The Afterlife Reimagined
If there were an afterlife, what would it take to make it real?
9/13/20235 min read
A "Real" Afterlife?
Ok, are we saying there is a "real" afterlife? Well, no. What happens after death, like is there a God, is essentially unknowable. We're just saying that if there is any possibility of an afterlife at all, it would need to be something like this:
Actual matter or energy, not some immaterial, immortal, spiritual construct.
A physical connection or symbiotic relationship with the neurons and synapses that enable memories, knowledge, and consciousness in your brain.
An explanation as to why, if there really is a physical afterlife, we can't perceive it or can prove it exists.
Most detailed map of the distribution of dark matter in the universe. The bright areas represent highest concentrations, where galaxies form.
Dark Matter
So, let's start with the substance part of this issue first... specifically "Dark Matter". Dark matter is a type of physical matter that scientists are just now examining which does not absorb, reflect, or emit light so it cannot be detected by normal observation, yet it exists all around us. Scientists call this material Dark Matter because it can't be seen.
Scientists estimate that Dark Matter accounts for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe. Everything you have ever seen, or touched, all the planets, stars, and everything in and on them only account for 15% of what we know traditionally know as matter. Astonishingly, we know almost nothing about 85% of the matter that permeates the entire universe.
The Brain
Our brain is so complex, nobody understands completely how it works. So, we'll just provide an oversimplification here. Key to this discussion are the Neurons, basic brain cells, that have branches called Axons for sending impulses and dendrites for receiving them. Neurons communicate with other cells when stimulated through synapses that are either electrical or chemical. Electrical synapses are instant and full-on like a switch at 100% power. The majority of synapses are sent by neurotransmitters, chemicals (calcium) across a gap between two nerve cells. The stronger the impulse, the more calcium molecules are sent (and received) to vary the strength of the signal.
There are approximately 86 Billion neurons in the brain and each may have as many as 10,000 synapses or connections to other cells. Picture each thought like a lightening strike across the brain. Connections starting in one place and branching throughout the brain, touching each specialized part triggering sight, sound, memory, emotion, pleasure, pain, all at once... the next thought, another strike... and another.
Each thought you have creates a completely new pattern, one after the other. Consider what must be going on inside your head right now trying to comprehend the thoughts you're having about dark matter, dark energy, brain function, synapses. Now, consider what the brain must do to process that information, to decide what you think of dark matter, how can something be so huge and yet so inaccessible? Imagine how the brain can apply reason to the near infinite number of possible patterns in your head? Science can't even give us that answer yet.
Dark Matter Cloning
How the brain works is almost a complete mystery. So, what if another mystery is the brain's ability to interact with dark matter? What if every time an electrical signal is fired or chemicals are sent across a synaptic gap, it registers that impulse in dark matter that surrounds us, permeates us -- creating a dark matter copy of that action. This would essentially build a complete map of all the synapses in your brain, a model of you, perhaps a second consciousness that now exists in dark matter. When you die, the dark matter copy of your consciousness would disengage from your body and free to carry on living in an entirely different dimension. What's it powered by? Perhaps dark energy, the dark matter itself, something else?
We don't know but it's exciting to think about the possibilities. A real soul, an afterlife that exists in a real, physical world the size of -- even part of the universe! Let your imagination run wild with the limitless number of possibilities that might await. Your thoughts and memories captured outside your human existence. One could imagine that your consciousness would be able to communicate with other such dark matter constructs. You could you interact with friends and family -- or even other lifeforms from other worlds. Learn the answer to everything you wanted to know; what did Jesus look like, who was Jack the Ripper, what happened to Amelia Earhart, who really killed Kennedy.
What if this dark matter cloning process produced a log of every synaptic event like a film strip? A film strip that could be replayed to allow you to relive any part of your life -- or anyone else's for that matter. Have you ever wondered when you're dreaming how one part of your brain can make up stories and completely surprise another part of your brain? What if it's the dark matter clone exercising your synapses while you sleep? Who knows? The possibilities are endless.
Is This Really Possible?
Far fetched perhaps, but in some ways no more strange or exotic than dark matter itself, dark energy, or even how our own brain stores memory and rationalizes thought. Again, we're not trying to say anything happens to us after death. We're just saying, if an afterlife were to exist, it would need to be real and this scenario meets the criteria we established:
Actual matter, not some metaphysical, immaterial, spiritual concept. Dark matter is real, dark energy is real.
Connection to the neurons and synapses that create the consciousness in your brain. Electrical and chemical interaction between the synapses and dark matter copy those connections.
Answers to why we don't see souls, of the deceased. Dark matter cannot be detected by normal observation.
We're sure there are many other scenarios, many which no one has thought of or found yet -- but again, nobody knows.
Note:
This website will barely touch the surface of certain complex subjects; Astronomy, Physiology, Physics, Quantum Mechanics that even today's scientists don't completely understand. Our intent is to present an overview of the relevant aspects of these topics and then provide suggested search topics so you can explore them to your level of interest and satisfaction.