More and more, it strikes me that what keeps people wondering......what keeps the discussion and debate going is the nature of physical reality, and the lack of communication with those in the afterlife.  It is very rare for any of us to have a true and verified after death communication (ADC), and certainly this does not occur with regularity for the vast majority of people.  One wonders then, perhaps rightly so, about what Don has termed the "chatty ease" some mediums have of summoning any deceased person and relaying a full two way conversation at almost anytime.

On the one hand, there are explorers who have used meditation, astral travel, hemi-sync and other means to focus their attention and then explore at will.  On the other hand, most of us may enter into conversations with deceased loved ones, and often there is no two way conversation.

I was remembering reading about Mother Teresa and her "dark night of the soul," in which she relayed to various sources that despite her selfless service, she did not feel the connection to the divine - or any affirmation via communication.  It was quite depressing and startling. If anyone, it seemed would be having two way conversations with God and the angels while incarnate......

The fact is that there is something about being incarnate - something about being a consciousness manifesting a physical form, that shuts most of us off from free conversation with discarnate beings.  Bruce has spoken about this as a voluntary constriction of awareness so that the M band radiation of thought and emotion on this planet wouldn't drive us nuts.  Meditation, it seems, can refocus our awareness, if only for brief periods of time.

It is the silence, however that keeps the game going.  Keeps us guessing.  Perhaps it is good.  Perhaps we are meant to live life here in the physical plane.  To express love.  To learn about the creative power of the mind, so that when we die, and are back in a plane of existence of thought, we are better able to control our energies.  Is the physical plane the ideal place to learn and progress spiritually?  That, of course is the assumption of many New Agers. 

Yet in our two way conversations with deceased loved ones, in our attempts at conversation with God and the angels, the silence at the other end of can give any individual pause.  Doubt?  Nonexistence?  The silence brings everything into question.  Some become indulgent or narcissistic, figuring that the silence means life has no meaning, so if it feels good, do it.  Generally, this brings only temporary satisfaction - people who follow this path rarely find fulfillment.

Is the silence at the other end absolute?  Of course not.  Perhaps, there lies our salvation.  Some, like Albert on this board learn to interpret images, brief glimpses of guidance, and find confirmation/affirmation in these experiences.  Some see the synchronicities of life - the way probabilities are changed by our love, hate and interactions with each other as proof of the divinity behind the scenes.  I have written about the power of intent to change reality in the physical plane; I've seen it myself and have had sufficient personal proof to believe that our consciousness can directly affect seemingly random outcomes.  Instead of expecting chatty two way conversations, some of us seek the subtleties of these guiding images or synchronicities - as we engage the silence.

It is said "ask it is given," "seek and you will find," yet a skeptic may openly challenge the existence of the afterlife, claim they have sought, and hear - silence. 

Silence is also what is experienced initially in meditation and hypnosis.  When completely relaxed, sensation from the limbs fades, and as one learns to maintain alertness and wakefulness, one often experiences images, sometimes sounds and other sensations.  Some have termed these images "mental chatter" - something that sounds like an annoyance to be overcome. 

Perhaps we are meant to explore the mental chatter during the silence at the other end of our conversations, in order to transcend the restrictions of our awareness.  One can see the glass as half full instead of half empty.

If Bruce's ADC device, or a Spiricom could become a widespread reality, would we be satisfied?  Or do we somehow need the silence to spur us on to refocus our awareness while incarnate?


M

<<The fact is that there is something about being incarnate - something about being a consciousness manifesting a physical form, that shuts most of us off from free conversation with discarnate beings. >>

Well, this raises a few possibilities- (1) The afterlife doesn't exist.  After all, we do need to acknowledge that since the beginning of humans on earth, there is not even one piece of evidence that the afterlife exists.  Lots of anecdotal stuff but nothing that passes the acid test; i.e. evidence that can be replicated.  (2) The afterlife does exist, but it is not in God's scheme to allow us to access it while we are in physical form.  (3) What we call the afterlife is really something completely ineffable, such that our own intellect simply cannot discern its true nature.

Suppose, as just one example, that creation takes many different forms, including physical humans and non-physical beings.  In other words, just because we may be surrounded by non-physical beings doesn't necessarily mean that we will join that realm of existence when we die. 

R

Hi Matthew,

When I read the title of your thread “Silence and the quest…” my initial thoughts turned out to be much different than the content of your thread. To me it is the quest for silence that motivates us. It is the silence that is already within each of us that draws us to it as an answer to the question of who am I? One aspect of my answer is, “I am the silence.” I am also the silent observer.

Roger, in Don’s Heaven thread mentioned that thoughts are things. I agree. The world of thought is not the formless. Our thoughts are just like all of the physical objects we interact with in our physical world. Thoughts are manifested from the formless consciousness of the silence within. I also think that it is the world of form, including thought that interferes with communication in what we call the afterlife. (The afterlife is not really separate from us. Right now in this very moment we simply are life itself… always.)

Other dimensions of our existence also contain form, however the form is increasingly finer in substance as the frequency of vibration is increased. The interesting thing is that form in its finer substance is actually clearer, more vibrant, more intelligent and alive than the way we understand form in our physical world. Everyone can glimpse this aliveness by becoming more aware. Many ways to do that, but perhaps one of the most effective is to simply go fully into what ever is at hand. Or what is popularly called being completely present in the moment. This is a state of mind that automatically raises our consciousness to a point where we are able to perceive what we could ordinarily miss when our identity is caught up in form.

The more we are able to let go of our identity with form, including thought, the more we are able to transform that identity to the silence within.

Love, Kathy

Seems a bit as if silence is not specifically the modality of awareness, as much as simply not getting involved.  Alan's remarks on intensity and focus certainly don't sound "silent".  Yet while sitting and looking at whatever seems to be happening, silence is the dominant quality through which it is clarified. Of course this suggests the Buddhist dictum, that all we need is to remain unattached in order to avoid suffering - which has nothing to do with the afterlife.

Looking at the reports of bizarre phenomena that people encounter, including what people have told me of their own experiences, as well as reports of electrical disturbances from causes unknown that somehow seem to recall old friends etc - these things tend to neither be silent nor particularly good at communicating. Perhaps that's their value, that we can neither figure them out, nor can we dismiss them.

By taking the converse posture, postulating that there has arisen ex nihilo a potential cosmos, parts of which look like the place that we call everyday reality, gives us the converse answer. Just as we can find reason to piostulate our own existence here as the result of purely chance processes, so too we have the implication of numerous other modalities of existence. One or more of the "other modes" would correspond nicely to an afterlife. The problem here is that we have no constraints by which to set off today's world from that of tomorrow, no distinction between life and death. What we get is a lot of statistical noise - and certainly not a silence in which to clearly identify its nature.

The problem seems to be that in one case we have the external world, from which we can derive no internal facts, and in the other case we have an internal world that cannot be clearly attached to external phenomena. The boundary between life and death seems to be the transition between these two perspectives. But by definition, these are irreconcileable concepts, defined by opposition, not similarity. Perhaps we might ultimately make a stronger argument for an afterlife from the total difference between internal and external states, essentially an argument from parity of the two.

dave

When it comes to mediums, I figure some are fakes, and some actually have abilities. Some have the ability from a young age. I don't know a lot about mediums, but is seems as if people who have such an ability at a young age, had to go through some growing pains while they were young. For example, Rosemary Altea had to deal with scarry visions.

I didn't have the ability to communicate with spirits consciously when I was a child. This is something I developed a few years ago, and I'm almost 50.  I had to go through some growing pains.  I figure that if you're going to have the ability to communicate with spirits, then whether you like it or not this ability will extend to unfriendly spirits.  I believe that contact mostly happens on a like attracts like basis. But sometimes other factors are involved. Going by my experience, some unfriendly spirits are aware of me because of the spirit work I do. In a way it is good that this has taken place, because it has showed me that I don't have to be afraid of them.   It really helps that I wondered about who Christ is and opened myself up to his support.

I don't have to obtain a silent state of mind in order to make contact. It is more of a matter of making an energetic connection.  I went through a lot of energetic work. I believe that part of the reason the spirits I work with took the time to do the extensive energetic work they did on me, is because I let it be known that I'm here to serve. Whatever divine will needs me to do, I'm willing to do it. 

Another way to put this, you don't get something for nothing.  My feeling is that it would be completely wrong for me to receive the spirit support I've received and continue to receive, without having the willingness to give back.

I believe there are cases where the receive and give principle doesn't have to be so extreme. Perhaps a few confirmations and a little advice might be received. But what would be the point of spirit guidance putting a lot of effort into helping a person if that person isn't planning to put such help to use?

This World really upsets me.  There are so many bad things that take place. It upsets me when I think of how many spirits are ending up in lower realms. Sometimes I think that something needs to take place or be done that will really convince people that the afterlife exists so they'll be more resposible about how they live their lives. I doubt that such proof will come in the form of emperical data. Plus there are people who say they believe in the afterlife because of their religion, yet they still do negative things. This shows the importance of love as motivator rather than mental knowledge.  When it comes to an electronic communications device, how will we control who answers on the other end? They might provide some wrong information.

I received some messages which seem to indicate that this World will change for the better not because people are led to believe differently, but because of changes of the heart. Once they open up to love, their minds will follow.  The messages I've received indicate that only a small number of people need to get to the point where they can live according to love completely in order for positive changes to be effected. This is because their increase in vibrational rate will be so major it will cause the vibrational rates of others to increase, these increases will effect others, and so on and so on. 

The same is true when it comes to radiating love. If a small number of people radiate love strongly enough, they'll cause others to radiate it more, who in turn will cause others to radiate more, and so on and so on. As a result less negative energy will be produced. Fewer negative minded spirits will be attracted to this World. Some will be repelled, some will be changed.  Because of the increase in love people will manifest in a more positive way and effect others accordingly.  The overall increased energy level will make it easier for many people to make contact with their spirit friends.

Alysia:

Regarding the 100th monkey, I don't know the whole story, but I read where studies were done where monkeys on one island would learn to do something, and then monkeys on another island would quickly follow. Some kind of collective mind in play.

I just did an internet search and found a wikipedia article that discredits the 100th monkey theory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundredth_Monkey

I don't really care if it's false. I trust the messages I've received and the feelings I have.

One message was as follows: I experienced myself in a land that was presented as a rectangular plain of existence. This was also a symbol for the World.  A person errupted as white light because this person learned how to live according to love completely. It didn't take long for this love and white light to expand to the rest of the plain.  I then very firmly received the words: "Believe it!"

On another occasion I received a message which had something to do with the second coming. I asked for details. I was shown a plastic tub that was partially filled with little chocolate chip cookies. I know this isn't obvious, but by connecting this image to past messages I've received I was able to tell that it symbolized a minimal number of people getting the point where they live according to Christ consciousness/love.  I figure there were about 40 to 50 cookies in the tub. Next I was shown an image of Jesus Christ on a cross.  This wasn't a plastic crucifix. It was an image of the man Jesus.  He was leaning forward as far as the stakes in his hands and feet would allow him to do so.  I got the feeling that he is experiencing a heavy burden with trying to help this World, and some of us need to help him. The best way we can do so is by elevating our consciousness level.

A while ago I shared how I saw and heard three planets blow up one right after the other. The first blew up into rocks. The second into fire. The third into white light. I figure the third represented the World becoming a place of love and light.

I've received other messages that make the same point.

Alysia:

Personal guidance over Wikipedia? Naw, shudder the thought!

I like your story with the lady. Truly relates to the messages I've received.  Each of us gets to decide for ourselves.  

Regarding a person's energy field being a few miles, I figure this is one way of looking at it, but it probably goes beyond. How precisely does the energy of love radiate? If it travels like light it would travel at the speed of light? That's 186,000 miles per second. It may be that a person can radiate a lot of love in a short period of time. He or she simply needs to become a good radiator who doesn't radiate anything else.

Regarding a matrix,  it may be that one can't figure how love is radiated according to physical dimensions. Perhaps this is why we were shown plains instead of Worlds.  Perhaps the World really is flat.