Death is the Beginning/End?

Do you ever really stop and think about death? Like what it really is? I'm not talking from a religious sense of what death is or isn't, I'm talking about what it means from YOUR perspective and yours alone. Your experiences with life, and how they shape your view of death. I think about it quite a lot. No, I'm not depressed and I'm not some emo kid who cuts himself at night. These thoughts are just honest questions I've found myself exploring more and more as I get older. Is life just a dream? Is it a simulation, and we're all just some characters in a really complex version of The Sims? Is it really as cut and dry as Christianity/Islam/Judaism make it out to be? Or is it something more? Or nothing at all? And if it's nothing at all, is there any real meaning to all this?

To the religious folk out there...

Do you feel that all the faiths practiced in the world could all just be spin offs of the same source? In other words, do you think God, Allah, Krishna, Buddha, whatever, could all just very well be the same "entity" or "divine source", and it's only the arrogance and ego of mankind that divides us? If you believe in heaven and hell, do you feel comfortable with the fact that many of your friends or family could end up in hell based on life choices they've made? Does that upset you? Because if you do believe in heaven or hell, then surely you must realize that not everyone you've loved in your life, friend or family, is going to end up in heaven. Can you accept that thought? I know what you'll say, "Ultimately it's up to the individual, you see, and if he/she doesn't accept Jesus Christ into their life as Lord and Savior, well then they're destined for the lake of fire for all eternity." Is it really that cut and dry? Can you really be a good person all your life, never hurt or try and put down anyone, and still be sent to burn by a loving and just God? I'm not trying to disprove anything, all I'm proposing is just some honest questions that I'd like to see answered by somebody who honestly believes them.

To the non-believers out there...

Do you ever feel depressed, or anxious about the idea that this is it? Does it make you feel like your life has no meaning? Or do you feel lifted up? I could imagine both, because if this really is it and there's nothing after this, well then I'd wanna make this ride on planet Earth last as long as possible. But at the same time I could see how believing death is really the end could make me completely depressed, and thus giving me no motivation to go further. It really depends on the person, wouldn't you agree? Do you really feel there is no higher power? And if you do, what do you think it is? Is it love? Is love really the true God? Sex, which is the rawest and purest form of love there is, creates life, right? We all came from people having sex, and if we want to continue life, well then we co-create and boom! Life is born. So is love the true God, since love ultimately plays a part in creating life? Is it consciousness itself, and all we are is just little antennas picking up signals from the vast ocean of conscious radio waves that is the Universe? Do you feel that maybe, we're ALL divine beings, and what God really represents is us? We're all tiny little fragments of the whole which is God, or consciousness? Or is that all just New Age mumbo jumbo? If you don't believe, does it scare you? Does the thought ever cross your mind that you could very well die in a car accident tomorrow, or suddenly have a heart attack, or drink a little bit too much whiskey and just keel over and puke yourself to death. Do those thoughts pop up with any frequency? It's not to be weird, it's honestly just to see if you really realize how temporary this all is. And if you do realize the fragility of life, does it make you want to grasp each single day by the fullest, to make sure you experience this existence as much as possible?

Do you feel, instead of seeing us all as separate, we should look towards uniting as 1 race and coming together as a whole? I'm not talking about just Americans coming together, I'm talking the entire human RACE. This 1 race that lives on this 1 planet in this 1 solar system that's a member of billions and billions of other solar systems. And it just goes on and on and on. Do you see how silly it really is to have invisible borders on a world that's round? To have ancient belief systems that continue to divide and persecute people to this day? Do you feel it's at all possible to come up with a new philosophy or new religion in today's age? Our ancestors did thousands of years ago, who's to say we can't now?

We all lose someone close to us in our lifetimes, it happens to everyone. Death is inevitable. And the thought of death can be absolutely terrifying, especially when you realize it's inevitable for yourself to die. But, I think ultimately thinking about death every now and then can be the most ego-busting, humbling experience one can bring upon themselves. Because it makes you realize how precious this life really is. It makes you never take for granted the love you have for family and friends, and likewise, the love they have for you. You wish it could last forever, I mean who doesn't? But you know ultimately it won't, and that's a very liberating feeling if you think about it. It makes you appreciate being a nice person right now, and caring for one another at this moment. It makes you realize that life isn't always about being clever and cynical, but also about being kind and gentle. It helps you not take all the petty problems we all have day in and day out too seriously.

I honestly don't know what happens when we die. And I don't pretend to. Do I think there's something bigger going on? Yes. But I'm also very open to the fact that this may very well be it, and that helps me keep things in perspective

Religious Imagination

This post is not meant to sway belief in any one direction, neither is it meant to state what my belief is.  These are just thoughts to feed your imagination and make you think.
What religion/Life Philosophy compels you the most?  This is the list of the 21 biggest religions worldwide:
1. Christianity 2.1 billion
2. Islam 1.3 billion
3. Secular/Irreligious/Agnostic/Atheist 1.1 billion
4. Hinduism 900 million
5. Chinese traditional religion 394 million
6. Buddhism 376 million
7. Primal indigenous 300 million
8. African traditional and diasporic 100 million
9. Sikhism 23 million
10. Juche 19 million
11. Spiritism 15 million
12. Judaism 14 million
13. Bahá'í Faith 7 million
14. Jainism 4.2 million
15. Shinto 4 million
16. Cao Dai 4 million
17. Zoroastrianism 2.6 million
18. Tenrikyo 2 million
19. Neopaganism 1 million
20. Unitarian Universalism 800,000
21. Rastafari movement 600,000

God is just an English word, same goes for how they refer to it in every other language for all religions.  God can mean many things, such as the universe itself.  We are after all created by the elements that are in the universe that have been forged in the universes power plants called stars.  There is one theory that life has only formed in this universe because the universe wanted to become self aware.  Life is created from the universe; said life is aware that the universe is here and tries to understand it.
Another theory which I like to think about is in fact a theory that includes a god.  Perhaps everything in this universe, all matter, energy, and anything else it may have is all here from the birth of a god.  Most religions believe god has been here since time began, but if you think about it time doesn't exist without the universe.  God is perceived to be all powerful from our viewpoint, if something that powerful were to come into existence, its effect could release a burst of energy large enough to create our universe, therefore god was here from the beginning of time.  As another way to view it, the creation of our universe would require such an enormous amount of energy that we can’t even comprehend it.  The release of that much energy could have sparked into existence something so great that the only way we can perceive it would be to call it a god. You may ask “What was here before this god and universe?”  And me, I would ask you the same question because I don’t know, perhaps he transcends all minds and has always been here or there just was nothing before and his creation was mere coincidence.  Feed your thoughts with these questions and formulate your own hypotheses.  This universe and life contains so much information and possibilities that just thinking of what could have happened and how is enough to spin your brain out of control.  But these thoughts spark imagination and abstract ways of thinking which as Albert Einstein has been quoted saying, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
There seems to be a major clash between who is correct about life, and hardly anyone will give it any thought to at a bare minimum hear another abstract way about life without feeling challenged or brush it off as nothing.  Looking outside of the box will not hurt what you believe, but rather help your mind expand.  If you full heartedly believe in your religion then do so but look onto others for the mere purpose of at least your imagination and you will find brilliance and inspiration.  For whatever you believe in, the fact that we can think in such different ways is not just amazing, it’s nearly what some would call a miracle. Perhaps an infinite string of parallel universes exist beside ours by a mere coincidence, perhaps one god created everything here.  It doesn't matter what the actual answer is, it still never hurts to think.   Wrap your brains around the theories of life and really think about it, I’m not saying you should believe, but you should just think about it.

Here are some more theories of existence that are actually plausible in the realm of science.

http://www.cracked.com/article_20484_the-6-most-wtf-scientific-theories-about-existence.html

Wandering Energy

Life is truly amazing if you sit down and think about it.  We are nothing but lifeless elements forged within a star.  Somewhere along the way, the law of universe allowed a mass of lifeless material to be assembled in a way for living, breathing actual life to form.  Energy came into us, and started what many would consider a miracle.

Now that I am on the subject, let’s talk about energies role in this.  Energy is quite literally everything.  All matter can be converted into energy; all movement needs energy and produces energy.  Energy is the lifeblood to the universe, it’s what makes everything function, and react.  There is a law in the universe, energy can neither be created or destroyed, so all the energy the universe has was made at the beginning of everything and there has always been that exact amount flowing throughout everything here.  All life requires energy to be live, to produce heat, to pump your heart, to even think. 

Energy in a human sort of acts as what many people would call a soul, simply put, energy is us.  I believe life is special and we leave our mark on the energy flowing through us.  When we die, our body becomes cold and all our processes cease to function anymore as the energy leaves us.  But since life is so unique, I believe everything that is us imprints upon the energy and a part of who we were or are leaves with it.  Creating thoughts produce frequencies and energy, so it is plausible to believe that those thoughts become a part of the energy itself.  And we are if anything a creation of our own thought, it’s what makes our personality, what makes us tick, and gives us goals. 

Now why does it even matter if you imprint upon your energy after death you might ask?  Well the possibilities are very amazing.  Think about it like this, have you ever wondered why certain people seem to be carbon copies from people in the past, certain children in the family resemble or have a very close personality to previous family members who have passed away.  Well the energy from these people who have died doesn't just go away, they go somewhere, and as I've established before life requires energy.  If the imprinted energy of someone were to be a part of the creation of a new person, that person may indeed share those imprinted qualities.  The thought process, or personality of the person which created this energy could influence the new life it inhabits.  In simple terms, think of it as a weird form of reincarnation. 

Another phenomenon that occurs in which it can explain is paranormal activity.  At least the paranormal activity that Neil Degrasse Tyson can’t account for.  Neil Degrasse Tyson stated that much of the paranormal activity, or ghosts, can be explained by a certain frequency in sound that is on the visible spectrum and makes people see things that aren't there.  But alas there are many more paranormal events that occur that this simply can’t explain.  For the events that no one can explain other than saying it’s a ghost, I have a hypothesis of my own.  If you think, what are the happenings, or if you will, side effects that people have observed of a ghost being present?  Electronics fail, lights flicker, the room gets cold, strange feelings; these have all been said to be indicators that there is a spirit present.  Well my thoughts on it are this, if someone dies and their thoughts imprint upon the energy leaving them, they are essentially a mass of someone’s personal energy wandering.  If the energy wants to stay present if perhaps may have to steal the surrounding energy.  The room getting cold is energy leaving the air, the less energy in the air the more cold the air is.  Absolute zero is in fact a temperature that has completely lost all heat, so therefore energy.  I bring up absolute zero just as a point that the colder it is, the less energy it has.  So now to the other happenings, electronics die and lights flicker.  Well this one is easy to figure out, it simply sucks the energy from the electronic so it loses power and dies, and same for the lights flickering.   Now on to the harder one to explain, strange thoughts and feelings when spirits are present; well as I pointed out before, this energy has imprinted someone upon it, all their thoughts would inhabit the energy.  These thoughts could easily be transmitted to your own since energy can flow through you and easily intercept your own thoughts.  These strange feelings and thoughts may be nothing but your mind crossing paths with the remnants of someone else’s.  

Now I know these are some strange hypotheses, and I am well aware that they may not be close to the truth by even a long shot.  In fact in no way am I saying that any of this is true, but it never hurts to wonder and think about it.

Escaping Reality

Reality is a place that’s hard to escape, and reality is never fair.  In reality we owe money to bankers and companies.  We have responsibilities to deal with such as family, friends, jobs, and bills and we can never escape this.  Reality is harsh and the hardships that come with it are ingrained into our society.  People with money tell you what you can do and how to do it and if you don’t your life will fall apart.  Why would anyone want to stay in a world like this?  How could someone bear to be a part of a reality that allows rape and murder with no resolutions to it?  Someone could murder a child today and there’s a chance nothing would come of it, the murderer may never be caught, and may indeed live a full eventful life.  Doesn't something about that make you sick to your stomach? It does for me, every time I hear of news like that I cringe and want to just escape from this place we call reality.

                Ever wonder why so many people drink alcohol, smoke marijuana, or do any other assortments of drugs?  It’s not baffling to me, in fact just short of the extremely addictive and damaging drugs, I completely understand why someone would do that, they want to remove their mind from this reality for just a little bit.  They want to find peace in a place that only their mind can find, a world without the difficulties that they experience now.  Reading a book, or watching a show does the same for some people, but nothing truly alters your reality like a substance that alters your mind.  Depending on a drug for happiness is never a healthy choice, but the recreational use of something to help you keep your sanity in a world gone insane has its benefits.  Most people just say you need to accept life and deal with it without drugs, because life is tough and that’s that.  To me that is absurd, the use of something to expand your mind, provided you aren't hurting yourself or anyone else’s in the process, is extremely healthy.  Just dealing with the horrors of the world and accepting it is to become complacent and just what the people who try to suppress you want.  Allowing yourself to escape the world for just a while gives you a better perspective on life and allows you to experience a peace that gives you an overall goal in life, to achieve peace with reality and trust me; reality doesn't allow peace to everyone.  Having moments of peace in a chaotic life will reduce stress, and give someone a better quality of life.  Everyone is different and can handle different situations in very different ways.   What you believe is normal in life others might take on as a huge stress factor. 

                Judging is the last thing anyone should do if someone chooses to smoke a little marijuana or have a drink to settle down and escape for a while.  Now if this habit is damaging to their life or others in their life then yes that should to be looked at and taken into account. I’m not saying this is for everyone either, since some people have other means to achieve this that others won’t get the same reaction from.  Some people can go hiking and get that same feeling, and some can watch anime, or read books, but not everyone can do something that simple to escape reality and experience peace.  Some people need a little more to escape their stress or their thoughts on society.  Not everyone can smile after working the same job for years with no advancement or stuck in a crappy financial situation.  People tell them to deal with the stress, I say no, dealing with some stress will always happen, but if you can reduce it and find a reason or way to smile and forget about your troubles and the troubles of the world then I would do it.  Stress reduces the quality of life and clouds the mind and a clouded mind cannot make sound decisions in life; however a clear mind that has experienced peace from time in and again will work in a more proper manner.  Stress should not be overwhelming, and life should not be filled with worries and hardship constantly.  If escaping the reality you are in every once in a while can bring you moments of peace, then take it because life will not willingly hand you those moments, nor will you ever necessarily achieve them on your own just through riding out stress and hardships.  Allow peace to flood your mind and forget this reality from time to time, because in the end reality is never fair and everyone needs a break from it.

A Friends Review, "Jeff Who Lives At Home".

 I have a friend who recently wrote a brief review on the movie "Jeff Who Lives at Home" and she gave me more than just a review, but what she took from it personally, a view inside her her own mind accompanied with the film.  I thoroughly enjoyed this and told her I'll share this with everyone who wishes to read it on my blog.  Enjoy the write:

"I recently watched “Jeff Who Lives at Home,” a movie with Jason Segal and Ed Helms. It’s a comedy about a 30-something-year-old guy living in his mother’s basement, smoking weed all day and doing nothing productive with his life. This, of course, leads the people in his life to view him as pretty much worthless. In the end, though, he teaches everyone that maybe there is more to life than reaching the societal standard of what it means to be productive and successful. He believes in signs, in the universe, in the kindness of strangers, in finding your own happiness. Even though he has nothing to his name and no friends, he sees this beauty in the world and believes there’s so much more to life than money, material things, work, etc. I think everyone thinks this to a certain extent, but we shove it under the rug of our mind, our soul. We leave those personal, spiritual, emotional thoughts and questions in the back of our mind to ponder only in our rare moments of solitude and in times of sudden loss and reflection. It’s understandable why we choose to do this—it’s quite overwhelming to add those concerns to the pile of concerns life throws at our feet daily. Bills, gas, politics, relationships, work, family—when do you have time to focus on anything else? But if you’re not careful, that is what your life can end up being—monotonous days, one after another, simply working to get by, squeezing in a little time for social interactions or exercise/hobbies. And then one day you wake up and ask, “What am I doing? What is my life? Who am I? Is this what I really want?” Start asking yourself these questions now; make time to discover yourself. Every day is a new opportunity; embrace it."

Insignificance of Things

Looking into the night sky and seeing the stars always changes my perspective on the day.  Usually emotions run my life as they do for nearly everyone alive and that’s fine sometimes.  Occasionally emotions need to be set aside for you to view life and achieve calmness in the mind.

               

                Life is hectic; people are always talking and talking and talking.  What is everyone talking about that is so important that it invades your mind and won’t leave a moment of tranquility?  Politics is one thing that especially affects the mind.  People look at politics and think that voicing their opinion to others will really change everything.  People view politics as if the politicians are working for us the general population and the greater goal for the world.  What needs to be understood is politics don’t run on what you say or what you want.  Politics runs on money, and the one with the most gets their way.  Almost every bill past and every law made was made for a reason that someone will make money.  Politicians lie to everyone about what they are, and may even pass some small bills and laws that are essentially meaningless in the big picture just to confuse and trick the population that they really to work for them.  No trust should ever be put into their word and actions, and the people who run most all political governments need to be cast out for their reign of greed and gross misuse of power.  The people should run the lives of the people, not a bunch of highly paid individuals that give benefits to the highest bidder and turn a deaf ear to what the world really wants.  So if politicians are liars, greedy, and can’t be trusted, why is everyone still talking about them as if what they say will really matter?  Why do we view others with different political views as if they are another species when all in all it doesn't matter who you voted for, money still runs the system.  Unless what you say will literally take the system away from our greedy political overlords and hand it off to the people then stop worrying so much about it.  No matter if you worry or get angry, unless you are planning on doing something about it, just empty your mind and bring moments of peace to your life.  Experiencing peace, tranquility, and a calmness in your mind may give you the courage or idea of how to better everything.  Nothing good ever comes from fear, anger, and worry.

               

                Another big topic on people’s minds is religion.  Religion and politics run side by side and everyone wants to talk about it, which is understandable.  People want to talk about where we came from, how we got here, and where we are going.  It’s the biggest question, or to some who have solidified their belief answer, in life.  Talking about it sometimes is a great thing to do, but keep emotion far from the conversation.  Religion is one of the biggest topics to stir up emotion and the emotion varies.  If one person talks to another about a belief they share then the emotion is excitement or happiness and this is always a good thing to experience.  But if the same person talks to another who believes differently, feelings of hate, anger, sadness, annoyance, and arrogance always seem to surface and these emotions cloud the mind.  A clouded mind can no longer be trusted just as you can’t trust a foggy road to lead you safely.  A conversation that stays civil with conflicting beliefs I will always strongly encourage, because having other show you another way of thought expands the mind, even if you don’t believe what they are saying.   Just hearing another view to expand your imagination will improve your intelligence.  No one needs to be completely ignorant to world beliefs; it should be encouraged by all beliefs to fully understand all other views that you can.  Tolerance is the key, tolerance breeds peace, and peace brings a calm mind.   A calming mind will clear all fog in your head and allow you to actually think.   So why worry about others beliefs, unneeded emotions will flood you if you can’t practice tolerance. 

                This is why I spend time looking into the night sky by myself in silence.  It brings peace to me and calms my mind.  Just looking at the stars and thinking how large they are and the distance they are from me allows me to really think how much there is out in the universe.  It allows me to realize the big picture that I am apart of and the wonder there is in our galaxy and all others.  When I look into the night sky politics aren't on my mind because our politics are insignificant in comparison to the vastness, beauty, and wonder of our universe.   Religion doesn't bother me because other views on every religion don’t flood my mind, only the wonder of what is above me.  It’s a beautiful tranquility I experience; everything seems so insignificant when looking up and knowing what is there, yet knowing there is an infinite amount of it I don’t know still.   I wish the world could experience this calmness in the mind.  The world would become a better place and people would realize that everything they worry about isn't worth the energy that they put forth to experience that emotion.