TIME

      I think it is funny how concerned humans can become over matters we have no way to understand or ever know for sure. But does this stop me when I find myself em-pondered by life and its meaning? Absolutely not. Why are we alive? I don't know, but I do love playing my guitar.
     I suppose when it comes down to it, I am in the reincarnation boat. I believe your soul gains energy through knowledge of time as it reincarnates through different tracks of time. Kind of like this.
TRACK 1
1955(Birth)===========1970============================2014 (death)=============
EARTH                                                                                                                   +  <- (soul)
                                                                                                                                +
                                                                                                         + + + + + + + +
                                                                                                           +
TRACK 2                                                                                            +
5000=============5200============================5648 (Birth)++++++++++(death)=
JUPITER                                                                                                                                            +
                                                                                                                                                           +
                                                                                                                                                           +
TRACK 3, (Becomes Track 1 upon reincarnation)                                                                               +
1900==================================1925-======================1955(Birth)
EARTH

          Now this might seem confusing. That is because it is confusing! You see I believe in the existence of parallel universes as well as simultaneous reincarnations. That means that in order for my present self to be existing in the present, I am also existing precisely in the lifetimes I have had in the past.( This is because everything happens in the present moment. Even when the past and the future happen, whenever that may be, always has to happen in a present moment or else they do not happen. That is because the present contains awareness of the highest level).
         You see with regular old reincarnation you have no control, that is not the case in my opinion. What if your soul only incarnated into a certain set of individual beings throughout time and space? I mean why not? I don't think soul belongs to anybody, but rather that soul is life/god. If god is the highest power than it can exist in all times, in all carnations, in all moments presently, since the present is the moment of full awareness. That is what soul does, except we get a piece of time personalize. A limited set of moments to experience for god, or else gods experience would be incomplete. But doesn't it make you think your soul is more powerful if it is also existing in other beings in almost unlimited possible combinations of time and space?
     In my opinion our soul must seek life and wisdom through reincarnation until a tipping point is reached where almost like a lucid dream when one realizes one is dreaming and is overjoyed but has to fight the excitement in order to not wake up. This is the way your soul gains wisdom. It is "heaven," to be all, to be God. There is no alleviation to the stress of the existing world, nothing is going to make it go away, and we have to be okay with that. Like one of my favorite hip-hop artists, Blackaliscious, once said, "The struggle is the blessing."
         

an ethical universe?

     Humans have been civilizing themselves steadily for a few thousand years now. I think most can agree that we are all one species and therefore biologically similar. In this was I am saying that, although physical differences develop, for example height, weight, skin color, etc., the mental and emotional capacity of humans is biologically similar around the world. We all have moms and dads, we all celebrate something, everybody eats, everybody sleeps, and everybody dreams....for the most part.

             Now with that in mind, lets talk about universal ethics. I do not believe this means we live in an ethical universe, or one that "works out for the better." The universe simply is. Ethics is a thing that humans recognize to exist inside this universe. All humans can recognize ethics. Although there are between seven to eight billion perspectives on this subject, all humans are biologically equipped to be mentally capable of handling the responsibility of sensible decisions.

     We all want to be comforted. It is very comforting to think that if we are "good people," then by living a good life through compassion then one can limit the harm to come in ones path, since one does no harm in the first place. It is this way the Buddhist seeks prosperity. But I believe that this mentality is rooted in fear and forces one to limit ones life and stifle urges due to emotional indecision surrounding impulses. Ethics need to be flexible in the situation in order to be practical.

    Christianity and Catholicism exists as more comfort oriented religion than basic Buddhism. This not to say one is better, for judgement is wrong , but that all religion is rooted in fear. The Bible though has more regards for neighbors and extended family. But that could possibly be because Christianity developed out of crowded cities, and Buddhism never needs to micromanage, at least in my opinion. But we are all human. We all have families. We are all biologically similar. It makes sense that similar ethics globally make sense, since only humans make sense of it anyways! 

A Decent Human Being

I believe in universal ethics.  I think that all people should be held to the same standard.  I think that the similarities in the different codes of ethics are proof of this.  I also believe that, possibly contrary to popular belief, that "uncivilized" tribes which are cannibals or perform human sacrifices are wrong and that, generally, humans should be kind to one another, no matter the circumstances.  This, in my mind, is the main purpose of universal ethics -- that humans would be kind to one another.

I think that, universally, people should follow the principles which are similar in the Buddhist and Christian/Judean practices.  Adultery, murder, and unkind or untrue words towards others are wrong and unnecessary.  I definitely haven't always gone by these principles, but I know what I believe is right and I know how I think that I and others should act and this is the standard to which I will hold myself and all people in the future.  These principles, to me, are uncomprimisable and truly universal.

Post Death

    Of course I believe in a life after death. I would absolutely find life intolerable if there was nothing after death. No matter how much proof there is that there is nothing after death, I refuse to believe that. I would prefer there to be an afterlife in which you go into your own version of paradise, or heaven. I also believe that, if you really wanted to, you can choose to be reincarnated or become a spectral, but I would never want to do either of those things. I believe, when you die, it is your time to go into paradise. Why someone would choose to come back to this world is beyond me. When you are reincarnated, however, you could be anything. This could range from being a puny insect to a mighty lion, or a poor person in India to the King of Spain. It doesn't matter what you do in your current life, you are just going to be randomly assigned a life. This also could be in anytime period, whether it is prehistoric, medieval, current day, or a million years in the future. There is no telling what your next life could be like. If you choose to be a ghost, your spirit basically stays on earth, yet you can go in and out of heaven whenever you may please. People who choose to go to heaven also have this choice of going into the world. In anyway, your life stays permanent, so your actions could have lasting effects on peoples memories.
     Anyways, if someone chooses heaven, they design how it should be like. Heaven is pretty much your ideal life; one without stress, worry, or woes but purely how you want it to be. In my own distinct version, I would like to be a part of a bountiful universe in which (showing my history nerd side) all civilizations of the world could be present at once (i.e. Assyrians, Romans, medieval France, Aztecs, Prussia, Iroquois, Indian culture in 1800's, etc.). I would like them to interact with one another and be able to befriend one another as well. I would like to live in a city of that universe with the buildings having the unique architectural styles the world has experienced. I would like there to be some conflict, stress, and worry though. I feel as though without it, life would be plain and boring. Though the world is anything you want it to be, there is a price. No one you once knew will be there, causing a feeling of emptiness. In order to meet with other dead people, you must meet each other as ghosts on earth.
     Though as complex and unique my ideal life after death may be, I cant say that these were completely mine.  To me, they seem to bear traces of Christian beliefs due to being raised by parents who "drugged" me into going to church everyday. Because of being forced to participate in church, I have rejected the idea of a higher power yet still held the idea of a life after death. Now, my beliefs shape my life in a dramatic way. I don't be good because some other power tells me to be good, but rather because I feel like being good. I don't really determine my actions due to what some other power think is right, but because I have decided that it is right. Due to my rejection of god, I have not only become a more untamable and care-free person, but I also became more independent and ethical because I choose to be and no higher power is threatening me to be by trying to take away my ideal afterlife. That is how I view my afterlife and how I am affected by my idea.
    

Remembrance After Death

       I may not believe that there's life after death, but I guess I hope there is. I know that after we die, most of us have relatives or friends who remember us, but as time passes, and those who remembered us die, our memory fades. Unless of course you stand out; you're famous. Being remember, I believe, is the only afterlife we get after we die. A persona's memory is the only way we can live on. If someone was to be reincarnated, that would be like rediscovering someone after they have been forgotten.
       The source of my beliefs could be that i'm a realist, a skeptic, or maybe just lack of proof, and the lack of any kind of faith. My beliefs make me who I am and shape my life greatly. Same with anyone's life. What they believe makes them choose what kind of person to be, what to eat, wear, who they should be friends with, whether or not they robs banks or feed the hungry. What we believe is very like our personality, just a history of experiences that shape us and make us look at the world and ourselves in a unique way.

The Weight of a Soul

       My view of life after death stems from various, and often seen as opposing sources. Science tells is that all energy cannot be destroyed, it must go somewhere. So then by this law, the energy within us must be used elsewhere when we cease to be able to utilize it. In the 19th century a scientist tried seeing if one could measure the weight of a soul. His expirement had a man on in death bed, all on a huge and extremly precise scale. At the moment of death, the scientist watched the scale's needle drawing without any physical disturbance or change to the man or the bed. He then concluded this to be fact that souls so exist and have weight. Although, we hold this expirement as absolute fact but it is interesting to think about potentially having evidence of our sould transcending our physical bodies and going somewhere elese.
      With this kind of concept in mind, I also tie my beliefs in with the idea of reincarnation. If our energy cannot cease to exist like our physical bodies it must go somewhere, and that somewhere I believe is another living creature that comes to life at the moment of my physical death. I personally indentify myself as an old soul and feel with my whole being that I have had expirences that my physical body has not gone through. It's the kind of certainty that I don't need absolute fact to tell me if it is right, because I know that "souls" carry human expirence in them. This is how I feel we live on after death. In the memories of the ones who loved us, and in the next living creatures that end up with a piece of me.

What A Surprise

Most of my posts on this blog have been something like this: "I'm Catholic so this is what we Catholics think about this."  The basic idea of this one isn't very different.  I believe that there is a Heaven and a Hell and that all will someday be judged based on how we chose to live our lives.  This isn't just something I have always believed, but it took me a while to get to this point.

I'm not one of those teenagers you hear older people talk about.  There are days, sure, when I feel like life is just a game and that, if you lose, you can just re-spawn and start again at a checkpoint.  The rest of the time, though, I'm painfully aware of my mortality.  This started when I was little - I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up, so I thought I was destined to die young.  My biggest fear isn't heights or spiders, but dying from some freak accident and not getting a chance to tie up loose ends.  Most of the time, my existential crises come from thinking about the inevitable mortality of myself and everyone I love.

As I've grown in faith, some of these worries have lessened.  I'm now aware that worrying about when I die, is useless.  More important, however, is making sure that, whenever it happens, I'll be ready both spiritually but also that my earthly relationships will be in a place where those with whom I have interacted regularly will know that I love and care about them.  I think it's important, while on Earth, to be as kind as possible to as many people as possible.  This way, if you leave nothing else when you die, your smile or laugh will resonate in the lives of those whose days you've brightened.

The Heaven thing is a bit more complicated.  Earthly death is inevitable, Heaven is doubted by many.  I believe in Heaven because Earth is painful.  There has to be something better than this.  So many things are unfair and unexplainable in this world and I think of Heaven as somewhere where nothing hurts and everything makes sense.  It's a place in which there is no loneliness and everyone gets what they deserve, none will go without.

I guess I believe in Heaven because it's gotten me through a lot.  Whenever something is challenging or painful, it's comforting to know that there is a place where sickness and death are no more.  Films such as Johnny and several years of pondering, pain, and reflection have gotten me to this point.  Sometimes, it's hard to believe in the idea of Hell and think that your own father thinks that you're headed there, but the way I see it, as long as I believe in something and try to live the best I can, God and I can talk about the 'why' part when I get there.  After all, that's what it's all about anyway - it's just me and God.  If I lead others to him along the way, then I've done what I'm meant to do.  Besides, if we're all destined for decomposition, there will be no one around to say they told me so.


(For those questioning the Heaven vs. Hell debate, I suggest the book Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo.  If nothing else, it's an interesting story and makes a lot of great points on this debate.)