Thanks Wolf for taking the time to compose such a detailed and considered response
Quoting: Know.Thyself No problem....
I’d have to disagree with this, straight off the bat. For example, muslims rarely report positive NDEs of meeting with allah/muhammad or whatever, and in the rare instances that maybe they do (I’ve not come across anything convincing), I’d suspect a bit of taqiyya at play. See vid below…
Quoting: Know.Thyself How many muslim NDE's have you explored that you would feel comfortable making broader generalizations about the nature of those experiences for an entire demographic that exceeds something like 2 billion people?
I myself would not feel comfortable doing so as I've not personally encountered any wide database or collection of NDE accounts from individuals self-identifying as muslim. The other thing we really need to be mindful of is that with this particular demographic - there is significant concern about under-reporting and non-reporting of experiences because within heavily religious cultures, any individual reporting transcendental (spiritual) experiences that do not conform to the rigid tenents/doctrines of the religion in question are going to be met with criticism, scorn, shunning, (maybe even violence) etc.... So for psychological/sociological reasons - an individual who experiences something that cannot be adequately reinforced/supported by preexisting religious ideology is extremely unlikely to be forthcoming about one's experience and even more unlikely to allow it to be widely known in the form of being published (publicly). So one has to wonder how many individuals out there are actually having profound, life-changing Near-Death Experiences, but have to more or less keep it to themselves and for valid reasons are extremely reluctant to share those details/experiences with others.
Also, I'm not sure that we should hold the expectation that everyone who identifies as religious should somehow experience seeing a character/figure tied to those religions. If everyone received (experienced) what is reinforced by their preexisting beliefs/ideologies then we would expect that self-identified atheists would experience nothing. And these experiences beyond this dimension paint the picture of a multi-dimensional existence where forms & appearances are not rigid, but malleable (changeable).
Similarly, those who commit suicide also tend to experience less pleasant NDEs.
Quoting: Know.Thyself I've read from one researcher's finding that there are individuals who harmed themselves and experienced distressing NDE's and there are individuals who harmed themselves and experienced profound and radiant NDE's... Of course no one should view harming oneself as a real answer to their plight - and no one returning from an NDE has ever advocated harming oneself as a solution (quite the opposite). However when you consider the state of mind and the strong mental/emotional influences that lead up to one harming oneself - it would not surprise me to learn that one's mental/emotional state could have a considerable influence in determining the nature of the (NDE) experience that followed.
I’ve thought about this also- that it is perhaps the ‘higher self’ informing the judgement, as opposed to an external force or ‘adjudicator’.
Quoting: Know.Thyself Yes many people hear of NDE experiencers reporting that the judgement originates from within and they immediately reject this idea - why? Because they are (incorrectly) assuming that this judgement is originating from egoic identity that is so commonly experienced during the human experience, from that state of awareness. The one in which people are likely to make excuses for their behavior and employ defense mechanism to protect their physical-mind derived 'sense of self' (identity). And of course that's not the correct context at all because the individuals providing these accounts report experiencing a entirely different state of being far removed from their human state of consciousness/awareness. And they universally report that nothing is hidden or obscured during this process, that there is complete transparency. That you cannot lie to yourself in such a context or environment.
HOWEVER, I’d have to say that one major defining difference that I’ve observed in terms of the humans on this planet, is that there are maybe three but certainly at least two ‘types’- those with conscience (empaths for want of a better word) and those without conscience (psychopaths/sociopaths/narcissists… general cluster B types).
Quoting: Know.Thyself Respectfully, I strongly feel that any time we attempt to take our incredibly complex reality and attempt to define or describe it using a limited number of 'types' or 'groups' or 'sides' (duality) - we inevitably result in diminishing the actual nature of it (reality) and this leads to reduced perception/awareness of what actually is... In other words it does not contribute to yielding heightened awareness for what it is that we are attempting to describe and observe.
I'm certain that there are some individuals out there branded as sociopaths who - if you could become intimately aware of their personal history, you would discover they endured through significant abuse/neglect during their life experince and that this factored significantly into their state of being, later in life. Of course this does not excuse harming others - but it raises the question as to what the outcome would have been had these individuals not been impacted by such external influences. If they had instead experienced growing up in a nurturing, non-abusive environment...
So with that in mind, those individuals who tend towards psychopathy/sociopathy might arguably be described as those who would most benefit from a few ‘life lessons’. Yet it is precisely their lack of inner self-awareness and empathy for others that defines their mindset. So where and how is the ‘higher self’ operating within these individuals? Or does it just magically spring forth after death? And if so, what a pointless exercise!!
Quoting: Know.Thyself That's a great question... And there are a lot of great questions that can be posed which we are not going to find a perfect or completely fulfilling answer to - not from this vantage point (while still experiencing these limited physical bodies).
Let's say you have an incredibly vivid nightmare... Almost like a lucid dream experience, which feels ultra realistic. When you awake in your bed started - what you just experienced feels absolutely real (valid). The conscious experience of it was nearly indistinguishable from your waking reality. Yet when you wake up in bed, there is quickly the experience or realization of having 'awakened' or shifted to a greater reality - and (physical) reality that feels 'more real' than that dream environment you just experienced. So there is this sense/experience of shifting from one reality (in this example the dream state/reality) to a broader, more expansive, more comple reality (in this example our physical world/reality).
If you can get comfortable with the idea of that conscious transition (as it is experienced) - then it's not too difficult to connect with the idea that the conscious experience of leaving this physical world/reality could yield a similar experience. Namely, the experience of physical death will result in your conscious energy (soul) not only departing from this physical dimension (reality), but essentially 'awakening' out of this more limiting physical reality and into a broader, more expansive, more complex, multi-dimensional reality. This would not be a brand new experience - but it would be akin to waking up from your vivid/lucid nightmare (dream). That you would find yourself connecting with a greater, more complex reality that would in turn completely change/alter how you would view what is now perceived as a temporary and significantly more limited reality (human life in the physical dimension).
I would again reinforce the notion that the experience of the physical body itself is limiting in that it influences your conscious energy to strongly identify with the body and to strongly identify with all the temporary forms of the physical world. I perceive that individuals who display no empathy have worked themselves into a state where they have become so self-centered and so strongly consciously identified with the illusory perception of being separate from everyone/everything else - therefore they can only think of themselves and their own needs/desires/impulses... They are experiencing a gross distortion of the truth of their reality/existence... However the physical body is a significant influence here because it contributes to the perception (illusion) of everything existing as a separate form. So after death, you are removing the context by which the physical body is contributing to these limited perceptions - and as we've discussed that disembodied state yields a multi-dimensional awareness that is going to be distinctly unique as compared to the state of awareness that would have been experienced by those individuals in the embodied state. And I'm not suggesting this would magically or instantly change someone's state of consciousness - certainly not suggesting that. Only that these individuals may reconnect with a state of awareness that will enable them to accurately perceive what transpired during their human incarnation/experience. To perceive the actual nature of what they lived/experienced. I don't believe there are any free passes and if they worked their way into a certain, undesirable state of being (state of consciousness) - they will be faced with the task of gradually working their way out of it (by whatever means we are afforded to accomplish this)...
Look to the satanic elite- do they seem the least bit perturbed about future consequences of their actions, in the spiritual dimensions? Do they fear ‘judgement’? One must assume that they have access to more information, pieces of the puzzle etc than we do- we know the Vatican alone has sequestered away unimaginable amounts of information pertaining to our human history.
Quoting: Know.Thyself I would stop yourself right there... Why would we assume that the 'satanic elite' possess wisdom? If they had cultivated wisdom within themselves, if they were wise - well then they certainly wouldn't be operating in a manner that seeks to manipulate and cause widespread harm to others - right?
They control, manipulate, and cause harm through material and psychological means. They control through wealth (resources), and psychological influence. They control the means of production and have huge financial interests in the resources that make the world go round. That's where their 'power' originates from. Take away their financial/material resources and what ability do they have to control the world? None... They can possess intelligence, and the psychological understanding of how to manipulate people and the masses - but this is not wisdom, because with wisdom (awareness) comes empathy and a greater sense of connectedness with others. Nothing about their actions speaks to having cultivated and posessing wisdom - which would shield empathy, compassion, altruism, selflessness, etc...
If they were wise then why the neverending fixation with the pursuit of wealth, material possessions, and power/control over others?
If they had any real awareness & understanding of what people from all over the globe report experiencing during Near-Death Experiences regarding the 'life review' - do you really think they would continue intentionally causing harm to others if they also realized that they are going be made directly aware of how their actons affected the conscious experience of others? Of course not...
Also, books in and of themselves do not automatically yield enhanced awareness, wisdom, and character-growth in the individuals who possess them or have access to them (the books/texts). Simply reading something, even professing belief in what you've read - does not necessarily produce any significant & lasting changes in one's state of consciousness.
The significant and lasting changes to one's conscious state require years of challenging inner-work and the eventual relinquishment of limiting and unhealthy attachments. No book can give this to anyone, but a book could inspire a person to pursue this path.... Yet that individual still has to do all of the heavy lifting, all of the 'work' to get the results. So simply possessing a book or having access to a book, no matter how profound and wise the contents could be - it speaks nothing to the state of consciousness (state of conscious development) of the individual in question. If anything, they could be hiding materials that would inspire people to 'wake up' and thereby disrupt the world's current control grid/structure.
Again, if they possessed real wisdom, they would be experienced a state of heightened/enhanced awareness - and in that state they no be seeking to harm/manipulate others, and they would not exhibit such a ridiculous unhealthy attachment to worldly things (wealth, money, material possessions, image/status, controlling others)... Everything about what they do and how they operate speaks to these individuals not being 'spiritually' aware and not possessing any significant degree of wisdom... Their conscious experience seems entirely identified with this human life and they operate in manners that reinforce experiencing such a state/condition. These are not psychologically healthy individuals - yet all you ever see or hear of them is what's displayed publicly, or printed in the (controlled) media... I strongly suspect if you could know the intimate details of their private, internal lives - you would discover individuals with major insecurities, fears, and afflictions... In other words, no sense of peace, no sense of contentment, and no sense of self-acceptance and wholeness...
What are they hiding, and how has it informed their actions?
Quoting: Know.Thyself What are they hiding? Their selfishness, their lack of wisdom, their lack of character development that would otherwise lead to feeling empathy for others and selfless acts of altruism...
I'm putting to you that the same dynamics we see playing out every day in nature, all around you- the weak get eaten- either by larger predators or smaller parasitical entities seizing advantage of any weakness in the biological organism- those same dynamics are operating on a larger scale also. Humans are NOT at the top of the food chain.
Quoting: Know.Thyself The
only thing that can make the existence and the experience of the 'food chain' in this physical reality tolerable is the realization that all of the physical forms that perish are animated by a field of energy that can never perish. That those physical experiences are always temporary and the underlying eternal energy always survives and continues on...
Much as we require food for energy, higher dimensional beings also require sustenance- very likely in the form of our life force or 'soul' or 'spirit' or whatever label you want to give it.
Quoting: Know.Thyself I would respectfully caution you against the practice of taking certain attributes that are distinctly rooted in this physical reality and upholding them as a model or blueprint for the entirety of existence within a multi-dimensional reality.
Eating in the context of this physical reality/dimension is only to sustain the physical vessel (body/form). The very same physical vessel that is born with a guaranteed but unknown expiration date, and which is only temporary. So how do you reckon that having to consume food to sustain a clearly temporary body/form is analogous to 'higher beings' feeding on energy outside of this physical dimension? Why would these 'higher beings' in a disembodied (non-physical) state require energy to survive/sustain? And how does one 'consume energy' since our only other reference point here is strictly a physical act of consuming food and then our physical body has a physical organs and a physical process which digests that food?
The very context of 'higher beings' in a non-physical dimension works against all human reference points we have for the act of 'eating/feeding' - does it not?
And to further test/challenge this practice of taking traits inherently part of the human experience and extrapolating or applying them to contexts entirely different than the human experience - why stop at the act/pratice of eating/feeding? For example, do 'higher beings' also have to urinate and take dumps? Do they have to sleep and take naps to sustain themselves? Do they have to have physical sex to procreate? Do they grow old and have to experience the 'death' of their physical form? If asking these additional questions doesn't sound like it makes any sense in the context of 'higher beings' in another dimension - that's good, because it shouldn't. The notion of having to eat/consume to survive is rooted in experiencing a temporary, physical form - one in which requires physical consumption, physical digestion, physical defecation, and physical sex for reproduction. Unless you can sufficiently explain how non-physical beings would be bound by the same processes of beings experiencing physical embodiment (such as the human experience) - I don't see how any reasonable analogy can be made... If you're not actively experiencing a temporary, physical form - why would you need to eat anything to live/survive? There would be nothing to sustain, no physical meat suit which demands/requires sustenance...
Does it make more sense how the notion of 'higher beings' in a non-physical dimension would have no need or requirement for a process that is distinctly tied to your physical embodiment in this limiting physical reality (dimension) that was always intended to be a temporary experience? You're not eating to sustain your existence, you are eating to sustain your temporary meatsuit... The notion of 'higher beings' eating to sustain their existence is clearly not the same as the context we experience here and where we pull all reference points for eating/consuming... So the two contexts are not analogous when sufficiently scrutnized...
So if we didn't evolve- who put us here? And WHY??
Quoting: Know.Thyself Great question... Are you certain that there are only two ways of looking at/into this? It sounds like you are currently only allowing for two possibilities in your mind. The 'darwin' perspective of randomness and spontaneous creation with seemingly no rhyme, reason, or purpose - versus the 'some external actor or force' must have done this to us... What if neither of these two sides/options paints an accurate depiction of the actual truth of the matter? What if both viewpoints prove to be insufficient & inadequate?
Human society tries to pigeon-hole you into choosing from a very limited number of 'options' to adopt... It does not encourage nor reward outside the box thinking/perceiving - because that would disrupt the existing paradigms and conceptual models and inevitably result in others feeling uncomfortable/insecure... So there is this pervading societal pressure to conform your mind to these limited options/sides...
The actual truth of the matter is not going to be found through identification with our prepackaged belief systems about reality which you will find significant portions of the human population professing belief in... It will only come through one's hard (internal) work that results in changes in one's state of consciousness that will pave the way for self-discovery (akin to gnosis), which is on the level of personal 'knowing', and no longer on the level of 'believing' something (professing belef, but not knowing). The difference, when all is said and done, is night & date... And when I say 'knowing', I'm not saying this in reference to knowing the answer to a specific question - I'm saying 'knowing' in the context of knowing on the level of direct experiential awareness that you do not exist as the human character that you are (temporarily) experiencing, and therefore this drastically alters all prior reference points and changes the light in which you perceive the nature of the human experience. It no longer serves as the foundation for understanding one's existence and takes on a much less 'threatening' appearance... Context is crucial and an individual can experience the exact same set of circumstances, only with two distinct states of awareness which result in vastly disparate perceptions about those circumstances....
I would totally agree with this, and say that once we’re released from the limiting confines of our 3D physical body, our awareness expands way beyond the limited sensory experience we’re subjected to on Earth. And that is my point- given that we’re far more expansive in terms of our consciousness than the Earth experience allows, one has to ask- why is that?? Of what benefit is it, in spiritual terms, to be operating on a limiting system? Akin to running, I don’t know- say windows 10 on a commodore 64 or something- you get the analogy.
Quoting: Know.Thyself 
Yes this is like the ultimate question/mystery... The notion of 'cosmic boredom' has been proposed by some... That the field of eternal, intelligent, omnipresent energy (of which you are integral and inseparate element) would otherwise exist in a state of complete monotony and thus, boredom... So it segments itself and creates entirely new reference points, and with that, adventures in consciousness (complete with illusions, restrictions, limitations, action, drama, etc)... It creates experiences whereby these segmented units of consciousness can experience forgetting itself and then go through the process/joy of rediscovery. And perhaps when and as that unfolds - it results in something 'more' than what was present before... This is speculative of course and coming from our vantage point which is experiencing significant limitation by way of physical embodiment. There are an ample number of NDE accounts whereby the individuals report asking questions about the mysteries of the universe/existence - and either intuiting or receiving 'answers' that made absolute sense. However they report that they were not able to sufficiently bring that awareness back with them into their physical embodiment. It's like they remember the experience - but they can't integrate the fine details back into their waking state of consciousness (in the body), at least not right away.
There is some intriguing commentary on this topic that you can listen to if you're interesting, youtube search 'the cosmic game stanislav grof' and look for the video that's 1:11:44 long and has the video preview image of the tree in front of the cosmos background. (Warning, it starts off a little slow for the first 9 minutes but then really picks up).
So how odd then, that there just so happens to be these ‘beings’ ready and waiting to ‘guide us’ huh? To steer us, like a sheepdog corrals the sheep, back into the pen.
Quoting: Know.Thyself What's the prevent you from questioning any 'being' that you encounter, for any reason? I can't see any reason why you couldn't choose that course of action...
Yes and commonly these same people report absolutely NOT wanting to return to their earthly bodies, and many also report feeling a sense of anger, abandonment, and rejection because of their ‘dismissal’ from the ‘heavenly realms’.
Quoting: Know.Thyself Some of the terms you used above are not one's that I would personally use to describe those circumstances... Anger, disappointment, longing, frustration, yes... But I would not personally employ terms like rejection or abandonment... And these initial mental/emotional reactions are typically just that - initial... What's really fascinating is the research that's been conducted into the types of changes that occur to the individuals who had these types of experiences - over the following months and years after the NDE. Kenneth Ring has an excellent book on this topic ('Heading Toward Omega'). For me I sometimes like to say that the 'proof is in the pudding' and if these same individuals who initially reported feeling anger, disappointment, non-acceptance for their return to human life should later go on to experience profound conscious growth/refinement/evolution which results not only in their own healing but in a state of being in which they are inspired to engage in altruism and to find real value in helping/supporting others. If that was the outcome of what was initially strong and difficult/challenging emotions of anger & disappointment - would that not have a significant effect on how we perceive the notion of having to return from an NDE? By evaluating the eventual 'fruits' that it yielded?
the Michael Newton books for example.
Quoting: Know.Thyself You know it's interesting - despite the popularity of his books I had never found myself reading any of his material, not for maybe the first 10 years of me exploring and investigating this subject matter. By the time I finally came across and decided to read his works - I already had developed a strong foundation by which to process and interpret the material. After reading 'Journey Of Souls' - it just left me with a feeling or impression that something was a bit 'off' about it... I'm not claiming it was all B.S., or that the author was intentionally being deceptive - it's just that something about the material and how it was presented seemed incomplete and insufficient to me (like something important was missing)... This is my subjective reaction of course but his writing did not strike a chord with me and that's not due to any aversion to this topic and the kind of material associated with it.
But also, abduction reports and the fact that reincarnation was a tenet of pretty much all the religions, including original Christianity (before it was omitted from the Biblical canon). The topic has intrigued certain respected researchers who've followed up the accounts of little children reporting on their previous life, how they died, where they lived etc... only to find amazing correlations that go way beyond the realms of 'chance'. The reincarnation literature is fascinating and very persuasive.
Quoting: Know.Thyself Right...
NDE reports pretty much unanimously state that the experiencers had a sense of ‘all knowing’ once freed from the confines of the physical. What I’m putting to you is that THAT is ALREADY our natural state and we DO NOT need to experience life on Earth to ‘unlock new perceptions’...
Quoting: Know.Thyself Ever wonder why these same individuals reporting experiencing that 'natural state' do not return with the message "We do not need to experience life on Earth and this is all just a huge waste/lie"... ???
That's not the message that they bring back... But that is your interpretation (which you are perfectly entitled to)... What do you think accounts for the disparity between how they interpret and react to that experience - and how you feel one should interpet and react to such an experience?
In terms of learning from our experiences with others… meh. Sorry but just that. What’s the expression? No good deed goes unpunished? How was Jesus rewarded for offering his insights to the world?? And in the intervening 2000-odd years, has the nature of human behaviour really changed so much? Have we stopped stoning people to death, raping, torturing, abusing, murdering? So IF this was about soul evolution, about refinement of the spirit akin to the alchemist’s ‘lead into gold’ analogy… wouldn’t you think that we’d be seeing some kind of evidence for that by now??
Quoting: Know.Thyself There's lots of expressions out there that I don't find much value in - and 'no good deed goes unpunished' would fit that bill (for me)...
And there is A LOT written in religious texts that I don't find to be realistic or even believable (possible) - so I cannot respond to narratives taken from religious texts that I don't have any confidence in to begin with... If that makes sense...
At no point in all of human history has humanity EVER been at ‘peace’. We’re no more AT PEACE now than we were thousands of years ago- so whatever this HIGHER SPIRITUAL PLAN is, it ain’t exactly working- is it?
Quoting: Know.Thyself Again, it sounds like you are operating with a mindset that places 'humanity' at the front & center and makes it the foundation or focal point of existence... And I'm certainly not saying this as a criticism either because I lived most of my life perceiving that my entire existence revolved around my human experience and this physical world... I'm saying that as an observation... We are one mega-astroid impact and one supervolcano eruption away from all of these human forms being wiped out... So how can we hold onto the concept of 'humanity' as something that's supposed to reach some perfected, idealized state when we can simply look around at the nature and mechanisms of the phyical world (universe) and see that it was never intended to preserve/protect these temporary physical forms? That can't be the meaning or higher purpose behind it because all of this is transient (temporary)...
Even if humans collectively evolved to create some idealized experience - it's still one cosmic collision and one supervolcanic eruption away from almost entirely being wiped out... So 'humanity' cannot be the primary reference point, because it doesn't last... The experience of it doesn't last either...
During the course of your life experience - do you perceive any ways in which you have experienced the refinement of your state of consciousness, strengthened your character, enhanced your ability to feel/express compassion, empathy, kindness, selflessness, altruism, generosity, etc? Has experiencing struggle/limitation in any context serves to contribute to meaningful growth?
I will share this with you... In this lifetime I experienced such a substantial degree of mental suffering and internal affliction that for many years I walked around feeling like a merely an 'empty shell' of a person and truthfully during those years I would have proclaimed that I preferred to be 'dead' (anything to be removed from this reality)... So I am not writing any of this from the perspective of someone who has been spared the experience of enduring through agonizing internal suffering and hardship. But it was this very life experience that brought me to a critical breaking/turning point - and when that happened, things began to 'shift' inside and this would steer me in a different and new direction. One which would ultimately result in profound healing and experiencing a state of being that would seem to lie in polar opposition to the state of being that defined the first phase of my life experience... And the wild thing is that there was nothing significant that had changed about my external life circumstances, all of the meaningful 'changes' transpired internally...
If you had asked me when I was in my early 20's what I thought about the human experience, this physical world, and the notion of experiencing multiple incarnations - my responses would have given you the impression that you were communicating with an entirely different person than the one you are today...
:greenkarma:
I’m not using cap locks to shout or be aggressive, but just to emphasize certain points :)
Quoting: Know.Thyself Acknowledged!
I’ll try and reply to the rest of your message later as I’ve no time now- but genuinely I appreciate bouncing ideas around on this because it’s a pretty big deal hahaha!
Quoting: Know.Thyself 
