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> I think he said something more like I am now open to the possibility that they might be real. People use the word 'but' all the time to justify beliefs that

> I think he said something more like I am now open to the possibility that they might be real. People use the word 'but' all the time to justify beliefs that they worry others will view negatively. "I think Donald Trump is an asshole but..." "I'm not racist but..." "I'm a rational person but..." I think, deep down, he believes the god stuff but is trying to justify it and soften it so that we don't think he's crazy.

galaxyLogic 5y ago
It's kind of funny (and entertaining) thinking about what another person we have never met might be thinking. But let's go with it. I don't think he believes the God stuff, but he wants to. He doesn't want to let go of that possibility and I don't blame him for that. I believe that people believe mostly what they want to believe, by which I mean that they don't really believe it (since they only want to believe) but that they pretend, tell themselves that they do, believe.
- pmoncada 5y ago
  Hey I'm the author and I can jump into what I actually believe: Basically, I'm still working on integrating my experience into a rational worldview. I definitely had the experience of meeting entities and speaking to them, and that's hard to reconcile with our everyday "sober" experience of reality. There are tons of testimonies of people reporting similar things, so that makes me feel less alone in the potential delusion of thinking it's all "real." Whether it's real or not actually doesn't matter so much to me. The experience is the same no matter if it's coming from my brain or from elsewhere. The only thing that matters is how I live my life as a result after having these experiences. I've made peace with not having all the answers. If you asked me "Do I believe in God?" I'd say yes. But my definition of God is probably very different from the usual one. Since I now think of God as being an emergent property of communities of people coming together and forming a social contract through shared stories, morals, and goals. Where they are trying to make sense of a shared mystery of life and capture the ineffable transcendental experience into stories and myths. Personifying that into a "real" thing is useful for some, and experiencing that personification is a very interesting phenomena that I don't really understand, yet I've had the experience myself. Anyways, I hope that's helpful :)
  - galaxyLogic 5y ago
    Good stuff. Just curious you experienced both "God" but also "spirits". What was the main difference between them. What made you think one of them was God and others only "spirits"?
    - pmoncada 5y ago
      I experienced different "spirits" for sure. Pachamama, the "techno-demons" as someone referred to, at points I saw a sea of souls as I was being taken on a boat -- I forgot what that "underworld" spirit is called. I saw a huge golden bird multiple times. All very interesting phenomena. The only thing I'd refer to as maybe experiencing "God" was when I went into a white light. At that point I have very little recollection of what actually happened. I remember going in, and then everything was white, there was no concept really of time, or of me, or of anything else like that. I wasn't "seeing" anything, it was all just white. Coming out felt extremely "weird," everything felt so full of meaning and "spiritual" for lack of a better word. There was no personification of "God" there, but it was just a feeling. The one thing I do remember when I was there in that light was a deep feeling of peace and one-ness. I don't know if that's all helpful, but it's what I experienced, at least.
      - galaxyLogic 5y ago
        Sounds like a great experience. If more people would experience something like that the world would be a better place no doubt
  - serverholic 5y ago
    > I'm still working on integrating my experience into a rational worldview Then it's not a rational worldview.
    - pmoncada 5y ago
      At some point you have to make peace with open questions you don’t have the answers to. That’s not being irrational, it’s just accepting that our rational brains are very limited. I’d encourage you to try the experience for yourself. I may not be able to convince you that these visions are anything more than “scrambling of neurons” with my testimony. If you are intellectually curious enough and open to trying DMT/ayahuasca, then it can only give you more data to base your worldview on. Worth a shot imo.

galaxyLogic 5y ago

It's kind of funny (and entertaining) thinking about what another person we have never met might be thinking. But let's go with it. I don't think he believes the God stuff, but he wants to. He doesn't want to let go of that possibility and I don't blame him for that. I believe that people believe mostly what they want to believe, by which I mean that they don't really believe it (since they only want to believe) but that they pretend, tell themselves that they do, believe.

pmoncada 5y ago
Hey I'm the author and I can jump into what I actually believe: Basically, I'm still working on integrating my experience into a rational worldview. I definitely had the experience of meeting entities and speaking to them, and that's hard to reconcile with our everyday "sober" experience of reality. There are tons of testimonies of people reporting similar things, so that makes me feel less alone in the potential delusion of thinking it's all "real." Whether it's real or not actually doesn't matter so much to me. The experience is the same no matter if it's coming from my brain or from elsewhere. The only thing that matters is how I live my life as a result after having these experiences. I've made peace with not having all the answers. If you asked me "Do I believe in God?" I'd say yes. But my definition of God is probably very different from the usual one. Since I now think of God as being an emergent property of communities of people coming together and forming a social contract through shared stories, morals, and goals. Where they are trying to make sense of a shared mystery of life and capture the ineffable transcendental experience into stories and myths. Personifying that into a "real" thing is useful for some, and experiencing that personification is a very interesting phenomena that I don't really understand, yet I've had the experience myself. Anyways, I hope that's helpful :)
- galaxyLogic 5y ago
  Good stuff. Just curious you experienced both "God" but also "spirits". What was the main difference between them. What made you think one of them was God and others only "spirits"?
  - pmoncada 5y ago
    I experienced different "spirits" for sure. Pachamama, the "techno-demons" as someone referred to, at points I saw a sea of souls as I was being taken on a boat -- I forgot what that "underworld" spirit is called. I saw a huge golden bird multiple times. All very interesting phenomena. The only thing I'd refer to as maybe experiencing "God" was when I went into a white light. At that point I have very little recollection of what actually happened. I remember going in, and then everything was white, there was no concept really of time, or of me, or of anything else like that. I wasn't "seeing" anything, it was all just white. Coming out felt extremely "weird," everything felt so full of meaning and "spiritual" for lack of a better word. There was no personification of "God" there, but it was just a feeling. The one thing I do remember when I was there in that light was a deep feeling of peace and one-ness. I don't know if that's all helpful, but it's what I experienced, at least.
    - galaxyLogic 5y ago
      Sounds like a great experience. If more people would experience something like that the world would be a better place no doubt
- serverholic 5y ago
  > I'm still working on integrating my experience into a rational worldview Then it's not a rational worldview.
  - pmoncada 5y ago
    At some point you have to make peace with open questions you don’t have the answers to. That’s not being irrational, it’s just accepting that our rational brains are very limited. I’d encourage you to try the experience for yourself. I may not be able to convince you that these visions are anything more than “scrambling of neurons” with my testimony. If you are intellectually curious enough and open to trying DMT/ayahuasca, then it can only give you more data to base your worldview on. Worth a shot imo.