Discussion What is the most likely afterlife?

[Purefly]

Basically as the title says, even though my mental health has been declining it's helped me gain more curiosity about what happens when I eventually die, I'm not sure what to believe.
I wasn't the most perfect boy I'm not even religious I know if it's Christianity based then I'm most likely going to hell what about reincarnation? I'd rather not come back but if that's a possibility then I'm not sure what I'd do, what do you guys think?

 

[waqs]

i don't even believe in god or any religion so id like to believe there's just nothing in the afterlife, but there's always this itch in the back of my mind of the possibility of hell due to being raised christian. the idea of hell is very terrifying to be to the point where im scared to ctb due to the off chance i was wrong about being an atheist.

despite this its most likely nothing in the end, i hope im right.

 

[pthnrdnojvsc]

i and every human will die . and 1 micro-second after my brain dies i will cease to exist forever , non-existence forever no pain problems no suffering ever . that to me is the best thing by far that could happen to get out of this hell

i think it is rational to test theories with observations and experiments. there are many theories about afterlives or reincarnation but there are not any observations, evidence nor experiments to confirm those theories. not many even details. imo there are not even any rational explantions or logical transitions from simpler details to more complex parts. There is no evidence for any afterlife reincarnation soul god magic multiverses, other deminsions , quantum immortality ,computer simulation , etc.

there is no self. the brain creates a model of a self. the brain is just brain cells forming patterns into models and simulations like a computer simulates a first person shooter vr game with ai. or like a dog, monkey cat, crow is i can tell conscious like i am . they don't have souls neither do i.

there is massive evidence 100 years of experiments for evolution and that all life descended from a single cell ancestor

in contrast to religious text i read a book on molecular cell biology. and it all makes sense . all life descended from a single cell. it's unbreakable .you can see how all the machines of the cell work and the mechanisms for each machine. and how each machine is the first cell as in the brain cell of a human and a brain cell of a fly , fish, mouse. for example Every cell has DNA and the exact same genetic code which is a language that DNA uses to code proteins. a machine called a ribosome also is in every cells and manufactures proteins according to the instructions in the DNA. ATP for energy, cell membrane many other processes are the same one in the first cell. so that shows my cells any human's cells descended from that first cell 4 billion years ago.

in contrast , i read a smattering of different religious books and the thoughts that came to me is how could any think this something real or of a god ? how could anyone reading these books not realize this is just some text written by humans..

to me non-existence forever is the most beautiful thing by a trillion times

 

[FreeHer77]

I want to die but I don't want to go to hell.

 

[Purefly]

i don't even believe in god or any religion so id like to believe there's just nothing in the afterlife, but there's always this itch in the back of my mind of the possibility of hell due to being raised christian. the idea of hell is very terrifying to be to the point where im scared to ctb due to the off chance i was wrong about being an atheist.

despite this its most likely nothing in the end, i hope im right.

I'm leaning on the nothing in the end as well especially since that's what most people describe in their near death experience it's just hard to know for sure

in contrast , i read a smattering of different religious books and the thoughts that came to me is how could any think this something real or of a god ? how could anyone reading these books not realize this is just some text written by humans..

to me non-existence forever is the most beautiful thing by a trillion times

Couldn't have said it better my self I 100% agree with this still it is scary to think that I can never come back and I'm eternally unaware of everything

 

[losingsteam3141]

I was raised Catholic, but ever since I became suicidal I felt like there was simply nothing after death.

However, my grandmother passed earlier this year. I was asleep in the morning until something woke me up and I immediately looked to the side of my bed because I probably felt the presence of whatever woke me up. It felt like I could almost make a shadow in the darkness. I immediately thought of my grandmother and sort of wondered if she was ok, then went back to sleep. A few hours later I got a text from my mom saying my grandmother passed. I have never been woken up so briskly and turn to the side of my bed like that in my life. I just think it was too much of a coincidence that it happened the day she passed.

I don't know any of the details of what the afterlife could be, but I feel like there is something with our spirits after we pass. If that's a good or bad thing, I also do not know.

 

[amerie]

Dreamless sleep

 

[losingsteam3141]

I want to die but I don't want to go to hell.

I feel the same way. I think about all my actions and dwell over if I was a good person or not all the time. I wonder if there is an afterlife, if the act of suicide will play any role in my fate.

i don't even believe in god or any religion so id like to believe there's just nothing in the afterlife, but there's always this itch in the back of my mind of the possibility of hell due to being raised christian. the idea of hell is very terrifying to be to the point where im scared to ctb due to the off chance i was wrong about being an atheist.

despite this its most likely nothing in the end, i hope im right.

I was raised Catholic and I felt similarly, except for an experience I had when my grandmother died earlier this year. Now I lean towards there being at least something after we die. I don't know if its temporary or permanent, and don't know any details for that matter.

The act of suicide is a sin in Christianity, but I read that its perhaps a lesser sin and that maybe people would go to some sort of purgatory. Really the only things holding me back are my parents and the unknown of what the afterlife is like and what my fate would be.

 

[rustcohle4life]

There are currently 8 billion people one earth and about 117 Billion that have existed in the past. Is each one of those peoples individual consciousness so special that it should go on forever? I just feel like we aren't that special and it's lights out after, which is one of the more preferable options if you think about it.

But i could definitely be wrong, no one knows at the end of the day.

 

[worthIess]

religion/afterlife is pure nonsense. we are just animals/biological machines. once our subjective perception ends, that's it for us. like a flame extinguished.

 

[bluegodism]

i believe in the afterlife narrated in near-death experiences.

 

[Forveleth]

i believe in the afterlife narrated in near-death experiences.

Which afterlife and which near-death experience? There have been several different afterlives described by people.

 

[rustcohle4life]

Which afterlife and which near-death experience? There have been several different afterlives described by people.

Yeah, there are commonalities between a lot of them, light at the end of the tunnel, sense of peace and love, life review, but they are all so different otherwise. We can't come to any certain conclusions about any of that shit.

 

[nihilistkaze7]

I predict it's probably akin to sleeping, except there's no dream. I won't know I'm gone, because there is no "I" to speak of anymore. I believe that our conscience -- and the way we strongly feel it must persist even in the face of death, or the fact that we can't comprehend its end -- is partly an evolutionary survival trait. I believe there is sufficient evidence out there to at least connect that our conscience is very much beholden to our biology, in some form. I always think back to cases where people's entire identities and/or personalities are re-written after a brain injury or something.

 

[Frenchy222]

 

[FuneralCry]

I believe death to simply be non-existence where this dreadful, torturous existence is all gone and forgotten which is all I hope for, I just wish to be unconscious for all eternity, I just want peace from this existence I always saw as the most terrible tragic mistake and there's just so much cruelty and so much suffering in existing, all I want is to be free from it all and I'll just only be at peace once I'm no longer burdened with this existence I just never would had chosen that only caused me to suffer.

 

[BlockHammer]

Well according to my religion, is either heaven and hell! I dont trust it that much though, but if it was real, well i dont know anymore, but what i know is that my pain wowuldnt stop until i leave this world (hopefully im wrong but after experiencing this for 3 years, i dont know how can i recover)

 

[dancemacabre]

I think death is like general anesthesia. I had surgery in 2022 and being under general anesthesia was the best moment of my entire existence. It genuinely felt like I wasn't there anymore. I heard a doctor saying that the brain activity of someone who's under general anesthesia is similar to the brain activity of a dead person, which means there's no brain actvity. I don't remember anything. No bright lights, no dead relative telling you it's not your time yet, no heaven or hell. Absolute nothingness. If I hadn't woken up, I wouldn't have noticed I was "gone" for six hours. Time stops, you stop, everything stops. This is my idea of death. Absolutely nothing. It might sound scary, but it's better than hell or even heaven. Fuck God, if there's one out there.

 

[9ofHearts]

Sorry to threadjack; I'd rather not flood the board with a brand new post (unless we start a Megathread).

In my opinion, it's gotta be one of five options. 20% chance of each if it's consistent for everybody. If not, then it's whatever aligns with your beliefs.

1. Reincarnation (ad infinitum, or until a cycle is broken)
2. True Rebirth (everything resets but you gain more spiritual insight, my ideal scenario)
3. Afterlife (Heaven/Hell/Neutral/Purgatory)
4. Eternal Peace/Oblivion (Unawareness, Void, "Null," Dreamless Sleep)
5. Any combination of the above 4.

Reincarnation typically implies that we're here for some greater purpose (Buddhism/Hinduism). The cycle of Samsara is personally not my cup of tea, but I don't see any problem with subscribing to that particular belief.

True Rebirth implies that we'll keep on looping this life until we clear it successfully with our "soul" intact (i.e. video game logic), and each run provides our "soul" with further insight (the neurological cause of déjà vu & déjà rêve have yet to be determined, and I hypothesize that this may be why we feel intuition, and see "synchronicity" when we're following the right path; our past self is trying to guide us along, sometimes unsuccessfully).

Anecdotally, my life would be incredible right now had I not made a few wrong turns & said/did the wrong things. My heart feels a deep burning regret whenever I think about these moments & decisions; I'm hoping this is a resonance with my soul, understanding that I will be coming back for a 2nd/3rd/50th/1,000,000th time over until I make things right.

Meanwhile, I can see this from other perspectives; those born with permanent disabilities and/or raised in traumatic environments will not see from my point of view, and thus would view that situation as an endless hell.

Afterlife solely implies that there is literally something "after" your life. Whether it lasts for an eternity or not will (ironically) be up for debate for an extremely long time, scientific breakthroughs notwithstanding. I personally believe that where you end up is a mixture of your beliefs, your ideals, your mentality near the time of your death, and the morality of your life decisions (not necessarily karma, but a spectrum of morality; a chomo would be a 1/10, average Joe would be a 6-7/10). It's easy to say that we could get bored with literal perfection for a literally infinite amount of time, but we are unable to comprehend either of the two as we are now.

Eternal Peace/Oblivion (Nonexistence, Unawareness, Void, "Null," Dreamless Sleep) is effectively self-explanatory. You will no longer exist, and may not ever exist again, if the Universe undergoes the Big Freeze. You will not experience any of this, as it will be an incomprehensible nothingness. However, given an infinite amount of time, it is essentially guaranteed that you will exist again in some way/shape/form. The YouTube channel Kurzgesagt said it best;

"Close your eyes. Count to one. That's how long forever feels."

This simply means that eternity will feel as long to the dead, as that second felt to you. "You" (as you know it) won't be experiencing death. For what it's worth, a majority of NDEs/OBEs/other astral or spiritual experiences report the feeling as "an all-encompassing warmth & love," so if it's anything like a comfortable nap, this option doesn't sound too bad.

Finally, the "perfect" choice. Whether or not you believe in any of the main 4 options, I think we can all agree that a mixture would be our best bet. Imagine an eternal afterlife that allows you to experience whatever you choose. You're not locked into a single path, you can choose to retry this experience or move on to more/less difficult challenges. This could be an extension to "simulation theory," but that would mean a future civilization has somehow synthesized the full breadth of consciousness, awareness, accurately replicated the 5 senses, and implemented it in a way that is feasibly experienced within a "condensed" (relative to eternity) 70 or so years.

It really comes down to what you think is most likely (and, in a way, it could not be likely at all; we might just become ghosts and haunt people for all eternity ).

In truth, "we" may not ever know, and maybe that guardrail was put in place for a reason.