Life and Death

A bit more than 150,000 people die every day on this planet, on an average. That's about two (2) people every second.  And it gets worst; neither you, nor hardly anyone else know when it’s your turn.  Possible exceptions may include suicide victims or an assign who works on a prompt schedule. 

So, how comfortable with that fact are you? Do you feel special knowing that today might be your last day among the living?

For 150,000 people, death’s about to become a reality, so if you happen to be among them, you'll have plenty of company.

In the event that some of us are among the 150,000 slated for tomorrow’s scheduled departure, we have a couple of alternatives or directions which may be taken:

First (1), after we die we retain some part of our consciousness (a spirit or a soul you might say), but all the physical parts like knowledge, skills, all that money you’ve managed to save, an then there’s the physical body which proves that you were here in the first place.

Second (2), after we die we cease to exist, completely. Our consciousness gets wiped out along with the physical body. You could say, “Dead and gone forever.”

One of these two options is what death basically boils down to. Either we continue to exist in some non-physical state of consciousness, or we don't.

It probably don’t make a lot of difference which option you believe, since it’s safe to say that neither route will kill you, or save you from the grips of death, but if you going to believe one, or, other of the options, it is an absolute necessity to choose either option one or two; “choose” being the key word here. However, it's most likely better to decide, one way or the other, and run the risk of being wrong than it is to remain uncertain and do nothing.

To make a choice you see is, in and of its self, perhaps the strongest evidence of intelligence that there is.

Think of it this way, conscious thought equals awareness or visa versa and if a being has awareness that equals intelligence; the combination of which houses the spirit or soul which is made up of some unknown energy source. This is best proven by the fact that somehow an intelligent individual knows “right from wrong” even without the benefit of being told.

From a more philosophical point of view, you could say that life after death can not be proven or disproven. There is no direct absolute proof against an afterlife, but there are plenty of arguments refuting the possible examples of evidence for life after death; and alternatively, it’s just as difficult to prove that there is not some sort of life beyond death.  

Since both scenarios may very well lack the possibly of ever being proven to those of us who are “stranded” among the living, perhaps we should phrase the question a little differently: “what can we say, within reason, does NOT happen after death?” In the very least, this question can be answered to most everyone’s satisfaction, but when anyone asks “what happens when I die”, the answer is obviously an unknown.

It’s difficult to imagine that any species (for example man-kind) would or could reach such a high level of consciousness or awareness of it’s our own existence if said existence was scheduled to end with this life.  You might say that being conscious or aware of our existence alone suggests that there is an afterlife, which may very well be the primary reason for life in itself. Mortal living being only one of many steps in the overall scheme of things.

Perhaps the strongest argument against life beyond death is that it implies or supports the existence of a Supreme Being or god(s) you might say, that allows pain and suffering among those of us living here on earth. This in turn, raises another yet another question: “why would a Supreme Being with the ability to create life in the first place allow pain and suffering?”

It has been said that there is no scientific reason for the existence of life in the first place, think about it, life only disrupts or even destroys nature.  The cosmos simply don’t care if there is life in it or not, in short there is no benefit to the universe or the cosmos deriving from the existence of life.  Yet, for some reason, advanced life with consciousness and awareness, like that in the custody of us humans came about.

Then there’s the scientific aspect of the matter. According to science, energy/matter has never been created or destroyed; only transformed.  I have mentioned this fact in a prior post by reminding you that a piece of paper for example is not technically destroyed when burnt by fire, but only transformed into smoke and ashes. Like wise, when the body (energy/ matter) dies, its consciousness which is a form of energy may survive as well.            

You could argue that since consciousness (or a spirit) can not be measured, it must fall outside the realms is science. If we follow science this strictly, then emotions could not possibly exist because there is no way to measure such things as love, hate, and jealousy.              

Paranormal evidence such as a Near Death Experience (NDE) should be included as evidence supporting option one. Research indicates that about 10-18% of all people who clinically die report NDEs but maybe the rest of us who have had NDEs (like myself) simply do not have the ability to remember them.  In short, may-be, were not “smart” enough.

You may recall that the person undergoing a NDE acquires information that is not known to them prior to the incident and said information could not have been obtained by normal means; this being verified to be correct, usually at a later date.    A more common example of a NDE event being the report of encountering one or more people whom they did not know were dead but who were later confirmed to have been dead at the time the NDE occurred.

You can also add to the list in support of an after life, entities such as ghosts, angels, demons, and poltergeists.  Such beings certainly indirectly indicate the presence of energy that is still manifesting itself after death which appears to have been ‘left behind’, especially in regard to what the living typically refer to as a ghost.      

Cases suggesting reincarnation is additional evidence of life after death, assuming that it really happens; how else can we explain child prodigies like Mozart, who was composing music by the age of 5; it’s hard to explain such know occurrences by way of conventional wisdom alone.  How could anyone display such a talent so quickly?  Some insist they have brought this wonderful talent with them from a previous life.

There are several other arguments which indirectly support life of some sort after death. There are even some folks that claim to be able to communicate with departed souls, often your friends or relatives.

The natural order of things even seems to imply a continuation of life beyond death.  I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying “the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree”. That tree will eventually die, and the apparently dead seeds that exist within the fruit of the tree will sprout (when given the necessary circumstance) to continue the life of the tree; which is a different tree. Yes, but basically the same.

Admittedly for either option, all of this is indirect or perhaps circumstantial evidence but a little evidence is better than no evidence at all. The fact remains, we all need to choose a side so as to prove that we retain a small measure of intelligence, which is essential for promoting and enhancing the survival of all things human. Without intelligence, all is for naught and there would be no point in existing at all.

Sources ...

http://lifeafterdeath.info/                                                                http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1955636,00.html       http://www.wpclipart.com/holiday/halloween/casket.png.html               http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles/life-after-death.htm