we were born, so why would it bother us to not be conscious after we die? Besides, my uncle died for 20 minutes and then was brought back- and he remembers none of it.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

40. I believe; but I do not know.

I think it's important to distinguish between the two. Believing is not knowing, and knowing is not believing...though knowing can certainly make things more believeable.

I believe in reincarnation; though I try to live my life as if there was only one chance to get things right.

[DarkTirade]

41. I think I need to get a life

before I can start wondering what happens afterwards...

[x-g.o.p.er]

42. Yes. It just seems that a random occurrence of life is incomprehensible.

[UncleSepp]

43. Yes, I believe in reincarnation.

Why? Because out of all the explanations for personal experiences in my life, it seems the least convoluted.

The difficulty in talking about it comes in what is meant by reincarnation and what is meant by belief. I believe in reincarnation in the sense that I can use the language of reincarnation to easily talk about experiences, memories, and emotions that otherwise are difficult to describe in words. I can talk about and think about dreams, images, emotions, and reactions that cluster around and are associated with a named persona and a specific time and place before I was born as "past life memories", and talk about that persona as a "past life self". Without having that handle, I wouldn't have anything to call them.

These three basic ideas:
1. Memory shapes self.
2. Memory can be known, partially known, or unknown. (In other words, I believe that there is a subconscious mind, and that a person can be influenced by subconscious memories. A person does not need to explicitly remember all the details of an event for the emotions attached to and lessons learned from the event to affect that person's personality.)
3. A currently living person can have the memories of a dead person.

make it easier for me to understand myself and my life. This one:

4. Memories do not necessarily represent accurate depictions of actual events

keeps me grounded. I'm not totally convinced that this is reincarnation, and I am not totally convinced that people's perceptions of past lives, no matter how cohesive, actually belong to some dead person that is now reborn in the body of the person with the memories. Reincarnation is a useful organizing concept to me, but I have no need of it being literally true.

[UncleSepp]

44. Yes, I believe in reincarnation.

Why? Because out of all the explanations for personal experiences in my life, it seems the least convoluted.

The difficulty in talking about it comes in what is meant by reincarnation and what is meant by belief. I believe in reincarnation in the sense that I can use the language of reincarnation to easily talk about experiences, memories, and emotions that otherwise are difficult to describe in words. I can talk about and think about dreams, images, emotions, and reactions that cluster around and are associated with a named persona and a specific time and place before I was born as "past life memories", and talk about that persona as a "past life self". Without having that handle, I wouldn't have anything to call them.

These three basic ideas:
1. Memory shapes self.
2. Memory can be known, partially known, or unknown. (In other words, I believe that there is a subconscious mind, and that a person can be influenced by subconscious memories. A person does not need to explicitly remember all the details of an event for the emotions attached to and lessons learned from the event to affect that person's personality.)
3. A currently living person can have the memories of a dead person.

make it easier for me to understand myself and my life. This one:

4. Memories do not necessarily represent accurate depictions of actual events

keeps me grounded. I'm not totally convinced that this is reincarnation, and I am not totally convinced that people's perceptions of past lives, no matter how cohesive, actually belong to some dead person that is now reborn in the body of the person with the memories. Reincarnation is a useful organizing concept to me, but I have no need of it being literally true.

[chknltl]

62. I agree with you in that:

An exceptional fear of heights for instance could be attributed to a death which occured as a result of falling from a great height. Same with many phobias I suspect. I think that this may be the most easily observed influence one has from prior lives.

I believe that there are other past life influences not so obvious as well. Karmic relationships where debts from a prior life are repaid in future lives would be one-such. I am not referring to the monetary type of debts. For instance dick cheney will likely be spending many future lives as a humanitarian of some sort, perhaps a doctor working for free in an area where doctors are greatly needed but ill afforded could be one such life, another could be as a Mother Theresa type but without the fame.

btw: Did you know that your post has reincarnated? Well sorta, I noticed that you "double posted!" your post. (resistance was futile...sorry, :blush: )

[laconicsax]

65. Looks like your comment was reincarnated.

[UncleSepp]

68. hehehehe! At least it wasn't a cat post

Then it would have had eight copies!

[laconicsax]

69. Like this one?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7378275554029349559

[Swede]

47. Yes.

[mondo joe]

48. I don't because there is no evidence of such a thing.

Like fairies, it's a nice idea but lacking evidence. I can't believe in things for which there is no evidence.

[Wapsie B]

50. Yes I believe there is.

This explanation would never satisfy those who want incontrovertible scientific proof. But I don't know how anyone would be able to do that. Even with a near-death experience some would explain that away saying that that was merely the brain having one last big hallucination before the lights go out for good. We're more than just skin and bones. I believe that there is something inside of each one of us that makes us who we are as individuals. Otherwise we'd be Borgs or republicans for example. There's some things in life that have to remain a mystery until we draw our final breath. I'm ok with that.

[quakerboy]

51. yep

Cause I ain't never seen no proof otherwise.

or, if you prefer, intuition.

or if you prefer, just "why not"

[Digit]

52. I believe in reincarnation

I have "left" my body twice and the first time it occurred, I KNEW I was more than flesh and blood since I could see my body lying in front of me.

One thing I don't quite understand is "time" and the string theory as it relates to reincation.
It would seem to involve all the lives being lived simultaneously.

I can't quite wrap my mind around that one.

[qwertyMike]

53. Yes I do

Reason: Insurance

[Lethe]

55. Yes, i believe that when I die I will become a tree

that resembles not my physical self necessarily, but as a whole when you see the tree, you will think "wow, that tree reminds me of Brian."

I will be resting mostly in a state of quiescence, but in times of great need I shall return to communicate and impart wisdom to those who seek it.

[UncleSepp]

75. Now I'm imagining an Ent...

That'd be kind of fun. You could be your own family tree. It does sound kind of nuts, though... perhaps it would be better just to bough out gracefully.

[youthere]

87. It only sounds nuts depending on the type of tree...

otherwise it could sound barking mad. LOL!

[UncleSepp]

102. Ah, these are the discussions for which I pine...

Physics, metaphysics, and politics among friends... who could ash for anything more?

[chknltl]

56. yes, of course I do

I suppose I am the resident nutcase because I believe in re-incarnation. I believe that there is usually times of rest between lifetimes but that is not always the case. This "resting" could be considered as an afterlife I suppose but I doubt that most folks would see it that way. In this system, the "LIVING" part is where it is at. Living, loving, learning, creating and burning Karma, steadily advancing the spirit within each of us through good and bad times, that is why we are here.

I have posted my "beliefs" here from time to time. For what it's worth, I do not see this as a religion because there is nobody to worship, no dogma to follow and no heaven or hell to be considered. It is a system based in 'spirit'-ualism. A fellow DUer here in the lounge pointed out that one can have "faith" in it's existence though, so in that respect this form of spiritualism is like a religion. I confess to taking comfort from it as well, another religious-like aspect of this system.

If you wish, I can provide more on this or if you care to, check with Wiki: Messages From Michael to learn more.

[grannylib]

57. Yes - partly because of how I was raised, I'm sure, and partly because

I've had what I believe to be experiences of...knowledge? contact? awareness? not sure what the right word, is, but anyway, some sense of my daughter's spirit, and my dad's, since their deaths.
Maybe it's self-delusion, based on my upbringing, but so what?
It works for me.

[JTG of the PRB]

59. I hope so.

Personally, I think there is something beyond this physical world. Whether that is the existence of a Heaven/Hell, or just a cosmic spirit drifting through the cosmos for all eternity, I don't know. Personally I believe there is something after this life, whether it's a continuation of the mind/soul or it's it's rebirth into another life or another form of life.

Personally, I'm hoping o be reincarnated after I shed my mortal coil (hopefully) many years from how. I wouldn't mind being a tiger in the next life, though I suppose being a human again would be okay.

[JVS]

61. It's like, uhhh near the end of this thing

Credo in Deum, Patrem omnipoténtem, Creatórem cæli et terræ. Et in Jesum Christum, Fílium ejus únicum, Dóminum nostrum: qui concéptus est de Spíritu Sancto, natus ex María Vírgine, passus sub Póntio Piláto, crucifíxus, mórtuus, et sepúltus: descéndit ad ínferos; tértia die resurréxit a mórtuis; ascéndit ad cælos; sedet ad déxteram Dei Patris omnipoténtis: inde ventúrus est judicáre vivos et mórtuos. Credo in Spíritum Sanctum, sanctam Ecclésiam cathólicam, Sanctórum communiónem, remissiónem peccatórum, carnis resurrectiónem, vitam ætérnam . Amen.

[sammythecat]

70. huh?

[raccoon]

80. The Apostle's creed in Latin. I've been saying that all my life in church,

never thought that once people were saying it in Latin (I know, duh...)

[WritingIsMyReligion]

95. Ohhh Latin.

Who knew God spoke the language of the Romans? :P

On Edit: I want to try a translation of this mofo.

I believe in God, the all-knowing Father, the Creator of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord: who was conceived from the Holy Spirit, born from the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and buried: he descended to hell; on the third day he was resurrected from death; he ascended to the heavens; sat to the right of the all-knowing Father God: from there he will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the Communion of the Holy (?), the remission of sins, the resurrection of the body, the eternal life. Amen.

[JVS]

100. Patrem omnipotendem is all-capable, not all-knowing

[WritingIsMyReligion]

108. Ah, truth. Read that too quickly.

Ah well. Near on one and the same as far as divinities go.

[last_texas_dem]

72. No, but I think it's possible there's one

As an agnostic, I don't really have an answer for anything.

[orleans]

73. logically no. but spiritually yes. i saw a "ghost" when i was a kid

a relative who had passed on about a year before. she scared the hell out of me, talked to me, wasn't transparent, but was just "there" in the corner of the room when i turned around.

i was so traumatized i blocked it from my memory for eight years. the memory came back gently one evening when i was reading a book about ghost stories. i asked my mom and grandma "did something happen to me when i was little, when we lived in the other house?" "like what?" they asked me. and slowly, i told them -- the memory came back. and they confirmed it. they had been in the other room. they both heard me screaming. my mother and i still talk about it once in awhile--she laughs and says i was so scared it was as if i had seen a ghost!

so--personal experience says yes. if it hadn't happened to me, or if i had never remembered it, then i would definitely not believe in an afterlife.

[medeak]

78. husband and I woke same time from same dream in tears

husband's dad came to us both with only his head and no words...but overwhelmingly feeling of love that is not on this earth. Yes..I KNOW there is an afterlife. Not the first dream have experienced.

[ScreamingMeemie]

79. I wish I did.

But he is just gone. Gone.

And, if there was an afterlife, he would have come back to me.

So, no, I don't believe in an afterlife.

[Midlodemocrat]

82. .

:hug:

You will see him again. And, be happy again, my friend.

[easttexaslefty]

83. I fight myself with this one all the time

I want to believe Danny is still around. I just have to see him with new eyes and ears. One example: I was coming home from the store several months ago. It had been a cloudy, gloomy day. I had on a CD. Springsteen's new one. One of the songs,Terry's song,started to play. Its about a friend of his that died. As the song began to play, the sun burst through the clouds so brilliantly in one spot. I had to pull over and cry. A feeling of peace then came over me that lasted a little while anyway. Maybe I am deluding myself I don't know but I need to grasp onto anything to keep from following my son...

Again please never hesitate to PM me if you need to cry or vent or talk

Marie Danny's mom 12/18/73-09/11/07

[sammythecat]

92. I don't post often

but I'm aware of what happened. My heart goes out to you.

:hug: sincerely

[LanternWaste]

84. Yes, I do believe in an afterlife.

Yes, I do believe in an afterlife.

Why do I believe that? After forty some odd years of observing the world around me (and the world inside of me), it seems the most rational explanation.

[Burma Jones]

88. Yes, because I might as well

[Phoonzang]

89. I'm an agnostic, but I hope so.

I don't know how someone could know one way or another. But without one, it seems like life is dismal and pointless.

[zanne]

90. I want a heaven for the people I love...

The people I love who have died deserve nothing better than everything they ever wanted in the afterlife. They deserve to be happy and all together again, and that includes animals. They just can't be completely gone...my mind can't comprehend such a thing and my heart can't accept it.

[Phoonzang]

109. Yep, I agree.

I mean even if like Atheists think, we are here to do as much good as possible during I lives and to make things better for others, it doesn't make me feel any better. I mean our family and friends we make things better for will just die and cease to exist just like us. So what does it ultimately matter? Eck....can't handle that.

[av8rdave]

91. Yes...eternal sleep would be much too boring

[WritingIsMyReligion]

94. Eh, not particularly, no.

I find it more beneficial to believe that life's a one-shot deal, so don't fuck it up. ;)

If there is any afterlife, I can't believe that it would be paradise or torment, like the old heaven/hell dichotomy--seems to me like it would just be another plane of existence, no more or less special than this one.

[dropkickpa]

96. Nope

Not at all. I was raised an athiest, and the idea never seemed anything but rather silly to me.

[pink-o]

97. Agnostic

Only "believe" in what can be proved beyond a doubt.

I have "faith" that humans will continue to search for answers to all the Big Questions, but I make no commitments to any nebulous concept, like God or Heaven.

Humans have the biggest brains of all the animals on Earth, but we still don't have the capacity to understand very much. Until we evolve further, maybe we can work on the life we know about instead of tying ourselves into knots about one that's completely unknown.

[TexasLady]

98. I try as hard as I can..call it hope

Religion was never my answer. I have a sort of obsession on the subject, after my brother died in a motorcycle accident. Man, I questioned EVERYTHING. Turned nutty-religious conservative to agnostic liberal almost overnight, ten years ago.

I just couldnt believe that I could love someone that long, and love my kids, and then there just be this..END to it all. Weird, because most turn to a religion after a shock like that. I turned completely away from it.

So I keep searching...and hoping that there's some really cool quantum physics type of answer to it all.

[arundhatiroyfan]

101. no

I don't think any being can live on forever or exist on a higher level. If there was an afterlife I think one would go crazy. We and our mind are not "fit" to last for an endless time in my opinion.

[otherlander]

103. I don't know

Maybe reincarnation. Maybe the repetetive vivid dreams a few years ago were memories of a previous life, but probably not. Probably I'm just heading for an endless abyss devoid of all hope.

[kwassa]

104. I believe in it because it allows for the possibility of revenge

I can come back from the grave and settle scores!!!!!!

The Night of the Living Kwassa.

:headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang:

[InvisibleTouch]

107. Good question. Not sure, actually.

I've had some experiences that would definitely point toward the existence of some form of afterlife or reincarnation - meeting a "stranger" whom I absolutely knew at first sight and whose presence I still sometimes feel decades after his death; images and sensations that I attribute to past lives of my own; dream visits from the dead; out-of-body experiences - that kind of thing. Of course all of that could easily be self-delusion or simple dream states.

What I absolutely don't believe is any kind of religious formalized concept of an afterlife. I tend to think that consciousness in some form is universal and etnernal (though the ego/personality may not be), but the "afterlife" or "transition to the next life" won't be anything like what we imagine it to be.