Is there an afterlife? | David Wolpe and Lex Fridman 

I’ll be honest, the idea of death and mortality scares me tremendously. I’m 44, seeing your parents age, seeing them closer to death, reflecting on my own mortality, and seeing how fast everything has happened really bothers me and it’s very difficult to reconcile all of it.

I’m not sure if this has come from some philosopher at some point but it was the great Theo Von I once heard say on a podcast: the only thing I know is that I popped into existence from nothing in this reality. That’s the only evidence I can use in answering the question of whether it could happen again in some other form-so why not? Existence exists. Would it be that much of a shock to find yourself existing somewhere else?

“Maybe eternity is more about stopping time versus extending time indefinitely.” Listen to the many accounts of near death experiences (NDE’s) and this is very much how they describe it. “On the other side…there was no such thing as time.”

“Sometimes a moment, a truly joyful moment, feels like an eternity - the intensity of it.” This is what I have envisioned Heaven to be, a calmly joyful and cherished moment in my past that I could stop and where I could exist forever without the concept of time. I just never had the words to articulate it simply…until Lex here.

My oldest friend died suddenly just last week . I came on RU-vid to listen to some music me and my friend use to listen to when we first met in 1995 and this is the first thing I see .

In my second DMT trip I experienced "what death is" I wasn't expecting anything specific but I instinctively knew that I was about to experience death. It was all dark, I knew I didn't have a body, neither feeling any emotion such as happiness. It was instead a feeling of undescribable peace, a very unique peace that I know I'll never experience again. I also knew that I could travel anywhere in time, I could see everything but I didn't have any eyes or visibility alternatives. If that's death, it's way better than this hell.

I love that quote from Twain about green fields and harps. I read this book “Man Being Volume 1: The Transmission” and it goes into great depths about the abilities Mankind has lost, and what the symbolism of the harps is pointing us toward. The best read of my life. Highly recommend it.

Pondering this question over the years, my thought on it today is exactly the same as yours. Happened once, can happen again. 'Existence exists'. You said it well.

Damn, I just realized I wasnt subscribed.... Fixed. This is one of my favorite conversations and a completely new perspective of it from Wolpe. Thanks Lex. Your work/podcast is pushing the envelope of good questions and conversation.

The idea of confrontation vs transcendance is an interesting, and potentially powerful concept.

Being dead is the same as it was before you were born. Plain and simple. If you are reborn, you will never know of who or what you were before yourself. That is how I like to think about it in short form.

Eternity is a long time, especially toward the end.

Finding joy in my death has been my greatest gift.

2:29 That's the Great example by David Wolpe. I love it.

Love the twins story

You keep surprising me with your Questions and This guest nailed it.Brilliant.Thank you so much, you are expanding my conscience.No wonder you and Joe Rogan are buddies, he is Also an Ubermensch, mens sana in corpore sano.The answer to your Question is There is no such thing as "life" as opposed to death.Everything is life.Alan Watts explains This, There is only life and life.Tomorrow I Will Open my eyes like awaking from a dream and fear death, forgeting that I Will be born again, and again and again.

I think thinking you know is just that, thinking. No matter who you are..you do not know. Enjoy life!)

The greatest threat is that may you live forever, a ride you can't get off

This was sooo good! I’m still trying to grapple the twins story… like shit, I prolly woulda been the introvert twin trying to convince little homie to stay 😑

which episode is this ?

Brilliant

Is transcending science or engineering? If my old computer with windows 95 is conscious, what would it feel when later versions came out and the only fate for 95 is being abandoned?

I came from nothing and that was very peacefull as I "remember" so if we go back to that, I am more than happy.

When you die you're dead& never ever have another thought or feeling. For me,that makes the most sense by far.

Well said Mr. Fridman… “humans are fully in equipped to comprehend..”

Death is a moment of bliss. I like that idea!

I love this guy and feel many of us can relate to his rational way of thinking about this topic. I for one am a seeker and embrace the fact that "I do not know", but I think there is absolutely something after we die, what it is I have no idea. Something to find comfort in is that not everyone gets to live, but if we all must die then how bad can it be? I trust the Universe/God will take care of us, however you see it.

Without a resurrection to judgment, there is no afterlife.

I guess we will all soon find out..Since my grandfather recently died at 94,and said life goes by too fast, i better believe it😉

Came to share my anecdotes. I dated a girl for 7 years, she was my first everything and I loved her more than I've ever seen anybody love anything. I was truly and totally infatuated, devoted, seriously in love with her. She ended up dying. Cut to two weeks later I'm crying and decide to just lay down on my bed for a minute, had no intention to sleep. Literally as soon as my head touched my pillow I started floating out of my body and I looked down at myself and saw me looking at me and...well it was trippy as fuck. Anyways I turned around and there's a portal on my ceiling, and I just get sucked through it at the speed of light. Idk what to make of this next part but uhh, Man-Hacks from Half Life started coming after me but then a shield materialized around me like a smash bros shield and protected me. Then as I'm flying through space or whatever it turns into what looks like the hyperspace scene from 2001:A Space Odyssey and then I come out of that and crash onto an alien world. I land on a beach and I look up, there's a house on a hill on the beach overlooking the ocean...a house that my girl and I described as being the ideal home. I walk up and see her leaning against the fence on the cliff and she turns around and it really was her you guys, just as real as this she walked right up to me and said "don't cry for me anymore...you don't have to. It's okay. I'll be here for you." Then she told me she loves me, kissed me, and then pushed me back and her eyes took on like a depth to them? Idk like you could walk through them and enter a whole new world, idk what to make of it, but then she said "deja vu....deja vu..." And I got sucked back through the portal and I swear as I came back into my room and into my body it was like I landed on my bed for real. So that's my first encounter with the afterlife or very strong sense of the afterlife anyways and from what I've gathered thinking about it, it would seem to me that reaching out to loved ones and having the power to live out all your earthly fantasies is true in that place, at least that level of the afterlife because what I'm about to say next completely throws a spanner in that. I smoked some DMT, and I broke through into the body of God and was one with it. It spoke to me, taught me some things that I can't speak, but where I was is what's important here. It looked like an ocean made out of this weird pinkish-white-orange color but like solid light that pulsed and moved like water and man Idk dmt is hard to put into words because the things you see literally don't exist here, but anyways it stretched on for eternity in all directions. While there though...I didn't have a body, I was this ocean and so was everything else that ever has does and will exist in every multiverse and in every imagination and what did I feel when confronted with this vision of the afterlife? I felt the most powerful, pure, holy, perfect, ultimate, infinite love of God that was by faaaaaar the most pleasurable sensation I've ever had and was the best 2 minutes of my entire life, and I just knew without a doubt that we all ascend to this perfection after death and all is forgiven and all your human flaws are washed away and you are cleaned by the ultimate love of God and I could write a trillion word essay with the help of the greatest poets through time and not come close to 1 percent of describing how powerful this feeling really was you guys. We all go there, from Hitler and Ted Bundy to all of the saints and holy ones, gods love is infinite in the truest sense of the word. there is absolutely nothing to fear in that regard But yeah, seems to me that we are washed clean in our souls by the hand of God itself after death and then we get to be our own God? Or maybe we can choose to do literally anything I have no idea how to reconcile these two stories but i lived them and I believe them.

If we were given true eternal life, then life would lose its meaning. What are the point of life’s experiences if they can just be reciprocated an infinite amount of time? Maybe there is liberation in death. Maybe the ultimate gift isn’t eternal life but rather “life and death” for without death could we ever truly live at all?

When I left my mother's womb i was crying not nowing what awaited me, so on the moment of death I shall not fear for I Will be eternal.Who knows if This is the only reality.So enjoy it while it's here and be grateful until the moment you are born again.This idea I Also learned from a video of an Iranian sage

Universe is so big and old and mysterious that there could be a afterlife?

We were never born ….. just social constructs in a body. Consciousness survives as it always has.

Eternity has nothing to do with time. Eternity is that dimension of here and now which thinking and time cuts out. This is it. Transcendence - Joseph Campbell

Lex you gotta Astral Project.

I was clinically dead for nine minutes, but my death experience could fill a book. There is no time there. I don't know how else to describe it, but our consciousness does move on to another place.

I'm not afraid of death i'm never going to die!

Von Neumann probably knew more and understood more than any other human I can name and he feared death. What do others know that give them comfort that Neumann didn't?

The reason we believe in an afterlife is because we are animals. Like all animals we have a survival instinct. That instinct is nearly impossible to overcome. I’m a life long agnostic and intellectually I can opine there is no afterlife but even I cannot truly imagine being alive one second and snuffed out of existence for all eternity one second later. Our brains are simply hard-wired that way.

A denial of death in the sense you live into the after life seems healthier than a over acceptances.id rather think if I die due to being hit by a truck everyone else sees it but maybe for me I turn and its a limo for me not a truck full of money

If there were to be an actual age reduction medical treatment in the future, would you get it done? Hypothetically you would be able to afford it in this case.

If the universe is cyclic and big bangs are happening over and over again, that means that we get to live the same life and many others for eternity. At some point in the future when other big bang happens, the atoms in the univers will be arranged exactly as they are while i am writing this msg. So yes , if you look at it like that, there is an afterlife..

Interesting

row, row, row your boat gently down the stream merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream

Having myself - 5 medium psychic occurrences happen in my life so far (35 years old). I believe that in a after-life. My first experience was back in September 2001. Roughly a week after Aaliyah Dana Haughton passed. I never met her or been to a concert in real life. But I was a fan of her music. I remember seeing endless amounts of human shaped figures. Each having the same appearance. Like each one was like wearing a black robe. I remember thinking before I heard Aaliyah speaking. They appear to be like mummified and I think this is purgatory. Then I heard her in distress (Monologue). Her voice was the only voice out of everything.. And right before I woke up, in he dream. Her face was completely engulfed by white light. And all I saw before I opened my eyes was white light and my hand unfolding. Then I opened my eyes with more or less like a glare/translucent effect of light.

this is exactly what Rammstein's new video "Zeit" is about

❤❤❤❤❤

I hope I see my family again cause forever nothingness sucks

There is no other world. This is it. You can make it seem like hell by not understanding it. Your real-self keeps living on in others.

After life? A happy life before death would do me.

We are already in the afterlife😉

The Fountain

Put your hand on a hot stove , a second can feel like an eternity. Put your hand on a hot woman , an eternity can feel like a second. Immortal words from LL Cool J in the classic monster shark movie “Deep Blue Sea” 🤪

Maybe we have to experience death to truly understand life ?

If God created us, it would make sense that he would create us to be eternal, philosophically. Why? IMO, it is because to create any life only to just let it inevitably end or die at some point doesn't seem good. Even if one has the best of a life: family, wealth, beautiful memories; if it inevitably ends at some point, the joy is there briefly but the sadness and awareness of it all just disappating into nothingness forever sounds cruel. Everything one knows, experienced and loved will cease to exist forever into a spec of time. Or perhaps when one begins to exists, existence should be forever especially if life is granted by a loving highly intelligent creator. On the contrary, as finite beings, we also seem to appreciate life and experiences knowing that it 'may end someday'. This is also imo why we are all in this circumstance: we still have unknown information as to whether we may possibly just cease to exist or if there's life after.

As biological humans we think. You can’t comprehend eternity through thinking. Eternity is no thought, no separation, no attachments

Hmm... I am always sceptical about the 'awareness' after death. All our understanding of 'self' has been due to our individual experiences based on our biology, like senses, getting interpreted via the brain. When that physical tissue breaks down, everything we know and experience dies with it. I personally don't believe in an afterlife that 'we' can consciously be aware of, due to the lack of the physical body. However, I do believe in the conservation and redistribution of energy as the body breaks down, transferring that to other organisms or via heat (cremation). Example: We have no attachment to say, a finger getting removed (apart from the pain), but the finger degrades and the tissue is transferred in some way - I think the same happens to ourselves... unfortunately.

My story...... Gods honest truth I experienced this while awake, but it felt like I was experiencing the other side.... This was what the message from the other side...... "Hey we've been waiting for you....... don't be scared...... don't be scared....... your family is here with us..... you don't really know him well, but he's family, he's family...... it's (then proceeded to tell me a name)" 3 days later I was with my mum and we were talking about our family and extended family, I was asking if any of my older family members have caught and been effected by the c v..... at first she said no.... then after a short pause she said in fact my cousin..... with the same name I was told 3 days before had been in a coma for 4 days with pneumonia and died the day after my experience......... I was gobsmacked and instantly began to feel an incredibly sadness this was the most profound experience of my life......... I was a hard-core atheist before this....... now I have a new found sense of enlightenment, amazement, fascination and desire to discovery the world to which is there but we cannot see, not in our normal state anyway. Peace, power and freedom to all.

'Technology not only has given us a permanent present, but has given it the furniture of eternity.' ~ Clive James

Death is the same as sleeping without dreaming, only you no longer exist, unfortunately... But, if there is a God, he gave humans the ability to create eternal life and we can eventually become immortal beings if we continue to work together on it.

3 10 The story of rabbi and twins The parable is foolish because rabbi already knows what happens outside the womb,but no nobody knows what will happen after death

What makes us think we are so special? We are just animals

I bet there is more before birth and after death, because the alternative is known.

Anyone looking for an answer to this question should watch Jordan Peterson & Hamza Yusuf episode

My parents gave me life and existence,they gave me a chance to expierence life! I also believe I have died in my sleep. I fell asleep in my car on a hot summer night with my car windows up. I had this vivid dream of meeting God. I don't know if it was a dream or what but I indeed met god. One thing I do know is there is always a balance. Good and bad. Light and dark. Up and down.hate and love. Life and death. There are also opposites death and life. Down and up. Dark and light.bad and good.

I would think death would "feel" no different than being under general anesthesia. Physiologically, it's almost the same, complete shut down of consciousness, only for eternity. That is depressing me.

What happens after death? Can you imagine what it was before you were born? No? Well, after death is the same.

If sound and light die there is no after life,if photon and phonon die there is no after life,but if they don't die,them.?

Lex is a truly great thinker. Science needs more cognitive fluidity.

just imagine how you came into being from the smallest " Energy particle" after your body dies it will convert back step by step to that state again - it is our wish to live this memory for ever, unfortunately truth is memory dies with the body.

No (thumbnail question answer)

It's one thing to believe in an afterlife where your atoms recombine into another being and another consciousness. But it's silly to believe somehow YOUR consciousness will survive after the inevitable annihilation of your physical body.

I'm not scared of death at all. I'm actually quite excited to see what happens next. If nothing happens, then no love lost. Thanks, it was an interesting ride. The only thing that scares me about death, is the physical pain. It's very rare that someone dies a peaceful death with no tremendous pain. That's what scares me. Besides that,.. can't wait to live the next chapter. Again, no "next chapter", no big deal. It was fun. (sometimes).

I was not aware of my existence before I was born, so I shall not be aware of my non existence after I’m gone.

Yes there is. The day of judgement where you will be resurrected and stand before Allah all mighty.

Human concepts are not real; we are conscious eternity.

It can’t be all for nothing.. that would be a tragedy

If there is something about humans that can transcend this world and therefore create an afterlife of sorts then how come it is and remains so illusive? It's the same question I put to those who believe in god, where is he if he expects us to whole heartedly believe in him without any doubt?!

Do you wanna know what it's like to be dead? Do you remember what it was like before you where born? It's exactly like that!

No

This might be Elvis

He's going to be disappointed when the lights go out forever actually not because you won't know anything it'll just all be over

Not provable either way, but no, there isn't. Reality has a nasty habit of popping up - just try and ask any Field Monkey that thought they could fly (sans aircraft of some sort)

NO

Near death experience testimonials all say they are surprised to find that they are all still alive after death

Consiucness is dying and no one seems to care. Hatred was caused by those who kept it separated.

Of course there is after life . We are human beings Human being = physical body + soul . What we call death is only death of physical body because the soul is eternal . It is really very simple .

Dearth is simply a return to nothingness. If it's nothingness forever you're dead so you're not going to mind.

They say the afterlife or reincarnation is real but like if reincarnation was real we’ve been through heaven and hell more than we may think or if your righteousness you’ll return back 🤔

Heaven is real so iz hell tmyk!!

Lex always seems like he doesn't want to be there

One day we will all cease to exist and remember nothing.

John 3:16. Don’t go buy what these helpless mortals think

Why not just ask a plumber? No one has any idea at all from experience or intellect...it is unknowable...always has been. The idea that there are careers made from nothing is pretty creative though...if not for all the damage it has done....still....mankind still loves to make mountains out of molehills...in a very large way....accuracy...is not even a consideration. History will look back at us as a strange mixture of intellect and superstition.... a transitional species...is what we are.

No, there is not. Its exactly like before birth.Does anyone remember anything before birth? Its just, nothing , a great darkness..

Why would it be another world after death ? Do we really deserve a second life in a paradise ? We don't work for it, so why should my ass be reserved by "God"?

Please get Sadhguru on podcast as soon as possible, he is a better guest for topics like these,

My take on death and life after is not a popular one. Life after death is a human idea as we are the only living creatures on earth that can think it up. We are afraid of death only because we don’t know what happens. People out there that are very religious and always say when they die they will go to heaven but a brush with death will still be scary because deep down(in some cases very deep down) there is doubt. An example of this doubt is why bother fighting cancer if your so sure your going to heaven as soon as you die. Don’t say because of your family as you will see them in heaven anyway. Anyway believe what you want because to me when you die it’s just like before you were born. That gives me some kind of peace because I will know no better. Therefore there’s nothing or no one to miss and nothing to remember. This is just my opinion. I’m not knocking religion or anyone it gives comfort to. I’m 40 and one thing I can tell anyone reading this is that you DO think about death more as you get older.

People, if you want to know the truth about life now and the hereafter read the Bible. Matthew 7:7-8, Ask, and it will be given to you; seek,. And you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be opened. Look to your creator for answers, not man. Seek the Lord while He may be found; (Isaiah 55:6). Look to Me and be saved; (Isaiah 45:18-23, also Philippians 2:6-11. Read the Bible, and believe in The GOD of Truth; it’s a matter of where you will spend eternity! Don’t let anyone tell you there is no GOD! Don’t be fooled; the evidence of good and evil is all around us. Jesus is the way; accept Him or reject Him, it’s your choice.