Pondering the Afterlife

There was a recent article about NDE's that claimed that animals have them as well---as I recall, it measured brain activity at the time of death, and it showed a similar surge in the last moments of life similar to what humans experience which could be connected to the NDE. I got into a discussion about that with some people that thought that was grounds for a strong materialist argument that believes there is only a physical realm.

But here is the problem I saw:

1.) Nature tends to take the easiest path, this is a path that conserves energy naturally, for example water trickles downhill following the slightest indentations and nooks and crannies which after a long time becomes canyons and valleys. So why should nature bother with something that makes us feel good at the moment of death—why not simply allow the brain to turn off, at which point there would be neither pain, nor even a concept of death. Previously, the materialistic argument I used for NDE’s is that it would be an evolutionary defense mechanism designed to support life, in the event that humans who experience an NDE and recover could then share their experience with others which would give credence to the value of life. This would be a survival defense mechanism suitable for a species that has developed the ability to rationalize, philosophize, and communicate.

2.) Since Nature takes the easiest path, as stated above, then why does a cat, or a dog, or a rat need to experience an NDE, when they do not have the same ability to communicate, rationalize, or philosophize? Once again, it would make more sense that at the time of death, the brain would just turn off which would immediately end the suffering and death experience.

Therefore since the NDE seems to occur in other, less sophisticated species, it seems to make more sense that there is something valid to the NDE, and that it represents a sensory stimulation from an altered state of consciousness—the last sensory experiences of the physical body, before consciousness leaves it. Perhaps we could compare it to what happens when, standing in a dark room, you open a door to a room with a light on. The light enters the dark room, giving you a view of the lit room before you step into it, and out of the dark.

But the problem of life after death is the greatest existential problem there is. It is existential, not only because we are limited by our existence in the physical world to understand and try to come to terms with it, but also because almost any experience we have that alludes to whether it is valid or not, can only be experienced on an individual basis.

This was a very important issue for me, for example, and I pursued it for quite some time. There were strange synchronicities but I questioned and continued to seek. Often times, what happened was more of a mental thing, so it was too easy to conclude that it was a figment of my imagination. Or else it was a strange synchronicity that I could write off as a strange coincidence. So there was always doubt, until finally something happened that I could no longer deny. But only I can know if what happened really happened. I can share the story, and I have, but it cannot have the same impact to others, because they really cannot know if it truly happened or not.

I don’t have time right now to relate much more, but I will say this---for me, I could never find the answer through organized religion. At best, if I had stayed with organized religion, I would now be an agnostic, and I would have had a hard time just making the existential leap to belief. My path in life has led me down a winding road that eventually placed me in the world of indigenous spirituality. Anyone that gets deeply into that will have to conclude that this universe is far stranger than the laws of the physical world would allow. If you were ever to go on a vision quest, for example, you would see things that you can’t explain—and I am not talking about visions, or insights, or other mental things, I am talking about things within the physical world around you—things happening that are directed at you.

 

That would support the belief in Buddhist and Hindu teachings that all sentient beings have some soul or life force, and the possibility that you can reincarnate as something besides a human. Thanks for the thoughtful post.

I remember an occasion sitting down with two of my cousin's pet dogs, when I was using lsd quite regularly and smoking mary jane daily. I felt like they were more than just animals beneath their exterior. I usually hate dogs though, but these two I've been around for a few years and have developed a few memories with. It was pretty far out though, I think sometimes I have literally witnessed karma, not like through actions, but through some sort of synesthetic experience, I was witnessing energy or aura of some sort.

Still sometimes I'm not sure, which perhaps is the experience and journey of life. I did have a pretty far out nightmare after my initial post in this thread. It wasn't pleasant for the most part, and I prayed and meditated after. So either I just got really scared, or there is more than just a material dimension. I'm leaning towards the latter at the moment.

 

That would also support the animist or indigenous belief systems that hold that everything is alive.

But if you get a chance, explore the work of Rupert Sheldrake. He has shown that there is statistically significant evidence that demonstrates that pets do anticipate the arrival of their masters, before they could sense it based on expected sensory experience (sight, sound, smell). He has also found other supernatural aspects of animals. The implication is that animals do indeed have souls or whatever you want to call it--that they are more than just the soulless biological automatons, to be lorded over with the rest of nature by man as suggested by Christian ideology.

If I recall correctly, Sheldrake started this research after looking at the problem presented by cattle and other animals around the beginning of the use of aircraft. Initially cattle and other animals would be spooked the first time they encountered aircraft flying in the air. For a short time, every time aircraft would first be flown in an area, These animals would be spooked. But then, strangely enough, no matter where they flew, the animals were no longer spooked. This even happened when airplanes first flew overseas. It is as if the animals had all some how communicated with each other regarding the existence of airplanes.

you should also study the work of Dr. Stanislav Grof. He has a huge collection of cases of LSD experiences, but this is from back in the day when psychologists could actually guide the trips and manipulate them for clinical purposes. Later, after LSD research became illegal, he developed a breathing technique to create the same kind of altered state of consciousness. Anyway, he has tons of evidence in support of life after death, and reincarnation. He also has evidence suggesting that animals and even plants and trees are conscious.

Then you have articles like this----this is UPI, not some strange tabloid:

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013...art-activity/UPI-95541377173194/?spt=hs&or=tn

I have more to write when I have time.

 

A friend told that life will yield only to more life.

 

Do we lose our property in the after-life? I mean to something like the Biosphere. Meaning also that the aging in the Life speeds up for longevity: slows down for the short happy life of lets say the Carnivore (on Lions: from the national geographic).