Consciousness and Life After Death?

Question

I, myself believe that consciousness, or the ability to understand our existence relative to other living things, was developed over time through the process of natural selection (that is, one of the tools which enabled us to thrive) . Consciousness exists almost separately from the body, perhaps this is what leads people to believe that we have souls. It's to the point now where we have constructed our entire society to accommodate our consciousness as opposed to the body (or animal, which doesn't require the social constructs to survive). Anyways, what do you understand consciousness to be and what role does consciousness play in your beliefs in an afterlife? People talk about the afterlife as if it's necessary to validate our efforts or suffering, and yet without this consiousness we wouldn't even be fully aware that an end to life was comming. And if we are the only species that can(or can't) comprehend the significance of our demise (consciousness), what does it meanto"be alive"?

Answer 1

You have interesting view. Mine was a bit different view. I do not buy consciousness will provide the ability to understand but only the ability to witness without judgement. I agree that consciousness exists separate from the body because it never is the ability of the body but the innate ability of the spirit. Awareness, different from consciousness, is what set us apart from the rest. This is where our ability to define ourselves, understand and exercise our will in response to stimulation. It is temporary in nature as this has to depend greatly on the contrasting nature of who you think you are from who you really are. Upon death, we will lose our awareness as our souls are heading for a total dissolution. But our consciousness stays with our spirit - back to where we can merely perceive both emotional and visual but unaware of our position.

Consciousness is all around us, within and without. There is even consciousness in rock and other non-living objects. Why? Because spirit is infinite and encompassing. Being one with the innate quality of consciousness, we assume then it is all around even in the darkest corner. This actually makes sense, the Bible says God can see all our secrets, read our thoughts, see what we are doing even in the dark. Somehow a true psychic can actually tap to the universal consciousness and witness an event never been possible with physical senses.

To be alive,in my opinion, is simply a combination of consciousness and awareness. To be death is just the absence of awareness which transpires upon separation of the spirit and body and so the death of the soul.

Answer 2

I don't know what you mean by existence without intent. Not all life is conscious obviously, so you cannot conflate the two. Even to rationalize how all conscious life never ceases, and continues beyond death, (which I've failed to see how you've rationalized this) then you would have to concede that ALL animals that ever attained consciousness go to live on in an afterlife. Another thing you haven't rationalized is what "realm" life will continue throughout. Perhaps you think we will be reincarnated, but wouldn't that mean that all conscious things reincarnate? Where is your consciousness after the body dies? It is a part of your biology now. You are limited by your senses, so will your consciousness attain a new vessel as a medium in which to survive? Will it float around like a soul? If it's a soul, and even not, at what point does this soul, or consciousness enter the host body? At conception? That cannot be so, or it would imply that identical twins have the same soul. We are biological organisms who have brains that process information, and imaginations that stress the bounds of reason. There is nothing to say that there is any discrete, incorporeal part of us that lives forever. To think otherwise is a defense mechanism of the brain to deal with the troubles of death.

Answer 3

The meaning is what you decide it to be. If you decide the meaning is for you to make others serve you, causing them to suffer, how can you justify this as 'good' to yourself?