Hello,
Are there are any specific planes in the astral that are just "thought sensitive" and then some that are just "there"? Like ones that you would just experience without it being so sensitive to thought?
Personally, i am rather skeptical about what folks really know about the so called astral. I have OBEd thousands of times. I know that folks define all these levels, like focus ABC, etc. I think it is a bit more tricky. I think we are 3 dimensional folks that are peering into that which we cannot really understand so well. Anyway, would tend not to focus on something like "hey, what town in the astral did I just land in -- is it a thought created place or is it fixed" and I would focus on yourself. Focus on what you do that causes you to perceive a fixed place, and what you do that causes images to change, etc. Anyway, that is just my 2 cents. One theory, that I tend to like, is that the present here and now real world knock on wood place in which we do things like type on message boards, is more of a fixed plane or location because there are many minds (not meant literally) causing it to be so fixed. So, similarly, there might be places out there that are fixed because there are many minds sort of fixing them. Anyway, there you go... Spark
There is much documented info on this subject in William Buhlman's book Adventures Beyond the Body.
I am sure it is a nice book, but I would always recommend to remain skeptical. I tend to think that folks may see about 5% of the truth, and then lump their beliefs, assumptions and hopes into that same category and present it to the world. Of course, to make it even more convoluted, the throw in the snippets of trush, beliefs, assumptions and hopes presented by others as truths, and by others, and by others. Then, everyone presumes it all must be true.
All that said, it is truely difficult to find one's entire way without some guidance... so, one needs to sift through all for the truth ...
There are two places that information about the truth can be obtained, which would be personal experience and then the personal experience of others. I think we all agree that both are interpretations and subjective.
Based on the that fact that both sources are interpretations and nobody really knows what the truth is, how would you come a 5%? To say that you believe that only 5% is the truth would indicate that you know what the truth is and you have therefor made a measurement to how much is true.
I think people find there own truth and the the path is never the same for each person. Sure, you should use an objective mind, but it's also kinda counter productive to be a huge skeptic of everything. Keep an open mind and explore and share.
I heard the aboriginal Australians say that our own world started as somebody's dream. Perhaps, as time went on, it simply became a well-established dream.
I guess I have no real answers since I'm bad with OBEs.
Hi. I think that we always need to remember that we have no clue. So, 5% is just a joke. A way to say that we know little. Maybe, it is closer to 0.00000000005%. Who knows. To me, statements like "we make our own truths" are really big misstakes. Who can know that? And, it is also a misstake to say that you learn from experience. Well, what is it taht you are experiencing? Can you be certain? As for OBEs, I have had thousands, and I can do them relatively easily. I dont presume to know what I am seeing as real, or as false. To some extent, skepticism is perhaps too strong of a word. I basically mean that one should not lock onto any particular belief too readily. I think it is kind of an easy way out. For example, it is a lot easier to stack a bunch of bricks than to keep juggling them. So, e.g., we put down bring #1 "in dreams, we leave our bodies." Then, #2 "I talked to a dead man, so life continues after we die." And, etc., ... again, those are just examples, like the 5% ... I think the key is to see, to perceive, to react, to remember, to learn and to grow, without making too many inane conclusions ... personally, I think those conclusions often thwart our growth ...
To me, statements like ""we make our own truths" are really big mistakes." are really big mistakes. Who could know that either? We call this an endless regression.
You keep stating why others opinions are flawed by stating another opinion. Everyone will have their own opinion here, which is the beauty of it all.
Additionally, who is locked into a belief system? Seems that you may be locked into one yourself so be careful.
I will bring this back into focus now as it seems like this thread has gotten off track. The original question was:
QuoteAre there are any specific planes in the astral that are just "thought sensitive" and then some that are just "there"? Like ones that you would just experience without it being so sensitive to thought?
I mentioned above that William Buhlman's book Adventures Beyond the Body is a great place to learn about such things.
I will use the 5% rule that spark created. Now if spark had actually read this book he would know that the book is in the 5% as defined by spark (at least that's my opinion). I am sure it's possible that his seemingly undistorted statements were actually based on highly distorted observations (meaning his mind (possibly the universe) is presenting things to him in a fashion that can be understood by him).
William Buhlman's book as well as books written by Robert Monroe and Robert Bruce have become so popular and valueable because of the fact that these authors attempt to "tell it like it is". They recognize the extent to which their minds try to interpret the experiences and force them into familiar patterns (as spark explained above). The authors are however seeing things in the astral world that are very hard to translate so there will always be interpretation.
Let's take this a step further and define what humans consider reality in waking life and compare that to the experiments that are taking place at the Monroe Institute or by William Buhlman's students. We consider things to be "real" in waking life because our observations are well-substantiated. The exact same thing must hold true for the astral plane if we are to make comparisons, and let's face it, the only comparison we have is waking life. Members of the Monroe Institute are able to observe "and share" the same experiences over and over again. Their observations agree with each other and have become well-substantiated. They may not be seeing the absolute truth but if we are using the same methods of observation as we do in waking life then they can't be dismissed of ignored unless you want to just dismiss or ignore waking life too (which some do!).