I Am Dead! What Do I Do Now?

By Allen Graham

Is there a non-religious after-life? An intriguing look at the possibilities of a life after death for those of us who cannot accept the bible version. Maybe death is not just oblivion. This book is an open-minded look at a fascinating question facing us all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Allen Graham
• Release date: Jun 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476070711

Allen Graham

I was born in 1938, am retired and live in Shoalwater, Western Australia. As of June 2012 I have written two ebooks ('I AM DEAD! What Do I Do Now?' and 'Beyond The Martial Arts' which has sold in 23 countries). These are also published in print by 'Lulu.com'. I am also a painter, specializing in portraits. I paint in oils and acrylics. My email address is: [e-mail] and would enjoy replying to your email.

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I AM DEAD!

What Do I Do Now?

Allen J Graham

Copyright 2012 by Allen Graham

Smashwords Edition

All Rights Reserved.

However, any part of this publication, except that material credited herein to other authors, may be reproduced to assist in the writing of a publication containing no less than sixty percent original material created by such publication’s author. Due and proper credit to Allen J. Graham and/or reference to this publication and its bibliography must be provided for any quoted original material from this publication.

Disclaimer and Terms of Use: The Author/Publisher has striven to be accurate and complete in the creation of this book. While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, the Author/Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. Any perceived slights of specific persons, peoples, or organizations are unintentional.

Published by Allen J Graham

Dedicated to my wife, Marilyn

whose feedback and honest criticism have been invaluable.

CONTENTS

1. Prologue

2. Preface

3. My Journey So Far

4. The Word of God?

5. The New Testament

6. Space-bag Theory

Is there a non-religious after-life?

If you have ever felt uncomfortable with the idea of oblivion after death, but reject the bible's version of an after-life, this book will give you some alternatives to think about. Author

Written for all who are struggling to find some meaning to life and death that makes sense.

Prologue

We live and then we die.

Before we were conceived there was oblivion and after we die there is oblivion.

Does that make sense?

Not to me.

It is no wonder that the concept of 'living on' somewhere, such as Heaven, Nirvana or some other after-world has so much appeal. That, at least, makes some sort of sense for many of us as it gives a meaning to our lives. The problem is that there is nothing testable to prove that it is not just a concept. We have nothing to give it substance, so therefore should we reject it?

I don't think so.

Unless there is an eternal continuity to our individual lives, it occurs to me that they are basically meaningless.

Although I am not an atheist (right now, I neither accept nor reject the concept of a Creator) I seek to discover an eternal alternative to Heaven or Hell. As you progress this book you will understand why.

In the totality of time and existence, what is the point of a life that can contribute for a mere 100 years or so at best? Many lives on Earth are for very short terms indeed. If we lived for only the period between our natural birth and natural death then our value and our contribution to ‘existence as a whole’ would be almost infinitesimal. It makes much more sense for the time we spend here to be simply a phase of our total life; in other words, we are just ‘passing through’.

Those who are able to adjust their minds to a condition of blind-belief and accept one of the numerous theologies presented to us that purport to explain how we were all created by a god with supernatural powers (and offering a very conditional eternal life after death) are blissfully content that they will have an eternal ‘future’ and I sincerely wish them well; but where does that leave everyone else? Is there nothing after death for the rest of us?

Do we miss out on an after-life because we find it impossible to suppress our scepticism for what our common-sense tells us are primitive and ludicrous explanations for ‘how it all began’ (e.g. ‘Genesis’ in The Holy Bible) and what we need to do to qualify for an after-life that does not involve unspeakable pain and suffering (as in Hell)?

Again, I think not.

Why?

Although I cannot rule out the possibility of my ‘soul’ moving on to an after-life to be judged by my Creator, it occurs to me that there are other possibilities to consider. One of these involves my mind rather than my soul. At least, I know for certain that my mind exists (through a vivid awareness of it) and that is more than I can say about my soul. I have no awareness, whatsoever, of my soul. That does not mean that I do not have one; however, it can be no more than a totally unsubstantiated (blind) belief. I prefer to acknowledge something that I know exists --- my mind.

Human life appears to be unique among forms of life as we know them. It has a mind that can think and reason. Although there is growing evidence that some other species may also be able to do this to some extent, the human mind possesses an intellect that allows us to think abstractly and pursue ideas. These qualities allow us to appreciate the wonders of the cosmos and speculate on the possibility of further existence in other universes. If our minds did not exist to recognize, study and appreciate these things, surely there would be no point to them. They would just occur --- and there would be nobody or nothing to know that.

It would be totally meaningless to anyone but its creator, if such exists.

But, perhaps 'meaning' is simply a concept devised by humans to satisfy our need to understand; whatever it is, it is a very powerful force in our lives and may, I suspect, be unique in our world (maybe even in our universe) to humans. I am not aware of any other creature or form of life that adheres to the concept of 'meaning'.

I must admit that I feel 'meaning' is not simply a concept. I feel certain that it is the single most motivating aspect of a human life and embraces the whole fabric of ‘total existence’. We may even exist simply (by our awareness) to give meaning to the rest of existence.

What do I mean by the whole fabric of total existence?

I mean everything that has happened since the very first moment of existence; that is, even beyond the first moment of this (our natural) universe if there is anything else.

It is possible that our universe is not alone.

How many times have we heard that claim made by science-fiction writers who then go on to provide us with incredible tales of fantasy? The unfortunate result of this is that the concept of other universes has become tainted with ridicule. But is it really ridiculous?

The following may sound like fantasy; it certainly did to me, yet there are eminent scientists who passionately believe (after analyzing the data from their experiments) that there are parallel universes existing alongside ours; they say the number of these parallel universes could even be infinite.

Basically, they say, we exist at the same time in multiple universes that exist parallel with this one.

They say there are many versions of each of us --- not just this one on Earth. Every possibility and alternative we face at any moment in our lives actually occurs here or in these other universes (including the possibility that we do not actually die when our time here is finished but continue on living in other universes; in other words, at that time, it is only this version of us that comes to an end).

That takes our minds to another level and understandably the first reaction by most of us would be to dismiss it as pure fantasy; I know that mine was. It sounded utterly ridiculous and my initial reaction certainly was to scoff and dismiss it; however, to do that justifiably I would need to be able to test it and prove that it is fantasy.

That is as hard to do as it is to test and prove whether or not God exists.

To make matters even more confusing, it is also claimed that there may be as many as 11 dimensions and not just the three (plus 'time') that we are living in. Who are making these claims? Surely they are science-fiction writers or those who claim to have been kidnapped by aliens?

Well, maybe some quantum physicists do write science-fiction in their spare time, but it is doubtful that these highly intelligent and practical scientists get much of that.

How did this ‘preposterous’ theory come about?

Quantum physics has been around since the year 1900 A.D. and involves the study of sub-atomic particles. Before then we could study only the laws of nature as we observed and understood them at the time. These laws apply above the ‘sub-atomic’ level and are the laws we have used to provide us with answers to the mysteries of life and the cosmos in general. We have applied them diligently to everything and they have served us well enough but now we have a whole new set of 'laws' to study at the sub-atomic level and many of these bear no resemblance to (and even contradict) many of those laws with which we are familiar. In fact, much of the quantum world appears to us at this stage of its study to be almost chaotic rather than governed by orderly laws. However, chaos does not rule at the sub-atomic level and identifiable laws do exist there; in time we will understand them to an ever-increasing degree. To understand what happens at this level, we must think in degrees of probability rather than certainty.

Why do we need to study what is happening at the sub-atomic level? One reason is obvious; the sub-atomic level is an integral part of the atom and therefore an integral part of all matter. What is happening at this level has a major role to play in determining the characteristics of the atom itself and therefore the matter containing that atom. We need to know how the characteristics of atoms are formed and we can do this by studying what happens ‘deep within them’. It would be more than interesting to discover ways of manipulating the characteristics of atoms.

As it seems to be part of the make-up of humans to control and manipulate, no doubt this is being done right now.

There are the inevitable ‘traditionalists’ who claim that quantum physics is all mumbo-jumbo. They seem to forget that we moved on from Classical Physics to Modern Physics (which was also held in contempt by the traditionalists of the day). They are entitled to their opinion, of course, but history is littered with those who found it uncomfortable to look past the status quo and argued vociferously against anything that challenged it. If these people had their way we would not be enjoying the fruits of the incredible explosion of human knowledge available to us today.

If parallel universes (in which other versions of us live) do exist, as many of these quantum physicists believe, then our life in this universe is only an almost infinitesimal component of our total existence.

This exposes us to the possibility that, because other versions of us continue on living in other universes when our time ends here, we will live forever. That should be of interest to those of us who do not want to die.

The human life-force may well be indestructible and may, as these quantum physicists claim, simply continue from one area of existence (e.g. universe or dimension) to another. At the time of our physical death in our natural universe (this one) or any other universe in which we may co-exist, perhaps our life is shut down only in one or some of them at any time and we continue to live on in the others.

How could this be? Here is a very simplified example:

At every moment of our lives there are alternative paths that are possible for us to follow. We may turn left, we may turn right, we may stay right where we are; we may move forward, we may move backward, we may die, we may not die etc.

Although all of these alternatives (and countless more) are available to us as any moment in time, we can follow only one of them at a time according to the laws of this universe as we understand them. However, if versions of us were living also in other universes, we would be following all of these alternatives at the same moment --- not just one of them.

So, when our time here arrives and we face death that is only one of many alternatives. One alternative obviously would be that we do not die; therefore, in this universe we may go ahead and die, but in another universe, a different version of us will be able to take the alternative to continue living. When that version of us subsequently faces the alternative of death or