What happens when you die? (No christian answers please)?

Question

I am afaraid to die. I am afraid that when I die, there will be NOTHING. Like, I won't be able to think or anything. But... How could a soul die? I am 14, almost 15, and I need a way to get over this and live my life. I am positively not christian or cataholic, so nobody post any of that stuff. I was thinking reincarnation. But... If it's that, what happens when earth's sun burns out, and there is no life anymore? I have so much good stuff going fo me right now... How do I get this off my mind? My parents tell me I'm not old enough to understand, and to give it 10 or even 20 years, and then I will have a better understanding of death. Thanks for your time.
P.S. Sorry, didn't know which section to put it in.
PPS: And, I am a good person... If I don't belive in god, and when I die, got turns out to be real, will he see that I tried to do good in my life, or will I go straight to hell for not beliving? I truly doubt christianity, anyways...

Answer 1

Death is a really hard thing for people to try to comprehend, which is why most won't even try and just let what they call "fate" run its course. The thought of there being nothing else out there after your time on this world runs out and traveling on through nothingness for infinity scares most people. Personally, I am polytheistic, kind of like the ancient egyptians, greeks and romans. I'm not worried about what happens after I die because that will have no bearing on how I live my life now. If I hold the door for an elderly woman, will I have a seat in "heaven"? If I drive through a puddle and splash some poor unsuspecting kid, do I go to "hell"? Everything is based upon a belief system, no matter which religion people decide to have as their own. Is that saying that believing a loaf of bread is the messiah is wrong? No, it's YOUR beliefs and therefore cannot be wrong so long as you believe it to be true.

Life is complicated enough without having to worry about the aftermath. Just remember 2 things that were told to me at around your age. 1.) It's not how you live that shows how you will be remembered, it's how you will be remembered that shows if you ever truly lived. 2.) It's not how others treat you that makes you the person you are, it's how you treat other people.

As soon as you start to see the bigger picture, that everyone here has a purpose, whether they are here just for the first breath of their infant lives or the last breath of their 110th year of existance, that was their purpose. Just be glad that you got to be a part of it, no matter how small that part may seem at times. If it turns out there is something after this, like maybe a giant waiting room.. at least you'll have something to talk about.

Answer 2

From a non-philosophical view (Christian or otherwise) the body is quite amazing when it is dying. Chemicals are released throughout the body to help it cope with any pain or trauma, much like endorphines. Systems begin to shut down, consciousness fades, and you are none the wiser. For all you know, the same thing happens when you go in for surgery and are given an anesthetic. What makes us human is our ability to recognize our own consciousness and existence. With that being absent, we are nothing more than vegetables.

On a brighter note however, I have come to the conclusion that the universe has a certain balance and hierarchy. Energy simply does not disappear, so I firmly believe it must go somewhere. It does not stay trapped inside dead tissue. All we need to know is if there is a vehicle out there that can catch it, and re-animate our consciousness. That too would be the secret to eternal life.

Answer 3

No one actually knows for sure what happens, so no one can give you an answer that is guaranteed to be true. The way I figure it, you can't do anything about it, so don't waste the time that you do have alive worrying about it (I used to think about it a lot, but that was when I was on drugs, and was actually very close to dying). ... My reasoning is that soooooo many billions upon trillions of people have died throughout existence, so I shouldn't be that scared when it happens to me. Its like how doing something scary isn't as bad, as long as you have some friends to go ahead of you....
Your parents are right... once you get more acquainted with death you aren't as afraid of it anymore. After having people close to me die, and going to funerals and viewing bodies, it makes it less scary (I guess it is the fear of the unknown). One thing you could do is go visit a cemetery (if you've never been to one).. go on a nice sunny summer day. It's sort of reassuring.. seeing a graveyard isn't all ghosts and zombies, it's more like a beautiful park with flowers and statues and stones and fountains... it's not that bad.. I don't know, that helped me get over my fear a lot. Hope that helps.

Answer 4

Your mom is right, medically, teenagers have a very hard time accepting death, for most of them it's on a subconscious level but yours is very much on the surface so give it 10-20 years.

If you doubt Christianity and there turns out to be a God, then I think you know the answer. Biblically anyway, being a good person doesn't get you into heaven (because then no one would qualify). Romans 3:23

Answer 5

I think that as my brain is dying, it will be as most people with near death experiences describe it: a white light at the end of the tunnel, a feeling of joy and warmth (caused by the high of a rush of chemicals). What happens after this is usually described by religions to assuage fears. Here's what I think, as an atheist, one of two things, there will be absolute nothingness, which is surprisingly something beyond my ability to comprehend, or I will lose my sense of self and exist only as an indiscernible wavelength and do one of three things: 1) be content in being so simple a basic frequency, 2) become part of a greater universal "consciousness" or collection of electrical and other impulses that make up matter and the known universe, or 3) my wavelength will be present at the development of a creature's nervous system and I will become one with that nervous system, eventually regaining a new sense of self. Think about how insignificant we are in this universe, and how our actions merely affect this small planet, and this planet may one day affect other planets, which will affect other solar systems, which will effect other galaxies, much like how hour own neurological processes are the collection of seemingly unimportant subatomic particles that make up atoms that make up elements that make up brain cells and chemicals. On their own, these things should not be capable of creating "thought", but combined, they do. As much as I do not believe in things without evidence, I feel that the basic "stuff" of cognition isn't necessarily destroyed with brain death. Certainly I (AKA Me, AKA darkvelvetrain) will be gone and forgotten, but perhaps something will continue to exist that could be construed as a type of "after life". What if my dead grandparents, the stones on Mars, black holes, and supernovas all play a part in an intergalactic chemical and impulse system that is not dissimilar from the way our own brain works?

Answer 6

It sounds like you are asking, "Is there an afterlife?". Short answer is, nobody knows. Nobody has come back and reliably reported what happened them after they died. My advice is to just keep that in mind, accept the uncertainty, and move on with your life. You've got a long, long time before you'll learn the answer to this question. If you devote a lot of time to this now, you'll miss the great stuff that life offers you now.

Answer 7

If you go to hell, you will have a second chance to prove yourself worthy to god, and go to heaven. But don't worry about it. Do you think of you REALLY know what happens when you die it will be better. What would you do for the rest of your life if you knew that when you die you suffer? Its kinda like the whole alien idea. If we really knew if there were aliens out there our lives would better? Even if there is aliens, they havn't bothered us so why bother them. well, back to the death idea, don't worry about it. If your a good person and you are good to yourself and everyone around you, something will come out good in the end. How do i know? I don't. Its just something youv'e gotta have faith in.

Answer 8

i used to be like you when i was about 10. (i'm 15 going on 16). the only difference between you and me is that i am a christian. but to answer your question about what happens when we die...our bodies rot and that is about all humans can be sure of...unless you are christian...then you go to heaven or hell. if God does turn out to be real and he sees that you did good in your life you might go to heaven, even if you don't believe in him. i used to have a fear of death especially when i was about to go to sleep. but then my mother would make me some hot chocolate and talk to me until i fell asleep. i believe in re-incarnation...so maybe ur soul will come back to earth.

Answer 9

i am the same sometimes!, if you have a lot going for you , relax and enjoy it(easier said than done i know) just try to think it wont happen anytime soon and we cant do anything about the future! of course the thing is no one knows what happens when wedie because anyone thats dead cant tell us! and if there is a god, and you lived a good valued life , im sure god will see that. RELAX!!!

Answer 10

Your etheric body (soul) DOES NOT DIE. The chemicals and other systems in your brain evaporates into air(called mist sometimes). It looks like white cloudy substance its percieved as a gas like substance (orb maybe)....

You enter the fifth dimension where you see things as they REALLY are...vibrational frequencies...some look like lights or beams...more on this later.

You should study quantum physics