What is it? Is it just what we see, is there a Power behind it that directs the flow of world events, or are we all simply a collection of molecules and chemical reactions that cease to exist when brain activity ceases? I'm not interested in a debate, I don't care about who's right and who's wrong, I just want opinions and nobody will be flamed for expressing them, at least not by me. I'm not smarter than anybody else and I know I expressed a strong view for religion the last time this was discussed. A true faith is one that will grow when challenged, not make one close up his mind and slink away. I said " I believe what I believe and that's it," the last time and something entered my mind along the point of " what do you believe and why do you believe it?" Mysticism's no good because it reduces everything to what I see, what's convenient for me. It makes me see God as a reflection of my own ego, cheering me on to satisfy myself without any regard to how my actions might effect others.
Fine. When I was taking my classes for my Medical Assistant Degree, I learned that the human brain does not have a pouch that contains what people throughout the centuries have referred to as a soul. I also learned about the chemicals that produce pleasure, such as serotonin. In life, we are able to use challenges to grow as people and we are able to benefit from the lessons we learned. What happens after our brain activity ceases? Do we return as a collection of thoughts, experiences and consciousness to Whoever set the events in motion to lead to our births in the first place,or do we return to that point of zero that happened just before we opened our eyes for the first time in a hospital bed? I know it's human nature for us to want what we've accumulated during our lifetimes to follow us to what might be considered the " Great Beyond," but let's put the human reaction " because I want it to" aside for a minute. What's your take?