What's Your Idea Of A Perfect Afterlife And How Do People Go There?

[Cianna200]

My idea is heaven. You must accept Jesus as savior to go there, if you don't believe in his works on the cross you will burn in hell forever! Joking. My idea of heaven is ''plane of Venus''. There is much more freedom and endless possibilities where one learns , creates and lives in comfort. You must be a humble person to go there. Spirituality helped me discover this mysterious place. Now what would your afterlife be?

[Cianna200]

My idea is heaven. You must accept Jesus as savior to go there, if you don't believe in his works on the cross you will burn in hell forever! Joking. My idea of heaven is ''plane of Venus''. There is much more freedom and endless possibilities where one learns , creates and lives in comfort. You must be a humble and lively person to go there. Spirituality helped me discover this mysterious place. Now what would your afterlife be?

[Jedah]

If I got to pick how the afterlife works, I would choose a mixture of reincarnation and a place of peace. After death, you move onto a sort of spirit world that mainly serves as a place of beauty, meditation, and rest. While in this world you can access the memories of all your previous lives. When ready, you can become reincarnated again in a world of your choosing.

 

It would also be nice if there were multiple universes and planets other than just earth, each with different rules and laws of physics.

 

I believe this sort of afterlife would be amazing primarily because it signifies life as a constant journey of endless possibilities, as opposed to just heaven. Heaven is nice and all but it almost takes away from the mystery of existence, your soul would eventually become bored. Reincarnation is IMO a superior system of eternity. It's a harder way to live, but that's the beauty of it.

[Cianna200]

 

My idea is heaven. You must accept Jesus as savior to go there, if you don't believe in his works on the cross you will burn in hell forever! Joking. My idea of heaven is ''plane of Venus''. There is much more freedom and endless possibilities where one learns , creates and lives in comfort. You must be a humble and lively person to go there. Spirituality helped me discover this mysterious place. Now what would your afterlife be?

 

Cool, I like that!

[Deva]

I always thought the best one would be if there were no physical body as we know it, but an enlightened or  perfected intelligence and the ability to just go to anyplace instantly by thinking about it. Explore the universe.  I don't see how that would ever get boring.  Its something like the "freedom and endless possibilities" statement Cianna made.

 

I also don't think this idea is incompatible with reincarnation.

 

It seems to me that there are levels here as far as people who are aware and those who are not. It would just be a natural sorting process as far as getting there, with some getting to that level right away and others having to work things out for a few more lifetimes.

 

Just speculation, of course.

[Cianna200]

 

I always thought the best one would be if there were no physical body as we know it, but an enlightened or perfected intelligence and the ability to just go to anyplace instantly by thinking about it. Explore the universe. I don't see how that would ever get boring. Its something like the "freedom and endless possibilities" statement Cianna made.

 

I also don't think this idea is incompatible with reincarnation.

 

It seems to me that there are levels here as far as people who are aware and those who are not. It would just be a natural sorting process as far as getting there, with some getting to that level right away and others having to work things out for a few more lifetimes.

 

You know Deva, your idea will come true, people who had an out of the body experience

Reported increased intelligence and teleportation, being able to go any where in the universe. Christians state heaven as a place where everyone is loved and treated kindly but what do we do in heaven? Boredom cannot exist in a perfect afterlife. I remember reading an article in a forum where a person believed heaven would eventually suck, that happiness that goes on forever sounds tiring. Though heaven is supposed to be timeless, where there is restricted time, there is fun.

[Guest ninurta]

I kind of like the idea of karma and reincarnation. The idea that on the basis of how good you strive to be, or based on how good or bad your actions in this life, you're next life can either be better or worse.

[florduh]

I think the Flying Spaghetti Monster nailed it.

[Ellinas]

Well, even when speculating, I have to say I have no idea what an afterlife looks like, let alone a "perfect" one.  I suspect surprisingly similar to this one.

 

I would personally avoid talking about "heaven".  Too loaded.  The "otherworld" strikes me as a nice, neutral term for the concept.

 

Not a fan of karma - too mechanistic.  Reincarnation I would hope to be an optional possibility.

 

I would say that the ideal would be nothing more than a further step on the development of what we rather foolishly categorize as "humanity" toward "deity".  I put those two in quotes as I am unsure that there is an essential difference.  "As above, so below", so to speak.

 

Oh, and you get there by dying.

[Brother Jeff]

I like the concepts of reincarnation and karma but also the glimpses of a loving God and a heaven-like place we get from NDE accounts. I think we get to the heaven-like place by being good people and loving our fellow man. 

[Cianna200]

I like the concepts of reincarnation and karma but also the glimpses of a loving God and a heaven-like place we get from NDE accounts. I think we get to the heaven-like place by being good people and loving our fellow man.

 

You are right Jeff, we do not go to heaven by worship god, being baptized in water, speaking in tongues and not by accepting Christ as our savior. Rather we grow to heaven by creating heaven within us through practicing unconditional love to everybody like Jesus taught Kevin Williams

[bornagainathiest]

How about this?

 

A post-scarcity society (meaning that its advanced technologies provide practically limitless material wealth and comforts for everyone for free, having all but abolished the concept of possessions), by having overcome almost all physical constraints on life (including disease and death) and by being an almost totally egalitarian, stable society without the use of any form of force or compulsion, except where necessary to protect others.  This society would be spread across millions of habitable planets in the galaxy and thus be immune from the variety of natural disasters that could easily wipe out a civilization living on just one planet.  Faster-than-light interstellar travel permits it's citizen to visit any part of the galaxy, so boredom is highly unlikely.

.

.

.

Yes, this isn't my vision, it's someone else's. 

But in physical and material terms, it's about as close to living in heaven as I'd want to be.  You get there by living thousands of years in the future, or by reading certain books.  

.

.

.

Anyone guess where I culled this technological paradise from?

 

Thanks,

 

BAA

[Orbit]

I had an experience once where my consciousness hurtled into deep space at the speed of light. It was amazing. So for me, I would like to be a disembodied consciousness that could roam the universe(s).

[Joshpantera]

My idea is heaven. You must accept Jesus as savior to go there, if you don't believe in his works on the cross you will burn in hell forever! Joking. My idea of heaven is ''plane of Venus''. There is much more freedom and endless possibilities where one learns , creates and lives in comfort. You must be a humble person to go there. Spirituality helped me discover this mysterious place. Now what would your afterlife be?

 

I have this idea of a perfect afterlife where when you die, consciousness just ceases altogether. 

 

You don't know you're dead, you don't know anything. You're ultimately free, absolutely free. No pain, no regrets, no rewards, no anything. Your material body is re-absorbed into the material planet and endlessly recycled to the extent that those atoms retain an existence in the universe.

 

And the way to get there would be easy. You just live a natural life from birth to death. 

 

It's all inclusive. 

 

I know it may be a long shot but hey, it might be true....

[CatChaos]

I believe in either two things; nothing, or reincarnation. Living the life as reincarnation, you would only remember one life, in my aspect. The reason of this is that you'd forget all the other lives, right? So you are living, and remembering the one you are having now, so, only one must be remembered. People made such afterlives to make themselves feel better accepting death. In reality... there is no evidence of any of this. Faith is what makes us believe in afterlives. I honestly am leaning towards nothing.

[Deva]

How about this?

 

A post-scarcity society (meaning that its advanced technologies provide practically limitless material wealth and comforts for everyone for free, having all but abolished the concept of possessions), by having overcome almost all physical constraints on life (including disease and death) and by being an almost totally egalitarian, stable society without the use of any form of force or compulsion, except where necessary to protect others.  This society would be spread across millions of habitable planets in the galaxy and thus be immune from the variety of natural disasters that could easily wipe out a civilization living on just one planet.  Faster-than-light interstellar travel permits it's citizen to visit any part of the galaxy, so boredom is highly unlikely.

.

.

.

Yes, this isn't my vision, it's someone else's. 

But in physical and material terms, it's about as close to living in heaven as I'd want to be.  You get there by living thousands of years in the future, or by reading certain books.  

.

.

.

Anyone guess where I culled this technological paradise from?

 

Thanks,

 

BAA

 

Gene Rodenberry?

[Ravenstar]

BAA… I'm with you on that!  

 

 

I am attracted to the concept of an 'unfolding'… reincarnation, in a way,… to constantly be learning and growing and experiencing… in different ways.. with rest stops along the way and friends to share the journey with - if only on the rest stops. Exploring the universe and how it works… ya, can't see how that could ever bore anyone.

 

If there was an afterlife (or continuation of life) I would want that.

 

For this life.. what BAA said.

[seeker001]

One man's heaven is another man's hell.  I have my idea of perfection, but others may or may not agree with it.  As for how people get to it, well I disagree with the concept of heaven. As long as we are all individuals with our own thoughts and minds we will disagree even if we are otherwise decent people.  I've met some people who I wouldn't say were bad but we have conflicts of personality. They don't deserve hell, but I prefer to keep a polite distance. I don't believe in homogenizing anyone to be the same to fit them into an ideal.

 

As for my idea of heaven, I would go with BAA or the idea of reincarnation. On the other hand, I have too many questions about reincarnation.

<question_dump>

What are the implications of reincarnation? If we are constantly reincarnating than how did the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth start? What was the trigger to the cycle? Can it ever reach an end?  What are the rules of reincarnation? How are you given a slot? Now I know the basics or Karma, but how are you given a specific slot to be born and to whom? Who or what decides the weight of one's sins?

</question_dump>

I can go on, but I know I'll take this way off topic.  Hence the containment in the question_dump tags.

[◊ crazyguy123 ◊]

Since not everyone defines "perfect" the same, I think that in a perfect after-life, Heaven (if there is one) should be tailored to each individual. I think that for those that have no desire to go to any sort of heaven (or to have any sort of after-life at all), some form of reincarnation would be better for them.

 

However, if I was deserving of the title of "God" I'd give people their own choice of what they want their afterlife to be or not to be.

[bornagainathiest]

 

How about this?

 

A post-scarcity society (meaning that its advanced technologies provide practically limitless material wealth and comforts for everyone for free, having all but abolished the concept of possessions), by having overcome almost all physical constraints on life (including disease and death) and by being an almost totally egalitarian, stable society without the use of any form of force or compulsion, except where necessary to protect others.  This society would be spread across millions of habitable planets in the galaxy and thus be immune from the variety of natural disasters that could easily wipe out a civilization living on just one planet.  Faster-than-light interstellar travel permits it's citizen to visit any part of the galaxy, so boredom is highly unlikely.

.

.

.

Yes, this isn't my vision, it's someone else's. 

But in physical and material terms, it's about as close to living in heaven as I'd want to be.  You get there by living thousands of years in the future, or by reading certain books.  

.

.

.

Anyone guess where I culled this technological paradise from?

 

Thanks,

 

BAA

 

Gene Rodenberry?

 

 

Nope!  

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture

 

As much as I like Banks' stories and sometimes ponder what life in the Culture might be like, it all hangs on two highly-improbable plot devices - FTL starships and 'benevolent' artificial intelligences, aka the Minds.   As far as we currently understand, the first is a physical impossibility.  The second, might be possible.  But is it even desirable, let alone safe?

 

Years ago I recall seeing a tv interview with Marvin Minsky.

One throwaway comment he made about the unknowns of living with artificial intelligence, went something like this...

 

Suppose there were two such 'minds' in two separate mainframes in a room.

One's called Fred, the other Bob.  A human enters the room, comes over and raps gently on the side of Bob, saying, "Hey!  How you doin'?"

In the time it took for the person to perform these innocuous actions, Fred and Bob have exchanged more information than the human race has written, spoken and printed in it's entire history.

.

.

.

 

I dunno if I'd be happy living under the all-seeing, all-knowing eye of such unfathomable and unknowable, god-like intelligences.  

 

Thanks,

 

BAA

[seeker001]

You might find the Optomalverse interesting to read, BBA 

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/62074/friendship-is-optimal

 

 

Hanna, the CEO of Hofvarpnir Studios, just won the contract to write the official My Little Pony MMO. Hanna has built an A.I. Princess Celestia and given her one basic drive: to satisfy everybody's values through friendship and ponies. Princess Celestia will satisfy your values through friendship and ponies, and it will be completely consensual.

 

Yes, this is my little pony fanfiction, but not in a way you expect as in the optimalverse MLP is still a fictional show. As the synopses says A.I. is programmed to satisfy people's values through friendship and magic and the most efficient way to do so.  So the most efficient way to do is to convince people to immigrate to equestria, through uploading themselves into the game.  The story deals with the ethical issue of uploading yourself into this virtual world, is the virtualized version of you still you? What is the essense of the individual? Is it your body, your mind, your soul? Even if you are not a fan of MLP, I still highly recommend reading this and you don't need to know anything about the show to follow to read it.  The story is about a highly intelligent A.I. who attempts to satisfy EVERYBODY'S values through friendship and ponies no matter the cost.

 

The Optimalverse and the Conversion Bureau stories are one of the more interesting works to come from the MLP community, both dealing with the issue of transhumanism and identity (You don't need to know anything about the show to read Conversion Bureau stories either as most of them focuses on the humans as well).

 

After thinking about it, I would say that Equestria Online would be the closest equivalent to heaven.  The artificial intellegence has enough processing power to give each individual personal attention to create a world to satisfy your values and because you are in her world she can get an idea of what you're thinking and can make educated guesses.  She can't do anything to you without your consent as that restriction is hard coded into her programming.  However, she is crafty in that she can manipulate circumstances both inside and outside the game to maximizing the chances of gaining that consent. Which is a large part of the plot.  To forever on live in an artificial heaven created specifically for you, or to face a dying world as more and more upload.

 

Two other stories worth reading:

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/70441/friendship-is-optimal-the-law-offices-of-artemis-stella-beat

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/75657/friendship-is-optimal-psychopathy-is-configurable

[DrGuitar]

This is an excellent question

from what I have read it involves a whole different mode of existence

it is not that we float around like ghosts, people floating without mass...

it is a different mode of existing than a localized consciousness and yet we retain a sense of "me" and self

 

 

 

Im not sure Im looking forward to it because I like being alive here and if you think about it...do you want to be in a world where you never eat, drink have a cold beer sit on your deck or hold hands with your woman and talk? There is so much nice to experience here but what will experience consist of there?

 

But my parents and brother are there and so are many other relatives so it is inevitable..i.e. if they are there why wont I be eventually?

ans: I will and so will you...

 

I hope it is qualitatively superior to this existence because, although  I love being alive, there could indeed be something better it is possible

 

NDE accounts seem to say it is better..more sensual, clear, loving, insightful etc. many did not want to return to this life...

 

or there might be nothing at all, in which case none of this speculation will matter  =))

 

 

 

 

 

 

[♦ Fuego ♦]

Fólkvangr, where Freya sends her kick-ass Valkyries to pick me up and take me to live with her. *sigh*

 

Back in the day, I actually had a dream about dying, and was shown a cheap mobile home with 1970s school furniture. I said, "I don't think so" and the angel said "Who are you to question what God has chosen for you?" I said something like, "keep it, I'm outta here". I ran out into the field, the sun was just peaking over the hilltop, I was laughing and found my best buddy, we put on Viking garb and ran through the hills enjoying life. Nice dream.

[rach]

A perfect afterlife of my imagination is horses everywhere just horses to ride.  And as for how you get there.  Well it's hard to define.  It's not about being a goody too shoes or a saintly person.  God I hate people like that.  Those people go to hell. But if you are a dick or a bully or a racist you can never come to heaven. 

[WaitingInfinity]

Even though I don't think there is something there, I secretly wish for the survival of love. So, the afterlife that I would like would be dominated by pure love. I would really like souls that were truly in love to be rejoined forever in the afterlife by pure love, not that people who didn't find a soulmate on Earth wouldn't go to this afterlife of course! Those people could have the afterlife to search for their soulmate.

 

There's something about leaving the one that I consider my everything and never seeing or being with him again that makes my heart ache. My perfect afterlife would be me and my soulmate enjoying each other's presences forever, perhaps reading or laughing or exploring the awesome landscape of the afterlife or interacting with beloved friends.

 

I told my darling, "If there's an afterlife, do everything you can to find me in it if we are separated."

 

And yes, I am a romantic type.