Afterlife

[Shiranui117]

Not having experienced that in its fullest sense I can't answer that with any authority but yes, that makes sense to me. I don't know why it would be any different for us than it would be for him.

I have had a sense, a partial limited glimpse, of what union with God means through spiritual practice. I felt a part of a larger whole but at the same time I remained who I was.

Try to imagine what it might be like to merge your consciousness with that of another being. The result would be one consciousness but there would still be the sense of "I" behind it. So I don't think that "I-ness" ever goes away.

I see. I can accept this.

I realize that wanting to preserve my individuality could be a survival instinct, or me being egocentric. However, practicing something that leads to my personality and consciousness being obliterated would be very difficult!

I appreciate your insight.

 

[nazz]

I see. I can accept this.

I realize that wanting to preserve my individuality could be a survival instinct, or me being egocentric. However, practicing something that leads to my personality and consciousness being obliterated would be very difficult!

I appreciate your insight.

thanks

 

[Heart0501]

Of what I know from reading Gnostic books, we all originally came from the Absolute..where only happiness reign. However we did not know or understand what happiness was. So we came out of the Absolute. Once we came out, we face darkness going through emotions of greed, anger, etc. By experiencing darkness, we will understand what is love and happiness. When one in human body(108 lives), one has the opportunity to change or rid of the 7 sins(egos).

Jesus' life was symbolic, he came to show us the Path to Heaven. He rode the donkey into Jerusalem signifies that one has to control the mind(donkey as it is very stubborn). His Death on the cross signifies sacrifice the 7 sins(egos by rid of them while on Earth), resurrect as in once the sins are gone, one will go to Heaven. Those who do not rid of the sins will go to Hell, going through a very long long time where one will suffer through the consequences of their sins. At the end, in Hell, Mother Nature will cleanse off the sins so one can start a new life cycles again (new 108 lives). Hopefully each cycle the Essense(soul) gets stronger and take up the Path that Jesus taught.

So if anyone really want to rid of their egos, pray to God everyday so they can guide you to the right place to start your journey. Sincerely pray by focusing on your heart. As the Bible stated "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" You will find the way if you really want to change and go to Heaven.

 

[WhyIsThatSo]

Hi Eagles. I'm new to this forum, just joined. I got interested in Gnosticism a few years back.

First off, I need to correct something. The word is PLEROMA, not Plemora. It means "Fullness" in the Greek.

Now as to your question this is also something I have struggled with off and on during differnet phases of my own spiritual journey which has included forays into various forms of mysticism. I began studying Eastern religion as a teen (I'm now in my fifties). I had the same sense of apprehension contemplating being absorbed into Brahman. I wanted instead some kind of eternal perfect life where I stayed as me and God stayed as God.

Later on in life I got into Sufism and ran into the same idea. Sufis have a term fana meaning "annihilation" of the ego in God, followed by baqa, eternal subsistence in the Being of God. So again, a similar idea.

One Sufi explanation I heard is that it is not so much that the drop (individual consciousness) is absorbed by the ocean (universal consciousness) but rather that the ocean enters the drop.

I think the reason we feel disconcerted and apprehensive about all this is that we fear the destruction of our limited and individual ego. We don't want to be assimilated by the Borg. But I think it may just be a matter of looking at it from the wrong perspective. Rather we can see it as giving up this limited (and painful) existence in exchange for becoming part of something greater, something unlimited and perfect.

One final thought. Our desire to hang on to our individual egos is really futile as we are in a constant state of flux anyway. We are not the same person we were in the past nor will we be the same person in the future. We are constantly changing and hopefully evolving.

Hope this helps.

Each of us is a unique and special "character". For in fact our character is really "who" we are. And there are TWO of "us". The you that is here now in this flesh is not the real you. If it were not so then WHO are you talking to right now ? Why, your "SELF" of course. The higher you, the ascended you, the super ego that has always been and is waiting for the lower you (ego) to "remember" who they are and return home. This is the "union", the "marriage", the "bridal chamber", the "Pleroma" (Fullness).