Well, I was referring to your take on the infant death syndrom in which you stated that when the infants recognized their place in the omniverse they would choose to die rather than go through with life... To me this sounds very much like "if you reached total gnosis you would want to stop living." But perhaps I misunderstood.Urban Spaceman said:My belief about life being a struggle may not make things seem happier, but to believe it isn't a struggle seems like a form of denial, denial meaning it makes YOU happier, but it isn't the truth. The fact that we KNOW NOTHING, is a harsh truth as well, but it needs to be learned in order to start knowing. I use psychedelics to find truths, living being a struggle is one that I have adopted. If you think that me saying it is a struggle means that it isnt beautiful or positive or any of the other amazing things about life, you did not fully grasp my angle. Sorry for the misunderstanding, I don't think I ever said that life sucks and people who have experienced "everything" commit suicide, that is pretty ridiculous. I said that living is a struggle, death is not. Saying something is a struggle does not mean it "sucks" but compared to other things that ARE NOT a struggle, it seems less attractive. And to reiterate, I never said life is suffering either, if I did i misplaced the word while meaning struggling. What I did say was suffering is what some people go through when they are dying (dying being a living experience, death not being one). I agree with you that the omniverse is not only accessible through death...it is accessible through DMT for some, for others meditiation, for some psychosis, for others there is no way...yet. We are evolving neurologically and to think that the omniverse requires you to die is, in my opinion, quite closed minded, so I agree with that part of your post.
Also, debating spiritual beliefs shouldn't be happening on this board...no one holds the same exact values and beliefs as another. If you took my beliefs into consideration and disagreed as it seems you have, please just brush it off as it holds no benefit for you. This is a place to discuss these things, not criticize.
I disagree with your idea that "to believe [life] isn't a struggle seems like a form of denial, denial meaning it makes YOU happier, but it isn't the truth". The truth is something intangible and especially in this context something subjective. So if I go through life feeling like it's not a struggle at all (which unfortunately isn't the case) then it's true for me, no? Regardless of circumstances. This has to do with the attitude with which we approach life. We can see obstacles as challenges or as problems, we can see our fate for example as a punishment for original sin or a learning experience to progress the universe / transform our soul ... Depending on which attitude we take towards the multitude of things that can and will happen to us in our lives, we can be disheartened, depressed, scared, inhibited OR curious, challenged, optimistic, at ease and progressive - or anything in between and beyond.
Since death is inevitable I see no point in overly concerning myself with it. Life on the other hand is now and it is this that IMO requires my full attention. Whatever happens when I die, it WILL happen. There is no way I can mess that up; in life however I have many chances to do things rather poorly - like attach myself to negative ways of thinking and not exist in my full potential as a being. At least this is my take on the matter .
I apologize for sounding like I wanted to criticise your beliefs. I was really just sharing my thoughts on the matter, as one does when discussing certain topics. I think it's important to question our beliefs now and then under the aspects of how healthy they are for us and our existence, and discussions like these are always a nice way to do so, being put in contact with other opinions, ideas and beliefs.
Zzzarathustra, I agree that dmt is 'just' an experience. As stated above, truth is a term I find very hard to use, especially in context with these things. Truth to me is like matter. It seems solid at first glance, but if we look closer we can't really define it as such any more. It's neither one thing nor the other... Whatever we gain out of our experiences however is ours to gain, and if it makes us better beings, makes our lives more positive, more rich, if we benefit from it in any way, then that's what matters, no?
As for not wanting to stop existing, I think certainly this is something we as living beings all share. But at the same time it is an attachment to a form of existence that is not necessarily all that you are... At the moment you identify with this body, this mind, your thoughts and feelings, but perhaps this is just a construct embedded in a much larger being-existence. If you can shift your identity to the larger processes of the universe then personal death could seem like only another transformation of energy.
much love
Enoon