What do you think about spirits and the after-life?

[Frumens]

I was just offering an alternative. I'm yet to experience, as far as I'm aware, the existence of awareness without my brain. I have no way currently to discern whether or not any of my experiences to date are occurring or could be occurring if I didn't have a brain. Not to say they can't, just that I'm yet to find a way to know explicitly whether it is possible.

Sure you have ways. All you have to do is study a non-dual form of Hinduism. Asurendra's is tantric Shaivism, good for occultists. Mine is Advaita Vedanta, not so much fun for occultists.

[Circles]

I was just offering an alternative. I'm yet to experience, as far as I'm aware, the existence of awareness without my brain. I have no way currently to discern whether or not any of my experiences to date are occurring or could be occurring if I didn't have a brain. Not to say they can't, just that I'm yet to find a way to know explicitly whether it is possible.

Sure you have ways. All you have to do is study a non-dual form of Hinduism. Asurendra's is tantric Shaivism, good for occultists. Mine is Advaita Vedanta, not so much fun for occultists.

I'm still not sure how experiencing this proves anything other than that you experienced that event. From what I can see, trying to rationalize that experience into anything further (be it that you exist with/without the brain or anything else) defeats the whole experience. I'm talking about the physical brain here, not the mind.

Edit: Seems to be the classic science vs religion going on.

Science - all experience is a byproduct of the brain.

Religion/mysticism - Something bigger is going on.

To put it crudely. I have no preference towards either at this point.

[Frumens]

I'm still not sure how experiencing this proves anything other than that you experienced that event. From what I can see, trying to rationalize that experience into anything further (be it that you exist with/without the brain or anything else) defeats the whole experience.

Once you get to that level conceptualization is no longer useful.

I'm talking about the physical brain here, not the mind.

Me too.

Edit: Seems to be the classic science vs religion going on.

Science - all experience is a byproduct of the brain.

Religion/mysticism - Something bigger is going on.

Yup, pretty much.

To put it crudely. I have no preference towards either at this point.

That's good too.

[Circles]

Once you get to that level conceptualization is no longer useful.

Funny how people persist though.

[Ramscha]

Well, I guess I don't really care much about the afterlive at the moment for myself, as I am alive now, what comes will come, but not now. Later.
Honoring the dead and their planes is another thing, but this is subject to my personal paradigm and state.

Now, as my practice roots in the Kaotig reigns of dreams and subjective imaginations I want to go with a theoretical approach of the afterlife which I played with as a thoughtplay (whatelse can I do as I am not dead yet?):

Assuming the only reality which is is that what we are created by ourselves. In short: Only we are real, the beeing we are and everything around may as well be an illusion. Therefore the end of existence would be death, right? Well, problem is for me in the parameters of this thoughtplay that there is no end to existence. Time may be experienced liniar in this illusion of world, but future and past (memories) are all experienced at the same time as the present is not consistent. So, also the time would be obsolet in a way (except the moment the existence ends itself, but that goes astray from the point I want to reach....).
So, time being illusionary and death as passing away of the vehicle (flesh) created by ourselves is also illusionary we come to a point where to ask: What is next. And as the future, past and present being own choice and illusion, why not the "afterlive" as well? As faith being only the personal choice of the reality we believe in this would result in the own choice of what afterlife might be. The sinnful christ will end in hell, the faithful warrior who died a good death will drink in Walhalla, the aboriginy may dream the endless dream and dance through the old ways, the atheist dwelling in emptyness(?), the list goes on and on....

So, what is the question I want to point out?

In short: What if we are up to choose where we want to end up? (This question is an illusion as well, this moment you are reading it it will already be past as well as part of the future where you will read it.... think about it).

Ramscha

[Frumens]

In short: What if we are up to choose where we want to end up? (This question is an illusion as well, this moment you are reading it it will already be past as well as part of the future where you will read it.... think about it).
Ramscha

My own beliefs are somewhat similar to this. I think that when the physical body dies we remain on the astral plane. Thoughts and emotions are reality on the astral plane, so you'll go to the type of afterlife you expect. It's not a matter of choice for me; it's more like what your unconscious creates for you. Eventually the astral body dies, and then you're on the mental plane. When your mental body dies, your causal body reincarnates and the process begins again.

As for the illusion thing, it depends on the level you look at it. Ultimately objects don't exist and nothing ever happened; there is no present or past, no physical or astral body, no object at all. On another level, we are individuals living in an eternal now. On another level, we interact with an agreed consensus on what happened in the past.