What Happens After You Die?

Café-Salon Philosophique #45

October 9, 1999

No. of Participants: 8

Evening's Topic: "What happens after you die? Who wants to know?"

Samuel welcomed those new and old to the Café discussion. After reading the Café guidelines, Samuel introduced the topic, "When we die, what goes from the body, and to where does it go?"

Heather thinks there is a "source or soul that comes into our physical forms from the cosmos." "There is one source which flows into the individual souls. The soul is what moves and operates the physical body. The physical body can be either a vehicle for one to enjoy life; or a cage/prison where one merely exists in life. We all have the same opportunity to make choices and exercise our freedom towards living.

Stephanie learned at a seminar about the "existence of a cosmic committee." This committee supposedly reviews and passes judgement on the pool of infinite souls within the universe. They review life histories, separate out the good from the bad, and control the influx of souls into the world. So, "individual souls come from the cosmos."

Samuel likes asking children "Where were you before you were born?" He was impressed when one child told him once, "I was a thought."

"What makes up the soul? What makes us breathe and do? When the body ceases to function, where does the soul go?" Jeff asked. "Life and death is a continuum or cycle. We live and die many times each day," said Frank.

Samuel says, "from the time we are born, our lives are shaped and conditioned by outside influences." When we are little, we are at the mercy of those around us who shape and form our very way of being. Then, when we become adults, we have to unlearn false values, beliefs and attitudes so that we can gain personal freedom in thinking and doing.

Depending upon the degree of readiness, one can grow, change, and evolve to new levels of understanding. This requires total body honesty with the self - physically and mentally. One must learn to work with the forces of nature, be open to new realities, and a new way of being.

Fear, suppression, allowing outside authorities to control the way we think and do kills the joy of our very existence. Very few people take the time or make the effort to exercise "freedom of choice." "Many follow, Too few lead."

Heather says, "People can choose to want to know, but most of the time they choose to forget."

"Before we are born, we know everything. The stories are stored. We are total knowledge within the life force." "When we come out from the watery, silent womb, the light makes its mark right under our nose which causes us to forget. We then spend a lifetime learning to remember who we are," Samuel remarked.

"Watch babies and small children. They know. They remember. They seem to communicate without words, see and hear everything," said Heather.

"There are layers and layers of unconscious thoughts and movement that we all must undo.

Wayne continued the thought. "It is conceivable that we do know everything." He believes "we are just to stubborn to change." He also thinks, "whatever works for the person" is right. "It doesn't matter which medium it is, whether it be mysticism or through science." He believes in a "cosmic consciousness and life force existing in all things." He shared how he uses imagery to alleviate a physical ailment he has every now and then through a connection with the "cosmos."

Another Samuël who was present in the group, is connected with the life force through the gift of being a musician. He has the ability to distinguish between various inner sound qualities, tones and frequencies. He has a keen intuition of "knowing what songs are playing on the radio," but also finds that "tuning in to these various sound frequencies can also be annoying."

Samuel asked Stephanie her philosophy on life and death. She said she "needs to first figure out who she is and who is living inside of her." She feels as though she has" 23 different personalities, and none of them get the kind of attention that they need." She doesn't know if she's coming or going. "I live my life by deadlines. That's how I get things done, not by lifelines."

Samuel says, "One must take the time and make the proper effort in order to meet the needs of our self." The "saboteur," must be kept at bay; the one who will try and interfere and reason every thing away, so you end up doing nothing. Jeff agreed that things need to be done "one at a time."

The group then "bounced" to discussing the various ways the brain functions - linear versus nonlinear time, space, abstract versus concrete, the past, present and future, and if the brain operates here locally at all! Some tidbits were thrown in about the illusion of the visible. Tangible versus intangible. Samuel illustrated by changing forms with his hands. First he made a fist, and then he opened his hand. Did the form really disappear?

Jeff was raised Catholic and taught to believe in heaven, hell, purgatory and limbo. But now over the years, he has learned of more spiritual ways outside of the church, such as Zen. Life and death are a continual cycle. Following life there is death, following death there is life. It is a circle.

Things change with the speed of light. Einstein commented, "Sit on a hot stove and you'll realize the speed of light!"

We have freedom of choice in this country. "Someone mentioned that right before one dies, or within a few seconds, a person gets a complete rerun of what he has experienced in this lifetime." We have a choice to evolve each life time or choose to "stay stuck."

Samuel says to remember that "you are a part of the whole, and that the whole is in the parts - the reflective parts." We need to all become more consciously aware of what we do in life, and to be aware of how we think about our selves, our bodies and how we interact with life around us.

The next Café meeting will be held October 23, 1999 at the Boulder Bookstore located at 1107 Pearl St., Boulder, CO 80302. Start time is 6:30 p.m. Hope to see you there! Invite your friends!

Reported by Alessandra