Is There Life After Death

Stephen F. Dennstedt

Is there life after death? A profound question—probably the most profound question that one can ask. Certainly greater minds than mine have asked it for millennia. Let me state from the outset that I don’t have a definitive answer—I only have my experiences, opinions and beliefs.

However, as the years continue to pass I’m getting closer to experiencing the answer for myself (the answer will come to all of us eventually). Until then we will continue to interpret most posited opinions and beliefs about life & death through filters: religious, cultural, scientific and empirical.

Regardless of the language you speak (religious, cultural, scientific or empirical) there appears to be many commonalities of thought when addressing the universal message—that there is something beyond our mere fly speck mind-body existence on planet Earth. For many years I have explored the question for myself using all the languages (input filters) mentioned above. The result is an intuitive feeling and not an absolute answer.

I hesitate to share my intuitive feeling publicly because it might only serve to invite criticism and debate—neither of which am I overly interested in. Lao Tzu (a 6th-century BC Chinese philosopher) said it perfectly: Those who speak do not know, those who know do not speak. Lao Tzu  and the Tao Te Ching introduced me to Eastern Philosophy and Taoism where my studies eventually led to the practice of Zen Buddhism (which I practiced formally for over fifteen years). Eastern thought spoke to me in a way that Western philosophy and religion never could. It made sense of chaos.

I’ve always had an insatiable interest in science (though I don’t really have the brain for it) and found in my reading many parallels between Eastern thought and quantum mechanics. Wisdom teachings fascinate me, religion per se not so much. Jesus was not a Christian, Siddhartha Gautama was not a Buddhist and Mohamed was not a Muslim. I think they would be appalled at the travesties carried out in their name. I like to read, study and learn but ultimately I make my decisions based on empirical evidence (my filter of choice)—what I see and experience.

So what is my intuitive feeling? I feel that we are part of something bigger than us. I hesitate to call that something God (and certainly not a personal god in the Christian sense). I feel that some part of us (our soul) transcends physical mind-body death to be reunited with the Universal Oneness (back into the quantum soup). I feel there is power within intent (call it the power of prayer if you wish). I feel that when our mind-body physically dies we transcend to something else and we will know the truth. I do not believe in heaven or hell and am a bit dubious about reincarnation (though I’m keeping an open mind).

The video below explores the question of life after death so if you have the time you might be interested in watching it. It’s a scientific look at the question based on fifty years of research at the University of Virginia. You’re free to comment on this post if you like but keep it civil and positive. People have their own belief systems and opinions and we don’t need any cyber-bullying challenging those beliefs and opinions. I will say that my subscribers are very well-behaved and I have eliminated the very few who weren’t. So thank you for that. No updates to this post with the real answer after I pass on. Sorry.