Religion: why you believe what you believe, and how can you prove it.

I don't know man, i think you should google night terrors or sleep paralysis. I dont know much about the worst inherent fear in humans, i guess it would be death, or maybe pain... but maybe its more than that. Maybe when introduced to ideas of demons this automatically gets put into our brains as (most feared thing) for us. As demons are the only "evil" beings we represent with surviving death, or existing after it, or meeting us there. Already dead beings, or devils... as everyone who has ever experienced night terrors can empathize with the unmovable unshakable intense feeling of dread and evil. The inability to talk or move anything but your eyes.

I really cant say what it is, personally... i think the similarities have everything to do with the most feared idea that humans have, or brings out the fears that we have the most, if the latter is the case, there must be many MANY out there who consider the idea of evil "dead" beings our subconscious's worst fear.

Here's a copy:
Over the centuries, symptoms of sleep paralysis have been described in many ways and often attributed to an "evil" presence: unseen night demons in ancient times, the old hag in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and alien abductors. Almost every culture throughout history has had stories of shadowy evil creatures that terrify helpless humans at night. People have long sought explanations for this mysterious sleep-time paralysis and the accompanying feelings of terror.

Originally Posted by Zaehet Strife

I don't know man, i think you should google night terrors or sleep paralysis. I dont know much about the worst inherent fear in humans, i guess it would be death, or maybe pain... but maybe its more than that. Maybe when introduced to ideas of demons this automatically gets put into our brains as (most feared thing) for us. As demons are the only "evil" beings we represent with surviving death, or existing after it, or meeting us there. Already dead beings, or devils... as everyone who has ever experienced night terrors can empathize with the unmovable unshakable intense feeling of dread and evil. The inability to talk or move anything but your eyes.

I really cant say what it is, personally... i think the similarities have everything to do with the most feared idea that humans have, or brings out the fears that we have the most, if the latter is the case, there must be many MANY out there who consider the idea of evil "dead" beings our subconscious's worst fear.

Here's a copy:
Over the centuries, symptoms of sleep paralysis have been described in many ways and often attributed to an "evil" presence: unseen night demons in ancient times, the old hag in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and alien abductors. Almost every culture throughout history has had stories of shadowy evil creatures that terrify helpless humans at night. People have long sought explanations for this mysterious sleep-time paralysis and the accompanying feelings of terror.

its interesting how we all have a mutual fear, i wonder if this would still occur if one was stripped of all prior culture. death is the biggest fear of man id expect, those who can live after death are probably even more horrifying to us, as theres nothing worse that could happen to these beings. ive had nightmares but i feel as if they were all about things i had heard prior, for example, i watched the texas chainsaw massacre and dreamed about being chased by a man with a chainsaw. i believe its all to blame on culture, if these things existed in our mind from the beginning, i believe everyone would be a lot more traumatized. although every culture seems to have some form of evil, i wonder how this all started.

Originally Posted by Heisenberg

I realize this is out of context, but you may want to research what an evolutionist or a neuroscientist has to say about that.

im on it, do you have any suggestions on where i should start? links would be highly appreciated, thanks again heisenburg.

http://theness.com/neurologicablog/i...10-brain-myth/

Originally Posted by Heisenberg

http://theness.com/neurologicablog/i...10-brain-myth/

interesting stuff, thanks for the info. makes sense although, different parts of our brain do have serve purposes, this i am aware of, but all of it cannot process at the same time. thats fascinating really, our brain has to be the most complex organ in nature.

and once again, i find myself unable to give rep when i really feel the need to.

• You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Heisenberg again.
  
  
  
  

Hazey, just the other day i got pretty baked, some really nice sensi buds... and i was riding in the passenger seat looking at how beautiful and mystical the sky and clouds look as the sun rays peer down from above, and i wondered what the fuck i would be thinking right now if i had never been introduced to religion or science at all. I wonder if i would make up my own ideas about what this all is, or would i just not care and continue to live in the moment every day. I think this was a good thought.

I remember thinking, man... if i knew nothing of science or religion, i bet i would make up some pretty cool stories about what those big white puff balls in the sky are... i might even imagine there are creatures living up there.

Originally Posted by Zaehet Strife

Hazey, just the other day i got pretty baked, some really nice sensi buds... and i was riding in the passenger seat looking at how beautiful and mystical the sky and clouds look as the sun rays peer down from above, and i wondered what the fuck i would be thinking right now if i had never been introduced to religion or science at all. I wonder if i would make up my own ideas about what this all is, or would i just not care and continue to live in the moment every day. I think this was a good thought.

I remember thinking, man... if i knew nothing of science or religion, i bet i would make up some pretty cool stories about what those big white puff balls in the sky are... i might even imagine there are creatures living up there.

its truly amazing to experience life without culture, just look at how a newborn baby looks at the sky. i think all of us would theorize many things to attempt to describe all of these beautiful things, but we've finally come to an age where we can know why these things happen. however i believe through the use of drugs like cannabis, DMT, or Psycholobin(i think i spelled that wrong), we can see things without these outside influences, if only for a second. i think thats what you experienced, ive found myself thinking the same thing after smoking a bowl of weed with some dmt sprinkled on top while stargazing, just how beautiful life is and how we let science simplify them. its amazing really, i dont know how to explain the feeling. i feel astonishment would fit it, but its something much more than that. maybe you could call it "overwhelmed by the beauty of nature". i see how this may lead to the feeling of a higher being, many cultures displayed this with the creation of religion. however the buddhists thought of it differently, and most of them knew how to make their minds access their pinneal glands through meditation. i feel as if they would know what life is without culture, they are truly one with nature.

It depends on how one chooses to define God. If we're talking about some omnipresent being who lovingly handcrafted us, guides us and takes an interest in our well-being, I would have to say I'm an Atheist. I find the idea of some higher power watching over us from above, handing down rules and regulations, praise and condemnation as something that humans have conjured up as kind of a security blanket. We raise our children, we teach them and love them and we want, sometimes need, to believe that someone other than our own parents have our best interests at heart and love us as we love our kids. I think without that feeling of parental guidance and care humans feel lost and alone. I think that personal belief system also fills a need for us to somehow dodge responsibility for our own actions. Something good happens and we give thanks to God. Something bad happens and it's the work of the devil.

Now, if we're talking about God as simply the act of creation I would consider myself a Pantheist. I believe in the almighty molecule, the atom, the particle, the big bang. Can I prove that some anthropomorphic God didn't wave a magic wand around and trigger the birth of the universe? No, I can't. It's possible we're simply a product of a random roll of the dice. I can tell you that with two years of advanced physics under my belt I've felt closer to the concept of God in a classroom than I ever did in any church.