burnt wrote:
I think there is a difference. I could choose to imagine a world that is made up of little pink dots. Little pink dots that are so small no one can see them. I can come up with mathematical explanations for how little pink dots can make things happen. But if experiments to determine if those little pink dots exist don't find them or the mathematical abstractions don't offer any testable or conclusive or predictive power those little pink dots can safely be said to not exist. Its the same with god.
But what if thousands of people came to you and told you that they see these pink dots, that your mathmatical explanations and theories validate experiences that they have had? It would still be unprovable from a scientific perspective, but it would give you pause that maybe you were on to something?
Quote:Its very different. Mystical experiences have qualitative similarities across cultures and throughout the ages. I have had mystical experiences I know what they are like. So far everything I have experienced in those states is completely explainable using modern neuroscience. There is nothing contradicting about having an experience of feeling one with your surroundings and how modern neuroscience explains how the brain actively builds boundry's between your perception of yourself and the outside world. If that perception fades out of your immediate conscious experience you have an experience of being one with everything around you. It makes total sense. This is a testable prediction. I don't think its ever been tested but it can be tested using scientific methods.
Is it testable? If so why hasn't anyone done it, as it would provide sound scientific proof of the nature of these experiences? I don't believe it is testable, as these experiences are subjective, and defy objective methodoligies for quantifying them. You keep saying that they are completely explainable from moden neuroscience, but have provided no evidence. I do not think they are explainable, otherwise they would have been explained! Neuroscience cannot explain any subjective experience, period.
Quote:If I offer an explanation that lets say when I have this experience that my consciousness really is spewing across the galaxies then my consciousness moves faster then the speed of light and my consciousness doesn't require my body to experience anything. This violates the laws of nature it also is a contradictory conclusion. Our consciousness requires sensory input how can I have sensory input from galaxies so far away?
Consciousness does not need sensory input. Sensory deprivation tanks are the perfect example. If nonlocality is a fundamental property of quantum mechanics, M Theory, then your consciousness experincing a galaxy far aways makes perfect sense. There are perfectly rational explanations for this backed up by current scientific theories.
Quote:Of course the mystics realized this. So they came up with an explanation. That everything is a manifestation of consciousness. Its a reasonable prediction and hypothesis. But it has fundamental gaps. How does consciousness exist without an objective world? How does consciousness make the world do what it does? If conscious perception really dictates everything why can't I just fly if I think hard enough about it? There are too many gaps to get into right away but those are just some that come off the top of my head.
You are just making silly points here. You are inflating the argument, and making a straw man argument as well. No one has said that believing consciousness is the basis of existence gives one supernatural powers. There are still laws by which physical matter must adhere, and to answer some of your questions I would have to claim knowledge of the origin of existence or the mind of god, neither of which I or anyone else is capable of doing.
Quote:Knowledge about mystical experiences can do the same but without science we can never know what causes them to happen and if they are real or not. I think science has already provided enough evidence to show they are most definitely not real. Although conclusive studies should be done on this subject many people are interested in it. I hope it will be last nail in the board closing the gates to superstition and the denial of reason.
You claimed two paragraphs up that science can explain mystical experiences, that they are testable, yet they have never been tested. How in the world will science ever conclusively prove if a subjective experience is real or not? What is the basis for measurement, what instruments will be used, how will it prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that what I experience in my consciousness is real or not? You are making an appeal to the future argument again, and as such, it is not a valid basis for a positiion.
I guess I have to say again, I am not arguing against science. I like science, it does wonderful things to improve my life, increase my understanding. But you continue to make arguments on a faulty basis, saying you have proof when you have none. Saying that in the future all will be known, which you cannot possibly know. Your logic fails all over the place. I am NOT anti-science, but rather arguing that it CANNOT know everything, and cannot explain in the slightest what subjective experience is, period.
Quote:Higher vibrational frequency of matter. What does that mean? How is the matter vibrating? What causes higher frequencies of matter to generate consciousness? Higher frequencies of lets use electromagnetic radiation for example just means it has more energy. High frequency electromagnetic radiation is rather dangerous. We have an atmosphere to protect us from such things. We use such things to make x-ray images.
One word. CYMATICS. Everything in existence, what we see (and don't see) are waves/vibrations. This is a scientifically proven fact. I suggest you familiarize yoruself with it.
Quote:Anyway the point is even if there are more dimension what makes you think that living creatures reside in them? What makes you think our consciousness has anything to do with them? We don't need string theory to explain why people see little green men when they are high. Maybe at the very end when we know everything about the brain we will come to realize something is missing. If that something is extra dimensions or whatever then ok then it starts to be a resonable proposal. But that hasn't happened yet and explanations of mystical experience doesn't require it. If it does then formulate a theory. I think most mystics don't want to formulate a theory because they can't or they are afraid of losing their power.
Mystics who formulate a theory in order to gain power over others are not true mystics, they are charlatans and should be treated as such. I for one would welcome a scientific explanation for anything we have been discussing. But it does not exist, there is no proof, there are no formulated theories as to why I feel there is something more to life than a simplistic materialist perspective.
I personally think creatures reside in them because I have had contact with a higher dimensional aspect of myself, in dreams, in meditation, and in psychedelic experiences. I have had memories of past lives, remembered what I came here to do, awoken to my true nature. I have had a meditative near death experience myself. I have no idea if my body was in physical danger (I was lying in a lounge chair), but my consciousness was transported to a waiting room made of multicolored light and inhabited by beings of such immense beauty it was difficult to look at them they were so radiant. I was given the choice to end my current incarnation then and there if I had wanted to. I choose not to at that time because I was travelling overseas and it would have ruined the trip for the people I was with.
I cannot prove these experiences to anyone, they are mine subjectively. I rarely bring them up or talk about them as the vast majority of people do not understand or can even conceptualize about what I have experienced. Could it be some form of psychosis? Sure, I cannot rule out that possibility, but that is not what the experiences have lead me to believe. Does it diminish my life in any way? No it doesn't, and in fact has made my life and journey here exponentially better. I seek no power over others, just the power to understand myself. Do I believe that I can convince anyone that my point of view is the right or only way? Of course not, I wouldn't even try. Do not believe me or anyone else, find your own truth.
But I can guarantee you, there are others here who understand what I am saying, it will resonate with them...
Quote:Near death experiences are explaniable by science. Do you want more details?
Yes, I would like more details. You have stated this before, and I would like some sort of proof to back up your claim. I agree with you, that some near death experience could have a scientific explanaion, but not all of them, and there are commonalities of experience across every demographic you can think of that cannot be explained in any way by science except by the absurd conclusion that their brains are all exactly the same in every detail.
Quote:Hypnotic past life regression is better explained by psychology but it still has of course a neurological origin. One explanation that has been put forth for such things is false memories. People can be induced to have false memories while under hypnosis. I haven't looked into this as much as NDE's but I suspect that others have looked into it and concluded that its not because we actually have past lives.
That is one explanation. It is refuted by stuides which were done by experts in this field who know the difference betwen inducing fake memories and not. These researchers did so explicitly aware to not plant false memories. The level of detail of past life memories, down to clothing, utensils, and even speaking dead languages gives creedence to something more going on than false memories. People recall things they could not possibly know, give details about things which they could not possibly have knowledge of. When regressed to the space "in between incarnations" they give an almost exact description of that experienced by people having near death experiences. This past life regression was also done on people of just about every demographic. The similarities cannot be dismissed so easily.
Quote:Sure there are examples of religion being used for the general good but that good does not come without a price. Look at the catholic church it goes and does so called wonderful things in Africa while at the same time telling uneducated people that condoms are bad. I wonder how many thousands of people are dieing right now as a direct result of such stupid and deceptive policies?
You are throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Sometimes it comes with a price, often times not. To say that all religion, all thoughout history in every instance is bad, just cannot be supported logically or factually.
Quote:I don't think religion can ever be used properly because of its very nature. It is built on lies so what truth can there be in it?
Because there is some truth to it. If it were built on 100% lies, people would see through it too easily. There is some truth mixed in with the falsehood, enough to give people a reason to believe, while still creating a control structure.
Quote:
First of all its so easy for us with our fed bellies and electricity to take fossil fuels for granted. Our society advanced because of them. They directly feed billions of people. If we never developed fossil fuels none of us would be alive right now. I think technology deserves more respect then most people are willing to give it. If you don't like technology turn off your computer throw it out the window, leave your house, throw away all your money, and go have fun trying to survive in the woods. It can and has been done but mostly people come back to society after a while.
People were fed before fossil fuels came along. Electricity was used before fossil fuels came along and is not depedent upon them. Fossil fuels allowed the expansion of our population to unsustainable levels. Engines run fine off of vegetable oil, the choice was made earlier last century to use fossil fuels because they were cheaper, not because it was the only medium for running our machines. If we had not developed fossil fuels, many of us would still be alive, and the world would be a much better place, industry would still have progressed, society would still have moved forward. But there would be far less pollution of our atmosphere, our oceans, our rivers, our land. Population would probablly have been less, and progressed in a more harmonious way with the natural environment, and not outstripped the ability of the earth to support us.
Without fossil fuels, we would still have electricity, computers, televisions, all the distractions of life. I wouldn't have my home? Were homes invented in the 20th century? Hmm, shelter, what an amazingly new concept! Why throw away money? That has nothing to do with technology, it is a social construct.
Quote:Science has pushed society to great heights in terms of medicine, food, and generally improving the quality of life. That doesn't mean all problems have been or ever will be solved but it certainly has offered great potential for improvement of billions of peoples lives.
It has, but it has also created disease, poverty, gas chambers, conventional, biological and nuclear weapons. I agree with you, it has not solved all the problems and it has improved the lives of billions of people. It could also mean the end of life for billions of people.
Quote:Its not science digging us into a ditch its stupid people using certain aspects of science to their advantage. Most of those people who are responsible for the widespread destruction or denial of the danger are religious. Look at the religious conservatives in the U.S. Look at Islam. Look at Israel. Look at the fighting in the Balkans. Look at the tension in Europe between its native and immigrant populations. Look at the militaristic worship of communist ideology in Asia. Except communism (although its on par with being as stupid and worshiped) all this conflict has a religion as a driving force or as a justification.
Its not religion digging us into a ditch, its stupid people using certain aspects of religion to their advantage. There are many "scientists" who are in denial of climate change, who the religious listen to in order to formulate their opinions. How are religious people solely responsible for the widespread destruction? What in the world does Islam have to do with this? Or the Isralies? If you think the Arab/Israeli conflict is solely about religion, you are gravely mistaken, and have not studied histroy well enough. You are talking in absolutes. That is an untenable position, and based on your subjective value judgements. You have no right to judge, period.
Are corporations religious? They are the single most destructive force on this planet, and they got that way because of technology.
Technology separates us from nature, separates us from what we are, an integral part of the ecosystem of this planet. The earth is no longer our home, it is a tool to be used, exploited. We are the only species on this planet who is disharmonious with our environment. We weren't always that way, but technology has allowed us to become so. Technology is great, it allows us to do wonderous things, improve the lives of billions. It is also our greatest threat, as it is making us destroy the one and only home we have. There is a happy medium somewhere, I pray we can find it before it is too late.
Quote:To paraphrase Carl Sagan: Science is a candle in the dark.
One cannot have light without the dark.
What, you ask, was the beginning of it all?
And it is this...
Existence that multiplied itself
For sheer delight of being
And plunged into numberless trillions of forms
So that it might
Find
Itself
Innumerably.
-Sri Aubobindo
Saidin is a fictional character, and only exists in the collective unconscious. Therefore, we both do and do not exist. Everything is made up as we go along, and none of it is real.