
How to turn into a tree after you die - shacharz
http://www.spiritscienceandmetaphysics.com/how-to-turn-into-a-tree-after-you-die/
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jwoah12
I immediately thought of the father trees from Ender's Game series when I saw
this.

~~~
logfromblammo
Same here. My immediate response to the headline was "design a metamorphosis
virus like the Descolada."

~~~
dllthomas
What went through my head was "Step 1: Be a piggie."

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gpmcadam
As I understood it, the "ashes" you receive post-cremation are actually the
ground remains of bones from all cremations that took place that day, and thus
you can't actually guarantee that it's "you" in the urn (or the tree), it's
actually just a large collection of the people cremated that day.

Apart from that, I love this idea. It actually throws up all sorts of strange
meta-physical questions about the self and who we really are.

Also, for added creepiness, could you be turned into, say, an orange grove? If
you were, would the people eating the fruit be somehow digesting ... you?
Strange.

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Sharlin
I'm probably being too prosaic, but do note that plants don't actually use any
matter from the soil they grow on besides water plus some minerals and
micronutrients. The carbon that constitutes most of the plant matter is
literally taken out of thin air via photosynthesis. Also, most of the
molecules that were a part of you a year ago are already a part of something
or someone else.

~~~
js2
Obligatory link to Feynman's explanation:

[http://youtu.be/N1pIYI5JQLE](http://youtu.be/N1pIYI5JQLE)

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delinquentme
Cremation: Guaranteeing that your chances of reanimation are as near to zero
as possible. Personally I'd go with cryonics, but thats after you move past
the coping mechanisms.

~~~
andyjohnson0
Since you mentioned coping mechanisms, a genuine but slightly OT question:

I wonder what the grieving process like for the surviving friends and family
of a deceased, cryopreserved person? Do they try to ignore the negative
aspects of the death because of the possibility that the deceased will be
brought back to life in the future? Or feel as sad as they would if cryonics
had not been used, because revival is unlikely and/or even if it did occur
would almost certainly happen in the far future? Or is there no difference.

I wonder because grief, while unpleasant, is important when dealing with the
death of others. Failure to grieve can cause long-term psychological problems.

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delinquentme
> Failure to grieve can cause long-term psychological problems.

Sure. But this presumes that one is a lesser evil.

I'd defer to you which is worse: The Void, or someone having mixed emotions
for a while.

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stinos
This makes me smile. These days, when most of the news is about the latest
gadget and tech stuff and connecting yourself to the cloud somehow, I am glad
there are still people coming up with fresh ideas involving not much
technology at all. Just seed and ashes in a paper cup. Awesome!

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super_mario
What if you plant the tree in your back yard, and it dies, or don't make it
for what ever reason?

Would that not be distressing to the surviving family members even more and
re-awaken the pain of loosing someone all over again?

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GotAnyMegadeth
Then you could cremate the tree and use it's ashes to grow another

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deletes
The correct answer. Life is a continuous process.

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yawz
_> the tree seed is nourished by and absorbs the nutrients from the ashes of
your body_

What's really left after the cremation anyway? Is there really anything left
that we can call "nutrients"?

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andyjohnson0
According to [1] its mainly pulverised bone, salts, and minerals. This appears
to provide some nutrition for plants - in the UK peoiple are being urged not
to scatter ashes in upland/moorland areas because the minerals are changing
the local soil composition and plant ecology [2].

[1] [http://www.cremationsolutions.com/All-About-Cremation-
Ashes-...](http://www.cremationsolutions.com/All-About-Cremation-
Ashes-c170.html)

[2] [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1508784/Cremation-
ash...](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1508784/Cremation-ashes-bring-
barren-mountains-to-life.html)

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islon
I have to agree that if every human became a tree after he dies we would
reforestate the whole world in no time!

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JoeAltmaier
Hm. People actually die slowly. If you planted a tree every time someone was
born, it would be far more effective!

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ballard
The Fountain

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caio1982
Totally! For those who missed it, in the movie there's a story about how a
civilization used to bury their people and they'd plant a seed in the
deceased's body/chest so it could grow from the inside and take the persons'
soul, or whatever there was in it, to the sky, to ascend it. And that's
somehow part of the plot of the movie too. Something like that, IIRC.

~~~
lttlrck
Reminds me of the Russian [1] who had a tree growing in his lung

[1] [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1169861/Shocked-
Russ...](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1169861/Shocked-Russian-
surgeons-open-man-thought-tumour--FIR-TREE-inside-lung.html)

~~~
deletes
Sounds implausible. It is more probable that he inhaled it and didn't realize
or is ashamed to admit it.

[http://journal.publications.chestnet.org/article.aspx?articl...](http://journal.publications.chestnet.org/article.aspx?articleID=1090121)

[http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2009/04/russian-man-did-not-
as...](http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2009/04/russian-man-did-not-aspirate-fir-
tree.html)

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rokhayakebe
What if you become an apple tree and people eat the fruits?

