If psychic phenomena are real, what are the implications (if any) for consciousness surviving death?

This is a question that has been in my mind but I haven't been able to articulate (for some reason) until now...

I think part of the reason that I find psychic phenomena so fascinating is because I have subconsciously been linking it to proof that consciousness survives death. If our 'mind' can perceive things and manipulate things at a distance, it doesn't seem like stretch that it can therefore survive without our body. But... maybe I am not looking at it right.

I'd really like to hear thoughts from others on this:

As more and more credible research comes to light showing that various forms of psychic phenomena are real, do you think there are any greater implications in terms of "life after death"? (Skeptics and nonbelievers, pretend for a moment that you are in a world where ESP is "proven" to your satisfaction, what would the greater implications be?)

Or are the two areas separate, and esp/clairvoyance/etc. don't imply anything about what happens when our bodies die?


Many thanks in advance - I'm looking forward to hearing any and all thoughts on this...

It would prove that everything is connected by some unseen force or energy and further the claim that we dont just die and rot in the ground.

reply to post by VegHead


Some utilize the notion of our "consciousness" being imbued or driven by electromagnetism. Considering laws of time, including the unknowns of and effects of time and speed, along with the incredible speeds and unknowns of electromagnetism in general, these alone would seem to open up ones curiosity into the potentiality of existence after death of our physical manifestation.

I could give countless examples of experiences I have had that would indicate communication with "the dead", but those are subjective and highly personal; therefore they won't be of too much use to you.

reply to post by VegHead


i am a firm believer in the "self" after death,, my theory i a real wacky one,, but i think that if realize certain things on this earth, then we can remain intact...
i have been thinking alot of ancient gold drinking, there are certain rituals that involve molten gold, it was dropped in water and then then drank...
somehow the gold covers our nervous system or something,, the "spirit" is immortal but the "self" exist in the brain,,
so there could be a way, to preserve the pathway,,, in some astral form,, i guess....

Your consciousness is connected to the electricity in matter all around you.
When the 2 vibrate at the same frequency, amazing things seem to happen. Amazing from our point of view that is.

Your consciousness does exist outside the body.
Where you go after the death of the body.... that's anyone's guess.

Originally posted by VegHead
As more and more credible research comes to light showing that various forms of psychic phenomena are real, do you think there are any greater implications in terms of "life after death"?

Nope. They are still two completely separate things, because in order for any psychic activity to happen, somebody has to be alive. A living mind is generating it. And in spite of a lot of anecdotal evidence, no scientifically verified psychic activity has resulted in contact with anyone (or their "soul" or "personality construct" or whatever) who is dead.

Originally posted by VegHead
This is a question that has been in my mind but I haven't been able to articulate (for some reason) until now...

I think part of the reason that I find psychic phenomena so fascinating is because I have subconsciously been linking it to proof that consciousness survives death. If our 'mind' can perceive things and manipulate things at a distance, it doesn't seem like stretch that it can therefore survive without our body. But... maybe I am not looking at it right.

Psi has little to do with survival evidences.

I'd really like to hear thoughts from others on this:

Evidence of the afterlife (the survival of death) can only be considered if:

1) The information is only known to the spirit communicator and the terrestrial being communicated.

2) The information is [u[only known to the spirit communicator and is not known to the terrestrial but is later verified by the terrestrial as accurate.

If anyone gives information to any other party than the two (earth and ethereal), then the evidence cannot meet the test of validity.

Psi, and/or super-psi, is the pseudo-skeptics non-answer to a question they have no answer for.

The existence of psi may hint at survival but in no way is it evidential.

reply to post by VegHead

You're asking the living about the dead.

Maybe you should ask the dead...

I've seen ghosts so real they looked like real people.

Because they are.

Did that help?

Originally posted by MUness
...

The existence of psi may hint at survival but in no way is it evidential.

I'm beginning to lean this way - that it hints at survival of consciousness but isn't proof by any means.

Thank you all for your responses - and for being so forgiving of my bumbling question. I don't know why it took me so long to realize that my fascination with psychic phenomena was really linked to my fascination with what happens after we die (not that I'm in any sort of hurry to find out!) and that I thought one was somehow related to the other.

So many of you (ok, most of you!) here know so much more about this subject than I do, I appreciate hearing differing opinions on it.

Originally posted by intrptr

I've seen ghosts so real they looked like real people. Because they are.

Did that help?

Mightily!

The Etherians are in most ways more real then we are.

There isn't much doubt, in my mind anyway, that the conscious self can survive for some time after the death of the body but the Q is does it fade away like a loud sound fades away into nothingness or does it somehow transform into an alternative type being, i.e: a 'spirit, as in a ghost? Or does it lie dormant somewhere until it is reincarnated back onto the physical plane? There might well be several possible vistas of existence open to a bodiless soul. Only death can bring one to the truth.

Here are my thoughts on the matter...

Bear in mind, that I don't have any evidence, it's just the ponderings of an "old soul" that have brought me to my most current conclusions.

Our Consciousness, our mind, our Soul, I believe, are a gateway, or etherial connection to what some call, God.
I believe that there exists a force, that both separates us from Him, and also connects us to our living bodies. It is this force, that is the true power behind our abilities, in human form. But, it is the material part of ourselves, that acts as both the conduit and a significant filter, to any psychic ability.

Upon death, our Soul, separates from our human forms, and becomes One with the Creator. At this point, we share the same knowledge and power as any other spirtual being. But, we are bound by a set of rules, or something more firm, that can not be broken, which either severely limits our abilities in this plane, or restricts them completely.

The question remains though, what is the purpose of this system, as it is established? What is it that we are supposed to come to realize, or accomplish, in this form?

Unfortunately, it seems that one must die, and disconnect completely, before the answers become apparent...



GF~

reply to post by MUness

Mightily!

The Etherians are in most ways more real then we are.

That is the real us. Not this temporary shell we call a body...

Originally posted by GoOfYFoOt
Here are my thoughts on the matter...

Bear in mind, that I don't have any evidence, it's just the ponderings of an "old soul"

That's a down right shame.

The evidence is abundant, very easily found, takes no great mental shakes to understand it.

Originally posted by MUness

Originally posted by GoOfYFoOt
Here are my thoughts on the matter...

Bear in mind, that I don't have any evidence, it's just the ponderings of an "old soul"

That's a down right shame.

The evidence is abundant, very easily found, takes no great mental shakes to understand it.

The evidence that has convinced me, is definitely abundant!

But, unfortunately, there are many who require their own evidence, or want a believer to spell it out for them. I have spent most of my lifetime, searching for the Truth, and I believe that I have found it! But, conveying that Truth to another is impossible, without the ability to project my thoughts into their heads...