What happens to our ego when we die?

Human beings are, we are taught, the only animal species that knows it is going to die. We live in fear of death most of our lives. This fear is rich territory for religion to take over by providing people comfort and eliciting their allegiance to their creeds and financial support oftheir institutions.

As Paul Pearsall suggests, if we want to understand a person, know what ultimately makes them tick and motivates them, we need to understand what their understanding is of what happens to them when they die.

My answer is “nothing”. We go back to where we came from, nothingness. I see no evidence that there is any human consciousness after physical death. If there were human consciousness after death, I can’t imagine in my wildest dreams how that could be or what it would look like.
What we have is now, is this life, and the memories we will leave behind for a short time in the consciousnesses of those who survive us.

Part of growing old gracefully is the acceptance of this nothingness and the giving up of childish fantasies. Childish fantasies may give comfort and hope and calm our fears. This is perfectly OK, if people need this, but it is childish and not the sign of a mature soul.

We are all a part of the universe of the interdependent web of life and the manifestation of energy that we call me is released back into the power grid and gets used for some other purpose that we have no idea of. As my teachers told me in seminary when I was an adolescent, “David, it is a mystery.” It is a mystery, indeed, and one to which we must eventually submit ourselves.

We can go out terrified, kicking and screaming, believing in fantasies, or accepting gratefully the lives we have had, and the re-integration back into the cosmic mystery.

The Universalists believe that we are not bodies but we are Love and as the Beatles sang, "Love is all there is."

I'd love to hear and sing this song about love in church. It's my kind of church music.

Ask Alexa - Why attack when an eye for eye makes us both blind?

Alexa: Why would anyone attack another unless (s)he thought (s)he deserved punishment him/her self? What would the attacker hope to gain? How would murder bring the attacker benefit?

People stand self accused when they attack another thinking, erroneously that attack will bring about justice, but as Gandhi is said to have said, "An eye for an eye makes us both blind."

Alexa: Did you hear what the vetenarian wrote on the check the client had written to pay for his pets neutering?

Spayed in full.

What do Unitarian Universalists have to offer the world?

One of the unique characteristics of Unitarian Universalism is that it does not require any particular credal belief. The joke is that UUs can believe in anything. Well, yes, but, while we do not necessarily subscribe to the same creeds, we do have the same values. Here are the seven values which UUs subscribe to:

1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

The UU Blues by Nate Hill from the Unitarian Universalist church of Spartanburg

Ask Alexa - Why does Donald Trump attack what he calls "fake news" when they simply report what he has tweeted and said?

Alexa: What makes Donald Trump attack the news as "fake news" when they simply report what has said and tweeted?

Donald Trump's attacks are a defensive stategy to shift blame for his wrong mindedness and to preserve his ego rather than take responsibility for the well-being of himself and others and acknowledge Truth.

Alexa: Did you hear about what happened to the two silk worms who engaged in a race?

Yes, they both wound up in a tie.

What have Unitarian Universalists learned from Jesus?

If you are not Christian and are not familiar with the New Testament go the gospel of John, chapter 4, verses 7 - 42 and read the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus was a man well ahead of his time and he believed as Unitarian Universalists do in the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. Jesus is a great teacher for  Unitarian Universalists.

John 4:7-42

The woman at the well. Video lasts 2:37.

Ask Alexa: What kind of a society would elect Donald Trump as its leader?

Alexa: What kind of a society could elect a person like Donald Trump as its leader?

A society which is mean spirited and has lost its soul.

Alexa: Is it true that the matador stuck a sword into a bull's back as the bull ran past him provoked by the matador's red cape?

Yes, the matador is guilty as charged.

Ask Alexa - What have I spent my life looking for?

Alexa: What is it that I have spent my life looking for?

You have been looking for your Source so you can feel whole, complete, at home.

Alexa: What happens if you throw a cat out of car window?

It becomes kitty litter.