SeaShrooms said:

I am a traveler and have explored occultism and psychedelics extensively, alongside many other practices and traditions. Bluntly I am skeptical that I have ever perceived anything supernatural or manifested anything, is there any way to find a genuine religious experience that isn't dependent on a level of faith that borders on schizophrenia.

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Icelander said:

SeaShrooms said:

I am a traveler and have explored occultism and psychedelics extensively, alongside many other practices and traditions. Bluntly I am skeptical that I have ever perceived anything supernatural or manifested anything, is there any way to find a genuine religious experience that isn't dependent on a level of faith that borders on schizophrenia.

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IMO no.  True spirituality imo is engaging in your day to day life with gusto and eyes open.

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It's seeing life as it really is in the present moment IMO
The rest is delusion...Albeit kinda nice at times

SeaShrooms said:

is there any way to find a genuine religious experience that isn't dependent on a level of faith that borders on schizophrenia.

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Do you mean out of body experiences? You don't really need faith or beliefs in anything mystical to have an OBE, they just take practice. As far as what they mean, or if they're real

Quote:

is there any way to find a genuine religious experience that isn't dependent on a level of faith that borders on schizophrenia.

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SeaShrooms said:

That being said, I have had a number of experiences, that cause me to continue to pursue the supernatural, there is that which I know which is irrelevant to this conversation, what I am asking, is has anyone found a system of thought or ritual that they believe creates these sort of phenomenon consistently, with skepticism that allows us to discern the truth in the first god damn place.

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Astral projection, I can make a list of exercises if you want. Theirs no need to believe the experience is real to have it, from there its up to you what to make of it. Some think its a creation of the physical brain, a chemical reaction.

It takes a lot of time and effort, but its a series of exercises which produce the effect which is very vivid. Not something you tell yourself is there, something you experience. Whether or not that experience is real

SeaShrooms said:

Astral projection is one attainment I have not met with yet, I would love a list

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There's two distinct approaches which generally produce different experiences, its best I think to use both as they seem symbiotic.

The first: Projection      Second: Lucid Dreaming


Exercise for Lucid Dreaming
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Writing down whatever you can remember of various dreams, I don't recommend "interpreting" them like a lot of people do. Over time it becomes easier to remember, and personally I find myself realizing more often that I'm in a dream. At that moment one can begin a Lucid Dream, and that's done by maintaining awareness and interacting with the experience (walking around, doing shit). Never last very long myself, but one thing that helps is not to think of your body as generally that will cause one to quickly wake up.


Exercise for Projection
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Not sure if this is necessary for projection, but its how I started and feels symbiotic with the whole experience. Basically sitting down and focusing on the '3rd eye', watching for lights which may appear and focusing on that point loosely. Eventually one sees various colors which over time grow stronger, at some point one begins to feel those lights and hear them. Further concentration on those sensations brings an experience (and can often be an experience of its own).


Exercise for LD & Projection
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Sitting down and imagining one's self standing up from where one is sitting. Seeing everything as it would be seen, feeling the sensation of the floor as one walks, the air against the skin, and sound. All in one's head, moving over to various items to inspect carefully, small details like the dusty corner of a window sill or a doorknob. The idea is to work on concentration and creating the details in one's mind.



Experiences
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My own self-induced experiences started out pretty vague, to the point where it was imagination more than anything else. Overtime sensations became more and more vivid, probably a good 2 years in they got to the point where I could clearly say they weren't placebo. Whatever it is, its very potent like a psychedelic trip only with a different character altogether than a trip.