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View Full Version : Experiences that occur solely in the brain



kiwibonga
6th March 2007, 10:06 PM
Hi Robert,

Something that troubles me is how there are two schools of thought when it comes to lucid dreams and OBEs. The "scientists and skeptics" believe that it's all occuring in the brain. The "mystics" believe that some experiences, such as OBEs, visions, and some dreams are something more. There is a large amount of people who believe that a lucid dream is a "fake" experience, a worthless failure.

It's undeniable that there is at least some brain activity with any experience, since there has to be a "shadow memory download" as you put it... We cannot remember an experience physically if the brain does not receive any information, or at least processes the memory in some way.

What I am wondering is whether there is truly such a thing as an experience that occurs solely in the brain.

I've been having shared dreams with my sister, for example... They certainly did not feel any different from the usual unconscious dreams I've had in the past, but somehow the coincidences with regards to dream content are striking, there is definitely more to it than just the brain, it's like we're interfering with each other in our sleep.

It's also commonly reported that sleeping people can be seen separated, hovering above their physical body during the night...

I would even go as far as to say that not all our thought processes, even in the waking state, are the product of the brain.

It's just that the separation between scientific definitions and more mystical interpretation causes a lot of confusion...

It would seem to me that a lucid dream entirely created by the physical brain, while asleep, without projecting, if at all possible, would be a remarkable feat, an awesome rarity...

What is your take on the matter? It's quite obvious that it's possible to create an alternate reality, to have the impression that you're roaming around the "real world" while projected even if it's "fake" ; but do you think that it's ever possible for a (reasonably) conscious experience to be the sole byproduct of biological processes of the brain?

Robert Bruce
9th July 2007, 09:56 AM
The brain is incapable of thought on its own. The brain is a biological transceiver, through which the 'mind' operates.

The brain does not contain memories; at least, it cannot be scientifically proven where memories are stored.

Some people with a rare brain condition are born with virtually no brain. One man studied had only a few milimeters of brain matter covering his brain stem, and he was a math honor student.

http://flatrock.org.nz/topics/science/i ... essary.htm (http://flatrock.org.nz/topics/science/is_the_brain_really_necessary.htm)

The problem with all the debate over whether astral projections and lucid dreams are objective external or interior subjective experiences is probably best approached from a different direction.

The physical universe is an illusion.

You and your mind are a part of the Source, the divine, the all, God.

The entire universe is an expression of the mind of God, the source.

So, when you travel out of body in real time, are you truly outside your body and mind, and if you are truly separate from these, then are you merely shifting into a larger mind aspect that you are connected to........

All views on this are debatable, with pros and cons, because of the nature of what is being discussed. This is like the creation vrs evolution debate. To me, its obvious that both apply, eg, creative evolution. But I think it is obvious that the building blocks of life were originally created, and then evolution brings us to here.

OBE and LD experiences are what they are. Attempts to explain their nature and purpose, and the difference between these states, are laudable but a bit pointless given the enormity of the subject.

Lucid Dreams are no less valuable than OBE's. A WILD wake induced lucid dream is probably the most powerful of all OBE type experiences.

Rather than debate these things, put your energies into experiencing them. This is like how a zen master will approach his students holding a stick. When asked 'what is that' the master hits them with the stick. The moral here is that it is only when you experience a stick that you can 'grok' its nature and purpose clearly.

The only way to 'prove' a real time obe is to bring back data that could otherwise be impossible to know.

I know people who have a higher than 70% hit rate proving real time OBE, using playing cards taped to windows, etc. This is doable.

As for sharing dreams, yes this is very real.

Take care, Robert