Bar Talk: Heaven
On Monday night at work I was just passing the time and talking with some of the folks in the bar and I started to soapbox and share a bit on what I think my idea of Heaven would be. It inspiration came back in about '92 or '93 but it wasn't until recently that I played around with the idea a bit more. Heck, I dunno if it's even original - it's surely inspired by technology and by what I've read and watched.
So here's the deal. When you die you're put into a room. That room is made in a way so as to be pleasing and comfortable to you. There is a sense of warmth and a sense of belonging in that room. There are no threats and no pain (initially). In front of you there is a terminal. The interface for this terminal would be something new to you but at the same time totally familiar. In other words, you've never seen it before but you would totally know how to operate it.
Think of the terminal as a Tivo or DVR. This device can allow you to go back and relive any moment in your life over again. Wait for it... Now, you could live it as you with all the knowledge and memories you have now or you could live it as you were then. Or you could live it as your 20 y/o self. Endless permutations. Additionally, you could live that moment as any individual who experienced that moment with you. And when doing so you could live it as them, as yourself, or as a combination (and go on living as them for as long as you'd want to). You could observe or you could toggle the settings and actually experience and feel what that person was feeling in that moment.
And here's the twist. You could also go back and relive a moment and choose to make a different decision or act differently and you could in turn, live from that moment on. Your experience DVR would allow you to set and choose an amount of time to stay "in life" or you could simply have a "tap out" setting. Additionally, you could put yourself back in your life and turn off all knowledge of the console or of your being in "heaven" and simply live for a predetermined amount of time.
If you think about it, you could essentially live lifetime after lifetime.
Of course, one man's heaven could easily be another man's hell.
So here's the deal. When you die you're put into a room. That room is made in a way so as to be pleasing and comfortable to you. There is a sense of warmth and a sense of belonging in that room. There are no threats and no pain (initially). In front of you there is a terminal. The interface for this terminal would be something new to you but at the same time totally familiar. In other words, you've never seen it before but you would totally know how to operate it.
Think of the terminal as a Tivo or DVR. This device can allow you to go back and relive any moment in your life over again. Wait for it... Now, you could live it as you with all the knowledge and memories you have now or you could live it as you were then. Or you could live it as your 20 y/o self. Endless permutations. Additionally, you could live that moment as any individual who experienced that moment with you. And when doing so you could live it as them, as yourself, or as a combination (and go on living as them for as long as you'd want to). You could observe or you could toggle the settings and actually experience and feel what that person was feeling in that moment.
And here's the twist. You could also go back and relive a moment and choose to make a different decision or act differently and you could in turn, live from that moment on. Your experience DVR would allow you to set and choose an amount of time to stay "in life" or you could simply have a "tap out" setting. Additionally, you could put yourself back in your life and turn off all knowledge of the console or of your being in "heaven" and simply live for a predetermined amount of time.
If you think about it, you could essentially live lifetime after lifetime.
Of course, one man's heaven could easily be another man's hell.