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Originally Posted by Robert  I probably haven't captured all the possibilities and there could be some overlap. For example, there could be a cycle of reincarnation in which you work out your karma, for example, and then transcend to a higher plane. Please try to provide a rational for your choice if you can. I think it is also possible to have two choices. One choice is based on reasoned rational thought and the other choice is based on emotion and want.
Although I current lean towards the "Eaten by Worms" theory, I once leaned towards an afterlife and reincarnation. The countless stories of people who died and were revived, and then told very similar stories about what happened to them while they were dead, were very influential to me. You can't simply say that all those stories were fabrications can you? It would be interesting to know why these stories are so similar. Perhaps it's the way the brain is wired (by evolution perhaps) to operate as the body dies. |
The question is difficult to analyze because of the nature of our mental abilities.
Our rational processes are bracketed between [ life and death ], they (life and death) are the parameters within which our 'rationality' operates, so any consideration regarding 'what happens' outside of these brackets is speculative, intuitive or hypothetical, absent direct knowledge.
In addition to the folks who have experienced 'after death' events there is also a large group of people who have 'past life recollections'.... 'flashbacks', past-life memories, awarenesses of 'other times and places', all of which transcend rational investigation.
As such, any analysis or speculation requires (it seems) some 'key' to enable us to 'peer into the darkness' that is beyond the scope of sensory investigation.
One such 'key' is 'The Key of Hermes' or 'The Emerald Tablet' of Hermetic thought, which says, "As Above, So Below", indicating that what it is that happens in the microcosm also happens in the macrocosm, but in different dimensions.
An example is the atom juxtaposed with the solar system, As Above (solar system), so below (the atom). In other words, consecutive dimensions are 'mirrors' (in a way) of the dimensions that are above and below any particular dimension, but with (also) qualitative differences.
The reason why I mentioned the 'As Above, So Below' stuff is because it provides an insight (hypothetical) into the realms that prohibit typical 'scientific' investigation.
Continuing the thread of thought...... 'As Above, So Below' ...... an ego death is a higher expression of a physical death.... so, according to the Hermetic Law (as stated) if one wants to be able to 'look' beyond the veil of death then one way to do so is to experience an 'ego death' and to extrapolate the experience and project it (magnified), by imagination, into the next higher dimension.
To get a handle on 'ego death' we must consult with 'yogis', 'sages', 'saints', 'mystics', 'avatars' and 'enlightened' (spiritually) individuals.
This group (as enumerated above) claims that as the ego diminishes there is a 'merging' with transcendental energetics that is other than a 'loss of identity' but, rather, a gaining of a 'new identity'.
So, following the 'reasoning' (above / below), if as the ego dies (loss of preferences and willfulness) there is a gradual merging with the transcendent then that process mirrors what happens in the event of a physical death.... or, in other words, a subsequent conscious merging with 'other dimensional' forces.
As such, after 'death' (physical) we gain a 'new identity' (reincarnation) which is shaped by the contents of consciousness (desires, goals, material ambitions, 'karma', etc.) from our previous life. The next 'incarnation' can be an improvement or diminishment depending upon the contents of consciousness.
In other words.... consciousness is the 'continuum' and circumstances are the ephemeral.
According to metaphysical thought there are three levels of 'human' consciousness:
1) Consciousness and form are utterly merged into 'one'.
2) Consciousness is seen and experienced as being (ultimately) independent of its physical form. In other words, consciousness is the 'occupant' of the physical body but has its 'ultimate reality' in the non-physical.
3) Consciousness has been 'distilled' from the ego/physical-body and can 'come and go' from physical form in much the way that 'normal people' can change their clothing.
The members of group #3 (above) experience group #1 as relative 'animals' (primates) whose consciousness is 'embedded' into their physical forms.
The members of groups #2 and #3 (especially #3) have an awareness of other dimensions and have a 'foot' in both the physical and non-physical realms. They realize that 'death' (physical) is simply a 'change of venue' for consciousness... a continuation of life and experience in a new form.
Group #3 has clear knowledge (gnosis, an inner positive knowing) that consciousness 'sprouts' (like a seed) from (through, actually) the 'human embryo' (human being as an embryo of consciousness) and then can work its way out of the cocoon and attain liberation from the constraints of physical form. (Group #2 has a similar awareness and is engaged in the process of decompiling the tethers as a prelude of entering group #3).
So.... for Group #1, being 'eaten by worms' seems like the only 'reasonable' fate. Group #2 have 'split the Adam' (atom) and recognize that consciousness (self) CAN become independent of physicality. Group #3 has completed the work and identify with 'consciousness' and not the physical 'form'.
It is reasonable to believe that there are 'laws' pertaining to consciousness just as there are 'laws' governing all other aspects of 'life' as we know it.
If so, (existence of Laws of Consciousness) then what 'law of consciousness' assigns some individuals to Group #1 and other to Groups #2 and #3 ?
If 'As Above, So Below, is the governing principle/key then one could say that the Darwinian rule of 'Survival of the Fittest' may be in operation. .... some are 'chosen (? natural selection?) for 'liberation', while others are not (death).
In other words, if 'survival of the fittest' operates within the realm of consciousness then what are the defining attributes (pertaining to consciousness) of 'fittest'?
Religion, some philosophy and its (philosophy) ethics define 'fittest' as ethical, non-violent, balanced, honest, truthful, non-'brutish', etc., etc. ...fundamentally, unemcumbered by 'material concerns' and the relative 'weight' of a complicated 'self' wherein 'survival' becomes taxing.
So, considering any possible relationship between Darwin's 'fittest and survival' terms then I would think that the realization of 'eternal life' (of consciousness) is the ultimate attainment of 'survival'.
All others remain 'trapped' in the illusion of 'space/time' and experience the natural consequences of their beliefs.
Group #1 believes in physical evolution while Group #3 recognizes the 'Intelligent Design' and then proceeds to merge with it. Group #2 is somewhere in the middle.
Some become as 'gods' (eternal) while others become 'food for worms'.
However,.... the 'food for worms' is (unaware) yet another 'eternal context' (on the 'wheel') until the core beliefs and subsequent behavior are changed to embrace a new belief system and then enter Group #2.
If 'human' is a 'context' that prohibits (rationality) 'viewing' alternate dimensions of being, then 'human' is the box we must think 'outside of' in order to 'access' other dimensions (if they exist).
'Human', it seems, is only one 'flavor' of consciousness. When 'consciousness' is emptied of 'human' then something else appears to take its (human) place. That 'something else' is what 'humans' call 'God' (?).
Group #3 knows that in a quest for 'the eternal' we are 'looking for' what it is that we are 'looking with'..... i.e., 'consciousness' in a pure state, devoid of 'human' which is ('human') but a higher expression of the 'earth-bound' animal kingdom.
So... summary:
Anyone wishing to find out 'what happens after you die?' can get a clear picture by 'killing' the ego; IF the Hermetic axiom/law, "As Above, So Below", is true, (as many seem to have found out), then 'death' is ultimately an illusion (like the ego) tethered to the ephemeral nature of the material plane.
Metaphysics is 'self proving' and, as such, produces 'proof' via 'self-experimentation' rather than proof along the lines of typical 'scientific investigation'. Why? Because the external 'reality' changes as the inner landscape of consciouness changes.... and this is something that MUST be demonstrated by the 'self' to the 'self' and by no other means.
To discover whether or not this (as stated) is true requires only a fundamental change in one's belief's and an accompanying shift in one's behavior so that it is in alignment with the new beliefs.
All of this (discussion) raises the question, "What is the full power and/or potentialities of consciousness"? ... the metaphysical answer to that question is 'unlimited' or 'temporarily limited' according to circumstance.
The 'glib' answer to 'what happens.....etc.' seems apparent IF this lifetime is the lifetime that follows the previous one.... same 'play' with different 'players' all of whom are mirrors of the contents of consciousness unaware (perhaps) of 'ultimate reality'.
So... the philosophical question of "Can 'God' make a rock heavier that can be lifted"? ... can be replaced by the question, "What happens when 'God' decides that 'God' is destined to become 'worm food'?
Answer: 'God' will become 'worm food' over and over and over again until the 'game' is changed (change of mind and beliefs).
"To Be, or NOT to be", and if 'to be' then ... to 'be' what? Dead?
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that might be the only time we can say someone is dying ..
Linear Mode
