Having just read all the above thread, I am so delighted and grateful to have joined this site.

This is just the topic I was thinking about last Sunday afternoon and considered the options for consciousness like I was devising a computer programme.

One option is that it remains within our discrete organism at death when time, for us, stops. At that point whatever is our state of mind (or cocktail of neurotransmitters) is our eternity. I suppose this might be subject to preparation.

I could think of several other options, but none of these cheered me up much either.

Then I went to a meeting and was astonished to see a man who had had a liver transplant two weeks before. Last time I saw him, about six months ago, he looked very ill and said his chances weren't good as he had a rare blood group and it would be really difficult to find a donor. He thought then he only had a few weeks to live. Anyway he has survived up to now and his resilience has amazed his physicians. I was very much moved because I really like the guy and had been praying (I'm not sure to what) for his succour and relief.

The experience changed the way I was thinking and feeling and convinced me to take my thoughts very much with a grain of salt.

It somehow made me feel more content to be a contributing member of creation rather than a striving individual.

So maybe my consciousness is part of a greater whole that fluctuates, receives, generates in response to sensual stimuli, education, culture, love, meditation…

Funny this, when I attempt to have metaphysical discussions elsewhere, I can think of nothing but what frock I shall next be wearing.

shame someone can't communicate from the other side and tell us how to stop wars and global warming! or to keep a chinese take-away warm XXXX

Here is a list of the 5 most common regrets when people die, as listed by a nurse who looked after dying patients


1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

"This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it."

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.

"This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence."

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

"Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result."

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

"Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying."

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

"This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again."

What's your greatest regret so far, and what will you set out to achieve or change before you die?

We begin life by popping out of one hole then we end it by going back into another hole. In the meantime have fun, regret nothing, life's too short xx

I suspect (believe may be too strong a word?) that everything just stops.

If any of the many alternatives proposed (and believed) by the various religions, cults, sects and mythologies that have existed throughout human history actually happens, I will be pleasantly surprised.

Some of my favourites would be:

1) If DEATH appears riding a white stallion and speaking in SMALL CAPITALS then the prophet Terry Pratchett will be proven correct and should be promoted to rule the world.

2) If I get re-incarnated, hopefully it will be as a sexy woman, though I will NOT be having any babies (unless via adoption). If I get reincarnated as a stone, or something lowly then, I will be v pissed off, but it will be proof that being a tranny slut is 'bad'.

3) If there is an 'afterlife' and 'spirits' can communicate with the living, I will do my damndest to communicate proof of this, and not just move random objects or tell Auntie Enid that Uncle Arthur is having a grand old time in heaven.

Happy Easter!
;)
This post was edited by Deleted Member at April 7, 2012 8:11 AM BST

Death is a doorway to a greater reality.
It is essentially a meaningless word. Consciousness survives bodily death and is not centred in the brain. as for those who appear to be using this post as an excuse to belittle others religious faith, whether you believe in religion or not ,that attitude is just plain wrong. We live in a society that tells us we should respect each others views but where is the respect for peoples religious views?
Not everyone is indoctrinated.
It is also wrong to lay the blame for war on religion.
6,000,000 jews were not murdered because of their religion but because of their wealth and they were murdered by politics. Politicians cause wars religious or otherwise.
Likewise the scientists who also blame it all on religion do so to evade the fact that the Atom Bomb and all other weapons of mass destruction remain the products of science,.
If I appear to have gone off topic here let me point out that I was not the first to do so.
Getting back to the subject I have since a very early age been involved in the study and practice of Mysticism and I am an experienced Lucid Dreamer.
I also have trace-memories of other lives.
The other world of which I have direct knowledge not simply belief is far more vibrant and real than this one.
My main practice is Dream-Yoga and as the Dalai Lama would also tell you I would make the point that this world is the dream.
It is also my contention which again is a product of my studies that the manifestation of transgenderism is a direct result of the growing moral/spiritual awakening in humankind.
It is certainly NOT an accident nor a perversion, but an attempt of the soul-consciousness to find and manifest it's own personal balance within the limitations of the human psyche.
At this point one or two people are probably saying -jeez, go write a book- well, I am!
This post was edited by Deleted Member at November 29, 2013 10:26 AM GMT

I'm a Nurse. Ive worked A&E for 5 years now.
I have seen countless deaths and shed my own tears alongside grieving families.
The only common trait in death is that it is inevitable. It's not usually something that can be put off untill later, even with the best medical attention. When it's your time, the reaper is deaf to bargaining.

If you want my advice peeps, and this is the advice I try to live by:

-Sort your bucket list NOW, get it done as soon as possible, and whilst doing so, wear a go-pro incase you start to forget.

-Live for yourself. This sounds selfish, but the goal is the share your joy with others. If you are happy, then your loved ones are happy for you.

-Enjoy the ride as well as you can, because as the late, great Bill Hicks once said
" The world is like a ride at an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it, you think it's real, because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round and it has thrills and chills and it's very brightly colored and it's very loud. And it's fun, for a while.

Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question: 'Is this real? Or is this just a ride?' And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and they say 'Hey! Don't worry, don't be afraid -- ever -- because... this is just a ride.' And we kill those people.

'Shut him up! We have a lot invested in this ride! Shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry; look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real.' It's just a ride. But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that -- ever notice that? -- and we let the demons run amok. But it doesn't matter, because... it's just a ride, and we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort. No worry. No job. No savings and money. Just a choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your door, buy bigger guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one.

Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, into a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defense each year and, instead, spend it feeding, clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would do many times over -- not one human being excluded -- and we can explore space together, both inner and outer, forever. In peace. "

Nicely put!
LOL

I agree with you Samantha to a certain extent.
I certainly agree that every life is worthy of care and compassion and nurturing, but when the capacity of our Mother Earth to provide for those lives is compromised by a fundamental diminishment of resources, that is, not enough food or water, then we have to think that fucking, male to female, for pleasure, is no longer an option ?

Unfortunately, often the only pleasure that socio-economically disadvantaged people have is sex !
Which results in population growth and further poverty.

Our Mother Earth can only carry so many passengers?
She is overloaded already.

Nicky XXXxxxOOOxxxXXX

Just a few comments on what constitutes proof .
In whose eyes-the scientists or the girl next door?
Pauline Smith suggested there is no proof of reincarnation nor the after-life but there is no proof that they are non-existent. I am afraid I get rather testy on this subject because it is so obvious that people don't actually take a balanced view of the evidence either for or against, including scientists who often suggest via careful semantics that their theorys are fact.
It was a also stated that eastern religions views on reinicarnation, death etc are based on belief.
That is not true.
The Dalai Lamma 's doctine is based on knowledge and memory of previous lives. So are many experiences of Shamans , and those who have experienced near-death experiences.
The fact that theses experiences can be explained away does not mean they they are not real.It is also wrong to term Buddhism a religion - it isn't, though the ignorance of the press and pseudo-academics has convinced people otherwise . Buddhism is a way of being
Proof Of Heaven is a book written by a scientist - Eben Alexander, who initially very much against evidence of the afterlife is now very adamant that Heaven is real.
The book documents his own experiences of N.D.E. and successfully challenges all scientific attempts at explaining away.
This is only one example of documented evidence of the survival of consciousness after death.
I have my own but I will not waste peoples time divulging them as I do not have a scientific background which seems in this modern world to be taken as a guarantee of honesty and integrity.
My views on that assumption you would not be safe to print.
My point is that if you don't look for proof of something then when someone offers it to you secondhand ( unless an oh so honest and obviously knowledgeable scientist ) it will automatically be dismissed out of hand.
I have one thing to say to people who demand proof of the afterlife - do what many others have done and seek it out through personal experience.
If you don't have the will or tenacity to do that at least acknowledge that those who have done so have a right to claim a greater knowledge of the subject than those who simply say nonsense because they are not given the easy option of the instant knowledge that others have spent many years acquiring.You would not ask a scientist to prove his knowledge but take it for granted that it was genuine.
One further point- Pauline asked using a reference to the Guardian "Can reincarnation be reconciled with population growth " The answer is yes and if the Guardian had spoken to the Dalai Llama, they would have been given the answer and by including it in their article produced a far more balanced article as a result
Ed Halliwells knowledge of Buddism is also extremely limited which is evident by his trite remarks.
In closing if anyone is genuinely interested in the explanation I am quite prepared to give it and it has nothing to do with reincarnating as insects-that is Hinduism ,not Buddhism
This post was edited by Deleted Member at December 21, 2013 12:50 AM GMT

P.s.I think I may have " liked " my own post-how did that happen?
This post was edited by Deleted Member at December 21, 2013 12:47 AM GMT

The only thing certain in life is death!

Yes that is kinda morbid but sadly its also true. Do I beleive in life after death. Actually I do as I have long been interested in ghosts and the paranormal to the point where I have long believed that there is an existence after we leave this world. I know this is a polarizing view but hey it helps me deal with the fact that one day I will die.

When in was 24 I was going through a bad time and asked Jesus to come into my life and had an experience of a wonderful feeling in my heart - it didn't last but I know that something happened , I'm not religious but do believe.
Sermon Over - that's just my experience and my faith gets me through everyday x