Belzebuub

It would be comforting to many starting out in travel beyond the body to have some kind of verification from the scientific establishment that it is real and perfectly alright to do. But you can’t get that kind of absolute verification from science. When it comes to astral travel you need to investigate it personally by having out-of-body experiences and you are only able to begin to talk on level terms with those who have actually done it. There have been many experiments carried out by scientists to verify whether out-of-body experiences are real or whether they are a figment of the imagination; while travelers have provided many compelling accounts that could only have been experienced while out-of-the body, none provide conventional science with the kind of proof that most are looking for, which will give it universal acceptance, and I doubt they will find it. This is because of the scientific methods used to verify whether something is real or not. The methods require that evidence is acquired from phenomena that are external to the researcher and that the evidence is verifiable by others.

A near-death experience (NDE) is an experience where a person dies and their consciousness continues to exist outside their body. It’s not a pre-death experience or a post-revival one, but it takes place at the time when the body is actually dead, and that means brain dead with no signs of life whatsoever.

NDEs are quite common, and exist in all cultures around the world and happen to people of all ages. Statistically around one in ten or one in nine people who die and revive have a NDE. A survey released in 1982 in the United States, showed that eight million Americans claimed to have experienced a NDE. Accounts are given from children as young as three.

With conscious psychological activity present in the absence of brain function, NDEs show that consciousness can exist outside brain function.

The Experience

Many people say they are conscious of being outside their body and experience floating out of the body and seeing what is happening around them. Many recall going through a dark tunnel with a light at the end of it, seeing pleasant landscapes, being in a spiritual place and meeting deceased relatives, pets, or spiritual figures.

In many cases they remember going through a review of their lives that gives them some understanding. Some say they meet a barrier which they see as the point of no return and many are aware of a decision being taken to return to earth.

Some see beings as soon as they come out of the body.

In a small but significant number of cases, the experience is an unpleasant one, even hellish. Read more

How to Find Meaning in Ancient Sacred Texts

When trying to discover the meaning of ancient sacred texts, immediately a huge problem has to be confronted: the lack of shared experience between the reader and the figures or content in the text.

Shared experience is the basis for language and therefore of meaning. So when we say the word 'cat', everyone with the same language knows what it is that we are talking about.

For crucial elements in sacred texts however, a shared common experience is often lacking. So when Judas in the Gospel of Judas says 'Barbelo', for most people, there is a general absence of experience of what it is that he is talking about. It goes further than a simple difference of language with one word being different from another when describing the same thing, as it is not just another name for a concept that everyone is familiar with, such as 'the dawn of creation'.