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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Life after death?

187 replies

ChooChooBeanz · 07/10/2018 13:14

I was raised Catholic but have atheist beliefs, to me there is no proof of life after death ....but I desperately wish there was.

I wish I could believe that I will see all my relatives again, I miss them all so much & it’s so hard to think and once you die that’s it 😢

So AIBU to ask you all if you have seen anything that makes u believe in a life after death?

OP posts:
Gottagetmoving · 10/10/2018 11:23

Honestly I think so, I am far from enlightened but I have felt enough to know that my 'mind' and my 'thoughts' are not who I am. Your mind and your thoughts are not who you are. At our core, I truly believe we are all consciousness. Most of us just don't realise this in life - which is the reason for all of the pain and suffering we endure personally and collectively

I'm not a believer,...but then posts like this one make me think.
We should probably all think instead of instantly dismissing?

headinhands · 10/10/2018 12:23

At our core, I truly believe we are all consciousness. Most of us just don't realise this in life - which is the reason for all of the pain and suffering we endure personally and collectively

Are you saying that not believing in life after death is what causes suffering? How would this work with say, children starving?

BertrandRussell · 10/10/2018 12:37

"Consciousness has nothing to do with the brain. It's immutable"

What does that mean?

IAcceptCookies · 10/10/2018 12:53

We should probably all think instead of instantly dismissing

No one is instantly dismissing.
People are asking questions, thus thinking, judging, being critical.
When the sort of answer they get is There is no answer to that question. Just a knowingness. Then dismissing is fair enough.

headinhands · 10/10/2018 13:09

Suggesting people have instantly dismissed something is like accusing people of being closed minded.

Isn't there another explanation for why someone wouldn't believe in something?

That maybe they had considered it, looked at the evidence and then felt it didn't stand up.

noego · 10/10/2018 13:36

@Songwithoutwords

Honestly I think so, I am far from enlightened but I have felt enough to know that my 'mind' and my 'thoughts' are not who I am. Your mind and your thoughts are not who you are. At our core, I truly believe we are all consciousness

So who is the I am that observes the mind and thoughts? What is the higher presence within you that perceives all?

It has no name, no origin, no colour, no nationality, no religion, no politics, no borders, no education, no concepts.........What it that?

noego · 10/10/2018 13:40

@Bertrand

Consciousness has nothing to do with the brain. It's immutable"

What does that mean?

Exactly what it means......unchanging over time, unable to be changed.

noego · 10/10/2018 13:51

@Songswithoutwords

I would be interested in any recommended reading. I am currently reading Gangaji, The Diamond in Your Pocket.

IME it is better to listen to the non dualistic teachers........

Mooji, Sadghuru, Adyashanti, Eckarte Tolle, Francis Lucillle, Rupert Spira to list but a few. They have you tube videos of teachings. One of them will resonate with you.

They have all written books about the Truth.

BertrandRussell · 10/10/2018 13:59

noego- what brought you to that conclusion? If brain and consciousness are unconnected, then what is consciousness?

BertrandRussell · 10/10/2018 14:03

"We should probably all think instead of instantly dismissing?"

I think a lot-and have done for many years. And "At our core, I truly believe we are all consciousness. Most of us just don't realise this in life - which is the reason for all of the pain and suffering we endure personally and collectively" makes no sense to me.

Gottagetmoving · 10/10/2018 14:11

Are you saying that not believing in life after death is what causes suffering? How would this work with say, children starving?

That's not what she said and I should think she was more referring to mental suffering like worry and anxiety.

Gottagetmoving · 10/10/2018 14:16

No one is instantly dismissing. People are asking questions, thus thinking, judging, being critical. When the sort of answer they get is There is no answer to that question. Just a knowingness. Then dismissing is fair enough

Lots of people would and do instantly dismiss and I doubt anyone here can provide the answers sought.
There are whole books about this 'knowingness' that she mentioned so I doubt it could be summed up in a post on here.
I think the more you look.into it, the more confusing it can get...a bit like Quantum physics for me....so I gave up Grin

noego · 10/10/2018 14:26

@Bertrand

If brain and consciousness are unconnected, then what is consciousness?

Did I say that?

What if consciousness is merely experiencing body and mind?

IAcceptCookies · 10/10/2018 14:31

noego you said

"Consciousness has nothing to do with the brain"

BertrandRussell · 10/10/2018 14:34

I didn't instantly dismiss the idea of a soul or of consciousness outside the brain- I thought and read and listened. Then dismissed it.

bellinisurge · 10/10/2018 14:35

Raised Catholic. Have lost both parents now and a close family member.
Don't believe in heaven or God.
To me we all become dust particles in the universe and the people we loved and lost are in our memories and feelings about them.
I find that comforting.

noego · 10/10/2018 14:36

@Gottagetmoving

I think the more you look. into it, the more confusing it can get...a bit like Quantum physics for me....so I gave up

Everyone is looking for the answer outside of themselves, including the scientists and theorists. The answer is not out there it is within.

Everything you see, smell, hear, touch, feel, think, taste is perceived. From where is it perceived?

Hold your hand up in front of you. Can you perceive your hand? Can your hand perceive you?

You might reply mind. But what is perceiving the mind, perceiving the hand. Please slow down................go deep within......

Gottagetmoving · 10/10/2018 15:20

noego

Reminds me of something I read in Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav.
He wrote a quantum physics book as well.

noego · 10/10/2018 18:01

@Gottagetmoviing

I'm interested in quantum theory and watch with anticipation to see if they come up with anything more than the higgs bosun particle (God particle)

You might find this interesting

Watsername · 10/10/2018 18:13

Have you read "the Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel? It's recently been turned into a film and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. The author was an investigative journalist and desperate to disprove Christianity, so used all his investigative powers to do so.....he starts by looking at the evidence for and against Jesus dying and coming back to life.

I would highly recommend you watch it, if you are able.

Gottagetmoving · 10/10/2018 18:22

@noego

Thanks for the link.
Not watched it all yet but will..I do find it interesting. As I've got older (I AM old Grin) I've come to realise some of this about the pursuit of happiness and I can tell you that watching my 6 year old grandson just doing what he does (He survived cancer which was diagnosed at age one month) gives me more joy than anything I've ever experienced. It's not something I can explain. You have feel it.

headinhands · 10/10/2018 22:28

That's not what she said and I should think she was more referring to mental suffering like worry and anxiety.

Hmm. But Christians who believe in an after life are as likely to commit suicide as non believers. From which we have to assume they have as much mental suffering. So that theory doesn't work either.

Gottagetmoving · 10/10/2018 22:54

Hmm. But Christians who believe in an after life are as likely to commit suicide as non believers. From which we have to assume they have as much mental suffering. So that theory doesn't work either

She wasn't talking about religion. Christians probably have no idea what she was talking about. It wasn't about the after life they go on about.

BertrandRussell · 10/10/2018 23:03

Did somebody cite Lee Strobel in this debate? With a straight face? Grin

SongsWithoutWords · 11/10/2018 01:38

Are you saying that not believing in life after death is what causes suffering? How would this work with say, children starving?

I am probably not explaining myself well. This is not what I meant. I think as we grow up, we are conditioned to believe the thoughts in our head. The constant chatter, our thoughts come to define who we think we are and separate us from other people. Our thoughts make us suffer individually. Our thoughts create collective suffering - as we pitch ourselves against each other.

What we 'think' affects how we view ourselves, how we view others - it inescapably creates conflict. I 'think' I am right so you are 'wrong'. Our thoughts disturb us, so we try to control ourselves and others.

What happens if you let go of the thoughts, don't suppress them but don't believe them, let them pass like clouds in front of the sun.

As mentioned above, step back and ask yourself who or what is observing these thoughts, who is observing this constant chatter. That is consciousness. It is still, it is ever present.

Gottagetmoving I agree it is nothing to do with religion - religion is a creation of the mind, it is a consequence of thought.

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