Immortality

I'm fascinated by this thread and people's very personal experiences. I wonder whether people would differentiate between being aware of death (as I think we all are at funerals, for example), and being aware of mortality.

I'm fortunate that no-one really close to me has died. But I have been in a car accident and almost killed by terrorists twice. Aside from a brief feeling of shock, I can't say that any of these experiences has changed my view of mortality. I view mortality as the brevity of life, rather than being anything to do with death.

For me, mortality is all about two things - what you regret in life, and what you believe happens to you after death. I regret missed opportunities, shyness, not telling people I love that I love them, wasting time on selfish people and pointless objects. But I sense my regrets are heightened by my belief that when we die, we just die. Whereas I suspect that, like my best friend, if you believe in afterlives or reincarnation, regrets are lessened by a reduced sense of urgency. Put simply, if you have a further eight lives to lead, you have eight more chances to put it right.

I wonder whether people who believe in other lives think their view of mortality is shaped by that belief?
 
steve w said:

I wonder whether people who believe in other lives think their view of mortality is shaped by that belief?

Good question!
I was raised Roman Catholic, but became disenchanted with the teachings of the church. When my friend died, I was already thinking differently about life and death. I studied many other religions and thought long and hard.
I believe that our spirits travel in an eternal circle, renewing themselves in each new cycle of life, growing as we do so.
Logically it doesn't sound right, but we only use a small part of our brain anyway, so who knows.

BTW, welcome to the AH, steve

~A~
 
Hi steve w

Welcome to the 'forum' from me and thank you for reading this thread.

The substance of my own position is pretty much explained above, many of the posts have contibuted to my thinking on the subject, some opening new avenues to consider as indeed does yours.

I don't feel qualified to give you an answer to your question having no firm conviction, religious or spiritual as to 'what happens next'.

I do hope to meet with people again, not because I think it may be possible, more because I hope it might be possible.

NL

PS - Dont forget to try the Newbie Self Assessment Form
 
Hi Steve w and thanks for sharing your views. Again, they are thought provoking and challenge our thoughts on this fascinating topic. I'm thrilled that you posted on this particular thread, because (without meaning to hijack it) I read your new non-erotic story this week and honestly, that really demonstrates beautifully the power of the human spirit and how it can survive. Despite living under the most severe and restricted conditions, people can still 'make their mark' during their lifetime and leave something behind.

Hope Neonlyte doesn't kick my ass for taking the liberty of posting the link here, but it truly is an evocative and inspirational story and just seems so 'right' for this thread.

http://www.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=139480

Green_Gem
 
Thanks to everyone for the welcome, and GG for "bigging me up"!

I was discussing this with a friend today. I know people who believe that our time on the earth is transitory, but that it represents a chance for our soul to "learn" lessons that it didn't learn in a previous life. i.e. that we continue to repeat mistakes through successive lifetimes (and sometimes within the same lifetime) until the cosmos decides we have learned and grown.

While I don't share that view, I have noticed that these people seem a great deal better at dealing with life's tribulations, especially the biggies. Not more serene, perhaps, but seemingly cogniscent of a bigger picture and less easy to disrupt from what they want to do. Perhaps it explains why so many of us make the same kind of mistakes more than once in our lives.

Oh, and happy St George's day to all the English Lit readers!
 
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