How can you grasp "forever" or "eternity"?

Answer 1

I can't! I beieve it, but I can't visualise it.

In the human mind, everything has a box around it, or an end in sight.

The idea of eternity baffles my tiny mind, but I love the idea of actually living it!

i reckon teh unknown is pretty exciting!

Answer 2

I don't think we can. We can define it, but we can't fully grasp it. When I was younger I used to try to think about God existing forever, not having a beginning. It was just a weird feeling not being able to grasp that. And then thinking about spending eternity in heaven (or hell) was weird too. It's not like thinking about this week or month or year, where there's an actual end to it before the next week or month or year begins; it just goes on and on and on.
I've heard the explanation that before God created the universe, and then after the Second Coming, time did not exist, so that's how eternity can exist, but I really don't grasp that either.

Answer 3

It's near impossible. The issue is that everything we think about has an aspect of time to it. Eternity is a lack of time. Even the idea of "forever" is a time-dependent idea. It means that there is a starting point and it keeps going on from there. The issue with eternity is that there is not time- so you can not start with a starting point- so the term forever can't apply. We can't even imagine what existence would be like without time. If you imagine going to the grocery store. You can't b/c first the term going is time-related. You start somewhere and then go and those things take time. It's a time-related term. Also it takes time to walk or go to the grocery store. Any verb we have in language is time-related making it near impossible to discuss the subject of what it would be like with out time.
It would be impossible to be bored b/c boredom is a time-related concept. It means time has passed during which we are not feeling sufficiently entertained so feel bored. Well, if there was no time, we could not feel bored.

deep stuff huh?

Answer 4

I understand the basic concept, but to grasp it is different thing altogether.

Maybe in a few hundred years we'll have developed a better understanding of such things.

Science if a wonderful thing. It's helped the human race understand many things that centuries ago we would have been unable to comprehend.

Answer 5

We are mortals. We have expire date. No "forever" and no "eternity" for us.
How can it be possible to grasp the full meaning of these two words?

Answer 6

Try this: Infinity = Infinity + 1

or this:

If a boy is standing exactly 10 feet from a girl and every 60 seconds he move exactly half the distance toward her, how long will it take until he reaches her?
A mathematician will say "he will never reach her"
An engineer will say "yeah, but he'll get close enough."

Answer 7

Eternity means that there is no such thing as time as we know it today.

Answer 8

A state of being that has no beginning and no end

Answer 9

as mystery wrapped in pure potential

Answer 10

One can not.....it would take forever.