I’ll remember several of those thoughts, hopefully mostly for others. I dont think Im in denial that all med and drug use is coming to a close for me. Im down to baclofen and one gabapentin a day, from other stuff.
Only thing I didn’t agree with was the idea that demons and the supernatural aren’t real. Most of my life I thought they weren’t. But Ive changed. Supernatural is real.
Not that this by itself proves anything:
Might wanna check out Daniel Adams videos. Obviously there is some acting in some cases, but not all imo.
What does prove something though is the research on nde’s. Some is covered on channel InspiringPhilosophy in his series on irreducible mind.
So, if you are referring to my comment about how faith traditions named demons and the goal to disassociate from them in your mind, I wasn't alluding to the idea that they are only in our minds or otherwise dont exist. Full Disclosure: I am a practicing Orthodox Christian who was raised in the faith, left in protest at the parish level, was guided back, and now fight the battles that need to be fought. We have a lot of clergy in our family dating back to tsarist times and there are martyrs there.
I only mention this to let you know I am pretty serious/careful with my words regarding faith and spirituality. Christianity and her writings can either save you or kill you, because judgement burns away all sin, so if we cannot trust the holy spirit to rebuild the parts of us that are burned away, we are left in torment. This displays most brightly in something like suicide. The animating spirit there has no depths to its cruelty and evil. (I found out my best friends wife committed suicide while we were not speaking, he reached out in utter torment and I went to her graveside to pray for her....I happened to forget that a few hours before I had dropped three hits of pretty strong acid so the experience was challenging)
I made those recommendations presupposing that not only is the supernatural real, but that we interact with it every day in real time, every moment. One of the "demonic" tricks that plays cross-dimensionally (for lack of a better term) in terms of substrate is the idea that we are our sin - which implies redemption an impossibility and denies our resurrection. For that reason it is necessary to disassociate those thoughts - they are not us. ("Dont believe everything you think" was a great bumpersticker)
Its very common in the modern world for folks to believe that they have no say in the matter. We are doomed to X,Y, or Z. This is a lie, and by disassociating from the demonic we affirm the truth of our free will - something VERY hated by the demons. (They might even hate this more than our greatest weapon against them - forgiveness)
Also, I tend to speak about matters of spirituality using secular vocabulary, since most folks I am speaking to are secular and just dont speak the language of the faithful. This isnt to condescend - I dont speak spanish to folks who speak only english either. (I mean, I dont speak spanish either so thats another reason) Additionally, I prefer to spend my time amongst those who are suffering instead of those who are healed. When you are in the pit, it seems cruel to have someone calling you from above only to say "C'mon, you can reach up here, cant you?"
"If I could, you think I would be here?....dumbass" LOL
Unfortunately this is a lot of Christians, wittingly or otherwise they have it the wrong way around. Just as they forget the resurrection happens on THIS side of death, the heaven they often describe [ironically] is EXACTLY how Hades was described in tradition. (A place that lures you in with every pleasure you could ever want, only to keep you there for eternity) You can see this in the desert temptation and EVERY heroin addict knows this narrative in their own lives.
Christ - 1, Satan - 0 during their desert interaction.
What the devil didn't account for however, was the absolute trojan horse Christ was, having died on the cross he waltzed into Hades. Just when the devil thought he had his meal-ticket to the throne of God he realized far too late just whom was in front of him. Uh-Oh...
His whole domain got abso-fucking-lutely rekt, and he lost all those who he had captive. It was THE militant victory of all history. Chains broken and the spoils of war confiscated, all we need to do is grab the hand stretched out to us and stand.
Just have to remember to stretch ours for those whom, like us before, cannot stand on their own.
