Showing posts with label Life After Death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life After Death. Show all posts

What is a Life-After-Death Experience?

Death is one of the most fundamental and universal human experiences. Despite its inevitability, death remains a mystery, with questions about what happens to the human consciousness after death remaining unanswered. 

One of the most intriguing phenomena related to death is the life-after-death experience, also known as near-death experiences (NDEs). These experiences are reported by people who have been clinically dead or close to death and have returned to life. 

The purpose of this article is to explore what life-after-death experiences are, their common elements, evidence supporting them, criticisms, implications, and future research directions.

A life-after-death experience is a conscious experience that occurs when a person is on the brink of death or clinically dead and then recovers. The experience is characterized by a range of vivid and intense sensations, including the feeling of leaving one's body, moving towards a tunnel or light, meeting loved ones or spiritual entities, life review, and the decision to return to the physical world.

Life-after-death experiences have been reported across different cultures and throughout history. Ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife, and their rituals involved the preservation of the body and the provision of material goods for the journey to the afterlife. In Greek mythology, the god Hermes escorted the souls of the deceased to the afterlife. 

In the Christian tradition, Saint Paul reported his experience of being taken to the third heaven, where he heard things that could not be expressed in human language. In the 19th century, the term "near-death experience" was coined by a Swiss philosopher and physician, Carl Gustav Jung. 

Life-after-death experiences are important because they challenge our understanding of death, consciousness, and the nature of reality. They offer a glimpse into what may happen after we die and have the potential to provide comfort and hope to people facing death or bereavement. 

The scientific study of life-after-death experiences can also have practical implications for healthcare and end-of-life care, as well as philosophical and theological implications for our understanding of the human experience and the nature of existence.

Common Elements of Life-After-Death Experience

Life-after-death experiences have several common elements, although not everyone experiences all of them. 

The following are some of the most commonly reported elements:

A. The sensation of leaving the body

Many people who have had a life-after-death experience report the sensation of leaving their physical body. This can manifest as a feeling of floating above their body or as an out-of-body experience (OBE). During an OBE, people report seeing their physical body from a different perspective and being able to observe their surroundings.

B. Moving towards a tunnel or light

Another common element of life-after-death experiences is the sensation of moving towards a tunnel or light. This can be accompanied by a sense of peace, love, and unity with the universe.

C. Meeting loved ones or spiritual entities

During a life-after-death experience, some people report meeting deceased loved ones or spiritual entities, such as angels or religious figures. These encounters can be comforting and reassuring, and often involve a sense of connection and understanding.

D. Life review

Many people who have had a life-after-death experience report undergoing a life review. This involves reliving significant events from their life, often from the perspective of the people they interacted with. The purpose of the life review is to gain a deeper understanding of one's life and the impact it had on others.

E. The decision to return to the physical world

Finally, people who have had a life-after-death experience often report being given a choice to return to their physical body or to stay in the afterlife. Those who choose to return often do so because they feel a sense of responsibility towards their loved ones or because they have unfinished business in the physical world.

Evidence Supporting Life-After-Death Experience

While life-after-death experiences are subjective and difficult to study scientifically, there is a growing body of evidence that supports their reality. 

The following are some of the most compelling types of evidence:

A. Near-death experiences

One of the most common types of life-after-death experiences is the near-death experience. These experiences occur when a person is close to death but is resuscitated and brought back to life.

Researchers have conducted many studies on near-death experiences and have found that they share many common elements, including the feeling of leaving the body, moving towards a tunnel or light, meeting deceased loved ones, and undergoing a life review. 

Some studies have also found that people who have had near-death experiences are more likely to have a transformative experience, such as a change in their values, beliefs, or personality.

B. Out-of-body experiences

Another type of evidence supporting the reality of life-after-death experiences is out-of-body experiences (OBEs). During an OBE, people report seeing their physical body from a different perspective and being able to observe their surroundings. 

Some studies have found that people who have had OBEs are more likely to have a life-after-death experience and to report a greater sense of well-being and connectedness with the universe.

C. Spiritual experiences

Spiritual experiences, such as mystical experiences and religious visions, are also thought to be related to life-after-death experiences. These experiences involve a sense of connection with a higher power or spiritual realm and can be transformative and life-changing. 

Some researchers believe that spiritual experiences are a window into the afterlife and that they may be related to the phenomenon of life-after-death experiences.

D. Scientific studies and research

While much of the evidence supporting life-after-death experiences is anecdotal, there have been some scientific studies that have investigated the phenomenon. For example, a study conducted in 2001 by the University of Virginia found that people who reported a life-after-death experience were more likely to report a change in their religious beliefs and practices, and to have a more positive attitude towards life. 

Other studies have found that people who have had a life-after-death experience are more likely to report an increased sense of well-being and decreased fear of death.

Skepticism and Criticisms of Life-After-Death Experience

While there is evidence to support the reality of life-after-death experiences, there are also many skeptics and critics who question their validity. 

The following are some of the most common criticisms:

A. Criticisms of methodology

One of the main criticisms of studies on life-after-death experiences is that they often rely on self-reported data and are therefore subject to bias and error. Critics argue that people who report a life-after-death experience may be influenced by cultural or religious beliefs, or may be exaggerating or misremembering their experience.

B. Cultural and religious influences

Another criticism of life-after-death experiences is that they may be influenced by cultural and religious beliefs. For example, people who are raised in a religious or spiritual environment may be more likely to report a life-after-death experience, while people who are skeptical or atheistic may be less likely to do so.

C. Alternative explanations

Some skeptics argue that life-after-death experiences can be explained by natural phenomena, such as changes in brain chemistry or oxygen deprivation. They point to studies that have found that people who are near death often experience a surge of brain activity, which could explain the vivid and intense sensations reported during a life-after-death experience.

D. Philosophical objections

Finally, some philosophers and skeptics argue that the concept of a life-after-death experience is inherently flawed and impossible to prove or disprove. They point to the lack of empirical evidence and argue that the idea of a soul or spirit that survives after death is unscientific and unprovable.

Conclusion

In conclusion, life-after-death experiences are a fascinating and mysterious phenomenon that has captured the attention of people around the world for centuries. While they are difficult to study scientifically, there is growing evidence that supports their reality, including near-death experiences, out-of-body experiences, spiritual experiences, and scientific studies. 

However, there are also skeptics and critics who question their validity and argue that they can be explained by natural phenomena or cultural and religious influences. Ultimately, the question of whether life-after-death experiences are real or not is one that may never be fully resolved, and remains a topic of debate and speculation among scientists, philosophers, and the general public alike.

What Happens After Death According to Science?

We all know that Science is a general field of study that relies on tangible objects as proof. So when it comes about death, you won’t get any explanations as compared to its philosophical counterpart.

Science don’t actually have an answer about what happens to you after death. Thus, life after death remains a huge question in the field of science.

However, science can explain about what’s going to happen to your physical body. Just like any other meat, your body will start to rot unless, it is embalmed or mummified.

Since your body ultimately stop functioning upon your death, it goes the same with your own mind. Thus, this is one of the main basis why most individuals do not believe in the after-life.

Science do not have any conclusion nor did they find any evidence if a dead person will still continue to think. You may suggest that there is NDE (Near Death Experience) and there were already countless number of individuals who experienced it.

What did these people actually experienced isn’t death but “oxygen deprivation”. You have to know that common individuals can experience NDE as long as they get revive within 3 minutes period. Why? It’s because your brain cells can only last such time duration before they get permanent damage.

There is No Life after Death According to Physicist


If you believe in life-after-death then it’s too sad to say that it does not exist according to a well-respected physicist. The after-life is nothing unlike what is claimed by many fanciful beliefs. So when you die, that’s how everything ends about you. Many people actually fear no-life after death which is perhaps the reason why there are many philosophical beliefs to give them hope.

The physicist behind the claim of no-life after death is “Sean Carroll”. He is a highly respected cosmologist and physics professor at the “California Institute of Technology”. Carroll strongly believe in himself that he finally solved the huge debate about the afterlife through his extensive study of the law of physics.

He claimed that, “in order for the after-life to exist, consciousness needs to be separated from our physical body”.

Carroll seem to have a point here. Throughout history, there wasn’t any record about someone being able to separate his consciousness from his own physical body. It really does sound quite impossible to happen. Thus, there is a huge possibility that Carroll is right about his theory.

His further theory suggests that everything on this world are made out of particles of atom and that includes your own thoughts or consciousness.

Atom

Now, the reason why some individuals experience NDE is that, the atoms that are composed of your consciousness tends to remain much longer when it gets separated from your physical body. This also explains the existence of ghosts or spirit of the dead being sighted and even captured on cameras.

It is indeed a very interesting theory by Carroll but there is one huge question from the critics that also gave me a doubt. There is actually no proof that consciousness are made out of atoms.

Hint of the After-Life Based on Scientific Discovery


If Carroll neglect the existence of life after death, his fellow scientists at the “University of Southampton” performed one of the biggest scientific study about death regarding about the after-life.

Cardiac Arrest

What they did was that, they put a lot of effort conducting close observations and examinations to a total of 2000 patients who suffered from cardiac arrests. They were able to perform this study through the participation of 15 hospitals in the UK, US and Austria.

So what is the result?

Among all those who survived, 40 percent of them claimed that they had experienced complete “awareness and consciousness” of themselves during the time that they were clinically dead.

Most of the patients had emerged themselves into a dream-like state of consciousness. But, there was one among them with different experience. This person recalled himself leaving out of his own physical body as he get to watch the doctors and nurses performed their job at trying to revive him back.

To support his claim, he was able to recount all the details especially the actions performed by the medical staffs in resuscitating him back to life. This also includes the sounds from the environment particularly the sounds generated by the machines.

The person behind this whole scientific research was Dr. Sam Parnia. He was a former researcher of Southampton University but he transferred at the “State of university of New York”.

The main basis of Dr. Parnia’s study about the life after death is due to the reason that “when the heart stopped beating, this results in the brain putting it immediately to halt from functioning”. To be a lot more specific, it will take about 20 to 30 seconds before your brain completely shuts down itself after your heart cease from working.

Despite the 20 to 30 seconds period, conscious awareness persist to continue being experienced by the patients for up to three minutes.

Base on science itself, the brain is the one responsible in generating thoughts and consciousness. In short, when your brain stopped functioning then you should entirely lose your awareness. But through this study, it tells a different perspective.

Moreover, Dr. Parnia theorized about why not all patients didn’t experienced or had very little memories about their awareness while at the state of being clinically dead were probably due to the drugs and sedatives induced to them.

Unlocking the Secret of the After-Life through Patterns


Another researcher, Dr. David Wilde who is a psychologist of the “Nottingham Trent University” do have another different view of unlocking the secret of the after-life.

After Life Pattern

Dr. Wilde is currently collecting data from various individuals who had experiences with NDE and OBE (Out of the body experience). He believes that through a sufficient gathered data, Dr. Wilde or someone with better logical skill can analyze and discover a pattern.

Conclusion

Can you just imagine if science can discover everything about the after-life?

Chances are, you will be able to prepare yourself from what it is about to come when you die but, only if there is a life-after death.

If there is no life-after death that awaits us at the end then perhaps, this will teach all individuals to put so much value into their lives. This would involve learning to enjoy a lot of things that this world has to offer.

But so far, science is still very far from discovering life after death to provide us any solid evidence. Thus, your fate when your die currently all depends on your own psychological belief.

Do You Have Fear of No Life After Death?

We all know that death is a part of human life and it is inevitable. No one can stop or prevent it from happening where no one has yet to discover a way to immortality which may never going to happen.

Since death puts a final end to a person’s life here on earth, majority of individuals will naturally feel fear about losing their very existence and what they are about to face in the after-life.

Individuals who are at a limited time of being alive due to their severe health conditions are the ones who are often preoccupied with so much worriedness. They worry too much about what will happen to them when they die.

There is no medical cure that can permanently stop a person from worrying but only though counseling. Although, counseling isn’t really effective for everyone because a person’s thought will never go away where it keeps on coming back.

So a person who is dying due to his incurable condition, every time that he counts the remaining days of his life, this will let him be reminded about his approaching death. It is actually a psychological issue that can be so hard to face and overcome.

Psychological Fear

But for a normal healthy person, dying isn’t yet an important issue, that is why they can easily just go on with their own life.

Ignoring Death


Ignoring Death

Perhaps, one of the best way to overcome your fear and anxiety about death is just to ignore anything about death. Think of it as not a big issue which is just a part of life. In short, learn to accept it.

If you are actually in constant fear because you believe that there is no life after death, then you really have to change your philosophical view to a more suitable one. You have to know that there is still no solid evidence that can really supply us with the necessary information about the after-life. Thus, everything relies on your own belief.

By having the right and acceptable belief into your own mind, you will be able to learn and accept death which allows you to overcome the anxiety caused by it especially when your time is about to come.

No Idea about the After Life


No Idea About Death

There are some people who do not totally care about their death and the after-life. Majority of them don’t even have any philosophical beliefs that can guide them about what to expect.

Thus, when their time is about to come to an end, they are the ones who will most likely to suffer so much fear and anxiety.

The feeling is like, you are left clueless not knowing what to do with the remaining time that you still have. There will be a lot of sudden questions about death circulating into their unprepared minds which makes them totally feel disabling.

Philosophical beliefs about life after death


Philosophical Belief

The best way to actually overcome your fear of death particularly if you are afraid that there is no life after death is through philosophical belief.

Go find a spiritual belief that can answer everything that you ask about life after death that really do make sense. There are so many spiritual beliefs out there that you can choose from so I can’t recommend which one of them is right for you. In short, you have to figure it out for yourself.

Through philosophical belief, your mental state will learn to accept that there is a life after death. And common among them all, you will be given a new life into a new world where you will either be punished for your evil sins or rewarded for your good deeds that you’ve done on this physical realm.

3 Common Questions Why People Fear Death


People who found themselves complete happiness on this world that we live today are the ones who often experience so much anxiety due to death. Their fear of death even becomes stronger when they suddenly felt sick or acquired some serious health conditions.

As they get reminded that we all humans needs to die, questions like the following keeps on boggling their own minds.

Is there really life after death?

There are already many individuals who experienced “death for a short while” then they got miraculously revived back to life to share what they experienced. However, their stories seem to be quite different from one another.

In my own opinion, I think that an experience where all the system of your body shuts down for a short amount of time then you suddenly came back to life isn’t considered death. What I consider as death is when a person dies, the body should remain dead for at least several days or even much longer. And when that person came back to life after those number of days, the experience that he or she had maybe more acceptable.

Unfortunately, no one would be able to come back to life for such a long period of time. Since by the time that the human body is dead, all its system will stop to function. This will result into quick deterioration of all the vital parts.

Most parts of your body such as your bone, tendon and skin can survive for as long as 8 to 12 hours period. But as for the brain, the cells can only last for 3 minutes. This is the reason why people who can come back to life after being clinically dead for more than 3 minutes is very rare.

So going back to the question, sad to say that there is still no solid and acceptable answer that we on this current generation cannot accept regarding about life after death.

Is there a God or deities?


Another common question that is related to death is the existence of God or deities.

Again, this is a question with no straight answer. It is more about your spiritual belief of what you want to believe.

Why do we have to die?


If we are going to answer this question according to the field of science, you will simply get an explanation about the cells particularly the aging process of the human body.

But when it comes to spiritual religion, you may get an explanation that God designed it that way for He prepared a much better place for those people who have faith in Him.

Conclusion

People who believes in life after death do have nothing to fear about when they die. But for those who have the opposite belief, they do fear it especially when they have so much to loss on this physical world.

So if you are one among them, the best possible way to overcome your fear is to find a philosophical view about the after-life that you are willing to learn and accept.

What do You Feel after Your Own Death?

It is indeed very interesting to know about how you actually feel after your own death. Many individuals had already experienced dying for a few minutes and they got miraculously revived back to life. Although, their experiences with the after-life particularly about how they felt varies from one another.

So on this post, I made a thorough research and investigation about the people who claimed to experience death but got lucky to be brought back to life.

You will lose all your physical senses


Physical Senses

According to most religious beliefs, when we die, our physical body goes back down to earth and we return to our original form of being a spirit or etheric entity. This all goes the same to all our physical abilities particularly, all of our senses and other physical body functions will be lost.

When you are at the current state of dying, you won’t immediately loss all of them. No one has yet to determine the sequence about which senses or body function would turn off.

So when you completely died and finally woke up in the after-life, you will probably have different ways of using your own senses as a spiritual being.

Dead people are just dreaming


Dreaming

Every time that you go to sleep and have a dream, you are already experiencing the same feeling as the dead.

I actually do have a friend who is suffering from serious heart issues. One time in the past, he got a serious heart attack and was rushed to the hospital.

Unfortunately, he was pronounced by the doctors as already “dead-on-arrival”. But, the other medical staffs kept on pumping his heart until he got revived putting all the doctors with huge disbelief.

Today, he is still okay from the last time that I saw him. Anyway, I did asked about what he felt during the time that he was dead. He then claimed that he was dreaming.

He described that on his dream, he was swimming on the ocean then suddenly, there were powerful waves that were dragging him around. The waves became stronger and stronger until he got revived by the final shock applied on his chest.

According to him, those electric shocks induced to him caused those powerful waves on his dream.

By the time that he got downed, he gained consciousness and woke up at the same time.

Your consciousness will remain


Consciousness

We already discussed above that you will lose all your awareness about your physical body including all of your senses when you die. What will only remain is your spirit or consciousness.

At this state, you will have a more enhanced senses such as being able to clearly see and hear a person talking around your surroundings. This is the main reason why some researchers often associate life-after death to astral projection.

Anyway, some people who experienced death for a short period of time and got revived do claimed to have such experience rather than dreams.

The feeling will be so much pain and sadness

Perhaps, the saddest feeling that you will have when you just died is pain due to sadness. Assuming that your consciousness remained for a while on the physical realm, you will get to see all those people who cares about you.

Seeing all your love ones mourning about losing you can be so painful and so saddening to just let go.

Thus, sadness due to death isn’t just for the living but also for the dead to feel and experience.

Dizziness and double vision


Dizzy and Double Vision

Most people who experienced death for a short period of time and then got revived were those who suffered serious heart attacks. One among them is “Fabrice Muamba” who is an American soccer player.

Back in 2012, Muamba had a game where he unexpectedly suffered a heart attack. Just like my friend which I already shared his story above, Muamba was already clinically dead and there was no hope of him from coming back again.

Since miracles do really happen, he was successfully resuscitated and got revived. But the main question is, “What did he felt when he died?”

According to Muamba, he just felt dizziness and then a double vision. He didn’t saw any sorts of visions.

A very attractive source of light


Attractive Light

Majority of individuals who came back to life after being dead for a short while claims that they saw a very attractive source of light. This light isn’t just like any ordinary lights because it’s like a magnet that will pull you in perhaps due to curiosity or an unexplained force. And if you do, many have theorized that you will permanent be dead.

Some individuals who ignores the light and pay more attention to the living world were given the chance to come back.

If you have already watched a lot of films, they have adopted this kind of scene on how they portrayed death to their characters.

There is nothing to be felt when you die


Some people believe that the spiritual realm do not exist. So when you died, that’s the end of it. You just lost your entire feelings the moment that you had your last breath here on earth.

This may prove what Muamba, the American soccer player above had experienced on his death. The last feeling that he had was just dizziness and double vision which were the two common signs of struggling at the very end before losing complete consciousness.

Conclusion

In my own personal opinion, the feeling after death differs from one another and I believe that this has something to do with the way of life you have in the living world. From this point onwards, everything are going to be speculations since it still remains a mystery.

Awaken your Soul | Access to Inner Spiritual Powers

When speaking about soul, the general perspective of most people about it is that it's somewhat connected to "life". If a certain person dies, his or her soul will be separated from his or her physical body. But did you know that based on some spiritual belief, soul is not just a life-giving matter? There's actually more about it which has something to do with passion, creativity, intuition and connection to the Divine.

Your soul possess an incredible inner powers that you've long lost or forgotten. And to recover it, all you just have to do is to remember it.

According to "Reincarnation", when a certain person dies, his or her soul will go back into the spiritual realm. A lot of process will take place which include erasing the person's past memories before being reborn back into the physical world. Although, the memories are not actually erased. It's still there within the soul but has been forgotten by the newly reborn individual.

Can you just imagine yourself if you can access those hidden memories of your past? Some spiritual gurus claims that once this has been achieved, you will be enlightened about everything.

Here are the following simple and basic steps on how to connect into your soul:

1. The Nature of your Soul

You have to know that your "soul" is different from your "spirit". Soul is actually more "feminine" in nature while your spirit is more "masculine". If you are able to unite both your soul and spirit, it will give birth to "wholeness".

Soul

2. Feminine and Masculine Energy

Your feminine energy or soul are comprised of your imagination, passion, desires, emotions and creativity. As for your masculine energy, it is composed of your will power, action, motivation, intellect and productivity. Today, most of us are more focused on their masculine energy which involves physical tasks. Thus, the soul is weaken.

Masculine Soul

Feminine Soul

To help your soul, you have to support your feminine energy by learning and discovering the powers of imagination, creativity, passion and emotions. Give yourself some time to develop these qualities which will strengthen your soul.

3. Connect with the Divine

Regardless of what spiritual religion you believe, you have a personal or private connection into the Creator. It is like you having connection into your own mind. So on this third step, you have to deepen your connection into the Divine and seek for help in strengthening your soul.

Divine Connection

4. Passion and Pleasure

On this busy world, the majority of individuals are giving most of their time into their jobs. They no longer have the time for their passion and pleasure in life. This ends up starving their souls. If you are one of them, you really have to "make time" for your passion and pleasure.

Pleasure

5. Relax and Meditate

In order for you to relax, you have to find a place where you cannot be disturbed. It must be a quiet place that allows your mind to listen into your inner "voice of intuition". Meditation may take some time to practice. Anyway, there's tons of free guides out there that you can follow. If you still fail then you may want to find a good teacher.

Meditation

6. Express your Repressed Emotions

Your soul has a very strong connections into your emotions. So if you are suffering into some kind of bad emotion, it also affect your soul in a negative way. If you have repressed feelings, they are blocking your creativity, passions, intuition and imagination. In order to unblock them, you have to express those repressed emotions that you have. Some repressed emotions includes anger, hurt, disappointment and fear.

Repressed Emotions

7. Do Good to Others

If it happens that you already helped someone in need then you must have experienced the unexplainable happiness or joyful feeling deep inside you. This feeling is actually an impact towards your soul from getting healed or being strengthened due to your good actions.

Helping Others

Overall, strengthening your soul will enlighten your mind allowing you to understand everything in this world which includes our controversial topic about, "Life After Death".

Real Facts about Life After Death

So far, mankind has yet to discover or prove the existence of life-after-death but with the exemption of various religious beliefs. According to most religions, those righteous people are greatly rewarded for their good deeds once they have died.

If you come to think about it, what if you died (physical death) and you really cease to exist? It's like you have never existed in the first place. Some people may be able to accept it but for most, it gives them a very unsettling mind.

Unsettling Mind

Here are the facts regarding about mankind's current view about life-after-death:

1. Life-After-Death can be Easily Disproved

There isn't actually any strong physical evidence that can prove the existence of life-after-death. It's because no one was able to undergo physical death and came back to life to tell something about it. But when it comes to Christian Religious belief, Jesus Christ was the proof.

How about Near-Death-Experiences or Out-of-the-Body-Experiences?

Those people who experienced NDE or OBE didn't really left their bodies out and wondered around various places of the spiritual realm. In fact, some scientists claim that a person who undergoes physical death can still be revived within six hours period from the time of his or her death. Thus, those NDE experiences probably took place inside the person's own consciousness.

2. Our High Level of Consciousness Suggests that there may be a Afterlife

We humans have reached such a high level of consciousness especially about our existence. Everyone are aware about their mortality that physical death will soon arrive to each one of us. It can never be avoided.

With such state of consciousness, it would be pointless living on this life if there is no life-after-death that awaits us. In short, it would have been much better if we didn't existed in the first place. But if this is what really awaits us, then it is the ultimate form of cruelty.

3. Science cannot Prove the Existence of Life-After-Death

Science has its limits. There are still so many scientific boundaries that can never be explained. The study of "Life" alone is a subject that science could not explain and duplicate with any artificial means. Aside from life is our "Consciousness". Our consciousness didn't simply came out from nothing.

4. A Creator of Ultimate Spiritual Force behind Everything

Many people believe that the universe weren't created by its own natural way. If it did then there is probably no life on it as it does not care about the existence of life. Since the world was created and made perfectly suitable for life to flourish, there's a strong possibility that a certain "Driving Force" or "Creator" is responsible for the design of everything.

5. Most Individuals doesn't care about Afterlife

On this modern age world, most people are too wrap up with their busy daily activities that they don't even have the time for themselves for some self-reflection. As a result, most of them don't believe about life-after-death.

If you are one of them, I suggest that you should give yourself some time and spend it in a silent room with no distractions. You have to do this though when you are not sleepy or tired. Inside the room, what you have to do is to engage yourself in a deep thought about the subject. In most cases, your insight will lead you into the truth.

6. Not Knowing about Life-After-Death is Best for Us

Some intriguing questions about the life are the following:

a. Why are we not aware about who really created us?
b. Where do we go after we die?
c. Do we really have a purpose in life?
d. Why humans and other living creatures exists?
e. Why don't we have direct knowledge about the Creator?
f. Why can't we contact our Creator?

Those are just some of the few questions that most people often asks about our existence. To answer them (based on my own opinion), maybe "not knowing is the best for us".

Let's assume that we already know the answers into those questions above. As a result, everyone will surely get motivated to do the right thing to achieve the reward into their actions.

7. There is Life-After-Death without a Creator or God

Most of us really believe that the universe was designed by a highly intelligent being known as the "Creator". Thus, afterlife is a strong possibility for each one of us. In fact, most religions around the world claims that the Creator have prepared everyone a place to stay after our physical death. Although the settings or restrictions varies from one religious belief to another.

On the other hand, did you know that the opposite can also be a possibility?

The opposite case is that, there could be life-after-death but without a Creator or God.

8. Reincarnation has a Strong Possibility

Each and every one of us has their own unique personality. According to reincarnation beliefs, your personality reflects yourself in your past previous lives. This is probably the reason why some people are much smarter or wiser than the others. It's because they had already undergone several cycles of being reincarnated back to life here on Earth.

9. There is no God

Today, the world offers various sufferings especially injustices, abuses and social inequalities. Due to such unpleasant situation of the world, people tends to believe that there is no God, otherwise why would God allows such unfair sufferings in our lives. Although, some people who sticks in the belief of God that the right time will soon come to the wicked for their punishments.

10. A Sense of What is Right and Wrong

As a human being into this world, we are given the capability to use our own mind especially for the judgment of our actions. It is quite surprising that all of us are aware about "what is right" and "what is wrong". In fact, young children quickly develops these two kinds of awareness.

Our Creator probably gave us the sense of knowing what is right and wrong so that we can self evaluate and regulate our actions or behaviors for a good cause.

Christian Belief about Life After Death

Common to all Christian followers, they have a strong beliefs on the doctrines written in the Holy Scriptures of the "Bible". In fact, there are several parts of the scriptures written in the Holy Book that tells a lot of things about life-after-death.

We all know that on this world that we currently live-in, it offers us a lot of difficulties especially in the form of "inequality" and "unfairness". But despite of such terrible situations, there is a "Good Life" that awaits anyone who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Suffering is actually a part of everyone's life on Earth. No one is exempted it's because Satan is the current ruler of our world. This can be read at 1 John 5:19;

1 John 5:19] "We all know that we belong to God even though the whole world is under the rule of the Evil One."

Some people even blame God for their sufferings that he is the one responsible in order to test them from their faith. Or, it's some sort of a challenge. While for others, they will end up hating God and denying his very existence. They will question him that, "If God really do exists then why wouldn't he save someone who is caught at a desperate situation?".

If you are going to read Job 3:1-3, Job himself had complained to God about his sufferings.

Job 3:1-3] "Finally Job broke the silence and cursed the day on which he had been born."
2-3] "O God, put a curse on the day I was born; put a curse on the night when I was conceived!"

Again, the answer as to "Why people suffer" is not due to God but because of Satan who is the current god of this world. You have to know that Satan's main goal is to tempt and deceive mankind to follow his ideals. By losing your faith to God, it means that you had fallen under Satan's deception.

When speaking about "Sufferings", this involves all types of wickedness brought upon a certain individual. King Solomon himself had spoken about injustices of our world that the dead are "happier than the living".

Ecclesiastes 4:1-3] "Then I looked again at all the injustice that goes on in this world. The oppressed were crying, and no one would help them. No one would help them, because their oppressors had power on their side. 2] I envy those who are dead and gone; they are better off than those who are still alive. 3] But better off than either are those who have never been born, who have never seen the injustice that goes on in this world."

The Righteous and the Unrighteous

"Righteous" and "Unrighteous" can also be referred as the "Good" and "Bad". And according to the Bible, either you are a righteous or unrighteous individual, you will be resurrected at the time of Judgment. However, the righteous will receive their eternal life while the unrighteous will be condemned for their sins.

John 5: 28-29] "Do not be surprised at this; the time is coming when all the dead will hear his voice 29] and come out of their graves: those who have done good will rise and live, and those who have done evil will rise and be condemned."

The Bible actually speaks about two stages of resurrection. On Revelation 20:6, the "first resurrection" has been described.

Revelation 20:6] "Happy and greatly blessed are those who are included in this first raising of the dead. The second death has no power over them; they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they will rule with him for a thousand years."

A more detailed explanation about the "second death" can be read from Revelation 21:8.

Revelation 21:8] "But cowards, traitors, perverts, murderers, the immoral, those who practice magic, those who worship idols, and all liars -- the place for them is the lake burning with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

Second death only applies to the sinners.

Life After Death for the Sinners


As mentioned above, all sinners will be resurrected back to life but in return, they will receive their eternal punishments. The life-after-death that awaits sinners is well described by the Bible's scripture found at Luke 16:22-23.

Luke 16:22-24] "The poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the feast in heaven. The rich man died and was buried, 23] and in Hades, where he was in great pain, he looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side. 24] So he called out, ' Father Abraham! Take pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water and cool off my tongue, because I am in great pain in this fire!'."

The rich man who was a sinner claims to be in "great pain" being tormented by the heat of the fire. Thus, this is what awaits sinners for their life-after-death.

Life After Death for the Righteous


All believers and followers of Jesus Christ will come back to life (from the first resurrection). And to honor their faith, they will be granted an entrance into the "new heavens" and the "new earth" (Revelation 21:1). Apart from the opportunity to live a good life into the new world, there's a free gift of an everlasting life.

Holy Bible

So do you want to earn your place into the promised new world? If you do then you may start by reading the Holy Bible.

Fascinating Near Death Experience of Anita Moorjani

Anita Moorjani claimed that she had experienced the most fascinating NDE (Near-Death Experience) of her life. It's because her life-after-death experience gained her spiritual insights (which she now shares today) and miraculously, her serious illness got completely cured.

Moorjani's early background was that, she was originally born in Singapore. But in just a short period of time, they moved to Sri Lanka and stayed at this place until she reached the age of two. They then moved again to Hong Kong where she and her brother grew up.

Both Moorjani and her brother attended a British School claiming that she was often a victim of bullying.

Since Moorjani's parents are of Indian ethnicity, she is able to speak Sindhi (Indian Dialect). And since she grew up in Hong Kong, Moorjani also learned to speak Cantonese (Chinese Dialect). In addition to her Indian and Chinese dialects, she can also speak English. In short, Moorjani is multilingual.

Lymphoma Cancer

As an ordinary citizen living and working in Hong Kong, Moorjani was diagnosed with "Lymphoma" in February 2002. Professional medical doctors were able to confirm it due to the lump on her neck.

What is lymphoma?

Lymphoma is caused by a certain group of "blood cell tumors" (which are due to the so called "lymphocytes"). And the most common symptoms of this diseases is that, the patient will suddenly develop an enlarge "lymph nodes" at any part of his or her body. Anyway, these lymph nodes are not generally painful but they can be itchy. Fevers, sweating (especially at night), weight loss and stress are other common symptoms of lymphoma.

Is lymphoma curable?

According to the survey that was conducted back in 2012, a total number of 566,000 people were diagnosed with lymphomas around the world. As a result, 305, 000 of them had died. This means that 261, 000 got cured and managed to survive.

Lymphoma can actually be cured with our modern day medical technology provided that the cancer didn't spread to any vital organs of the human body particularly the lungs, liver and brain.

Moorjani had Rejected Conventional Treatment


Upon realizing that Moorjani had a lymphoma cancer, she rejected any conventional (medical) treatment or medicine. It's because she had a strong reason due to her past experience watching people close to her died due their cancers. In fact, she even witnessed the death of her brother-in-law and best friend who died out of their incurable cancer diseases.

So instead of seeking cure from our modern day medical technology, Moorjani had first experimented on various alternative healing practices. Unfortunately, none of them worked. With no other remaining options, she finally underwent conventional cancer treatments. The doctors' examination result came out and it frowned her family because "it's too late" to save her life.

Lymphoma had spread and infected various parts of her body. Her upper part of the body (starting from her neck down to her abdomen) were seriously infected resulting into several lemon-sized tumors. As days goes on, Moorjani's condition became more worse until to the point that her body no longer absorbs nourishment. Her lungs were also often filled with fluid that needs constant draining. And, she stays connected to the oxygen pipe at all times. In short, she was dying.

Resurrection of Anita Moorjani


Moorjani's near-death experience occurred on February 2, 2006 when she was "comatosed". A condition that the patient undergoes a state of deep sleep or unconsciousness due to a severe injury or disease. However, the time that the patient gets awaken cannot be predicted.

The doctors had informed Moorjani's family that most of her vital organs suddenly stopped functioning. This means that she only had a few hours left before she will be confirmed dead. Miraculously, Moorjani remained alive despite of the results speculated by her doctors. Three days under comatose, she woke up alive and live to tell her family about her near-death experience.

According to Moorjani's statement, she both experienced NDE and OBE (Out-of-the-body Experience). Her OBE experience was that, she saw and heard the conversation of her husband and the doctors outside her room. Other than that, she also saw her brother in a hurry to come and see her after he was informed.

As for her NDE, Moorjani came in contact to her deceased father and best friend. They had an interesting conversation and time being together that she no longer wanted to go back into her physical body. But, her father and best friend convinced her to go back.

Near Death Experience

The most debatable claim of Moorjani's NDE was her lymphoma cancer that got completely cured. And now that she has fully recovered, she now shares her story on the internet and books she wrote. One of her famous book is entitled, "Dying to be me".

Skeptics about Moorjani's NDE


On my further research about Moorjani's NDE, I came across some skeptics claiming that her near-death experience were all made up. It's because according to the skeptics, her story was very similar to the fairytales or in the movies. There's the part that the main character died and then met some kind of spiritual entity telling him or her that "It's not yet his or her time". He or she then goes back into his or her healed physical body. Does it sound very familiar?

Moorjani's weakest part of her story was exactly on how she got cured. There was very little proof about her bad diagnosis regarding about her lymphoma cancer.

Moreover, Moorjani was not the only person who claimed to experience NDE and got cured out of her incurable type of disease. There's also Mellen Thomas Benedict and several others more. But common among them was that, they came back alive to share the complete detail of their story on their own book (which you need to buy).

Is it Really Possible to Communicate with the Dead?

For some individuals, being able to communicate to the dead especially to their passed love once can really make them happy. It's because it answers their concerns if they are okay, happy or enjoying themselves at a certain place which can prove that there is life-after-death.

The topic about communicating with the dead is actually very controversial because there isn't yet any scientific proof that can really confirm it. But, there are several known methods used by some individuals claiming that they can contact the dead.

Here are the following common known methods of contacting the dead:

1. Ouija Boards

Ouija Board is actually a simple board-game that is very common to all curious teenagers. To play it, it requires at least two individuals but with more participants, the better.

The board is composed of a "planchette pointer" in which all players had to rest one of their fingers on it. Inscribe on the board are letters where the pointer goes around allowing the spirit to send its messages. In short, the Ouija Board acts like a medium.

Through different sources about Ouija Board, they claim that once manipulated by a group of individuals, they are opening a portal for the evil spiritual entities or demons to come out into this world. Aside from evil or demonic entities, the majority of spirits that are commonly contacted by the users are those spirits of the dead people. However, most individuals with experiences playing Ouija Board claims that most entities are completely harmless.

2. Spiritual Trance Mediums

Spiritual Trance Mediums are also called "Séances". They are actually individuals with rare spiritual capability to contact the spirit of the dead and channels them right into their physical body. It's like allowing the spirit of the dead to temporarily use the medium's physical body and communicate to the living.

The practice of trance medium had started way back on the 18th century where it gained popularity somewhere in the mid-19th to the early 20th century. Among all the séances both in the past and today, the majority of them were/are fraud.

The most controversial trance medium in the past was "Leonora Piper" who seems to be "genuine". Due to this reason, there were already several psychologists intrigued about her spiritual capability as a medium.

When it comes to proofs if mediums are really relaying out messages from the deceased, there is "none". In fact, talented mentalists (Edward and Van Praagh) had performed a remarkable demonstration of their trick as mediums. They were able to convince their participants that the messages they gave were from the dead. Thus, does this mean that all trance mediums are fake?

3. Third-Eye

The majority of individuals claiming to have psychic powers already have their own third-eye opened. Ordinary people actually have their own third-eye closed but it can be opened through various claimed methods.

When speaking about third-eye, this isn't like your two ordinary physical eyes. Your third-eye doesn't have a physical form but it is there. It is located right in your forehead in between your two physical eyes. Once opened, you will be able to see dead people that walks around your surroundings.

In most cases, troubled spirits of the dead often come after those people with opened third-eyes to ask for their help. This includes delivering messages to their living love once.

4. Near-Death or Out-of-the-Body Experiences

Once a person experiences NDE (Near-Death Experience), he gets to see and explore the world of life-after-death. Among those people who suffered this rare conditions, they claimed that they were able to communicate "face-to-face" to their beloved love once who already passed along time ago. The same thing goes with the OBE (Out-of-the-Body-Experience).

The only difference between NDE from OBE is in terms of risk. People who experiences NDE do have the risk of dying. But as for the OBE, the person always comes back into his or her physical body well and alive.

5. Spiritual Dreams

There are actually thousands or numerous cases of different individuals around the world claiming that they were visited by their dead family members, relatives or friends. Such occurrences usually happens when the person have just recently died. Some people refers into this paranormal event as "apparitions".

The most interesting cases of apparitions is that, they receive signs such as seeing their close friend bidding farewell into their dreams. They then later discovered that their friend has already passed away.

According to some individual's experiences, the dead often give them comforting words. They want them to know that they are completely fine that there's really nothing to worry about. But, there are also some rare cases where the spirit of the dead provides important information. Common example is that, they reveal the location of a certain hidden item.

6. Yoga Meditation

The practice of Yoga Meditation claims that it can lead to self-perfection or enlightenment. OBE and third-eye are just two sub-categories of Yoga meditation which can be achieved by enhancing your body "chakras". Although, achieving good or positive results could take a lot of years of training.

7. Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP)

Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) are also called "Ghost Boxes", "Frank's Box" or "Telephones to the Dead". These are actually technological devices used by many paranormal investigators to record sounds or voices generated by the dead around their surroundings. But of course, the operator will only be able to hear the sounds once the device is played-back.

Most recorded voices and sound from any EVP devices are of "unknown origin". And in most cases, the quality and clarity of the recorded sounds or voices are pretty unclear that it gives different interpretation to the listeners.

Since the sounds generated from EVP devices remains a mystery, the majority of individuals claims that they are messages that are spoken by dead people.

What the Bible says about the dead?

The Bible actually holds the answer if it is really possible for the dead to communicate with the living or vice-versa. It can be read at Job 14:12, 21.

12] "people die, never to rise. They will never wake up while the sky endures; they will never stir from their sleep."

21] "His sons win honor, but he never knows it, nor is he told when they are disgraced."

As stated above, once a person dies, he or she will remain asleep. In short, dead people knows nothing about the living from the time of their death. This means that they cannot contact the living.

Spirit of the dead

Moreover, if it happens that the living can communicate with the dead or the dead can contact the living, then why is it that they can't give a more convincing information about their existence? Why can't they provide a more detailed description about their place? and all other sorts of controversial questions regarding about life-after-death.

Biggest Scientific Discovery About Life After Death

In the field of science, they often disregard the fact about the "life-after-death" subject. But due to the growing number of curious individuals, our scientists today has finally took into consideration studying about it.

Life-after-death based on most medical studies has discovered that, when a person undergoes a near-death experience, some of his awareness may continue functioning even his brain has completely shut-down. This is a very controversial topic both in the past and even today. But recently, scientists had just made an astounding discovery about life-after-death.

Scientists at the University of Southampton


A group of scientists at the University of Southampton had dedicated their time performing their research and examination to more than 2,000 patients from 15 different hospitals (UK, US and Austria). These patients had suffered from cardiac arrests where they do have very high chances of dying.

The research and examination took the scientists almost four years to complete. As a result, there were nearly 40% of their patients who barely managed to survived and shared their experiences at the time that they were "clinically dead".

Brain Can't function When the Heart Stop Beating

Dr. Sam Parnia was the person who led his team in scientifically studying life-after-death. And according to him, the brain is impossible to function when the heart has stopped beating. Thus, a certain individual who suffer a near-death experience shouldn't be aware of what is going around him at the time that he is clinically dead. Although, Dr. Parnia's theory was proven wrong when the result of their experiment finally came out.

One of their patient who was able to survive claimed that he could remember leaving his own physical body (The patient was actually a 57 year old social worker from Southampton). He then stayed at the corner of the operating room as he get to witness his resuscitation. But the most interesting part about his story was that, he was able to described in detail the actions of the nursing staff including the sound of the machines inside the operating room when he was successfully brought back to life.

Among the 2060 people with cardiac arrests, only 330 patients had survived where 39% of them had experienced being aware about themselves as doctors and nursing staffs attempts to revive them. However, the majority of their experiences were not consistent with one another. Some claims to recall a bright brilliant form of light (like a sun that brilliantly shining down towards them), being drowned under water and for the best part, some of them felt an unusual sense of peacefulness.

Dr. Parnia had theorized that the reason why most of their patients couldn't remember their near-death experiences were due to the sedatives (or drugs) used in resuscitating them back to life.

German Scientists' Greatest Discovery about Life After Death


The findings of the scientists at the University of Southampton doesn't really provide much data about life-after-death. Thus, another group of German scientists continued their research at a further height.

At Berlin, Germany. A group of psychologists and medical doctors working at the Tehcnische Universitat of Berlin had issued an announcement that they were able to prove life-after-death through their clinical experimentation.

The experiment involves the use of medical d-rugs to cause near-death experiences to their patients. This allows the subject to be clinically dead for about 20 minutes period before he is immediately resurrected back to life.

There were a total of 944 volunteers willing enough to undergo the experiment. The medical doctors claimed that they applied complex mixture of medical d-rugs such as "epinephrine" and "dimethyltryptamine". Such d-rugs preserves the physical body of the patient from being alive white at the state of being clinically dead. This was to ensure that the patient won't suffer any damages as he or she gets resurrected.

In regards about reanimating the clinically dead patients, the medical staff relies on the machine called "AutoPulse". This is a Cardiopulmonary Recitation (CPR) machines that are being used to revive people who were already dead for about 40 minutes to an hour period.

The person who led the experiment was Dr. Berthold Ackermann. He was the one who monitored the entire operations and compiled all the testimonies of their test subjects. Just like the previous result of Dr. Parnia from Southampton, Dr. Ackermann's also had the same similar result. The majority of their patients also did have slight variations of their experiences from one another. But despite of their slight differences, the majority of them had described similar awareness.

Here are the following similar sensation experienced by the test subjects:
1. Their spiritual form (or soul) detaches out from their physical body.

2. They had experienced a feeling of floating which defies the law of gravity. Some people call it "levitation".

3. Having the feeling of peacefulness, security and warmth.

4. An overwhelming brilliant form of light.
Brilliant Light

Through those experiments and perhaps other future experiments, scientists now have the basic concept that there is indeed a life-after-death.

Are Life After Death Stories Really True?

There are actually countless number of stories that you can find regarding about life-after-death

The majority of individuals who claimed to witnessed the world of the dead or second-life were people who suffered and experienced near-death-experiences.

But, if you are looking for any scientific proof or evidence regarding about the existence of life-after-death then sad to say that the answer is "none"

Perhaps the proof is impossible for science to accept because it defies a lot of scientific laws.

Science actually looks for "tangible proof" while life-after-death is all about spirits or spiritual realm which makes it impossible for science to study. 

But when it comes to religious belief, "faith" is all it needs to make a religious individual believe in the existence of life-after-death.

Death

Possible Proofs of Life After Death


Aside from Faith which makes a certain individual strongly believe in the existence of life-after-death, there are some proofs that were experienced by some people in various different ways.

Here are the following common cases that are often experienced by a certain person who is lucky enough to take a peek into the spiritual world:

1. Dead people communicates through the dreams of their beloved families that they left.

There were cases of some individuals where their love once who passed had made several attempts to contact them. 

The most common case is that, they tend to meet and communicate within the dream of the person who has strong bond or connection to them. 

Some people also meet them while in their serious condition especially individuals under the state of "comatose".

According to the majority of individuals who met their love once who had passed away, they actually bring good news to them. 

Other than good news, they also give them good guidance or advices which leads them to have a better way of life.

2. Holy messages from the holy spirits.

Recently, I came across one popular story of a life-after-death experience that was shared by a friend on my FaceBook account. 

According to the article, there was a women who spent most of her time working on her business company that she knows nothing about religious belief. 

In other words, "death" was not listed on her vocabulary.

A tragic day suddenly happened to the business women, while driving, she was accidentally hit by another car that caused her serious injury. 

She was actually unconscious for several weeks in the hospital.

At the whole period of time that she was unconscious, she woke up from a strange place filled with a lot of different people gathered around. 

On her side was a spirit who explained to her where she was. According to the spirit, they were on top of a very high cliff and below it was a pit of burning fire.

As the women continued to observed, she saw that one-by-one, each of the people that were gathered around were being thrown down into the pit.

The spirit had spoken to her again that those people were thrown into the pit as their punishment for being a sinner. Sadly, the spirit told her that she was one among them.

The women cried and started to pray and begged to God to give her another second chance. At that point, she woke up crying from her bed in the hospital.

Today, she is now a very religious person sharing the word of God and her experience about what awaits sinners in their life-after-death.

3. Consult an entity for enlightenment.

The was a story of an interesting guy that all started when he was alone in his house watching his favorite television show. 

But at the same time, a thunderstorm was occurring outside causing a pretty bad reception on the network that he was watching on.

Ignoring the danger of the thunderstorm, he went outside with an attempt to fix the antenna of his TV. 

As he climbed onto the roof-top, he accidentally slipped and fell down on the ground knocking his head on the tough surface of the ground. This had caused him unconscious for several period of hours.

According to him, at the time that he was unconscious, he had met an old strange man that he can't barely see his whole image. The only clear part about him was his voice.

As the old strange man spoke, he claimed that he knows all the secrets and knowledge of the world. Then, the old man had offered him to ask any questions that he wants to know the answer.

Both of them had an interesting conversation for several hours before the guy suddenly snap back into reality. 

Unfortunately, he seem to forgot everything that they talked about but deep within his heart, he felt great joy of enlightenment.

4. Imparted with special gift.

There were some rare stories of individuals who experienced life-after-death that after their miraculous recoveries, they gained special gifts such as being able to heal others.

Scientific Experiment in Proving Life After Death


I had already mentioned above that it is quite impossible for science to prove the existence of life-after-death. 

But going over through science-history, there was a doctor who made an attempt to provide physical evidence of a human soul. 

It was on 1907 when a Massachusetts doctor named "Duncan MacDougall" had started to conduct his experiments to measure the soul.

MacDougall had with him six ill patients on a constructed scale bed. His experiment was to monitor the measurement of his patients' weight. 

He will then compare those weights at the time that his patients were alive and after their death. Through the comparison of their weights, MacDougall can make a conclusion if soul really does exist.

Although, MacDougall's result came out to be inconsistent. Other than that, some scientists had made a closer examination of MacDougall's methods and they had found a number of flaws.

Life After Death in Christian Beliefs


When it comes to Christian Religious belief, Jesus Christ was the greatest proof about life-after-death. 

He was actually killed and tortured to his death by the Roman Empire where his followers had laid him into his own tomb. But on the third day, he was resurrected back to life.

Jesus Christ's resurrection is the most attested historical event in the entire human history about the existence of life-after-death. A promised life for the strong believers and followers of Christ.

Believing in Life After Death


When it comes to a topic which is about death, the most commonly asked question is that, "Is there really life-after-death?"

This is the type of question that is often asked by a person without something to believe on. If you are one of them then this makes you uncomfortable when it comes to death.

Given the situation that you are about to die, would you like to die believing into yourself that you will simply just vanish away after your death? 

Or, would you rather have hope that there is life that awaits you after your death? 

Of course, anyone would choose the second option.

Spirit

Moreover, this blog is dedicated in providing you a lot of inspiring true-to-life stories about life-after-death. 

Reading such stories can really strengthen your spiritual belief about second-life but believing them is all up to you.