Death is a matter of opinion.
Posted on 4/13/2009 10:38:00 AM, under death is a matter of opinion, time is false
4
I felt like making a follow up on this conversation after a discussion with my father. On Facebook, I made a status update that stated "Death is a matter of opinion."
My dad, because we had been discussing the subjective versus the objective universe, made a retort that "so is whether a guitar is playable." Which is certainly an interesting concept, but it was not the train of thought that I was headed towards. I realized that, probably, my train of thought was not immediately visible, so I felt like I would elaborate.
What I mean is that death, as the "end of life," is not necessarily a truth that we must accept. In fact, it is only a valid truth if you accept that the past is somehow less valid than the future. If we assume that all time is equal, and if you value the past as being equal to the future, then death has no power -- no grasp whatsoever.
It is only the concept of the future which gives death any measurability. We, as humans, seem invariably afraid of (I would say) our mortality, or rather, the end of our mortal existence. To see this as a negative thing, we have to view death as an "ending."
Many religions deny this by saying there's a continuing to life after death. I disagree that this is necessary to rob death of its power. I think that the "end" of this life is only the end if you evaluate the flow of time forward as an absolute beyond our perception. I feel it is the mortal perception of "yet to come" which makes us so afraid. We rely on a "yet to come" in order to function, make plans, gain things we consider to be "valuable," etc., etc..
But what of our pasts? What of the things we have already created? The impact we have already have, and the ripples which have already started? Our lives make marks upon the face of infinity. Both our futures and our pasts flow eternally outward from each moment of "present" in ripples of influence far beyond our comprehension. A slight difference in temperature in the primordial ooze would have made a large, large impact. But what if Alexander the Great had fallen in love and married rather than deciding to conquer Asia? What if Hitler had gotten sick before he joined in World War I? What if Cain had decided not to slay Abel?
These things are all possible, assuming you accept free will (and if you don't, we're all predestined anyway -- so why would it matter?), and they could have happened. It is each of our choices that change the face of eternity. If past and future are so infinitely impacted, how can we say that our existence is "over?"
Our existence has occurred, perhaps, in the weak medium of measurement known as "time," but our immortality occurs the moment we take first breath. Each choice we make reestablishes that immortality. And death -- the "end" -- does nothing to change or shake that in any way.
Death, being defined as an "ending of life," is fallacious at best. It has no grasp, it changes nothing, it has no power. I t is simply another aspect of life -- not its ending at all, but a form of existence.
We fear, I think, losing free will. That we will no longer be able to make choices. But let me compare death to "going under" prior to a surgery. The first time this happened to me (going under) I overcame my fear of death completely. The reason was that I became solidly aware how much "time" is a human perception, and nothing more. When you go under, you hear something like the doctor saying "Now, you're going to taste the taste of metal in the back of your mou--" and you're gone. You wake up, and hours have passed -- but it feels like the next instant. Time is only real as long as we exist to perceive it as real, flowing forward, existing in an actual sense beyond a vague unit of measurement.
You go under, and until you return, there is a sort of peace. No anxiety, no perception of time, no concern with action or inaction. This is how I envision death. No fear, no pain, no tangible existence. So there is nothing to fear, if this is the case. Just pure, sweet, infinite void. Does our consciousness go elsewhere when we go under? I think not. Does it struggle? Does it feel pain? These are conceptions of the human mind, imprinted on our consciousness. I envision the same for dying, though I admit I could be wrong.
So at death, there is an end of the forward flowing of time, and no more "consciousness" to witness the forward flowing of time, which cancels the entire concept of time anyway. Our pasts, beautiful and good or horrendous and vile live on in the annals of infinity. Our story remains written on eternity, and our actions continue to ripple both forward and backward in time.
This . . . is exhausting to try to express. I hope it made some basic sense, though I realize it may not. Especially since I didn't go into the fact that we effect both our future and our past with actions, which contradicts the normal conception of the past.
Please, I welcome your comments! On the reality of time, and the reality of the validity of death, or the lack thereof. I hope I didn't get anyone too brain-warped -- I know I feel a bit brain-warped now. Hope at least some of you enjoyed this, too!
Shanti,
~Rob Tenken~
My dad, because we had been discussing the subjective versus the objective universe, made a retort that "so is whether a guitar is playable." Which is certainly an interesting concept, but it was not the train of thought that I was headed towards. I realized that, probably, my train of thought was not immediately visible, so I felt like I would elaborate.
What I mean is that death, as the "end of life," is not necessarily a truth that we must accept. In fact, it is only a valid truth if you accept that the past is somehow less valid than the future. If we assume that all time is equal, and if you value the past as being equal to the future, then death has no power -- no grasp whatsoever.
It is only the concept of the future which gives death any measurability. We, as humans, seem invariably afraid of (I would say) our mortality, or rather, the end of our mortal existence. To see this as a negative thing, we have to view death as an "ending."
Many religions deny this by saying there's a continuing to life after death. I disagree that this is necessary to rob death of its power. I think that the "end" of this life is only the end if you evaluate the flow of time forward as an absolute beyond our perception. I feel it is the mortal perception of "yet to come" which makes us so afraid. We rely on a "yet to come" in order to function, make plans, gain things we consider to be "valuable," etc., etc..
But what of our pasts? What of the things we have already created? The impact we have already have, and the ripples which have already started? Our lives make marks upon the face of infinity. Both our futures and our pasts flow eternally outward from each moment of "present" in ripples of influence far beyond our comprehension. A slight difference in temperature in the primordial ooze would have made a large, large impact. But what if Alexander the Great had fallen in love and married rather than deciding to conquer Asia? What if Hitler had gotten sick before he joined in World War I? What if Cain had decided not to slay Abel?
These things are all possible, assuming you accept free will (and if you don't, we're all predestined anyway -- so why would it matter?), and they could have happened. It is each of our choices that change the face of eternity. If past and future are so infinitely impacted, how can we say that our existence is "over?"
Our existence has occurred, perhaps, in the weak medium of measurement known as "time," but our immortality occurs the moment we take first breath. Each choice we make reestablishes that immortality. And death -- the "end" -- does nothing to change or shake that in any way.
Death, being defined as an "ending of life," is fallacious at best. It has no grasp, it changes nothing, it has no power. I t is simply another aspect of life -- not its ending at all, but a form of existence.
We fear, I think, losing free will. That we will no longer be able to make choices. But let me compare death to "going under" prior to a surgery. The first time this happened to me (going under) I overcame my fear of death completely. The reason was that I became solidly aware how much "time" is a human perception, and nothing more. When you go under, you hear something like the doctor saying "Now, you're going to taste the taste of metal in the back of your mou--" and you're gone. You wake up, and hours have passed -- but it feels like the next instant. Time is only real as long as we exist to perceive it as real, flowing forward, existing in an actual sense beyond a vague unit of measurement.
You go under, and until you return, there is a sort of peace. No anxiety, no perception of time, no concern with action or inaction. This is how I envision death. No fear, no pain, no tangible existence. So there is nothing to fear, if this is the case. Just pure, sweet, infinite void. Does our consciousness go elsewhere when we go under? I think not. Does it struggle? Does it feel pain? These are conceptions of the human mind, imprinted on our consciousness. I envision the same for dying, though I admit I could be wrong.
So at death, there is an end of the forward flowing of time, and no more "consciousness" to witness the forward flowing of time, which cancels the entire concept of time anyway. Our pasts, beautiful and good or horrendous and vile live on in the annals of infinity. Our story remains written on eternity, and our actions continue to ripple both forward and backward in time.
This . . . is exhausting to try to express. I hope it made some basic sense, though I realize it may not. Especially since I didn't go into the fact that we effect both our future and our past with actions, which contradicts the normal conception of the past.
Please, I welcome your comments! On the reality of time, and the reality of the validity of death, or the lack thereof. I hope I didn't get anyone too brain-warped -- I know I feel a bit brain-warped now. Hope at least some of you enjoyed this, too!
Shanti,
~Rob Tenken~
