How do you feel about the PsiQuest Forum?

@Typoz

I wonder if part of the equation is the absence or presence of personal experience. As an ingredient I suspect this trumps intellectual analysis of the evidence for survival, UFOs and other phenomena which are simply not experienced by most people or are too fleeting to make a lasting impression.

Perhaps it’s the difference between making an assessment of probability based on often conflicting accounts and directly witnessing phenomena in a form which defies contradiction, but which unfortunately cannot be fully communicated to another person.

A good friend of mine had the most amazing evidence of survival. Do I believe they were truthful? Yes I do. Do I think it’s possible they were mistaken or fooled? It’s possible but highly unlikely knowing them. Whereas they know we survive physical death, I don’t and cannot based on their experience. No amount of personal testimony from them can change their knowledge into my knowledge. Maybe that’s where faith is needed, and that’s sadly where I part company with the process lol.

I wonder if part of the equation is the absence or presence of personal experience. As an ingredient I suspect this trumps intellectual analysis of the evidence for survival, UFOs and other phenomena which are simply not experienced by most people or are too fleeting to make a lasting impression.

I think there’s truth in this, but imo it is only effective really in having much effect on any belief/opinions of the individual that has such experiences. Even then, people’s former beliefs before having such events happen to them can overcome even powerful persuasion, and they choose to ignore or distrust reality and stick with their previous beliefs. 

It seems to me that we must come to a place where we feel somewhat content, alone. I guess that we do need to have the data at hand that either stands to either harden up our suspicions or weaken them. I think it takes honesty to come to any meaningful (temporary) conclusion. Perhaps that is one reason that I like to present alternate opinions? Doing so does not make one popular with everyone. 

@Typoz

I wonder if part of the equation is the absence or presence of personal experience. As an ingredient I suspect this trumps intellectual analysis of the evidence for survival, UFOs and other phenomena which are simply not experienced by most people or are too fleeting to make a lasting impression.

Perhaps it’s the difference between making an assessment of probability based on often conflicting accounts and directly witnessing phenomena in a form which defies contradiction, but which unfortunately cannot be fully communicated to another person.

A good friend of mine had the most amazing evidence of survival. Do I believe they were truthful? Yes I do. Do I think it’s possible they were mistaken or fooled? It’s possible but highly unlikely knowing them. Whereas they know we survive physical death, I don’t and cannot based on their experience. No amount of personal testimony from them can change their knowledge into my knowledge. Maybe that’s where faith is needed, and that’s sadly where I part company with the process lol.

You're probably right. For example I have mild curiosity about UFOs. But no experience whatsoever. That could explain why I don't get excited by that subject. Whereas clearly I'm more interested in things where something, no matter how small, has happened to pique my interest.

It's difficult. In some ways it's like just about all human existence, we meet and talk to others, but even on everyday matters ("my foot hurts") we can't directly understand what is happening to another person. Even less so when they may be in mental pain or distress - or immense happiness and euphoria.  The inability for any of us to really communicate properly is part of everyday life. We don't think about it much, we just accept it.

On these slightly less common experiences, I tend to think that a lot of people do experience 'something' but it may pass unnoticed, not through any deliberate attempt to ignore something, more that it escapes our conscious attention. On the one hand, people are different, for example some are talented musicians or skilled in some other way, things which may be incomprehensible to others without those abilities. On the other, the majority of us are the same, we feel joy and pain, we have much in common. I like to think that such things as telepathy is quite commonplace, for example when we talk with someone and feel we are really understanding one another, we may think it is because of words, facial expressions, body language. But maybe there is, taking place in parallel, some degree of telepathic sharing too. Perhaps I should replace the word telepathy with empathy, since it may be feelings which are transmitted rather than facts and figures. Empathy is considered as a kind of imagining, trying to put ourselves in someone else's shoes, see the world from their viewpoint. But maybe it isn't imagination.

Faith. That's an awkward one. Like you, it troubles me. But long ago I decided we needed faith just to live, to start to get out of bed and place one's feet on the floor each morning, requires faith that the floor can support our weight. Every step we take requires a kind of faith. Just because something happened yesterday doesn't mean it will happen today. But we trust. Trusting others. Well we do that too. When we eat food someone else has prepared, we trust them. Or when we are treated by doctors, or in a hospital in need of help, we haver faith. Admittedly sometimes it may be misplaced. The food may be bad, a doctor may give an inappropriate diagnosis or treatment. But often we have no choice but to place our faith in someone else.

I wonder, if (for example) we find it hard to believe in survival after death, that is because we already placed our faith in some other idea?

You're probably right. For example I have mild curiosity about UFOs. But no experience whatsoever. That could explain why I don't get excited by that subject. Whereas clearly I'm more interested in things where something, no matter how small, has happened to pique my interest.

It's difficult. In some ways it's like just about all human existence, we meet and talk to others, but even on everyday matters ("my foot hurts") we can't directly understand what is happening to another person. Even less so when they may be in mental pain or distress - or immense happiness and euphoria.  The inability for any of us to really communicate properly is part of everyday life. We don't think about it much, we just accept it.

On these slightly less common experiences, I tend to think that a lot of people do experience 'something' but it may pass unnoticed, not through any deliberate attempt to ignore something, more that it escapes our conscious attention. On the one hand, people are different, for example some are talented musicians or skilled in some other way, things which may be incomprehensible to others without those abilities. On the other, the majority of us are the same, we feel joy and pain, we have much in common. I like to think that such things as telepathy is quite commonplace, for example when we talk with someone and feel we are really understanding one another, we may think it is because of words, facial expressions, body language. But maybe there is, taking place in parallel, some degree of telepathic sharing too. Perhaps I should replace the word telepathy with empathy, since it may be feelings which are transmitted rather than facts and figures. Empathy is considered as a kind of imagining, trying to put ourselves in someone else's shoes, see the world from their viewpoint. But maybe it isn't imagination.

Faith. That's an awkward one. Like you, it troubles me. But long ago I decided we needed faith just to live, to start to get out of bed and place one's feet on the floor each morning, requires faith that the floor can support our weight. Every step we take requires a kind of faith. Just because something happened yesterday doesn't mean it will happen today. But we trust. Trusting others. Well we do that too. When we eat food someone else has prepared, we trust them. Or when we are treated by doctors, or in a hospital in need of help, we haver faith. Admittedly sometimes it may be misplaced. The food may be bad, a doctor may give an inappropriate diagnosis or treatment. But often we have no choice but to place our faith in someone else.

I wonder, if (for example) we find it hard to believe in survival after death, that is because we already placed our faith in some other idea?

Very well put. 

It could be as you say because we have placed our faith in some other idea, or perhaps that we did that and found it wasn’t what we believed it to be and hence, poisoned the well. I think that’s probably partly true for me.

2. I look forward to visiting the PsiQuest forum but rarely post.

I read books about these topics almost daily, and I also read this forum quite often to see if there's anything interesting. Psiencequest is one of the websites I always check out if I'm thinking of buying a new book, and the next book I'll order is Reincarnation as a Scientific Concept: Scholarly Evidence for Past Lives, which Typoz mentioned in another thread.

Usually I only post here if I find some new article regarding these topics, or I want to tell about some personal experience or criticize oneness/nondualism/advaita vedanta etc. Although some people may have problems with this criticism, I feel it is very important, because I still clearly remember the depression and despair I felt when I first read about these beliefs and for a short period believed that there may be some truth in them. Over the years I have also seen that many people had similar reactions to these harmful doctrines. Most of the time I just read this forum instead of posting anything, though.