Conspiracy Theory wrote:

BYOB wrote:

Rongone wrote:

I would suggest that family and friends carry on a legacy of stories, thoughts, and experiences.
Consciously and unconsciously.

"Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality." His Holiness, The 14th Dalai Lama
 

That being said, one has to wonder what real meaning life would have if death didn't exist. The physical brain, like science, can only tell you how, not why. That's where I think the soul comes in. I feel that we are physically essentially the same, it's the soul that makes us each different. And to date, science can not measure and prove the existence of the soul.

I am also of the opinion that immortality would be worse than death.

However it could be more bearable if we weren't so restricted.  I want to get off of this world.  I want to know what things are like out there.  I want to explore the totality of what is, see every story, know every mind.

It's a lot to ask.  But if there were an afterlife, I would want that.

There has just been too much of this in my lifetime.  Too many people taking their own lives.  I can't help but wonder if, as they passed the point where there was no going back and saw the abyss of oblivion closing around them if they said "No, wait, I've changed my mind".

I want to understand.

 

I feel astonishingly the same way.

I do feel that same sense of restriction. My thoughts on that are that it's simply a matter of physical human brain capacity. I look at the body not unlike a car, with the soul being the driver. The 'car' has limitations that can very often frustrate the driver, but that in no way means that the driver has the same limitations when not confined to the car. Plus, to get sorta scientific for a minute, when you boil it down to the nitty-gritty, we are nothing more than electrical energy that fires back and forth, and they say that energy can not be created or destroyed, it only can change form. So, when we die, why would that energy cease to be? It seems more likely that it would just change form.

Now my head is starting to hurt. There's that capacity thing at work. 
 

Last edited by BYOB (3/22/2015 2:22 pm)

Conspiracy Theory wrote:

BYOB wrote:

Conspiracy Theory wrote:

I am also of the opinion that immortality would be worse than death.

However it could be more bearable if we weren't so restricted.  I want to get off of this world.  I want to know what things are like out there.  I want to explore the totality of what is, see every story, know every mind.

It's a lot to ask.  But if there were an afterlife, I would want that.

There has just been too much of this in my lifetime.  Too many people taking their own lives.  I can't help but wonder if, as they passed the point where there was no going back and saw the abyss of oblivion closing around them if they said "No, wait, I've changed my mind".

I want to understand.

 

I feel astonishingly the same way.

 My thoughts on that are that it's simply a matter of physical human brain capacity.
 

We're of a like mind on this.

I've often said it's simply arrogant of humans to believe we are capable of understanding an entire universe.

Sorta like pouring 10 gallons of water into an 8 ounce cup.  

Exactly! Well said, and much more simply too. Sometimes I can state how I feel quickly and precisely, then other times I struggle to explain. I also agree with the arrogance thing. I don't want to be stupid and arrogant, I want to be humble and smart! I just wish I knew what was in those other 159 cups of water. Can you even imagine? 

Karl Barth said that time only matters to creatures who know that they will die.

We (mostly) are confined to a lineal movment of time...but not always.

Tarnation wrote:

Karl Barth said that time only matters to creatures who know that they will die.

We (mostly) are confined to a lineal movment of time...but not always.

I've not heard of Karl Barth. I'm guessing that might explain why we are so obsessed with measuring time down to tiny increments.

Belief in an afterlife is certainly part of what Barth was suggesting, but only a small part.

The larger part is that immortal beings have no concern for time....with no beginning and no ending, all "times" are the same.