If it is true that we survive physical death, then the world is not as we think we know it. Not all. It means that scientists have it wrong.
We have learned, through science, the the world is not as we see it anyway. We only know the world through the filter of our brains and our brains do not give us reality but it's version of it.
I am often stunned by the fact that there are radio waves all around us. That if I turn a radio on, I can hear music or talking or a play or whatever. If I twiddle the knob, I hear different noises. If I did not have the radio,I would not know these 'waves' existed.
My car journeys are often guided by the 'waves' my GPS picks up from the air which are beamed down from outer space.
I see a medium in the same way. We are like radios-we can pick up waves which we ohterwise would not know were there.
The very idea that we survive physical death is ridiculous, I know. It flies against all we are taught to think. How could it be possible? I have yet to come up with another sensible explanation for my own experiences and those of others.
It is unfortunate, I think, that this idea of surviving death is tied up with a belief in God. Many take it as proof that God exists. It is no such thing. It is evidence only we physical death is not the end of the personality. It does not offer any proof or suggestion that there is a God. Believing in life after death is not incompatible with atheism.
Scientists often say that to explain the inexplicable by coming up with another inexplicable explanation - ie. God is plain daft and just creates another question with no answer-who created God?
Yet, the only explanation they have come up with is : there was nothing and suddenly there was a Big Bang and here we are. How can nothing bang?
As I write this I am filled with such a deep longing, an endless awe. Arising in me when ever I ponder the enormity of our universe, of our existence. I cannot fathom it. Nor can you. No one can. We are not equipped to.
Look up at the stars one clear night and think about how far away those lights are. Think about how we are on one planet in one solar system that is in one galaxy that is just one of many billions of galaxies in the universe
Think about how there is no end. Infinity. Impossible to imagine. No end. Nothing beyond, there is no beyond because it doesn't end. If it does end, what is on the other side? There is no other side.
You see how it just boggles the mind?
Is it any wonder that we in our fear create Gods of whom we are afraid and whom we must obey or perish? I can certainly understand how contemplating the sky, the universe, can fill one with fear.
I have come to accept that the questions I have will go unanswered. At least whilst I am in this physical realm. Perhaps forever though I think that if I continue on after my body does, then I shall find out more. (I want to know why birds walk across the road when they can fly.)
Scientists say that those of us who do not accept their view, that there is nothing after physical death, are afraid of the truth, are afraid that this is all there is. Maybe so. yet they too are afraid. They are afraid that their view of the world is wrong. They are afraid that the meanings they have created are wrong. We all fear that. The meanings we create are what enables us to live. If our meaning creations are demolished it is incredibly frightening. It what 'nervous breakdowns' are about. Scientists seem to think they are different. that they are objective. They are not any different to the rest of us. Objectivity is not possible. everything is subjective. We are each completely unable to think outside our brains or other than through the meanings we have created.
Think about it though, if we truly do survive death, it alters everything we know. It means nothing is as it appears to be. It also really means we have nothing to fear even though many of us have been taught that all that awaits us after physical death is suffering.
First Quarter Review:) Warning a LONG post!
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4 comments:
It seems to me, a bit, that science is also a religion. There is so often a reluctance to entertain new ideas in a group that claims to be always seeking. I'm amused when I hear "that's not scientifically possible," when so many times that statement has been, oh, so wrong.
So, from my perspective, when scientists say life "ends" at death, I have no confidence it's true. That energy, that spark has to mean something, whether it be plant or animal. Whether we whiz around in a mixed "soup" out there somewhere, or we remain a whole spirit throughout, I'm not sure.
You would know this better than I.
I found both this post and the next to be extremely thought provoking. Thank you for posting them.
There is much we don't know, much we can't prove but do know. And an open mind is always a good thing!
Remember, too, that not all gods that were created were fearsome creatures. Some do believe in benevolence. Have a friendly entity "out there" can be a great comfort, and I don't think the idea of energy coalescing is far fetched.
In each succeeding era, age, civilisation - call it what you will - man acquires more knowledge. We are the sum total of our pasts, knowing now more than we did then, but still not knowing what we have yet to learn - in existences to come. Maybe not on this planet, in this galaxy, but elsewhere. "God" to me is the sum total of entities I have yet to become, with more knowledge than I have yet (or may ever)gained. Most of the world's deities from time immemorial have the same fundamental beliefs of the goodness and humanity of Man, but just as there is night and day, ying and yang, good and evil,so we need to imagine a good and a judging god. Today we see in society too many godless youths with no moral compass - the good and judging gods have been our moral compasses - it is just a pity that the man made dogma just serves to bog us down in untruths and fears.
Colin, thank you for this post. My experiences have been somewhat different from yours - why wouldn't they be? Our lives have been different and similar in various ways, so of course our spiritual and psychological needs would be far different. I can't help but think of that bit of Christian scripture in
1Corinthians13: 12-13, where it is written (using a modern English translation), "Now we see as in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these thre; and the greatest of these is love." We humans are so limited. We cannot possibly know what amazing things are in store for us. This oft-quoted part of the Christian Bible is one of its most spiritual parts I think, because it comes from the heart. Love is not just butterflies and peace symbols. It can be, as you experienced, a gut wrenching healing process. A simple presence; a witness to our pain and suffering as well as rejoicing in our moments of joy and celebration.
I had a similar experience to yours, except nothing near as earth shattering. I was close to giving up. I felt a Presence with me, not me, other than me, a warm, gentle presence.
On another occasion, when I was older, I was brought up short by a far more disturbing Presence. It was also loving, but disturbing because at that point in my spiritual development, I needed to be disturbed. It awoken me from my foolishness and made me realize that the things of the Spirit and the Universe we live in are serious indeed. I'd say I was awestruck in the most elemental meaning of that word.
And yet your experiences - and mine - and those of others who will no doubt post here (or won't) - are mere glimpses into the keyhole. None of us should be so arrogant to assume that we have the whole picture. That's why they call it FAITH.
I think whatever one's belief system - whether with or without a God - one can decide to "use" one's beliefs for love, light and growth or one can take them and twist them for evil, darkness and chaos. And if there is judgment, I believe that is what we are judged on. A dear friend of mine talks about "taking a lot of classes in Heaven" for people who have done evil. That is a paradigm that makes sense to me. The soul can chose to grow or not. I also believe that the ones who may seem the sickest on this earth are the ones who may surprise us in Heaven.
My 2 cents.
Thanks for the post, Colin!
Joan
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