i was reading up on dimetyltryptamine(DMT). it is a natural chemical found in the human brain that can cause hallucination that resmble out of body experiences and an extension of reality like a parallel universe. i know believing in an after life doesn't hurt the believer. we all know how powerful the mind is and that it can use our belief system to alter how we perceive something. i was wondering how much of an impact this has had on someone who uses an out of body experience as their defining idea about whether or not they believe in a particular religion.

wow thats pretty interesting I always believed in OBE's or astal projection,because I tend to have them alot,usually I have to be laying flat on my back,It's funny though everything tells me that there is no life after death,which is a scary thought to me and probaly millions of others,but then I'll have astral travel thing happen or a really meaningful dream about my sons' father who died and them I'm confused..
nicole

i've only had one OBE and i really didn't know what to think about it at first.

no life after death don't sound so bad.

I just had to reply to this an say i have only had a few obe s in my life an each time saw my self die the only difference was the way i passed the experience or obe as you call it was the same but I have to say I dont beleive it was any dream but a crossing if you will the crossing over I think it is a leap of faith you either have enough to cross or you dont go yet.
I know this goes againsnt most religious veiws but i think that is because they havent had one yet . scary as hell if you ask me thats what i thought about having an obe.

Perhaps it is being IN a body that is the illusion

lol nice comment artgurl. i've often thought that my whole life was just a horrible nightmare and that i'm going to wake up at any moment.....then i come back to reality and realize that whether there is a GOD or not i just have to do the best that i can and accept life on lifes terms. everything else takes care of itself.

once i went to spiritual retreit, in the country.
we supposed to be in silence, meditation, contemplative prayer, etc.
in one moment i got such a concentration thet i felt like i started floating, but i got scared, and i did not go further.
I've never done it again because i'm still afraid.

Yes, perhaps our minds created a "body" out of nothing because the vastness was too much for us....

or we could all be the philsopical classic "brains in jars."

Can anyone prove we are not?

don't be afraid LW.


if that's true anoasis it's one hell of a good trick because my "jar" bleeds when i get cut.lol

the body as an illusion comments pretty much summarize my thought to a degree. the only thing that i can even think to compare it to would be the delusions and hallucinations of a schizofrenic. what kinds of beliefs and alternate realities is our mind really responsible for?

King-

It's all an illusion... it's all in your mind....

maybe?

lol i wish it was.

it is all just consciousness I think

See King now it's 2 against 1.... now think yourself in a better frame of mind!!!

i'm always in a good frame of mind. i was just wondering how often those things that people experience and believe in so much are actually the result of brain chemistry. i know religious people don't like it when you question the existence of GOD but i think it is a legitimate question.

Ahhh... but maybe God makes the chemicals flow through the brain?

Or maybe god created the chemicals to be that way and now has a "hands off" policy?

If you believe that there is a creative force, as I do, it is not necessary to limit such a being to operating only in ways we understand... or that fit traditional "religious" views....

and if a religious person doesn't like being questioned about their beliefs it must be because they are unfamiliar with them or they are unsure of their faith...

Those who are confident and comfortable in their beliefs usually welcome questions and opportunities to share and explore those beliefs.... otherwise it's just dogma.

i agree with you there. man will never understand everything. i don't think we are even capable of understanding a lot of things that go on in this world.

It is like this: It is better to live your life like there is a God because, if there is, you won, and if there is not, you have not lost anything

you mean live up to the moral standards right willy?