Originally posted by Superfly4000
I don't find myself to be a religiouse person, but i do belive that some religiouse ideals are plausible. Certain ideas within Buddhism and Hinduism seem to fit into my scientific thinking. I have since come to the conclusion that if I could find some scientific (or reasonable philisophical) backing to the existance of the soul, that it would be easier to find a balance between my scientific side and my spiritual side. So, is there any actual proof that the soul exists, or is it simply a tool used by the religiouse machine to suck inocent people into its money hungry grasp?
In general I would go with your last sentence as a rule. F### religion! Borrow ideas from any source you find useful, as you seem to be doing, but never buy into the whole pretty package. Of course, who am I to lecture Neo. Once I realized that all the truth in the world added up to one big lie, I too started my own journey to discover the truth on my own. Its a little unsteady at times and maybe even a little unsettling sometimes too, but not usually. It takes a warriors courage to face the enormity of this universe and realize how, as a matter of fact, all the spoon fed bull shit we get from cradle-to-grave was all a pack of lies perpetuated down through the ages. I would never go back into the Matrix willingly - never! And I don't care how happy and content the coppertops are, I know first-hand that those dumb smiles on their faces are hollow, reflecting not happiness but lives lived with a sense of quiet desperation.
My recommendation re ur Q about the soul is to see for yourself. Since ur already into budhism/hinduism but clearly have a firm grounding in Science, I would recommend that you experiment. Choose some meditative practice that is not to obtrusive to your daily lifestyle, learn it from someone who is an authority and practice it assiduously for several months up to a year. I have had past experience with "TM" and I can say that I definitely had first-hand experiences that wouldn't have otherwise been possible.
Myself, I don't exactly know what the "soul" is but I'll tell ya, I've had some basic experiences, that were kind of like glimpses into something soo huge, like an incredibly expansive energy reservoir or something, that I'm "down" with the whole concept and reality of some form of "God" or whatever you wanna label it as: maybe "the undifferentiated aesthetic continuum" or "the ultimate ground of being" or the 'first principle". Hey, whatever the label, it's all the same and imo its freaking REAL - and present EVERYWHERE, interpenetrating everyone and everything. You don't even have to reach out, it's just, THERE, always! Anyways, it wasn't anything unpleasant to experience, in fact it was quite the opposite and this kind of "joy" or whatever you wanna call it came over me - and a kind of total relaxation of stress happened too - all during the meditative "exercise". That was quite a few years ago and I want to explore that further. I'm convinced there's "Something" and that it's "Good" and that we are always connected to it and can never not be connected.
The only thing is, chances are, in your whole life you probably wont directly experience this, that is our source of being, unless you get youself quiet and relaxed on a regular basis. It's not that you can "do" anything to make it come, IT has to come to you. All you can do is "prepare the way" so to speak, by following one of these meditative practices which invariably includes mental techniques to clear and settle the mind on a regular basis. Its the regular and persistent practice of these simple mental technologies that is the key. You can't be impatient and can't try to force anything to happen. If you build a "house" thats uncluttered and stress free by yourself in this way, chances are it'll happen for you: If you build it, IT, will come. It's a good thing! 😉