Why I don't necessarily adhere to the term CTB

[Jdieiejdjaow]

It has to do with the fact that I grew up watching astrophysics documentaries.

As stars get created from coalescing material under gravity, when the universe is young (in the sense of magnitude as numbers of stars created), they explode giving way to the next generation of stars with heavier elements.

Thus, all the elements created to sustain life and which make up you and me come from these stars (the material that the planets get formed from come from these stars and via absorption of foreign,from the solar system, objects [e.g. asteroids and comets]). Giving way to sustenance and nourishment by leveraging an ever increasing disorder in the universe (entropy).


As such, when I think of ending my current form of being, it's about the way I'm currently arranged in my current life form (body etc.). Transitioning to the next stage of existence is, for me, returning the elements I was made out of to the source: the universe.

CTB, as in "Cease to be", implies extermination. Though, note, you're simply transitioning to a different form of being.

And, if you're lucky to be buried in the ground, you might even return as nourishment to other life forms on this planet instead of being enclosed and tucked away.

 

[bobblong]

Very Interesting. I , however believe in karma and hell , so dying and being born is merely a part of the samsara cycle . Your idea is nearly similar to mine .

 

[Jdieiejdjaow]

Very Interesting. I , however believe in karma and hell , so dying and being born is merely a part of the samsara cycle . Your idea is nearly similar to mine .

The Buddhist approach is so interesting. I've a playlist with Buddhist and Hindu music.

 

[rozeske]

Most use it for catching the bus though. A bus that could be going anywhere or nowhere.

 

[Jadeith]

Problem with this approach is the very definition of "you". What exactly is "you". Star parts fused together? Other people, animals or plants that died, were eaten, shat out by worms and used as soil for the things you ate in order to grow? In that case you are also them - not so "you" anymore i guess. But if "you" is defined as current composition of elements, sprinkled with experiences stored by electric activity of your brain then yes - "cease to be" is very relevant as after death your parts will be used to build some other "yous", your energy dissipated and everything defining you will be gone to become something else.

 

[Jdieiejdjaow]

Problem with this approach is the very definition of "you". What exactly is "you". Star parts fused together? Other people, animals or plants that died, were eaten, shat out by worms and used as soil for the things you ate in order to grow? In that case you are also them - not so "you" anymore i guess. But if "you" is defined as current composition of elements, sprinkled with experiences stored by electric activity of your brain then yes - "cease to be" is very relevant as after death your parts will be used to build some other "yous", your energy dissipated and everything defining you will be gone to become something else.

You are that too (what you eat, drink, sense etc.). As long as you live, in your current form, you're your surroundings and at the same time you're your body and your consciousness and your conscience. They're not mutually exclusive.

"You" is the holistic elements that manifests in your current life form: your body, your mind, your spirituality, your relationships etc.

Transitioning to the next stage means (if, for example, one decides to have as a demand being buried without a coffin etc. in the ground for the worms and other life forms to take over), appearing as nourishment and as a function of life in other life forms (part of them, maybe a cell here or a cell there which are indeed a part of the whole, but not the whole).

Of course, we are in a large proportion our wiring: our childhoods and adulthoods. Does this mean we cease to be if we transition to the next stage? Yes, some parts of us will end (i.e. what we bring to the world will cease), though it's also equal that we become something new. Maybe a part of the Earth, maybe a part of some other life form.

 

[CantTurnBack]

More commonly associated with "catching the bus," "crossing the bridge," or "ceasing to breathe." It's not that deep.

 

[Jadeith]

"You" is the holistic elements that manifests in your current life form: your body, your mind, your spirituality, your relationships etc.

So by this definition, "cease to be" is quite relevant because after your death those elements are no longer holistic. Parts of us, sooner or later, will become something else but they won't be us. Not by this definition anyway.

 

[Jdieiejdjaow]

So by this definition, "cease to be" is quite relevant because after your death those elements are no longer holistic. Parts of us, sooner or later, will become something else but they won't be us. Not by this definition anyway.

It is relevant, but it's not the entire picture. And it's off-putting too.

Take the body, for example, as a whole it has a rate of repair (you get a new body once every several years as the cells replicate and old ones die). So you are a new "you" every several years of your life on the path of life (as time evolves and as you experience life).

But, what is the body made of if not the elements of the universe. So by transitioning to the next stage of being, it is also a transformation into a new way of being. As part of others, or inanimate matter etc.

So ceasing to be, is a limiting term.

 

[Lyn]

Transitioning to the next stage of existence is, for me, returning the elements I was made out of to the source: the universe.

CTB, as in "Cease to be", implies extermination. Though, note, you're simply transitioning to a different form of being.

And that's exactly why my preferred way of CTB would be the extermination of the entire universe ^^
No half-measures. Just one big cozy whoosh into absolute nothingness!
That way all the little stardust bits can take a REAL break instead of endlessly being recycled into new suffering machines.
It's like tucking the whole Being in for the longest most peaceful nap ever.
Farewell, universe~

But I don't have any kind of SN for the Universe by hand... So, well, it is what it is...

 

[Forever Sleep]

It's certainly a way to look at it. I suppose most people associate 'you' or 'us' with the conscious part of us. Rather than the meat suits we inhabit for a time. Not that I necessarily believe consciousness exists beyond the physical body.

If you happen to consume animal products and either drank milk, ate meat or eggs sometime today- do you now identify with the cow, chicken, sheep, pig you just consumed? A part of them now resides in multiple people I imagine. I doubt they died willingly either.

It's kind of interesting that as human corpses, we will permit certain types of natural decomposition and regeneration. We'll allow insects to aid in decomposition in burial I suppose. We'll even choose to become nutrients for trees and such but, we wouldn't allow dead humans to be fed to other animals. Even though we're quite happy to eat them. Maybe we're worried they will get a taste for us! It's interesting though- what we consider adequately respectful.

 

[Jadeith]

Take the body, for example, as a whole it has a rate of repair (you get a new body once every several years as the cells replicate and old ones die). So you are a new "you" every several years of your life on the path of life (as time evolves and as you experience life).

First - previously provided definition of "you" didn't limit "you" to body alone. It's a body (matter) plus energy (experience, metabolism etc) so removing this energy after death removes what constitutes "you". "You" ceases to be.
Second - it's not exactly "new body". Upgraded, refurbished - yes. New - not really since matter of cells that die is repurposed "on site". Some of that matter is expelled of course as unusable anymore but not all of it and there's still possibility you contain atoms your mother gave you.

So, again - if you limit yourself to body alone then yes. CBT doesn't make much sense since its protons, neutrons and electrons existed since dawn of time and will exist after the incident we commonly call death. But, i'd argue that we are far more than just the bodies and when, after death, that "extra" is gone then everything important what defined us during life ceases to be.

but, we wouldn't allow dead humans to be fed to other animals

NERD MODE ON

Akhctually, insects, worms and such are members of animal kingdom (taxonomically speaking) so yes, we feed our bodies to animals. Just those smol ones, who feast where we can't see.

NERD MODE OFF

 

[Zaphkiel]

It's from the slang of "catching the bus" to, hopefully, a better destination than here.
There is nothing profound to it.

 

[Jdieiejdjaow]

First - previously provided definition of "you" didn't limit "you" to body alone. It's a body (matter) plus energy (experience, metabolism etc) so removing this energy after death removes what constitutes "you". "You" ceases to be.
Second - it's not exactly "new body". Upgraded, refurbished - yes. New - not really since matter of cells that die is repurposed "on site". Some of that matter is expelled of course as unusable anymore but not all of it and there's still possibility you contain atoms your mother gave you.

So, again - if you limit yourself to body alone then yes. CBT doesn't make much sense since its protons, neutrons and electrons existed since dawn of time and will exist after the incident we commonly call death. But, i'd argue that we are far more than just the bodies and when, after death, that "extra" is gone then everything important what defined us during life ceases to be.


NERD MODE ON

Akhctually, insects, worms and such are members of animal kingdom (taxonomically speaking) so yes, we feed our bodies to animals. Just those smol ones, who feast where we can't see.

NERD MODE OFF

I think we both agree that we are continuing to exist after we transition beyond what we currently manifest as.

 

[NonEssential]

Before learning people meant "catch the bus" I too thought ctb meant "cease to be" lol

 

[Jdieiejdjaow]

Before learning people meant "catch the bus" I too thought ctb meant "cease to be" lol

Indeed I see most people adhering to this meaning whereas I read "cease to be" somewhere on the forum.

 

[Jadeith]

I think we both agree that we are continuing to exist after we transition beyond what we currently manifest as.

Nope. Matter that once constituted our body does. We, identified as a sum of very specific composition of matter and energy scarred by experience, do not.
To simplify, if you melt a hammer into pipe, it's no longer a hammer albeit made from the same matter that once was a hammer.

 

[Jdieiejdjaow]

Nope. Matter that once constituted our body does. We, identified as a sum of very specific composition of matter and energy scarred by experience, do not.
To simplify, if you melt a hammer into pipe, it's no longer a hammer albeit made from the same matter that once was a hammer.

Which is what I said my previous posts. When you said (paraphrasing) "we cease to be because a part of us such as consciousness stops manifesting".

Though, I'd even argue on that since we live in the memories of others. It is true, though, that at some point we all get forgotten/disappear from the record. It will happen with the death of the universe (if our current theories are true) due to entropy so in a sense we will cease to be if we say being is something other than our quarks and electrons etc. Which isn't true: you got arranged as a life form from these very basic building blocks, you return to the universe once you transition. In the end you go back to the source.

I don't know, for me: catch the bus, cease to breathe and/or cease to be are limiting in nature. Maybe this is why Buddhist philosophy attracts me so much. Though I won't judge the people for which these terms work. Every one of us is different.

 

[Michi_Violeta]

I majored in philosophy, but I'm too sad today to overthinking a bus-related euphemism. Dunno, I think it sounds kinda fun even: catch the bus, like going on some adventure, a little secret code uniting different people from all over the world. Sadly, as I type this, I can't help but remembering my ex replaced me for someone who lives out of town and she frequently catches buses to go be with him...and I'm gonna catch a different bus, the SN Express.

 

[cme-dme]

While I have used the term I don't like it. Mainly I feel like it's usage (and maybe even its intended effect) is to distance somebody from how serious suicide is. It's a weird mind game where just changing the word suicide to CTB in your head can remove yourself from what suicide is and that it's not as serious or as important of a decision as it actually is.

 

[Rose Mine]

I don't get why people here say CTB instead of commit suicide. Idk maybe I like being literal but CTB sounds so childish to me. I don't mean to offend anyone by that it is just my opinion, I'm pretty sure I used the term before

 

[Jdieiejdjaow]

I majored in philosophy, but I'm too sad today to overthinking a bus-related euphemism. Dunno, I think it sounds kinda fun even: catch the bus, like going on some adventure, a little secret code uniting different people from all over the world. Sadly, as I type this, I can't help but remembering my ex replaced me for someone who lives out of town and she frequently catches buses to go be with him...and I'm gonna catch a different bus, the SN Express.

I'm sorry you're experiencing the hardship following the ending of the relationship between you and your ex.

Let this thread be for those who adhere by cease to be (if any) and let there be a future thread dedicated to catch the bus, and perhaps at that moment you'd feel better and be able to participate in that one if this one is inaccessible at the moment or in the near future when it'd have gone to the archive and nobody remembers it anymore¹.

1: NOT saying you should or shouldn't participate (both are ok) in this thread

 

[Jadeith]

Though, I'd even argue on that since we live in the memories of others

Ah, yes - that saying in which we die not once but 3 times. 1st when you die inside, 2nd when your body ceases to function and 3rd when your name is spoken for the last time.

I don't get why people here say CTB instead of commit suicide.

As mentioned above, some use it as an euphemism or to make the term less scary or to use sth less stigmatized.
I use it because i'm lazy. CTB is shorter than suicide and less chance to make a typo.

 

[J&L383]

Most use it for catching the bus though. A bus that could be going anywhere or nowhere.

Yes that's what I thought it meant - catch the bus. At first I thought the term came from the movie Ghost World, but then I realized it predated that from an old news group forum. (Alt suicide holiday). But "cease to be" is also a good description.

It's certainly a way to look at it. I suppose most people associate 'you' or 'us' with the conscious part of us. Rather than the meat suits we inhabit for a time. Not that I necessarily believe consciousness exists beyond the physical body.

If you happen to consume animal products and either drank milk, ate meat or eggs sometime today- do you now identify with the cow, chicken, sheep, pig you just consumed? A part of them now resides in multiple people I imagine. I doubt they died willingly either.

It's kind of interesting that as human corpses, we will permit certain types of natural decomposition and regeneration. We'll allow insects to aid in decomposition in burial I suppose. We'll even choose to become nutrients for trees and such but, we wouldn't allow dead humans to be fed to other animals. Even though we're quite happy to eat them. Maybe we're worried they will get a taste for us! It's interesting though- what we consider adequately respectful.

One scenario / fantasy that will likely never happen for me, is to die in the woods and be eaten by scavengers.

I don't get why people here say CTB instead of commit suicide. Idk maybe I like being literal but CTB sounds so childish to me. I don't mean to offend anyone by that it is just my opinion, I'm pretty sure I used the term before

Usage of "CTB" is the custom here, but it seems to reduce the ACT to a triviality. I don't like "commit suicide" either, especially the "commit" part, which implies a crime. Death by Suicide, perhaps. "Suicide" is the fitting term but is loaded with negative connotation. But at least everyone knows what we're talking about.

 

[DOHARDTHINGS24]

I don't like "commit suicide" either, especially the "commit" part, which implies a crime.

I use CTB because it's quick to type on a phone . But also, if you use the word suicide, other people that interact will invariably chuck out the "commit" word & it's not my personal fave - I choose not to use that word & know many people triggered by it (I'm not personally triggered, but come from a demo with high bus-catching success rate & a lot of my friends get furious).