Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile
The knowledge of there being nothing but the here and now makes it more precious and significant IMHO. I've been under general anesthesia twice and it was as described - nothing, just "lost time". No lights, voices or any of that.
If you research euthanasia techniques used in veterinary medicine and in some other countries all that's involved is administering a slightly higher dose of the same chemicals used to knock you out to the point it causes the heart to stop. Essentially it's the same experience as anasthesia - just you don't wake up. Based on that I'd say there's pretty good reason to believe that when you go, you just go. Click. Game over and nothing. No afterlife, no heaven, no nothing. Just gone. For me that's comforting and motivating - my time here is precious and I don't want to waste it foolishly on meaningless pursuits or chasing false hopes. It's also why I don't like people who waste my time and why I tend to not suffer fools easily. Your time is the only commodity you ever really have no matter who you are - rich or poor, king or pauper, young or old, man or woman. IMHO nobody has the right to take it from anyone else. To do so is an unforgivable crime. Don't waste my time and I won't waste yours.
I am somewhat fascinated by this subject - I've read the intro to "Proof of Heaven" by Eben Alexander, MD (a neurologist who had a death experience which leads him to some interesting beliefs about there actually being a "hereafter"). He makes some interesting observations and has some good insights based on his knowledge of how the brain and human perception works - I'm curious to read the full book at some point; I don't know if I'll be convinced that there's a "heaven" or whatever but maybe... I suppose it's possible that there's more to reality than we see or presently comprehend but thus far I haven't seen any real evidence for it. Maybe he has some to offer. I just hope it doesn't turn into another preachy bunch of BS like "Heaven is for Real" which I'm convinced was written just to garner attention and rationalize a predetermined conclusion (and further the agenda of religious institutions trying to keep themselves relevant).
I guess we won't really know until we get there but I expect it'll be a "lights out then nothing" event. We wink into existence through no choice of fault of our own, with no say in the matter, then exist for a short time, then wink out. Based on what I've seen, witnesses and experienced I think that's closest to the truth - none of this stuff about angels, heaven, pearly gates, gods or what-not. Humanity would do better to focus on the here and now rather than what might happen after death anyway. This is one of many reasons I find religion (particularly "conventional", church-based, institutionalized religion) to be an enormous waste of time and energy - false hopes and expectations, devaluation of the human condition ("life goes on forever so what does right now really matter?"), self-promotional BS centered on control, acquisition of money, influence and power, etc. I have no use for any of it.
I'm open to being convinced otherwise but the bar is high. As Carl Sagan once said, "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence".
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