OK here's a doozy for the New Year (Happy New Year everyone! )

We talk a lot about the soul, the Self, non self, the false self and all manner of ontological variations of mystical experience and I'm wondering if it's possible to consider the idea of a multidimensional Self. My own reality seems to be branching out to include glimpses in dreams, meditations and visions of a root soul which expresses itself by incarnating in various dimensions, parallel existences and time lines. I'm getting ideas that this root soul, one might call it a higher self although that might be controversial theologically, is a supremely loving energetic reality, imbued with God's Light and energy and wholly in Him and of Him, and that its incarnations in various universes and timelines are linked to, albeit normally hidden from, our earthly human consciousness.

It's probably best to simply share a few experiences which might show why I've been thinking along these lines, although it's difficult to do so without coming to certain metaphysical conclusions, which is probably what I've already done here unintentionally.

Two major experiences have led to a number of glimpses of myself, or extensions of myself in various existences, places, timelines, all of which resonate deeply with me and in doing so lead me to reckon them to be more than expressions or dreams or imaginings of this present psyche. These two experiences or contacts are perhaps problematic from a traditional Christian angle, or at least strange in any normal sense, but not if one is open to a more progressive understanding of Christian faith. Please bear with me as it's all a little impossible to convey with any justice. And be gentle with me in your evaluation.

The first experience is of a loving, sexual, distant soul contact with a female which has been going on for 2 years now and which is deeply spiritual and leading me into a more loving and heightened (awakened?) consciousness, as well as a more profound relationship with God, my Source and Sustenance. Recently the term Twin Flame was brought to my attention and it rocked me to my core. It seems this relationship is just that - a parnership with a twin soul. At first I resisted the contact, but the energy was too strong and I had to accept and trust what was going on and just go with it. Then when I learned the term Twin Flame over the soltice there, everything fell into place. My first thoughts were of Plato's ideas of a soul twin, or a soul which had been split into masculine and feminine where the longing for the other half eventually leads to a reunion. I am now experiencing that longing quite intensely and am led into those ideas expressed above of a root soul which incarnates in different realities.

The second experience is of some pretty real, strange, bizarre, sometimes creepy, sometimes pleasant, ET contact, mainly in dreams but also in visions and waking states. I've been taken out of body to secret government compounds, shown myself, or expressions of myself in parallel existences, alternate dimensions, been "worked on", tested, scrutinised in ways which aren't particularly invasive or frightening, mostly because they happen in dreams, although dreams like you've never had in your life, but are quite earth shaking personally. Somehow I manage to keep my feet on the gound and am functioning normally and happily in everyday reality, without delusion or distraction or interruption. Indeed my spiritual consciousness is deepening and my relationships with family is flourishing in new and beautiful ways.

Why all this is happening is still a little unclear, but it explains my previous statements on these boards that something very unusual is happening to Planet Earth.

OK beam me up, Scotty. I've tried to simply share these experiences without too much drama or hyperbole, although perhaps suggesting some ontological conclusions, and know this all might present a challenge to conservative Christian theology, but personally, I can work it all in, as it were, and around the doctrine.

Consider me mad if you will, but there you have it in all honesty.

Now, have fun!

quote:

Originally posted by samson:
Consider me mad if you will, but there you have it in all honesty. Now, have fun!

Stephen, thanks for sharing, and thanks also for your invitation to respond. I believe these are symbolic representations of presymbolic experiences. The first is clearly suggestive of twin loss in the womb. The second I don't know about, but it possibly represents some sort of perinatal medical examination. So, no madness -- just ordinary stuff!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by samson:....

Hi Stephen
Happy New Year.
What your saying here is also known as a Tantric relationship. The inner form may be called pairing of opposites, inner tantra,
inner Alchemy. Others may know
this by other expressions

Derek,

I've read quite a bit of Stan Grof and his work has helped me in the past. I also loved Dark Night, Early Dawn by his protege Christopher Bache. I have to say however that the details of each experience, things like telepathy, synchronicity, a host of other stuff I won't go into, lead me to believe that these connections are literal contacts, interpersonal rather than transpersonal. I considered perinatal theory last night but the energies belong to a different frequency, a reality beyond my psyche. They have a solidity, a density, especially the ET stuff, which is quite other, yet incredibly substantial.

There seems to be other people having similar experiences too, an increase in twin flame connection from what I can gather, and people are actually coming together in remarkable ways after that initial soul contact, all of which adds a little empirical evidence to the idea. There's some dross to sift through on the Internet about it but I've also come across some fairly trustworthy accounts.

I received your book this morning, btw. Very handsome! Congratulations!


Mary Sue,

Sorry, I read your post before you edited it and you raised an interesting point.

I considered the free will aspect of the relationship very carefully at the start, but the energy was more persuasive than forceful, and once I began to let go of fear and conditioning it seemed like a natural thing to trust. I was also very aware of the tantric aspect and a sharing of energies at different levels. The fruits are spiritually very positive, and Christ seems incredibly close to my heart in it all.

Hi, Samson,

I'm not dismissing the connections with "external" events such as synchronicities and telepathy. In fact there's an example of a synchronicity on page 43 of the essay. In my experience, though, these alignments tend to happen when one strike deep veins in the unconscious. I think there is definitely something to Jung's theory of the unconscious being collective rather than individual, though I don't go in for all the mythological elements Jung uses to describe the contents of the unconscious.

The best book I know of on intrauterine trauma is Elizabeth Noble's Primal Connections, though it's been out of print for some time now.

Thank you for the compliments on the appearance of the book, BTW. One of my goals was to get this subject taken seriously, and hence I deliberately went for a serious, academic kind of look rather than something that would look popular or an easy read.

Thanks, Derek.

From your perspective of presymbolic or perinatal trauma, what might be the source or connection for the telepathic content? Or would that take a bit of exploring?

Perhaps it might help to say also that the twin connection has been the stimulant for a little astral projection and out of body dreaming.

Funny too, on the 10 second countdown to midnight New Years Eve, a wave of "I love you, I love you" filled my mind and my heart burst a tiny bit. Very poignant!

Yes, the book has a certain elegant gravitas. I like it!

Hi, Stephen,

Do you have Skype? It might be easier to talk. If not, I can send you a PM.

Derek.

I have Skype but haven't used it before. What about a PM first, and if need be we can talk afterwards.

S.

I sent you an email.

Thanks, Derek.

I'm still more inclined towards the Twin Flame idea, despite its new age cosmic overtones.

I wonder too if anyone has any comments on the idea of a multidimensional self, perhaps in the light of quantum theory...and how this might affect an understanding of Christian ideas of the soul...

Stephen, there's a lot to sort out, here, and I tend to use an "Occam's Razor" approach when it comes to accounting for unusual experiences. Of course, Occam's Razor doesn't necessarily present the correct explanation, but it does help to keep us from too hastily committing ourselves to untenable or highly speculative positions.

You've had some "unusual" experiences, at least in comparison to what one might think are the "ordinary" range of things (the boundaries of which, I'm not quite sure). From what you've shared above, these seem to come during "dreams, meditations and visions." So, right away, we know that this isn't material coming through the senses to be acted upon by the mind, as we do in waking consciousness. These experiences come in the context of dream states, or perhaps quasi-dream/visionary states, mystical states, or altered states of consciousness. What we experience in those states is surely real, but that needs to be qualified. Dream symbols and the energies they convey are real, but the source material can reside in the unconscious memory, as Derek noted, or even in the interfacings between body and spirit. It is also possible that one could be encountering actual beings who reside in other dimensions of reality (deceased humans, angels, demons, ETs, etc.), but how would we distinguish this from symbolic material from one's own unconscious? More importantly, why would it be necessary to do so?

Re. the "Twin Soul," it may well be, as Derek noted, that you had a twin partner during early embryonic development. Jung's idea of the Anima might also help to explain this; she is the unconscious, feminine aspect of the male psyche, who appears in various guises during the journey to individuation.
- see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anima_and_animus and note Jung's cautions about "Anima invasion."

- also, graphical representations: http://tinyurl.com/ahfdc2e

I think I think Jung's idea of the Anima is the Occam Razor explanation for Twin Flame/Soul.

But . . . who knows? The soul is spiritual and, as such, opens to realms of existence beyond space and time (even though most of its operations are now confined to body/brain). A Fr. Weisinger wrote a book years ago entitled Occult Phenomena, in which he uses a Christian (Thomistic) understanding of the soul to explain a wide range of unusual experiences. The book is long out of print, but you might be able to land a copy somewhere.

Good discussion . . . and happy new year to you as well!

Thanks for this, Phil.

I did say the experience of a multidimensional self was more in dreams, visions, meditations etc, which presents a challenge for sure. The Twin Flame phenomenon is very present during normal waking consciousness and feels like an interpersonal, highly energetic connection with strong sexual encounters. Nothing about it suggests a lost twin connection. Neither does it affect self control or free will.

I also tended to think of it in terms of the Anima at the start of the encounter, but am inclined, as the experience deepens, to consider it a soul connection. It has such an everyday relational quality to it besides the high energy stuff.

Hopefully it's something which will develop and become clearer through time, and if it does I'll keep you posted.

For now I'm grateful for the alternative perspective you and Derek offer. There is a lot to sort out as you say, and for the moment at least I'm having fun doing it. You did ask that we share unusual experiences, didn't you? .

The book by Fr. Wiesinger is still in print, Phil – the trouble is that it’s available through one of those Uber RC publishers (Blue-meme characters to say the least)! Lol… kind of explains why I have it I guess. And coincidently I had been re-reading it over the past few weeks. There was -- amazingly-- some room for it down here at the bottom of my little box.

I like this statement from the book:

“Enough has been said above about the results of original sin and the danger that the experimental derangement of the spirit may become chronic. Speaking purely psychologically, therefore, the same general principle applies even to the experiences of the mystic life. Though it is certainly our duty to co-operate with the graces of God, it would nevertheless be rash to overlook the dangers involved in cutting out our normal sense life while we are still on earth, dangers that can only be eliminated in the mystical life that is truly led by God and guided by his grace, but which are ever-present in the baser forms of mysticism.” (p.285)

Pop-pop

p.s. Roman Catholic Books, P.O. Box 2286, Fort Collins CO 80522

Happy New Year, pop-pop,

quote:

Originally posted by pop-pop:
The book by Fr. Wiesinger is still in print, Phil – the trouble is that it’s available through one of those Uber RC publishers

Once again, Google comes to our rescue. The copyright on the book was not renewed, and so it has been scanned from a copy in the University of Florida library:

Alois Wiesinger, Occult phenomena in the light of theology (London: Burnes and Oates, 1957).