Life after Death

When I die there will be no experience—no regrets or joyous reunions, for there will be no apparatus to manage or attend such consciousness or effort. Even if “spirit” carried on in some idea or another, it is a mindless, blank stare at a static white board without sensory perception for eternity, as unaware as the universe is of itself. Biology fills the void for a time. Life is a symptom of our universe, but it is not intentional, nor has any ideas at all about how it happens. Funny, just like you and me.

Biology is a byproduct of the universe—a symptom. The cycles are endless. The earth is like a slow motion chia pet. Humans have been on this cosmic stage about 20 minutes. Imagine a time-lapse from beginning to end—it would be no mystery.

Taking a Hindu version at face value, if I am here to grow to perfection through repetition, over and over and to resolve the unsolved desires and issues of karma, why would I have ever been born in the first place, having had no karma to be born with?

I have possibly however, inherited such a thing from evolution, that monkeys rang up my karmic credit after they received it from their progenotes, and so on and so on, all the way back to the spawn of life. If it ever died out, nothing would ever know it ever was a thing at all.

That which truly exists must exist all the time, but the body does not exist all the time. Therefore, it cannot be real.

The ultimate oxymoron is life after death. That would contradict the meaning of both.

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Reincarnation—Fact, Wishful, or Something Else?

Some children are remembering past lives of themselves (or others?) with the two most compelling accounts in recent memory being Anne Frank (Barbro Karlén) and pilot James M. Huston Jr.

At 3 years old, James claimed to have been shot down in WWII and told his parents his real name, the ship, the mates, and so on. This persisted so they investigated and found his story contained many obscure facts and corroborations with the deceased man’s living relatives—including old shipmates from the USS Natoma—in the battle of the pacific.

It’s interesting to examine western vs eastern thought on the subject, where westerners turn to reincarnation as a comforting idea but difficult to believe, while the easterner has no trouble believing it but wants to get out of its endless cycles of futility. Funny, really.

So, from where do these past memories arise in these kids? The stories are many, and now with the internet many of the details can be verified using an objective approach.

There is a grey area between life and death, a conscious brain and consciousness. Where do these memories come from? What else could it be? Is everything a cold hard fact, or is there more to it that makes Hebrew religions and hard atheism alike, uncomfortable?

It happens in every culture and even those religions that don’t believe it, are being forced to consider it, like in the story of Marty Martyn.

These two accounts are also covered in depth on Netflix “Surviving Death” episode 6

Spirit or Matter

Why does examining the physical world still explain nothing about what it is? What is the most likely reason we haven’t identified one single solitary fact of what matter actually consists? Maybe it isn’t “real”? The simplest answer is usually the correct answer? Or Occam may say—”entities should not be multiplied needlessly” But physics is at a loss, as examining the atom we find 99.99999% empty space—We are empty space.

The physical world is the most elusive, evasive topic of all topics, yet at first glance it seems so obvious (here I am) But you can’t identify what stuff is, any more than you can find anything actually existing anywhere at all. You cannot put your finger on it, nor determine the basic physical makeup—of anything, simultaneously fulfilling all the requirements of spirit. Neither science nor religion has any idea what the hell is going on (forget resurrection of matterless matter for the moment)

Matter is all at once here, there, and nowhere. While it’s properties can be manipulated slightly for our imagined benefit, as far as being the real stuff we have hoped to identify as the physical reality, is likened most easily to an image at the end a projector—though you might just as easily identify the physical properties of an image on a movie screen—where there would be nothing seen at all without the background.

The farther we peek into the physical world the less is discovered—there is nothing there. It is empty shells everywhere we look, and the most obvious yet unsettling reality stares us in the face—there is nothing physical to discover. Is life and the physical world (as we assume) merely concentrated patterns of energy—like a dust devil in passing wind, we see its stationary effects but the wind keeps blowing? Whirlpools along a passing stream? Cyclones of organized chaos? Or is matter any more than a concentration of spirit, for lack of a better term? It, the obvious answer is, essentially energy forming a pattern. The other “one thing” we harness but do not understand in the slightest—electricity.

What should be the most obvious and easy to identify—the physical world, turns out to be the most elusive of all examination. We aren’t really even here in the sense of reality we have imagined. And imagine is what we do best, and will continue to do—our existence depends on it. Whatever the case, life is simply amazing to be a part of. It’s amazing!

What it’s Like to Die

Our flight finally neared the runway as 80 mph side-winds battered the plane. Just before decent, the drink cart came off the floor and nearly hit the ceiling. Suddenly the wings break upward, blocking my view of the horizon, then quickly downward to view the ocean. The plane was nervously quiet on the inside as it was battered outside—a white knuckle approach to San Francisco; landing speed 158 MPH.

Some I could see praying, silently mouthing, whispering to their god—certain some deals were being made that day. I was sitting window seat over the left wing as we lowered within crashing range, watching the wing flexing up and down just missing the runway. Suddenly in a flash I pictured the plane cartwheeling down the runway in a fiery crash, but at that moment the pilot performed his magic and touched the plane down like a foot stomp.

Sighs of relief exhaled from front to back, then a post adrenal crash into applause and chatter—and in an instant we all realize we made it—Alive! Now back to business and the boredom as usual…

Is this how we feel when we die, returning to the mundane existence of eternal life? What a rush it must be to break back through to the other side. For at that moment the game would get us every time.

We know what it’s like to die—the same as it is to survive. All the anxieties of not knowing released in an instant. Yet here, we shackle ourselves to another day, living to escape death—while in our normal existence we would line up for the chance to risk it.

Just a flash of time outside our normal state of being—is life

All The World is a Stage.

We can imagine everything but truth, for the truth is too obvious to be it, and too simple to accept. With the curtain drawn we have now built a story to validate humanity as something less spectacular than the sum of its parts—which is ridiculous considering.

Occasionally one gets a peek behind the curtain. When that takes place a couple of things can happen if you are not prepared—they may walk off the set, self destruct, or go off the chain. This is why no master will ever teach you without a discipline to go along with it.

Another thing that often happens is a rise of self importance; I am god—The Jehovah Effect© I and the father are one—now you must listen to what I say and do what I tell you to do. What I know is the way, the truth, and you have to go through me (to get back to where you have no choice but to be) History is scattered with these types. Jesus at least spoke in parables to not give away the game. It is essential to the longevity of it all, that mankind doesn’t cut the act short by knowing the secret while we’re here—that there is no secret. This is the usefulness of religion—never answering the question, and unable to—constantly searching beyond the simplicity of it all.

Part of the problem is Christianity’s beginnings, where Christ sought out his disciples. Disciples who were not seeking enlightenment nor prepared for the experience (jesus couldn’t wait to share his newfound knowledge) They never did understand him while he was alive, then took it upon themselves to be zealots when he was dead. If you want to wake up then do so, find it, see it, but be prepared; all there is left to do from then on is watch and smile at the game.

Knowledge is simply the absence of delusion—The you who is not the one you see in the mirror, but the you that defines who you really are beyond that (personality, consciousness) is not the ego you’ve been told. Perceiving the essence of yourself in our natural existence is similar to scale of a fish achieving awareness of itself, that could never comprehend the head of the fish—so it is with the universe. We are merely a function, the eyes and ears and perceptions, a nerve ending on the whole living organism.

Our nature, whether here or there has not changed but the slightest. We seek to be entertained, to be engaged in emotions, to laugh, to cry, to feel fear or to feel exhilarated by the fantasy. To seek out endless ways to relieve the boredom and stay busy even after an idle day or two.

We are merely participants in a play, breaking away from the doldrums of everyday immortality to see the show (or be in the show) while others act out the mystery and sometimes misery for a role in the drama. Either way, life here means nothing but a respite from the mundane existence of infinite living. Simply not knowing the outcome is the most masterful, simple game in the universe. And like a fish jumping out of the water, for a moment, getting a brilliant glimpse backstage that there is no more to life than the existence we are living.

Monotheism is especially proud of its level of tail-chasing distractions—a necessary player to reduce enlightenment and retain players in the game.

The Rules of the Universe

The idea that the universe has a specific agenda and demands Christian behavior is laughable, really. The tyrannical father figure of the cultural near-east governs the universe expecting certain liturgy from its inhabitants (he has opinions) that we must believe in him in his secrecy or be cast off forever, right where we came from just a few short years ago. Back to the void? Hardly

Imagine having never existed, that it all began here…and after you die—nothing. If that is the case it defies the laws of energy, as well as being an uncomfortable and strange feeling.

You, can never not be. This physical experience only identifies as unique because it is contrasted by our normal existence. When you identify with yourself, who and what you are, it is never the physical activity of muscles and blood flow, breathing and chewing that composes you. Those things are automatically done in the background, without thought.

What you are is this; an infinite participant in the only possible game in the universe to relieve eternal boredom. All the knowledge and skill in the entire cosmos is at our disposal. There are no surprises or guesses, no waiting or wondering for an everlasting creature with trillions of eons, owning all of everything, knowing all of everything. What would an infinite being (such as me) possibly do to relieve the boredom, to pass the time? Enter into a realm of not knowing.

This blip of mortal existence, only interesting at all for the mere fact we don’t know the outcome nor the beginning. Bookended by two unknown voids, we jump in knowing full well the misery and the fame, the chance and the luck, despair and delight, for every ending we break through to our normal existence, bam! we laugh our ass off because the game gets us every time.

Why else would the truly enlightened refuse to involve themselves in the rescue of human misery? All the worlds a stage. We are a never ending happening of a living universe. Little neurons getting a glimpse of ourselves and experiencing emotions we could never know in our regular boredom.

What Denomination of Atheism are You?

How much do we need to know before we can safely say we don’t believe?

Having not much in the way of indoctrinations outside Christianity, my unbelief is limited to a specific scope of practice—a field test of the words and ideas that were forced on me without my consent since birth. Really, can we reject all the other gods we don’t yet know?

Since we don’t know much about eastern religion, nor the meanings of orthodoxy, or Hinduism, most of us here have an atheism to the Yahweh god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The other gods we hardly know, so considering blanket disdain or unbelief in something unknown is nearly impossible but yet, hardly worth the time to explore it out.

The key strong belief lies in pretending this life holds vast importance, that your worry and concern are somehow moral, noble and righteous. But this just isn’t true, and fearing to really live life because of the dogmas has crippled humanity into a fear of being afraid, instead of allowing life to play out the scenes. Fear as a normal part of this exploration, like the order of operations, first comes fear, then comes the faith (which isn’t faith at all, but worry)

We have been conditioned to believe here in the Christian god out of fear and faithless worry, but really it’s all the other gods we don’t know that we should be concerned, worried, and watching about—for we know this one isn’t real.

Religious Reasoning—Taking One More Step

There is a serious problem with not thinking things through to the end. We don’t care to solve religious riddles, but always stop short of conclusion—in the feel good parts. Without stopping there, no religious doctrine can stand to scrutiny. None is without contradiction.

For instance

Wouldn’t it be amazing to live forever with god in heaven (the big family reunion congratulating our friends and family that made the cut) Endless hugs and bathing Jesus feet in our tears of joy with no evil allowed? Considering how easily we get bored now, imagine with all knowledge and understanding of the universe at our disposal and we celebrate—and keep celebrating, like the endless techno-chicken stuck in a loop, choir music and no chance for sleep. How long will this suffering be tolerable? After 60 trillion years of willing yourself to die, but you’re just getting started. Besides, I’ve been to family reunions…

The only thing that makes this life even remotely interesting is the fact we don’t remember before this is just a play, and cannot quite recollect what happens behind the curtain when the act is over.

Dying will be a great jolt of laughter upon realizing this game has gotten us on…again. And the surprise of dying to life will be an eruption of laughter to wake from this dream we call life.

This has been going on a long, long time. We have fossilized human (hominid?) footprints from 100million, 250million, and 500million years ago. Not remembering it is the only exciting venue left in the universe.

Meme courtesy of the superstitiousnakedape—John Zande

Reasoning With Resonance

Spending a lot of time and years searching for meaning, wondering, worrying, sometimes hoping life lasts and lasts, while other times wishing it was over, takes up a lot of our thought-time here in the earthly—don’t let life pass you by searching for meaning over having experience You won’t find it. You are it.

We certainly can be entertained by the search. The philosophy is quite good to hear and read, but where does it go? What good is knowing your future or understanding past, your hopes shifted here and there by a little dose of some neat words?

Tomorrow is as uncertain as the past (what we can remember of it) and was a state of mind that’s no longer me, but will be accountable for in the Christian hereafter. Maybe I’ll get Alzheimer’s and forget the wrongs I’ve done before I go to die, what then? Is there a dividing line?

We can’t see the supernatural because we are the supernatural. We are a ripple in the extension of galaxies, an antennae, a presence of convergence in the fabric of space and energy. When we meditate and perceive what seems to be another world, are merely glimpses into our past and timeless future. Like a fish seeing the water and being in awe, we too cannot perceive the baseline of our existence which is space (we are made of it) which is life itself.

We. Are. It. We are not I as we typically think of. We cannot find the meaning of our existence because we are the meaning of our existence. Through our lens the universe, us, views itself unknowing the vastness we call space, is we. It is so obvious we cannot imagine life with it or without it.

Abandon the father figure of god that is so ingrained in our western culture, for “god” is merely a co-op, a dispensary of source energy, consciousness, that very concept that eludes us is indeed the mystery. We could not know the darkness without the light, nor peace without the turmoil, heaven without the hell. We exist unable to comprehend our opposite because “I am that I am”.

We cannot imagine what life was like before we were born. Nor can we accept that death is the total end, and at that moment would be as though we never were. To posit an end means we had a beginning. We cannot envision a beginning or an end—we are incapable of it because we always have been.

Thoughts I Think

On life…

Live simply and beautifully. Find a groove being yourself before regret settles into mediocrity—

Be content exploring the natural world in respectful ways—

Be curious, but not a fool. The majority of the world believes in an invisible guardian and have applied the quirky perceptions of human neurology and endocrinology to meaning something it doesn’t—

Investigate the world with this knowledge—you have been deceived since birth by susceptible people who are easily impressed upon and ruled by those hormones and quirky neurology. They attach easily to bad ideas you’ll fight for and defend—

The attempts to accumulate many things gives you no right to pollute my breathing space or my water—

Nurture a little bit of beauty in the community. Plant something. Be a friend—

Disconnect from others once in a while to nurture at least one idea of your own observations—

Eat less, wear less, and work less. Feel the bare earth under your feet—

Respite somewhere off the beaten path along a babbling stream, or deep in the woods near a meadow—

Nothing is certain. The difference between your birthday and deathday is a dash—

—don’t waste it living someone else’s ideals.

Write your own epitaph. Tomorrow, write it again—Watch this four minute video if you need inspiration today. It is reality.

Be a better person each day—

Who are We Really?

Misconceptions about atheism are so common I sometimes feel like a minnow in a piranha pool. Mention you’re an atheist or humanist, and immediate visions of the horned immoral boogeyman appear in people’s heads. Who are we really? In your own words maybe give a line or two about what you think people should imagine when they hear the word “Atheist”.

Photo by jim-thecommonatheist

Cambutal, Panama 🇵🇦