[Zaiken]

Nothing. I don't believe in heaven so what else happens?

[millionandbell]

sometimes i have my doubts as to what happens after death, but all in all in believe in Heaven/Hell in the afterlife

[Rick]

The more you dwell on it the more depressed you'll get.

I've accepted one day I'll die and it'll probably be the end of conscience. Try to use your life benefiting humanity not thinking about death

[Nil]

I don't have a strong opinion on this topic but as a skeptic of an afterlife or any kind of consciousness or awareness, I do get worried thinking about it. Partly due to the fact that for all of eternity, this minuscule amount of time is all I've been given of consciousness and to find enjoyment and experience things. How devastating it would be to abruptly pass away and to never be able to experience anything like this again. You obviously wouldn't even know you're dead, but the fact remains while you're alive, you want to make the most of it. And just the thought of dying and then every memory, experience, friendship, relationship, thought, knowledge, and feeling dying with me like it never even existed despite it being our most treasured and sought after valuables is straight up depressing. I mean, we get frustrated when we put all this work into a program or essay and end up losing it and having to start over like it never existed in the first place. Now replace that essay with you and everything you've put into creating the person you are today, and then there's no starting over once you're deleted.

Here's a long, but comforting and interesting read on a first-hand account of someone's near-death experience.

Spoiler:

Arrival in Pune 1979.



Everything at the ashram was a life changing experience, culminating in the ultimate life change, my death. Leading up to this, several key things happened. Osho communicated to me one very critical piece of information by saying, “If you can observe fear, how can this be part of you?” I also had several experiences where I was woken up in the middle of the night, sensing Paritosh at my crown chakra and Osho at the root chakra. They were pushing golden light from the base of my spine to the top of my head.

In December 1979, after four months in Pune, I became very sick with amoebic dysentery, food borne hepatitis A, and dengue fever. The physical body weakened to the point where all that could be done was to lie in bed at the hotel; there was no strength left. The state of weakness was very peaceful, with an awareness that death would soon come. There was no fear but an interest for what lay ahead.

With a calm mind, all of the events in life that seemed so important slipped away; they had no interest anymore. A realization came that the mind and body is one complete system, not separate.

Because of this weakened state, thoughts stopped. With the filter of thoughts gone, a greater level of internal awareness arose from the heart, heightening the perceptions of intuition, seeing, hearing and feeling. Even though sick with fever, pain and weakness, there was a wonderful blissful state where every breath brought something dynamic. Everything was so still. Each breath became more pleasurable and expansive.

Slowly a gentle shaking started even though the body was still. Memories came of having done this many times before, it was so familiar. Pleasant and loving feelings flooded my being. The shaking continued, I found myself looking down at this sick body, and started to laugh. Soon this body would end. The thought of letting go was pleasurable, as releasing all the entanglements of this life neared. This body was so dense, cold and heavy. It was good to let this go. My consciousness opened like a lotus flower, everything became vast beyond the size of this universe. Every part of the universe was part of me and every part of me was part of the universe. There was complete inclusion and acceptance. This was so far beyond any expectation, yet at the same time familiar, hence it wasn’t overwhelming.

Another realization came. Everything is known and there is nothing to learn. It was clearly understood that there is no heaven or hell. Life on earth is not a school, there is nothing to learn. Life on earth is just an experience. Nothing more.

Then, suddenly, the fierce grip of fear engulfed me. Suffocating, sticky, addictive, desirable, all consuming and compelling. The fear started pulling me into reincarnation, away from all the inclusion and expansive awareness. Aspects of this fear included desire, suffering and isolation. Identifying with the fear was dragging me back into an unconscious state. Watching this, Osho’s words came back to me: “If you can observe fear, then how can fear be part of you.” By observing the fear, I could see the separation between myself and the fear.

No sooner than starting to observe fear, its grip faded and disappeared. As the fear released, it was followed by despair, guilt, greed, envy and desire for another body. This too could be observed as external addictive influences. Soon all external energy stopped. The feeling of complete awareness of center returned.

My roommate was a nurse, she was with me as my body died. I watched her from a perspective outside my body, taking my pulse then dropping my wrist in despair. I could also sense her thoughts. She was stressed, not because of my death, but because she was faced with dealing with my body.

Looking at the body, what arose was the perfection of the life just lived. This life could not be described as pleasant, in fact it was filled with suffering and hardship. Yet it seemed so perfect as it was observed. Then other lives lived started to appear in a visual format. Each life appeared in a bubble, the entire life from beginning to end, in an instant, with awareness of every moment of that life as if it was just lived from birth to death. There were many lives, too many to count. Each life was perfect. Reincarnation is part of the human experience, but it is optional. Once I was aware of the addictions pulling me back to another life, then I was ready for what came next.

There was a shift and a slight movement. I did not go anywhere. Did not travel a thousand miles. It was the same place, yet different, less dense, more expansive. Everything was bathed in a golden light. There were many others around, all known to me, and me to them. My return was met with overwhelming rejoicing. I was home.

At the time I didn’t have words to describe the process, like dimensional shifts. I shifted, from the third to the fourth dimension as the life left my body, with ever expanding awareness that reached to the edge of the universe. Then shifted into the fifth dimension, where everything was illuminated, golden. Later I heard this was what the Tibetans call “The Land of The Golden Light.” Everything was absolute perfection.

A being came to me and asked me to return to the body that lay in the hotel room. My response was, “No! I don’t want to leave this wondrous place.” Then another being, or rather the persona of a man, seated at a table at a café, gestured for me to sit down. He introduced himself, “In my last life on Earth, I was known as George Gurdjieff.” I did not know the name at the time. He continued, “We need you to go back.” After my joyful reunion on this wonderful plane I was reluctant, but he asked in such a way, that I could not refuse. All communication was without words. A thought came to me, from another entity that had welcomed me back, “If you return, you will lose all memory of this encounter.” I commenced bargaining with Gurdjieff, “On one condition, that you don’t take this memory from me, that I retain all of this intact.” He could not refuse me either, and it was agreed to let me retain this death experience. Then he added, “This is the last time you will have to return, I promise.” I took great comfort in this.

As I was guided back, first into the 4th dimension, I could feel the expanded awareness shutting down. Then the re-entry into the cold, dense body. My roommate completely freaked out when I re-animated. The next thing I knew an Indian doctor was at my side, who had just walked in off the street. “I’ll take care of you now, I’m here to help you.” He brought me sugar water to get my blood pressure back, ordered some medications. He never asked for any money and I never saw him again.

I was very weak, but wanted to see Osho before I returned to the US. When I sat before him, he leaned forward and said, “You have done well,” followed by a smile.

The last day I was at the ashram, a German sannyasin came up to me and said, “Do you want to buy these three books?” The author of all of them was George Gurdjieff.

[DarkMuse]

You guys should look into some of the philosophies about life after death; its interesting stuff. Personally I'm not sure what to believe. Resurrection from a religious standpoint has it's issues one way or another whether it be between dualism and physicallism or just the notion of a "miracle" at all. I do think, however, that if there is life after death, it will not be anything like that of this "realm." Theory of forms and what not may mean that my "form" or my "identity" may live on forever. The depressing complication that arises is the nature of consciousness when death comes to move us along.

[Boudica]

I used to think all just ended and you ceased to exist beyond your flesh. This wasn't a sad thing for me, it just meant that humanity was a miracle of mutations and chances, and that I should make the most of life while I have it.
While I still have a very positive outlook, life experiences have led me to question more. My honest answer is, I don't know. Whatever happens, I won't stop appreciating my life and enjoying it.

[meow]

Lmfao, how does this have anything to with opinions? It's a proven fact that once you die, your body decomposes and its nutrients are ultimately reabsorbed into the Earth's crust. Your consciousness is fueled by and made up of chemical reactions happening constantly among your nerves and cells, once you die, those all stop. Nothing happens "mentally" or "spiritually" after death, why is that so hard for people to accept? Are you so pretentious and selfish that you feel like you MUST have a purpose in the universe and that death isn't really the end of the line? You, me, and anyone else who reads this is less significant than a grain of sand on the Earth when compared to the entirety of the universe, we are not special. Give it up, facts don't care about your feelings. This is the brutal truth, you can learn to accept it or live blissfully while basking in your own ignorance.

Inb4 my post gets deleted again because Oni doesn't agree with me.

[meow]

Altough the weird part is, energy can not die, it can only transform. So we transform is something else maybe?

Your "energy" is radiated in the form of heat (photons) every instant of your life, and happens after death until you have no more energy. How does this make you feel?

[JAX010800]

I have two weird ideas that life is a dream, so when we die we wake up in another life and it just continues on and on forever and ever. The second random idea is that we are watching television in another life and when we die its like the end of the show and we start back in that life. I do not believe this is what actually happens but just some weird mind boggling ideas. My real thought is, once you're dead, you go to heaven.