Better than life, believe it or not- like I was 'coming home' . During a 'near death experience' that is one sensation I remember feeling although I also felt "I am not ready yet!" (At this young age about 11 or 12 y o near drowning) Freedom from life awarenesses.
Yes, it was an experience and likely a very powerful one. My point is being near death is not being dead. The state of being dead may be radically different than the experience of death being near. Or to pursue this in a different way. In an NDE is one experiencing an external, alternate reality or an internal experience of fear, a desire to live and similar emotional states?
This idea of home is a common and understandable longing. Whether it has reality is very questionable. I see no strong reason to believe in a pre or post life existence.
I've had a couple of extremely narrow escapes from death including one where I should have drowned. Never had a near death experience from them. And yet, I had an experience on another occasion which closely parallels the accounts I had heard from other people. Wherever I was I did NOT want to come back. I wanted to say. And yet, like you, I had this, "It's not your time" experience.
Hi Dozy, You and I have already discussed this so you kinda know my experience...
Death is a nice transition to a freer life...this comes from direct experience with people close to me who have made that transition, and it is about the same whether you are atheist, agnostic, or believer...at one time, I even assembled a booklet recording the experiences of people who completed the process of death.
One friend in particular made a point, for about a week after his death, of showing me what it was like for him...he was agnostic.
* * * As far as 'proof,' well if I think this world of time and space is real then I must accept also this reality of death, because these experiences were just as real or more so.
Thanks, Virginia. You and I share many ideas but this is one that lies, tantalising, just beyond my ability to grasp. I guess it's enough that the possibility exists. Who could really expect more?
Check the Longfellow verse I posted under Baba's answer. I think you might like it.
I was reluctant to ask this question because I didn't want to start any religious wars. That didn't happen and the answers have been interesting.
Dozy, I saw your Longfellow post already, and loved it...the more so, because it DOES to me sound like he is writing from personal experience.
As for the religious wars, that brings up something I find interesting here on aMug...people do seem less prone to 'fly off the handle,' and I wanted to ask you if you would agree with that, and how much do you think that has to do with the moderation?
I am still pondering this idea that the Internet could turn out to be something really wonderful for humankind, the tremendous benefit of humankind connecting with each other...and the downside that it seems so difficult to overcome the obstacle of trolling/flame warriors and such...
Well that is rambling a bit, my tendency to perissology...maybe you can extract/distill what I am trying to ask you?
First, perissology is a close friend of "pompo-verbosity": the practice of using fine-sounding words instead of the common or garden variety, and never using a word if you can find a sentence to do the same job. But I hadn't run acros perissology before, so thank you. Neither had my spell checker; I just added it.
I don't know the reason. The membership here appears to be older, more mature, than either of the sites we were on before. Maybe there's just the realisation that proselytising (for either side) is a waste of time.
ha ha, William of Ockham, the simplest explanation is to be preferred! I had not thought of the older membership as a factor, and that is very possible, very nice...
Aristotle explains "multiplicity in the order of existence" (i.e., lots of things with treeness, but lots of individual types of trees that share in the concept of treeness) using the concept of a perfecting principle and a limiting limiting principle.
I view man as composed of body and soul, with soul being the perfecting principle.
I think it is the soul that shares it's act of existence with the body. Death (of the body) occurs when the body is unable to sustain the act of existence of its soul.
(I believe the soul is immortal and does not die.)
Thanks, Tom. It's been interesting to see so many different responses to this. Clearly we all have an opinion.
After a lifetime spent wondering I haven't yet come to any conclusion about the immortality of the soul. I think it's more likely than not but there's really only one way to find out. :(
My bible based belief and conviction is that death is the cessation of life, hence, the opposite of life. (Deuteronomy 30:15,19)in the bible the same original-language words for "death" or "dying" are applied to humans, animals, and plants. (Eclesiastes 3:19; 9:5; John:12:24; Jude 12; revelation 16:3)however, for humans and animals the bible shows the vital function of the blood in maintaining life, stating that "the soul of the flesh is in the blood." (Leviticus 17:11, 14; genesis 4:8-11; 9:3,4)both humans and animals are spoken of as 'expiring', that is 'breathing out' the breath of life (Hebrew, nish.math' chai.yim'). (Genesis 7:21,22; compare 2:7). And the scriptures show that death in humans and animals follows the loss of the spirit (active force) of life (Hebrew, ru'achieve chai.yim') genesis 6:17;7:15, 22;
Benedict Arnold 