Multicolored Lemur

Well-known member
Atheist / Agnostic
Nov 23, 2021
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What *if*

there was reincarnation with 100% amnesia? Would it make a difference logically and all? Probably not.

But it might make me feel better.

======

I’m 59 years old. I’ve been afraid of death pretty much off and on my whole life.

And I can hear someone saying, hey, you’ve quite to enjoy life while you got it, and not worry about dying. I agree. That’s good advice.

But then again, we all waste time in one way or another, from time to time! 😜
 
I don't believe that reincarnation proves that there is a god, but of course it is consistent with what religion tells us about the afterlife. I'd need more to say that God is involved. It would definitely show that we are more than just our physical body and even our lifetime. That alone is fascinating.

Were you thinking that reincarnation proves God or goes against atheism?
 
No, much more philosophically.

I’m saying to myself, Okay, if there were reincarnation with 100% amnesia, I’d feel better about dying.

Well, between 2100 and 2200, some persons will have peak life experiences similar to my own, as long as I’m not too tremendously picky about the details. Plus, maybe for six weeks, maybe for a lot more, a person will cruise along with a personality a lot like me.

So, maybe . . . I ought to feel better about dying anyway.
 
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from philosopher Derek Parfit in the 1980s

I found him a difficult writer to struggle through. And I jumped around and tried the find the juicer parts of his book! Which I may have never found if I had tried to read it straight.

And what I talked about in the above, that if reincarnation were true . . .

I pretty much took from Parfit [my take!]
 
No, much more philosophically.

I’m saying to myself, Okay, if there were reincarnation with 100% amnesia, I’d feel better about dying.

Well, between 2100 and 2200, some persons will have peak life experiences similar to my own, as long as I’m not too tremendously picky about the details. Plus, maybe for six weeks, maybe for a lot more, a person will cruise along with a personality a lot like me.

So, maybe . . . I ought to feel better about dying anyway.
Okay, got it.

I'm not sure that amnesia is a guarantee for reincarnation. Some say that people can remember at times.

I only think about the conditions of an afterlife, assuming there is one. I think the subject of an afterlife is very important because I want to know what is the end goal or point to this life. So if there's any issue where I'm forced to rely on religion/spirituality more than science, it's this issue.
 
Both my parents have passed and neither one was afraid of dying. I, on the other hand, have always been afraid. Religion won't help me. I do like the fact that we are energy and when we die our energy lives on (reincarnation?). There is a static amount of energy in the world. I'm not certain if we can remember our past lives. I'm of an age now that I try not to think about it too much (71 March). I even had trauma emotionally euthanizing all my dogs. I watched my husband die but in a hospice. No matter what I still am afraid. I compartmentalize most things that I don't want to deal with. So in the far back of my brain is a little box labeled "death" and I never go near it.
 
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I even had trauma emotionally euthanizing all my dogs. I watched my husband die but in a hospice.
I am sorry for your losses. 😕 <hug offered>

Any advice you’d care to give about selecting a hospice and/or things to watch for regarding hospice care?

And I know animals are of course less important than a human being. But I’m very much an animal lover, although I don’t have any right now. Any advice you’d care to give about the How, for when it’s time to put an animal to sleep?
 
I am sorry for your losses. 😕 <hug offered>

Any advice you’d care to give about selecting a hospice and/or things to watch for regarding hospice care?

And I know animals are of course less important than a human being. But I’m very much an animal lover, although I don’t have any right now. Any advice you’d care to give about the How, for when it’s time to put an animal to sleep?
Thanks for the hug. For some reason it's so much more difficult euthanizing a pet. You've generally owned it from puppy, trained it (one of my Shepherds sang We Are the Champions). You devote so much time, energy and love towards a pet and they never refuse to love you. It's the only unconditional love you'll probably ever get. So before my husband passed he became withdrawn, quiet and never spoke first during the last month or so of his illness. I had to tell him he had to go to hospice (I was afraid of his dying in bed next to me). He asked when he could come home, I said when you can walk on your own (he became wheelchair dependent). So the first night he was there he opened a window in his room and climbed out. That's the kind of guy I married! They allowed pets inside so he could see his dogs. Not all but well behaved ones. His doctor recommended the hospice, it was a good one with nice people.

Knowing when to put an animal to sleep is so difficult. One had bloody noses on and off, the vet wanted to see if she had a sinus tumor for $250 or more and I asked if he found one can he do anything about it and he said no. I said forget it. That was when she was about 7, one night when she was 12 on the couch I watched her as she'd lift her head and have seizures. So i rushed her (carrying 75 lbs of seizure dog) thru the 4 feet of unshoveled snow to the back of my Subaru and all the time she was lying back there during the ride her head was banging the floor cuz she was seizing TIME FOR EUTHANASIA. One dog was a male, her cousin, he had back issues and became incontinent all over the house. He was a month shy of 12. I have dogs talk to me. After my husband passed I came home to 4 dogs and thought "Great now I"ll have to be the decision maker on putting them to sleep." And my dog Chili said in my head, "someday it'll be just you and me." She was 100% correct. One dog had heart issues i got her from a rescue and they wanted me to keep her. So I asked Zoe if she was ready to pass did she want me to bring her to a vet. She said (in my head) "I want to live every second I can." So the night she was going to die (I just knew it) she wanted the vet; she was scared. I held her, she was 4 1/2 she reluctantly went into the crate and ASAP was gone. Most decisions you make you can consult with your vet. They understand it all better than anyone else. They "get" the bond.

If i went overboard on the descriptions I'm sorry. ;)
 
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So I asked Zoe if she was ready to pass did she want me to bring her to a vet. She said (in my head) "I want to live every second I can."
I think you’ve explained it very well. 😊

And I’ve had animals where I felt sure what they were thinking, feeling, and saying, too. Plenty sure enough to roll with it and act on it.
 
I think you’ve explained it very well. 😊

And I’ve had animals where I felt sure what they were thinking, feeling, and saying, tve veoo. Plenty sure enough to roll with it and act on it.
Have you got a ton of experience with dogs?
I have always had dogs except for the years between leaving home and first marriage-about 5yrs and mostly Shepherds. Some dogs are not at all talkative, some in their life will only make contact once and some just when necessary. So what does this mean as far as death, reincarnation, bibles, religion? I have had so many dogs and relationships with them. More so than people. Since humans are animals (mammals) do we not abide by the same rules of life as other mammals? Are their lives confined by religion, bibles, god??
It's one reason I am easily comfortable being agnostic. I have no expectations from people or life in general, it's a crap shoot everyday.
 
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