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The truth come when we die, doesn’t it?

As an agnostic ~ no ~ as a person, I think that the only thing that death proves is that our life is finite. I don't have any problem with people believing in an "afterlife", other "plains of existence", "spirit realms" or "heaven", it's just that I don't personally believe in those things. I would never say that anyone believing in such things is psychologically ill simply because of those beliefs ~ I'm not qualified to do so. I just have a different opinion to believers. Indeed, everyone, at some time in their life believes in things that they have no proof of.

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I would think that you can tell me, since I sense you can do that sort of thing, tell me, is the voice, my dad trying to reach out to me, or is it someone inside my brain just doing some cleaning?

I can only answer with an opinion, since I am not a spiritually oriented person, and am not trained in phychology. Firstly, I know nothing about you, apart from what I have read from you on here and it is impossible to form a valued opinion from such a small amount of information. You didn't mention whether you were awake when you percieved the voice, or whether you were dozing, in some kind of meditative trance. You also didn't mention whether it was an audible voice, or a voice that only you could hear (in your head). It is possible, I think, for us to misinterpret things and get the wrong handle on them. My opinion is that the mind is a strange, largely unknown entity. Our brains are all quite similar, yet the way we percieve things is quite different. I would not presume to make a judgemental statement about you as an individual, Druid, I'm not qualified to do so.

In a general way though, I think that people who see visions and hear voices in their heads should be veiwed with scepticism. I have had people come to me and say that they have a "message from the LORD" for me ~ everything from "become more committed to the church" to "give until it hurts" kind of things. Now, I wouldn't consider them to be insane or anything like that, but I am sceptical, firstly about their sincerity and secondly about their motives. I also know people who are more overtly exhibiting schizophreniform characteristics, yet are believed by some to be "full of the LORD". In cases like that, it is down to the individual to decide whether they trust the "messages" that these people give to them.

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Actually, there have been dreams also, one included Jesus in it! A rather simple self analysis answered it for me, but I’m sure some would severely chastise me in some fashion for that dream.

There is a theory about dreams that seems to make sense (to me, at least). The theory is that whilst we are in R.E.M. (rapid eye movement, or "dream") sleep, our mind is defragmenting. The theory goes that, in the same way that when we "defrag" our computer it takes fragments of information from the hard-disk, examines it, then re-orders it into a more readily accessible order.

It goes on to explain that if your mind is taking a peice of information that has been aquired during the day, in order to ensure that it is stored efficiently, the brain must examine other peices of information, stored earlier. That, says the theory, is why our dreams are sometimes so disjointed and confused. It also explains why, when someone is deprived of REM, they become disorientated, confused and disfunctional - because their brain is finding it more difficult to access vital information. As I say, it's a theory ~ but it does seem to be logical. Incidentally, how do you know that Jesus was in your dream? Did he introduce himself, or did you get a "feeling" that it was Jesus? Just curious.

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John: “I also think that it is strange when people claim to have a symbiotic living within them - some call it "Jesus", others call it "the Holy Spirit", etc., They seem quite happy to have this perceived parasite within them, feeding on their thoughts and feelings, controlling their actions ~ yet most people would try to rid themselves of parasites.”

Druid: As you would tend to be judging those that want to know the Christ within. I must conclude that you have no inkling, as to what it is all about. How sad.

I'm sorry if you interpreted that as a judgemental statement. It was not meant as such. I was simply trying to put forward what they say about themselves in a non-religious form, without the emotionalism of "they are of the LORD", or "they are nuts" ~ neither of which I believe to be true in most cases ~ it just seems odd when you look at it in a detatched way, that these people are accepted as perfectly normal, yet they claim that they are not in control of their own minds, thoughts or life. Yet someone else who is saying the same thing, yet attributes the "simbiont" to an alien is usually considered to be strange or mentally deranged.

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Living with such ignorance within is probably not showing itself to you, but it is loud, and clear to those that have studied what others have had to say!

Well, Druid... After implying that I was making a judgement, you seem to have done the same yourself. That's Okay, we all do it, I suppose. Actually, I do know what it is like to have "faith" I was a devout, fundamentalist Christian for 20+ years as an adult. It took a lot of thought and personal study for me to realise that I no longer believed in what the church was teaching. I encouraged over half of my familiy to become Christians, and used to teach in the Church. I still have a number of acquaintences within the church and understand how they feel reluctant to give up beliefs that they cherish, even though quite a few of them are simply paying lip-service to "the Church". So, you see, I have studied what others have to say, indeed, that is the main reason I now say that I am agnostic as far as "god" "spirituality" or an "afterlife" are concerned. :)

John