@EmperorNero,
salima;159512 wrote:
i was just thinking this morning that i have no hope of reward in paradise, because it would be boring...
but it had something to do with making this world not as worthless as i once thought it was, and wondering if there could ever really be anything better, no matter how much i have complained about it in my life. maybe if we just learn how to work it right...
The value of life in relation to the physical world is not very high for any human, although culturally, we have very high values - at least we hope we do - and we can make the value of our lives higher too! I think we can't generalize life by what we experience in the physical, cultural or other worlds or cross them over because one is, more-or-less, independent from the other. Your a human and I think from the start you're very worthy to be here! Find what makes you happy - make your own paradise here! Love yourself - that's the most important thing. Don't wait until you die to go somewhere promised to be better.
HexHammer;159513 wrote:Maybe to see our granchildren grow and prosper, to guard and guide our friends and family ..Imo there's endless of reasons.
That depends if procreation is a product of fear, or desire.
Personally I believe culture instilled in us from an early age that those values you mentioned, such as creating a family, are good reasons to stay in the physical world. These are all valid values (from a cultural point-of-view, unfortunately not beneficial for the physical world), and sure, if you were to build your life on these values, acquiring a family and friends, your position in the "cultural world" could set you up to achieve a happy and good lifestyle. Although lifestyles are illusions for true happiness and in many beliefs are not the reason for life.
jeeprs;159717 wrote:hah. Good story. But I think Mishmish has a serious point there. People do have these experiences, and it is important, for them anyway, to understand what they mean. That I why I referred to the R M Bucke book. It actually provides a theoretical basis for the idea of enlightenment. It is subtitled 'a study in the evolution of the human mind'. Of course, it is not the kind of evolutionary theory that most of your straight ahead scientists will recognize. It says the human species is evolving towards a state called cosmic consciousness, which is as different to ordinary consciousness as human consciousness is to animal consciousness. Bucke then illustrates his theory with reference to a whole series of legendary prophets and sages, including JC, Mohammed, The Buddha, and many others.
There is another guy on the forum who is enthusiastic about hallucinogens. But his posts on topics other than his pet subject show (in my view) lack of insight and lack of education. It is true that you can have glimpses of the higher realms through these experiences. But 'what goes up must come down'. It is possible to have all the experience you like but until it is integrated and stabilized in your day-to-day life, they don't add up to a great deal.
I speak from experience.
The cosmic consciousness theory is very interesting to me and I find it interesting that it references ideas from Carl Jung. I'm trying to use the experiences to find meaning, and like you say, to also apply them in day-to-day life. The Mayans believed that we are progressing into a higher wave of consciousness likewise. The advancement of our civilization depends on the increase of worldwide consciousness.
EmperorNero;159747 wrote:Wow, people have been ripping you for your realization. Don't mind them, it gives them a sense of superiority. They are caught in a much more narrow "world" than you.
I actually thought your realization was quite plausible and meaningful. The universe is the "world" of a higher consciousness. Maybe some theists have innate knowledge of that consciousness through their consciousness.
Thank you, I don't believe that anyone lives in a more narrow world than me. Neither do I believe that my experience made me enlightened or greater than anyone else. I believe that we all live, more or less, in the same wave of consciousness. Its only human to make the natural choice not to explore higher states of consciousness - Why explore the forest if the bush bears the fruit? Many, naturally, have no desire to explore these other states due to being raised with the lack of such education.
We all come close to higher states of consciousnesses at some point in our lives, we don't always realize that we enter these higher states while we're in them.
I appreciate all the references to book and comments from everyone. The idea that I can relate the most to my experience to the idea of the cosmic consciousness and I hope to read more about it in the next few weeks.