You Are More Than A Body; [How To Never Die In Real Life]10 min read

“You are so much more than your body because you are connected to the universe and have a soul – and because you have a soul, you can never die (in real life)”.

The above statement is the premise of my argument here. It may sound profound to a theist and ridiculous to an atheist, but let me quickly point out that this has nothing to do with religion, spirituality, or some other philosophical gymnastics. Okay, there may be a few gymnastics here, but I promise, it won’t be much…just enough to get you thinking.

I like being pragmatic, and detest saying things that are not tethered to reality. So, let’s dive right in…

Question: Have you ever gotten wasted?

If your answer is yes, then you know (just like I do) that alcohol – when drank excessively – unleashes a limbic self within us, which then carries our bodies about, saying and doing all the things we would not do if “we” were conscious. 

It is not rocket science, humans behave differently under the influence of entheogenic substances, love, fear, or some other influencers. This is why laws are made to be lenient when people are drunk, enchanted (e.g. passion killing a lover), afraid (e.g. agreeing to an unfair term when held under duress), and so on. 

It is hard to think (or accept) that we are not what we think we are. But then, I guess the important question should be, “who or what do we think we are?”.

Are we the water, blood, tissues, marrows, bones, cartilages, tendons, muscles, sinews, skin, and synapses that all work together in harmony? Are we the gut bacteria that help digest our food? Are we the air that fills our lungs and oxygenates our cells? are we the sunlight that nourishes the plants which we eat? are we the hydrogen, carbon, or iron molecules in our body right now? what are we?

considering 300 million cells die and are replaced every minute in our bodies, are we really this body? isn’t it more reasonable to consider ourselves a sort of temporary cluster of the universe? a sort of “force field” that binds the aimless particles in the universe and gives them a purpose, and direction – even if it is temporarily?

…

What Are You?

Think about it; the food (water, meat, bread, etc.) you ate has been used to build up your body. Those seemingly dead things are the things that are now the building blocks of your cells, and your cells are the building blocks of you. In order words; you are the dead universe made alive.

Hence, we can say that life is a temporary state of purposeful and intentional existence of the universe.

It is a mystery and a miracle why this is. it is a miracle that we are alive and experiencing life. It would seem life is only a transient state of things; because sooner or later, we are bound to die – i.e. all the particles of the universe which had found and worked in harmony within us would be dispersed as dust, and finally as atoms drifting through the void of space.

If we are the universe in motion, does it really make any sense to say we die? considering we were never one thing, is it reasonable to say this thing (a body) is dead? For all we know, the body you had five years ago is long dead and drifting in nature as another nutrient to be eaten and used as the building blocks of another “living body” – be it a plant or animal. We move from one life form to another – never really going anywhere. 

“We are all connected; To each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe, atomically”

– Neil deGrasse Tyson

And, perhaps your only tangible reason to hold on to a sense of self is the idea of having a soul – i.e. the idea of being a sort of individual entity outside the confines of your biology. But, are you even that? is this idea you have of yourself even true?

*silence*

As I watched him make jokes, tear up, and advice; it struck me that this was what he truly is – his intentions. I recall the instance where I got drunk and spilled all the intentions of my heart. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that what we consider ourselves is simply a compilation of all the intentions.

[…] when you hate a person, that hate causes you to move your body (a brief lively part of the universe) away or against that person. When you love someone, that love causes you to move your body towards or for that person. But our internal world is more than hate and love; we have fear, worries, hopes, excitement, lusts, beliefs, shame, pride, etcetera, etcetera. it is no surprise then that they are called emotions – the feelings which “drive us”.

It is the reason what we pay attention to affects us so much: the news, social media, books, lectures, sermons, gossips, discussions, etc. Our intentions are constructed, demolished, and shaped by these things, and they cause us to move our bodies accordingly.

You are more than a body.

The universe stirs within you. And by your intentions, it is controlled – the universe under your whim.

None of us is different. We are all one and the same – a single unified universe – elements dancing in ecstasy – beautiful and scary at the same time.

…

It Is Not About You [Why Is Harming Others Bad?]

If you ask me, I would say it is our intentions that are considered our souls: A person who has pure intentions has a pure soul, whilst a malevolent soul continually contemplates evil. It is something fundamental in all religions and cultures. Everyone intuitively knows this. Even if, they do not understand it.

I believe, this lack of understanding has created a huge rift in the world today. Religion (which means to be bound together under a common oath) fails in its duty to bring humans together as one because most religions (by nature) are “either-or” in their approach – they do not condole anything besides their “truth”. But the truth is much larger and (thankfully) all-encompassing. Science knows this and is humbled in its proclamation of “truth” or “laws”. [Gain better Insight here: How Religion Got In The Way]

If we adopt a little “scientific reasoning” to the situation, we’d find that Souls (in the sense of a collection of our intentions, ideas, personality, etc.) can be pure and unpure, and it is unpure souls that ruin everything. I’d explain.

People think the danger of hurting someone is having them take vengeance on you. They are wrong. The danger of hurting someone is that you become a person who fears others would do harm to you. When you cheat, you suspect others of being partial. When you steal, you fear being stolen from. And dishonest people seldom believe even their friends. It’s like the universe turning on itself – the more you hurt others, the more you’re damaged.

It is not strange then that when you trust others, they trust you in return – or at least, you expect them to trust you in return. Same with being kind, truthful, faithful, etcetera. Basically, the more good you put out, the more good you expect. 

So, the “evil person” is in constant anticipation of evil, whilst the “good” person is in constant anticipation of good. Interestingly, since people seldom reward evil with good, nor good with evil, evil gets to the evil person, whilst good finds the good one. It is almost as fundamental as maths. 

Sure, sometimes things get messy, and good people suffer. But, perhaps it is because evil misses its target. I’m very aware that the world is not fair, but consider that if people were kinder to each other (especially those who wild the most impact – i.e. Leaders), then there would be less and less need to think violence towards your neighbors. Interestingly, the advancement of nations can be tracked using the Corruption Perception Index (a measure of how much people distrust their leaders). 

If behaviors that are hurtful to others (such as bribery, cheating, lying, or killing) are now normal in where you find yourself, then something is terribly wrong – the universe is at war with itself.

…

How To Never Die In Real Life

Our actions affect others; and they translate our actions to others…so much so that they do it on our behalf. I’d explain:

Think about a leader (who leads by example). Think about a man of valor – a general in an army. Consider that the soldiers are almost as courageous as their general – willing to rush into the heat of war without thinking twice about it. Think about a religious leader (Jesus, Muhammed, your Pastor or Imam, etc.) consider how their followers try to emulate them as much as possible, most times without even thinking. Think about your Parents/guidance/mentor/role models and how you try to do things the way they would have. Those are the intentions of your leaders moving your body – it is your leader living within and through you. It is your leader not dying.

Yes, you can be immortal. You may never truly die. For as long as someone emulates your smile, handwriting, demeanor, favorite phrase, forgiving spirit, resilience, hope, etcetera; you are living in them and through them – because you are still controlling a piece of the universe – which is what life really is.

If you understand the argument that all of life is the universe moving in a certain way – determined by certain intentions – then you would understand that there is a way to never die in real life – and it is by sharing your soul (ideas, emotions, intentions, etc.) with others.

And there are a lot of good people still alive today – Jesus is still alive, same as the Buddha, Nelson Mandela, Carle Sagan, Isaac Newton, and yes, your ancestors. As long as you still speak the language, eat the food, dress that way, or value that thing, they live on – they live in you. 

Sadly, a lot of bad people still live on through people – murderers, rapists, liars, thieves, deceivers, Hitlers, and so on. As long as lying, intolerance, brutality, hate, and all forms of malevolence exist, they live on.

“Hurt people, hurt people. That’s how pain patterns get passed on, generations after generations. Break the chain today. Meet anger with sympathy, contempt with compassion, and cruelty with kindness. Greet grimaces with smiles. Forgive and forget about finding fault. Love is the weapon of the future”

– Yehuda Berg.

…

Conclusion – You Are So Much Than Your Body

Ultimately, you would live on both physically and metaphorically because you are way more than a body. You are more than what anyone or yourself have made you believe – you are a force of nature. You are the universe in a nutshell.