I know the typical posts here are from those seeking solace with the concept of dying, either from their interests, fears, or personal account of death in their family, with friends, etc. Or those who are a little more refined and have an unheralded amount of knowledge and information about the Afterlife. I came here as the first person described...afraid out of my mind because I was afraid of death. I have since overcome it, and have befriended a few people from here over the years who have given me tons of resources and information to stop my doubt. Now, here I am, in a great moment of my life, and sometimes I look forward to death instead of enjoying this life. Why?

Because so many things are just a let down. I live in the United States of America and I see kids dying in Syria and families starving to death in N. Korea and the people around me could care less. So I read the news and after a big election here, the President was named and I see 30 States wanting to succeed the Union and disband from the U.S. So, I dismiss that and go to church in Houston, Texas and enjoy the sermon, just to find out later from a friend that the pastor who preached was involved in a homosexual sex scandal with an under aged young man a decade ago. And that is when I get sick and wonder when we I get a break from all of this!?

This World, from a collective view, is becoming more and more immoral, corrupt, evil, and sick by the day. Religion is under fire, kids are doing any and everything without accountability, leaders are corrupt, people you trust in are corrupt. I mean, I don't want to go on complaining as if there aren't great positives in my life, but it's difficult to understand why I chose to come here to endure THIS. For what? Enlightenment? Seriously? Where is everyone else's enlightenment? Are we that weak an an entity, to where a vast amount of us are these sub-standard, carefree, destructive individuals? And in given a choice I wanted to come here and be uncomfortable being surrounded by all of this?

So with all of that said, I just want to know, is it wrong, or does anyone else find more peace in NOT being here one day? Where life after dying has to be better than what this World has to offer! It just saddens me, as a Father of 3 young children, to have to create a sense of reasoning for these things when my kids ask about it. We had a conversation just yesterday about racism and stereotypes that my oldest son was studying in Sociology, and I was trying to explain how ignorance is what makes people judge other people's walks of life. And when my younger son asked "why do people hate me because I am Black"....I didn't have a real answer for him. Ignorance is not a REAL answer. Because that does not change his reality! And it puts me in a space to where I again am asking, why do we "choose" this? To suffer to become better? Well, if that is the case, is it wrong to get tired of the "suffering" and look forward to a better World? That is my question today....

Food for thought. I am often grateful that I have no children to explain such things to and, yet, we are all parents in some way shape or form, as an elder generation.

I do, at times, look forward to death, because I have come to believe it may hold great joy, possibilities which don't really exist at this level, in this life.

But, this life is more than just "those who suffer". And, for most people, I think there is more to their lives than the negative things they know about, or experience, or to which they make some contribution.

Even at the worst times in my life I remember what my mother said about the worst times in her life -- she said sometimes the thing that keeps her hanging on is that someone might make her laugh. It's true, we can still laugh, strangely, during some of the most terrible of times. Children know this.

I agree with Mogenblue that we are bombarded with knowledge we would often rather not know, knowledge which can be a burden to us.

And yet, how would we learn compassion otherwise? How would we learn how to truly love, not just when times are easy, but when times are tough? Not that I think "suffering" is a worthy "goal" or anything like that. Just that, overcoming barriers of the heart and mind, growing as a person, doesn't always come easily.

Just as you have empathy for those who suffer in this world, so will your children. They will see, feel, how much you care. They will learn how to care from you, how to weather the good times and the bad.

And, just as you have compassion for others, you have compassion for yourself. Thus, you have found a way to look forward to an afterlife. I find no shame in that, but simply hope. It is important to have hope. That's what I think. It gives you a direction, a place to be heading for, a certain reward.

Quote:


Can't recall at what age my son would have understood the folowing, maybe it isn't important to deeply understand, but would your son understand

"because they do not love themselves, and it is easy to project that on to people who are physically different."

This is sort of related: yesterday on "Fresh Air" Terry Gross interviwed a man who has written a book about parents and children who are likely to be stigmatized, and come to terms with it. YOur question brought me back to that interview. Maybe the answer to "Why?" is in the resolution some of these peope have found about a different but parallel situation:

http://www.npr.org/2012/11/12/164958401/parenting-a-child-whos-fallen-far-from-t...

I wrestle with parts of your question a lot because I really don't want to be here a lot of the time; I get tired of my own personal hassles I guess! Like a line from a song:


For the Lord's cross might redeem us but our own just wastes our time

(Hard Love by Bob Franke
http://www.bobfranke.com/lyrics.htm  )

Sorry I'm wandering here..we are having wine and not coffee, right?

So the question is always "What am I doing Here????" Stop the planet, I want to get off!!!!

and all the mystical answers always come back that it has something to do with learning about love, Sometimes that is hard to swallow.

And then a connected question is, would we do better if we knew that more consciously? That is such a deep philosophical dilemma to me.  Seth and others liek that have claimed that we came here and forgot what we were on that other side and our egos grew too big. So maybe we could do this journey with smaller egos and be happier? but what does that all mean? (By too big ego, I don't mean ego trip, I mean we forget to connect to whatever version of God we hold dear in our day-to-day life).

So does that help with the day-to-day suffering? Maybe. I have a lot of self -rejection so long story short I am working more on self-love. So this is really strange to me: I leanred a little meditation using ideas we all know but this one has a little twist:

You put your two hands over your heart and you say "I love ME."

Now the hands are warm so it feels nice and there actually does seem to be a difference about using "me" instead of "myself." Don't know why.

But when I feel like people are being hateful to me this helps me feel better. Wish I had learned this as a kid. 

Eben Alexander talks about this question (of why are we here and why don't we do this earth trip while feeling the love of the universe) in his interview with Bob Olsen (see thread under Afterlife TV if you are interested). I don't think he answers it but I think lots of people must ask this question. I wasn't satisfied with whatever he said at the end of the interview; maybe he is saving it for his second book. Bit one does wonder, why do some of these NDErs get "sent back" when they are having such a great time THERE. Some agree to comeback. Why? Why? Why? There must be something important here.

So maybe it is to learn love that your child sometime suffers, love either for others or for himself. And maybe sometimes it will be hard love. And maybe we can search for the answers together. (And then we can sing another Franke song on that link:
Allelujah the Great Storm Is Over)

Should we or another group of people be the guideline if you or others are allowed to look forward to death? Are you putting too much focus on what makes you look forward to death? If the collective makes you feel ill at ease, how can you carry a breath and not suffer? What can you change and what isn't for you to change?

"A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road." - Henry Ward Beecher

Mogen, how did you become a such an excellent ditch-digger, sort of fell into it?

Awww Mogen, I don't always dissolve into tears, but when I do I form a puddle of water, rock back and forth to create the soothing tones of ocean surf. Lovely pink noise. Can you imagine a surfer riding ascending waves, then making a splash? Imagine all the surfers, living for today? Now imagine I'm death. Looking forward to meeting me yet? Suddenly want to be forever young? Can you imagine when this race is won, turn our golden faces into the sun? So when you look into the sun and see the words you could have sung: It's not too late, only begun.

"I think the next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humor in it." - Frank A. Clark

So I have had the occasional bottle of wine...  ; ) as in ;  ) ,  not in

JG, I have studied the books of Jozef Rulof in detail. I will tell you that Master Zelanus really got to my heart.
After all these books I now go by one lead motto: Just keep on breathing.

It will be worth it.
There is nothing else that you have to do. Everything else will follow by itself:
if you are hungry you go to the fridge
if the fridge is empty you go to the supermarket
if you have no money you are in deep s**t.

Well, I have solved the latter problem. My income is no problem.
I am so happy to live here in Holland. I am happy you US people protect us from any Taliban invasion, other than that.. what can I say?
There is no way I would trade my country for any other.

Have a good day JG.
Like Lucy said: other people just don't love themselves.
Life is good.

You're welcome Lucy.

x

-Mogy