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When the memories of a world far away from here have subsided I find myself aware of this reality once again.

How do I know that I am still alive? Not because I think as Descartes said, but because I am aware and can observe thought. I am one level above the thinker.

I AM NOT THE THINKER

And why if I am above the thinker can I not transcend this thinker and know all thought? Maybe at some point I have or will, but for now I perceive life and thought through one mind that binds my perspective to a time and a place, generating the appearance of individuality.

WHERE DO DREAM EXPERIENCES COME FROM?

And when I dream of a world far away, what sense am I using then – when the five physical senses rest peacefully in my bed? When I am aware of the cheering crowd, the angry bear, the turbulent river and the language of my time – where do these experiences come from? Are they created in the brain; a construction of memories and imagination or are they real experiences of awareness; a temporary glimpse of realms beyond the brain? The answer here would forever settle the question of life after physical death.

CONCLUSIONS ABOUT REALITY RELY ON A LIMITED BRAIN

The irony is that I can only draw a conclusion about this after my brain has weighed the evidence on both sides of experience (physical and astral). I AS AWARENESS (existing in my brain for the time being) have allowed my brain to make an assumption based on the limitations of my brain’s logic. I say the brain’s logic is limited because it forms beliefs on very little information and then constructs a complete picture of reality based on this limited information. In short the brain makes a lot of assumptions based on limited information. And what dear reader is the difference between assumption and faith?

DREAMS DO NOT REQUIRE THE FIVE PHYSICAL SENSES

If my body is sleeping yet I’m still having an experience – I am experiencing a life beyond my nervous system. If this is indeed the case, it means that I do not require the five physical senses to experience life.

WHY IS THE BODY NECESSARY?

Why then is this body necessary. What is so important about experiencing life in a mortal body – if we can experience life in an immortal one? It seems so limiting to live in a fragile, limited shell torched away by the relentless hand of time. This question depends on whether the body is the foundation for all experiences – because then any experience even those in sleep or meditation would be based on body memory and therefore creations of the brain. Or if the body is simply a vehicle for living in this reality for some greater purpose, it would make sense that you could periodically experience life beyond the nervous system, since you would not need it for higher experiences anyway.

ARE DREAMS BASED ON MEMORY OR ARE THEY INDEPENDENT REALMS?

Is it necessary to have a physical body to even have the sensory building blocks to dream, which would mean that dreams occur only after sensory experience is gathered and dreams are therefore brain projections. Or would I dream without ever having a physical body, which would mean that the world of dreams pre-exist whether I have acquired sensory experience to make sense of them or not. The key question here is – do I create dream worlds (brain based) or simply experience them (beyond the brain).

WHAT ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF OTHER ‘SPIRITUAL’ EXPERIENCES?

And even if dreams were individual projections, arising only in one mind not to be shared experientially by others, are their not other transcendent experiences that are collectively agreed upon -which would prove the existence of life beyond physical death? For examples experiences that arise in meditation or regular spiritual practice over several years can be collectively agreed upon and therefore offer strong evidence for existence beyond this reality.

HOW RELIABLE IS COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT?

We agree on a sane person versus an insane person based on their degree of alignment with our own map of reality. It is through the method of collective agreement that we even understand this reality! We use collective agreement as the chief method of ensuring reality is the way we believe it is. This method is obviously far from sound. If enough people believe a thing to be true – does that make it true? No. Collective agreement in my observation is a better foundation than assumption or faith, but still it has its own limitations.

Nowhere is the limitation of collective agreement more pronounced than in a society where media rules collective thought. In short, just because something is collectively agreed upon does not make it truer! The lone voice with a clear map that cries out in opposition could be declared insane by the collective even they are by true definition – insane! Societies in every generation have been proven insane as far back as recorded history.

YOUR REALITY

Your understanding or reality depends on what sources of information you consider. Do you take the perspective of the whole world into consideration or are you bound to one peer group, one nation or one religious sect. Do you attempt to understand as much about reality as possible or have you become lazy in your quest to understand it, resting instead on past beliefs?

EXISTENCE BEYOND THE FIVE PHYSICAL SENSES

And as for the existence of life beyond this reality I would ask you what you think but I want you to get clear of the obstructions of the brain’s limitations. To do this you will have to seek in a way that goes beyond the brain. The brain will still interpret those experiences – but you will have a stronger more ‘spiritual’ basis for constructing your reality – beyond faith or assumption. Don’t settle for what you’re told – seek, seek, seek with all your heart.

And if indeed life does exist beyond this reality – then surely, surely a physical body has a purpose and you should do your best to preserve it in health and utilize it in expressing your individual purpose.