Before judging me, please read my entire question and only respond if you can try to help.
I am 28 years old, just got a new job on a cruise line and am starting the new point of my life. Yet for the past few years, all I can think about is what happens after death. It scares me to oblivion. Every night before bed I sit contemplating what it will FEEL like to be dead. It scares the hell out of me. I cannot stop thinking about it. I will put on an I Love Lucy episode, watch the black-and-white screen before me, and mumble "My God, when I’m dead I will never get to watch this stuff again. It will be nothing." I have been working at a science museum for the past 4 years, and have visited these boards enough to realize there is most likely nothing after death. And the cold hearted Atheists I talk to who have the whole "death, deal with it" attitude don’t help. According to them, when the brain dies, you die. That’s it. They refuse to address consciousness or why we could possibly have a soul. They just say there’s no proof- and it scares me. I am starting to think they are right. So please read my points and help me-
1) I want to think there IS something after death, because how is death the end? The universe is endless. Space never ends, just keeps going. So how do we just stop? Wouldn’t it make sense that we just keep going, even if its in a different dimension or parallel? Energy cannot be created or destroyed, just changed. So am I to hope maybe consciousness is a form of energy? What makes ME me? How do I know I’m me and not anyone else?
2) What makes me not believe in life after death is the fragility of it. Its so easy to kill myself. I can easily drink some bleach right now and die, or choke on a carrot, or slit my wrists. If its so easy to die, why is life so damn complicated? Why can man create all these amazing things with technology, movies, art, ideals- yet we’re easily just slabs of meat in bones with electricity going through us? It makes me think this is just easy.
3) I would want to believe in God, but many religions point to the blue sky as heaven. We know thats false. Outerspace is whats beyond the sky, not heaven. We have PROOF of this. And of everyone who has died, no one has come back. Not one. What is this telling us? That either a) death is the end, or b) everyone who dies goes to another universe. I’m starting to fear its A. And that is too ******* scary.
4) Could life itself be a dream? Could all this be an illusion? I wish every day I could just live in a time warp. Similar to "Groundhog Day", but instead I could live in a 30 year warp, and be able to rewind, fast forward, and do what I want. I would never bore of food or sex. Ever. And that way I could do what I wanted, and just go on without a stop point.
5) As we get older, does the fear of death go away? Or does the fear simmer down as we keep losing loved ones, like parents and friends? I would like to think that since death is a part of life’s cycle, it won’t be as bad as I think.
I apologize for rambling on, please help me. Respond to my points, or give me advice on what to do to get over the fear.
PS- No Bible quotes please. I want realism.
To Leonard: You’re a real prick, aren’t you? If you’re going to come at me with a very harsh, "death deal with it" attitude when I MADE IT VERY CLEAR I don’t like that, I advise you to watch it! Sorry, but regardless of your idea that we’re just sparks in the universe, humans have something called Compassion! Explain that? Why do we (and other animals for that matter) get sad when those around us die? That has nothing to do with experiences. It has to do with us having actual souls. I just wanted insight as to why I’m afraid to die, and you came in and RUINED it by being a jerk!
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Why don’t you want Bible quotes if you’re a God-believer?
In any case…
No, when a person dies, they sleep. Their soul sleeps, I guess just like when a person sleeps but wakes up. Sleep would be the end, if we had no hope in the resurrection. The thing is, there is a time appointed for everyone to be resurrected from the dead. Some will rise to everlasting life and others to shame and everlasting contempt. I know what you’re going through, as I’ve been like that before, because some things didn’t make sense. Just keep seeking and you will find, trust me! God does care for you, but He cares enough to allow you to have to TRY, or else you won’t work much seriousness in yourself, you know? Your faith is increased through the plethora of temptations that we have to endure in life!
Then there are ghosts, who can’t seem to sleep because they are tormented for one reason or another. They can’t seem to get over how they died and want help, or they are tormented through guilt and want to keep trying to rectify it, when their time is up for this life.
In the end, God Himself will come down with Jesus to be on earth with men. We will all be resurrected, and those who endure to the end will be saved.
1) The consciousness is your personality and mind, but the life (energy) in you is from God, and it returns to Him once you die.
2) Man is given a knowledge and intellect far above any animal, and of all the accomplishments, the most notable is the service to God in Love, mercy, and truth - the purpose we were created for. We are like trees who are growing fruit, so that at the harvest, we may be full for our purpose and we have a set time to fulfill it. It works out wonderfully!
3) Some believe it is like Air = 1st heaven, Space = 2nd heaven, God’s domain = 3rd heaven, or some believe God is in another reality or in "Eternity", which is not parallel but above our material reality, not having been created and having no end, etc. I don’t know, but I believe that it’s somewhere.
4) But the desire for food and sex is temporal, as the flesh is temporal… Those things have their purpose to sustain your bodily life, but the body is the temple of something greater! It is like a person who doesn’t care why they build a buliding, as long as they can keep building and building and building it without purpose. Work can be fun, but it has a purpose, and the building has a purpose.
5) The fear of death can be quelled with your assurance of the resurrection, for one. If you don’t believe in anything, what do you have to hope for? You seem as though you somewhat do and want to, but that you’re just scared… If nothing else, do the best you can and love!
Nine - "Redrum"
"Everybody wan heaven, dem na wan dead… redrum"
You sound intelligent enough to see that religion is just a mythology that has not gone out of fashion yet. You should also know that ‘I want x to be true - therefore x is true’ is not what passes for good logic in any sensible person’s mind.
Maybe some atheists have been unsympathetic but they’re trying to put across that since there will be no experience there’s no need to feel death - anymore than you should worry about the oblivion that ‘existed’ before you were conceived.
In my experience older people fear death less, they begin to see it as a chance to finally relax and stop, like putting your feet up after a long day. That death is an end is only scary from this side, not from the other when you won’t worry about anything at all - so if this is the only life we have, just relax and enjoy it. This is your universe, right here, where you live. Relax.
Because even if a star is born it has to die, well the difference is you dont create any blackholes while you die.
Because you haven’t put your faith into Jesus Christ. =)
Jesus is God and the only way into heaven.
John 14:6
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
Everyone has the chance to get saved and everyone needs saved so get saved now. =)
Romans 10:13
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Please pray a sincere prayer with all of your heart admitting to Jesus you are a sinner. Have full faith that His blood pays off all of your sins and accept His gift of everlasting life. I pray that God blesses you with peace. Amen.
Why should you fear death? If you are, death is not. If death is, you am not. Why should you fear that which can only exist when you do not?
sorry couldn’t read it all
for me its fear of the unknown
all i know iv experience things that i cant explain…..so i believe there are other things out there that cant be explained, so there hast to be something beyond me that put all this mess together
i was a black dot in a giant void one time ,don’t know if that proves eternal existence
everyone fears death. it is natural to fear it. and it doesn’t make you a bad person. if i die i would much rather make sure if there is a god i would go to heaven. death is natural my nana is on her death bed its sad. but she is also scared of death. it never leaves you. its human nature to fear the unknown. religion is one way to make it less scary when you know in your heart where you are going weither its real or not. if there is no heaven at least you wont be alive to know. so you are perfectly not normal, everybody fears death religious or not.
I love what you have written, it sounds like an ex-religious person coming into realit. Congrats, you are a free thinker. Yes, we do change into energy, we become soil and help the Earth revolve. You should read books about evolution, the human brain, especially "virus of the mind", that book will give you answers about how the brain works and how religions evolved. Just enjoy the pleasures of life because ppl from 100 years ago are dead now and they cannot enjoy it.
All we are is our BRAIN..Christians just see the physical body and expresions, but we cannot choose what our expressions look like, our brain is developed by experiences we’ve had. This is why child rapers rape, it’s in their brain: they had a traumatic experience happen to them, a christian would say "i can see the devil in his eyes".
Once you understand more about how the brain works, you can control your life alot better and have better quality of life instead of walking around with your head cut off.
I loved reading your post, i just realized alot about life..were in a cycle, WERE the ones that are alive on this earth TODAY, we should enjoy it while we can.
Are you afraid of being asleep? Because when you are asleep, you don’t exist, either. I mean, obviously you exist, but your consciousness is absolutely absent for hours on end. Death is no different. No, you don’t wake up, but you don’t care, either.
Personally, I usually think this when someone dies: "Their problems are over."
1) Whether the universe is endless (it isn’t) has no bearing on us. We are ephemeral, like sparks. We come into existence, we exist for a time, and we cease to exist. No, consciousness is NOT a form of energy, sorry. Identity is simply who you are and is a consequence of your unique brain patterns. These brain patterns are of course lost after death.
2) It IS easy to die. And that is partly WHY we have created technology. To make it less easy to die.
3) How can something be TOO scary? Too scary for what? In any case, you had better deal with the reality of the thing.
4) That is just escapist fantasy. You get one (1) life. Make the most of it.
5) My experience in general is that old people are much less afraid to die.
Interesting and good questions. Sadly, I or anyone else can only tell you what we think, as no one knows for sure.
I too believe that we are energy. My personal belief is that as energy we may return, if we so choose, again and again. Under hypnosis I experienced different lives. I had someone tell me my daughter and I had shared multiple lives together, not always as mother/daughter, and that my husband and I have had other relationships at other times, again not always as husband/wife. I think that we can choose to be around those we care for after we die. My daughter and I both frequently dream of my mother at the same time, report to each other that "Nana said —– in my dream last night," and she died years ago. In times of family emergencies we can smell her perfume. I called on her once when my daughter was facing surgery the very next day and when my daughter awoke the next morning her medical issue had spontaneously resolved overnight and the surgery was not needed. To top it off my 2 year old used to tell me about when she lived in Chicago with her son and daughter.
I have no real answers to your questions but I truly believe with all of my being that you have nothing to fear. And what good would it do, really, to worry? It is inevitable. Look upon it as the last great adventure!
You don’t want bible quotes, but that is the remedy for any fear.
Only God can take fear away, through His Holy Word the bible.
Learn some scriptures, memorized them and repeat them when you are afraid.
If you don’t, the demons of fear will haunt you the rest of your life.
I have seen old people that are not afraid to die, they have made peace with God.
I have seen old people that are afraid and have not made peace with God.
Trust God, we don’t know where Heaven is, but we know it’s there.
The body will return to dust as God said, but the spirit will return to God who gave it.
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