Summation to this point:

So, these are the arguments I have put forward so far. First, that you exist as part of a long line of specific actions each totally dependent on the previous actions for it’s existence, stretching all the way back to the Big Bang. Second, that we are moving away from the Big Bang and that what we think of as time is our distance covered at the velocity we are moving. Third, that there are fields that exist all around us that exist across the entire universe and that we are passing through those fields all the time. Fourth, that the interaction of the energy from the Big Bang and those fields gives rise to the matter that makes up all the things in the universe. Got it so far? Admittedly some of this might turn out to be disproven at some point, but for the most part it is my understanding that this is all true.

Now, some thoughts given the above assumptions;

It is my understanding that if an electron has mass because it is interacting with the Higgs Field and we are moving through that field, then each electron is actually a trail of interactions leading back towards the Big Bang. I will postulate that if we could somehow energize the exact part of the Higgs Field that held a given electron 5 seconds ago with the same energy, then we would have the same electron exist again. Now that is certainly not something we could ever prove. At least not that I can think of. But I don’t think it’s that big of a leap of faith to accept that it might be possible, do you? Well, let’s take that a step further, If an electron that existed 5 seconds ago could be recreated simply by energizing the Higgs Field at that specific point in Spacetime, then how likely is it that the rest of the parts of an atom could be recreated in a similar manner? If that were the case, and it doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch, then everything that existed 5 seconds ago could be recreated if so energized. Even you.

Whew! Now I’m opening a Pandoras Box!

What that would mean is that you are a trail of paths taken through a field(s) by the energy passing through them. It would mean you are already immortal. No soul required.

Now before you start accusing me of heresy here, I’m not saying you don’t HAVE one, I’m just offering a possible explanation for your physical existence in the current universe.

Now for a really unsettling thought; If this were true, then every single thing you ever did would exist forever as a trail through a field. And if thoughts could be attributed to neural activity at a given time, then every thought you ever had would be preserved as well. Keep that in mind the next time you’re inclined to do something stupid.

As unsettling as this is, it is a backward-looking explanation of reality. That we are where we are because we chose certain paths through spacetime. That if there was another wave of energy coming behind us along those same paths that we would exist again in that previous time. That everything would exist again in that previous time. We would never know of course, because we are on this wave of energy, not a different one.

Now let’s look forward. Remember before I asked you to choose a course of action? Stand up or remain seated? Whichever course you chose put you on a specific path, but we agreed that before you made that choice that both possibilities had an equal chance of existing. You could either stand up or sit down. I would like to postulate that that unchosen path still exists behind us. That as we move, we choose a path. But if there were another wave of energy behind us, we could choose a different path. Both paths exist.

So, now we have the scenario where even though the younger “you” exists somewhere, there are also versions of you where you took a different path and thus were a different person. Nothing special required. Just another trip through the field that makes your world.

I should like to point out that we are entering the area of free will here. If you think that there is only one path that can be taken and that it must be this one, then you are an advocate of Determinism. Determinism says that everything is already laid out for us, that we really don’t have the choices we think we do. If that were the case, then this whole scenario would certainly be less complicated. I can tell you that many Physicists are wrestling with that sort of question all the time. So, let me tell you about two things that advocate for each position. The first we have previously talked about. Superposition. An electron, or whatever, can and is, in multiple places at once until you measure it. The act of measuring it is free will. You can measure it anywhere you want and it will be there. The next example is something called Quantum Entanglement. This is where you can take two particles and link them in such a way that anything that happens to one particle instantly happens to the other. This occurs no matter how far apart they are. That means that if I put one particle here and the other on the moon and if I do something to this particle, that one will react instantly. As nutty as this sounds, it is true and has been demonstrated. The problem with this is that nothing can move faster than the speed of light. Not even information. So, if that’s the case how did the particle on the moon “know” what was happening to the particle on the Earth? Unless of course it’s state had been pre-determined to begin with. I do not have an answer to this phenomenon. Either does anyone else, yet. But my money is on free will with perhaps a small dose of Determinism here and there.