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the universe. life and death.
Dec 29, 2013 06:56:59   #
PhilosophyMan Loc: Washington state.
 
The fear of death, the mind does not comprehend such a thing, we fear things we do not understand, we may never understand it, and we fear it unconditionally. I fear not of dying, but that which comes after. Try to imagine yourself fading away into nothingness, all memory gone, consciousness deleted, you simply end. How is this? What is this? This cannot be! Why does life exist in the universe without a purpose? The fundamental idea of “life” is absurd and should not exist in a logical universe, however it does, and does this mean the universe is not logical? What is the universe? Life must serve a purpose, all life, life does not simply appear! The only thing we can find out what happens after death is when we find the purpose behind life, and that is not going to happen anytime soon. I refuse to believe life does not have a purpose beyond this universe, call me narrow minded, but that is what I believe, call me scared, we are all scared, we all want purpose, we all have waves of dis-belief and fear when thinking about death and what comes after, I am not afraid of dying, I am afraid of death.

what do you think?

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Dec 29, 2013 08:59:59   #
Loki Loc: Georgia
 
philisophyman wrote:
The fear of death, the mind does not comprehend such a thing, we fear things we do not understand, we may never understand it, and we fear it unconditionally. I fear not of dying, but that which comes after. Try to imagine yourself fading away into nothingness, all memory gone, consciousness deleted, you simply end. How is this? What is this? This cannot be! Why does life exist in the universe without a purpose? The fundamental idea of “life” is absurd and should not exist in a logical universe, however it does, and does this mean the universe is not logical? What is the universe? Life must serve a purpose, all life, life does not simply appear! The only thing we can find out what happens after death is when we find the purpose behind life, and that is not going to happen anytime soon. I refuse to believe life does not have a purpose beyond this universe, call me narrow minded, but that is what I believe, call me scared, we are all scared, we all want purpose, we all have waves of dis-belief and fear when thinking about death and what comes after, I am not afraid of dying, I am afraid of death.

what do you think?
The fear of death, the mind does not comprehend su... (show quote)


Your premise that "Life is absurd, and should not exist in a logical universe is, in itself, illogical. The question should be, "why should it not?" It is not a question of life, but of conciousness. A paramecium is alive, a sponge is alive, do they have a conciousness? Life is a chemical/electromagnetic occurence, measureable at start, duration and end. Conciousness is the important part, and the question is does conciousness exist apart from physical existence? I maintain that it does, although I confess my only [sort of] empirical evidence is the prevalent belief through all cultures that there is an "afterlife." This word in of itself is prejudicial, in that it conveys the intimation that any existence after this one is something other than life. Perhaps, in a way we don't fathom currently, we are hardwired to believe in life after this one, but with enough secret doubt to not want to take the one step to prove it either way.

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Dec 29, 2013 09:43:15   #
slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas
 
philisophyman wrote:
The fear of death, the mind does not comprehend such a thing, we fear things we do not understand, we may never understand it, and we fear it unconditionally. I fear not of dying, but that which comes after. Try to imagine yourself fading away into nothingness, all memory gone, consciousness deleted, you simply end. How is this? What is this? This cannot be! Why does life exist in the universe without a purpose? The fundamental idea of “life” is absurd and should not exist in a logical universe, however it does, and does this mean the universe is not logical? What is the universe? Life must serve a purpose, all life, life does not simply appear! The only thing we can find out what happens after death is when we find the purpose behind life, and that is not going to happen anytime soon. I refuse to believe life does not have a purpose beyond this universe, call me narrow minded, but that is what I believe, call me scared, we are all scared, we all want purpose, we all have waves of dis-belief and fear when thinking about death and what comes after, I am not afraid of dying, I am afraid of death.

what do you think?
The fear of death, the mind does not comprehend su... (show quote)


Quite frankly, Philosophyman, I believe you need to get out and enjoy life a little more.

I don't remember having such deep thoughts...and I went some hell of my own, at your age. I do hope you find the answers you are seeking. I also hope you break away from those thoughts often enough to foster joy with life, and less focus on doom and gloom.

Life offers choices. Be more open and selective in yours.

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Dec 29, 2013 10:47:08   #
catpaw Loc: Bakersfield, California
 
All life on earth--flowers, fish, germs, kitty cats, giraffes, people--share two natural drives: survival and reproduction. If the research of backtracking our DNA is to be believed, then as a species we people came very close to going the way of Neanderthal, Erectus, and our other cousins. Now that we're on top of the food chain, that could be setting us up for our own extinction. The higher a species is on the food chain, the more vulnurable it is to environmental change. T. rex, is a thing of the past; the cockroach has been here for about 250 million years.
Whatever the grand scheme of living and dying, it is hardly anything I can change as an individual. Perhaps I am better off not knowing what happens (or doesn't happen) when we kick the bucket. Ignorance is bliss?

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Dec 29, 2013 11:25:24   #
rumitoid
 
philisophyman wrote:
The fear of death, the mind does not comprehend such a thing, we fear things we do not understand, we may never understand it, and we fear it unconditionally. I fear not of dying, but that which comes after. Try to imagine yourself fading away into nothingness, all memory gone, consciousness deleted, you simply end. How is this? What is this? This cannot be! Why does life exist in the universe without a purpose? The fundamental idea of “life” is absurd and should not exist in a logical universe, however it does, and does this mean the universe is not logical? What is the universe? Life must serve a purpose, all life, life does not simply appear! The only thing we can find out what happens after death is when we find the purpose behind life, and that is not going to happen anytime soon. I refuse to believe life does not have a purpose beyond this universe, call me narrow minded, but that is what I believe, call me scared, we are all scared, we all want purpose, we all have waves of dis-belief and fear when thinking about death and what comes after, I am not afraid of dying, I am afraid of death.

what do you think?
The fear of death, the mind does not comprehend su... (show quote)


You might find this book interesting: Denial Of Death, by Becker. The Existentialists believe that death makes life meaningless, therefore it is up to us to create our own meaning and purpose to make what we have here truly worth it. The Eight Fold Noble Path is a way to die to all that brings suffering in this life. Christian Mystics have a similar path about dying to self yet not to avoid suffering but to better serve God and others with love and joy. You probably know these things.

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Dec 29, 2013 21:49:18   #
Blue Flu Loc: HHI
 
philisophyman wrote:
The fear of death, the mind does not comprehend such a thing, we fear things we do not understand, we may never understand it, and we fear it unconditionally. I fear not of dying, but that which comes after. Try to imagine yourself fading away into nothingness, all memory gone, consciousness deleted, you simply end. How is this? What is this? This cannot be! Why does life exist in the universe without a purpose? The fundamental idea of “life” is absurd and should not exist in a logical universe, however it does, and does this mean the universe is not logical? What is the universe? Life must serve a purpose, all life, life does not simply appear! The only thing we can find out what happens after death is when we find the purpose behind life, and that is not going to happen anytime soon. I refuse to believe life does not have a purpose beyond this universe, call me narrow minded, but that is what I believe, call me scared, we are all scared, we all want purpose, we all have waves of dis-belief and fear when thinking about death and what comes after, I am not afraid of dying, I am afraid of death.

what do you think?
The fear of death, the mind does not comprehend su... (show quote)

This body will go the way of all flesh but our spirit will live on. I don't fear death. What I do fear is the possibility of rebirth into THIS world. This is a world where 3/4 of the people live in terrible poverty. Will I be reborn whole and healthy? Born to a mother addicted to alcohol and drugs? Time of feast or famine? War or peace? Born an idiot? The possibilities are too numerous to contemplate.
As I am in the autumn of my years I can only relate to you what I feel to be true. Mother Nature herself seems to point to some kind of rebirth, for out death comes life. For instance, our own planetary system, including the Sun, was born out the death of a megastar.
All you can do is to try to amass as much "good karma" as possible before you die. I'm not talking about any organized religion for I think they are all phony. The alternative is "spirituality" which I've seen evidence of. Perhaps each of us has a spiritual advisor. When I acknowledged mine, I began a silent dialogue with "it". For instance, if I do a good deed I simply say that if there is a blessing associated with the act that it go to enrich the soul of my advisor and not mine. It's my way of thanking the advisor for a return dialogue. That return dialogue is a plethora of little things that seem to fall into place for my benefit. It works and is cheaper than tithing.

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Dec 30, 2013 02:40:20   #
catpaw Loc: Bakersfield, California
 
Blue Flu wrote:
This body will go the way of all flesh but our spirit will live on. I don't fear death. What I do fear is the possibility of rebirth into THIS world. This is a world where 3/4 of the people live in terrible poverty. Will I be reborn whole and healthy? Born to a mother addicted to alcohol and drugs? Time of feast or famine? War or peace? Born an idiot? The possibilities are too numerous to contemplate.
As I am in the autumn of my years I can only relate to you what I feel to be true. Mother Nature herself seems to point to some kind of rebirth, for out death comes life. For instance, our own planetary system, including the Sun, was born out the death of a megastar.
All you can do is to try to amass as much "good karma" as possible before you die. I'm not talking about any organized religion for I think they are all phony. The alternative is "spirituality" which I've seen evidence of. Perhaps each of us has a spiritual advisor. When I acknowledged mine, I began a silent dialogue with "it". For instance, if I do a good deed I simply say that if there is a blessing associated with the act that it go to enrich the soul of my advisor and not mine. It's my way of thanking the advisor for a return dialogue. That return dialogue is a plethora of little things that seem to fall into place for my benefit. It works and is cheaper than tithing.
This body will go the way of all flesh but our spi... (show quote)


You might have something there. Much of your thoughts reflect my own. The earliest diety that I know of is a prehistoric female form with exaggerated hips and breasts--a giver of life. From earliest recorded civilizations to the present, it seems every religion has a god or gods with very base human traits--a god is easily pissed off and kills people to chastise them, as if his creation and joy is no more than a nest of roaches or vermin. The lesson is clear: worship this god; keep him happy; and he won't punish us. Makes me wonder if God created us in His image; or did we create God in ours.
Of course, questioning the edicts of spirituality leaves alot unanswered. I don't "believe" in ghosts (for example) because I've never seen one. But I don't scoff those who do, even though eccentrics and hoaxers confound the truth of the subject.
I once talked to surgeons who in their scientific minds have witnessed healing in patients that can't be rationally explained.
Neanderthal graves have been uncovered that show a burial according to spiritual ritual, inferring an afterlife. Did they know something I don't?
So, that leaves me with numerous "I don't know's." But I still harbor a distrust of those who would enlighten me. All too often their ignorance have tragic consequences mine does not.

Reply
 
 
Dec 30, 2013 10:41:35   #
Augustus Greatorex Loc: NE
 
catpaw wrote:
All life on earth--flowers, fish, germs, kitty cats, giraffes, people--share two natural drives: survival and reproduction. If the research of backtracking our DNA is to be believed, then as a species we people came very close to going the way of Neanderthal, Erectus, and our other cousins. Now that we're on top of the food chain, that could be setting us up for our own extinction. The higher a species is on the food chain, the more vulnurable it is to environmental change. T. rex, is a thing of the past; the cockroach has been here for about 250 million years.
Whatever the grand scheme of living and dying, it is hardly anything I can change as an individual. Perhaps I am better off not knowing what happens (or doesn't happen) when we kick the bucket. Ignorance is bliss?
All life on earth--flowers, fish, germs, kitty cat... (show quote)


Frankly, I have always considered the cockroach higher than me on the food chain, because while I will not eat him, he will eat me. But that is just me. If you eat cockroaches, I apologize for not understanding your food chain.

Reply
Dec 30, 2013 15:40:17   #
Lin19
 
Blue Flu wrote:
This body will go the way of all flesh but our spirit will live on. I don't fear death. What I do fear is the possibility of rebirth into THIS world. This is a world where 3/4 of the people live in terrible poverty. Will I be reborn whole and healthy? Born to a mother addicted to alcohol and drugs? Time of feast or famine? War or peace? Born an idiot? The possibilities are too numerous to contemplate.
As I am in the autumn of my years I can only relate to you what I feel to be true. Mother Nature herself seems to point to some kind of rebirth, for out death comes life. For instance, our own planetary system, including the Sun, was born out the death of a megastar.
All you can do is to try to amass as much "good karma" as possible before you die. I'm not talking about any organized religion for I think they are all phony. The alternative is "spirituality" which I've seen evidence of. Perhaps each of us has a spiritual advisor. When I acknowledged mine, I began a silent dialogue with "it". For instance, if I do a good deed I simply say that if there is a blessing associated with the act that it go to enrich the soul of my advisor and not mine. It's my way of thanking the advisor for a return dialogue. That return dialogue is a plethora of little things that seem to fall into place for my benefit. It works and is cheaper than tithing.
This body will go the way of all flesh but our spi... (show quote)


I believe the Buddhist of the Himalayan Mountains believe that when you die your soul looks over all the parents who are soon to have a child and picks the one the soul wants. Maybe you should check them out?

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Jan 11, 2014 15:37:09   #
Zeno Loc: Omaha NE
 
Once upon a time, when I was a young man,I feared the cold hand of Death, but today, I no longer harbor this apprehension.Don't get me wrong-I'm not eager to face my mortality, but I am comfortable on the subject. I have arrived at the understanding that I will do my level best to enjoy every day I have left in this world.As well, I will try to do good things for others and lead an honest existence so that, as Norman Greenbaum put it,I'll visit that spirit in the sky.
I just hope that I can survive the Obama Regime...ZENO

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Jan 11, 2014 15:53:36   #
slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas
 
Zeno wrote:
Once upon a time, when I was a young man,I feared the cold hand of Death, but today, I no longer harbor this apprehension.Don't get me wrong-I'm not eager to face my mortality, but I am comfortable on the subject. I have arrived at the understanding that I will do my level best to enjoy every day I have left in this world.As well, I will try to do good things for others and lead an honest existence so that, as Norman Greenbaum put it,I'll visit that spirit in the sky.
I just hope that I can survive the Obama Regime...ZENO
Once upon a time, when I was a young man,I feared ... (show quote)


:thumbup: I always liked that song! :mrgreen:

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