The Afterlife?

The Afterlife?

The afterlife is a widely believed concept by many open-minded people, however, many people still don't believe in an afterlife. Approximately only 1/5 of the world believes in life after death. The purpose of today's article is to explore the central concept(s) of life after death. An afterlife is defined as the concept of eternal life, or simply put life after death. To some a place of eternal life in a celestial place of rest is their vision of life after death. To others, an underworld is believed to exist. Some also believe in reincarnation and/or ghosts, or restless spirits. We have many more thoughts on life after death as it is impossible to know everyone's thoughts on such a black and white concept.

How long has man believed in life after death? To understand an afterlife, we have to break it down to the most primitive ritual: burial of the body. It has been stated that the caveman buried bodies. We must look at this from two angles: one, the cavemen were doing this as some ancient religious ceremony, and/or two, they were merely burying the bodies for health reasons. As much as we want to believe that they were doing this as a religious ceremony, it is hard to imagine. We can be sure that they more than likely did bury their dead. In modern times, we have funerals, bury the deceased, and have a gravestone for the deceased grave. A tombstone is definitely an affirmation to the belief of an afterlife. Why should we record the years on which a person lived merely for secular reasons?

Next, we must examine any sort of evidence we can indicating the afterlife is indeed an actual reality. Of course, we must discuss apparitions and spirits. Ghosts, as they are known, have been believed to exist since before even the times of ancient Egypt. Spirits have been spotted many times since man has first been thought to exist. A ghost is believed to be a spirit of a deceased person and otherwise. Many want to believe their life is not over after physical death so badly that they will become fascinated with ghosts, and the undead in general. It's interesting to mention that the ancient Egyptians placed spirits higher than people on their religious beliefs. (As well as cats, oddly enough!) We can determine that a lot of people believe and want to believe in ghosts. As far as them tying spirits into an actual structured belief of an afterlife is debatable.


So it's clear to see that the afterlife is not a new concept and the idea has perhaps existed since the conception of man and women. We are not ignorant people who believe that physical death is the end. I believe the vast majority of us want to believe in life after death.

Let's touch her again on reincarnation. Reincarnation is a belief that we live many life cycles that are predestined by karmic placement. Lifeforms can be reborn as another human, or an animal even, and vice-versa. This is a concept popularized by eastern influence. As a whole, many people have came to believe this. Some believe we will have no memories of the part life, though. Perhaps achieving enlightenment can break this belief: we are more than just a carried over soul. We can perhaps remember our last lives upon receiving sagehood.

Conclusion

Many afterlife concepts are out there, and many do indeed believe we have an eternal life. We have an immortal soul, in my mind. Do not fear death, for it is merely a transition to the next life. Live a good life, and prepare yourself for the next. Do not believe your loved ones merely die: it is merely a rite of passage. Love and live, for life is forever.