Greetings!

[philosopherX]

I've been hoping to find people with whom I can discuss philosophy, cosmology, metaphysics, paranormal phenomena, the theory of everything, etc., so I'm glad to have found the TOE link on my "myspace" page a few days ago. A coincidence? I don't think so. I look forward to many interesting discussions and friendly debates

[austintorn@aol.com]

Welcome. All those kinds of people are here, maybe some even all in one. What are some things that you wish to discuss?

[philosopherX]

Welcome. All those kinds of people are here, maybe some even all in one. What are some things that you wish to discuss?

Well, for one thing, I would like to discuss paranormal phenomena such as "lucid dreaming" and "astral travel". I also wonder how the theory of everything could explain experiences such as reincarnation. Wherein does the story of the Garden of Eden come into play with the theory of everything? Does the story symbolize a primordial paradise of complete unity and undivided consciousness - a blissful ignorance of good and evil? The fall of man being the awareness of good and evil, which caused a split or divided consciousness - a duality which could not be reconciled until man returned to his essential unified state of God consciousness.

[austintorn@aol.com]

Well, Mikal is our x-files expert; mkirkpatrick says a lot about the astral plane; reincrnatation, not sure but perhaps Hindus are here; I do lucid dreaming—it's quite a wonderful virtual reality—sometimes I just follow it along and other times I wish things to go a certain way.

God and no God all have their proponents here, as well as many in-betweens. Interpreting biblical symbolism is tricky, for it can be easily applied in many ways, perhaps rendering it subjective. Some say God wrote it in plain text for the common man to understand and that various interpretations would make it incomprehensible to the man on the street. Me? I just take it all as an amalgamation of old Jewish legends, for no One so perfectly full of love would do any harm, plus, you know, not much evidence of an unseen invisible Guy, much less defined as Krishna, Allah, Jehovah, and more.

[baudrunner]

One should take with a grain of salt all those ancient writings with respect to one's mission of extrapolating an understanding of the fundamental nature of reality. None of those writings appear to have much to do with addressing the search for a Theory of Everything.

The bible is merely a collection of many books and manuscripts including history (however factual), song and poetry, fable, parable, and so on which were written by many different authors over an extended period of about 700 years. The Book of Isaiah, for example, was authored by two people whose end product was finally realized after two hundred years. Since then, that compendium has gone through many revisions, editions, and translations over the centuries. I wouldn't take too much stock in it, myself.

The "Hadiths", which means essentially "gospels", which refer to the Koran, were written two hundred years after Muhammed's death. Again, same story..

I find it curious that the average person fears rationalizing God. It is perfectly permissible to do so, and falls into the same box as the idea that just because one does not have religion does not mean that he/she is not favored by god. History teaches us that religion is more often a tool of oppression than one of liberation.

[Mikal]

Well, for one thing, I would like to discuss paranormal phenomena such as "lucid dreaming" and "astral travel". I also wonder how the theory of everything could explain experiences such as reincarnation. Wherein does the story of the Garden of Eden come into play with the theory of everything? Does the story symbolize a primordial paradise of complete unity and undivided consciousness - a blissful ignorance of good and evil? The fall of man being the awareness of good and evil, which caused a split or divided consciousness - a duality which could not be reconciled until man returned to his essential unified state of God consciousness.

Hi philosopherX....welcome to the TOE forum. I'll look forward to discussing with you. The paranormal is really a normal part of our psychic abilities but the knowledge was lost to us in the dark ages. I have experienced it and although seeming paranormal it was only that way because nobody told me it was a possible experience for us. Lucid dreaming I have also experienced and what we call astral travel or OBEs so lots to discuss....
The Bible is really a story told in symbols, metaphors and parables and should not be read in a literal sense. You have to read the symbols, intuit the metaphors and innately understand the parables....



Mikal

[baudrunner]

philosopherX,

I can tell you with absolute certainty that the transmigration of the spirit (reincarnation), wherein the cycle of the birth and rebirth of one's integral spiritual identity is maintained, is indeed a fact of life. One's personal knowledge of this phenomenon is a function of the depth to which their own spiritual journey has taken them over the course of their lifetimes on this physical plane. This knowledge becomes an open door to newer and richer spiritual awakenings and a deeper understanding of the nature of reality. What is paranormal to one can be quite normal to another.

The luicid dreamer is the one who has found his inner peace, and is self-satisfied and secure with themself and their life. Find your center, find peace, and become secure with yourself so that the happiness that results from this makes you a lucid dreamer as well. I have known people to transition from not ever knowing their own dreams and forgetting them on waking to remembering their dreams and describing them in detail. It was accomplished through a change of the state of their minds with a little help from subtle changes in lifestyle and a new ideological approach to lfe.

I have had experiences and encounters which one might consider unnatural and which have convinced me beyond a doubt that there is much more to life than meets the eye.

[austintorn@aol.com]

Once I was riding on a train in my lucid dream towards a wall of mountain, so I just wished the mountain away. It is like playing God.

If I want to go on a dream vacation, I just conjure up the place.

[timeparticle]

Once I was riding on a train in my lucid dream towards a wall of mountain, so I just wished the mountain away. It is like playing God.

If I want to go on a dream vacation, I just conjure up the place.

One evening, as I was reading the Bible, I decided to change every word of "He" to "She" in referring to God, or the Lord. It be became a humorous experience and a tilt on my original take on the "Lord God of Israel".

That night, I dreamt I met her.... a huge beautiful woman with long hair. She smiled and said thanks to my change of viewpoint about her.

TP

[austintorn@aol.com]

Maybe try replacing He or She with It or Nature, as gender and other human traits may have been so painted upon God's face that the real one may have been hidden—the one way beyond human ways, but, then again, who knows, for the choice of a paint brush is arbitrary.