Brendan,

You Said:    
              "Add that to the fact that when we die and go to the afterlife, we suffer a DEMOTION! We become far LOWER forms of life than we were on Earth, because we lose our conscious rational minds and our idiotic SUBCONSCIOUS minds take over. Then, we'll believe everything we hear (to name just one new-found weakness.)"

One item you mentioned earlier is that in a dream something "magical" happens and we don't even "bat an eye" but there are many things that happen in my dreams which cause me to take pause, so to speak.  I might pause for a moment in wonder at the ability to fly and feel excitement because I AM flying in my dream.  There IS a part of my own subconscious mind which is aware that flying is an exceptional thing to do and therefore wants to do MORE of it. There is also a part of my subconscious mind which has learned that discomfort is not a necessary part of dreaming. If my subconscious "thought-forms" take a negative spin I often find that I will "wake up" suddenly.

I dreamed about this forum this weekend. The forum was glowing brilliantly and the words on the page were full of different colors. The image itself was alive and not a flat screen and it was kind of fun to see. Some would say that it was just a "memory" of reading these pages but how enjoyable that it was "enhanced" so that I "remembered" it upon waking...

So... which is the "real" forum -- the one I saw before my "dream" that was comparatively "flat" and "dull"  -- or the one in my "dream" that was vivid and colorful -- and can you tell me WHICH one I'm writing on today?

I am "suspending disbelief" just for the moment...it's hard to say exactly what might happen....

blink

Murphys law says anything will happen which can happen..turn that around to mean anything positive can happen also.

is merely a change in which direction the mind will focus..and so be it.

Einstein said: The imagination is more important than knowledge.
so is there someone out there who thinks Einstein is a jerk, and would dispute what he said, the master of logic and numbers? think about it. would u think that what he gave mankind gets put into some melting pot and his individuality exstinguished? what folly to think this. and was he not serving himself and serving life at the same time?

the subconscious is the imagination, and the imagination can outpicture into reality because we are creative, and self creative.
Here on this side we learn who we are, what we are and we can become as well. how sweet is that to focus where we desire, to at the least have that choice.
on the other side it is far too easy, not quite the same challenges presented and the minute we get on the other side, the more we want to return to physical. its like being on vacation here. ever had a swell vacation but after a few weeks, you just want to get home again? thats how planet earth is. a vacation spot which starts to wear thin. we just want to get home.
then we are never satisfied and say, wait, I want another vacation, maybe some place different this time.

this place is pretty colorful actually. like a mini town full of colorful people. I dream of it too Blink!

Brendan,

First, let me concede that the unspeakably tragic shortened lives of many do call into question the existence of a loving God.  Emotional revulsion plays a more important role than cool logic in our reactions to seemingly unfair suffering.   But as I've noted before, 3 factors prevent this qualm from being a decisive refutation.   

(1) The Bible makes it clear that God ultimately does not control the forces of chaos.  The free unfolding of the world and human history is clearly a high priority for the Judeo-Christian God.  The most pressing question, then, is this: to what extent can prayer, faith, love, and expanded consciousness serve as vehicles for channeling divine love and healing to those who desperately need it?   Right now, we can't answer this question very well.   So real progress can only be achieved by upgraded honest spiritual exploration.

(2) Both the early church and Howard Storm's amazing NDE encounter with Christ confirm that the soul preexists and has countless worlds available for it to experience, learn, and evolve towards spiritual fulfilment.   So goals that cannot be achieved through earthly reincarnation can theoretically be achieved through these countless opportunities.

(3)  Still, your skeptical scientific approach to these vital questions is most respectable.   I've had several miraculous experiences that seem to transcend the latent undiscovered potential of the mind.   But far more of my paranormal experiences leave me with the haunting suspicion that they can be explained naturally in terms of laws of consciousness that are as yet poorly understood.    So breakthroughs in psychic technology and understanding are urgently needed to fill in the gaps in our knowledge and to motivate the masses to embrace a spiritual quest in a way that can be counted on to produce real transformation.  In this respect, sites like this, whatever their excesses, can serve a useful purpose.

Don

Brendan,

First, let me concede that the unspeakably tragic shortened lives of many do call into question the existence of a loving God.  Emotional revulsion plays a more important role than cool logic in our reactions to seemingly unfair suffering.   But as I've noted before, 3 factors prevent this qualm from being a decisive refutation.   

(1) The Bible makes it clear that God ultimately does not control the forces of chaos.  The free unfolding of the world and human history is clearly a high priority for the Judeo-Christian God.  The most pressing question, then, is this: to what extent can prayer, faith, love, and expanded consciousness serve as vehicles for channeling divine love and healing to those who desperately need it?   Right now, we can't answer this question very well.   So real progress can only be achieved by upgraded honest spiritual exploration.

(2) Both the early church and Howard Storm's amazing NDE encounter with Christ confirm that the soul preexists and has countless worlds available for it to experience, learn, and evolve towards spiritual fulfilment.   So goals that cannot be achieved through earthly reincarnation can theoretically be achieved through these countless opportunities.

(3)  Still, your skeptical scientific approach to these vital questions is most respectable.   I've had several miraculous experiences that seem to transcend the latent undiscovered potential of the mind.   But far more of my paranormal experiences leave me with the haunting suspicion that they can be explained naturally in terms of laws of consciousness that are as yet poorly understood.    So breakthroughs in psychic technology and understanding are urgently needed to fill in the gaps in our knowledge and to motivate the masses to embrace a spiritual quest in a way that can be counted on to produce real transformation.  In this respect, sites like this, whatever their excesses, can serve a useful purpose.

Don
*****************
This is going to sound a bit parochial to you, Don. But bear with me...
Keep in mind that we are not thinking creatures which desire, but desiring creatures who think. What I'm about to say isn't about "logic" but I think it is important nonetheless...
About the person who dies as a child, or spends their life as an institutionalized looney, or what have you...
Imagine this. The (well-made, well-proportioned) human female is the most DELICIOUS thing in the universe. (You can't convince me otherwise..!)
The person who gets "screwed" here... dies young, born autistic or whatnot... well are you saying that their "payback" is a physical life in "another dimension", where MAYBE they'll only be able to experience the delights of carnal connection with tentacled squid-abominations (as part of the "squid-abomination race") or get the "C1 experience" as an ugly hairy "Wookie" creature or something like that? (Maybe on a planet where the native creatures don't even possess VISION (the most GLORIOUS of the senses!) but get by with SMELL, or one of the other lesser senses... you know, I've always felt sorry for dogs, who don't have color vision and rely largely on olfactory cues. Didn't envey them, anyway..!)
Living beings on other worlds (or in other dimensions) are likely to be VERY different from us, both mentally and physically. ALIEN, in fact...
Is this sort of "pay-back" supposed to make up for the "screwed" person's loss? What sort of "sick puke" of a God would think so???
That'd be a GYP. No other word for it...

B-man

Hmmmmn, ALIEN love....

you got us all thinking now, B-man....
could be some VERY interesting dreams tonight....

blink
*****************
If I end up reincarnating as an ALIEN, I hope the Space Marines show up right away, and blow me away
with their pulse-rifles. It'll be over quick, at least...

Brendan, please don't prejudge the quality of beauty contests in etheric worlds.     It is frequently claimed that there is a world suitable for every need and spiritual lesson.   Future astral exploration should seek to verify this claim.   I have seen dying Altheimer's patients in the last stage be restored to full lucidity and rationality for 45 minutes in response to my prayers.   What we need are verifiable contacts with the mentally challenged in the afterlife to explore the process by which they are restored to the sanity which their earthly make-up denied them.  Interviews in the Healing Center in Paradise (Focus 27?) might be a good place to start.

Don

Dave,

You know that you are, perhaps one of my favorite people on the board.  That being said, I disagree with you here (for perhaps the first time).  After reading a book by Ernest Holmes entitled "The Science of mind,"  I am more and more convinced that our thought, our awareness and consciousness has tremendous power.  Power to create both in this universe and in other planes. 

It follows then, that if we think with confidence, connect to our deepest essence, and state our goals, that they are bound to manifest themselves.  I believe it also follows that we have choice and free will, as our thought is ultimately a manifestation of God within us, and has complete control (if used properly).  So that, I don't think Brendan will be made into a wookie or slimy alien in another incarnation because God thinks its best for his soul.  Either Brenden will choose that path, or he will not have it done.

i believe that we all have belief systems, internal doubts and conflicts that prevent our thoughts from translating into physical reality.  I am beginning to think that prayer, magic and ancient shamanism all tapped into the subconscious connection to directed thought which can, create almost anything when applied with certain intent. 

As such, I agree with you that we should "go with the flow," and "learn from mistakes."  But I disagree that any external force, other than our own thought (as a manifestation of God), will consign us to any fate or incarnation.

Best,

Matthew

B-man,

Yes, it makes sense.  I believe there are limits to what conscious intent can do.  We have laws of gravity, physical laws and rules that keep us incarnate.  Some rules may be "bent," by intent, (this may appear as true magic), but many simply may not be broken.  We can not fly in this plane.  We can not hurl lightning bolts.

This fact in no way lessens the amazing power of conscious intent.  Because conscious intention, to my mind works on probabilities.  And if our intentions come to pass, then the conscious mind is working on these probabilities to make things happen for us by altering people, places and things.  I also believe that the intent has to be "in tune," with the universe.  I do not believe that there is justice on our plane.  Thus, simply wishing for things, or being an honest person is not enough.

Is it just for a spiritually advanced race to be erased by an invading barbaric horde?  Not to our common sense.  However, we have only certain angles of viewing things on this plane of existence.  If the Aztecs, Incas, etc. had a fulfilling spiritual life, might they be less concerned with materialism and the material world? 

So I don't believe that thought creating reality is the same as wish fulfillment.  I believe there are rules that our reality function under.  I can't fly, but with certain intention, I can create and alter my current state of being for the better.

Matthew