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RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 21, 2014 at 5:39 pm
(August 21, 2014 at 3:53 pm)Confused Ape Wrote: (August 21, 2014 at 12:43 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: It may have something to do with the fact that many of the elite pagans, including the pre-Socratics, were initiates in various Mystery Religions.
And these mystery religions were designed to produce altered states of consciousness. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they developed from shamanism which was probably the very first kind of religion humans came up with.
Humans who have mystical experiences will experience very similar things because we've all got human brains. The interesting thing about it all as far as I'm concerned is the different interpretations and beliefs resulting from these experiences. Similar experiences, yes. Could you not say that they seem to converge on something quite genuine? Could it also be that our natural state is a dimished state of awareness and the ethenogens temporarily allow us to transcend our normal limitations?
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RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 22, 2014 at 6:01 am
(August 21, 2014 at 5:39 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: Similar experiences, yes. Could you not say that they seem to converge on something quite genuine? Could it also be that our natural state is a dimished state of awareness and the ethenogens temporarily allow us to transcend our normal limitations?
Our species has certainly had a diminished awareness of our place in nature. We've wrecked the planet because we believed we are God's greatest creation/evolution's greatest product and nature is there to be exploited.
Neuroscience has shown that practises like meditation have an effect on the brain. Jill Bolte Taylor's mystical experience was the result of a stroke, though.
Does any of this prove that God exists? First, define God because there are many different concepts.
 Where are the snake and mushroom smilies?
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RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 22, 2014 at 11:17 am
(August 21, 2014 at 5:39 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: Could it also be that our natural state is a diminished state of awareness and the ethenogens temporarily allow us to transcend our normal limitations?
I think our self-aware conscious minds are one of many adaptions consciousness has come up with in the service of enabling the species to survive under changing pressures. It is quite an extravagant investment of the available bandwidth but it has never been the whole of consciousness, nor should it be.
Our conscious minds evolved to allow us to live as we do in such structured and interdependent communities. It allows us to judge the intentions of the 'others' on our borders.
But our conscious minds are entirely dependent upon much more conscious activity going on below the surface. Without this division of labor within consciousness we would not be able to focus effectively and coherently on the all important social aspects of living. This is analogous to the way some aspects of human action are available for conscious choosing while others go on autonomically.
I was curious to explore how the experience of consciousness could be different and to understand how we accomplish consciousness. But at the end of the day, I think the arrangement we have in which we are most often aware of only a certain range of features and choices will do quite nicely. There is no need (and indeed no way) to take over all of consciousness with our conscious minds. And to do so strikes me as no more desirable than it would be to make the adjustments of blood pressure something requiring conscious intervention.
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RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 22, 2014 at 11:29 am
Our brains seek patterns, and where none exist, creates them. It would be surprising if such a complex organ didn't occasionally glitch and then, in an attempt to understand its glitch, conjured up a pattern, labelling it "god".
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RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 22, 2014 at 4:01 pm
At this point I must throw this one out...I've had ben very impressed with the HemiSync products and their ability to put you in the zone. I've also had some amazing experiences using isochronic prayer bowls.
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RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 22, 2014 at 4:44 pm
I have never felt anywhere near the amount of love, peace, and joy that I did when I experienced the Fanastic Tail Head for the first time.
He who loves God cannot endeavour that God should love him in return - Baruch Spinoza
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RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 22, 2014 at 4:51 pm
(August 22, 2014 at 11:29 am)Thumpalumpacus Wrote: Our brains seek patterns, and where none exist, creates them. It would be surprising if such a complex organ didn't occasionally glitch and then, in an attempt to understand its glitch, conjured up a pattern, labelling it "god". That is very true. What's better, seeing the grass move? Assume it's the wind or assume it's a lion?
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RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 22, 2014 at 4:54 pm
(August 22, 2014 at 4:51 pm)Diablo Wrote: That is very true. What's better, seeing the grass move? Assume it's the wind or assume it's a lion?
Its a sniper. Its always a fucking sniper.
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RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 22, 2014 at 5:56 pm
(August 22, 2014 at 4:51 pm)Diablo Wrote: (August 22, 2014 at 11:29 am)Thumpalumpacus Wrote: Our brains seek patterns, and where none exist, creates them. It would be surprising if such a complex organ didn't occasionally glitch and then, in an attempt to understand its glitch, conjured up a pattern, labelling it "god". That is very true. What's better, seeing the grass move? Assume it's the wind or assume it's a lion?
The surfeit of processing power we contain in our heads means that we can entertain both options in the absence of danger ... and thereby confuse ourselves with notions of deity and other such jive.
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RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 24, 2014 at 7:31 pm
I almost always have a mystical experience when I put my dildo in my bum while watching girly porn. I swear I see Allah everytime
Ut supra, ita inferius
Uƚ ƨuqɿɒ, iƚɒ inʇɘɿiuƨ
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