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I was wondering how many out there are in a similar situation.
I have had enough strange things happen to me that I am sure that we continue on but that is not enough at all, for me, to prove the existence of a God.
There may be other beings who assist us, I don't know.
I have not had much experience with anything that is or has not been humane.
I did have a dream once, but it may have only been a dream. It was a grassy area and people were milling about in small groups discussing religion or philosophy. This guy came up to me claiming to be Jesus. I said I did not believe in him and he said 'fine, that's ok' and just wandered off. I had, at the time, the impression that he was a thought form built from all these years of collective worship by humans.
If there is a god, It cannot be the biblical one who is petty and vindictive. It must be a very peculiar god who seems to listen and answer prayers on a whim.
I do think that there are 'guardian angels' which I think are some sort of space beings. You notice that angels in the bible can be good and/or not so good. Normal beings from anywhere would probably present that way.
What do you think of God and/or other 'helper' beings?
i would love to know more about your experiences that've convinced you that we carry on in some way after we die.
personally, i think there's a whole lot more to reality than we know (or could possibly know), but i don't know if i believe in a God (or Gods, for that matter) as such. i go through existential crises every now and then, and lately (over the past 2 yrs) have become very interested in insights/visions/experiences people have had through the use of psychedelic entheogens (ayahuasca, DMT, etc). i am planning on doing an ayahuasca retreat in Peru sometime this year and have read hundreds of "trip reports". if you haven't yet researched the subject, i encourage you to look into it. you can youtube joe rogen (yes, the comedian)'s videos on youtube (search "joe rogen DMT").
you should also read dr. strassman's book - "DMT: The Spirit Molecule".
anyway, i think there's many paths to delving into the deeper aspects of reality, meditation being another (in addition to psychedelics). it's a fascinating subject, really.
(note to mods: my post is not intended to encourage the use of illegal substances - i am merely trying to convey my interest in the subject and foster further discussion. thanks.)
Last edited by ElysianEagle; 02-08-2013 at 03:36 PM..
Other than a Bill Clinton moment or two I've never gotten into drugs. I have meditated, though and read some. I've had several experiences. Some are of a very personal nature and would have no interest for someone else. Others seemed 'magical', minor miracles - though I believe there are reasons behind everything and that we just are not advanced enough to know what's going on.
My belief system moves more to the Asian. I believe in the chakra system and that these things should be opened in order, naturally. It is my understanding that some drug experiences can force an opening out of order with unpleasant repercussions.
I have heard some people say that an 'angel' intervened in their life and it restored their faith. I have trouble believing that just because another more advanced life form exists that it points in any way to a god. I also believe that just because a life form has evolved further than we have is no reason to 'worship' them as a god. I'm thinking of the cargo cults and their worship of the Western man who arrived in an airplane. We don't want to behave in such a humiliating fashion, do we? Won't that just make us appear dumber to 'them'?
I don't think the substances that you mention are necessarily illegal here.
Will you post your experiences with them? The nearest I've gotten is to read some of Carlos Castaneda's books.
Good post. To answer the question, I've never doubted the existence of God because, for me, it's like saying, "I know my hair is brown." In other words, it's more of a feeling of knowing, i.e., "gnostic," which surpasses belief; it's a certainty of feeling that I'm always being looked after (whether by angels, spirit guides, ancestors, etc.).
At the same time, though, I don't believe that every serendipidous, coincidental, or otherwise unusually or seemingly miraculous thing that has occurred in my life has been due to God's control. I look at it this way: it feels like God handed me a road map and said, "Check this out. You can stay on this interstate and the other one, and you have plenty of room to traverse certain byways as well, but it's up to you to decide if you want to make a right turn, twelve lefts, stay on the interstates, or drive in circles. Just try to have fun and don't upset people or yourself too much, because you'll be back in no time anyway."
(I've always felt that God and the beings that do assist us have a galloping sense of humour)
Regarding that dream, it sounds like you "met" or subconsciosly would have liked to have met Jesus (who was, I believe, one of this world's great prophets but certainly not the only one). He (or your subconscious mind) was showing you that he truly didn't care what you thought, because he doesn't judge people. He was/is likely a very loving, forgiving being, and if you don't believe in him, he more than likely believes in you. But I don't want to get too pedantic -- religion and politics, you know...
I'm Catholic, but I don't think there's a single negative energy associated with God and/or Jesus. I do believe evil exists, but I ignore/am indifferent to where it comes from or originates, even when it strikes me. I go on the premise that, if you give a lot of energy to something, it'll come right up and knock on your door.
Maybe nothing is there and I have it all wrong, but it just makes sense to me to go with that which is the most positive. It's like having a good insurance policy on faith. To me, the Bible is a great blend of allegory, symbolism, melodrama, and truth, which makes me the typical cafeteria Catholic, I guess.
I believe I'm starting to agree more with the views of spiritualists on the afterlife. The thinking goes that God is a form of energy. The ultimate creative energy if you will. According to messages purportedly from deceased spirits, there are different levels in the afterlife. The ultimate goal of the soul is to "climb the ladder" so to speak and move up the levels to become one with the ultimate energy. It is said the soulform changes colors as they progress energetically. Certainly can't say for sure but it is tough for me to accept the old man sitting on a throne tossing thunderbolts ala Zeus.
There is no god. Anyone who has ever seen or felt or just "knows" there is a god is delusional. Don't believe me...did you dream last night. Yes, you did. Your mind is fully capable of making you believe whatever it wants. And you do it every single day for hours when you go to sleep. So next time someone tells you they've seen or experienced anything supernatural, remember that human perception cannot be trusted.
So where does this leave us?
When you remove the idea of "souls" we are left with one very difficult conclusion...we are all the same mind. What sees through your eyes and what sees through my eyes are the exact same mind. If our brains were somehow to connect, we would realize this instantly. And, all matter is just as capable of being other versions of that same "mind". Not one molecule in your body is the same 7 lbs you were born. All that is truly the same is the pattern. Matter is the "soul", you just have to arrange it correctly to make something that thinks.
Where do we go from here?
Be good to others, because they're really you. Raise your children as best as you can, because your raising yourself.
Who cares about all this rhetoric and debate? Not me. I've got multiple degrees in theology, but none of that education has ever ''proven'' anything to me.
Living is what has ''proven'' it to me and then it's not even a scientific ''fact'', but a matter of ''faith''.
I believe there is a ''god'', a creative, intelligent, loving life force. I believe in guardian spirits. I believe that the death of the biological body is not an end, but a transformation.
I believe I'm starting to agree more with the views of spiritualists on the afterlife. The thinking goes that God is a form of energy. The ultimate creative energy if you will. According to messages purportedly from deceased spirits, there are different levels in the afterlife. The ultimate goal of the soul is to "climb the ladder" so to speak and move up the levels to become one with the ultimate energy. It is said the soulform changes colors as they progress energetically. Certainly can't say for sure but it is tough for me to accept the old man sitting on a throne tossing thunderbolts ala Zeus.
I don't believe in any "God", but I do agree with what you wrote above. In my readings I have come across the levels of ascension many times. I believe we have many lessons to learn in our many incarnations. I certainly believe that our soul lives on. Then I believe we become one with the ultimate energy.
My mom died 10 years ago this coming November. She had a very strong believe in God and Jesus, although she never went to church. When she got sick with cancer we talked about what happens when you die. She told me, "When you die, you go blah." Asked what she meant, she explained you just were dead, nothing else, no more. She did not believe in any afterlife and did not believe in reincarnation.
The last five days of her life she was semi to almost totally comatose. However, there were (a lot) of moments when she would reach out her arms and call out, "Danny, come back." Danny was her brother that had died as a teen. She talked to her brother on and off those last few days and I knew she had someone taking her to the other side.
Makes me sigh to realize just how wrong she was.
By "soulform" do you mean something like auras? Or more like the whole soul changes colors? I've never heard the term soulform and am interested.
It depends on the definition of god. Several posts here resonate with my own perspective.
I think there is something out there but is also within that connects us all. What ever it is, is the same force that created life and earth. We are aware that everything is elemental and energetic, ourselves included.
My equivalent to god is the Universe, it is the everything and a mystery. We can see some parts of it and we can't see others. The Univese can be 'vengeful' as well as 'giving'. But with the Universe it's not 'good' or 'bad', it just is. We are the ones that identify with this good and bad thing. Which leads to karma, duality and balance.
(Wish I was on my computer so I could properly quote and respond)
As for reincarnation or afterlife, it's a part of the workings of the Universe. What happens to us I can only guess from an overview of all points of view and even then it is still a mystery.
Either time is linear and we do reincarnate, or we can just plug in to all the memories of those that came before us. Perhaps time is always ever happening (past, present, future at the same time) and we somehow 'slide' over to another realm. I think we do reincarnate (in the linear form- yet time is cyclical) but also there is another realm that we are aware of when we are there.
We are energy as is everything else. Atoms, molecules, electrons, neutrons, protons - everything has these things. These things do not go away, they just change form. What ever intelligence is out there and is called god or what ever is also within. I believe that there is also a coexistence of free will and destiny (associated with karma and past lives). Again, it's all about duality, none is 'bad' and none is 'good' in the Universe. People who 'hate' life live bad lives. To humans, this is how we see it- unless you can get past it and understand that you get what you give, it's the way of the Universe.
RE: DMT- unless you have good people you trust around you and you don't have an issue with totally losing all self-control (something very much like passing out) for a few minutes, it might be an interesting experience- if you can get past the vulnerability aspect. I would not do it myself. However, I'm not against natural 'medicines' either. There are other tools for exploration that are not so intense.
Good post. To answer the question, I've never doubted the existence of God because, for me, it's like saying, "I know my hair is brown." In other words, it's more of a feeling of knowing, i.e., "gnostic," which surpasses belief; it's a certainty of feeling that I'm always being looked after (whether by angels, spirit guides, ancestors, etc.).
At the same time, though, I don't believe that every serendipidous, coincidental, or otherwise unusually or seemingly miraculous thing that has occurred in my life has been due to God's control. I look at it this way: it feels like God handed me a road map and said, "Check this out. You can stay on this interstate and the other one, and you have plenty of room to traverse certain byways as well, but it's up to you to decide if you want to make a right turn, twelve lefts, stay on the interstates, or drive in circles. Just try to have fun and don't upset people or yourself too much, because you'll be back in no time anyway."
(I've always felt that God and the beings that do assist us have a galloping sense of humour)
Regarding that dream, it sounds like you "met" or subconsciosly would have liked to have met Jesus (who was, I believe, one of this world's great prophets but certainly not the only one). He (or your subconscious mind) was showing you that he truly didn't care what you thought, because he doesn't judge people. He was/is likely a very loving, forgiving being, and if you don't believe in him, he more than likely believes in you. But I don't want to get too pedantic -- religion and politics, you know...
I'm Catholic, but I don't think there's a single negative energy associated with God and/or Jesus. I do believe evil exists, but I ignore/am indifferent to where it comes from or originates, even when it strikes me. I go on the premise that, if you give a lot of energy to something, it'll come right up and knock on your door.
Maybe nothing is there and I have it all wrong, but it just makes sense to me to go with that which is the most positive. It's like having a good insurance policy on faith. To me, the Bible is a great blend of allegory, symbolism, melodrama, and truth, which makes me the typical cafeteria Catholic, I guess.
Well, the Jesus I saw felt rather empty, but that could have been a subconscious projection as I was sent to a fundamentalist church as a kid and found that wanting.
I cannot assume that there is a god just because of my feelings. Feelings can be manipulated by certain entities. I do not think they should be trusted. Just as we sometimes have 'lesser' mystical experiences in this life, for certain if there were a god, It would be powerful enough to generate experiences that would make us certain.
I do not like the god as depicted in the Old Testament, either, and there is a lot of Paul that I find uninspiring. Pretty much, if you just lifted most of the red letter sections from the bible, you might have a pretty good religion but I think a lot has been lifted from other religions and just used to portray the life of Jesus.
I think the Buddhists probably might have it right, not claiming to know or that you believe.
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