Eternity is a long long long time!!!

Please, don't go insane now. Of all the apocalypses on this site, the one you’re about to read is probably the most mind-boggling of them all. For what will eternity look like? Think of a place where everything has ceased to exist, where golden parkings pop out of nowhere,

Napoleon Bonaparte comes back to life and the TwinTowers resurrect themselves. Still, this incredible place is exactly where we are heading, physicists expect.



Empty your mind. We’re about to take a BIG leap into the future. Not just a lousy few billions of years, but 10 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 years!

One ‘googol’ year, is the official word for that number. It’s the current age of the Universe, one billion billion billion billion billion billion billion billion billion billion times over.

Squeeze the entire history of our Universe into the thickness of a dollar bill, and one googol years would give you a pile of money that reaches one hundred quadrillion quadrillion quadrillion quadrillion light years high. It wouldn’t even fit in our Universe.

One googol years. That’s truly staggering. Beyond anything a human can comprehend.

First, let’s fast-forward to the not-so-awfully-far future. For the coming billions of years, scientists predict quite a ride.

The Sun will explode, the Milky Way will slam into another galaxy. The Cosmos might collapse, or get torn apart -- scientists can’t seem to decide yet which is more likely.

And even if the Universe doesn’t do that, we’re destined to face a weird and horrible crisis, which involves us spending our lifetime as sleeping robots.

The problem is that the Universe gets bigger and cooler. Ever since the Big Bang, it expands, much like an expanding ball of fire after an explosion.

Right now, the Universe is still young. It has these cute stars and twinkling galaxies.

But in the long run, that will change. Slowly but inevitably, the Universe will empty itself.


First, the galaxies will fly out of sight, beyond the horizon of what we can possibly see.

Next, the stars in our own galaxy will burn out, one after the other. The only thing that will remain, is a dull graveyard of cold planets, dead suns and black holes. In about one hundred trillion years, the Milky Way will go black, astronomers expect.



And eventually, even this graveyard decays. One after the other, the dead stars and planets are eaten by black holes, or kicked out of the Milky Way by collisions.

Astronomers expect that in one hundred to one thousand billion billion years, our galaxy has dissolved completely.


Time goes on. After a while (more trillions of years) something else will kick in.


You’ll notice that even the very stuff nature is made of, isn’t stable. A proton, the particle you’ll find in the core of atoms, has an average lifetime of 100 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 years.

Wait long enough, and it will suddenly vanish. Poof, gone.


The same goes for light particles, the so-called ‘photons’. They’re expected to last a few zero’s longer, but in the end, they too will kick the bucket, one after the other. Isn’t that just bizarre? The light will go out, literally.


The last thing that survives, are the black holes. But in the end, they too will vanish. They will evaporate in a puff of radiation.


So there we are, at our unimaginable one googol years.


Finally, the Universe is totally and utterly empty. You won’t see any light or spot any planet -- in fact, you won’t even find the tiniest speck of dust.


The Universe has sterilized itself. All there is left, is emptiness, and darkness. Total oblivion.


And worst of all: there’s nothing we can do to stop it. We can build fancy machines or futuristic devices all we like -- but in the end, they’ll all get kicked out of existence, when the matter they are made of simply vanishes.


So there you have it: infinity. Booooring, we must add.
But don’t sob.

There’s an upside.

As the quadrillions of years pass by, something very odd should happen.

In eternity, even the rarest events get a chance to occur.

Weird, bizarre phenomena that only happen once in a zillion years or so, become quite normal.


For example: the nothingness should yield a few surprises.

Already, physicists know that in a vacuum, there are sometimes tiny little energy ‘blobs’.


Little, random fluctuations of the so-called ‘quantum vacuum’. Out of nowhere, tiny particles pop in and out of existence.


But theory predicts that on very, VERY rare occasions, the fluctuations should be a bit larger.


Out of nowhere, an entire atom might appear! Or hey, the vacuum may even spit out a few of them!


Think of it like the static on TV. Wait long enough, and out of the random fuzz, a recognizable image might materialize.


Wait REALLY long, and one day a complete episode of The Bold And The Beautiful should accidentally show up!



In the vastness of eternity, even things that are almost impossible become real. Like the sudden appearance of, say, a light green buste of Napoleon Bonaparte.


In the Universe, this should give some really surprising results. With eternity at hand, the vacuum should begin to yield all kinds of objects. Incoherent lumps of random garbage, most of the time.

But on very, very rare occasions, you’ll see other objects popping into existence.

The Eiffel tower. A purple camel. A golden parking garage filled with chocolate Cadillacs. Napoleon Bonaparte sitting next to Mike Tyson on top of a stack of comic books. As the googols of years pass by, it’s all there.

In the VERY, VERY, VERY long run, the vacuum will even belch up complete planets, and beautiful stars, burning and all.

Theoretically the vacuum should even churn out a complete solar system one day, identical to ours, with a planet Earth inhabited by people.

"In an infinite amount of time, one day, I will reappear", as physicist Katherine Freese of MichiganUniversity once put it. "An crazy thought, but true."

One day the black nothingness should even produce a new Big Bang.

Admittedly, we’ll have wait really long for it to happen. Researchers of the University of Chicago once tried to calculate it.

And according to their best estimates, it should happen somewhere over the next 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 years.

That’s a one with 1056 zero’s. You can count them, if you like.

Heck all that time and eterinty first moment has not yet happened






PAPER LINKS:
Govert Schilling, Evolving Cosmos (CambridgeUniversity Press, 2004)
Stephen Battersby, "The Final Unraveling of the Universe". In: New Scientist, 5 february 2005

Thinking about eternity is indeed a pretty deepening thought. To exist forever. This is why I wonder so much about the ability to sleep or decrease consciousness at will in the afterlife. I imagine the desire to just want to turn off when I want to.

But eternity does not really bother me. If a vampire just appeared to me and offered me eternal life, I may just take it. But it may eventually burden me to not know of true death. To experience a place of eternity with more power than even a vampire could dream. I imagine our minds would accept eternity much as it has accepted death. People are capable of accepting death with knowing nothing about it and perhaps it is the curiosity which makes it easier. Either way we would accept it the same.

But we must also consider that eternity in paradise could also be hell. Even if I could travel the cosmos and all of the world...it's the power I think which would become the most boring. That's one theory as to why I think our world here is so simple and why we are so weak compared to what we can imagine. The ability to live out long and very simple days is more wonderful than many realize. I hope to be able to do this in the afterlife and if not...then the idea of reincarnation makes even more sense..especially if it is a choice.

"Live here with great power and knowledge...or begin with new memories in a new life on earth. Your old memories may return depending on your new life's path and death."

If it was all a choice anyway, which is what we understand it to be right? So if reincarnation is a choice and the afterlife is so wonderful...why would someone want to live on earth again? This question makes perfect sense when facing the knowledge of eternity and maybe even boredom in the afterlife.

StoneColdTrue wrote on Mar 17^th, 2010 at 3:10am:

Thinking about eternity is indeed a pretty deepening thought. To exist forever. This is why I wonder so much about the ability to sleep or decrease consciousness at will in the afterlife. I imagine the desire to just want to turn off when I want to. But eternity does not really bother me. If a vampire just appeared to me and offered me eternal life, I may just take it. But it may eventually burden me to not know of true death. To experience a place of eternity with more power than even a vampire could dream. I imagine our minds would accept eternity much as it has accepted death. People are capable of accepting death with knowing nothing about it and perhaps it is the curiosity which makes it easier. Either way we would accept it the same. But we must also consider that eternity in paradise could also be hell. Even if I could travel the cosmos and all of the world...it's the power I think which would become the most boring. That's one theory as to why I think our world here is so simple and why we are so weak compared to what we can imagine. The ability to live out long and very simple days is more wonderful than many realize. I hope to be able to do this in the afterlife and if not...then the idea of reincarnation makes even more sense..especially if it is a choice. "Live here with great power and knowledge...or begin with new memories in a new life on earth. Your old memories may return depending on your new life's path and death." If it was all a choice anyway, which is what we understand it to be right? So if reincarnation is a choice and the afterlife is so wonderful...why would someone want to live on earth again? This question makes perfect sense when facing the knowledge of eternity and maybe even boredom in the afterlife.

In the afterlife, time does not flow in a  linear way. It is more like living ever changing moment If the soul in the afterlife had to use energy like we do then it cant be immortal. In this present realm of three/four dimensions  In this earthly we must decay due to the relentless flow of entropy, time needs to flow in a world caught up in a world of time/entropy

hope that makes  some sense to you!!

I admire you meticulous planning to achieve a full OOBEi The only thing that might block you from experiencing a full OOBE is fear of the unknown.

Thank you for noticing and responding to y posts,I remain perplexed why so few take interest in what I post, I have much to offer for those who will listen to me.

Keep up the good work

Blessings And Light

Alan

StoneColdTrue, you said:

"The ability to live out long and very simple days is more wonderful than many realize."

--------------

I think this is brilliant. Sometimes, it takes very few words to receive what is most important. When you receive it, it energizes you. Then, it is easy to move on.

Maybe, think about that, Alan, regarding posts which seem 'lonely' here because they receive few responses. There are novels and there is poetry. In a 'time-starved' world we need more poetry, in my opinion, but it must be targeted, brief (when possible), and easy to absorb. People are overwhelmed, and their minds do not always have the energy to respond to the kinds of mental challenges which are 'child's play' to some. It's just how things are, I guess.

But, consider this, too. This is a board dedicated to the books of Bruce Moen. Although we all converse and share here, it is his forum. People who come here do so for all kinds of different reasons.

Most people here like to have a give and take when they converse, and you have great ideas, of course. And lots of friends here. Consider that many of your posts are pretty much complete in themselves, follow a certain theme like an essay, and provide more questions/information than most folks can shake a stick at....well, there you go. Seems pretty easy to understand to me, why many threads go with little response.

I, myself, who is a regular reader here, have difficulty keeping up. There are lots of threads I make no comment on whatsoever, but that does not mean I don't take notice of them.

wrote on Mar 17^th, 2010 at 6:32am:

StoneColdTrue, you said: "The ability to live out long and very simple days is more wonderful than many realize." -------------- I think this is brilliant. Sometimes, it takes very few words to receive what is most important. When you receive it, it energizes you. Then, it is easy to move on. Maybe, think about that. There are novels and there is poetry. In a 'time-starved' world we need more poetry, in my opinion, but it must be targeted, brief (when possible), and easy to absorb. People are overwhelmed, and their minds do not always have the energy to respond to the kinds of mental challenges which are 'child's play' to some. It's just how things are, I guess. But, consider this, too. This is a board dedicated to the books of Bruce Moen. Although we all converse and share here, it is his forum. People who come here do so for all kinds of different reasons. Most people here like to have a give and take when they converse, and you have great ideas, of course. And lots of friends here. Consider that many of your posts are pretty much complete in themselves, follow a certain theme like an essay, and provide more questions/information than most folks can shake a stick at....well, there you go. Seems pretty easy to understand to me, why many threads go with little response. I, myself, who is a regular reader here, have difficulty keeping up. There are lots of threads I make no comment on whatsoever, but that does not mean I don't take notice of them.

Noted; I will restict myself to one article/essay a month and engage with you guys in normal back and forth dialog

Blessing and Light

Alan

Gosh, Alan, I would never tell you what to do or try to limit your self-expression. A happy compromise will usually speak for itself. But, yes, I think you understand what I'm saying today.

love, b

Alan McDougall wrote on Mar 17^th, 2010 at 7:16am:

wrote on Mar 17th, 2010 at 6:32am: StoneColdTrue, you said: "The ability to live out long and very simple days is more wonderful than many realize." -------------- I think this is brilliant. Sometimes, it takes very few words to receive what is most important. When you receive it, it energizes you. Then, it is easy to move on. Maybe, think about that. There are novels and there is poetry. In a 'time-starved' world we need more poetry, in my opinion, but it must be targeted, brief (when possible), and easy to absorb. People are overwhelmed, and their minds do not always have the energy to respond to the kinds of mental challenges which are 'child's play' to some. It's just how things are, I guess. But, consider this, too. This is a board dedicated to the books of Bruce Moen. Although we all converse and share here, it is his forum. People who come here do so for all kinds of different reasons. Most people here like to have a give and take when they converse, and you have great ideas, of course. And lots of friends here. Consider that many of your posts are pretty much complete in themselves, follow a certain theme like an essay, and provide more questions/information than most folks can shake a stick at....well, there you go. Seems pretty easy to understand to me, why many threads go with little response. I, myself, who is a regular reader here, have difficulty keeping up. There are lots of threads I make no comment on whatsoever, but that does not mean I don't take notice of them. Noted; I will restict myself to one article/essay a month and engage with you guys in normal back and forth dialog Blessing and Light Alan

I'll be honest, I actually really enjoy your posts. I think the main reason you don't get a lot of responses is because it is just over people's heads. I don't think you should limit yourself at all unless you just want to. Or maybe you could find a proper balance for your own threads and posting in others. I enjoy your articles so I guess it depends on how much attention you're maybe looking for. Don't see that as me saying you're looking for attention. No one likes to be ignored and it's normal to declare it.

Writing is a tremendous form of expression and being able to receive comments on thoughts and beliefs I feel is particularly accommodating. 

Yahoo! Yipee! We get to exist for all of eternity!
:) :) :)

Hi,

Besides discovering more enriching viewpoints during our lives here on Earth, we have a multitude of other options to fill 'eternity.'
Actually I've heard we do by choice dissolve into the overwhelming Love of the Godhead before all those zeroes pass, but maybe that's just a belief of one sect.

The variety of experiences possible in the non-physical are almost limitless.  We probably cannot stand on Earth in our heavy physical garb and imagine how our spark of life will interact with other sparks in other environments/planets/ density levels.

Onward !  :)
Bets

betson wrote on Mar 17^th, 2010 at 10:55pm:

Hi, Besides discovering more enriching viewpoints during our lives here on Earth, we have a multitude of other options to fill 'eternity.' Actually I've heard we do by choice dissolve into the overwhelming Love of the Godhead before all those zeroes pass, but maybe that's just a belief of one sect. The variety of experiences possible in the non-physical are almost limitless.  We probably cannot stand on Earth in our heavy physical garb and imagine how our spark of life will interact with other sparks in other environments/planets/ density levels. Onward !  :) Bets

Hi Bets,

Most people think that time flows the same way in the afterlife as it does in the here and now. Time there can be speeded up slowed down or stopped, we can sleep or be dormant for a billion years and it will not matter, we can experience a hundred a thousand or a billion things all in the same moment

Love

alan

Alan said: Most people think that time flows the same way in the afterlife as it does in the here and now. Time there can be speeded up slowed down or stopped, we can sleep or be dormant for a billion years and it will not matter, we can experience a hundred a thousand or a billion things all in the same moment

Recoverer responds: That's a nice way to put it.

recoverer wrote on Mar 18^th, 2010 at 12:41pm:

Alan said: Most people think that time flows the same way in the afterlife as it does in the here and now. Time there can be speeded up slowed down or stopped, we can sleep or be dormant for a billion years and it will not matter, we can experience a hundred a thousand or a billion things all in the same moment Recoverer responds: That's a nice way to put it.

Hi recoverer,

If time moved the same way as it does on earth we would be subject to the relentless flow of entropy and the ethereal body would decay just like or mortal bodies live and die on earth

Blessings and Light

Alan