I have not had an NDE.  However, I will share some thoughts.

Existing in some kind of nondescript, totally peaceful "nirvana" state of oneness in the Light sounds like it would be nice -- for a while (like a much needed vacation from reality), but not forever.  There are other states of being that are nice too, and more interesting. States of being where thought is possible, time and space do exist, there are more boundaries and distinctions, etc. There are plusses and minuses of each state, IMO.

Both the traditional Christian and Buddhist ideals of the afterlife just seem awfully dull, to me. On the one hand, spending an eternity as the exact same person, praying and worshipping all the time, never being able to sin or screw up or learn anymore; on the other hand, spending all eternity in some dreamy merger with the Cosmic Mind where you can't do any of the exciting and productive things you can do as a discrete entity.

Neither one is my cup of tea. Maybe both of them would be fine for a while, but not forever. Forever is a very long time. And yes, time is a valuable thing too. Without time, there could be no such thing as memory or anticipation, which also make existence richer and more interesting.

I guess I'm just a sucker for the lower levels of being, huh? 

But, may I ask, what exactly is so much higher and better than actually being a real individual in a real universe with real space and time and all the glorious possibilities afforded by these distinctions? I'd say, to be without these things is in some sense a deprivation and reduction of creative potential. I think this is precisely why the universe was created -- because it creates more possibilities and makes things more interesting.

Being one with the Light, absorbed into the Light, is surely a very pleasant and healing experience, but it is not the end all and be all of existence.  If it were, then reality would be so much duller than what it actually is.  JMHO.

Freebird

Do you mean that your spiritual experience caused you to become aware of a troubling dualism, or are you referring to what I said that you don't like?

Either way, the whole issue of oneness versus dualism is a big one.  I know some people who go for more liberal views of spirituality tend to prefer oneness over duality, but I disagree with that.  I think oneness would get boring.  It would be a nice break from individual existence, but not something I would want forever.

My view is that God was One in the beginning, and the creation of the universe was God deciding to separate Oneself into various perspectives.  Each particle, each cell, each organism, each planet, etc. is a unique perspective on reality.  It's as if God has trillions and trillions of different eyeballs, all looking at things from a different viewpoint and experiencing reality in a different way.  The reason God did this is He got bored!  God created the universe and all its diversity of beings because God wanted to be creative.  And God wants us to be creative too, and develop the ability to manifest our own realities.  That's why as a Christian I believe we are all called to become children of God.  Jesus said, "Ye are gods."  The point being, we are offspring of the Creator and therefore we are little creators with divine potentials.  Every time we imagine or dream something, we are creating.  Every time we do something, we are creating even more.

All of this complicated stuff going on, this continual process of creation-within-creation, it is LIFE.  Life is good!  (at least that is true in the big picture).

Just being in some constant eternal state of nirvana doesn't hold much appeal for me.  Nor, apparently, did it for God, because if it did, God would not have created a universe and we would not be here wondering about it!  God just would have continued existing in Oneness with no duality.  There would be no happiness, sadness, joy, pain, good, evil, or all the diverse experiences that a universe with many individual entities all interacting with each other can offer.  There would only be primordial, undifferentiated, unjudgmental Being.  There still is, and it is the Light.  It is perfect Peace.  But that is not all there is.

Enjoy the quietude of the Light, but also live richly.  I think that's what God does, from the look and feel of His universe.

Freebird

Dear Freebird,

The Bible implies that God creates to espand His horizons in ways beyond our understanding.  In some sense, His creatures make a contribution to what and how God is.  But to say that God creates anew out of "boredom" seems far too anthropomorphic.  Nor should we claim that God "needs" us and "needs" His creation.  The conventional meaning of the word "need" implies divine insecurity and loneliness.

I prefer hearing first hand accounts or first hand observations or views based on first hand experiences.  Thanks.

MS

Tim

Yes, there is more.  To get to the light it was like pushing between, for example scrubby trees that are close together.  I felt like the way through to there was close.  On the right was a large dark blueish sphere type thing, w a very dark blueish aura.  On the left a brown branchey type thing, w a dark brown aura.

Later, after i withdrew from all this, being back at my home base, so to speak, within this universe, i fealt the authority of this unverse descending a connection towards me.  I may have overreacted, but i did not want this over me.  So, i blasted the connection with a pillar of fire, burning it up as far as i was able.  I felt a freedom afterwards, but also fear that i may have ticked off the powers under which i live in this universe.

MS

Yes, i wonder if the light i saw is outside of the universe and multiverse.  Are the belief systems in the universe or alternate universes?

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I hope Cayce is wrong about this.  I thought that individual souls are enabled to progress and grow in the afterlife, not merge back into the primordial Oneness.  It seems to me that creation of various individual entities who may interact with one another allows for more possibilities and an expansion of consciousness.  Perhaps this is indeed a pseudo-dualism, because ultimately we are all emanations from the Light and connected with one another, but it was done by the Light/God for a reason -- to create, to be creative.  If we merge back into the Light at death rather than remaining individuals, then this eliminates our creative potential and reduces the creative potential of the universe as a whole.  What would be the benefit of that?  It sounds like just another euphamism for oblivion to me.  If there is truly an afterlife, then it must be something other than oblivion for the individual.  Otherwise all the lessons we learned here on earth would be for naught and go to waste when we die/merge into the Light.

Freebird