Discussion What do you guys THINK it’s like to die?

[Pisceslilith]

What do you believe happens during and after death? I'm scared of the thought of reincarnation. I wouldn't want to go through pain (existence) again, maybe even worse off than in this life. Do you think death is as bad as people really make it out to be?

 

[Cutepoison]

I somehow think there's nothing. It might be painful for a little bit but then when your body dies, it's all over. For me, it helps to think about how it was before I was born - and there's nothing.

 

[kohaku]

i used to hope reincarnation was real so maybe i could live a better life than this. now i really don't. i hope it's the void like i think it is.

 

[goomsoom]

I believe and want it to be like deep sleep and I don't have to wake up ever again. If reincarnation is true then it will happen anyway.

If god is real then I hope he is like this.

 

[anon4455]

I believe that once you are dead there is nothing, nothing at all. No different than before you were born, so I like to think that I´ve been there before and its nothing to worry about.

 

[Amorphous Blob]

To full death I think nothing happens, you die that's it. I say full death as I've had an NDE once and went into a coma on life support and through that it was just nothing, everything went black and 3 days later I was awake again.

 

[Nnana]

I'm terrified of the idea of reincarnation too or coming back infinitely as myself. That's nonsense but as a child I felt so exhausted, so tired of life and suffering, even if back then my life was quite good. I always wondered if I had suffered horribly in previous life to come back and live the same horrible life again.

 

[Mr.Nobody]

I want nothingness.

 

[Apathy79]

I think you (spirit) leave the body and look back on it like a pet that just died, wondering how you ever identified with it as 'me'. I don't think there's any pain involved in death itself (there may be leading up to it depending on how it happens).

 

[nonamegirl]

I read quite a few accounts from people who have died and been ressurected. They mostly all say the same thing: That there was some pain/discomfort leading up to it and then when their body actually started dying, it was described such as "the most beautiful feeling in the world" "like getting wrapped in a varm blanket" "like there was the greatest love and tranquality all around them"

The dying procces once your body has given up fighting to stay alive, sounds beautiful and I can't wait to experience it........of course the experience leading up to death is another matter and can be distressful and painful.

 

[Jean Améry]

During the process of dying your organs shut down and all functioning ceases. At some point you will lose consciousness and never wake up again. How painful/frightening this would be would probably depend on how you die/the cause of your death and the circumstances surrounding it. If you die in your sleep you probably won't know anything about it and your end will be extremely peaceful. If you die because of a major wound to your body which doesn't kill you instantly and there are no painkillers available you'll probably die a horrible, extremely painful death.

For that reason anything that causes unconsciousness quickly without much pain and is reliable is to be preferred as a means to CTB.

As to what happens after death. In my opinion nothing. By all accounts consciousness is tied to a working brain so if the brain shuts down permanently consciousness dissapears as well.

 

[k75]

I think it's probably a lot like getting general anesthesia for surgery. You're awake, and then absolutely nothing at all. You don't even know you fell asleep. You just aren't there anymore and don't even know it.

 

[Brick In The Wall]

It's like when you're a kid and it's Christmas eve. You've been waiting what seems like forever. Then Christmas day comes and you finally get to open that one special gift.

 

[CarefulWithThatAxe]

I don't think it's like anything our brains could imagine it is simply just non existence i can't wait.

 

[Soul]

The process of dying probably has a confusing phase, as neurons start sputtering and signal pathways fire their last shots. That "whole life passing before your eyes" phenomenon some people describe is probably part of that.

 

[CarefulWithThatAxe]

The process of dying probably has a confusing phase, as neurons start sputtering and signal pathways fire their last shots. That "whole life passing before your eyes" phenomenon some people describe is probably part of that.

I think that near-death experiences could be the brain desperately hanging on to life it's own ego.

 

[youonlydieonce]

I think dying is like stepping into the unknown and your death is like what you felt before you were born.

 

[TAW122]

I think (logically and based on my knowledge) that death, especially instantaneous death, is like instantly losing conscious and then not even being aware of losing said conscious.

 

[Heart of Ice]

Judging by NDE's, it will probably feel like a hell of a drug trip. I've never done drugs, so I don't know what a drug trip feels like.

The feeling of dying, as in the moment where all brain activity stops for good and decomposition starts, I'd think it feels like going to sleep but never waking up.

 

[Neurodoom]

I overdosed once at school. The last thing I remembered before waking up later in a hospital bed was nothing. Not pitch black or light, just dreamless sleep. And that feeling I've craved to feel again ever since.

 

[Asta]

When Steve Jobs' sister, Mona Simpson, delivered a eulogy for her brother, she said that Steve's final words "were monosyllables, repeated three times." Simpson explained, "Before embarking, he'd looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life's partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them. Steve's final words were: OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW."

 

[Aonewayticketplease]

Absolute nothingness. An older lady I know who died for two minutes described it to me as that. She spoke about the burns on her chest where the defibrillator had been in action more than the actual death experience.

 

[Soul]

I think (logically and based on my knowledge) that death, especially instantaneous death, is like instantly losing conscious and then not even being aware of losing said conscious.

Is death ever literally instantaneous, though? It takes at least a moment for the brain to realise it's not in charge of anything anymore, and as we know from dreams an awful lot can seem to happen in a very short time, especially when time perception is one of the things going kablooey.

Apologies if I'm getting too dark here - but where else can I share such musings? I hope (probably like most people) that a dying consciousness's awareness is either amazing/uplifting or that at worst it doesn't last long or seem to last long, but I suspect it may be confusing and at times scary.

The only virtual reality experience I ever tried was a simulation based on numerous reports from people who had been shot in the head. There was a lot going on, mostly very discordant, but the smell of grass grew very strong and made me laugh out loud.

 

[GoodPersonEffed]

Unless someone dies in their sleep, death is physically and emotionally painful. That's biology. Musings about what comes after might be biologically based as well.

 

[Soul]

Unless someone dies in their sleep, death is physically and emotionally painful. That's biology. Musings about what comes after might be biologically based as well.

But but but ... How do you know that?

I often wonder if "dying in one's sleep" feels the same to the person undergoing it as it does to the person observing. How would anyone know that? I suppose if I'm given enough of the right drugs I might glide through most/all of the pain, but even so, until we've actually died under anesthesia, how can we *know* the body/mind experience nothing? And how will biology cause emotional pain when I'm dying, any more than it'll cause "oh wow oh wow" or St Theresa's orgasmic agony?

But when you write "Musings about what comes after might be biologically based as well", ... do you mean the musings might be biology-based, or that whatever the dead experience might be? That latter is sort of what I'm barking at: What if the shutting-down process takes longer than science thinks?

 

[Epsilon0]

Your question touches on several points, so I will answer them one by one.

a) What happens before dying?

This depends on the manner in which death occurs. Some deaths are gruesome and entail unimaginable physical pain as well as psychological anguish. Others are peaceful, not any different than falling asleep.

b) What happens after death?

I believe that you die when there is no more brain activity, i.e. when those parts of the brain which regulate the central nervous system stop functioning. Your heart might still be beating, you may still be breathing, but you would be dead nonetheless.

Without a functioning brain, there is no consciouness, and without consciousness you have no perception of anything, including death.

So, my answer to your question is: nothing happens.


c) Should I be afraid of reincarnation?

Reincarnation is a belief. Beliefs are not factual knowledge, they are a matter of personal choice. Some people believe in life after death, some in eternal return, some in nothingness, some in alien beings who wait for us on the far side of the Moon. You are entitled to believe in reincarnation, but as far as we know, there is no such thing.

 

[breachingthevoid]

I think that death is different for everyone. I don't believe there is any great master plan for what happens after we go. I believe it has a lot to do with what we feel at the time of death, how prepared we are, what our state of mind is, etc. If we believe we are going somewhere beautiful then we are going to go somewhere beautiful. As the brain ceases to function, those moments and thoughts stretch out into infinity. Being at peace with your decision, your method, your end, they all play a part, I think as to what we feel in those final moments that can stretch on in a beautiful infinity.

 

[EndItQuickly]

I believe and want it to be like deep sleep and I don't have to wake up ever again. If reincarnation is true then it will happen anyway.

If god is real then I hope he is like this.

I love darkmatter's videos. He's helped me wake up from what are so obviously fairytales(religion). Who would've thought that years later they'd help ease my mind about the afterlife/hell.


Considering we almost certainly exist in a simulation, I believe upon death our "conciousness" ends or we return to whatever existence we came from. We could be beings of unimaginable properties choosing to experience this smelly messy organic life either for entertainment or for some kind of perspective.

Just looking at the sky on a clear night and thinking about what was before the big bang makes it clear(to me) that something far beyond human comprehension is at work.

 

[GoodPersonEffed]

But but but ... How do you know that?

I often wonder if "dying in one's sleep" feels the same to the person undergoing it as it does to the person observing. How would anyone know that? I suppose if I'm given enough of the right drugs I might glide through most/all of the pain, but even so, until we've actually died under anesthesia, how can we *know* the body/mind experience nothing? And how will biology cause emotional pain when I'm dying, any more than it'll cause "oh wow oh wow" or St Theresa's orgasmic agony?

But when you write "Musings about what comes after might be biologically based as well", ... do you mean the musings might be biology-based, or that whatever the dead experience might be? That latter is sort of what I'm barking at: What if the shutting-down process takes longer than science thinks?

Should have prefaced my claim with, "My own research has led me to believe," and closed it with, "I could be wrong."

About post-death musings...the development of language that, along with opposable thumbs, propelled human evolution, made us heavily reliant on symbols to make sense of each other, ourselves, and phenomena. I think it's quite possible that gods/devils, heavens/hells/limbos, and life/pre-life/afterlife may just be powerful symbols of our highest aspirations and deepest fears, symbols that help social beings self-regulate. If that's true, I'm pretty resentful of our biology. I don't understand why we would develop such an adaptive trait that would make us likely to be dependent on lies, but I've seen no convincing evidence to refute it.

 

[Nnana]

Considering we almost certainly exist in a simulation, I believe upon death our "conciousness" ends or we return to whatever existence we came from. We could be beings of unimaginable properties choosing to experience this smelly messy organic life either for entertainment or for some kind of perspective.

I've always wondered that too. Maybe reality is a simulation and we are playing a game and we place ourselves here for some reason. Maybe we chose a life of suffering to learn some lesson.