The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

I started the Near Death Experience thread recently, and it got me thinking, as I read some of the responses about what happens afterwards.

Some believe that when we pass, we go to Heaven or Hell.

Some believe that when we pass we go through the tunnel and see loved ones, and live on in another form, another dimension, and review our past lives. That, we can come back to this earthly plane of existance and do it all again, to learn lessons and advance spritually.

The point is, sadly, that we don't really know what's to come. That to me, is very scary. My whole life I have believed the latter of the two. My Mom passing recently has brought my fears about passing right in my face, even more than before.

My question is if you believe we go out like a light and never come back or live on?

AND the biggest question, is, if we were to simply pass on and nothing more is there, how do you think this changes your view on life and how you live it? If there were no consequences such as Heaven or Hell or karma to keep you in line in this life, do you think you would be a good person to others?

What matters when there is no afterlife? What matters when there is?

I believe in the idea that the spirit or soul is reincarnated. Our actions in this life determine our ranking in the next. eg. murderers may come back as dung beetles.

Buddhists believe that you come back as an animal, or whatever. But spiritualists believe you do not cross over into other species.

??

I loathe mysteries.

Yeah but is this a mystery you want to solve any time soon? :P

I love Jonathan Livingston Seagull. It's profound and beautiful.

*smile*

Ah...the age old question...and still there is no good answer since no one has come back to tell us what is really after this "when".
I believe that what we do or do not become after we die depends singularly on choice. Do we choose to be blinked out or do we choose to "try again". I do not personally believe in heaven or hell but for those who do...I find myself envious because they already have made their choice. I, myself...have yet to make that decision, but I believe that I will choose to move on. I simply have not learned enough in this life, and to be truly wise...one must absorb knowledge.

At one point in my life I believed there was a heaven and a hell. Life was much simpler then, I had a clear path to follow and rules in which to live by. Since my brush with death 4 years ago I have had a change of faith, that is that I no longer have one. There was no white light. I fear death more than ever now feeling that we all just die when the time comes and thats it. As far as my attitude towards others that hasn't changed. I still try to be the best individual that I can be and perhaps I am more aware of how short our time is on this Earth so I am consciously trying to make the most of every minute.

It is too bad that my psyche was corrupted long ago, it was religious bias that broke me. Forced to attend church as a child, it felt as though I was the outcast. They all preached about something they knew nothing about, always taking things literally and out of context. Thus I grew to loathe religion in all its forms.

These days, I am a universalist, I care nothing for religious matters, as the universe is omnipresent and its energies undying. My belief system stems from the Spiritual Alchemy's of the self. Not in a way that is selfish, but to attain a higher understanding for what we as individuals are in the greater scheme of things.

I believe that when we pass, we go down seperate roads, no two are alike in any way, shape or form. Energy is always present, though dormant until it has the proper conduit to travel.

No heaven nor hell, as monotheism states...But a differant more precise traveling system. Not sure how to put it into words. But I think you get my point.

My answer to the first part of your question is I believe in a continuation of life.

The 2nd part of your question is more difficult for me.

I would have to say I can only hope I would still have the values I have now....though I wonder what my motivation would be and if I would be more influenced by others.

i strongly believe that our soul looks for perfection... we need to level up... and for that reason we have to live different lives here... over and over again until we find that perfection... for that reason, i also believe that you can't come back in the form of an animal... because you can't go backwards... in each life you learn a lesson.... and when you die, you see if you passed the lesson or not...

I think we go on, but not like crossing a line and starting over. We never truely leave the world, but we live on through our lovedones.

I think the "what happens when you die" is facinating to people because it gives us hope, especially if we have lost someone loved and the thought of not seing them ever again is to much to bare so we each have our own guesses as to what happens.

If there was nothing after this life I would not change as a person. It is what I do in life, and not what I possibly will do in death that matters. I do not live my life out of fear for divine punishment if I take a wrong step, I live my life to the fullest, enjoying almost everything. I have been given a second chance in this, and I have no intention to waste it.

What matters if there is no afterlife?
Everything matters, my family, friends work, I am alive now, and that is all that matters, I have a chance to fulfill my dreams etc.

What matters if there is an afterlife?

The same, I live now, but maybe there would be a chance that I would see the ones I have lost again, and being able to hug them.

I hope I have answered all your questions.

I don't really care what happens after I die, so I would not change the way I live my life. I think everyone should treat people with respect, but I also think if you are an asshole to others for no reason, you should be stomped into the ground. :-)

I myself..believe that we do find our way to the white light. I never knew my dad, but was told by a mediumn who knew nothing of me, my father was in the Spirit world and had a message for me. I honestly did'nt know him so how would I know if he was dead. At a funeral service I attend....my Grandfather's nephew and I started talking and he said you know your dad is dead. So yes I do believe in recarnation...

It's great seeing Jonathan Livingston being quoted, that take me back.....

I don't think it matters what religion says or what people think. I think you need to believe in yourself......if you want to believe there is an afterlife...so be it!

I think that our souls are whiped clean and are reborn.

I also think that not all souls are properly cleansed, and thus is why people remember 'past' lives.

I really wish I could solve that mystery myself, but without dying of course!

So I just have the opinion of: anything is possible.

I believe I am doing a good life, whatever happens when I'll die, I don't know and I fear it, since it's unknown.

But I guess it's how we live that matters more rather than what happens after, I guess we shouldn't be afraid if we believe we are living a good life, but fear of the unknown is understandable too.

However if there is reincarnation, I really wish there's the ability to choose!Otherwise I'd have to accept 'destiny.'

Death really scares me ... I think once we die it's done -- So I feel we should live life to the fullest while we have the chance ..

I always hope *IF* i ever come back as something i would come back as a a dolphin *smiles*

so if you ever see a gothic looking dolphin after i have died you know that it is me but that wont be for a LONG LONG LONG LONG LONG LONG time i am young still and a lot of life still in me

I have thought about this a lot actually. My thoughts on the subject do not tend to make people (especially my family) very happy. Well, here it goes ...

I think that religion in itself was created by people who needed some comfort in knowing they were not alone ... that they came from "somewhere" and that they will eventually end up "somewhere" .... A saying that has really made me think is : Religion was created as a way to control the masses. So, to try and keep people "in line" and behaving to a certain moral code, the promise of heaven was given ... and in contrast, a warning of eternal damnation if you went against the code.

I belive in science. I, too, would love to know what happens after we die. Of course, I don't think that anyone will know until their day comes. But, for me, I find comfort in the laws of energy .... energy cannot be created nor destroyed ... our bodies are essentially made up of energy ... energy holding our cells together and so forth. So, since your energy cannot be destroyed, your energy would be dispersed when you die in order to create and sustain other living things. This, to me, is a beautiful thought.

I know there are the questions of ghosts that come back ... I have no explanation for that. I don't have all the answers ... I am just trying to figure all this out ....

Please keep an open mind when you are done reading this .... I am not trying to upset anyone .. just telling you what I have been thinking.

I believe in reincarnation and karma but not in heaven or hell. Who knows what lies ahead after a person dies.

i feel that if i were to die today my spirit would live on because i am not done here yet there is still so much i have to do before my soul will rest yes i do believe this ..

no afterlife- ah i could only say in that case i should have listened to all the athiest who told me so lol.

an afterlife-i in my mind of course do believe that there is life,well existance after we pass from this realm,come on,now we all creat our own images in our mind to what we think it would be like but,honesty you will never know untill you taste the gift of death and experience that for your own self.

Of course our answers will be colored by where we 'are' spiritually. I believe in Heaven, but I don't believe in Hell, at least not in the usual sense. Hell to me is simply a void... no God.

I believe in Heaven because I know my father has contacted me through my dreams over the last 17 years he's been dead. I do realize that was is my reality is not everyone else's... but no one in this world can convince me what know to be true is not. The first very vivid dream was him telling me all about it (Heaven), or at at least trying... because there were no human words to describe it. And he was extremely happy. He was adamant that we not be upset for him, because he was blessed.

I don't believe in an afterlife --- try to make the most of the life I have now. Hate postponing gratification, but like everyone, I can do it. Now, now, now. People are important to me, and each conversation is one wherein I try to make a connection, learn something, have fun.

What is interesting to me, though, is the pity I have seen reflected in the eyes of the "religious" when we discuss faith, god, or the afterlife.

They are convinced that i am living a life less than. At one time, that attitude would have made me furious and defensive.

Now, I feel . . . tolerant and . . . free. I've taken risks, I'm not a coward, and I'm not afraid of dying or what comes next. Except for discussions like this, I never think of it (for myself).

I believe that our souls live on when we pass, though our bodies have died, our life's essence remains.

In my culture, it is said that when my people die, our spirit/soul goes to the northern tip of the island and jumps into the sea to swim back to our homland, Hawaikii Nui (has nothing to do with Hawaii lol), where the spirits of our ancestors and people are.

if you are dead how do you know where you go

I really do not know what death with holds, if anything. According to many spiritual teachings, death is a natural pathway of a soul wich is embodying in order to learn, and eventualy to evolve properly, recognising it's self in full.

I guess every answer would be answered when the riht mmoents for that come.

Other than that, I really wouldnt know, there are so many ideas around me about wich I have no dear clue.

We might say as well, living on, but not going away simply, but passing by with some certain reason.

I myself believe in an afterlife, some sort of Heaven. And I share the same view of Hell as Lagniappe...Not a place of torture and woe, but a seperation from the love of God, which to mee is worse.

Addressing your other question. What if there is nothing else after life? I, myself, would not live differently. I do not see that I am "missing out" on anything by behaving in as moral a fashion as I am able. Trying to treat everyone as I would like to be treated, helping those who are less fortunate, even church attendance..I do not see that as drudgery, but as a time of fellowship, camaraderie and feeding of my spiritual needs. If there is no afterlife, then the only part of you that "lives" after you pass is the memories of you that others hold. If this were to be the only aspect of me to survive my death, I wish the memories to be of a "good" person, who did their best to help their fellow man and not be remembered as a self serving SOB who only lived for himself.

I believe that our spirit lives in in some way shape or form

If people believed we simply fade away after death, people would live different lives, be more selfish and strive for greed.

I believe correct answer lies in the study of one self trough the spiritual practices, wich are trying to explain the inner being of a person.

I believe in Heaven. I believe that if you live a righteous life you will be rewarded with a paradise to relax in. On the contrary, one could also be 'rewarded' with a burning pit of flames.

However, I'm not a psycho Christian that tries to convert people to score 'bonus points'. Cause that's gay.

Fellowship is important to me, too.

The Love of God is the love of self. It's always with me because I have a conscience and seek to do right in this life.

It's hard for me to separate god from self actually, unless I go against my principles in some way.

People w/o a conscience don't feel this loss of love (from God or from self) even when they actively practice a religion. I think the operative term is "hypocrit," but that's only if they know they're doing wrong (see the movie "There Will Be Blood" for a demo).

That is, I don't think focusing on the now and not the hereafter automatically leads to unparalled greed, although it can.

it's possible to be a just and moral person in this life w/o thinking about god as the ultimate reward (or rewarder).

I believe reincarnation. I don't think that every one that dies will come back. But some will. That's my thoughts anyway.

My opinion on whether there is an afterlife, or anything of that sort, is still up in the air, so I can't really answer the first question. But to answer the second question, for me, finding out that there is nothing after I die wouldn't affect how I live. I don't live my life for what may or may not be there after I die. I live it for the life that it is. I would still be kind and caring towards other people. It would seem ridiculous to me to treat people badly just because there was nothing after this life.

Jamie i wish i could tell ya but i think the only way is to die and come back but the problem with that is coming back..

i seen a movie that four people played with death and came back but what i seen in the movie made me think so ..you'll never no intell you die but i wish if that happen you would be able to come back and share what you seen..

Everything matters as you are not living int he after life you are living int her here and now. You should make the best of each day as its the only one like it you will ever have. No tow days are ever a like. So weather we are reincarnated go to heaven , hell or the like or if there is Nothing after this really should not concern you too much... You should strive to be the best person you can not because you will be punished if you dont or be rewarded if you do but because every action you take affects your life and others lives.

your welcome dear.

I just wish more people took the time to worry about the here and now and not what happens after we die and the whole world would be a better place..

I have seen people in a rush to go to church to "SAVE" their soul that they pass someone broken down on the side of the road with a flat tire in the rain.

I stopped and gave them a hand while I watched the others who passed by rush down a road a few block to go to church.

****HEAD LINE****
IF you go to Church or pray every day it wont matter is your not a good person in the mean time.

By their own belief system, Their god would think better of me for stopping to help a fellow man and missing a few minuets of Church then the people who passed by to get there on time.

I have read more religious text on more religions then I can recall at this point.. And not in a DAMN one does that says that punctuality is valued more then caring for a fellow human.

i was raised to believe in a heaven, and i have seen no proof, but years ago messing with demonology, i saw where they came from...as close to hell as there is. while i'm waiting for empirical proof of heaven, i'll believe that "something" happens when you pass on....

I believe in reincarnation and the afterlife, and I am positive there is something beyond death. I've encountered too many spirits and such to disbelieve!

I always try to treat people well, and intend to continue to do so. No matter how many lives we may get, each one is too short waste on pettiness and cruelty!

Life to its fullest...to fill your body and experience the filling of others and every little bit of your soul you share with others can like a thread of a cord keep a part of you around as long as someone takes the time to remember you.

I'm one of the few that believe when your candle is snuffed, your light is most definitely extinguished.

So what's the point of living or being good or doing the right thing if that's the case? Because we are all connected. It's easy enough to say that, but if you actually look at the chemicals which make up our atmosphere, along with those that sustain our form, it's easy to recognize that we are all one thing. We are all part of the Universe.

I would not give a shoeless man some shoes because I felt pity for him. I would give him those shoes because he is an extension of myself. I don't shoe myself because I feel pity for my own naked feet. I do it because it is the right thing to do.

But why are we here? What is the point of life? It just is.

While I do empathize with your loss, I do have to ask does it really matter if we pass on or just pass away? I think the important thing is to reflect on the ones we have lost, and realize that we need to make the most of the life we have, do the best we can and be the best people we can be. Then when its time to depart we depart....why think about the grand scheme of it all when we really need to focus on how we got there?

I think that we reincarnate. I believe that we should still be good to others because when you do bad things they seem to come back to you. So, plainly speaking, it would be the 'do unto other as you would like them to do unto you'.

Even if there is no heaven or hell or whatnot I still don't see any excuse to be unfriendly to someone and that what you get in return will most likely come at some point in time in this lifetime.

I'm sorry your mother passed away Jamie and from what I hear she was a really nice lady. It sounds as though she was very loved and I feel that thats what counts in life.

I think we simply cease to be. On the grand scale of things what is a human being but a simple speck on the Universe. I wish that belief was different and I had faith, but that was lost some time ago.

i think, we go some where then eventually come back here in another form, animal-human-tree, something.
i hope to come back as a tiger or panther.

I believe that when we die we go to heaven

If we came back as an animal, and we had our choice, I'd be an Eagle. I love flight :)

Another good topic...that I can say I have alot of experience with.

As far as "What happens to us" After we stop breathing, and our heart stop beating and no pulse is felt threw our veins..what happens??

I have had the opportunity to be with many individuals at the end of their life, and some ppl with say ( end of this life).

Death is not to be feared, there is nothing scary about death. It is natural and for most cases a blessing in disguise.

No 2 deaths are the 'same' so to speak.
I mean dying is a journay and it's 'not easy to die." Some die just as the books say when death is approaching or imminent, and those that die suddenly are lucky? It's easy on them, hard on the living as you didn't have time to prepare etc.

Now you all can disagree, but this is my two bits.

But...

The body is clearly a shell. When we die and perhaps go onto that next life, are we being immediately re-born? I will not pretend I know the answer as I have no idea, but I do know how people leave this world, and death can be such a beautiful experience. When our soul leaves us, we are just an empty shell laying there. It is not our soul that die, rather the "case" in which it was held.

There are a million sites you can read on Death and Dying, and I can tell you it's not scary. Embrass every step.

*hugs*

I would like to add, that coming back again is a nice thought to believe in. I just cant conceive the idea of it as being fact as being true..but I wish someone would prove me wrong!

shadowdemon666 -

So everyone -'good' and 'bad' alike- go to heaven. then?

myself,i belive that there is afterlife among the living....i belive you can live after life and i know that you can speak to the dead because i have done it before

my answer to your questions are simple.i am what i am because whether there is an afterlife or not,you should always learn from your mistakes.it is always better to leave a good memmory as your mark on this world or the next.

QueenofChaos, I adore your idea :)

I beleive there is nothing no afterlife, there is an essence we leave behind, an essence we transmit, that essence ether goes on and fuse with the rest of the other essence, or styas behind, not aware it is an eesence and it has to leave as it has no use for and with humans anymore,but onyl to the astral plan, of the essence itself.

I don't believe we simple go out. Our soul lives on. The energy that makes us us. You ever notice how you change overtime. What is it that notices the change. There is part of us that lives on.

That is very comforting, whisperingsoftly. I like that. I also like many others as well. Lagniappe, that was also very comforting about what you said about your father.

I am still waiting on my Mom's report on where she's at. She and I always said that whoever went first had to come back and let the other know what's going on.

I thought I had posted here but it may have been another thread...

My husband is a severe asthmatic. When he was 9, his lungs would expand and take in air but they wouldn't contract. He was dead for about a minute and a half. When I asked him if he saw anything, he said no. He remembers hearing people talking, I think it may have been his hearing the doctors and nurses when he was coming back to consiousness.

Personally, that's why I think he married me, he's brain damaged LMAO

Well i dont very much belive in heaven and hell but i do belive in karma, so i think everything that u do matters and will come back to you twice as good/bad

Forgot to add in my last post, I also believe that we go out like a light, for a time.

our bodies die but our souls go on

hi jamie, long time no chat. i have been reading through peoples responses to this question with great interest because it is something that i often wonder and spend many sleepless nights over.

i am going to start with another question. everyone is deciding what will happen in the 'afterlife' but who is to say that the life we are living now is but an 'afterlife'.

i do not believe in a specific heaven or hell, though i do believe our actions now will influence what happens to us later.

i have always wondered mostly of not where we will go but what will happen to our conscious thoughts and memories. if we are all living some form of afterlife in this existence with no recolection of what has happened to us previously, it makes life seem a little pointless, but i would like to believe that our lives do have a greater meaning that we will find when we pass.

This makes me wonder if our actions in our past life determine how we achieve throughout of current life, and then this continues like a re-incarnation with us always learning and forever advancing until we end in a peaceful united civilisation?

just rambling in the dark here. would love to hear your thoughts.

NightIntrigue
good point

erratik6design, from what I have read and believed in my life, is that all that has happened, thought, felt, experienced, is and has been recorded on the Akashic Record. This information is held in the Hall of Records, which we are privvy to anytime in the afterlife. In fact we do much studying and reviewing in the afterlife. Also I have heard that we have access to this information in this life, if we could realize the way to do it. Some can access it. Most can't

They also say that we don't remember our past lives because it would interfere with what we are here for to learn this time around. It would be overwhelming and stressful to know all from past life and this life.

Now I heartily believe that our past lives can indeed mess with us in this life, as in the same behavior sometimes. For instance, our North Node is what we we are supposd to be more like and learn in this life. Our South Node is what we were in the past life that we need to get past now and what is holding us back in this life, interferring with our spiritual growth. That is in your astro chart and goes by the year and month you are born.

I don't believe our thoughts and feelings ever really disappear forever from our lives, but put aside to save us the interference of those times, so we can continue with the spiritual work at hand.

This is actually the biggest secret of them all i think. So many who have had near deathexperiences and also have been dead some minutes. And still the question of what come after not is answered. Only that make it to be extremlly hard for anyone to really create a picture over it. In some ways i belive it is nothing afterlife it is just nothing. But reincarnation is also something that sound logical.

Jamie,
I have too much experience with death. I suggest that you live each day as it is your last. Never leave someone with angry words. I lost my little sister last march, just before her 31st birthday. Our last words were strained, that will never happen again.

Ive had 7 NDE's never seen a dam thing...
idk what the hell im supposed to have seen or what, frankly i think its all in the head, if you think your gonna see a light when you die like your going to heaven then you brain will do that for you so it lessens the pain of death...

I have honestly given this question thought over over and over again. Its a question everyone wants to know, everyone has a theory, everyone wants to know. I myself would love to know if we live on or do we just stop living any shape figure or way. I would love to say that we go on, i mean its a beautiful thought and im sure everyone would want that as well. But I dont really have a thought on the subject or theory other then i will see when it is my time.

i agree with RaineVampire on this one

i think that you have a choice to pick to go to heaven or go back to were your love one are.

Dead people have choices?

no afterlife means you have to rely on other peoples memories of you, rather than reflecting in another dimension before reincarnation/heaven or hell.

so that must mean we are to leave behind good memories and contributions since lifes not a dress rehersal.

Greatly said, hottub.

I believe we live on..to finish what we've started,, And the way we live our lives now will effect the way we will be in our next life.

i personal beleive in reincarnation, we go throughthis life and then on to the next, and repeat this cycle until our souls have learned everything there is to know about life. then we rejoin the energy of the earth and cosmos were we become one with our creator(s)

I have no clue. I can't remember things that happened last week, but other time I meet someone and I feel like i've known them my whole life. Everything just fits perfectly. And there are times when I've known them in another life and that is why we are so drawn to each other.

I think there's only one way to really find out, and all of us will know some day.

i believe we live on forever

Living on after you're dead?

it is a very scary thought in deed, my only hope is that we are either reborn until we fulfill what we were put here to do and then move on to heaven or someplace peaceful with out loved ones or that we just go to that peaceful place, i hope that it is not just a void of nothingness

My mother passed away resently and I would like to continue thinking that I could see her again so day, but i do also believe that the belief in an after life has a great affect on how we treat each other in this life. If we believe what we do has conciquence even if no one knows we did it. We are less like to try to get away with things cause we know that it is never really hidden in the end.

If you believe you are judge in the end then you are more likely to worry about what you do when no one knows you are doing it. Most people act differently when they think there is no concequence.

I believe in reincarnation.... and while no, I have no proof... I do beleive that is what happens

I myself..believe that we do find our way to the white light

we all find our places even if another puts us there

I'd like to believe that if there is a reason to continue, a soul will reincarnate... otherwise it is free to move on to a higher level of some sort.

In a way, I'm curious as to what happeneds upon death - will I be right (hopefully) or go "Damn! Was I wrong or what?!"

I tend to believe that when your earth-bound body dies, your spirit goes to the afterlife to rest eternally, or to prepare to come back to finish the task Fate has assigned to you, for spiritual advancement. If there is no afterlife....so? If there was nothing, would you even be conscious of that fact? Conversely, would you be conscious of the fact that there is an afterlife? Would you really believe that there before you are all the loved ones who have gone before you, and that at some point you may go back to "finish up?" I hate answering questions with questions, so to sum up: IMO, I think no, it dosent matter either way if there is or not.

I dont know it is one of the mysterys and i quite like it that way im not in a hurry to find out what comes next. i would like to believe there is a heaven i guess ill find out

MistressBloodDiamonds thanks for showing the love ..

Well I sure appreciate everybody's theories and opinions on this. We all have that in common and it's nice to be around those of like qualities.

"Living on after you're dead?"---Um, yea. haha......No, I mean, living on after IHOP.

I personally believe in an after-life and I think that having that belief keeps me (as with anyone else who share it) from becoming overly indulgent with the present and defy all moral or spiritual codes.

I believe in manifestion /the law of attration generally...therefore i believe tht everyone will have a reality in death as wht they have believed in life...

I think that we just fade out, like the light that burnt out long ago.

What proof do we have that we can come beck for another life?

I believe in reincarnation...I have seen proof of my own to convince me. People who have never met for example that looked at eachother and with such hate asking "What are you doing here?" The other pleasently responding, "Pleasure to see you again..." Along with several other reasons.

we live on ! our bodies are just vessels but our souls never die

Living on after IHOP is always a fantastic achievement. ;-]

This thread has been automatically closed for length.