What YOU have to Say About Death and the Afterlife: Part 1

"Hey, thanks for the space for comment. OK - suppose you die, what happens? Some would say that you come back again, and get another try. But that sounds kinda like 'just ignore the problem and it'll go away' Making you unaccountable for your actions, just try harder next time. I think that each individual gets one chance, they have to "live" with their actions. You're responsible for the choices you make, when you die, you move on to heaven or hell...forever. But if this is so, how can some recall memories from their "past lives"? Some say that they are tapping into some sort of collective consciousness, or genetic memory. I'm not going to say that these things don't exist, or that one couldn't somehow tap into such a collective, I don't know. However, when you die, although your soul moves on to it's final resting place, I beleive that a part of you, perhaps a 'carbon copy' of your soul, reincarnates or comes back as a part of someone else. Giving them a "Higher Self" to aid them as they move thru life.( And just maybe, some 'past life' memories to work with ) Call me crazy, but it just might work. -Smurfnhat-"

"i believe everybody goes to heaven or hell by the christian god. i am not saying i am not open to other suggestions. I am saying that is what i was brought up with, and actually scared of not believing in it."

"Life and death is a neve-ending cycle as with everything else in nature. Spring always follows winter, and so life always follows death. It seems unfair that there should be a heaven for 'good' people and a hell for 'bad' people when our lives are so different. Who judges what is good or bad? How fair is it to condemn a person eternally for mistakes he made in life without giving him/her other chances in other lives?"

"I used to be an atheist. After reading a Star Trek book ("The Wounded Sky"), I got to thinking scientifically about what happens when we die. Where does the energy go? The laws of thermodynamics say that matter and energy are interchangable, and that matter is neither created nor destroyed. So where does that energy that made us alive go when we die? Many cultures over many thousands of years have talked about the "white light" and tunnel upon death (my mother the atheist says it's due to lack of oxygen to the brain, which may also be true). But I thought so many cultures wouldn't come up with that one point if there weren't some validity to it. So what I came to believe is that people go to where they think they'll go: if someone has been "bad" in his or her life, he or she will go to their "hell". If they have lead good, decent lives, then they go to "heaven". My dad, who was an agnostic, would go to his idea of heaven (a big library where he could play chess with Isaac Newton and Einstein is how I see it). I feel, though, that people move on differently. I feel John Denver has gone on to the Universe as a whole, like he always sang about in his song: "...join myself with it all!" is a quote from one of his songs. My idea of heaven is to return to the lands of the ancient Celts, before the spoilage of the Romans set in (this land is described in Stephen Lawhead's "Song of Albion" series). And I feel that if the soul isn't meant to stay with the One, then it will reincarnate until it is meant to stay (see reference to Abred-Ceugant-Gwynedd (please forgive any spelling errors). Have a blessed Samhain and New Year!"

"No, I just belive them."

"Memories of previous existance and simple observation..."

"The Bible"

"If you look around - life for everyone is difficult. There is pain, starvation, rape, murder etc. No one is really happy. We are already in hell, we must suffer now in order to be in that peaceful place later. No one gets something for nothing."

"yes, most of my beliefs came from my feelings and my "bottom" and others came from what I have learned during my life.(someone else's thoughts, experiences, etc..)"

"no people believe what they want to believein, some people think that certain religions like this one are "evil" or "devil worshipping" and i believe that to be totally untrue, the problem with society is that they do not have an open mind about different religions i do. jamie"

"I have seen the spirit-forms of loved ones and pets. My mother and grandmother appeared during three near-death experiences. Each time they told me they were at peace and that I must go back because I had a lot of work to do. I know we don't really die, but continue on in some manner."

"I believe we are reincarnated,over and over, untill our souls learn all the lessons we need to learn."

"I belong ot a Western Mystery School," Builders of the Adytum" This teaches us universal principles and scientific laws in order to use our own reasoning powers and to live, die and learn our lessons by choosing what we need to learn and what experiences are needed for our spritual advancement. At the end of many livetimes we are advanced enough to blend with the universal ALL and help all humanity from a Higher leval. These are called "The Inner School Souls" that have quided humanity and the cosmos from the beginning. In the end all souls will advance to this stage. In the meantime we are all just all "green apples on the Tree of Life". LVX Barbara K. White"

"being raised with a jewish father and catholic mother i have knowledge of both religions and i figure neither of them to be correct."

"I'm a wicken . in a wolrd gone mad my beliefs are my belifs and others can belive what they want."

"No I Look inward to what I feel is right for me."

"I believe this because there are numerous accounts among my family of astral travelling without meaning to We beleive it is because our souls have been reincarnated from a strong witch family."

"Only what i feel inside is right for me and what the "dead" have told me"

"all personal. I don't think anyone REALLY knows. It is comforting to me that I believe my great gran is watching over me."

"I've always had these beliefs, even though I had been raised in a traditional Christian home. So this is not new to me since I have become interested in Wicca. Without reincarnation, the idea of a soul at all seems pointless. Plus, I have "seen" 2 of my previous lives through past life regression."

"I believe tha every living thing has a soul that is developed throughout it's lifetime. How else can one explain the feeling that one gets when walking through the woods? How else can one explain the certain feelings some empty houses or places give? Souls do not die. they live on forever. I am not sure whether they are reincarnated, or what. There is definately not "one place" that all souls go to and sit around for the rest of eternity."

"I went to a catholic school for 9 years and am dragged to church by my mother regularlly. So most of what I think comes from the brainwashing that has been afflicted upon me. I believe that there is a higher being then us, I'am not sure of who or what. I do not believe in the existance of either heaven or hell."

"I was raised with the freedom to chose what to believe in. I never went to church or worshipped a god of any sort. By having this freedom I'm not held down by any superior being,commandment or custom. I think it's ignorant to misjudge people for the way they worship. And every religion I have come in contact with believes that their god is the only god. I know what's right and what's wrong. I don't need a god to tell me that. It's just common sense!"

"I don't believe as the "bible" does"

"My beliefs are based on comparative study of many different religions including Wicca and other forms of paganism. The purpose of life (all life, including the Universe as a living organisim) is growth and a continuing pursuit of perfection, in my opinion. Animals and plants do not have sould, but draw upon a "collective spirit". When they have evolved into sentient beings, ie. self-awareness, then the spark from the collective spirit breaks away forming a individualized soul. These are just my musings of course. I could be wrong. :)"

"Sometimes you need to believe. Proof to the contrary has been ignored for ages but the need to believe carries the beliefs through."

"I remember things I have not experienced in my life. I know more than I could ever have learned in 16 years. I know a lot of people a lot older that just don't have the same instincts. The only explanation that I can see is reincarnation."

"For the moment i'm a broke away christian who never was..A forced christian so right now i have know true beliefs where anything is"

"If you look in the eyes of an animal you will see a human in them and in some human's eyes you will notice an animal. When I look at my dog I cant imagine that he is without a soul. All the souls of the universe are of equal status. Animal souls are not inferior. God has not religion because he or she does not need to follow any religion. God is certainly not Christian, jewish or islamic God. He is something eastern i.e. Sikh God."

"I think our souls wonder the earth and the world beyond . I think this because I think a soul is free to wonder where it pleases . usually when we are still in our bodies our bodies are held captive and our minds are awaiting the advantage to wonder where we want to go . then when we "die" we live up to our dreams from wondering."

"I believe that we all have an essence or an aura that is part of us. I saw an example of this essence during the death of my mother. After death the essence was gone--all that remained was a shell...All life forms had gone...I think we are all connected. We are made out of the same space material just in different ways. After death, we decompose, and sink down into the earth. I'm a country girl so I have seen animals who have died and I know scientifically what happens in decomposition. All the material is utilized for new life. Why wouldn't the "soul" be the same. The essence is eventually assimilated into the collective (who would have thought that our souls would be the Borg?). The mind is a most powerful organ and if there are things bothering your consciousness near death, they may "bleed" over into the natural world. I think that is where some "ghosts" come from. Just because my grandmother came to visit my son after she died has nothing to do with my beliefs. To explain the story, my grandmother was in the hospital with terminal cancer and beginning dementia. I was pregnant with my first child at this time. I visited her at the hospital almost everyday. She continually said she wanted to live long enough to see the baby. She talked about him a lot. She knew he was going to be a boy and knew his name. Alas, she died before he was born. My son had severe colic during the first three months of life and the only time he would quietn down was when we went to my grandmother's home, where my aunt had taken up residence. The change in my son was drastic when we went through the door. Consequently, this was the only rest I received. My aunt was dissatisfied with the house and offered to sell it to us. We thought we had a good deal and moved in. The house is great but right off we noticed things. When my son was fussy or had more colic, I would hear footsteps. I would turn expecting to see my husband or someone but no one would be there. The steps would stop at my son's door (my grandmother's old room). During the night if Lucas (my son) woke me crying I would hear the steps and think my husband was going to get him. When I looked, no one was there and there was such a loving, caring essence saying (somehow)"go back to sleep". Lucas would be comforted and I would have a pleasant feeling. This eventually stopped after Lucas got older, but I still feel that his greatgrandmother was watching over him. The reason my aunt made us such a deal is that she had been seeing things at the house and wanted to get away from it. Sorry for the length of this post but I have always wanted to tell someone about the story. Thanks, Light and laughter, glenda"

"My believe is shady. I do have a strong belief in the soul, I am not so certain about what happens to the soul when the host dies."

"I don't know how someone can think that the soul just dies. We feel the need to believe that we have some type of immortality, even if it only deals with heaven or reincarnation, we are still not dead."

"Having existed on this earth for 41 years I tend to have a cynical outlook on humankinds motivations. In my youth I felt the energy and spirit of the world. Having grown up in a rural setting, I was blessed with having spent many hours in the woods and fields. Some of these places contained more spirituality than any church I've been in. In my adulthood I tire and burn out over the petty squabbles over status and position. It seems the more power people aquire, the more controll they want to exert over others, even to the point of inventing gods and religeons. I have never been one to believe in ghost stories, at least untill I married a woman who seems to have a developed psycic sense and has passed this down to our daughters. I first became aware of "ghosts" when my oldest daughter started talking about an "imaginary friend" she called Judy. She was three years old when this started. During that year we moved into the house that I was raised in, ( to caretake for my folks who were moving around a lot in those days.) During that summer our county was celebrating a sesquicentenial and there was a lot of historical literature floating around our household. One evening we were looking at a local history book which contained numerous pictures. On one page there was a collection of pictures of people from around one hundred years ago. My daughter suddenly got excited and pointed to a picture of an older man. She said,"That's Judy!" Looking at the caption we found that the man's last name was Judith. That wasn't quite enough to convince me of human spirits roaming about after death but other experiences in that household did. My wife began having dreams about house fires and suffocating while we lived there. For whatever reason she never related these dreams to me while we were living there. Also during that time my daughter, my wife and my mother in law all had seen a shadowy figure in the house at different times. This figure was child sized and distinctly different from "Judy". We had an extra bedroom in this house that we used for a play room for our daughers. One day my wife heard someone playing in there. She had just put our youngest daughter down to sleep and figured that she had gotten up and went in there. Our oldest was outside playing on the swing. When my wife went up to check on the younger. she found her asleep in her room and toys scattered about the play room as if a child had been playing. We had no "logical" explantion. Years later, at a family reunion, my brothers and I were talking about the house and the history of it. The house had been built in the 1960's after the farmhouse that the builders family lived in had burned down. They sold off most of the farm and build this house. That family's history included the loss of a child due to drowning in the farm pond. Having heard these stories my wife related to me the dreams of fire and suffocation that she had had during our occupation of the house. She is a very grounded person and does not take flights of fancy or tell tall tales to impress people. She has been very private about her experiences of this type. It has been hard for me to accept much of what I've read, seen or been told about "ghosts" but I sincerly believe my wifes experiences as being real. My experience with nature as a youth and my experience being married to someone that has gifts has had a greater influence on my belief than the Christian doctrine that I was raised with."

"I think that when we die we either go to heaven or hell. And if you go to heaven your sole stays there untill god puts you back on the earth again but(as the same person not reincarnated)."

"I was raised as a Christain and have always tied to contain my beleifs as my elders have seen fit. But I have always been enchanted by the mysteries of other cultures. And in this survey I have mixed these feelings."

"I strongly believe in reincarnation because of how the plants grow they can bloom and flourish with life and then suddenly wither with death but yet mesteriously it returns to life I fell that that's beatiful we're all conected so that's a little hint I recieved from my enchanting rose bush! Love for all wild and free!!!!!! Mp, LadySara"

"I guess since I answered "I don't know" for most of the questions an explination is needed. I personally hope that everyone goes to their own personal better place after death. I am not sure what the "better place" is or if it is even a place. I think afterlife is way beyond any persons understanding and personally I am glad that we do not know a specific answer."

"I believe all that truly exists is the here and now. What I term as soul is the energy that produces life thus all living beings have souls, (including insects unfourtunatly :] They have the right to live along with everything else). When something dies, the life energy dissipates, and the soul dies too."

"I believe that we just continue. If you have ever heard of de ja vous, it means "already happened. I think that when someone is experiencing de ja vous, they are only remembering things that may have happened in their past life. I do not believe we become different people or beings, i believe we live the same life over and over only we dont remember it.~lillith"

"When a soul gets where it is going thats where it will remain. To me a soul cannot get reincarnated. My 14 month old daughter died in March and I would prefer to think that her soul will always be hers never to be reincarnated. Where she is now is a better place than this placed called earth. She can do what she wants, be what she wants, and have anything she desires."

"no"

"still in search"

"dreams and visions have provided me with insights into the other side of the veil. We control more of our souls path than we realize or sometimes fear to admit."

"none whatsoever except thats just the way I see things nothing can really change how I view religion"

"no justifications, what religion actually has them? i believe whatever path works for you is what you should pursue. How can we know which is right or wrong? no one knows, except yourself. since i believe there's more than one path to follow, no religion is really right or wrong. and people that say they're religion is the only true one believe that because it's a part of the religion."

"I think that everyone is forgiven and they all go to heaven."

"I have always felt like that. I just could not see millions of souls being "manufactured". I feel a connection with the past and the future."

"My beliefs are solely justified. i believe what i believe because i have certain feelings toward enlightenment and just whatever feels right."

"There is no proof to me other than my own experienses to show that any beliefs are right or wrong."

"I was born into a catholic community.. butin the philippines where i was born there are very superstitious beliefs that go against the very strong catholic beliefs that they shouldn't exist which made me interested in Witchcraft the last few years..and not having the funds to practice what i have learned some of my beliefs also come from the amount i have read about witchcraft"

Like I said before: I belive we had past lives that there are only so many of us and when we die we see our Goddess or God or even God's. then the send us to earth again in a different body. As the saying go's, 'when some dies someone is born.'"

"I believe that our souls are reincarnated into a different form in each life. i'm not sure why i believe this way, its just a feeling i have. i truely feel in my heart that i have lived before, in more than one lifetime. it really can't be explained, its the same reason other people believe in god, or in anything else, somewhere inside, it just feels right."

"No not really"

"No, I have no justification for any of my beliefs I only have assumptions and hope. That which you call the "soul," I consider the life energy that permeates all living things, including rocks, stars, water, wind and planets. I believe in energy, both constructive and destructive energies these energies are in a balance, constantly being born and dying, and then being reborn in a new form, always changing, but forever there, dancing in the eternal dance of life. Whether there is any "reason" for this, I don't know. But I can feel my own participation in it, and in my most profound moments, total joy, or ananda, the ultimate joy in the universe. Only when we lose that ability to feel joy in life, do we really come close to dying, in my humble opinion. And there is always the chance that we may find it again."

"no justification for my beliefs. just resources i have read and other typical up bringing. all of this is why i believe what i believe."

"I believe these things are true because my I feel them...they (the feelings) are 'soulful'. I have studied this subject quite a bit. My knowledge with regard to this subject is not only 'soul felt', but also derived from works by Edgar Cayce (ie. The Center for Advanced Research and Enlightenment - A.R.E.)"

"right now i am sorting out my beliefs from those which i was raised on"

"Gut feeling since birth."

"I really dont have a answer on why I believe in what I believe. Its just something that you have to do upon yourself regardless on how someone else thinks."

"I have had waking visions and dreams that have come true. I have been healed with sound and met the soul of my daughter before she was born. I saw my father on several occasions after he died...I know some things and am open to others Blessed Be"

"No justification, i just think that beleifes should be what comes from the heart, not what other people say should be or what is."

"All the pain and suffering of the world is the pulling of the astral plane on your soul. After you die, you must face your pain in the actual plane. A monster/beast will appear. You MUST kill it, or die a hundred deaths daily. You soul IS reincarnated, and used again in another person/plant/animal."

"no, not really. It's just the way I believe things to be."

"Basically, it's the belief of my Tradition that when you die, parts of you become of the land (which can cycle up into other life forms, though this is not reincarnation), and part of you may go to the Otherworld and live with the Sidhe, where one is venerated as an Ancestor. I have taken a journey to the Otherworld, where I did meet many people and animals who had an impact on my life and had died...this is a great justifacation of my beliefs to me."

"One factor is how we are brought up, whether by fundamental christians, people who don't care one way or the other, or whatever. Then, it is up to the individual to question, to search for knowledge and wisdom that rings true with them, and being open to discussion. People then grow, spiritually. Faith is a big thing."

"i don't have any special reason for the beliefs, it's just the way my mind percieves things!"

"raised with these beliefs. I feel strongly that they are true."

"I believe we are all here to fullfill our own personal task. we are here away from our home, to learn a lesson that we never mastered in our previous life, such as forgiveness, trust, love, respect & so on. were growing spiritually in every lifetime. my favorite saying is: We are not humans beings experiencing a spititual expirence. We are spititual beings experiencing a human expirence. Our guides alonge with us decide which type of life would be best for us to ente and learn our next lesson or task. Also there is a "GOD" the higher one. We are all part of him."

"if the world keeps going where do all the new things come from? Things come again and again. It is easier to create a "temperary" body than an eternal soul!"

"I believe that life force energy continues to make a full circle and that when one dies that that energy will be recreated into another form, a living form. Many primitive societies believed in a similar explaination. This type of explanation is as good as any other , ie.Christian Muslim, etc."

"When my father died after a terribly short bout with cancer, I felt peace. He was in so much pain. He worried so much about not being the husband and father he should have been. Even with all the pain, there was so much love. At the last minutes of his life he experienced a foggy sunset which noone else saw. And then had my mom sing to him. My father was no angel on earth but I feel he is now. He often said, when I die, you'll forget all about me. It's funny because nothing could be further from the truth."

"My beliefs are my own.. I have no idea how they got into my head. Argue with my brain. Right now my hands are doing the typing."

"I DON'T KNOW!!"

"Because we have many lifes and in each one we are here to learn different things and we keep coming back until we have achieved what we needed"

"Near Death Experience - 29 years ago"