mauGR1

I'm not going to find good reasons for human sacrifice, or even animal sacrifice, but actually all religions, starting with Christian religion, have been corrupted by evil ( or misguided) men with evil ( or misguided) purposes. Probably the same happened to Aztec priests and religion. ..but yes, it's my opinion that the goal of religion is, or should be, to bring harmony and justice to the life of humans.

I think that's the essence of religion.

Well, it's safe to say, i think, that modern technology is based on the observation and imitation of the natural world, so your comparison can be about right. The acceleration of the technology in the last 100 years still leaves me astonished, and probably "we've seen nothing yet".

As i said many times, studying many types of consciousness is an interesting occupation. To answer your question, yes, in part we are the same consciousness which pervades every form of life, minerals, plants, animals, water, fire etc. Other aspects of consciousness are made of more subtle energies, an individual soul, as in a human being, is a unique product of countless forces at work, at times even battling with each other. Saying that "thought " is electrical impulses produced by the brain is a gross generalization, it's more correct imho to assume that electricity, thought, consciousness are everywhere, every time.

Perhaps i could go off on a tangent and say that " consciousness " is the only reality.. and everything else is a temporary, limited illusion. I'm not talking about my consciousness or your consciousness, just consciousness in general. Now, if one could imagine all the consciousness which permeates the universe, he could be able to describe God.

Supernatural cannot be explained, that's why is called Supernatural, or God for some. And "reality" is subjective to various extents, so it can be said with certainty that "reality" is not the same for everyone. I think it's perfectly rational to assume that everyone is a creator, at least partially, of his own reality.

"complete trust or confidence in someone or something." this is a definition of faith i found : it has very rarely occurred to me to experience that feeling, and it doesn't last long, but i guess it's different for everyone. on the other hand, to believe in the supernatural is logical to me, but i guess that the interpretation of the meaning of logic is quite subjective too.

Faith is beyond the rational, but that's just my opinion. However, it may be rational to try to put some Faith somewhere.

Well, i don't quite agree that all creatures are the same, as we can see huge differences in the consciousness of various beings, from microbes to mammals. While humans are " technically " evolved mammals, they have the potential to regulate the stream of consciousness from 0 to infinite. I agree thus that as humans we have the collective power to transform this earth in heaven or hell. Given the apparent fact that most human's average consciousness is still at the animal level, in some case more reptile than mammal, and that growth of consciousness cannot be imposed, all we can do is to do some energetic work on ourselves.

Agree, of course, but just for the sake of hair-splitting, a "closer to perfect" truth can be obtained by walking the landscape and looking at the map altogether, and it will be still a subjective truth.

Imho, you are both right, just watching the issue from different angles. I could even offer other angles to examine a tough issue as depression. Yep, I'm an expert, having dealt with depression since my early years. I think I'm not alone there, we are all depressed to a certain extent, and anyone has his own antidotes to deal with it.

There are flaws in the theory of evolution, which some people choose to ignore. There are many reasons why some people choose to be ignorant, but as they say, ignorance is bliss. The intelligent design which is obvious in any form of life should at least make one think about the origin of life itself, even if some part of the evolution theory might be correct. Belief without questioning is un-scientific.

Well, in the short term, probably things are going to get worse, but i still have hope. Perhaps I'll not live long enough to see the beginning of the golden age, but it's just a question of time, so for now I'll consider myself fortunate enough not to fall prey of those "false truths " that you mention.

I'm no expert, but i guess those psychologists' job is in fact to listen, and eventually warn the authorities if one's looking like a danger for society and himself. It's quite normal to feel 'lost' sometimes, life is never easy, except for moments of bliss. One might as well talk about his troubles to some friend or relative, even to himself, and find his own way to a reasonable state of happiness, or at least some peace of mind. Unfortunately, our western societies have become so competitive that people are never consistently happy. Hopefully more and more people will rebel against the pressure of the official narrative, and stick again to good old values like love, friendship, compassion, honesty etc

My ex mother in law was one of them. Nice person most of the times, but she had a quite restricted list of labels for everyone. She had a high opinion though, of the ones who admired her and paid her compliments. It's a funny world indeed, and i respect Orwell for his foresight.

That sounds exactly like me ???? However it's always good to be able to see things from a detached point of view ; the positive about getting old, is that emotions, as frequent cause of big mistakes, are easier to control and examine.

There must be a few of those psychologist who are real psychos. Dangerous to trust them. My theory for more or less accurate diagnosis of mental illness I've better not say, but ego has something to do with it. The old wise anonymous once said that it's insanity to adapt to an insane world, while others say that intelligence is the ability to adapt. So, whatever you do, you are right and wrong at the same time ????

Lol, aren't they smart.. Well, studying animals and their relationships with humans and the rest of the world is quite interesting for a better understanding of the spiritual world. Isn't hilarious when the behavior of humans, under certain circumstances, resemble that of animals... I like cats too, they'll accept food and take care of the territory, but they can easily survive on their own. I've been lucky to get very close to a wild cat in Himalayas once, and I've got a stunning impression.. what a difference with those fat, lazy domestic cats.

You don't like dogs too much, do you? ???? Yet, if we look at the "history of the dog & humans", we can assume that dogs have been good allies in the human's struggles to survive, prosper, and create and develop a more and more sophisticated society. But my point was that, evolved mammals, living in the proximity of humans, can develop human qualities, in some case quite surprisingly.

If we observe the different levels of consciousness in the living beings which share this planet with us humans, we can come to the conclusion that there's no limit to the expansion of the human consciousness . Animals who live close to humans can develop human qualities. The simple fact that most humans can rise above the " animal consciousness " is for me clear evidence that we can rise above " human consciousness " too. The fact that we can detect all those different levels of consciousness, is for me evidence that consciousness exists independently from matter. One could even say that matter is a state, or a form of consciousness. It's quite possible that our solar system will cease to exist at some point, but look at how many stars in the sky, some of those are possibly inhabited by more or less conscious beings. So, given that i decide to call all that is " God", it would be silly even trying to describe it with the information available at the moment.

Natural science is good for studying matter, but when it comes to investigate consciousness it's almost useless. Consciousness is often dismissed as "electrical impulses", sorry, but I'm not satisfied with that. As humans, compared to minerals, plants and animals, we have the potential to expand our consciousness, but concepts like infinitity/eternity are out of reach, and most probably it will be that way as long as we are in a physical body. As for your knowledge, which is surely above average, wouldn't it be more correct to say that you cannot prove, and neither disprove the existence of God? I cannot prove the existence of God, but i can see forces at work in the universe, or intelligent designs, and those forces are interconnected in many ways. Should i assume that those forces are not intelligent, and highly conscious, because they don't have a human body ? That would be a mistake imho.

I don't know why would anyone assume that the intelligent design of the universe would have happened just "by chance". It is rational imho to concede that there's intelligence (consciousness) in the order of the universe. How to define that intelligence is open to one's imagination, but it's rather unscientific to assume that intelligence ( or consciousness) is born from matter.

I'm sorry, I must have missed it. I haven't been able to read all the posts, especially not the back-and-forth that seemed to be between others having nothing to do with my contributions to this discussion. Tag me or respond to me and I will be more likely to see it. (I don't see any post of yours on this page about the apocalypse...how far back was it?) @AsianAtHeart , a few days ago, i think. Never mind. btw, you can call me 'pantheist' , I'm ok with that. Animism, polytheism, are ok for me, like buddhism or christianity. I take the best, and sometimes the worst, from many ideas. There are many ways to Rome.

I can understand your words, but we are all different, and we have different phases along the journey. It's difficult for everyone to get through the many rivers. And the harder enemy is fear. Don't forget that God's already part of yourself, because everything is God. Btw, i asked few posts above about the imminent apocalypse.. perhaps you think it's better not to talk about?

Aren't we all a bit narcissistic? Probably, the more narcissistic, the less likely to admit it. Focus on oneself in order to become a better being is not a sin imho.