Things you believe in.

[pricillia]

I believe that lipstick is power... and you can never have enough lipstick.. oh I mean power...

[LaughMachine]

Why can't that be it?

 

You are not conscious the entire time you are asleep. That is what death is probably like. You just shut off, no more you. And your body rots, and the cycle continues.

 

 

If the cycle continues, do you just continue to rot. That is what you think what happends after death? You don't believe that your spirit, goes on?

[Topper]

Prcillia, I believe in lipstick rings around my pe.................... Oh never mind:p

[ruby_gloom]

I believe in many abstract philosophical ideas. (Metaphysics)

 

More than anything, I strongly believe in the Soul. I also believe in the (possible) physical manifestation of thought, as well as spirits.

 

I enjoy (hearing about) superstitions, but I am not sure I believe in them.

 

I don't, however, believe in "gods", UFOs (and I'm not refering to the literal meaning of the word), or aliens.

 

The main thing I do not believe in is karma. I don't think there's such a thing.

[Moai]

If the cycle continues, do you just continue to rot. That is what you think what happends after death? You don't believe that your spirit, goes on?

 

No, I don't believe that my spirit will go on--unless I do something huge or write something seminal. But as far as my consciousness is concerned, once you are dead that's it.

 

Nothing happens after death. You die, you cease to exist.

 

If I am not emabalmed or anything, my body will rot after a time, carrion will eat it, I will become dirt, and plants will be nourished. And then those plants will in turn be eaten to keep another creature alive, ad infinitum.

 

But I won't be ware of any of that, nor is there any spiritual component in any of that.

[bluetuesday]

i believe that the universe is an idea in the mind of god, and what we can see in this universe isn't as real - as permanent - as that which we can't yet see.

 

i believe that this universe, and everything in it, is an expression of a higher power.

 

i believe that the universe is more complex and more wonderful than most people can imagine, and that it is filled with life. no planet is mere decoration.

 

i believe that nothing is accidental or as a result of forces beyond our control.

 

i believe that everything is made from god's energy, and that everything we see is a temporary manifestation of that energy.

 

i believe that consciousness affects matter - that we create what we focus on.

 

i believe there is no escape from your choices, and that eventually, in this lifetime or the next, or the one after that, every soul will reap what it has sown.

[Trialbyfire]

I believe there's a direct correlation between alien abductions/anal probings and the shape of crop circles. Think about it people...

 

In all seriousness, I believe that family and friends are everything. Cherish the love and the time you have with them because nothing lasts forever.

[amerikajin]

Well, a UFO is just that: an unidentified flying object. That doesn't mean that the object is extraterrestrial; it could be quite terrestrial. I bet most, if not all, of the UFOs are probably military or space-related (i.e. new military equipment, space debris re-entering the atmosphere, failed rocket or missile tests etc...).

 

Ghosts? I don't really believe it is possible to see a ghost, but I would not rule out the possibility of 'spirits' which are able to communicate with the living. There are times when I somehow sense that the souls of people who have passed have, in some inexplicable way, returned to give me a message of some kind. I think the dead are able to communicate with the living, especially in dreams. When we're conscious, we tend to block out the paranormal. But sleep gives us a chance to open up and communicate more freely, which makes it possible for us to communicate with the dead (and even the living) through dreams.

 

The afterlife? I believe that people live on in some form after they die. I don't believe in a heaven as the one described in the Bible, but that doesn't worry me. Death does not frighten me. We were dead before we were born; death is simply returning to the state we were in before we entered this life. I don't know if we return to life, as in a reincarnation. Instead, I take the approach that, in life, we are not really as individual as we think we are; we're actually individual cells which are part of a super organism of living things. We are a small part of a really big picture. We are alive as individuals, but never alone in life; we die individually, but our thoughts and deeds are remembered by others.

[Moai]

What do you think is a good way to break this news to kids? (I'm not being a smart *ss, I'm honestly wondering.) At what age will you tell them this? How will you answer if your young child asks where Grandma is, now that she has died?

 

I suppose I would tell them when they ask. Death is a natural part of life, and while I might not go into the details of decomposition or anything, I wouldn't lie about it. I would also tell them that as long as grandma (or whomever) is in their heart, she is still alive in a way.

 

This is purely anecdotal, and I am sure others have had different reactions. But, my best friend in HS was raised by an atheist, her mom. (my friend is now an agnostic or atheist herself, by the way.) Anyway, when her mom told her the above, I think at about age nine, she began having horrible nightmares and developed an extreme fear of death. She would dream repeatedly that she was trapped in a coffin. I need to remember to ask her what she has said to her own kids about this. I think her husband is more open to the idea of an afterlife, but I'm not sure.

 

My first confrontation with death was my paternal grandfather. I did get the Christian version of things, of course.