Though I've been writing on this topic a bit lately, in all honesty, I don't spend a lot of time thinking or visualizing what I think the human death experience is like once the last breath is taken. For me, since I don't believe that ANY of us even can begin to conceptualize this process until it actually happens, it seems like a royal waste of time and, since our time in this realm is short, it would seem far more productive to think about other things.
That said, like most people, the thought does cross my mind from time to time. So, understanding the limitations of words, here's a loose description of how I envision what I already know I can't truly envision.
For me, there is no individualized soul beyond this life. When I'm certified dead as a doornail, the part of me that's non-physical will gravitate toward a bright light. Initially, my conscious will understand the distinction between itself and the light. However, as I move closer, it will envelope me and I will cease to be a distinct and individual entity. I will become one with whatever it is.
For the purposes of visualization, I can reference one film and one TV show. In the film, Field of Dreams, James Earl Jones' character walks into the cornfield only to melt away. Another way to describe this experience is to think about the transporter room in the show, Star Trek. It will be like beaming up or down with the only difference being that my individual essence isn't reconstituted at the destination.
Of course, it's probably nothing like I envision or have described here. It just is what it is.
If you think about such thoughts, what do you envision it to be?
That said, like most people, the thought does cross my mind from time to time. So, understanding the limitations of words, here's a loose description of how I envision what I already know I can't truly envision.
For me, there is no individualized soul beyond this life. When I'm certified dead as a doornail, the part of me that's non-physical will gravitate toward a bright light. Initially, my conscious will understand the distinction between itself and the light. However, as I move closer, it will envelope me and I will cease to be a distinct and individual entity. I will become one with whatever it is.
For the purposes of visualization, I can reference one film and one TV show. In the film, Field of Dreams, James Earl Jones' character walks into the cornfield only to melt away. Another way to describe this experience is to think about the transporter room in the show, Star Trek. It will be like beaming up or down with the only difference being that my individual essence isn't reconstituted at the destination.
Of course, it's probably nothing like I envision or have described here. It just is what it is.
If you think about such thoughts, what do you envision it to be?
I am certain that the after-life is nothing like I can imagine.
ReplyDeleteI should try to imagine bad after-lives...
And what makes you think there is even a bright light which will envelope any non-physical part of you? Or that any part of you--mind included--is even "non-physical"?
ReplyDeleteWhat if the creature just ceases to exist and that's it? What if the only thing that envelopes us (if there is a distinct us) is the dirt...?
Would we be "ok" with that?
These are just some "devil's advocate" sort of questions.
Nobody knows. Nobody. So as I can see it, the only good that thinking about the certainty of our deaths does us--and this one is a LOT of good, in my opinion--is that it makes us think abut our lives and how short they are and how we will live them.
My two cents. :)
Peace
ASpieboy: Personally, I'd rather not think about THAT. :-)
ReplyDeleteFW: Would I be okay with something different than what I have written? Well, of course, because whatever the experience is, it is. Even if I wasn't okay with it, there's not a damn thing I could do about it anyway. ;-)