Is lucid dreaming a taste of the after life?

[Daredevilpwn]

Hey guys. I want your opinions on this but for this you must assume there is life after death. In my opinion I believe the afterlife is very similar to a dream in the sense it is created and maintained by the thoughts of all the beings there. There are MANY different after lifes one can go to each one created by thought. Heaven could just be ONE out of the many different worlds one can go to. Hell is also just one out of the many different worlds we can go to. But each of these worlds are created by the thoughts of the beings there. So if we learn how to control our dreams now while alive we will have a VERY useful skill when we cross to the other side and meet the other beings over there. Now I am not saying lucid dreaming IS the afterlife but what I am saying is that they could be very similar in terms of creating and warping the reality around you with thought power. I am sure some people on here are religious and probably don't agree with this but please have an open mind about this. Last thing I would like to say is that I am not saying what I have said is fact, this is just my opinion on a possibility of what the after life may be.

[PaschaR]

Iv always believed that we are in a dream state after death while awaiting Resurrection,So I'm with you on this my fell0w Dreamer

[Extremador]

What always confuses me when talking about this is, how come I don't remember it if it could have already happened? I believe this now I'm experiencing is in fact a dream, but there's still many questions to be answered.

[bluemoon]

I strongly believe in reincarnation. In fact I've had past life dreams. They usually start with me looking in a mirror, knowing it's me, but I look different and wearing period clothing. The dead also visit me through my dreams, so yes I'd have to say we can travel and go to different dimensions in our sleep.

[Daredevilpwn]

What always confuses me when talking about this is, how come I don't remember it if it could have already happened? I believe this now I'm experiencing is in fact a dream, but there's still many questions to be answered. Like how come we don't remember our past lives? Well if we did have those memories right now it would probably confuse us or weigh us down somehow. Like for example last lifetime you died in a horrible way and you come back for a clean slate. It would weigh us down if we remembered how we died last time especially if it was horrible. But I think this is how phobias form. Someone afraid of heights could have died from falling from a high place last lifetime.

[Ryonne]

Interestingly, I once wrote a creepypasta following a very similiar belief system by the name of "The Omnideoist Theory." Though it was more or less written as a short horror piece, it should illuminate my idea well enough. Have a link! I have to say that I do agree, and I draw mainly upon the enigmatic nature of human consciousness, being there no other explanation for it than that that it's of an incomprehensible makeup. This would explain other powers of the human mind, such as astral projection and other things. In fact, I'd like to say that the existence of such an inexplicable experience as sentience could support, if not outright prove the idea that there is something more to the Universe than the average human can physically comprehend. After all, reality is of our own perception, and, if we control our minds to their fullest extent, could not be so arbitrary. I think that consciousness is an extradimensional entity, which is actually encapsulated by the physical body. Therefore, upon death, our minds break free, and we will be able to view the Universe in directions and ways that were never before possible. Thus, the afterlife could be very much like a lucid dream indeed. In fact, lucid dreaming could be but a small taste of what the afterlife will be like. Humans are only so capable of perceiving reality round them, and when we're set free, we can only speculate as to what it will be like, and even that would be fruitless. This is always a fascinating concept, and I'm glad he OP brought it up.

[Daredevilpwn]

Interestingly, I once wrote a creepypasta following a very similiar belief system by the name of "The Omnideoist Theory." Though it was more or less written as a short horror piece, it should illuminate my idea well enough. Have a link! I have to say that I do agree, and I draw mainly upon the enigmatic nature of human consciousness, being there no other explanation for it than that that it's of an incomprehensible makeup. This would explain other powers of the human mind, such as astral projection and other things. In fact, I'd like to say that the existence of such an inexplicable experience as sentience could support, if not outright prove the idea that there is something more to the Universe than the average human can physically comprehend. After all, reality is of our own perception, and, if we control our minds to their fullest extent, could not be so arbitrary. I think that consciousness is an extradimensional entity, which is actually encapsulated by the physical body. Therefore, upon death, our minds break free, and we will be able to view the Universe in directions and ways that were never before possible. Thus, the afterlife could be very much like a lucid dream indeed. In fact, lucid dreaming could be but a small taste of what the afterlife will be like. Humans are only so capable of perceiving reality round them, and when we're set free, we can only speculate as to what it will be like, and even that would be fruitless. This is always a fascinating concept, and I'm glad he OP brought it up. Oh wow! Funny thing is that I already read this creepypasta about a couple of months ago when I was just browsing through them on the wiki. Nice story man!

[Mindraker]

I would certainly hope to retain my individuality, if I still have my consciousness. Even if my knowledge were to become part of some universal melting pot, I would still want to be "me", a unique individual. Then again... I'm faced with the possibility that death is nothing more than a light switch; and when I kick the bucket -- that's it, game over, dude.

[Sageous]

Here's a thought, Daredevilpwn: Regardless of what surprises the Afterlife might promise, the self-awareness inherent in LD'ing would, I imagine, be a powerful tool indeed form helping us understand and explore that afterlife, because that's basically what we were doing in the LD's in the first place. Wasn't it?

[Daredevilpwn]

Here's a thought, Daredevilpwn: Regardless of what surprises the Afterlife might promise, the self-awareness inherent in LD'ing would, I imagine, be a powerful tool indeed form helping us understand and explore that afterlife, because that's basically what we were doing in the LD's in the first place. Wasn't it? Yeah you are right Sageous. Without self awareness in the afterlife for all we know we could accidentally 'merge' with whatever we look at.

[Daredevilpwn]

I would certainly hope to retain my individuality, if I still have my consciousness. Even if my knowledge were to become part of some universal melting pot, I would still want to be "me", a unique individual. Then again... I'm faced with the possibility that death is nothing more than a light switch; and when I kick the bucket -- that's it, game over, dude. You mean like oblivion? Where you are just unconscious...forever you don't perceive anything you don't feel anything you aren't even aware. Maybe this happens when we die...or perhaps since you believe the afterlife to be this way you may actually create a 'oblivion' like place for yourself.

[Sageous]

^^ That probably happens a lot. ... Indeed, I can imagine that lots of people choose oblivion even while they're still alive. Oblivion is after all, very easy. On paper.

[Daredevilpwn]

Well it sucks for them, they get to miss out on all the cool after life things. But then again these souls that choose oblivion do have ETERNITY to snap out of it and decide to explore other realms. So its not like all is lost.

[TehDalek]

Hey guys, with the past life ideas..I have read people's dream journals a lot, and a few "past life" dreams involve them seeing unbelievable/impossible things in the past life experience, and one story was written by a 19 year old, who had a past life dream of 14 years prior to the date it was written. This leads me to believe "past life" dreams are a creation of the mind, and nothing more. Giving no evidence to previous lives.

[Sageous]

What do past lives have to do with the OP?

[TehDalek]

Nothing at all >_< Back on topic then: I personally believe when you die, you are put to sleep until the second coming of Christ, but I have always thought it would seem like an instant transition, you sleep, then you wake up when Christ returns, but if you lucid dream until Christ returns, that'd be awesome! Of course, these are just what I believe, none of you have to believe the same

[Mindraker]

Nothing at all >_< Back on topic then: I personally believe when you die, you are put to sleep until the second coming of Christ, but I have always thought it would seem like an instant transition, you sleep, then you wake up when Christ returns, but if you lucid dream until Christ returns, that'd be awesome! Of course, these are just what I believe, none of you have to believe the same Well now that would suck, no offense to Christ, but let's say Christ doesn't get off his ass for another few million billion years, as the dinosaurs and bacteria seem to have waited. I'm sure they'd be pretty damned ticked off by the time Christ #2 comes finally rolling around.

[gab]

Like how come we don't remember our past lives? Well if we did have those memories right now it would probably confuse us or weigh us down somehow. Like for example last lifetime you died in a horrible way and you come back for a clean slate. It would weigh us down if we remembered how we died last time especially if it was horrible. But I think this is how phobias form. Someone afraid of heights could have died from falling from a high place last lifetime. This^^. And I also believe, that we don't remember our past lives, because we don't need to. In my opinion, each time after death we examine our prior life and we see what we did wrong and think about how to do it better next time. We also pick our future life, or at least certain aspects of it. For example, if we didn't experience certain life situation yet, we can choose to experience it in next incarnation and learn from it. Like collecting all the credits at the college. I see one life and one past-life as one cycle. I think it would be too much to consciously remember or past lives, but our brain/soul remembers them. That said, I would very much love to know my previous lives and I'm quite disappointed that I don't remember them. One of my "to do" things in LD is to shout out "show me my last/most successful incarnation. Now, this is all just my wishfull thinking, because it's more pleasant than to think that death is the end of it. Don't ask me for any scientific proof because I have none, nor do I care for one. But I think, that afterlife place doesn't depend entirely on what we think (unlike in lucid dream). I believe, the afterlife planes are more stable and permanent.

[TehDalek]

This^^. And I also believe, that we don't remember our past lives, because we don't need to. In my opinion, each time after death we examine our prior life and we see what we did wrong and think about how to do it better next time. We also pick our future life, or at least certain aspects of it. For example, if we didn't experience certain life situation yet, we can choose to experience it in next incarnation and learn from it. Like collecting all the credits at the college. I see one life and one past-life as one cycle. I think it would be too much to consciously remember or past lives, but our brain/soul remembers them. That said, I would very much love to know my previous lives and I'm quite disappointed that I don't remember them. One of my "to do" things in LD is to shout out "show me my last/most successful incarnation. Now, this is all just my wishfull thinking, because it's more pleasant than to think that death is the end of it. Don't ask me for any scientific proof because I have none, nor do I care for one. But I think, that afterlife place doesn't depend entirely on what we think (unlike in lucid dream). I believe, the afterlife planes are more stable and permanent. I see a flaw with incarnations, if you choose the next life, why are we not all perfect? Why is there no perfect people on earth? If we learn from past experiences and evolve, then why is there no improvement? Also, this makes it seem like someone walking today was once king herod, or someone else walking today was cleopatra. It makes no sense, where was the beginning of a single being? Anyway, I believe the brain can create huge plotlines, stories, and amazing situations of a past life. You asked for it, you get it, it makes a cool story of perhaps old times, putting you in someone else's shoes, maybe carrying onto more than one dream. I am not denying 100% the reincarnation thought, I just don't quite grasp it. Even though it, and parallel universe dreams are pretty epic.