Is Death Final? | Episode 1306 | Closer To Truth
Is there life after death? Death is the ultimate defeat. No matter our successes, we are all doomed to suffer the final failure. But some claim that death is not final. Can the defeat be defeated? Featuring interviews with Gregory A. Boyd, John Hick, Deepak Chopra, Warren Brown, and Eric Steinhart.
Season 13, Episode 6 - #CloserToTruth
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Closer To Truth host Robert Lawrence Kuhn takes viewers on an intriguing global journey into cutting-edge labs, magnificent libraries, hidden gardens, and revered sanctuaries in order to discover state-of-the-art ideas and make them real and relevant.
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Closer to Truth presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.
#AfterLife #Death
Closer To Truth is broadcast on PBS stations. You can also watch Closer To Truth online at CloserToTruth.com or on our KZhead channel. This is Episode 6 of Season 13, first aired on PBS stations in 2014.
I miss my father but he used to say that death was an adventure and that we must approach it as such. So I try to do that and just hope that he and the others gone ahead of me are all a part of my future adventure too. I wish the same for you too.
TY Gus!
@@nickpolizzi5897 i just lost my dad yesterday.the world feels empty now
@@danielkammer3244 I'm sorry for your loss!
Those are beaitiful sentiments Thankyou
Very well put Gus!
In 1982 I had a head on collision whilst driving on a highway. The cars stopped each other where they collided, both doing 100 km/h. My injuries were catastrophic and I was told I died, twice during hospitalisation. This afforded me a NDE which was profound. Yes I had the archetypal NDE the tunnel, brilliant light and a feeling of absolute love and care. I was very much myself throughout the whole thing and I was aware of ‘people’ around me who had my wellbeing at heart. I argued strongly that I was not finished yet. Actually argued is not quite right, it was a passionate discussion. I needed to return to my life. These ‘entities’ argued that my life would be hard if I went back but I didn’t care. I saw no heaven or hell or any such thing, and I saw no faces. It was all a telepathic sort of discussion, as if i were all in a place without vision. They were patient with me and respectful. Immediately I woke up back in my life. I was in a hospital with people working on me and a nurse put her face close to me, I could see her though I didn’t know for weeks that my head was like a basketball and my eyes were puffy slits. I said to her, ‘ do you have anything for pain, this is really starting to hurt.’ A week or so later I awoke in a hospital bed. My jaw was wired shut and I slowly became aware of my situation. There were tubes hanging out of me in various locations and when I tried to move I realised I was very badly injured. My wife was told at one point, that if I lived the night I would never be anything more than a vegetable. Later she was told I would never walk again. It took a year before I could stand again and it’s quicker to list what I didn’t break or damage, or lose. But I did walk again, and I went on to be the manager of some extremely large construction projects. Sure I have on going issues, I was left with chronic pain. At the time doctors told me I would have a headache for two years. Well it’s been around forty years now, and I have a lot of other pain. My standing joke is, I have only ever had one headache in my life - mind you, it lasted the whole of my life. Boom, boom ! I have never been a religious man, though I explored many religions in my youth. To me religion is a construct, like money or grammar. It provides a lot of people with comforting thoughts and provides a lot of people with a very nice living, without having to get a real job. There is no heaven or hell, there is no evil, just things we really don’t like done to us or others. So now I am approaching seventy years old, having crashed my car at twenty one years old. Yes, life can be tough, but it was worth every moment of coming back. What I came to understand is that we are always ourself, no matter what. There are many universes and more dimensions to discover. Primarily we just keep being re-inserted into new lives. Why? We are learning about ourselves, we are experiencing a vast thing so that we can comprehend the positions of others. We are growing with each experience and we are absolutely meant to be here. We are made of the same stuff that the universe is made from. We are an intrigal part of it all, but we are ourselves. We never lose that, whatever we are doing. Take the ride, stop worrying and rise above the petty fears and jealousies. Stop harming others and show them some compassion. Show some love and enjoy it. Smell the flowers, feed the animals and the joy will make you happy.
There is a holly book named QURAAN ,i advice you to read it , you will find a clear and meaningful answer about death and life
You had your wreck the year after I was born. I know that the quest to understand collective consciousness and higher levels of thinking, living, and ascending has been growing for a while now, but I am really impressed to see someone of your generation who has such a "new age" modern understanding and belief system!! Is this something that you already had started coming to realize before you had the wreck and your experience, as you said you had studied many different religions in your youth, or did it all start to click after the experience? I'd really like to ask you a lot of questions some time just to satisfy my own curiosity as your perspective has intrigued me! And glad you survived the ordeal in order to share your story!
@@user-in6qt7sc1b you should check out a series, mainly via GAIA but you can find several episodes actually here on youtube, called Initiation with Matias de Stefano, with an open-minded approach and mindset of course. He gives some amazing explanations to so many higher level questions on existence and the universe.
Ali Ahmed- thank you for your advice. There is a copy of the Quran in my household and I was struck by the similarities of this book and The Bible. I know less about it than I do about the bible, because I grew up in the west. People have said that the bible is God’s word and some think it actually came from God. But he didn’t fax it to us, men wrote it and at the conference of Mycea men decided who;s stories were in and who’s were out. King James then decided what his version of the bible would have in it, and I know a lot happened in between, but I’m paraphrasing. As I said, I know the Quoran less. But I’m sure it’s a great book and helps many people in their navigation of this thing we are experiencing. This life. So far I have been impressed by many Muslim people, it’s a great religion. But there are extreme idiots who take it out of context. We are no stranger to such people. For Christian’s also have some extreme idiots. That’s just people. We are all learning, and are all at different levels. I leave it too there’s to judge where they think I may be. But why must we have so much bloodshed over who is right and who is wrong. Just respect each other and try to be helpful. It feels much better. Ang31, thank you for your kind words. And yes, I had largely formulated my belief system before my car crash. That just brought it all into sharper focus. I am not sure someone of my generation having these thoughts is any monumental thing. There have been man people for thousands of years with very incitefull vies. Our ancestors were not idiots, they also needed to understand the big questions and some Greek philosophers were far more eloquent than I could ever be. Others also had profound thoughts, but not quite the same need to shout it to the world. I am against war, I am against violence (not all violence is physical). I prefer to try to understand, to learn where I can, to help others if needed. In no way do I want to shove my beliefs down any one else’s thought. I could be wrong! It’s a work in progress. Thank you for saying you are glad I survived, I am glad too. Tomorrow is another day, enjoy it. Be free, do good where you can. Believe what works for you.
ang3l : If you have further questions, feel free to ask. I’ll do my best, but I don’t think I am anything special. I think many people have enquiring minds and want answers. Obviously I only have my particular journey, my experiences to draw on, but I tend to ruminate on things a while. Before I get any answers I’m happy with, it sort of has to bounce off everything else I know, or perhaps think I know. Eventually it drops out and I have another piece to the jigsaw that I am happy with. The new piece will do until someone challenges it with a better fit, then providing their view is better than mine, I will adopt that. Oh, also my apologies for the delay, had some other challenges to attend to.
I love how Mr. Kuhn approached this subject: Almost with my exact POV, asking questions and making statements I would have. I was enthralled for the entire episode, and felt it ended far too quickly.
My feelings exactly.
Same feelings here !
You all mentioned you wished it hadn't ended so quickly and wanted more. There is another one by him called: "Is there Life After Death 201.". But personally, this was all too goofy for me. People making up there own theories = trying to mix science and some basis on religions that "all agree" or whatever...when all religion itself was/is the same as this - just simple people speculating on death and making stuff up. It's straight to Christopher Hitchens or Sam Harris after this for some reality checking for me, lol, but hey I wish you godspeed.
@@govindagovindaji4662 Thanks for the recommendation, but I've already seen it. This is a subject where we have no alternative but to speculate. And, sure, aspects of that speculation may seem goofy to some (religions all seem goofy to me!). I suppose that's inevitable. I don't see anything wrong with exploring avenues outside your normal range. If Hitchens and Harris are more your daily speed, just consider this a short trip into the periphery. Out of curiosity, what is it Hitchens or Harris say about death that you consider a "reality check"? They don't have a clue what happens either. When it comes to the unknowable, just because you may agree that a certain scenario feels more plausible doesn't mean it is. I'm not saying this as anything other than a cautionary knell: If you're really looking to expand your mind (on ANY subject), take care not to fall into the trap of listening ONLY to people you already know you agree with. That's how a person gets stuck in an intellectual rut. Don't stop taking those trips to the periphery, in other words. Your comment kind of comes across as, "This line of questioning is 'goofy', so let me go back to where I know I will always hear what I want to hear." That's a slippery slope, and an easy one to get stuck on. Godspeed to you as well. We can all use a bit of luck and good fortune.
My parents knew they were going to die. My dad withdrew money a couple weeks before he died to help pay bills after he went. My mom a few months before she died she started talking in past tense. One day she said to me, "We had a hard time didn't we?" Oh man, that tore me up because I grew up troubled. Anyhow I was with her when she died
Are there this many ads in the afterlife?
Mr. Nobody It depends on if you go to Heaven or Hell.
lol
btw, Jesus Christ is Lord and God... Amen+
Personal PC Praise Allah
sponsored by raid shadow legends... jk
A zen master was once asked what happens after death and he replied, “I don’t know.” His questioner was taken aback, and said, “but you’re a zen master: you MUST know.” The zen master smiled and answered back, “yes, but I’m not a dead zen master.” Until it happens, we do not know.
That's the irony isn't? Everybody would like to know, and we'll all know, when we die, just won't be able to tell the tale.
You don't have to die to know what death is. By understanding how the mind works you can make a reasonable assessment. I have undergone anaesthesia that suppresses brain activity and I had no experience of being unconscious, it was as if no time passed for me, I had no sensation of existence whatever, any more than I experienced non-existence before I was born. Even a Zen master can't tell you what that is like because it is like nothing. That doesn't mean you are just as likely to become a ghost, go to heaven or get reincarnated as someone else.
@@jeromehorwitz2460 yes perhaps that’s what death is - the absence of knowing or even the absence of the one who knows rather than a someone who doesn’t know...
@@robbiepeterh Death is an absence of the subjective viewpoint and it's attendant memories that you identify as your "self." It's impossible for a living person to imagine that, though, and that gives an intriguing terror to it.
and after it happens we know nothing
It is not scary to die... It is scary to face your loved one death.
Said by a person who never taste dying. I can assure it was very scary
@@imanafdarI’d imagine to know you are about to die or at least think you are dying would be absolutely terrifying. Especially if young or leaving behind children or loved ones.
@@Mattwolf1186 ive tasted it 2 times and im 28, it was very scary when you slowly turn cold, harder to breath, your vision getting blurred, the pain you feel. Anyone who never tasted it always underestimate how it feels, common people mistake is they cant differentiate between seeing + knowing and experiencing it yourself. You dont truly understand something until you experience it
@@imanafdar Exactly, and we try to put it off as much as possible and try to not think about it or imagine it being at some distant time. There are a lot of these near death experiences claiming that consciousness exists after physical death and others who claim they experienced nothing like deep sleep so idk what to believe about afterlife but I am a believer in Christ.
I miss my father, he was a beautiful soul i know that his energy is preserved in universe - it is constantly supporting me
i struggle with Death Anxiety. I wasn't sure if i was going to be able to watch this video without having an anxiety attack, but it was actually a very interesting pleasant video. I can completely related to your want/need to be YOU. Resurrection is what think I want as well, but I would be ok with a transformative aspect and just be able to remember who I was.. if that makes any sense.
Watch the egg from kurzgesagt, i think it is the truth of what life and death simplified.
You did better than me
I understand the thought of death giving you anxiety for me it's blood and gore that give me anxiety. But knowing that eventually for one reason or another you're going to die whether you like it or not should actually have the opposite effect you're going to get what you think of as a consequence regardless of your actions so you might as well just do it 🤷 kind of like a fuck it moment.... If that makes sense
Death is final for people that are just mortals. Death is a door that opens for people that are more than just mortals. I met a guy in jail that joked saying: "everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die". The only thing that is really tragic and devastating about death is that it is unavoidable, and we know it. Why waste time worrying about something completely out of my hands? Much better to spend my time making my life worth living it all over again.
I used to be afraid of death, but when I came close once, convinced it could really be the end, it wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined. My only regret was that I had left many things unfinished. But the thought of slipping over wasn't scary in any way.
When my father died in my arms, looking into my eyes I saw an energy, a beautiful golden light in his eyes that slowly faded as he passed. Its very hard to describe but Ill never forget it. It moved up and out of his body and gave me a feeling that it would always exist but somewhere else.
I saw pain in mine and sorrow to not live a full life with his wife.. But he had lived so strong just not with the love of his life. Who can believe and see this happen.. Live here and now.. Cherish the moment because as far as I can see this is it. To the memory of my grandad..
I witnessed a silver-white ball of light, like a revolving snowball, rise up from my mother the moment she departed. Nobody else saw it, including my uncle, her brother, who was present. Afterwards he took me aside and confided that he had seen the identical thing (his description was uncanny) when attending the death of their Granny Ning. My mother's last wish was to have the photograph of her beloved "Ning" at her bedside and I had made certain it was right there beside her.
That must have been lovely but the overwhelming majority, experience nothing! Also Dar far more people that are resuscitated or are very close to death but recover, experience or remember nothing !
Thats true my friend i wissi your dud has his peace where he is
So beautiful and so precise. No energy is ever lost in this world. Nothing ever ends and to believe that we are just a spark of light that dies with the decay of our organic host is absurd and naive. Your father will always be around. You just cant see him :)
I've listened to at least hundreds of near-death experiencers telling their story. Many of them say that when they die, they have a feeling of their consciousness, being-ness greatly expanding. They say they remember and feel who they are AND remember and feel who they were in previous lives. Some say that it seems like all their lives are happening at the same time. Many say that time is different after death - that all the times are happening all at once. They say when they focus on a time or a situation and place, they go there or can see it, and experience it as if it is happening right then. Many say they can not only see in front of them but also in all directions. Some say their knowledge of all things greatly expands, that there is a sense of knowing all about the universe, of having all their questions answered. They say it's like they have the feeling they knew it before and then forgot it. There is talk about the veil - the presumably purposeful forgetting they do when they decide to live another life. Many say they have some role in planning the life they want to live, like choosing certain things they want to experience in their lives or choosing who their parents will be. They say they choose to AND agree to live the life - some call it a contract. Some experience a life review: they say they experience their life not only as they experienced it, but also as the people that they interacted with experienced it. So, if you hurt or helped someone during your life, then in your life review you will feel it exactly as they did as if you were them. Most say there is no one outside themselves judging them. Most say that there is an indescribable, intense feeling of unconditional love during the experience, especially in the light.
By definition if someone is telling you what it was like to die, they didn't die. Losing consciousness for a while, or the body going into a suspended state for a period of time and then being revived is not death. The reported experiences are real but are only interpreted as dying, they are not actual death, any more than flying in a dream is really flying. All of what you are describing has been expressed as experiences of meditation or drugs. There is no evidence whatsoever that consciousness survives death.
@@coachafella Not true. You can confirm by looking at the credible research, including that of Dr. Sam Parnia. Also by viewing the testimonies of highly credible people who died, and while dead, observed and gained information about what was happening or had happened outside their bodies, information that was later confirmed by other highly credible people - just one example is the experience of neuroscientist Eben Alexander III.
@@SkysMomma What's not true? That people telling us what it's like to die didn't die? Redefining death isn't evidence of death or life after death. Consider the simple fact that the people telling you what is was like to die are remembering the experience, which can only mean that the memory portion of their brain was working and recording experiences. That is not death. There are various states of brain activity, but death means no brain activity ever again. There is no mechanism by which memory can be created if the neurons are dead. If the neurons didn't die it wasn't death. I accept the desire to believe in existence after death, and confirmation bias is incredibly strong, but there is no credible evidence of consciousness separate from a biological substrate with some functional capacity. We have known for 100's of years that injury to the brain has a direct impact on consciousness and mental function. There are many thousands of documented cases of partial loss of capacity and function as a result of various brain injuries. It defies all rationality, that full conscious function would miraculously be restored if the entire brain was dead or destroyed. Reports of life after death are not reports of life after death. They are reports of life experiences pre-death.
@@coachafella When you said that the people did not actually die - that is not true. They were dead according to all the standard definitions of death - no new definitions. That is easy to confirm if you watch a number of doctors’ video testimonies. And by the way, I don’t approach this from any religious perspective or with preconceived assumptions about what consciousness after death is all about. I approach it from a scientific perspective.
I don’t buy this. Once we die we are gone forever.
I think Deepak has the right idea- we cling to all the things we identify ourselves with but in moments of presence we not only still feel like/are ourselves but in such a more incredible and infinite way
I'm so glad that Closer to Truth is still getting posted. Such an essential series.
@Billy Boffin this isn't rubbish if you don't like it. Don't eaatch
Personally i really enjoy Closer to Truth!😁😁
And they still continue.
When a guy strolls though an old English cemetery in a black turtleneck....you know for sure he's talkin' bout somethin' serious.
Hmm, intriguing! He might just be taking a shortcut to his girlfriend/ boyfriend, whatever. I don’t judge.
My thoughts exactly
That’s what kept me riveted .
And the voice... bigger than the man!
Damn tootin
This was so great. I love Robert's interjections between Deepak's explanations.
Yeah
Deepak Chopra is to greatest charlatan of our time
Excellent questions and discussion. My perception is that the range of viewpoints and responses from the interviewees are closer than I would have guessed they would have been. Another earlier commenter summed it up as a lot of convergence of thought on these excellent questions. Mr. Kuhn has an excellent series IMHO and I enjoy the discussions.
I’m very glad to have discovered this series, Mr. Kuhn. The films are beautifully made, your narrative is splendidly written, the questions you pose and the topics you discuss and the great brilliant guests you somehow get to appear in the videos, are precisely those I’m fascinated by (unless you don’t cover extraterrestrial life, and I don’t yet know that you do). Thank you. Much appreciated. Keep up the excellent work.
The luxuries afforded by way of opion is weilded buy a sword of the broadest of proportion..hardest fact remains that we who currently inhabit the present cycle of "life"..."consiousness"..hell we can call it a "Lgbtqgdui" sandwich if we select...my point is dat we can only speak speak from the perpespective of the living...any idea about the experience of death really shouldnt be wasted argumentivly...siscussing death..really...hard one to discuss from experince...die as we live... Or live as we die... We are all correct in our theories..simply could be loojed upon as bieng a :Different/1ne
@@fukaface5842 Are you Charlie Kelly?
I got fed up with this video reincarnating itself every 2 minutes after an ad, so I died
LOL
Lol! Go premium! No ads for ever a year now! I'm so happy!
Lol
@@stacielivinthedream8510 Man, I am tempted, I swear.
I LOVE what Deepak Chopra said!! Makes such sense , it’s all about continual evolution🤗🙏🏻❤️
Deepak Chopra's real name is Deep Clown. well, may be not too much of a clown if he can keep his mouth shut
I had a NDE in August 2007 and spend 7 days in a Coma while my face was peeled off and rebuilt with titanium. Death is the separation of consciousness from the physical body and the ego identifications. We become a higher witnessing presence, a infinite loving consciousness, when the physical body dies. Death is really just the death of the ego as we move from our limited consciousness back to source. This is the state of oneness which is our true nature.
No, as the name suggests, you had a Near Death Experience. Not actual Death, but near death. You didn’t clinically die. No one has come back from being clinically dead. Clinically dead means zero brain activity. You are gone Dead. What you experienced was pretty traumatic. But your brain remained active throughout. During this you could potentially hear or see anything. Hallucinations, dreams, etc. Your brain was fighting for survival. So everything you claim to have witnessed would be expected. Nothing supernatural or magical. Just common brain activity. The fact that you had this and remember it, is a good sign.
@@StephenMartinMusic you are right , but what if near death experience is like a sample of what death will be?
@@darkknikk9274 But it can't be. Near death experience and sleep may be similar in that during each your brain remains active. But not death itself. Once you are dead, all activity ceases. There is nothing. No flash of light, or crash of sound. Not even a pin drop. Time has no meaning. When you had no concept of waiting around before you were born, it can also be said that at the moment of your death, the Cosmos itself will die. Profound, right?
I sadly have a lot of doubts, but i truly hope you're right 💓☀️🙏btw I'm happy you survived and recovered 😊
I was in a coma, and there was absolutely nothing. I was just gone until I reawakened in my healing brain. It wasn't scary or joyous. It wasn't really anything.
I lost my soulmate this past September, if we are not ever together again then life is the cruelest thing to ever of happened....
I'm really sorry for your loss. Has there been ANY sign as to where there might be a possibility they are trying to reach out? Like lets say faucet turning on by itself? Maybe feeling like your partner touching you? Anything?
@@sunnyy1322 one night I was crying and really going through it. Out of nowhere I got up plugged in her alarm clock and put on Pearl Jams last kiss and I only heard the lyrics about God taking my baby but I got to be good so I can see my baby one day...I was using alot of drugs and alcohol after she passed...I could feel her in the room with me.. I been meditating alot the week prior to this where I also had contact with her. In my comment I was talking about being with her after I pass...
There is going to be a resurrection by Jesus Christ (John 5:28, John 11:25, and Isaiah 26:19, because after Armegedden Christ is going to raise the dead back to life, and they will have to be taught the truth about God.
@@gargould7186 and Santa will bring me new skates this Christmas yay!
@@bernicejenkins1515 Where do you suppose the complex design of the animals and the human body came from, a big bang? You have to be kidding, you really don't fall into that line of BS do you. Don't even text me if can't come up with something better than what you just did because you are just embarrassing yourself.
I used to be an autopsy assistant, and, while preparing the body for the autopsy, I very often felt a sense of awareness- that the consciousness of the deceased was in the room, lingering, following the death of the body. This perception was so real to me, that it has contributed to my belief that consciousness does continue, after the death of the physical body.
Yes, I feel them, but only when they want to touch us.
Unless you have proof, what your saying is just pure emotion not based on reality.
@@MsDudette21 There are many realities
@@MsDudette21 Exactly
@MsDudette21 His proof is conscious perception and proximity to death. There are definitive limits to what can and cannot be empirically proven, consciousness itself chief among them. Lack of empirical evidence does not preclude reality.
Reading the title to this episode, my immediate reaction was "gosh, I hope so!!!"
I enjoy the musical introduction almost as much as the video’s he presents, it’s captivating. Like a lot of people I too struggle with what’s really on the other side this life. I truly hope it’s a life we can only imagine in this life. Peace and happy trails to all.
@@ggeorge4144 It is not the end......
When I die I plan to go back to doing what ever I was doing before I was alive
i was 14 sitting on my bed out of nowhere a distinct voice said ''YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE''' i now 55 hmm !!
For me, it is the same before starting and after finishing.
Rape and pillage if you were a Viking
When I was 14 sitting on my bed I heard a whippoorwill. Now I am 59. Hmm!
erik lee That is not possible
His mustache grew in every interview almost like it was going through life cycles
😂
No, I swear it was growing by the frame.....
Hope the mustache has life after death
@@kimsharkie8952 lmao 😂
Ain’t that the truth.
We yearn for an afterlife because we’re smart enough to contemplate death and nothingness. Death and nothingness is anxiety inducing and the notion of an afterlife soothes that anxiety.
Absolutely agree with your statement.
I think the key is to remember that we are viewing death from a physiologically human standpoint (i.e. what will our brain think when we're dead? will we be alone and isolated in a desolate space?). But, none of these sensations or emotions will exist if we are no longer operating as human beings.
This was really a great epsiode. I really like how Mr Kuhn demands explanations of why he cannot keep his own sense of self. Seems like a hard nut to crack bit really enjoyed the humor that went along with the back and forth in the interviews. I think he walked away a little frustrated but that was part of the entertainment value. Just does not seem like to much to ask for, geez, ha.
We all want to keep what we worked so hard for while we were alive. It seems like a waste to just throw all the knowledge, love, compassion for others in the trash when we pass away. As I get older (55) I think about it daily. How my wife, kids, friends will take it when/if I go before them. I don't want them to be deviated, but that's out of my power. Or, if one of them go before me. How I will feel. I already know that feeling, pretending I'm coming home to an empty house after work...that thought kills me. It's not healthy to think about this constantly, but I guess I'm preparing myself, which is not good either, right? Sorry for the novel, I just had to get it out. (And to a total stranger) 😉 Thanks for reading!
Love it when the living tells you what death is.
but death is the end. How would evolution generate something beyond that? Why would it? How would it benefit the species? Our species. We are one of many species that have evolved upon this rock, why would we be special enough to be awarded an after-life? Is it not more likely that through our evolution and understanding, we have developed a wishful thinking?
@@StephenMartinMusic evolution still does not explain consciousness. Which is where most philosophers say the mysteries of a possible after life would be
@@StephenMartinMusic well this is certainly a case that could be true, but if we want to be more clear, it depends on the point of view you choose to do. I would take your question and modify it a bit. Why would evolution generate anything in the first place? Why does anything exist? Why there are physics and mathematical relations to the universe? Evolution is a fact, physics is a fact, and if you try to answer these questions i asked without attaching anything metaphysical to it, the only answer you will be able to get is "just cause". But, if accept a metaphysical element, such as that life is eternal through an immaterial self, more "reasonable" answers can arise such as that everything is inside consciousness and physics and evolution for example has a role serving the eternal self to eternally grow and death is just another experience in that eternal grow. I'm not trying to propose any solution to the death problem here, i am just trying to demonstrate that "empty" and "irrational" thoughts can also arise from a completely material point of view.
@@derek2773 What is consciousness? Is it not just an awareness of your surroundings? Is it not just the ability to think? will I be in danger here? Is this something unique to us Humans? Definitely not. Dogs have the ability to think about tasks. Will I chase this ball, or will I not? what are the dangers? what are the rewards? Other species also have this ability. In fact its hard to determine at what level the perception of consciousness has evolved throughout evolution. In which it has. Most definitely. Hey, I know that you can perceive thoughts to somehow be conceived outside your body, but this is just an illusion. Your brain is structured in such a way that allows this feature. How do we know? Well as an example; If your head is subject to a trauma you can lose consciousness. This in itself answers your question. Humans through either a lack of understanding or its own need to be at the doorway of something greater, has the ability to dream up any possibility (True or False). And we give it authority. Yet reality itself can be even more grandeur than we could ever imagine.
@@nectariosgeorgiou Hey, I accept your belief here. Consciousness gives us that ability. True or false. Who are we? But my evolution argument stands. Why and where would a soul evolve? Show me evidence of an earlier developed soul within evolution. You can't. (Or the suggestion here is that it just magically appeared?) So the argument is this - I can't disprove the existence of a soul, and equally you can't prove the existence of one. So what do we do? Well we conclude with the following assumption. What is more likely? If we remove all the wishful thinking, what is the more plausible answer? A soul raises even more crazy questions that what its worth. Equally, so does the tooth fairy. Look, an afterlife would be awesome. I get that. Equally, winning the lottery would also be awesome. We can both dream though, right?
I would like to formally and publicly thank Closer To Truth's guests and staff members for providing me with the opportunity to experience an existential crisis _yet again._
That is your crisis nobody else's, you exist now why worry about when you don't exist, you won't be aware of it.
There is NO life after death, whether you accept it or not.
@@Gian-ni There IS life after death, whether you accept it or not. 😉
@@albundy9597 "That is your crisis nobody else's." Perhaps, but if you mean that when a person is troubled existentially, that it necessarily doesn't have an affect on others, then I disagree. How a person thinks can affect themselves, others and beyond. "You exist now why worry about when you don't exist, you won't be aware of it." Are you asking me a question?
We will all know the answer eventually. That’s amazing. We get the answers at the end of our journey. If we knew the answers before death, life wouldn’t be worth living.
Then why did Jesus appear to his apostles after death, floating on the stormy sea..
robert your documentaries are very top notch some of the best ive seen. is their a program where you discuss what conclusions you've come to after all this?
the perspective of Deepak Chopra is really interesting, and somehow makes a lot of sense to me
Deepak is expounding hindu philosophy I believe…
His diamond encrusted glasses really help sell the message.
Peace Seeker stop seeking peace and peace will come to you🙏
What Deepak says resonated with your true Self. You let the Truth enter your Being. That seed of truth will grow within you and you'll see the reality of this world sooner or later🙏
@@handynas6529 yes, it seems to be very much based on the Bhagavad Gita
Very well done!! The host displays such humility and intellectual honesty.
The question of death and what follows, has much more to do with love than fear. It comes from the same longing an infant experiences when their mom is away all day. We living, deeply miss those who are no longer accessible. And we then apply that sensation to the idea of our own death, and it causes apprehension because we know how it feels to be among the living, missing those who are no longer here. Its really a hard subject and for me, having children has made it exponentially hard to fathom.
This documentary is special to me, I will always remember driving my truck wayyy out somewhere in the wilderness of Oregon, listening to this, in deep contemplation of what this really is. Where IS beyond here?What is life? What is death? And what is the meaning of it all?
it feels pretty cool that we can dig into our own minds to discover pieces of the universe
As someone who has had a full life; ie. I have achieved all the goals I’ve had and now have no others; BUT does now live a life of chronic pain (due to a non-operable medical condition) I look forward to non-being; such as I’ve experienced several times when being anesthetized. In those cases I’ve “gone to sleep” not knowing if I’d survive the surgery and wake up or not. Upon waking I had no knowledge of the passage of time and no knowledge of my personal being while asleep. I’ve lived as full a life as I can imagine and I’ve had children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who I believe I’ve inspired and helped all I can. I believe I will be missed more than I will miss living. The thought of dying, or experiencing a suffering death, is more troublesome to me than of no longer being alive.
Yes, a few folk in this vid. seem to be projecting their own views. I personally can’t see the big deal over death. The very few I had been with who were close to death expressed wanting it over with. I suspect this is more common than those who cling to the last moment
Must be nice to feel you accomplished everything and are content with the life you had. I Can’t imagine what that feels like and I’m sure if I was in your shoes I would be content with death. Some think how your soul leaves this earth is how you life starts in your next life, kinda like a continuation of the previous life but without and clear memory of the life and lessons you learned in the past ones. Humans are vary self aware and this self awareness seems to cause allot of problems in life for people and yet animals for that most part are not self aware but I find it hard to believe they lack a soul. Some birds mate for life and even a pet bird will never be the same with a new owner, wouldn’t that type of behavior be worthy of a soul? So why are humans generally speaking so troubled and dysfunctional. It seems as though humans are being punished because when you compare us to any other organism they can’t possibly live so distressed in life. Even a bird stand on the railing of a ship freezing to death and just before the bird falls into the water frozen, never once was that bird thinking how cold I am and will I die here and now. Seems to me one would be more at peace if we didn’t worry about such things. I know I made few bird references but it was a theme that fit and many other species could be used as a substitute.
I’m 98, I’ve not accomplished any of the things I’ve wanted. Been horribly crippled since birth. Have no family left alive except descendants of cousins who couldn’t careless if I existed nor even know I do most likely. Yet I’d never willingly cease to exist. I’ve experienced the anesthesia during the numerous surgeries and never enjoyed it. I wasn’t unaware at all just observing the surgeries from above and listening. It’s verified by medical records and researchers doing investigations on near death. That being said, I envy your wanting to die. I don’t, I’d rather suffer for eternity as that’s nothing at this point. Not being would be the worst hell one could imagine.
@@wrackable you probably have endured more pain then I in life and though I’m less than half your age I have the same fear of death that it ends in nothing when we leave this life. It’s sad to hear you have no one that you feel cares for you and I’ve felt the same. 98 is a vary long time that most never reach. I recall one person up in your age saying when asked” what your secret to long life” his reply was “I drink whisky and smoke cigars every day”😁 do you have an insight as to How you lived such a long life? I think it has to do allot with genetics but I like to hear your side of it.
@@Skilled_Driver my secret is that I refuse to let things get me down for longer than necessary. I focus on being grateful for existing. The simple things like, clouds, plants, smells , a good book, music, a good video be it escapist in nature or educational. Food is good. Never much enjoyed coffee or alcohol nor smoking or drugs even prescription so I never consume them. Not so much a secret as a understanding of what I should avoid. I’m sorry to hear your suffering as well. I hope you can make peace with what you can and overcome that which can be overcome, learn to deal with what can’t. That you find joy amongst the darkness as light must always shine even in the darkest times. I appreciate your compassion towards my sense of unwanted and unloved existence. It’s truly ok, as I rather expect we are the true source of self, be it esteem,love or companionship. As we are all one behind these games we’re playing pretending we’re not one. Just my deepest thoughts on the truth of existence.
I am so glad to watch your movies. I have been listening to your wonderful questions for a long time, and I would like to point out that, in my opinion, their uniqueness is not in finding answers, but in the fact that there is someone like Lawrence Khan who asks them! That there is someone who would like to know if there is life after death? To have some proof of that. And this is where the ride begins!
Such awesome subject matter. Been watching everything, good specials I’d call it, that’s what stuff like this would have been on when I was growing up. TV specials, that were probably corporate funded and just 3 networks NBC, ABC,CBS, that was it. Such were the 60’s. Now it’s 2022 soon and there’s KZhead where I stumbled across Mr.Kuhn on Christmas morning. Just what i needed, fascinating.
I love how this program is genuinely being respectful to religions and to people who are sensitive to This subject. 👏👏 one of the best episodes I've ever watched from CTT. 🙏
being good to customers....
rogers..Why should we be respectful of religions.?they are all harmful nonsensical cults.Millions of people have slaughtered each other because they followed the wrong imaginary friend.Millions of children have been terrified with ridiculous stories about an invisible lake of fire.there have been some ten thousand gods proposed by humans over time in hundreds of different languages and in hundreds of different countries. there is not,and never has been the slightest evidence that any of them, or anything supernatural is real.NONE.Religion is the main cause of attempting to slow our search for the truth of our origins and the beginnings of the cosmos.It is high time we humans leave this nonsense where it belongs,in libraries,in the section marked Mythology,
@@clarkelaidlaw1678 World Governments a "Cult"....
Just because you completely disagree with another ones belief doesn't give any excuse to attack or engage in conversation in any disrespectful manner. I have seen laypersons engage in a poor manor all the way up to scientists and sometimes professors doing this. It is wrong, and even sometimes nasty to speak and engage in this way. I have been guilty of this myself when I started in learning more about science after unknowingly been in a cult of the religious kind 30 yrs ago. Thank goodness I got out of that cult without too much backlash and having my life attacked by them as I was doing work for them unpaid and they knew very personal things about me like my personal relation with my longtime girlfriend as we were unmarried. All this was in the UK but if it was in the US they could of ruined my life as we were intimate but unmarried and they could of turned 100s of people against us from the organisation. Always treat people with dignity and respect because if they are treating you like that then they deserve at least this in response from yourself.
It's strange he took this on from the point of view of "I am me, the adult I am right now. That IS me, this personality is me. I want that to be permanent and live on after death". Even though who he is now, his personality, the person he identifies with didn't exist when he was 6 yrs old, or 15, or 23...etc. His personality that he had when he filmed this was slowly created and adjusted by every experience he had up to that point. It's baffling he chooses his personality to identify with. Whatever self is, it's definitely not the personalities we've built up. The personality he has now, compared to the one he will have when he's 90 will be different. So which is the real him he so strongly wants to live as forever after death?
different yes , same core person though , i am the sum of my experiences and memories , but i am the person who experienced them yesterday and today and tomorrow
Exactly. Consciousness is not the contents of consciousness. It's simply the awareness. Consciousness is a flow of information. Self is the structure of experiences into a narrative through memories, it's true. And those memories are stored in the brain. Your subjective awareness is consciousness being aware of and through your brain and body. When the brain and body die the self dies but consciousness is a flow of information that exists in and through all things at different levels. Consciousness never dies.
I disagree. I feel that I’m, fundamentally, the same personality that I was from my first waking moment in this life. I have expanded through experience, but strip away the experiences, and the learning, and I’m essentially the same person. 🤗🤗
Correct. To get to the core of who you are, must remove anything that changed over time, and find that one constant.
i agree , i was different at 15 sure, but i am connected and i am still the same person , different in the respect i am wiser and more informed about life, but still me the same me i remember , still making some of the mistakes and personality flaws i had back then, still had the same ideas, fears and conversations in my my mind i have now, people change but they aren't completely different , that is a misconception. if i met myself in a time machine at 48 (now) to my 15 year old self , we would be not so different as you think.
I enjoy(ed) the delightful rapport between Robert and Deepak. The entire episode is encapsulated in Chopra's laughter at Kuhn's resistance and attachment to identity. I watched their conversation three times.
Actually, Mr. Kuhn has a delightful rapport with all of those from whom he seeks enlightenment. His genuinely perplexed resistance is extremely relatable.
I agree it was such a charming way to push this topic
“What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly.” ― Lao Tzu
I hope so. Just been binging some true crime while I have covid, and some people’s sufferings are just unimaginable. Maybe death should be infinite.
@@Dalabombana life is not part of death. Death is part of life. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. The meaning of your life is to give your life meaning.
@@ggeorge4144 The quote is referring to the continuation of life and the cycle of life.
You interviewed brilliant persons, some views are really interesting. Thank for your serious work!
Physical death is the beginning of true life in Christ with Family forever
Amen
Waaah Depak Chopra. Consciousness is every thing and its going through eternal recycling.
@ 11:27 "I don't remember any other cycles!" ...Brilliant!
I've been thinking about this every day for about a year. Thanks for the video. Interesting to watch.
I agree with deepak. I love when he says "expand your awareness" or consciousness. We feed our physical body with material food. We must NOW feed our consciousness with non physical healthy food. We worry too much about memory. Why not focus on now and future, and just let past memories run its course. I am not disregarding memory. It plays a critical role. It guides our way. It's automatic though. It just comes by itself when it's needed. Why? Because it's one of consciousness' faculties.
And what if (I don't say it is), all expanded awareness is nothing else but nice Confabulation ? On the other side, what if everything (even the consciousness) is copy of non material world (world of ideas) ?
@@SkydivingAndPPGhonestly I can't answer your questions my friend. Thank you.
What Depaak Chopra says is just horse manure in which I would like to stick his nose in It so that hdd et could realize th we meaningless of what he says.
@@dou40006 you have all the freedom to do that to him. Just mind the consequences. We only tell and share what we believe and know is true. We don't convince anyone. Thank you.
I love your brain sir. Thank you. You speak the words and thoughts that I cannot.
Sir, you are one of the best seeker of Truth I have ever met.
Great videos and i love that you always ask the right questions in interviews. Thanks for the informative content 🙌🏽
Yeah he is asking the right / or good questions the problem is he is asking the wrong people about the topic at hand. Notice he didn't ask a single person who had a near death experience what they thought?
Fascinating discussions. It is amazing how much convergence of thought there is between the contributors. The concept of our consciousness expanding beyond the physical brain becomes more compelling. Modern physics shows us the existence of extra dimensions that we can not conceive, yet must exist for the math to work. I would expect consciousness to exist in these additional dimensions, and our brain to be a portal or interface to our 4 dimensional experience of life. What we do know is that the Universe is more complex and mysterious than we can imagine.
good
Many of pioneers of psychedelics believed our brain to act as a filter with the pineal gland being an antenna, used to tune and dial our minds into the correct dimension. When taking mushrooms or LSD that filter is dissolved or opened allowing for more information to come into our brains. Inturn allowing our pineal gland to tune it's dial to the frequency of different dimensions.
Well said Simon, there is much to learn before we get close to understanding what it’s all about - if ever. The more you ponder this situation the more you realise that we are almost microbial in our ignorance. That brings into sharp relief the arrogance of those who believe they are clever and know it all. I still think our purpose here is to learn who and what we are, what we are capable of understanding and achieving. Instead, it seems we are infatuated with.inventing new ways to exterminate our neighbours. We need to stop this mindless pursuit into paranoia and fear. When you travel the world more you begin to see that almost everyone on earth will help a traveler. They restore your faith in humanity and it seems principally that Governments and the military are to blame for this madness. They line their pockets at our expense and then sit around brooding about being exposed. We need to realise that we are all just citizens of Earth, but that would mean the ones currently enjoying rich countries may have to share the wealth with others. As if it were ever theirs to begin with. Patriotism is a device instilled in people to keep others poor. We will destroy the Earth that nurtures us before we realise what we have done. Or perhaps Mother Nature will humble us before we can do that. Humanity is already on the brink of peril and if we don’t change our ways, then we will suffer the consequences and will either become extinct or reduced to primordial ooze and given another chance at it. Humans can be so brilliant, but we can be equally stupid. I’ve said many times that everything in the universe come with an opposite, so why should this surprise us. The most difficult lessons for us seems to be moderation and consultation. The vast majority don’t want war and destruction. We want to live in peace and get on with each other.
Cope with death lol
@@gamingbeast6629 Hmmm, that was a bit cryptic. Are you trying to say that its impossible to cope with death or something else ? I’d be interested to know.
Say what you will about Chopra's intellectual credibility, but I actually find that in this video he gave the most practical advice regarding death anxiety that anybody has throughout this series. In fact, despite Robert writing him off as a mystic, I might even go so far as to say that Chopra's position is the logical conclusion of physicalist theories of consciousness. Given the likelihood that humans don't have souls, our conception of a continuous self is probably some kind of illusion. Our fear of death primarily stems from this misconception about a continuous sense of self. When you rid yourself of the illusion, there isn't anything in particular that you're losing when you die. Death framed as the transition from personal consciousness to universal concsciousness doesn't seem all that different in phenomenal content from death in the materialist worldview-with the difference in terminology being primarily the result of aesthetics as opposed to ontology. Out current scientific paradigm would lead us to believe that consciousness isn't a special substance, it is merely emergent from ordinary matter. Under this view, I fail to see how practicing rituals that rid us of the illusion of self and make us feel "one with the universe" is mystical; in a sense it's almost scientific. Just my thoughts, either way very interesting and thought provoking video.
Well said. I felt the same way after hearing what Chopra had to say. I wish I could find a book on his way of thinking and understand it more.
Interesting 🙂but I still wonder if consciousness was really an illusion then how come we were all born in different parts of the earths history?😐like ware were we before?the day of our birth?🤔were we in some kind of void ?🤔
One could put it thus: one does not 'have' life so one cannot 'lose' one's life. The individual ego consciousness is no more a part of life than a ripple on a pond or a wave in the sea. Thinking that everything ends when one's individual ego consciousness ends is like thinking a live broadcast ends when one turns the radio off.
@@Londonfogey death is final…..in this world that’s why death is a way to walk alone 😑however…doing dead just means to be sleeping and then to be nothing and that’s something all of us have all ready expirence before we were born 😐it does not matter if the universe is finite or not beasue the chances of life forming on a planet are 1 and 1 is higher then 0% and if you really wanted to be dead forever you would not ever be born to begin with 😑after all their is no telling how long you were dead or in this case nothing before you came into this world to begin with 😑 we don’t know if the universe as a whole is infinite or not but I think it’s infinite 😐not because I want it to but because that could be our Ture Reality 😐after all a true death does NOT mean it no longer exists😑 a true death means their is a 100% guarantee of something not ever forming again because ironically why did it need to form at all ?😑a true death means their is a 100% guarantee it it well never be created in the first place 😑0* infinity=0 but if a planet somehow can make DNA that 0 becomes 1 and 1 * infinity= infinity witch means well first of their are NOT infinite earths so the whole multiple universes no their is only just this one 😑you otherwise in a infinite multiple universes the chances of life are infinite and when you die you will just be reborn the next 😑not how it goes their is only 1 planet that can made carbon life possible and if the universe is infinite it means this planet will be created and destroyed a infinite number or times 😐but for this planet to be created again however long you were dead or in this case nothing/in a endless sleep before you were born is how long you will be until that day you are reborn again 😑you were nothing before you were born …you become nothing when you die 😑and don’t think that since this plant can or will happen again does NOT mean you will have a better life 😑it means you will and can repeat it ……forever winners will always be winners and losers will always be losers 😑after all you could have Ben born any point of this planets history 😐after all the sperm a male had seems most likely for your dna to be random…..but it’s not 😑so even this plant can be created again it mean you will or are repeat your life’s and you won’t ever know about it 😑after all if you can’t remember your past life what makes you think your going to remember this one ?😑the determinism part is their Is only 1 theory to the universe and their is nothing we can do about it 😑their may be aone bacteria or other microbes on other worlds but NOTHING like earth and our fate is intertwine with this planet 😑it was created before we even noised it and 2 it will be destroyed and we won’t ever noticed 😑death is nothing more but a endless sleep and like all matter in the universe matter CAN be created and destroyed your dna is made of matter and in time the moon will be drifted so far away nothing can stop the the oceans from rising eventually this planet will be 99-100% a full blue planet and as the sun starts to use helium instead of hydrogen it will expand boiling our oceans and destroyd the ozone layer so if the environment won’t destroy your dna the sun will and you won’t ever know it Beacuse you would be like as if someone had a seizure you won’t feel pain your sences will eventually be turned off like a light switch 😑you will die physically but dying in general just means to be asleep and as you sleep things would happen so fast but in Reality you have Ben dead for hrs 😑that’s the illusion of life I have realized life is nothing but an illusion but not the illusion you think 😐since this planet has a higher then 0% chance of being created you have a higher then 0% chance you will be reborn again 😐as I said you were all ready in a endless sleep before you were ever born to begin with 😐you only FEEL as if everything happend so fast because your awake or alive just like sleeping you sleep in the night only to wake up the next day just like that but in Reality you have Ben dead for 9-12 hrs 😐
The thought of death consumed me all my life even as a child. I would think about my family members dying and burst into tears at the mere thought. I once went to the Er with a migraine, the nurse gave me a shot of a pain med, as I got up to go to the restroom bc I felt alil nauseous, I could feel I was going to faint and a nurse heard me say I feel faint , I woke on a bed that had been pulled out front by the nurses station having no memory of how I got there, no memory of my blouse being cut completely away from my body, no memory of the pads placed all over my chest with wires..they say I had bottom out, I had no pulse. As they worked on me I could faintly. hear the nurses speaking to me..
This is what scares me the most about death, you basically don't even know that you are dead, you feel nothing just like before you were born,it's like your whole existance stops, but I will keep an open mind to the ndes
@Eddie Murray lol, I forgot to add that after that happened I suddenly no longer feared death at all, I don’t even think about it ever..haha I can’t believe I left that part out! Perfect response, thanks for that.
😮@@lifeonwheels5756
Thank you Robert for providing such high quality documentaries, I really need these!
No. Death is a transition from one life to the next, You and I are pure energy, Energy cannot be destroyed.
@@woodlakesound by our current measurement devices that is. Imagine how many things we can measure today that were in the sphere of magic two centuries ago
@@woodlakesound read my answer again
@@woodlakesound hint : we cannot measure or quantify consciousness (yet).
@@cicciogrecia you ARE consciousness.
@@cicciogrecia I can, doesn't take a genius to works it out!
I want to stay being me and any transformation to continue being me! I agree totally with Mr. Kuhn!
the older I am, the less I fear death. even more sometimes I can't wait to finally see if I will fall asleep forever without realizing or if something will surprise me
For me, Deepak Chopra's explanation of what is life after death made the best of sense. Our bodies with everything they have are just vehicles to experience and learn and we are not these bodies. You are just cells into a bigger organism, which may be the physical universe which may be intelligent and conscientious or it may be just pure consciences that created the material world in order to learn and experiment on. Each and every one of us is in fact a single 'I' in my opinion, we are all part of God.
Yes I feel the same too, we are all just one consciousness imagining the physical world. Living through different experiences all at the same time. I am...coz ...We are
It is a form of truism. You cannot test it nor any argument can be presented to either prove or disapprove it. You can replace the role of consciousness by mass or energy or numbers in the story and it still works. Now any working theory about the bigger questions of life should not only just provide consistent set of answers but should provide the human psyche a working solution to its inherent misery/existential crisis.
@@saimbhat6243 There _are_ arguments we can test to falsify Chopra's view entirely, though. He says our 'real identity' is outside of 'spacetime' and that our 'self' is the manifestation of an 'eternal witness'... or something _like_ that. It is implicit in Chopra's 'model' that he views his 'real identity' as a singularity but without time and space, that 'real identity' could not possess any of the necessary features to produce 'consciousness'. In fact, I would say that consciousness is very like music in the sense that there has to be the space to create a stage _and_ there must be time over which the performance can take place. Absent time and space, consciousness, like music, would be meaningless. To underpin this objection I would make two observations that are fundamental to the existence of _any_ kind of consciousness at all. Let's say that God _consciously'_ created 'light' when He said 'Let there be light'; that the very existence of light is entirely due to God's will, what would that imply? Clearly, God must have been 'thinking' in some way, right? Especially a God with a plan for each and every one of us, right? Well, in order to 'think, one _must_ generate thoughts and those thoughts _must_ propagate through _some_ medium in order to be 'communicated' to the conscious 'self'. Obviously. Even in _God's_ mind. In order to have deliberately created light then the creation of light _had_ to have been the result of some internal dialogue that took place in God's mind. "What do you want?" "Light!" "When do you want it?" "Now!" And there was light. Right? Now, the two things to observe: firstly, 'thinking' involves a kind of internal dialogue and occurs in a 'query/response' fashion and there is a clear causal link between 'query' and 'response', i.e., the query and response are separated by time. One _follows_ the other, right? Let's go extreme: suppose you need to erect a fence around your garden, you might be tempted to argue that actually, the solution, 'a fence around the garden', existed _before_ you asked yourself what to do about all your ducks getting out and onto the road but that would be disingenuous because the problem would have been solved _before_ the question came up, you wouldn't have seen your ducks escaping onto the road as a problem and in the real world, your fence is still a pile of wood at the supply store and your ducks have waddled off. So, there is a definite sequence, a 'flow', between the thoughts articulating the problem _to_ the thoughts suggesting themselves as possible solutions. And second: 'thoughts' are internally 'transmitted' and internally 'received'. The thoughts articulating the problem are _communicated_ through some medium and are being received by some 'apparatus' that controls the levers responsible for fishing out solutions from the space of all possible solutions. The 'transmitter' and the 'receiver' _must_ be separated by space because if they were not, the 'signal' would be transmitted _away_ from the receiver and would never be detected by it. It seems obvious in a way, doesn't it; what is consciousness if not some kind of communication system? And we know that communication systems are composed of a network of devices that are separated in space and that there is a causal link, time separation, between the transmission and reception of data. It seems clear that the concept of 'consciousness' only makes sense in the context of time and space; how can a thought flow if it has nowhere to be and no time to be there? See what I mean? Space and time do seem to be pre-requisites for consciousness, don't they? To be honest, most of the people in this video came across as entirely fake, Chopra especially.
I just can't buy into this idea that we're here to learn something. Why? Because if we ever reached a point where there was nothing left to learn, would we still want to go on living? I would, as long as there's another orgasm or meal to look forward to. But if we lost our ability to enjoy a meal and an orgasm, would we want to continue living? I wouldn't, and I think most people in this scenario would be reaching for the nearest gun to end themselves. This tells me that we are here to reproduce and consume, not to learn. Why? Because that's what bugs do. And that's what we are... bugs! Destruction through consumption by way of reproduction.
@@pancakebreakfast3188I could say the same thing in reverse about learning, so what you said proved nothing either.
"This dude wants reality to behave according to his mental construct". He already has presumed an answer and looks for people, who would ascribe to his presumptions.
Take a look at God and the afterlife by Jeffrey Long. It's an interesting study.
@@dontwastemytime277 is there a link?
@@funvids5592 It's a book.
@@funvids5592 kzhead.info/sun/f8qip8hqh6yOqa8/bejne.html
@@dontwastemytime277 thank you!
"If the Universe is created rationally, then there must be an afterlife and a creator": Kurt Gödel, Mathematician and Logician
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
Ok sure. I don't see any reason to think it was created though, so the afterlife and creator both are up in smoke.
@@uninspired3583 I never asserted thus nor did Kurt Gödel. The Statement is conditional. Determining the conditionality is work in progress.
@@REDPUMPERNICKEL Mathematics and logic are about as far removed from 'wishing' as you can get.
@@peterrauth118 asserted, no, but it is implied by only representing one side of the conditional. Without a reason to go with one side or the other, the quote holds little content.
I don’t know how I just found this channel but I like it! You’ve got some great interviews here!
Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Susan Ertz
Check out Prem Rawat, Or else! ................you may never know how to look inside yourself
LMAO
haha true that Live a good life and mortality is a blessing.
John Harmer : Very well spoken. Thx 2 John & Susan !
there's always Married with Children reruns for eons!!!
If a living person is telling you about death, you can be sure that they are either lying, misled, or confused. You will know when you know….if you are there to know.
This kind of logic makes no sense. Just because someone hasn’t actively experienced something that doesn’t mean that they cannot say, with validity, what will happen. For example, I haven’t personally shot myself in the head with a shotgun. But I can comfortably say that if you short yourself in the head with a shotgun, you will die.
Thank you for the video Robert. It's interesting that you want your existing 'life' with all its awareness or individual identity as you know it, to continue after your physical death but you never questioned why you came to have that awareness and how you 'came to be' in the first place. You also focused on the mainstream world religions which teach either a merging of individual consciousness and loss of identity after physical death or a resurrection of the physical body and a new beginning. I am surprised that given the subject of 'Is Death Final', you didn't explore Spiritualism which emphatically states that everyone survives physical death and that individual consciousness, with its memories of the past, awakes from death in another mental reality (but to all appearances as physical as this) determined automatically by the Earthly life lead by that individual.
If death is nothingness, or some other stage in our conscious existence, we need to come to terms with it because there is nothing we can do about it.
RLK you are honest, brother. Thank you.
Honesty is not enough for a question to be not fallacious.
@John Johnson fallacy has nothing to do with our preferences mate. Is death final is a text book example of a begging the question fallacy. You don't have indications or evidence that justify that question like I don't have any justification for asking the following question. "When did you stop beating your wife?"
@John Johnson you don't get the meaning of this classical example on the begging the question Fallacy mate. Questioning guy "WHEN" did he stop beating his wife , when we don't even know if he ever beat her. The say is true for the life after death thing. We are putting all this philosophical effort while having zero objective indications. It's like asking "can cars disappear on their own"....In a world we know that cars are constantly being stolen.
As a child i was pushed into church, years later Im gladly attending on my own accord, thankfully my parents realised God's presence in one's life is crucial ,I thank the Lord for their mindset praise the Lord hallelujah!
What's really crazy is to acknowledge that while everyone wonders about whether there is something after death or not, only a few can see how the root issue from which most problems emerge is to be found and analyzed right within our thinking. So whether there is something after death or death is the end, as long as we don't understand and correct our thinking, so long we will run to stand still.
This thought is profound. Humans are scared.
@@samreh6156 Humans are too scared indeed. And it's the structure and premises of that fear what should be carefully inquired and understood.
I have been fearfully aware of death and our general concept of evil from when I was three or so - years before I received any religious indoctrination. I have always wondered where that awareness came from. When my grandfather died when I was six, it traumatized me. Not because we were close, we weren’t, but because I knew he was going into a hole in the ground forever and ever. That he was irrevocably gone from this world. That day is still ingrained in my memory decades later. And then, as I experienced more death I became somewhat less afraid of it. When my father died of old age I experienced a deep sense of peace in the immediate aftermath. When my brother died of cancer two years later I experienced a sadness, but also a calm detachment from reality that was almost dreamlike. But the fear returned. The first pastor’s words struck me - if there is nothing after, then existence truly is a horrible tragedy. To know that not just your life, but all life, all music, art, the universe, all the beauties and wonders of existence will eventually be swallowed by an eternal abyss of nothingness...it is bleak. And so I try to look at it in a way similar though different to the pastor. If there is one thing that could be eternal, I like to think that it is sentient and has a will.
The first Pastors response was completely illogical and made no sense whatsoever. He basically said that he thought that death being the end is sad, therefore he doesn’t believe it’s true. What kind of childish logic is that?
I found the best answer on the matter by listening to Peter Fenwick, who spent his life on researching the matter, scientifically. Perhaps a suggestion for a follow up episode.
Do you have a link
I worked in a nursing home for four years. Someone from your past comes to get you. I can't count how many times people told me a family member, dog etc. Was there to get them.
Cheryl, I have heard that it’s not uncommon for a familiar face to ‘come and lead you’ when it’s your time. Someone or something you loved. However nothing like that happened in my case. Not sure why. I have always been robustly independent in my thoughts and deeds, so perhaps they figured I didn’t need it. I really don’t know. But if it gives people comfort and helps them in this profound transition, then it’s a wonderful thing. It does make you wonder who decides all this, doesn’t it? What things are are work here? It’s fascinating and each of us comes to our own ideas of what’s going on. I guess even the ones who didn’t have an opinion, either because it was too difficult to contemplate or they did not have the time, still have to come to terms with it all. Perhaps they were taken in an unexpected way, such as as shooting or an explosion. But the one certainty here is that our time will come. It would be nice to have been able to devote some time to considering that moment. It may be that when it’s our time to die, the passing of time as we knew it becomes irrelevant, slowed down. Then it wouldn’t be such a shocking process. My gut feeling is that we simply rejoin a vast expanse of consciousness when we die. Wouldn’t it be great if this ‘life business’ was just the eternal consciousness entertaining itself. Sort of a Super Mario game where you are ‘inserted’ into another being, just to experience what goes on in that particular world. Whilst in ‘the game’ we find ourselves wondering about the meaning of it all. It’s all sooo real we might opine, not unreasonably ! Then bang, the game is over, your credit runs out and it’s ‘come in number 24, your times up.’ We suddenly find ourselves back in the immortal realm thinking, ‘that was great, sooo realistic ! Next time, let’s try the tank commander or the fighter jet pilot. Guess we will all find out on the day, who’s beliefs were closest to the truth. But keep in mind, that day is coming. You would be wise to enjoy this life to the max until then because you may never get back. The next ‘insertion’ may see you as a mollusc on volcano world #17. Your imagination could have a field day here, it it hasn’t already. My glimpse behind the Wizard’s curtain (NDE) may or may not have given me a preview of what’s to come. Personally I don’t feel uniquely qualified to advise anyone else on their journey. All I can do is honestly tell you what I think happened to me. Do what you will with it, if it helps you then good. But ultimately I’m just another schmuck trying to make sense of it all.
hallucinations
@@darthdude5122 Hmmm, I’m gonna go with the premise that your answer was just poking a bit of friendly fun. That’s ok, we are able to see the funny side of many things too and we can take criticism. In fact I respect your right to be punished for saying anything you like. My family motto is, ‘The flogging will continue until the mood of the crew improves.’
The brain is a powerful organ .
When a person is near death they tend to hallucinate, and talking with family and relatives from their past is most common.
What deepak chopra said. Made so much sense. Wow. This opened my eyes
I'm a believer in eternal return. We live our lives over and over again exactly as it's playing out right now in a reborn universe.
If one identifies the ego or the body as life, then death of this life is final. If one removes his ignorance and become aware that he and everything around is inseparable, then he transcends death because there can be only life.
Most excellent although few will understand.
As said at 7:56, you must eliminate the Eggo 🥞
Amazing high qualitative interviews!!!
All the speakers are so thoughtful!!! I like that computer scientist, he is straight to the point.
Oh finally some brilliance on this subject from the Indian guy. Love him!
I've experienced life after death, The sad thing about dieing is you see your leaving and people screaming your name you cant stop and they're gone and you cant get back than I came to this place where everyone was happy i made it I didnt and couldn't know what was goin on on this side till someone came up and said he's got to go back. I woke up to people giving me CPR. There is life after death You can believe that
And amazingly this "life" is one of joy & happiness forever and ever - "And they lived happily ever after" - wait, that's a children's fairy tale Billions of dead people will be sitting about/snoring away in this Giant Retirement Home in the sky? Our loved ones down on earth might be suffering/starving/being raped, abused - but we won't care anymore do we? All God wants to do is be a Nanny to billions of people and keep them in cozy comfort Ah the Grand Plan of God! Makes total sense
I once overheard a conversation between two ordinary people. The first one asked, "do you believe in life after death?" The second person replied, "Well. I got THIS life."
Subtle but incredibly profound!
Deepak Chopra stood out in this documentary.
Didn't he! I think we all walked away with something from his perspective
No one knows what happens after death. No one had come back to tell us. Hopefully there is an afterlife and it isnt a wishful thinking. Makes things much easier for those who lost loved ones particularly young people, lives cut short unexpectedly and out of a sudden.
This is precisely why a lot of Christians are Christians, they believe that it is actually historically verifiable that one person did in fact come back from the other side of death. So with 5000 religions out there trying to tell people about the other side of death, they believe that Christianity has a “Put up or shut up” factor going for it that no other religion enjoys.
Death once had a near-Chuck Norris experience.
When death goes to bed at night, it checks under its coffin for Chuck Norris
That’s your take on it u don’t really know if he was talking to his mom ..energy can never be destroyed
Whats makes Bruce Lee that?
Is this related to the story that Chuck Norris is actually dead already but Death is too scared to tell him?
So afterlife is full of ads without skip button.
The channel is a propaganda scam
Yeah, it’s a live video aswell. No ending
I hope not, reading the Akashic record after death would make a double life-time. LOL just adding a touch of humour.?
Enjoy life like there is no afterlife!!! Life is so much more beautiful that way!!!
Hey Robert, agree with you I also so want my consciousness "me" to be continued after death, my answer is: from the Scripture Jesus told the criminal crucified with him "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43, to me this means the consciousness of the criminal is resurrected with his body (probably not earthly, should be heavenly) as a whole, on the same day of crucifixion entered the paradise, Jesus was not saying "your body will be with me" nor "your soul will be with me", he was saying "you".
This topic, hell, this channel in general, represents the highest form of consciousness achievable. In other words, I mean to say that the contemplation of consciousness is the highest form of consciousness. The irony here is that, by contemplating the finality of death, one comes to add more meaning to life. It is amazing to see this spread out through our existence in a fractal manner. The great benefit of the Apollo program was not knowledge about the moon, it was the ways in which we enriched our society to get there. The summit of the mountain is not the great triumph, it is the overcoming of personal struggle on the way up. "Have we vanquished an enemy? None but ourselves.". Have we figured out if death is final? No, but we have given more meaning to life. I love this channel.
Hey Strelnikov... I like your worldview. Since coming down with cancer 14 years ago, I have been contemplating death more often. But somehow, instead of adding "more meaning to life," I seem to be subtracting. Is that a mathematical contradiction?
That was quite the platitude salad.
I just see plain sophistries by people who don't agree with the expiration date of their biology.
@@infinitemonkey917 I made it just for you. Bon apatite!
@@nickolasgaspar9660 I suppose we all are bound to see the world through our own lens. No skin off my teeth. But, and I think this is what makes this particular topic so fascinating, you have no evidence with which you can refute their claims.... and one never will.
i've watched this presentation numerous times. i've shared similar sentiments with the host Robert Lawrence Kuhn. all of a sudden, as in right now while dr. chopra was explaining it, i get it! it's a case of either you get it or you don't, you have it or do not have it, either i am already or i am not. it's "magic"
You're right, I had the same experience. Although I've respected Chopra's take on Buddhism and Ayurveda/Hinduism, let's face it, he's kind of a new age hack... but, he really does have a way of distilling these ideas into cohesive explanations. At least, when he's not trying to sell a book or supplement.
There is absolutely no reason to believe death is not final.
This was a great video! All the perspectives were pretty relatable. Deepak explained that what we must let go of is the idea of a “you.” In life on earth that “you” transforms…we start off crawling. So why should we fear expansion and transformation when we’ve literally been doing it the whole time we’re “us”?? It is the ego -so I would ask “who are you” to want to hold onto you?
Evolution made me desire to persist. If it hadn't I wouldn't be here.
During life you learn to give up things, dreams, people, your childhood toys, gone, forgotten, your first love gone, your first dog gone, your job gone, your original idea of self gone, your parents gone, your marriage gone, your house gone, your health gone, your young body gone. And you are not getting used to it, tired maybe, and closer to giving up the hope that things can last. The grand final act, your ego, awareness of self to go?
Basically humans are delusional because of our strong sense of being self aware. It seems every organism besides humans lives with this earth as part of it unlike humans that push and repel nature. Maybe being self aware is humanity’s greatest flaw. Seems if we were not, that favorite designer bag wouldn’t be important or that sports car you want to buy in your mid life crises or even the idea of marriage would never be a thought I your mind and we would have no need for politicians that’s for sure. Just think of the possibility’s of Peace humanity would have if self aware wasn’t there.
@@Skilled_Driver We are scared of the future
everything exists to be let go of.
This is so true but my god its depressing. Is life just having all your hopes and dreams slowly stripped away until you have nothing left but to die?
@@billybobhouse9559 you apparently have been in the grips of control as religion was used for in the beginning.
Thank you very much for sharing! God bless you!
Deepak Chopra broke it down!!!! Wow, thank you for that mind expanding information into the nature of consciousness
Broken. Broken down. There, fixed it.
I know with everything that i have that there is absolutely a life after we depart from this what is called life.... I know for a fact that we go back home once out time is over in this life... Not only are their people who have died and saw a place where we go, be it heaven or a waiting area, but have been sent back better then when they left and are truly changed by it... Im positive that there is life after this life, i wont say how i know, but life after death is a fact and when u open ur eyes and really allow ur self to see u too will know this fact too....
I find it kind of humorous the interaction between Chopra and Kuhn. Kuhn is obviously a successful happy guy who has enjoyed his life and does not want it to end. Good for him, we should all be so lucky. But with that comes a price for a well considered man like him -- the fear of it all going away some day. Chopra is saying this incarnation of good fortune is a small sense of the greater reality that is, but since it's not in the packaged form of a life well lived on this planet, Kuhn is none too happy about letting that go. It reminds me of Christian verses -- the parable of it being harder for a rich man to enter heaven than a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, that he who loves his life will lose it and he who hates his life will gain it, and so on. There's resonance there... the "letting go of what is" in order to accept "what will be".
Good point
I had a feeling similar to that, but you explained it better!
Go with the flow, it’s not like you can do anything about it, so accept. It is what It is, and wether we understand it or not, we are part of it. We are on this journey. I plan to keep my mind open and enjoy it.
Yes, this is called attachment.
@@colinnuttall9579 👍
When I am alive death is not around, when death shows up I am not going to be around, so why worry.
When the death come around that where the realty starts we start to see the proves that we waited all our life for it that's worry me so much how do I know will i didn't know anything before i get here.
@Jordan Kane Yeah, that's nihilism..
@Jordan Kane In most cases a persons life is pointless, yes. It all comes down to what you leave behind. For instance Galileo, Einstein, Mozart, Da Vinci made a huge legacy for the whole humanity, others have made smaller but not unimportant legacies that will affect fewer people, but none the less maybe even change peoples lives. What you leave behind are often called your "unearthly children" and most of us don't leave that many of those behind, because it takes creativity, originality and courage to make one that's importan enough to last. Of course, you can always hope that your offspring gets an important legacy at some point 30 generations from now. So if in doubt of your own legacy so far, start to create, be original and have the guts to put it out there. Otherwise - shag a lot. 😄
Epicurus said so 2300 years ago.
Test4Echos exactly no one ever leaves something behind since even if humans are still here after 100000 years its still nothing the universe is so old and big we are nothing. What we do means nothing so enjoy your time.
Death is very final. Just ask the earliest humans. Oh, that's right- you can't, because they're dead.
Lol
Lmao
People often say things like, I just can't wrap my head around my consciousness being totally snuffed out, just not being there anymore. I've said it myself more than once. Then somewhere along the way, I heard someone say: Just think about BEFORE you were born... I hate that sentiment but can't argue it's validity
Yes, but memories don't really form until you are 2 or 3 years old