Daniel, thank you for keeping this all-important topic in the foreground of your thinking and sharing. I'm sorry your essay was not among the winners, I read it and thought it was of very high caliber, with your usual depth of research and analysis.
I couldn't agree with you more about the nihilistic and ultimately self-annihilating nature of the materialist worldview. I am, among other things, a channeler who does interact with individual souls on the other side, as well as other spiritual entities. I also help to free souls who have gotten stuck in limbo and not been able to reach the light - which is the fate, we are told, of probably 1/3 of humans upon passing. (Of course, I believe all materialists are in for a big surprise when they discover they're not really gone after their body dies.)
Have you considered the role of negative influences on human consciousness steering us in this self-destructive direction, as well as towards the general divisiveness, greed, and aggression exhibited by human behavior? By negative influences I mean both what has been called "demonic" forces as well as negative ETs which many believe are really the behind-the-scenes controllers in our world? I believe, from reading your small book on the subject, The Occult Control System, that you are open to that view.
I believe this knowledge is of equal importance and urgency to bring to greater awareness, for truly the survival of humankind is in the balance.
Sorry, I can't really accept most of the "evidence" for an individual afterlife but let me focus on two other points.
I can't see how Kastrup's idealism or any other idealism makes a compelling case for individual survival after death. In Kastrup's idealism, one would expect the alter to be assimilated to the mind-at-large.
Are you familiar with the materialist tendencies in some ancient Indian philosophies?
"Materialism is considered to be an anathema to Indian philosophy. Despite this, Indian tradition boasts of a strong materialist trend predating the Vedas. This paper traces the proto-materialist ideas as found in the ancient Tantra and pre-classical or original Sāṃkhya. Representing the naturalistic trend in Indian philosophy, ancient Tantra identified the brain as the seat of human consciousness. The pre-classical Sāṃkhya considered matter as the primal non-intelligent or non-sentient first cause from which the universe was to evolve. It considers the material cause to be self-sufficient for the purpose of producing the world; the principle of consciousness is potentially contained in the primeval matter. This paper aims to provide an overview of the Indian materialist viewpoint for multidisciplinary scholars."
What makes you think I haven't reviewed the evidence?
I would recommend some of the writing of Susan Blackmore who also blends science and spirituality and consciousness in what I regard to be a more productive fashion.
absolutely convinced of the continuity of consciousness, however in the physical realm God allows each soul to progress it’s evolution at its chosen pace with materialism as the least evolved state... each soul as an individual, souls together as families, larger congregations as affinity groups citizens of communities, states and nations independently and interdependently... think of it as the Creator bearing witness to a zillion different soap operas and incarnations leading to the ultimate goal of a merging of the souls consciousness with God... the Creator provided souls with the Gift of Free Will in order that they are afforded the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them in their evolutionary journey... what makes America so unique in the modern physical realm and a desirable destination of souls is that it has codified and protected the individuals’ God given natural rights in the form of its Constitution and Bill of Rights affording souls to concurrently maximize the potential of their journey.
Daniel, thank you for keeping this all-important topic in the foreground of your thinking and sharing. I'm sorry your essay was not among the winners, I read it and thought it was of very high caliber, with your usual depth of research and analysis.
I couldn't agree with you more about the nihilistic and ultimately self-annihilating nature of the materialist worldview. I am, among other things, a channeler who does interact with individual souls on the other side, as well as other spiritual entities. I also help to free souls who have gotten stuck in limbo and not been able to reach the light - which is the fate, we are told, of probably 1/3 of humans upon passing. (Of course, I believe all materialists are in for a big surprise when they discover they're not really gone after their body dies.)
Have you considered the role of negative influences on human consciousness steering us in this self-destructive direction, as well as towards the general divisiveness, greed, and aggression exhibited by human behavior? By negative influences I mean both what has been called "demonic" forces as well as negative ETs which many believe are really the behind-the-scenes controllers in our world? I believe, from reading your small book on the subject, The Occult Control System, that you are open to that view.
I believe this knowledge is of equal importance and urgency to bring to greater awareness, for truly the survival of humankind is in the balance.
Why does Kastrup assume we only have one dissociated physical body? Why not a dissociated astral body after death?
Sorry, I can't really accept most of the "evidence" for an individual afterlife but let me focus on two other points.
I can't see how Kastrup's idealism or any other idealism makes a compelling case for individual survival after death. In Kastrup's idealism, one would expect the alter to be assimilated to the mind-at-large.
Are you familiar with the materialist tendencies in some ancient Indian philosophies?
"Materialism is considered to be an anathema to Indian philosophy. Despite this, Indian tradition boasts of a strong materialist trend predating the Vedas. This paper traces the proto-materialist ideas as found in the ancient Tantra and pre-classical or original Sāṃkhya. Representing the naturalistic trend in Indian philosophy, ancient Tantra identified the brain as the seat of human consciousness. The pre-classical Sāṃkhya considered matter as the primal non-intelligent or non-sentient first cause from which the universe was to evolve. It considers the material cause to be self-sufficient for the purpose of producing the world; the principle of consciousness is potentially contained in the primeval matter. This paper aims to provide an overview of the Indian materialist viewpoint for multidisciplinary scholars."
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09552367.2013.777582?casa_token=Hzr98xPUOUkAAAAA:PGk2YydV09geNxcX3c3dl-QH4ysDTJlqIAF0bW0a0W2-yyQ6w4jx_pljLy6uY1kM_3hxsi9arbqT
I think the best approach would be something that removes the dichotomy of mind and matter.
Hi James... Maybe you need to review the evidence first? Chris Carter's three-volume trilogy is an excellent starting point.
What makes you think I haven't reviewed the evidence?
I would recommend some of the writing of Susan Blackmore who also blends science and spirituality and consciousness in what I regard to be a more productive fashion.
absolutely convinced of the continuity of consciousness, however in the physical realm God allows each soul to progress it’s evolution at its chosen pace with materialism as the least evolved state... each soul as an individual, souls together as families, larger congregations as affinity groups citizens of communities, states and nations independently and interdependently... think of it as the Creator bearing witness to a zillion different soap operas and incarnations leading to the ultimate goal of a merging of the souls consciousness with God... the Creator provided souls with the Gift of Free Will in order that they are afforded the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them in their evolutionary journey... what makes America so unique in the modern physical realm and a desirable destination of souls is that it has codified and protected the individuals’ God given natural rights in the form of its Constitution and Bill of Rights affording souls to concurrently maximize the potential of their journey.