Nothing.

Your “perspective,” your view of the world, and all of consciousness, is an illusion maintained by your brain. Death is no different than turning a machine off and disassembling it.

I will say, the human ability to make conscious choices is really something special.

Your “afterlife” is the hole you leave behind. It’s the impact you leave on the world, and how others remember you.

What I think happens: unfortunately, nothing, your consciousness simply ceases, you go back to the state you were in before you existed

What I hope happens: it feels like being asleep for eternity, shifting in and out of dreams and enjoying memories of life

Other ideas I like: becoming one with a universal consciousness, or a system where we’re punished for our sins and then go to paradise, or this life is a dream and you wake up in another reality barely remembering this life

I’m good with the Lifestream theory. Not as fantastical as it is depicted in FF7 of course but the basics definitely incorporate most of the least ridiculous theories into something I can believe in. Even physically we do become one with the planet, which in turn is part of the universe. A soul is just your personal sliver of the Lifestream, once you’re done it goes back in and might just come back into another living creature. Until the Planet gets scorched by the sun at which point I don’t have a clue. Either way, all is one and one is all is comforting enough sentiment. No need for imaginary friends or mythical designs, no overseer, just life and its cycle.

I think the situation from Defending Your Life or Eternity seems pretty neat for an afterlife, but realistically I think that the best we can hope for a “heaven” is living on in good memories from those we leave behind.

Being reincarnated into a well-loved house cat would be pretty dope too.

But ultimately I think our consciousness just stops and we return to the same state we didn’t exist in, before we existed.

Whatever you are is no longer tethered to physical reality so whatever you think will happen, happens to you.

System of choice? Maybe no death whatsoever. Or that people’s spirits continue on and can opt to be ghosts or do whatever but it’s so unanimous and known it’s like “did you hear Greg died? Well he can’t type his report up so you have to type it out for him before he retires. Lucky bastard doesn’t have to eat the gross sheet cake we got for him and can retire.”

Your brain stops and your body rots.

We go to sleep and never wake up.

No more shifts at work, no more rent to pay. Pure bliss.

If I didnt have big plans for my death I’d probably have intentionally ODed on heroin already.

The same thing that happened before I was born

Same thing that was happening before I was conceived.

You do not “become” one with the universe - you already are. 🧘🏻‍♂️

Either nothingness or I awake somewhere else.

I relinquish control of my atoms, at least to whatever extent I controlled some of them prior to death. And I no longer perceive or think or remember.

If I could reincarnate into anything other than a human on earth, I’m not sure I’d want to retain memories of a past life. I’d hate to poison a new and different life with the baggage of a human lifetime, for better or worse.

Mind uploading or cryonic preservation for possible future revival and treatment is a nice thought, but I would hate for evil billionaires to be able to cheat death, that seems like too big a tradeoff.

Since I’m not religious, the most logical answer is probably nothing. We simply cease to exist.

Obviously though, I won’t know until it happens.

I know the ones who love us will miss us.