If you become nothing, does that make you sad?

originally posted by: skunkape23
We become "nothing" every night when we go to sleep.
I don't see having a good nap for eternity as anything to fret over.

That's not true. We dream when we sleep. We wake every so often, even If its semi awake. Its def not nothing.

In order to be sad, I would have to be something.

Do I fear non-existence? Absolutely. But I cannot change my mortality. When I become nothing, there will be nothing to be sad about.

I believe there is an afterlife but only for completely irrational unspeakable reasons. Sometimes my faith in such things waiver. Though through substance addictions and others with brain damage, I have witnessed peoples essence completely change or vanish longer before they die.

This forces me to think, if we do have an afterlife, this life has a minimal effect on the whole of it. The perception of what we are here compared to that of not being here, must be greatly different and unexpected.

How would you know?

a reply to: droid56

A more concerning question should be whether or not we can "Choose" to exist, and what sort of system are we in.

It is clear the religions have been started to make sure no one opens the doors to those realities too far when not dead.

If reincarnation is occurring, the very large chances that it has no good reason for those reincarnating, is very real.

Once one takes themselves out of ALL the religions and taught so called ASCENSION logic, you can start to see patterns that are very different from the ones almost EVERYONE is sandboxed into, and how people think about these questions is troubling.

Likely that NONE of this scenario here, has to do with ASCENSION, NON ASCENSION, KARMA, and certainly the biggest problem of all: No choice exists to find out what is going on, after death either.

A glimmer of hope though, these questions that are asked of us, It is high time that once we find ourselves here, there or anywhere else, that we do NOT ACCEPT the answers of this diabolical Universal REGIME.

originally posted by: skunkape23
We become "nothing" every night when we go to sleep.
I don't see having a good nap for eternity as anything to fret over.

Speak for yourself. I have a very active 'dream' life and do a lot of conscious dreaming. I also journal my nightly experiences in order to learn from them. I have many nights where I was aware of dreaming the entire night and will wake up extremely refreshed.

It's interesting to me how this particular question is answered depending on a person's pre-existing belief systems. I can honestly say as a Christian, that I would not be sad if I ceased to exist, and the thought doesn't bother me at all. In fact, sometimes I wish that's what I believed in. It seems like everything would be less complicated and easier that way. Would I prefer paradise spent with my loved ones? Sure. But I would take non-existence over a place like purgatory or hell, and even over reincarnation (I'm not particularly fond of being a meat sack).

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
No one in their right mind would trade something for nothing.

What if the "something" were life- long unremitting despair due to "Treatment Resistant Major Depressive Disorder'"?

Oh, actually I suppose that proves your point - I suppose it could be said that I am not, in fact, in my "right mind"...I wonder what that would be like?

a reply to: droid56

For me, it would not make an ounce of difference - I already try to life each day as if it were my last.

It wouldn't be worthless either - From a scientific standpoint, the whole purpose of "living" is to survive, have offspring, and then die when you are no longer of use (ruling out everything except natural causes). Easiest analogy I have is the Graboids from the Tremors movies: The Graboids themselves live a long time, while their next form (kids) grow inside them. They die as the kids come into the world; their only purpose in life is to find a safe spot/time to release the kids and then expire.

While my experiences in life point to their being something "more" than the physical world we are in, even I cannot say with 100% confidence that what I believe is correct; the only ones that know aren't exactly telling.

-fossilera

a reply to: DeadSeraph
I was a Christian for a long time. Now, I am an atheist. It sounds like you are waffling similar to the way I did. I am guessing when we die our conscience existence ends and our energy is recycled into something else. But, our current conscience won't be aware of it. While it seems sad and that is why many of us have mid life crisis while we think about this. Now that I am in my 50s, I have come to accept our purpose is to have kids, pass on our knowledge and be respectful to try and make the world a little better place while enjoying the ride. If there is something more, then that is a bonus. But, I am pretty sure it won't be eternal damnation or paradise...

Nope because i've found something to do in life that is a total passion and live every moment for it.

a reply to: lostgirl

If you're dealing with treatment resistant depression, go skydiving. I dealt with depression for over half of my life and was ready to kill myself, but figured i would take the risk and go jump out of an airplane. What did i have to lose, there was already a noose in my close so if i died on the jump, no loss, and the activity could give me insight into if my survival instinct was still working or not.

That was 5 months ago, and i've made 16 more jumps since then. The only time that depression has come back was during a period of 40 days that i took a break from jumping to have physicals and have my vitals looked at - the fear of having a heart attack from the adrenaline surge was interfering with my enjoyment of jumping. Everything checked out, and yeah.

That said, maybe skydiving isn't your thing, but i found that finding something that skydiving is my therapy and there are a lot of folks within the community that are the same way.

a reply to: dougie6665

Definitely not "waffling", but I respect your opinion. Thanks for sharing your thoughts

originally posted by: droid56
If it turns out we no longer exist in any way after we die, does this idea make you feel sad?

Would it be surprising if someone said it makes them feel relived?

You cannot 'become' nothing. You cannot 'become' something.
You ARE - but what are you?
To be or not to be? That is the question.

from subjective point of view
if you become nothing
you have never existed in the first place
(and should not exist now)

and since you exist now, logic dictates: you do not become nothing

I have been toying with a concept lately.

I have always felt that ceasing to exist sounds just fine with me. I feel no discomfort at the idea at all, in fact there have been times I felt I would prefer that to dealing with the meaningless pains and struggles of existing.

My husband and I feel very differently on this issue, and every once in a while, discuss it. Death is scary to him. The idea of the world continuing to turn without him being part of it freaks him out. So he soothes this fear in trying to produce or create things that shall carry on after his physical death- a way of achieving immortality. Not quite satisfying, but the closest he can get to not ceasing to exist entirely.

Despite my emotional embrace of mortality, there seems to be another part of me, which is somewhat less conscious, that doesn't fear mortality, but knows it is false. No matter how much I like (no, sometimes LOVE) the idea of death... of just one day the curtain goes down and all is black, and there is no me to feel anything at all, and the world goes on it's merry way as if I never existed,

This other part is like, in the background, shaking it's head with a chuckle, saying "nope, sorry, that's not the end of it. Life is eternal, and change continues and death is simply change, process, transformation, you'll be continuing after that.."

I mean, I can't totally get that part to disappear! It sometimes seems foreign to me, it sometimes seems like what people call "the real self", or Soul.

(and sometimes I just shrug and assume I am a closet schizophrenic)

But these two parts somehow achieve co-existing, co-creating, cooperating.... I guess as my husband and I do, despite our huge differences.

Sometimes I let that less conscious part babble on about metaphysical stuff, like a fountain or a geyser,
while the other part seems to sit back and listen wide eyed and going wow, that's pretty!
-until it get's back up and says, yeah, whatever, perhaps, I don't know, but this world is not that, and there is important things to do and deal with that are definitely real, so I'm going to forget about this story-stuff you just went on about, and be active now.

And the souls part sighs, and says, yeah, okay. You're right, let's go take care of that. Glad you are here, because you are so much better at this density crap than I am.

And they hug. Or something.

So... my idea that is playing in my head is- what if we simply have a double nature, made up of two parts, both spiritual and physical.
One that will absolutely end the game at a certain point consciously- but that doesn't bother her, because she is matter... and matter goes on. Things continue to exist, people, life forms, continue to exist, even if the individual is gone. That part will just return to the big soup of creation. She's okay with that. She's the world.

Then there is another part, that is and individual spark of consciousness, having an experience, perhaps among many, that doesn't have even have a choice in the matter of continuing or not- it cannot cease to exist, even if it wanted to. It can only change, and change again. It can sit backstage for a while if it wants, and observe, or whisper out lines forgotten, but when the curtain goes down, it will return to it's real life, and perhaps another production.

I don't know if this truth. I wonder sometimes, if it could be- why does my husband fear that curtain going down? Maybe just because he is really loving this play, and very committed to it's production right now. He's entered very deeply into character. That's admirable and good and makes me smile. Both parts smile at that.

You know the life after death as per all religion .....but its not required if we live our like as we like. its not important what u became....you just no need to became something as per world says so ....but you should be something according to you thats needed....when u donot succeed like this you wil look for another life evenn after death thats something crazyy na.....

I kinda feel sad for the people who say they don't mind a meaningless death where there was no point in it all... Because I have a 3 year old son and ive never imagined i could feel such pure unconditional love for anything in this world. So if you love someone on this level how the hell could the thought of never seeing them again not terrify you??! If you truly loved someone at the level im talking about there is no way you could say oh i don't care if there is nothing after death, isnt that statement implying you don't care about seeing your loved ones again?

Nothing last forever not even stars, so tell me why does death last forever? Why is something that would separate you forever from loved ones the end all and one thing that lasts forever? How depressing and evil would that be if death was the one exception? I hope it isn't. It all boils down to the fact that if you love someone on the highest level you would be afraid to die else you just haven't experienced that kind of love before because the thought of not being able to ever see them again would matter to you!! Sad for the people who haven't loved on that level.

@Bluesma: Whenever i lay in bed and ponder if there is a afterlife I don't lay there and say oh Im afraid to die because I wont be able to drive my sports car again, do my hobby's, eat my favorite foods or I hate the thought of the world going on without me... Thats self centered and ego driven... NO I sit and think of how much I love certain people and would never see them again that's what makes me fearful of death.


It always amuses me the people who say they dont fear it. I guarantee 99% of these people would beg for there life if a crazed man had a .45 pointed at there head..... ;/ I also believe if they died and there was a God and he gave them the choice to live forever and see there loved ones forever or be wiped out of existence and put in a black void of nothingness they would pick the first option..... :/

The only exception i could see are people with severe depression... To the point were suicide they feel is there only means to end the pain..

Just my opinion...

Your life and all things are based in space-time. If it is possible to go back in time then you do live forever. Your life and the time you lived will always be there. In fact, it may already have been lived and you're just reading this for the 15 billionth time. Going forward in time (relatively speaking) is much easier though. Many think it is impossible to against time's arrow. Either way, one thing is for sure. You lived.