Thread of morbidity.

Ridg3 · #1 04-24-2012, 11:49 AM

Is there a Heaven?
Is there a state of existence after death?
What helps you sleep at night? Is after all this trouble just an endless sheet of peaceful blackness for ever? Sleep for eternity? Or is there a giant movie reel going over your best bits?

Anything at all related to the subject just go fucking nuts. I'm genuinely curious as to what you all think about it and if you're scared of it or not.

I'm, personally, not scared of death. I'm actually looking forward to it to be honest, but not in a twisted sense that I want to die as quickly as possible. I'm happy enough living life now for the time being. Even the death of relatives, although sad for a time, aren't going to keep me for more than a day, sometimes I feel bad for thinking this. I even refused to go to my grandmothers wake because I had other stuff to do. Don't get me wrong, I loved the shit out of her but the thought of going to see an empty husk is pointless to me. I went to the funeral for the send-off. I felt sad. After the funeral, I felt nothing.

For me, after death, there is nothing, absolutely nothing. And that's what I'm looking forward to, fucking peace away from what I've already been, and what I'm going to go, through.

People think I'm a bit crazy whenever the topic's brought up (not by me but I insist on it) but I like to know what other peoples thoughts are. It's interesting.

STM · #2 04-24-2012, 11:54 AM

I like the concept of some form of afterlife, so that I can see the people I have lost after so long. That being said, death doesn't scare me very much, what's the point in being scared of it? What scares me more is the prospect of being alone, having no one to share my life with. That's something I never cared about, but it's dawning on me I don't have the capability to make that leap. Death is easier.

Varrok · #3 04-24-2012, 11:56 AM

Heaven or Hell conception doesn't really seem logical, so it's either living in some other form/in some other realm or just nothing. I'd rather want the first one. Nothing is boring for me.

Whatever happens after you die, you most probably won't remember your current life then. Reason: Do you remember what happened before you were born? (Scientific reason: You won't share the current brain)

Jordan · #4 04-24-2012, 12:01 PM

I always find this subject fascinating.

I've always refused to believe that there is nothingness when you die. I just think you have to be conscious in some form or another, to be able to see something. Maybe it's because I couldn't stand living in absolute darkness with nothing around. It would be like being buried alive and never dying or going to sleep. I think post-death would be an eternal vivid dream formed by your memories and the imagination you've built throughout your life. That's what I'd like it to be anyway.

:

Whatever happens after you die, you most probably won't remember your current life then. Reason: Do you remember what happened before you were born? (Scientific reason: You won't share the current brain)

That scares the shit out of me. I'd like to believe my past life would stick with me in the after life, but what you say could very well be true.

Ridg3 · #5 04-24-2012, 12:06 PM

:

I like the concept of some form of afterlife, so that I can see the people I have lost after so long. That being said, death doesn't scare me very much, what's the point in being scared of it? What scares me more is the prospect of being alone, having no one to share my life with. That's something I never cared about, but it's dawning on me I don't have the capability to make that leap. Death is easier.

The thought of being with people long lost is somewhat a daunting prospect to me. What if you're not the same person you were whenever they died. I have trouble enough opening myself to family members gone for a couple of years, imagine what I'd be like with people that has decades between us? But I see what you mean. I take it you're a family man?

:

Heaven or Hell conception doesn't really seem logical, so it's either living in some other form/in some other realm or just nothing. I'd rather want the first one. Nothing is boring for me.

Whatever happens after you die, you most probably won't remember your current life then. Reason: Do you remember what happened before you were born? (Scientific reason: You won't share the current brain)

As I said, whatever helps you sleep. Most people* can't stand the thought of dying and that being just that (nothing) but to me it sounds excellent. If I thought I had to live another life I'd be really pissed off.

*Taken from a survey of about six people.

Varrok · #6 04-24-2012, 12:20 PM

:

I always find this subject fascinating.

I've always refused to believe that there is nothingness when you die. I just think you have to be conscious in some form or another, to be able to see something. Maybe it's because I couldn't stand living in absolute darkness with nothing around. It would be like being buried alive and never dying or going to sleep. I think post-death would be an eternal vivid dream formed by your memories and the imagination you've built throughout your life. That's what I'd like it to be anyway.

It wouldn't be that fair for someone with a crappy life. On the other hand, there are no studies proving the afterlife is, in fact, fair.

:

That scares the shit out of me. I'd like to believe my past life would stick with me in the after life, but what you say could very well be true.

I'm not scared, rather disappointed of that. After all I did in my life it won't matter a bit. It'd be pointless. I like things making sense. To be honest I hope I'd still like them then.

:

As I said, whatever helps you sleep. Most people* can't stand the thought of dying and that being just that (nothing) but to me it sounds excellent. If I thought I had to live another life I'd be really pissed off.

The point is you wouldn't think that, because you'd assume it was your current/first life.

MeechMunchie · #7 04-24-2012, 12:29 PM

Would it be terribly gauche of me to just link to the previous version of this thread?

Varrok · #8 04-24-2012, 12:39 PM

I thought it have died

...get it?

***Wil*** · #9 04-24-2012, 12:53 PM

I believe that death is the complete sessation of your consciousness. No Heaven or Hell, no reincarnation, no haunting, no reunions or stats or respawns or extra goes at the game of life. No sensation of blackness, no sensation of emptiness or loneliness or nothingness. You don't get to enjoy your freedom from corporeality or existence. There is no eternal relief.

It scares the everloving shit out of me. When my mind wanders to the subject I have to distract myself before I get that dizzying, melting, slowly collapsing feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Sometimes I like to imagine a collapsing universe will accelerate the rate of computation enough that my consciousness can spontaneously arise amidst the chaotic mush, but I can't make heads or tails of what that experience would be, so I go back to trying to distract myself with singing or eating or something.

MeechMunchie · #10 04-24-2012, 12:55 PM

To quote BM: "Where does the picture on a TV go when you turn it off?"

OANST · #11 04-24-2012, 01:23 PM

:

I believe that death is the complete sessation of your consciousness. No Heaven or Hell, no reincarnation, no haunting, no reunions or stats or respawns or extra goes at the game of life. No sensation of blackness, no sensation of emptiness or loneliness or nothingness. You don't get to enjoy your freedom from corporeality or existence. There is no eternal relief.

It scares the everloving shit out of me. When my mind wanders to the subject I have to distract myself before I get that dizzying, melting, slowly collapsing feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I don't need to answer. Wil did it for me.

Dynamithix · #12 04-24-2012, 01:33 PM

I feel the exact same way as Wil described when it comes to thinking of death. I'm really scared of dying. Maybe that opinion will change as I age but now, whenever I think about the fact that after death there very well could be nothing for forever, I get really sad and just want to think about something else.

I'm fucking depressed now just thinking about it. It makes me want to cry...

Varrok · #13 04-24-2012, 01:37 PM

You're saying there's nothing to be afraid of.

JennyGenesis · #14 04-24-2012, 01:42 PM

I don't have an opinion on afterlife to be honest, nobody alive can tell us about it...

Crashpunk · #15 04-24-2012, 01:43 PM

Yep. Pretty much what Wil said. I don't like to think about it. It really does scare me.

OddjobAbe · #16 04-24-2012, 02:01 PM

I am happy as fuck that I am going to die one day. What I like to consider is that fundamentally, I am made of the same stuff as everything else. When I die, the chemical reactions responsible for cognition may stop taking place, but all of my components will be in some way incorporated in the natural environment (as they are right now, but I'm currently serving a different function to what I will be doing when I'm dead).
In fact, I don't assume in any way that I am not already the natural environment. My behaviour is independent from other elements of the environment, but that's only because the chemicals which would be doing something else if I was not here in this form (that sounds more religious than it is) are currently rigged up to make this particular sack of skin want to eat, drink, sleep and fuck. When I do die, those components will be operating elsewhere, and technically, I will still be knocking about, just in the dust, soil and air. Maybe even inside another living organism, but that's fine, because on the terms I tend to view things, I will have just eaten myself. In fact, on the terms I tend to view things, I am actually already knocking about everywhere at this very moment - even inside MA's beer and Nate's curls. On his head.

MeechMunchie · #17 04-24-2012, 02:04 PM

I honestly don't see why a completely innocuous void is scary. If I had to stay awake in my decaying corpse, then maybe, but if I'm just going to *Snaps fingers* end, just like that, then I don't see how that's good or bad. It literally isn't anything.

The only worries death will hold for me are mortal ones about who's going to get my stuff and look after my family. Other than that, the concept that you'll have no interaction with the universe again is pretty much moot. I mean, it's not like you see many dead people hanging around anyway.

What is the terror of death?
"That we die with our work incomplete."
What is the joy of life?
"That we die knowing our work is done."

EDIT: Also what OddJob said. Sometimes I feel the collection on my mortality is the only proper rest I'm going to get.

DarkHoodness · #18 04-24-2012, 02:44 PM

Wil pretty much answered for me as well - Except death itself doesn't scare me 'cause in the end it's as natural as being alive. What does scare me is the possibility of my life being cut short before I've had a chance to experience everything I've wanted to (it won't matter as much if I die toward the end of my life span or after I've done what I wanted), people missing me, or me missing others. Also, I fear pain and suffering.

Death itself though is inevitable: One day I'll cease to exist as the human I am today, and be forgotten, like billions of people before me (unless I do something which ensures I'll be remembered throughout human history for as long as records are kept - Something I don't intend to do).

None of us have any way of knowing what happens to our conciousness when we die - Most likely it simply stops existing, and people have difficulty grasping that. That's one of the reasons why religion exists, I guess - And why we speculate about life after death, even though it's not likely. However, what we do know (and as OddjobAbe said) is that the atoms and particles that made us who we were go back into Earth's environment - Our essence goes back to where it comes from and gets re-used. Some of it may escape into outer-space, but that's where the Earth came from as well.

We're made from star dust and return to star dust. And that's awesome.

But whatever happens, nothing will change the fact that we were all alive once and had the privilege to experience being alive as an intelligent creature. People often forget that and take it for granted.

This may sound rich coming from someone who posted whiny blog posts about his ex girlfriend, but people should try and have as much fun as they can, enjoy the sensation of being alive if your quality of life is good, and don't get caught up on all the tiny details. After all, being alive may be the only sensation you'll ever consciously experience - You should enjoy what you've got unless your life quality really is that terrible.

Ridg3 · #19 04-24-2012, 03:14 PM

Even pain doesn't scare me, I think life anyways is a build up to what pain is going to be thrown my way, to make me handle it better. Naw, there's hardly nothing about the concept of death that remotely scares me. People will live on without me, that's the great thing about humans, the ability to adapt. Even if I prematurely kick the bucket that's okay as well, it happens to other people, why should I be special?

The only thing that scares me about dying is dying without actually being dead and waking up in the grave or some shit. I don't mind dying but I'm terrified of being helpless. That's why I want a crypt with an alarm to my house and a weeks supply of food. That would suit me down to the ground.

OddjobAbe · #20 04-24-2012, 03:36 PM

:

That's why I want a crypt with an alarm to my house and a weeks supply of food. That would suit me down to the ground.

You should have your two best friends stay with your coffin overnight as a condition in your will. They'd probably play charades and contemplate snowy graveyards, but you'd be comfortable.

Ridg3 · #21 04-24-2012, 03:39 PM

Yeah, and I could totally wake up and just stare at them. They'll see me but it won't register for another couple of seconds, then they'll scream.

Hazz-JB · #22 04-24-2012, 04:08 PM

I see death as an improvement to the state of many people's lives frankly. I know you can't judge how happy someone else's life is by your own standards, but I strongly believe that the suffering of some people is too high a cost for the comfort and happiness of others.

If I had the power to end the world, I would feel justified in doing it, and might even go through with it. It's something I strongly believe in, although it will always be purely hypothetical.

Wings of Fire · #23 04-24-2012, 04:45 PM

:

If I had the power to end the world, I would feel justified in doing it.

I'm putting you on my 'People to watch out for' list.

Hazz-JB · #24 04-24-2012, 05:20 PM

:

I'm putting you on my 'People to watch out for' list.

I consider it such an abstract idea that it really doesn't have any bearing on who I am as a person, for instance I don't feel like I could ever have the right or the qualification to decide whether a race or country or even a single person should exist or not, as changing anything like that has consequences and implications in the world and it would almost certainly be misguided.

My idea is that absolute non-existence has no consequences for anyone, unless there's an afterlife which I consider a remote possibility, and so the only judgement to make is whether or not non-existence is 'better' than an existence of suffering for many; that last part is highly subjective but I think that the answer is ultimately yes. The only reason I'm even writing any of this is beacuse of the general tone of the thread anyway.

***Nate*** · #25 04-24-2012, 07:41 PM

This I agree with:

:

I believe that death is the complete sessation of your consciousness. No Heaven or Hell, no reincarnation, no haunting, no reunions or stats or respawns or extra goes at the game of life. No sensation of blackness, no sensation of emptiness or loneliness or nothingness. You don't get to enjoy your freedom from corporeality or existence. There is no eternal relief.

This confuses me:

:

It scares the everloving shit out of me. When my mind wanders to the subject I have to distract myself before I get that dizzying, melting, slowly collapsing feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I can see that a (to use your words) "sensation of blackness, no sensation of emptiness or loneliness or nothingness" would be petrifying, but why do you find the thought of just switching off frightening?

Sekto Springs · #26 04-24-2012, 08:33 PM

My guess is out of instinct. Even those who strongly believe in an afterlife fear death (actually, you could argue they fear it even more, but that's a different discussion).

We are programmed to be averse to death, and if you're someone who believes that it is in fact the complete end, or even a doorway to the unknown, that is hell'a frightening.

I'm more confused by people who don't have a fear of death than those who do.

T-nex · #27 04-24-2012, 09:19 PM

I don't fear death. I fear it will be painful. When I was little I used to want to die, because of curiosity. I wanted to know what lies beneath that mystical door.

Now not so much. I'll just take things as they come. If there's stuff after death, then cool

I bet it's going to be interesting. If not... then who cares? You wont exist to mourn it. So either way it's win-win. I just don't want it to be painful. Im afraid of pain.

Hazz-JB · #28 04-24-2012, 11:46 PM

I don't fear my death or not existing when I think about it, if anything it's the death of people I care about that scares me.

However if I knew I was going to die soon, from a disease or old age, I'm pretty sure I'd start regretting all the things I hadn't done in life, and feel a sense of panic about never being able to do them.

I don't really think there is an afterlife, but one of the worst I can imagine (apart from hell etc) is reincarnation, since being born in a 1st world country is really striking the jackpot and I don't fancy my odds of being so lucky next time, although I guess reincarnation would imply that it's already happened...

***Nate*** · #29 04-25-2012, 12:19 AM

I don't have a fear of death. If I have a fear of anything, it's the thought of knowing that I'm about to die without having acheived anything significant in my life.

To clarify, that's not a fear of actually dying without having acheived anything, as I don't believe there's any chance for regret after death. But if I knew I was going to die very soon and couldn't do anything about it, I'd end up dwelling on everything I haven't done in my life rather than on the things I have. And that would be depressing.

One of the most depressing thoughts I occassionally have is imagining who would show up to my funeral and how difficult it would be for my family to come up with anything interesting to say in my eulogy.

enchilado · #30 04-25-2012, 02:10 AM

I fervently believe that after death there is nothing, which is only scary if you imagine nothing as being some kind of empty void that you float around in for eternity. True nothingness is beyond human comprehension (as is eternity, really) and though it does unsettle me somewhat to try to imagine it I'm not really afraid of death.