Huston Smith taught Comparative Religion for years at the University of CA, Berkeley. As a minister he had a congregation near the Berkeley campus, where his daughter took over his ministry after his death.
"Institutions are not pretty. Show me a pretty government. Healing is wonderful, but the American Medical Association? Learning is wonderful, but universities? The same is true for religion... religion is institutionalized spirituality." Huston Smith
Thank you for your introducing Huston Smith to me; what a lovely man he was. After seeing this interview, I will make an effort to read about his ideas in more detail.
This was without question the most confused and pointless rumination on the possibility of life after death I've ever heard. It sounds like what he was trying to say essentially that he would continue to exist in some sense so long as someone living remembers him, which actually wouldn't be personal survival. But he prefaces it by strongly suggesting belief in a personal afterlife, albeit with no attempts to justify his claims whatsoever. But he ultimately equivocates by essentially saying that he will eventually be completely obliviated, though he even equivocates on oblivion by describing metaphorically as a droplet merging with the ocean.
@@b.g.5869 life after death is not all that difficult to believe, for the simple fact that it is believable, and because I am here now. There's no difference between death and non existence. They're just words under different contexts but they're essentially the same and mean the same. Non existence is the same as before you were born, or before consciousness emerged. How far back in the history of this world do you really need to go to show when consciousness emerged.. it would seem pointless in a way, because it emerges everywhere all of the time with each new life. And as far as you or I, or anyone else is concerned, it exists in all living things, in some form of another. As energy is to everything, the expressions of all things are all completely different for different causes and reasons. Consciousness is almost certainly the same. At least it would seem that it's easier to accept that consciousness is, rather than it just emerged and came to be chasing your own tail around. Rather all points of consciousness expressed are parts of the whole, and are the whole In themselves. The without within.
@@adamburling9551 I don't care what anyone "believes". The fact that somebody finds something believable doesn't say anything about whether or not it's actually true. What matters is what is logically sound and for which there is compelling evidence for. But I never said anything about belief or whether consciousness is an emeegent property or not. It's ultimately irrelevant to the question of "Is there an afterlife?" however You need to be honest about what people mean when they speak of and long for an "afterlife". All philosophical navel gazing aside, what they're talking about is the desire for their personal conscious experience and memories to continue to exist after death, and that is almost certainly impossible. People's minds and sense of self and memories can't even survive Alzheimer's disease, how is it supposed to survive the death of the brain? We can see very clearly the neurological correlates of consciousness and how it diminishes and can even be suspended or distorted in direct proportion to brain damage, deterioration, or alteration. All of these things you're saying are just attempts to deny the finality and sting of death. This old notion that "I wasn't conscious for an eternity before birth and it didn't bother me at all so I'm not bothered by the same thing after death!" is just denial. People aren't worried about the state of being dead. Once you're dead you won't have the capacity to know you're dead; you won't be aware of anything at all; you will have ceased to exist. But that's not what bothers people. What bothers people is the knowledge while alive that their existence, meaning they're conscious experience and memories and sense of self etc, will one day forever cease to exist, as will everyone they know. Saying something like "Oh, but I'm part of the universe, and that was here before me and will be here after me, so... Immortal!" is bullshit. It's just denying that you're going to lose the only aspect of existence that matters, which is your personal identity and memories etc. There's no way of getting around this. Because of you really thought death was no big deal out didn't represent the ultimate tragic loss, then by logical extension you'd have to argue that there's nothing wrong with murder, or that getting Alzheimer's or permanent amnesia isn't tragic. In any event, none of what you wrote has anything to do with what I wrote. My point was simply that Huston's take on life after death was incoherent. Maybe it was because of his age, I don't know, but it was a very confused take on it for the reasons I gave in my first post.
Well said! Consciousness is simple and so general like reality and the laws of physics it’s unassailable and irreducible to matter as it is fundamental to reality and life. It’s only a difficult question if you assume a materialistic paradigm.
@@Dion_Mustard How does rejecting the materialist paradigm make consciousness easier to understand? Even if for the sake of argument you assume "consciousness is fundamental" you still are going to have to explain it in material terms. And what difference does it make if somehow an immaterial consciousness gives rise to what we call the material if all our observations indicate that if you alter, damage, or destroy the apparently material brain it alters, damages, or destroys the supposedly immaterial consciousness? This isn't a serious idea, it's just a desire for immortality. If an immaterial consciousness truly was fundamental, you could theoretically vaporize a city with nukes and they could just magically reimagine it all back as it was in apparently material existence. If it's not fundamental in that sense, you might as well just call it material because they're ultimately indistinguishable.
@@b.g.5869 consciousness is not material or related to material in any way. that's the whole point. it is entirely unique and NOT a product of matter. it has always existed. try reading a book called journeys out of the body by robert monroe. only when we die and are released from the limitations of the brain and the physical world do we then understand reality. many people, as yourself, choose to be ignorant and therefore in a way you shut down your perception and limit yourself in so many ways.you follow the old school materialistic rhetoric regarding mind and brain. you believe chemicals give rise to awareness. science is slowly disproving this. do not be afraid to believe mind is more than brain my friend. take care. i am muting your comments because you are ignorant . com. "trying to find consciousness in the brain is like trying to find music in the radio".
@@Dion_Mustard You don't get to just declare pixie dust into existence or say "I wish the world was like X, therefore the world is like X". The psychology here is obvious. It's about not being able to accept that death is the end of our personal experience. If you want to believe otherwise, you're going to need to explain tons of things that are ostensibly incompatible with the idea that minds don't require a properly functioning living brain. Why do we ever lose consciousness for example? Why is it that lapses in consciousness can be predicted and caused by altering brain function with chemicals that mimic neurotransmitters? How do you explain dementia and the way consciousness and cognitive function and memory wither away in direct proportion to the material brain withering away? People's memories can't even survive Alzheimer's and you think they can survive death? You're kidding yourself.
Most of the religious people aren't afraid of the day of judgement in the least. This seems to hint, that at least subconsciously, they don't actually believe it.
@@stinkertoy4310 I agree but I really wanted to point out that some lie to themselves thinking they lived a righteous life but in reality, they were rotten people.
@@peaceonearth351 Few people, VERY few, are rotten. People are complex, and each of us confronted by different problems to resolve. Failure is how we learn. Happiness - over rated.
What a great point to make about the concurrency of mind/body duality in religions. And also with the dew drop and the sea. Also he pays a nod to how Christianity does not denigrate the body because even if you are a complete anti materialist, your body is what carried your consciousness along for this short journey. I think the parts that constitute your purely corperal form enjoy a different kind of afterlife/eternity in the never ceasing cycle of energy and matter in the universe. Consciousness is so elusive and intertwined with so many deep processes of the mind thatI think it resides somewhere similar to where mathematical forms reside. But more than just abstract. The best way for me to put it is it resides in a place where the notion of "one" "more than one" and "less than one" are all equal. There is no enumeration. There is no feeling of insignificance but also no feeling of granduer. Something like this would be impossible to probe with science even within the framework of quantum mechanics. This is a natural death. It should be noted however a "digital afterlife" or a "mind copy" or "upload" is something entirely different and you are still within the real of the corpereal albeit, now digitized which can provide altered forms of existence but will be limited in its ability to reproduce an accurate synyhesis or seperation of body and mind. Thats what I think anyway.
Logical Limitation of the Logic Logic is the Methodology for relating thoughts in order to make decisions and reach conclusions (reasoning). Logic has helped us a great deal to reach where we are in Philosophy, Mathematics, and Science. The Ultimate Methodology Let’s define the Ultimate Methodology as the Ultimate Logical Tool for creating all other methodologies. Since it is a methodology itself, it needs to use itself to create itself, therefore a Paradox. Before solving this paradox, there is no absolute logical premise to drive absolute conclusions from, and all methodologies including logic and science will remain relative and their use in answering the Ultimate Questions (Consciousness and Infinity) will be misleading. Conclusion By its nature, Logic can create Dogma and any type of dogmatism; Logical, Philosophical, Political, Religious, Scientific, …; is a hindrance in the pursuit of the truth.
Smith died in 2016 at the age of 97. So the Jan. 13th, 2021 is misleading unless one does a little "Googling" as I did. The date below the video is no doubt when this interview was shared on UA-cam as opposed to when it actually took place. I would suggest that it would be helpful to mention Houston's transition date in the description below the video. Still sharp for his age. Question: if we require a bodily transformation/resurrection after death, what happens to the many (religious) who choose to be cremated? I wish that point had been addressed here. I think that believing in the resurrection of the body (how ever well intended - honoring the body) is an unconscious (?) desire to maintain a belief in materialism. Also, I'm not sure how I would feel about keeping my personality or identity for eternity as who I am currently. It's fascinating fodder for discussion. As Ester Hicks (Abraham) says, (paraphrasing): Imagining yourself to have a body in the "after-life" will present some real challenges in a dimension that is non-physical. lol
"EXCELLENT"... beautiful metaphor, with deep meaning , his wisdom about consciousness & truth , full of love with emotional touch for his family and friends ......"when time comes when no body own is there , his due drop will open up & willingly embrace the shining sea of consciousness"..... thanks 🙏
@@peaceonearth351 lol but you exist and live as if you are down on earth? But no work, the easy lazy life - God will pick up the bill while you shamelessly sponge off him? Careful what you wish for, it will come true ua-cam.com/video/wQq8KRo6RI0/v-deo.html
@@N1otAn1otherN1ame lol exactly! Fools chasing after Fools Gold called Heaven ua-cam.com/video/wQq8KRo6RI0/v-deo.html Religion makes nice promises of the easy lazy life forever and NOT ONE EDUCATED person questions it! A big smile and they are soooo happy to hear it - not once asking "but there is no evidence, these people are as clueless as I am but they claim to know, they are lying" - amazingly not one thinks this way A rock exists as well maybe not for eternity but for a long, long time - it has no problems, no worries but who would want to be a rock?
Even God cannot know - logically it is impossible If there is a finite amount of time - say we live for 100-200 years then we can check to make sure someone says I will live for 200 years - that can be verified Someone saying eternal life is just blowing smoke since eternity has not ended - one can say one has lived billions of years but just because the sun has been around for billions of years does not mean that it will be around forever We know that in about 5-6 billion years the sun will die as well Now, death on the other hand IS eternal
This was a very beautiful and enjoyable conversation. What a wonderful way to think about happens after death. Your sense of identity will be forever gone, but you will live forever as particles which forever float in space or get used to create new life.
The pictures seen when the body drops away are as the seer has seen before l this in this life or past) and how the consciousness consolidates, creates from and, interprets what has been seen.
I have been offering to many people to try to depict eternity to me. I noticed that every attempt of that kind failed right away, because time and timelessness are totally incompatible notions since timelessness transcends our cognition. To be more precise : timelessness is totally unimaginable to us. We know that nothing can come out of nothing (hence : God exists since noncontingent Being (God) is necessary, that is to say : God is Being which can not not to exist), however, as many philosophers admitted : God's necessary existence is the only (although certain) fact/knowledge we are capable of figuring out with regards to this philosophical problem ((in relation to God), that is to say : in relation to His true nature). So we know that timelessness (God) must exist (since necessary existence is the very definition of God), but we have no idea how it works (what is the true nature of God/Timelessness). No idea, whatsoever!!! And that very absence of any idea with respect to God's true nature leads us to the problem of evil and to the problem of God's hiddenness which is in fact only one particular aspect of insurmountable problem of evil...Why would *good* God want/need to be so well hidden from us, persistently refusing to answer any important (existential) question? It doesn't make any sense, and He knows it, and we know that he knows that we know that he knows that. So, he is obviously mocking us, and he knows that we know that he knows that we know that he is mocking us because he is malevolent being. So, he actually wants us not to believe in Him (in his goodness), even though we are perfectly aware that He exists. And he knows that in this way he is torturing us on this earth. But that is not the end of the story. He promised to us even worse torturing in Hell. OMG...
@@ramaraksha01 Being is, Non Being isn't, that's it. Only, you need to know how to correctly interpret this deep philisophical truth so that you can be able to grasp it's true meaning. Maybe the best way for understanding what this phrase means is to watch the video which i uploaded few months ago on my channel ua-cam.com/video/-GJLsw4tnn0/v-deo.html
These are very good questions! My own belief (and it's just a belief, no doubt wrong in many ways) is that, _if_ there is life after death, that implies a purpose to living in the first place. We were not born here randomly, but rather as a stage in some greater life process. But imagining that greater process from our limited perspective would be impossible. I think religions that say we live, then "drop the body" and go on to some other state for the rest of eternity are too simplistic. The essence of life is change. To be alive in the most general sense is to continually reduce entropy in your immediate environment, and that's something that would hold true in any universe or afterlife. Therefore we must continue to change in some way, even after death. But from a certain perspective you could say that our lives are already "eternal," since general relativity seems to imply that all of the three-dimensional and temporal coordinates of our universe exist "simultaneously" and it's only our perception of the present moment that changes. Inside the universe our consciousness appears to tick along the great frozen track of our lives, moving from one end to the other, but from the perspective of an extra-dimensional observer we never change and never will. To them we'd look more like an object than a living thing. I guess I'm saying there's probably a lot more to our existence than we can perceive, and I'm hoping death isn't an end but rather just another change in our existence like all the ones we've gone through before. One step in a much greater journey of transformation. Maybe an eternal one.
@@johnbrzykcy3076 The most basic definition of life (all life, not just sentient beings) is that it reduces entropy. Life increases order - usually within itself, but certain species can have an impact on the environment around them as well. Humanity decreases the entropy of the entire planet because of our global reach and size. (This isn't always a good thing. A wild forest has more entropy than a polluted city, but it's probably a better place to live in.) I said "in the immediate environment" because nothing can get around the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Life may be increasing order around itself, but the overall disorder - the overall _entropy_ - of the entire universe is always increasing.
Regarding the discussion topic at 8:31, Jim McCarthy’s statements recounting his NDE seem to confirm that. He recounts on (time-stamped) ua-cam.com/video/gqoXocVlNjw/v-deo.html that right after the life review he had, he felt like he was getting ready to merge with the universal consciousness referred to in the video above, and had a strong feeling that “he was going to lose the sense of self and of who he was if he allowed the merger to proceed further.”
yes but there is not one NDE in which this really happen before being called back . Also in basically all NDEs there are "people" even dead by long time who are still "themselves"
yep it's called Death buddy - but that is not what they want - they want the easy lazy life in some magic Retirement Home in the sky where a Sugar Daddy being has nothing better to do than to keep billions of shameless leeches sponging off him for eternity
What a fascinating man! A pleasure to listen to. Im with him on all of his points but I would add that the Resurrection is a symbol of hope: hope that life is not in vain and that love, our experience of salvation ( as Jesus' Teaching), can be our teacher until the time when we are ' reunited' with God, that is to say, eternal life. This is similar to the Eastern philosophy of seeking Nirvana while alive and achieve total liberation. This way, we never have to reincarnate again.
Life is here, it is what we experience whilst here. Eternal consciousness is not life. Hence we come here to experience this thing called "life!" The terms "after life" etc are misleading, they imply a life much the same as this outside of the physical life. Not so...otherwise there would be no reason to go through this physical life. It's not easy to come here and do this, it's incredibly brave to come here and experience the good, the bad and the downright ugly of life. If something else does exist you can bet your last dollar it will be a whole lot different to life here.
@@aw55550 Interesting point. I would imagine physical life gives opportunities and experiences that are outside of consciousness scope. Maybe consciousness is limited in that physical does have some areas that are fun. I'm pretty sure something of us carries on but the nature of it and how it works is still a major mystery.
i'd suggest reading robert monroe journeys out of the body. he was able to leave his body (or his consciousness left his body) and he travelled to different "locales" as he called them , or dimensions, and he met different beings, and indeed met people who had died. it seems if there is an "afterlife" then it is an extension of consciousness in parallel worlds or a "spiritual" world, as such.
Your first few words are basic Hinduism - that is why it preaches Reincarnation - because Life is here But life here is harsh, difficult and naturally people hoped for an easier life and religions like Christianity & Islam were happy to take advantage Sugar Daddy Gods in the sky have nothing better to do than to cater to the pleasures of the flesh of billions of shameless people who never ask any questions like how do we pay for all this good life? Happy to just believe that everything will be paid for and they can just sponge off this Sugar Daddy But of course one must first join this religion making these cheap promises, grovel and beg to their God and ONLY to their God! If you don't he will cast you into brutal hell Amazing that people who live in democracies, despise dictators like Putin and Stalin, yet can't see the same in these Gods! Willing Nazis ready to condemn innocent people simply because they don't share their delusions Religion is the best at turning good people into total scum buckets
Name 3 things you enjoy doing that doesn't involve your body. I love icecream but if I had to eat icecream forever it would eventually suck. What makes a book a good book is that it has a beginning and an end. If it didn't end it would have no meaning. The same with your existence. What makes life so precious and forces us to use it, is because it has a beginning and an end
i kind of accept that. that consciousness separates from the brain and transforms or indeed travels to other realms. i'd suggest reading a book by robert monroe called journeys out of the body.
Eternal life in the blink of an eye a frozen moment in time in ones last breath and final thought. You die but you live your last second of life for what is perceived as eternity in your consciousness. Think of it as a movie playing out that pauses on the last frame where the cells recieve your last thought as the last information they will ever receive written to them oh you do die but the cells pause the last things you ever thought or imagine before they to too decompose just like the last thing you ever see gets snap shot onto your retina because you're cells froze in that moment it appears eternal. You would be just as attached to another life as you are your previous life if thier is a higher self above all your incarnations that would be the real you. The spirit is of this body the soul is your higher being.
I may be wrong, but I believe the idea of bodily resurrection comes to Christianity from its roots in Jewish apocalyptic thinking- the book of Enoch, etc. I think in the Jewish tradition, there never was a concept of eternal life that did not involve the body. Ok correct me!😊
How could the eternal life be, if You were not always Here and Now, (Mr.Kuhn, there ain't No 'afterlife') isn't it so, that You are always Here and now, where ever You go. Yeah, You are the Eternal Here and Now, You simply can't escape from this Eternal Fact. (there is much more to understand about the Eternal Life, but that's another story)
I have yet to see proof for that, I was convinced of that too before I realised that science has still so much more to learn about our physical body. But we can speculate.
@@Velvet_Drop here is some proof: when your brain is too active, it needs sleep. When you sleep, you lose some consciousness. If your glucose is low, the brain will not operate properly and you'll lose some consciousness. If you have surgery and you go under general anesthesia, you lose consciousness. Isn't this all proof that consciousness is dependent on the brain, or am I missing something?
Not even Huston could provide a reasonable concept for an unembodied soul. Without a soul that doesn't depend on our physical existence, there is no sense in discussing the possibility of "eternal" life. Bollocks.
After doing dmt. This description of “ what’s on the screen”. Wow. Wow wow. I came to that conclusion after using dmt. Ur consciousness experiences. Either heaven or hell . Oh wow he’s saying it now. Wow . Mind . My experance was 29 heaven 1 time hell. After the difficult trip I was experancing hell. I became aware that the after life could be your consciousness being emersed in this experance. ( describing it is so hard) on dmt. I was seeing. It’s horrific for my mind to deal with. That horrible state of feeling. I imagened is hell!! I learned all this on my own. Just smoke some dmt. Mind blown
If science has indeed concluded that consciousness is fundamental, why has no reputable scientific institution declared it? I guess this is where we need a conspiracy theory to step in with an explanation.
One day, we’ll be so advanced in computer power that AÍ will be able to scan the earth an collect all the Human particle data of every person ever lived on this planet and through computation will bring back to live every individual. We’re all energy preserved and these advanced technology will be capable of decode our information( thoughts, identity etc.. and bring us all back to life. Trust me, that will be possible, it’s not religion, it’s math, pure math.
Eternal life is like a bad joke that turns out not just to be bad, but destructive to the species that believes in it. We either move on from God and Religion as a species or we aren't going to make it.
Oh I have so much I'd like to say, but won't at this time. Mr. Smith is a very learned individual and I admire the amount of effort he appears to have put in his study of ALL religions. I will say one thing, 'You will never find God in a test tube'. I'm not the first to say that, but it's a good saying. What I think that means is that if you are looking for 'empirical' of God, you will never find it using the scientific method. Finding God comes from exercising Faith or Belief in God. All I have to do to believe in God is to go outside at night and look at the sky. I can see why the Psalmist said: "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!" (Psalm 8:3-9) You really do need to get a copy of the Doctrine and Covenants from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and read some of the later sections in the Book. Say sections 130 - the end.
God made in the image of the master of the past - the King/Dictator - "We must get down on our knees to the Lord & Master, swear loyalty and obedience, beg for his mercy and hope for a reward" Primitive ideas of God from simple, primitive people sadly being blindly followed even today
@@ramaraksha01 I disagree with your assumptions about God. I think of the one True God as much different from your worldview but I respect what you say.
@@johnbrzykcy3076 Disagree sure but where am I wrong? Do you not divide and preach hate based on religion? God rewards those who join "his" religion? A God who made ALL of us, made ALL the life forms on earth now seeks to divide us? Or is it religion using God to divide us, gain power and converts? A parent does not do that - would you set your children apart based on "loyalty" to you? But a Master will do that - because to a Master/King/Dictator - loyalty is the most important quality in a slave/subject Violent times back in the day, a King/Dictator has to be sure of his subjects loyalty - try speaking out against Putin while in Russia - it won't end well no matter who you are as a person And that is what these religions preach - be loyal to the Master and Master will reward you with Heaven - ideas that came when the world was much different That is like saying today that if you polish your boss's shoes, boss will be pleased and GIVE you the promotion There have been people who have done exactly that - what do you call them? And yet religion is preaching the same sick ideas and amazingly you are now one of those scum buckets
@@ramaraksha01 I'll repy more to you later but just want to say that I'm not saying you are wrong. Just that I hope you are wrong in your assumptions about God. I don't even like the word "religion." And if religious ideas are "sick ideas" that I am open to listen to what you say. But I don't think God is a "sick" idea unless God is indeed as you say, a dictator. I hope the Creator is the idea of love!
@@johnbrzykcy3076 Religions that continue to live in the past - Abraham hurried to obey God and kill his own son - but that was a diff time - one HAD to obey the King/Dictator But we live in different times now & yet Christians and Muslims continue to blindly follow these primitive ideas We don't polish shoes to get ahead - we EARN our jobs, promotions, titles We know nothing in life is Free And yet when it comes to religion the way in to Heaven is down on one's knees begging and groveling And then in Heaven we become Freeloaders, happily sponging off God for eternity But the values in Life are God's values - values that God taught us God said, work hard, EARN what you want God said, nothing is Free - there is a cost to it. Heaven comes with a Cost as Christians and Muslims will find out ua-cam.com/video/wQq8KRo6RI0/v-deo.html
Eternal life is Energy, it cannot be created nor destroyed, it only transforms. It creates, holds and transforms everything in the Universe/ Cosmos. The Creator of everything. Energy IN = Energy OUT The Alpha = Omega The first = the last The beginning = the end The root = the offspring The bright morning star 🌟, the sun ☀️, is the main source of energy that gives heat and light energy to sustain life on our mother planet earth 🌏. ( Revelation 22:12-16 )
@@roccococolombo2044 doesn't help. you cannot use rationality when discussing such things as life after death ..there are many rational minded people who believe in life after death..many intelligent people with a higher IQ than yourself..so rationality does not count...a materialist for instance, such as yourself, will say "utter nonsense" but cannot back their arguments up, other than to throw insults as they know their arguments are weak. I'd suggest you stop reading the mainstream materialist tripe and open your mind.
Eternal life - according to people who have had a "Near Death/Out of body Experience" would most likely be an extension/continuation/ascension of consciousness to another "frequency" or "level" of existence, be it in another alternate dimension or "locale" ..or it could be some kind of "spiritual" world parallel to our world, and I use the term "spiritual" loosely as I am anti-religion. Whether the NDE/OBE is an illusion or not is another matter. What is evident is that people who return from this experience talk about being in a kind of "perfect" state with no pain, no worry, no limitations, and communicating with only thought without their physical body. Quite fascinating and if it's purely a trick of the mind or DMT or a "brain storm" then I bloody hope I experience it at the point of death.
@@johnbrzykcy3076 i already did with my original comment but okay - did you ever notice that the musical circle of fifths & the zodiac wheel essentially use the same schematic? it’s kind of obvious once you see it.
@@johnbrzykcy3076 You’re a funny one John. You ask me to share anything that I’d like for you to consider yet when i do you show not the slightest inclination to engage with it. So why ask in the first place? No worries. It’s your choice. the sacred is secret for a reason. all the best 2 U
Singing praises to a god or gods ad doing nothing else.thats my Sunday school teacher. We cannot in anyway feel see hear taste touch or even conceptualize eternity while alive.why worry about such?we become the elements ad later transform in to any thing stars et all ad in some maybe other lives.that to me is acceptable bt at that time are in anyway conscious of our past?experience shows we are not conscious of past existence whether we were worms or bacteria. Can somebody use evaporation to illustrate bt remember the random mixture of the elements ad the changes there in ad u still talk of eternal consciousness ad self awareness.this in my worldly brain is not even a possibility let alone a probability.its some form of delusion ad we love it for self importance.the elements of a dog pig worm monkey ad all things mingle bt sorry I get it as I can hear a cat mowing in my brain ad of late I like chasing mice.thats the consciousness I believe that I was a cat bt am still not in heaven so the struggle continues unabated.wish me luck in the next resurrection
These religions - Christianity/Islam - made God in the image of the most powerful man of their day - the King/Dictator Brought before the King, one got down on one's knees, swore loyalty, begged for his mercy, sang his praises & hoped for a reward Simple primitive ideas of God from simple primitive people Amazingly, being blindly followed even today by the best of minds As for you being a cat and not in heaven - that IS Heaven! What is your view of Heaven - the easy lazy life? Nothing to do? No worries, responsibilities? Free Food, shelter, protected and cared for? Guess what? As a Pet - cat or dog - you get ALL those things! Fools chasing after Fools Gold called Heaven! ua-cam.com/video/wQq8KRo6RI0/v-deo.html
@@setiandromeda6091 There is only ONE WORLD! This one! The one God made for us - God created this world, this earth, gave us this life. Life is a Gift Religions like Christianity are saying God made a mistake - the entire earth, human life, all the creatures on earth were all one big mistake? And what is reality? Ask a theist what one DOES in heaven and they are lost for words God wants billions of humans to be totally dependent on him, singing his praises while they live a life of comfort, sit about doing nothing for eternity? THAT is the Grand Plan of God? Like saying this rich guy just loves his relatives living in his house and sponging off him Heaven & Hell are the products of religion - not God. Chasing after foolish Sugar Daddy lands in the sky will only lead to living as a lower life form
He has no way to know what happens after death. What we notice is that his frail body degrades his mind and he speaks awkwardly. The mind body complex is destroyed at death , even if something remains we do not know what is happening after that.
In his old age he demonstrates that it is all a product on the mind and the power of belief and imagination. We just want this brief life to have meaning beyond death. We extend this desire to all the fanciful possibilities he utters. It's all belief, we are food for worms, the mind is what the brain does and the dualism argument gives rise to such wasted effort.
Interesting fact: This guy was a celebrated psychonaut (i.e. psychedelic drug enthusiast) and associate of both Aldous Huxley and Timothy Leary. Cool guy but way too woo wooed out for me.
@Andreaz-64 I understand what you are saying but I hope the Creator is a kind, compassionate Being who has a "better plan" for all creation. If a "narcissistic monster" does sit "on the throne," I can only hope the true God has defeated him. John in Florida
@Andreaz-64 I completely understand what you are saying and I am also confused by the way the god of the Old Testament is portrayed. The only solution I can think of is that God allowed the authors of the Bible, who were human just like me and you, to be influenced by the cultures of their time when they wrote down the Bible stories. But why would God allow such? If we think about it, why would God allow His only Son to die on a cross and carry the curse of our own sinful nature? So, like you I am perplexed by the issue. I know there must be a solution somewhere. I think Jesus pointed to the true nature of God as a compassionate, loving Being.
@Andreaz-64 I'll reply more to you later. But the way I see it, the only reason I can see as to why God would allow His only Son to carry the curse of the cross would be the idea that God really did/does love His creation and desires for us to be with Him. I'm not really sure what sin is but if Jesus told His Father that He would "become sin" to save God's creation, then I can somewhat understand how much Jesus loves us. Many people don't see the death of Jesus as a display of love but I do. Do you see any love at all in Jesus' death?
@@johnbrzykcy3076 and @Andreaz-64: Christians believe they are united with Jesus in his death (Rom 6:5), in which he took our wrong doings on himself. So a way to look at it is that in Jesus God is uniting with us, and absorbing our wrong doings, however abhorrent they may be. Our sin can be seen as letting down someone we should love, like a partner or friend who we love and value such that we want to please them, but then we mess up and wrong them. Every aspect of our lives is full of moral judgements, so it is unsurprising that moral failure is the central theme of religions, or that it is key to our relationship with God, and that God has provided a way to deal with it. Beyond that, any concept of goodness is largely meaningless.
It's the law of conservation of energy, not the law of conservation of consciousness. Consciousness never goes away? It goes away in the young and healthy for several hours everyday.
Yea, the heavens will be waiting until the bad spirits take a purifying shower. As if time existed in the spiritual world. Lol Ah! well, these silly humans will neer get it, will they.
At 6:30 the joy, as well as the respect, revealed on Robert's face is priceless!
Huston Smith taught Comparative Religion for years at the University of CA, Berkeley. As a minister he had a congregation near the Berkeley campus, where his daughter took over his ministry after his death.
Thank you for the insight.
1.75x playback speed is a great choice here. Check it out.
1.50 for me
x1.75 is great for Huston but, by geez, it makes Robert seem like he's in a rush :)
1.75x is perfect for me thanks
Good call.
Thanks mate
"Institutions are not pretty. Show me a pretty government. Healing is wonderful, but the American Medical Association? Learning is wonderful, but universities? The same is true for religion... religion is institutionalized spirituality." Huston Smith
That’s a good message. I never thought of it like that
Thank you for sharing it
God bless him with many years
Sadly, he passed in 2016
With an eternal life full of bliss and elation in the hereafter... Amen! 🙏🏽😊🌱🌳🕊️🌹❤️
Thank you for your introducing Huston Smith to me; what a lovely man he was. After seeing this interview, I will make an effort to read about his ideas in more detail.
I sincerely hope that you have obtained the bliss you talked about. Thank you for your insights.
This was without question the most confused and pointless rumination on the possibility of life after death I've ever heard.
It sounds like what he was trying to say essentially that he would continue to exist in some sense so long as someone living remembers him, which actually wouldn't be personal survival.
But he prefaces it by strongly suggesting belief in a personal afterlife, albeit with no attempts to justify his claims whatsoever.
But he ultimately equivocates by essentially saying that he will eventually be completely obliviated, though he even equivocates on oblivion by describing metaphorically as a droplet merging with the ocean.
Amen! 🙏🏽😊
@@b.g.5869 life after death is not all that difficult to believe, for the simple fact that it is believable, and because I am here now.
There's no difference between death and non existence. They're just words under different contexts but they're essentially the same and mean the same.
Non existence is the same as before you were born, or before consciousness emerged.
How far back in the history of this world do you really need to go to show when consciousness emerged.. it would seem pointless in a way, because it emerges everywhere all of the time with each new life. And as far as you or I, or anyone else is concerned, it exists in all living things, in some form of another.
As energy is to everything, the expressions of all things are all completely different for different causes and reasons. Consciousness is almost certainly the same.
At least it would seem that it's easier to accept that consciousness is, rather than it just emerged and came to be chasing your own tail around.
Rather all points of consciousness expressed are parts of the whole, and are the whole In themselves.
The without within.
@@adamburling9551 I don't care what anyone "believes". The fact that somebody finds something believable doesn't say anything about whether or not it's actually true. What matters is what is logically sound and for which there is compelling evidence for.
But I never said anything about belief or whether consciousness is an emeegent property or not. It's ultimately irrelevant to the question of "Is there an afterlife?" however
You need to be honest about what people mean when they speak of and long for an "afterlife". All philosophical navel gazing aside, what they're talking about is the desire for their personal conscious experience and memories to continue to exist after death, and that is almost certainly impossible.
People's minds and sense of self and memories can't even survive Alzheimer's disease, how is it supposed to survive the death of the brain? We can see very clearly the neurological correlates of consciousness and how it diminishes and can even be suspended or distorted in direct proportion to brain damage, deterioration, or alteration.
All of these things you're saying are just attempts to deny the finality and sting of death. This old notion that "I wasn't conscious for an eternity before birth and it didn't bother me at all so I'm not bothered by the same thing after death!" is just denial.
People aren't worried about the state of being dead. Once you're dead you won't have the capacity to know you're dead; you won't be aware of anything at all; you will have ceased to exist.
But that's not what bothers people. What bothers people is the knowledge while alive that their existence, meaning they're conscious experience and memories and sense of self etc, will one day forever cease to exist, as will everyone they know.
Saying something like "Oh, but I'm part of the universe, and that was here before me and will be here after me, so... Immortal!" is bullshit. It's just denying that you're going to lose the only aspect of existence that matters, which is your personal identity and memories etc.
There's no way of getting around this. Because of you really thought death was no big deal out didn't represent the ultimate tragic loss, then by logical extension you'd have to argue that there's nothing wrong with murder, or that getting Alzheimer's or permanent amnesia isn't tragic.
In any event, none of what you wrote has anything to do with what I wrote. My point was simply that Huston's take on life after death was incoherent. Maybe it was because of his age, I don't know, but it was a very confused take on it for the reasons I gave in my first post.
@@b.g.5869 and you're saying?
"Matter is like ice, protruding from the sea of consciousness" - WOW
Well said! Consciousness is simple and so general like reality and the laws of physics it’s unassailable and irreducible to matter as it is fundamental to reality and life. It’s only a difficult question if you assume a materialistic paradigm.
@@Dion_Mustard How does rejecting the materialist paradigm make consciousness easier to understand?
Even if for the sake of argument you assume "consciousness is fundamental" you still are going to have to explain it in material terms. And what difference does it make if somehow an immaterial consciousness gives rise to what we call the material if all our observations indicate that if you alter, damage, or destroy the apparently material brain it alters, damages, or destroys the supposedly immaterial consciousness?
This isn't a serious idea, it's just a desire for immortality.
If an immaterial consciousness truly was fundamental, you could theoretically vaporize a city with nukes and they could just magically reimagine it all back as it was in apparently material existence.
If it's not fundamental in that sense, you might as well just call it material because they're ultimately indistinguishable.
@@b.g.5869 consciousness is not material or related to material in any way. that's the whole point. it is entirely unique and NOT a product of matter. it has always existed. try reading a book called journeys out of the body by robert monroe. only when we die and are released from the limitations of the brain and the physical world do we then understand reality. many people, as yourself, choose to be ignorant and therefore in a way you shut down your perception and limit yourself in so many ways.you follow the old school materialistic rhetoric regarding mind and brain. you believe chemicals give rise to awareness.
science is slowly disproving this.
do not be afraid to believe mind is more than brain my friend. take care. i am muting your comments because you are ignorant . com.
"trying to find consciousness in the brain is like trying to find music in the radio".
@@Dion_Mustard You don't get to just declare pixie dust into existence or say "I wish the world was like X, therefore the world is like X".
The psychology here is obvious. It's about not being able to accept that death is the end of our personal experience.
If you want to believe otherwise, you're going to need to explain tons of things that are ostensibly incompatible with the idea that minds don't require a properly functioning living brain.
Why do we ever lose consciousness for example? Why is it that lapses in consciousness can be predicted and caused by altering brain function with chemicals that mimic neurotransmitters?
How do you explain dementia and the way consciousness and cognitive function and memory wither away in direct proportion to the material brain withering away?
People's memories can't even survive Alzheimer's and you think they can survive death?
You're kidding yourself.
WOW, but what the hell does it mean?
Wow! What a lovely gentleman Huston seems to be! Seriously one of your best talks I've experienced at least. Good work!
Most of the religious people aren't afraid of the day of judgement in the least. This seems to hint, that at least subconsciously, they don't actually believe it.
SOME, think they are forgiven. Some understand the cycles of carnation and why.
True. A lot of them lie to themselves.
@@peaceonearth351
We all lie to ourselves if we think we know the truth. We cannot know one way or the other.
@@stinkertoy4310 I agree but I really wanted to point out that some lie to themselves thinking they lived a righteous life but in reality, they were rotten people.
@@peaceonearth351
Few people, VERY few, are rotten. People are complex, and each of us confronted by different problems to resolve. Failure is how we learn. Happiness - over rated.
Love watching Huston smith
Swami Paramarthananda Swamiji says'" Consciousness is not a part, product or property of the matter. Consciousness is independent entity "
Start with any premise, arrive at any conclusion. The phrase "a load of old rope" comes to mind.
Fantastic! Huston Smith is a truly wise man
What a great point to make about the concurrency of mind/body duality in religions. And also with the dew drop and the sea. Also he pays a nod to how Christianity does not denigrate the body because even if you are a complete anti materialist, your body is what carried your consciousness along for this short journey. I think the parts that constitute your purely corperal form enjoy a different kind of afterlife/eternity in the never ceasing cycle of energy and matter in the universe. Consciousness is so elusive and intertwined with so many deep processes of the mind thatI think it resides somewhere similar to where mathematical forms reside. But more than just abstract. The best way for me to put it is it resides in a place where the notion of "one" "more than one" and "less than one" are all equal. There is no enumeration. There is no feeling of insignificance but also no feeling of granduer. Something like this would be impossible to probe with science even within the framework of quantum mechanics. This is a natural death. It should be noted however a "digital afterlife" or a "mind copy" or "upload" is something entirely different and you are still within the real of the corpereal albeit, now digitized which can provide altered forms of existence but will be limited in its ability to reproduce an accurate synyhesis or seperation of body and mind. Thats what I think anyway.
Logical Limitation of the Logic
Logic is the Methodology for relating thoughts in order to make decisions and reach conclusions
(reasoning).
Logic has helped us a great deal to reach where we are in Philosophy, Mathematics, and
Science.
The Ultimate Methodology
Let’s define the Ultimate Methodology as the Ultimate Logical Tool for creating all other
methodologies. Since it is a methodology itself, it needs to use itself to create itself, therefore a
Paradox.
Before solving this paradox, there is no absolute logical premise to drive absolute conclusions
from, and all methodologies including logic and science will remain relative and
their use in answering the Ultimate Questions (Consciousness and Infinity) will be misleading.
Conclusion
By its nature, Logic can create Dogma and any type of dogmatism; Logical, Philosophical,
Political, Religious, Scientific, …; is a hindrance in the pursuit of the truth.
Thank you, that is a great simple explanation of the shortcoming of Logic
Smith died in 2016 at the age of 97. So the Jan. 13th, 2021 is misleading unless one does a little "Googling" as I did. The date below the video is no doubt when this interview was shared on UA-cam as opposed to when it actually took place. I would suggest that it would be helpful to mention Houston's transition date in the description below the video. Still sharp for his age. Question: if we require a bodily transformation/resurrection after death, what happens to the many (religious) who choose to be cremated? I wish that point had been addressed here. I think that believing in the resurrection of the body (how ever well intended - honoring the body) is an unconscious (?) desire to maintain a belief in materialism. Also, I'm not sure how I would feel about keeping my personality or identity for eternity as who I am currently. It's fascinating fodder for discussion. As Ester Hicks (Abraham) says, (paraphrasing): Imagining yourself to have a body in the "after-life" will present some real challenges in a dimension that is non-physical. lol
"EXCELLENT"... beautiful metaphor, with deep meaning , his wisdom about consciousness & truth , full of love with emotional touch for his family and friends ......"when time comes when no body own is there , his due drop will open up & willingly embrace the shining sea of consciousness"..... thanks 🙏
Amen! 🌱🌳🕊️❤️🙏🏽😊
Wonderful man!
I wish to have an active and up to date mind in the same age as he is. Brilliant!
I agree with you
I am remembering my grandfather.
Wonderful, indeed, Huston! Wonderful!!
Very nice conversation, as usual. Could you tell, Dr. Robert, when you talked to him? Thank you.
This is beautiful.
What is "forever?" Is it living as long as the time span of a universe or is it living beyond that?
There is no time. Creation is infinite.
@@peaceonearth351 lol but you exist and live as if you are down on earth? But no work, the easy lazy life - God will pick up the bill while you shamelessly sponge off him?
Careful what you wish for, it will come true
ua-cam.com/video/wQq8KRo6RI0/v-deo.html
@@N1otAn1otherN1ame lol exactly! Fools chasing after Fools Gold called Heaven
ua-cam.com/video/wQq8KRo6RI0/v-deo.html
Religion makes nice promises of the easy lazy life forever and NOT ONE EDUCATED person questions it! A big smile and they are soooo happy to hear it - not once asking "but there is no evidence, these people are as clueless as I am but they claim to know, they are lying" - amazingly not one thinks this way
A rock exists as well maybe not for eternity but for a long, long time - it has no problems, no worries but who would want to be a rock?
Even God cannot know - logically it is impossible
If there is a finite amount of time - say we live for 100-200 years then we can check to make sure someone says I will live for 200 years - that can be verified
Someone saying eternal life is just blowing smoke since eternity has not ended - one can say one has lived billions of years but just because the sun has been around for billions of years does not mean that it will be around forever
We know that in about 5-6 billion years the sun will die as well
Now, death on the other hand IS eternal
Forever is simply a word for the entirety of time. It's not the same thing as infinite time.
The idea of living longer than forever is incoherent.
This was a very beautiful and enjoyable conversation. What a wonderful way to think about happens after death. Your sense of identity will be forever gone, but you will live forever as particles which forever float in space or get used to create new life.
That’s hellish
The pictures seen when the body drops away are as the seer has seen before l this in this life or past) and how the consciousness consolidates, creates from and, interprets what has been seen.
I have been offering to many people to try to depict eternity to me. I noticed that every attempt of that kind failed right away, because time and timelessness are totally incompatible notions since timelessness transcends our cognition. To be more precise : timelessness is totally unimaginable to us. We know that nothing can come out of nothing (hence : God exists since noncontingent Being (God) is necessary, that is to say : God is Being which can not not to exist), however, as many philosophers admitted : God's necessary existence is the only (although certain) fact/knowledge we are capable of figuring out with regards to this philosophical problem ((in relation to God), that is to say : in relation to His true nature). So we know that timelessness (God) must exist (since necessary existence is the very definition of God), but we have no idea how it works (what is the true nature of God/Timelessness). No idea, whatsoever!!! And that very absence of any idea with respect to God's true nature leads us to the problem of evil and to the problem of God's hiddenness which is in fact only one particular aspect of insurmountable problem of evil...Why would *good* God want/need to be so well hidden from us, persistently refusing to answer any important (existential) question? It doesn't make any sense, and He knows it, and we know that he knows that we know that he knows that. So, he is obviously mocking us, and he knows that we know that he knows that we know that he is mocking us because he is malevolent being. So, he actually wants us not to believe in Him (in his goodness), even though we are perfectly aware that He exists. And he knows that in this way he is torturing us on this earth. But that is not the end of the story. He promised to us even worse torturing in Hell. OMG...
Are you sure that nothing can come out of nothing?
@@ferdinandkraft857 Are you sure that 2 + 2 = 4?
um so where did God come from? How did he come out of nothing?
@@ramaraksha01 Being is, Non Being isn't, that's it. Only, you need to know how to correctly interpret this deep philisophical truth so that you can be able to grasp it's true meaning. Maybe the best way for understanding what this phrase means is to watch the video which i uploaded few months ago on my channel ua-cam.com/video/-GJLsw4tnn0/v-deo.html
This talk was most enjoyable!
These are very good questions! My own belief (and it's just a belief, no doubt wrong in many ways) is that, _if_ there is life after death, that implies a purpose to living in the first place. We were not born here randomly, but rather as a stage in some greater life process.
But imagining that greater process from our limited perspective would be impossible. I think religions that say we live, then "drop the body" and go on to some other state for the rest of eternity are too simplistic. The essence of life is change. To be alive in the most general sense is to continually reduce entropy in your immediate environment, and that's something that would hold true in any universe or afterlife. Therefore we must continue to change in some way, even after death.
But from a certain perspective you could say that our lives are already "eternal," since general relativity seems to imply that all of the three-dimensional and temporal coordinates of our universe exist "simultaneously" and it's only our perception of the present moment that changes. Inside the universe our consciousness appears to tick along the great frozen track of our lives, moving from one end to the other, but from the perspective of an extra-dimensional observer we never change and never will. To them we'd look more like an object than a living thing.
I guess I'm saying there's probably a lot more to our existence than we can perceive, and I'm hoping death isn't an end but rather just another change in our existence like all the ones we've gone through before. One step in a much greater journey of transformation. Maybe an eternal one.
I really like your statement that we are to "continually reduce entropy in your immediate environment". What do you mean by that?
@@johnbrzykcy3076 The most basic definition of life (all life, not just sentient beings) is that it reduces entropy. Life increases order - usually within itself, but certain species can have an impact on the environment around them as well. Humanity decreases the entropy of the entire planet because of our global reach and size. (This isn't always a good thing. A wild forest has more entropy than a polluted city, but it's probably a better place to live in.)
I said "in the immediate environment" because nothing can get around the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Life may be increasing order around itself, but the overall disorder - the overall _entropy_ - of the entire universe is always increasing.
@@Kevin_Street Thanks for sharing and the clarification of what you meant.
@@johnbrzykcy3076 Thanks for asking! I hope it made sense.
Why do you want something else so much?
Regarding the discussion topic at 8:31, Jim McCarthy’s statements recounting his NDE seem to confirm that. He recounts on (time-stamped) ua-cam.com/video/gqoXocVlNjw/v-deo.html that right after the life review he had, he felt like he was getting ready to merge with the universal consciousness referred to in the video above, and had a strong feeling that “he was going to lose the sense of self and of who he was if he allowed the merger to proceed further.”
yes but there is not one NDE in which this really happen before being called back . Also in basically all NDEs there are "people" even dead by long time who are still "themselves"
yep it's called Death buddy - but that is not what they want - they want the easy lazy life in some magic Retirement Home in the sky where a Sugar Daddy being has nothing better to do than to keep billions of shameless leeches sponging off him for eternity
Is this the person who interviewed J.Krishnamurthi?
Yes
I think the best scenario would be that we keep coming back as ourselves, like the movie Ground Hog day, and that's the only path to Redemption!
What about crazy, evil people? Are they just shells?
I don't want to "keep coming back as ourselves." How do you see such as "the only path to Redemption"?
What a fascinating man! A pleasure to listen to. Im with him on all of his points but I would add that the Resurrection is a symbol of hope: hope that life is not in vain and that love, our experience of salvation ( as Jesus' Teaching), can be our teacher until the time when we are ' reunited' with God, that is to say, eternal life. This is similar to the Eastern philosophy of seeking Nirvana while alive and achieve total liberation. This way, we never have to reincarnate again.
Greetings from Florida. I pretty much agree with your statements.
Life is here, it is what we experience whilst here. Eternal consciousness is not life. Hence we come here to experience this thing called "life!" The terms "after life" etc are misleading, they imply a life much the same as this outside of the physical life. Not so...otherwise there would be no reason to go through this physical life. It's not easy to come here and do this, it's incredibly brave to come here and experience the good, the bad and the downright ugly of life. If something else does exist you can bet your last dollar it will be a whole lot different to life here.
Good point. If consciousness is not life, maybe it is sort of a foundation on wich life is build upon
@@aw55550 Interesting point. I would imagine physical life gives opportunities and experiences that are outside of consciousness scope. Maybe consciousness is limited in that physical does have some areas that are fun. I'm pretty sure something of us carries on but the nature of it and how it works is still a major mystery.
i'd suggest reading robert monroe journeys out of the body. he was able to leave his body (or his consciousness left his body) and he travelled to different "locales" as he called them , or dimensions, and he met different beings, and indeed met people who had died. it seems if there is an "afterlife" then it is an extension of consciousness in parallel worlds or a "spiritual" world, as such.
Your first few words are basic Hinduism - that is why it preaches Reincarnation - because Life is here
But life here is harsh, difficult and naturally people hoped for an easier life and religions like Christianity & Islam were happy to take advantage
Sugar Daddy Gods in the sky have nothing better to do than to cater to the pleasures of the flesh of billions of shameless people who never ask any questions like how do we pay for all this good life? Happy to just believe that everything will be paid for and they can just sponge off this Sugar Daddy
But of course one must first join this religion making these cheap promises, grovel and beg to their God and ONLY to their God! If you don't he will cast you into brutal hell
Amazing that people who live in democracies, despise dictators like Putin and Stalin, yet can't see the same in these Gods! Willing Nazis ready to condemn innocent people simply because they don't share their delusions
Religion is the best at turning good people into total scum buckets
Name 3 things you enjoy doing that doesn't involve your body. I love icecream but if I had to eat icecream forever it would eventually suck. What makes a book a good book is that it has a beginning and an end. If it didn't end it would have no meaning. The same with your existence. What makes life so precious and forces us to use it, is because it has a beginning and an end
when the iceberg is dropped it goes back to the sea.
✨⚡💚🕊🌿
Beautiful !!
Thankyou !!
Try at 1.5 speed and he sounds 30 years younger.
Wonderful dialogue and as the human body transforms, consciousness transforms upon death.
i kind of accept that. that consciousness separates from the brain and transforms or indeed travels to other realms. i'd suggest reading a book by robert monroe called journeys out of the body.
I may tell you after I die and if I have experienced the afterlife.
what if energy is experiencing life just for the experience without judgement
You forget that the Earth is the Devil's playground. Many will fall to judgment.
If nothing is known about eternal life we say what?
We theorize....I guess?
We say, "i don't know." Ask what and people speculate; ask if they know and they'll say just one word, "no."
Your question suggests that eternal life is possible
Eternal life in the blink of an eye a frozen moment in time in ones last breath and final thought.
You die but you live your last second of life for what is perceived as eternity in your consciousness.
Think of it as a movie playing out that pauses on the last frame where the cells recieve your last thought as the last information they will ever receive written to them oh you do die but the cells pause the last things you ever thought or imagine before they to too decompose just like the last thing you ever see gets snap shot onto your retina because you're cells froze in that moment it appears eternal.
You would be just as attached to another life as you are your previous life if thier is a higher self above all your incarnations that would be the real you.
The spirit is of this body the soul is your higher being.
The image on the screen ...............
I may be wrong, but I believe the idea of bodily resurrection comes to Christianity from its roots in Jewish apocalyptic thinking- the book of Enoch, etc. I think in the Jewish tradition, there never was a concept of eternal life that did not involve the body. Ok correct me!😊
Wow Dr. Smith is brilliant!
How will an ocean enter a dew drop ?
How could the eternal life be, if You were not always Here and Now, (Mr.Kuhn, there ain't No 'afterlife') isn't it so, that You are always Here and now, where ever You go.
Yeah, You are the Eternal Here and Now, You simply can't escape from this Eternal Fact.
(there is much more to understand about the Eternal Life, but that's another story)
What a great gentleman and human being. Has more common sense than 95% of all philosophers.
I agree with you 100% John in Florida
How can he say matter holds consciousness back when isn't it obvious that consciousness is a by-product of the brain which is made of matter?
I have yet to see proof for that, I was convinced of that too before I realised that science has still so much more to learn about our physical body. But we can speculate.
@@Velvet_Drop here is some proof: when your brain is too active, it needs sleep. When you sleep, you lose some consciousness. If your glucose is low, the brain will not operate properly and you'll lose some consciousness. If you have surgery and you go under general anesthesia, you lose consciousness. Isn't this all proof that consciousness is dependent on the brain, or am I missing something?
Not one person has communicated with a deceased person.
I have... Praise God! 🌱🌳🕊️
Not even Huston could provide a reasonable concept for an unembodied soul. Without a soul that doesn't depend on our physical existence, there is no sense in discussing the possibility of "eternal" life. Bollocks.
After doing dmt. This description of “ what’s on the screen”. Wow. Wow wow. I came to that conclusion after using dmt. Ur consciousness experiences. Either heaven or hell . Oh wow he’s saying it now. Wow . Mind . My experance was 29 heaven 1 time hell. After the difficult trip I was experancing hell. I became aware that the after life could be your consciousness being emersed in this experance. ( describing it is so hard) on dmt. I was seeing. It’s horrific for my mind to deal with. That horrible state of feeling. I imagened is hell!! I learned all this on my own. Just smoke some dmt. Mind blown
If science has indeed concluded that consciousness is fundamental, why has no reputable scientific institution declared it? I guess this is where we need a conspiracy theory to step in with an explanation.
One day, we’ll be so advanced in computer power that AÍ will be able to scan the earth an collect all the Human particle data of every person ever lived on this planet and through computation will bring back to live every individual. We’re all energy preserved and these advanced technology will be capable of decode our information( thoughts, identity etc.. and bring us all back to life. Trust me, that will be possible, it’s not religion, it’s math, pure math.
Well won't that be just peachy!!!
Eternal life is like a bad joke that turns out not just to be bad, but destructive to the species that believes in it. We either move on from God and Religion as a species or we aren't going to make it.
Oh I have so much I'd like to say, but won't at this time. Mr. Smith is a very learned individual and I admire the amount of effort he appears to have put in his study of ALL religions.
I will say one thing, 'You will never find God in a test tube'. I'm not the first to say that, but it's a good saying. What I think that means is that if you are looking for 'empirical' of God, you will never find it using the scientific method. Finding God comes from exercising Faith or Belief in God. All I have to do to believe in God is to go outside at night and look at the sky. I can see why the Psalmist said:
"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!" (Psalm 8:3-9)
You really do need to get a copy of the Doctrine and Covenants from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and read some of the later sections in the Book. Say sections 130 - the end.
God made in the image of the master of the past - the King/Dictator - "We must get down on our knees to the Lord & Master, swear loyalty and obedience, beg for his mercy and hope for a reward"
Primitive ideas of God from simple, primitive people sadly being blindly followed even today
@@ramaraksha01 I disagree with your assumptions about God. I think of the one True God as much different from your worldview but I respect what you say.
@@johnbrzykcy3076 Disagree sure but where am I wrong? Do you not divide and preach hate based on religion? God rewards those who join "his" religion? A God who made ALL of us, made ALL the life forms on earth now seeks to divide us?
Or is it religion using God to divide us, gain power and converts?
A parent does not do that - would you set your children apart based on "loyalty" to you?
But a Master will do that - because to a Master/King/Dictator - loyalty is the most important quality in a slave/subject
Violent times back in the day, a King/Dictator has to be sure of his subjects loyalty - try speaking out against Putin while in Russia - it won't end well no matter who you are as a person
And that is what these religions preach - be loyal to the Master and Master will reward you with Heaven - ideas that came when the world was much different
That is like saying today that if you polish your boss's shoes, boss will be pleased and GIVE you the promotion
There have been people who have done exactly that - what do you call them?
And yet religion is preaching the same sick ideas and amazingly you are now one of those scum buckets
@@ramaraksha01 I'll repy more to you later but just want to say that I'm not saying you are wrong. Just that I hope you are wrong in your assumptions about God. I don't even like the word "religion." And if religious ideas are "sick ideas" that I am open to listen to what you say. But I don't think God is a "sick" idea unless God is indeed as you say, a dictator. I hope the Creator is the idea of love!
@@johnbrzykcy3076 Religions that continue to live in the past - Abraham hurried to obey God and kill his own son - but that was a diff time - one HAD to obey the King/Dictator
But we live in different times now & yet Christians and Muslims continue to blindly follow these primitive ideas
We don't polish shoes to get ahead - we EARN our jobs, promotions, titles
We know nothing in life is Free
And yet when it comes to religion the way in to Heaven is down on one's knees begging and groveling
And then in Heaven we become Freeloaders, happily sponging off God for eternity
But the values in Life are God's values - values that God taught us
God said, work hard, EARN what you want
God said, nothing is Free - there is a cost to it. Heaven comes with a Cost as Christians and Muslims will find out
ua-cam.com/video/wQq8KRo6RI0/v-deo.html
Is immortality possible in reality?bcoz some
scientists successfuly achieved reverse
aging.like in Israel's latest research..
Boring.
Very stupid
@@tomorrowmaynevercome3171 why?
@@ferdinandkraft857 ?
Maths has an eternal life, everything else is an expression that we experienced
Eternal life is Energy, it cannot be created nor destroyed, it only transforms. It creates, holds and transforms everything in the Universe/ Cosmos. The Creator of everything.
Energy IN = Energy OUT
The Alpha = Omega
The first = the last
The beginning = the end
The root = the offspring
The bright morning star 🌟, the sun ☀️, is the main source of energy that gives heat and light energy to sustain life on our mother planet earth 🌏. ( Revelation 22:12-16 )
Nonsense.
evidence it is nonsense?
@@Dion_Mustard So called eternal life has no rational basis.
@@roccococolombo2044 define rational? evidence please?
@@Dion_Mustard Look it up in a dictionary.
@@roccococolombo2044 doesn't help. you cannot use rationality when discussing such things as life after death ..there are many rational minded people who believe in life after death..many intelligent people with a higher IQ than yourself..so rationality does not count...a materialist for instance, such as yourself, will say "utter nonsense" but cannot back their arguments up, other than to throw insults as they know their arguments are weak.
I'd suggest you stop reading the mainstream materialist tripe and open your mind.
Supratemporality: it's the only way. When you're done, you're done; no more doing.
This clip was filmed many years ago. This guy almost certainly has 'dropped the body' by now.
5 years ago.
"Science has holes.." Religion also has many "holes." But I think that Jesus the Christ can fill the "hole."
I dropped the body in an NDE at the age of three.
Eternal life - according to people who have had a "Near Death/Out of body Experience" would most likely be an extension/continuation/ascension of consciousness to another "frequency" or "level" of existence, be it in another alternate dimension or "locale" ..or it could be some kind of "spiritual" world parallel to our world, and I use the term "spiritual" loosely as I am anti-religion. Whether the NDE/OBE is an illusion or not is another matter. What is evident is that people who return from this experience talk about being in a kind of "perfect" state with no pain, no worry, no limitations, and communicating with only thought without their physical body. Quite fascinating and if it's purely a trick of the mind or DMT or a "brain storm" then I bloody hope I experience it at the point of death.
i could comment but what would be the point? no one listens to a nobody
@Andreaz-64 ah .. you noticed the inherent paradox within my reply :) …what is it you would like me to tell you?
@@stunningkruger Just share anything that you'd like for us to consider.
@@johnbrzykcy3076 i already did with my original comment but okay - did you ever notice that the musical circle of fifths & the zodiac wheel essentially use the same schematic? it’s kind of obvious once you see it.
@@stunningkruger To be honest, I'm not familiar with the "musical circle of fifths & the zodiac." Forgive my ignorance.
@@johnbrzykcy3076 You’re a funny one John. You ask me to share anything that I’d like for you to consider yet when i do you show not the slightest inclination to engage with it. So why ask in the first place? No worries. It’s your choice. the sacred is secret for a reason. all the best 2 U
Singing praises to a god or gods ad doing nothing else.thats my Sunday school teacher.
We cannot in anyway feel see hear taste touch or even conceptualize eternity while alive.why worry about such?we become the elements ad later transform in to any thing stars et all ad in some maybe other lives.that to me is acceptable bt at that time are in anyway conscious of our past?experience shows we are not conscious of past existence whether we were worms or bacteria. Can somebody use evaporation to illustrate bt remember the random mixture of the elements ad the changes there in ad u still talk of eternal consciousness ad self awareness.this in my worldly brain is not even a possibility let alone a probability.its some form of delusion ad we love it for self importance.the elements of a dog pig worm monkey ad all things mingle bt sorry I get it as I can hear a cat mowing in my brain ad of late I like chasing mice.thats the consciousness I believe that I was a cat bt am still not in heaven so the struggle continues unabated.wish me luck in the next resurrection
These religions - Christianity/Islam - made God in the image of the most powerful man of their day - the King/Dictator
Brought before the King, one got down on one's knees, swore loyalty, begged for his mercy, sang his praises & hoped for a reward
Simple primitive ideas of God from simple primitive people
Amazingly, being blindly followed even today by the best of minds
As for you being a cat and not in heaven - that IS Heaven!
What is your view of Heaven - the easy lazy life? Nothing to do? No worries, responsibilities? Free Food, shelter, protected and cared for?
Guess what? As a Pet - cat or dog - you get ALL those things!
Fools chasing after Fools Gold called Heaven!
ua-cam.com/video/wQq8KRo6RI0/v-deo.html
@@ramaraksha01 u have apoint
@@setiandromeda6091 There is only ONE WORLD! This one! The one God made for us - God created this world, this earth, gave us this life. Life is a Gift
Religions like Christianity are saying God made a mistake - the entire earth, human life, all the creatures on earth were all one big mistake?
And what is reality? Ask a theist what one DOES in heaven and they are lost for words
God wants billions of humans to be totally dependent on him, singing his praises while they live a life of comfort, sit about doing nothing for eternity?
THAT is the Grand Plan of God?
Like saying this rich guy just loves his relatives living in his house and sponging off him
Heaven & Hell are the products of religion - not God. Chasing after foolish Sugar Daddy lands in the sky will only lead to living as a lower life form
He has no way to know what happens after death. What we notice is that his frail body degrades his mind and he speaks awkwardly. The mind body complex is destroyed at death , even if something remains we do not know what is happening after that.
I resent the assumption that life is preferable to non-life.
In his old age he demonstrates that it is all a product on the mind and the power of belief and imagination. We just want this brief life to have meaning beyond death. We extend this desire to all the fanciful possibilities he utters. It's all belief, we are food for worms, the mind is what the brain does and the dualism argument gives rise to such wasted effort.
Numbers are eternal. Eternal life as a price of believing God. Not for me.
Either pure BS or it will be the same for every living creature.
Man, horse, bluewhales, moscito, bacteria etc.
God has no RELIGION.*
Unprovable
all right. wait a minute.
disappears
He should be ashamed of saying - Closer to Truth - and then spewing out this garbage
Tulisannya tidak mudah dipahami, skill menulisnya harus ditingkatkan
Santa Claus
i think we live after death just in a spirt body amen
Interesting fact: This guy was a celebrated psychonaut (i.e. psychedelic drug enthusiast) and associate of both Aldous Huxley and Timothy Leary.
Cool guy but way too woo wooed out for me.
I hope eternal life will bring the end to humanity's suffering and the existence of evil. Isn't that the promise of Jesus the Christ, Son of God?
depends on the level of gullibility..
@Andreaz-64 I understand what you are saying but I hope the Creator is a kind, compassionate Being who has a "better plan" for all creation. If a "narcissistic monster" does sit "on the throne," I can only hope the true God has defeated him. John in Florida
@Andreaz-64 I completely understand what you are saying and I am also confused by the way the god of the Old Testament is portrayed. The only solution I can think of is that God allowed the authors of the Bible, who were human just like me and you, to be influenced by the cultures of their time when they wrote down the Bible stories. But why would God allow such? If we think about it, why would God allow His only Son to die on a cross and carry the curse of our own sinful nature?
So, like you I am perplexed by the issue. I know there must be a solution somewhere. I think Jesus pointed to the true nature of God as a compassionate, loving Being.
@Andreaz-64 I'll reply more to you later. But the way I see it, the only reason I can see as to why God would allow His only Son to carry the curse of the cross would be the idea that God really did/does love His creation and desires for us to be with Him. I'm not really sure what sin is but if Jesus told His Father that He would "become sin" to save God's creation, then I can somewhat understand how much Jesus loves us. Many people don't see the death of Jesus as a display of love but I do. Do you see any love at all in Jesus' death?
@@johnbrzykcy3076 and @Andreaz-64: Christians believe they are united with Jesus in his death (Rom 6:5), in which he took our wrong doings on himself. So a way to look at it is that in Jesus God is uniting with us, and absorbing our wrong doings, however abhorrent they may be. Our sin can be seen as letting down someone we should love, like a partner or friend who we love and value such that we want to please them, but then we mess up and wrong them. Every aspect of our lives is full of moral judgements, so it is unsurprising that moral failure is the central theme of religions, or that it is key to our relationship with God, and that God has provided a way to deal with it. Beyond that, any concept of goodness is largely meaningless.
It's the law of conservation of energy, not the law of conservation of consciousness.
Consciousness never goes away? It goes away in the young and healthy for several hours everyday.
Eternal life is exactly the same as nothing. It does not exist. It does appear that eternity of time exist in the universe(s).
Yea, the heavens will be waiting until the bad spirits take a purifying shower. As if time existed in the spiritual world. Lol Ah! well, these silly humans will neer get it, will they.