Matter of the Soul

[@grapeshot]

I remember when I was still religious I thought when I died heaven would be a big family reunion and all that I knew that had passed away I would meet them there again. But now I know that's not going to happen. So right now I remember the good times I had with them. Because now I know when you die the closest you'll ever get to immortality is the people who will talk about you after you are gone.

[@NOTB666-p7v]

You and I were in the same boat, my father passed away when I was six and I used heaven hoping I would see him again. But realizing the truth that the Bible is just fairy tales, I now keep his memories treasured.

[@EASFromTheWest]

the trick to it all is that we DON’T know. the smug thing about religion is they think they KNOW, just like atheists. that’s what the mystery of life is. it’s one big guessing game with our perception

[@twonumber22]

Imagine how terrible existence would be if you lived for * infinite time. * Even if I could personally pick what I did forever and unending into the future, it would eventually become torture.

[@kathryngeeslin9509]

I used to believe in a kind of afterlife, or reincarnation, or continuance; I first lost the notion of bodies being separate from minds/spirits, like clothes, changeable, and then the notion of continuance; like Aron, I had somewhat visualized a spiritual ocean where entities might mix, wind or water, where experience could be shared apologies made spirits renewed. Letting go a lifetime of beloved pets was hardest for me. Never being able to correct or mitigate mistakes.

[@guytheincognito4186]

@Good Mann You're an complete idiot if you believe in miracles, which for your information took a steep nose dive after the invention of high quality cameras, physics and neuroscience. If miracles were real which we demonstrably Know they're Not, priests and faith healers would be walking from childrens hospitals to the next clearing them out in hours, on Camera and for Free. One Guess why that Never happened. XDXDXD

[@Tacklepig]

So, I once had a near death experience. On my own kitchen floor, suffocating from an asthma attack and going unconscious from the lack of oxygen. Only survived that one by pure chance. I've never been religious, though I always took a liking to tne stories of pagan mythologies, simply because I find them fun. Which is why in my near-death state, I saw Odin and got to partying in Valhalla. I literally woke up on my kitchen floor after the great "god" sent me back to earth, thinking "ugh, shouldn't have drank that much mead" - because the feeling of light-headedness due to a lack of oxygen, along with the concussion from having my head hit the floor when I went unconscious, felt quite similar to a bad hangover. So I did what anyone would have done if they wake up hungover after a night of drinking with Odin in Valhalla - I took a shower, popped some headache meds and went back to sleep. I figured that if Odin actually wanted me to do something, he'd let me know in person. I honestly only realised a few days later that I had had an actual near death experience that day, and that I now literally know what suffocating to death feels like. And if you think about it, someone in ancient times experiencing a similar thing would probably rise up to be a legendary prophet. They'd tell their village about the time they died and talked to their god, and everyone would look on in awe. Maybe even people from other places would travel to meet that person who returned from the dead with word from the gods. I've heard that people with epilepsy were often considered to be in touch with the spirit world, and in that context, that totally makes sense to me.

[@Tsumami__]

@Eastern fence Lizard yeah right, they wouldn’t get into Valhalla. Nobody alive now would, we are all too weak lol

[@angelikaskoroszyn8495]

Wait, wait, wait so you actually don't need to brandish a weapon when you die to enter Valhalla? Thank you prophet. You gave me hope 😇

[@GetterBane]

You would be classified as Messiah and have a unwanted mob follow you

[@MrSandman12566]

Definitely not presenting anything to take seriously here but…. What if there is no oden, god etc but something beyond us that our brain has to attach labels to? So in the case of NDE, you meet that higher power but it’s so beyond our understanding that we have to attach human quality to it. Hence oden, Jesus budah just a interesting thought

[@dr.cheeze5382]

@@MrSandman12566 i think thats explained in the video, it's just halucinations based on ones preception of reality, though the idea of an All-god that has nothing to do with human mythology serms cool.

[@grapeshot]

AronRa you taught me that there is no heaven, there is no hell and we don't have a soul. And I think you everyday for that.

[@baharuddinbukari3088]

.. where do human get all those ideas from, I wonder .. I've got so much things to do I almost have no time to think about all that .. could it be that when one does nothing but sit around all day, day after day after day, the mind starts to make up stuffs to entertain itself.

[@grapeshot]

@@baharuddinbukari3088 yes because the human mind is complex. But at the end of the day we are just a bunch hairless apes( well some of us) that got lucky.

[@gongusdeedeetow1510]

Really? No soul? Look into consciousness. What is the imagination?

[@gardenlarder]

@@gongusdeedeetow1510 Imagination doesn't need a soul. Your brain is an amazing thing, nothing supernatural needed.

[@grapeshot]

@@gongusdeedeetow1510 Yes no soul weather you like it or not.

[@NinjaJay_Arashikage]

It occurred to me, especially after Aron relayed the story of the Necromancer reviving an army from a graveyard, that you could insert Conan everywhere into the Bible, and it would fit perfectly well within that world. It would also make the Bible a thousand times more interesting.

[@johnathanstucker4924]

They already had discount heracles called samson, but no 12 labors.

[@LoisoPondohva]

@crimson bridge 24 these are some extremely unimpressive maths you got there my small dude. You could've made it actually interesting, what a shame.

[@angelikaskoroszyn8495]

@Golden Age Creation I really tried to understand what you wrote but I have no idea what you wrote

[@johnathanstucker4924]

@Golden Age Creation have you shit your brain? Also you do know that the number of books in the bible vary among the religeous groups right? 63 to 73 among main christian communities like protestants, catholics and lutherans.

[@WhiteScorpio2]

If you insert Conan into Bible, he will kill Jesus. For good. That guy has a thing against wizards, it seems.

[@adrianclark2734]

Me: "how do you bring this clay thing alive though"? Christians: *Magic Jazz Hands*

[@realilty]

You, how did creation begin? I don't know... But I know God doesn't exist, somehow lol.

[@danielvilleda7858]

Thank you, you showed me that the truth is always better that a repeated lie...

[@dnomyarnostaw]

Repented, or Repeated?

[@danielvilleda7858]

@@dnomyarnostaw repeated *

[@keithherring7677]

He said there is no such thing as absolute truth.

[@dnomyarnostaw]

@@keithherring7677 True. There seems to be just higher quality lies to select from. I suspect that is just a function of our imperfect understandings, rather than a lack of empirical external functions. I mean, who can truly envisage themselves as a cloud of elemental particles randomly associating within a bigger cloud of elemental particles.

[@dnomyarnostaw]

@@jjphank No, Entropy does NOT always create destruction. The Sun was caused by loose, random particles being drawn together by Gravity, and it created the Sun. Every Atom has its "valence", and will lead to bonding into NEW substances when Entropy brings the correct elements together.

[@robertfelton8374]

I've done LSD, magic mushrooms, mescaline and others, but I knew going in that my brain chemistry would be altered, and all the weird shit wasn't real.

[@blackhat4206]

Imagine what might have been had you not known what was coming? Perhaps, maybe, you would have ended up starting your own religion. Scary thought, no? lol

[@ominous-omnipresent-they]

I've yet to have any luck finding shrooms.

[@blackhat4206]

@@ominous-omnipresent-they Best of luck to you. They really can be a life changing experience under the right circumstances. They are rare in my area as well, having only come across them 3 times in the last 15 years. Make sure to get them from someone who knows which ones not to pick, or grows them themselves.

[@benjamenchiids7418]

I lived in rural Utah, and through the magic of the internet, and postal service, I grew my own. It was easy, it was amazing.

[@chocolatechips1183]

Ayahuasca is beautiful so is dmt Personally dmt is my favorite phycedlic Never done lsd before though I've done the others mentioned its really not worth it unless you in nature in my OPINION

[@dogobrsp]

Damn it AronRa, that ending with "literally nothing but hot air" got me applauding you through the computer screen, bravo. One of the greatest speakers of our time, imho.

[@danielblair4413]

AronRa and anyone else who believes what he believes is going to find out how much the soul is NOT "literally nothing but hot air" when they stand before God to be judged. You can laugh all you want at this comment (and I know you will), but what I stated is the truth nevertheless and you will see such a thing for yourself when the time comes if you don't get saved through believing (trusting) the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

[@dogobrsp]

@@danielblair4413 Wrong on both accounts. I didn't laugh and truth is demonstrable.

[@danielblair4413]

@@poozer1986 says: *You honestly don't get how much your faith, is like North Korea.* There are people of faith in North Korea, there are people of faith all over the world. Is that the honesty that you are referring to or am I lacking another so called honesty on the matter?

[@respectfulgamer7232]

@@danielblair4413 Why even make this comment when you seem to understand how laughable it is?

[@danielblair4413]

@@respectfulgamer7232 says: *Why even make this comment when you seem to understand how laughable it.* I understand that God exists and that the bible is true because such a thing has been confirmed to me through the receiving and sealing of God's Holy Spirit.

[@brunozeigerts6379]

If Jesus prayed as a kid, did Mary say, 'Stop talking to yourself!'

[@pansepot1490]

@TheDestroyer Christianity was not intelligently designed. Jesus’ followers started by believing he was the anointed one (messiah), that is a human chosen by god; “figuratively” the son of god. Then the “figuratively” evolved into “literally” son of god. Then someone said: if Jesus is the son of god, it logically follows that he himself is a god. Everybody agreed. Then Christians realized that they had two gods in what was supposed to be a MONOtheistic religion. That’s why the trinity was invented: to solve the glaring contradiction of raising a human prophet to god status in a monotheistic religion. Islam doesn’t have that problem because neither Jesus nor Mohammed are considered gods. Plenty of historical evidence that the status of Jesus was object of extensive debate in the early church. Eventually one version emerged over the others and became mainstream, fighting the others to virtual extinction. (I have greatly simplified. Didn’t include the Holy Ghost for brevity but the process is similar)

[@iUseVegas]

@@jjphank "There's no way to debunk it" Is the reason you believe and it's so sad.

[@Angelmou]

@@jjphank " The Trinity’s in the first chapter of the Bible twice!" You know that the first chapter in Genesis the original Hebrew talks about El Elohim in plural as pluralis majestis as wind deity hovering as air/spirit above the waters in the sense of the canaanitic elemental deity. Neither Yahweh nor the father nor Jesus, because they were much later inventions.

[@angelman906]

@@jjphank you’re fucking telling me, that the first chapter of your bible says that Jesus, Holy Spirit, and Jehovah are are the same thing, hmm I may have to reread it.

[@angelman906]

@@jjphank why would god talk about itself as if it was more than one being, when the Holy Spirit, the Son, and the Father are all one? That would be like me saying “We love taking walks in the afternoon” because I take into account all the cells that make up my body.

[@cullenarthur8879]

When having a conversation with a theist, I always bring it down to the soul. The soul is something we have no reason to believe exists, but which religion really depends on. Everything attributed to a soul is a function of the brain. No brain, no consciousness. If there is no soul to survive death, than there is no afterlife. No heaven, no hell, no need for a savior. All of religion comes tumbling down without the soul concept.

[@miesvaillanykyisyytta3252]

To be fair a lot of religion is not overly concerned with immortal souls or afterlife. Even Jehovah Witnesses allegedly do not believe in afterlife.

[@cullenarthur8879]

@@miesvaillanykyisyytta3252 I would say that a religion without some notion of the afterlife is pretty rare. Without a soul and the concern for an afterlife, what else is there to religion. I know some Jews are not entirely concerned about the afterlife, and maybe like you said Jehovah Witnesses, but the majority of religion centers on the soul and some kind of afterlife, whether it be reincarnation, or heaven or hell.

[@miesvaillanykyisyytta3252]

@@cullenarthur8879Buddhism is a pretty big religion and is not concerned with afterlife or soul. I see religion as a collection of cultural habits passed from one generation to the next with those habits affecting every major life cycle and bringing about some sentiment of transcendence. Even atheists in my country arrange Prometheus camps for adolescents as an alternative to Christian confirmation camps. Prometheus of course is a name of a Greek God. I think that some people derive their sense of the transcendental through movies, literature and music and they don't necessarily crave for the membership of any explicitly religious community. Even hobby circles have their own myths and legends that help people make sense of their lives.

[@cullenarthur8879]

@@miesvaillanykyisyytta3252 I would say what you're describing is culture, not religion. You can't deny that a large part of the world would fall under the christian, Muslim, or Hindu labels. Those very popular religions definitely depend on the concept of a soul. That's not to mention the other religions that believe in souls and an afterlife. So, there may be some belief systems that may not involve souls or afterlives, but the majority do.

[@unibyte5175]

Rarely do I find a lecture as captivating as a good audiobook. Thanks Aron!

[@meridianheights6255]

One of the things I like most about Aron Ra is his ability to communicate at a level that makes sense to me (a person of high intelligence who is not a genius, philosopher, academic or "intellectual"). Sometimes he goes over my head, but mostly stays right at a level that I can still comprehend.

[@josdeman5754]

I spent nearly my entire holidays watching AronRa videos because it was raining and storming all the time. Best holiday of my life.

[@necko2529]

Whoaa, late night treat!!! Thanks, Ra.

[@ETERNALCYCLES]

Not with all those interrupting ads

[@necko2529]

@@ETERNALCYCLES, I don't have any with KZbin Premium, I forgot how annoying they can be.

[@ETERNALCYCLES]

@@necko2529 yea this specific video seems to have an advertisement every minute. Unbearable to watch. I dont mind if there is a few ads in a row in the middle of the video but when it cuts off mid sentence it becomes incomprehensible.

[@olisipocity]

Always a pleasure to listen to someone with such a critical, clear and analytical mind, that can dissect some of the most profound issues that humanity as dealt with since it's birth anchored in actual science.

[@nicksenkovs1525]

Thank you for all you do Aron, it is greatly appreciated. Keep up the good work!!!

[@rickschofield3131]

Doing foster care with kids 1-5 I have found that they are unable to function with their emotions until they can put a word to it-I am mad. I am sad. I am happy once able to attach a meaning /label/word to how their body is functioning they are able to stabilize. We call that self calming and it’s a learned behavior

[@musaran2]

I makes sense: only when you understand something can you master it.

[@paulthemason9118]

good interesting...... stimulating food for thought......THANK YOU 😁

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

@@musaran2 It's not yet or not necessarily understanding, but it's a first step: categorizing, compartmentalizing, labeling. It's an ancient form of "magic:" _if you can name a thing, you can control a thing._

[@rickschofield3131]

Another foundation stone for my emerging atheism-just your 2 words “ghost clothes” so true and after a minute of thought laughably absurd but many Christians believe in ghost clothes

[@BudgetFilmmaking]

Somehow, I've never thought about that. My questions are more about how you could know or demonstrate that ghosts exists. But even when I picture what people must mean by ghost in my head, they have on clothes. But why would a disembodied immortal spirit need them and what would they be made of?! Wow... never thought of that but it's so obvious.

[@sutfolsemaj]

Here's another one; if the spirit takes the form of the person that they were on Earth... which version of that person do they take? If I died right now, would my ghost be the 22 year old version of me that is alive today? Why wouldn't it be the 10 year old version of me that I also was at one point? Each of those has been at one point in history an equally valid way to describe me. If I get shot, will my spirit have a hole in it? Will it have the pricks from the IV's? Will the skin of my spirit wrinkle from the failed chemotherapy attempts? Will I be able to lose weight as a spirit if I die as a fat fuck? If I die ripped and in shape will my spirit always be that way? If I had a stutter, will my spirit? It's all a bunch of arbitrary nonsense with no basis in reality.

[@keithherring7677]

Spiritual beings have bodies. The rich man in Luke 16:19 who was in Hell had eyes to see, ears to hear and a tongue.

[@BudgetFilmmaking]

@@sutfolsemaj Agreed, those are some good points.

[@BudgetFilmmaking]

@Irish Jester Also good points.

[@OscillationLoop]

Thanks Aron. Always a pleasure to listen to you and this was really interesting.

[@pup1008]

The world owes a great debt to Aron....

[@RoburDrake]

This reminds me of an experience in my twenties. We were a group of friends who had decided to explore possible parapsychological principles. A person was added who was an ex-Scientologist, and "past life tracking" became the norm. The point is, when the group split up, and each group continued to delve into these "explorations" without the "self-correcting" aspect of the larger group activity, the resulting stories diverged in wildly different directions.

[@blackice9088]

Another great video, Aron, very informative as always! And I love that tshirt, Iol!

[@Fclwilson]

The more science progresses, the less room there is for spirits or deities in our explanations. Spirits and deities are the chimeras of our distant ancestors.

[@luddity]

A surprisingly large number of scientists are religious tho.

[@Marniwheeler]

@@luddity very true. I think its intuitive. Thats why we have billions of believers today. I think its nonsense, but I think about the universe, life, and everything alot.

[@MrJasonworkman]

Always enjoy listening to you think, thank you

[@kellyservo]

I had to share this to my social media. I love how he has summed up everything I have heard from his past conferences.

[@maythesciencebewithyou]

How many people left offended comments

[@kellyservo]

@@maythesciencebewithyou idk and does it really matter?

[@existenceispainforameeseeks]

you have seen Aron speak in person?!? i’m so jealous!!!

[@kellyservo]

@@existenceispainforameeseeks no I have listened to all his stuff on streaming while working at my old job. When he was in my town, it was way too early in the morning and I slept through it 😢.

[@OpEditorial]

There might indeed be no hell below us and above us only sky, but that doesn't mean you get to take up two parking spots! 🤣

[@ednelson2501]

@@jjphank If the Bible was written by God, and is the best selling book of all time. Why didnt he write a part 2 ? If I wrote a best seller, it would be dvd, and The Bible 2, would be coming soon. Alas, there is no sign of that. Just like there is no sign of God.

[@danielmartin5632]

@@jjphank nonsense. The goat herders guide to the galaxy.....

[@ednelson2501]

@@jjphank if I polled 100 random people, asked who is right about everything. Would God be over or under 35%? That is my question to you.

[@ednelson2501]

@@jjphank Evidence is good evidence. ( How'd that sound ?) Facts are good also. Superstitions, Old Wives tales, are not good. They may have their basis in fact, but not much else. This new James Webb telescope will be able to see " forever " in " every direction " Will it detect any signs of an almighty ? The burden of proof is on the one making the claim. I do not have to prove / show that their is no God. I simply can state it. Only a fool would take the bet. Only a fool would say that they can produce the impossible. I don't want your money. It is yours.

[@ednelson2501]

@@jjphank You may be right. You may not be. It is the eternal question. Is it possible to have a God? Or not. Its a good question, I'm looking for substantial evidence. One way or another. A definate answer. It is a simple question. Simple questions require simple answers. The simplest answer I can find is.... There is no Loch Ness Monster. No little green guys on Mars, or any other planet in our System. Believe what your mind tells you. If wrong, correct it.

[@dj_tika]

Aron Ra LoL, I fucking love that T-Shirt! "It's ok if you disagree with me I can't force you to be right" brilliant!

[@rickb2432]

I was raised in the Church of Rome, I had to take Latin in the 8th grade. I still remember a lot of it and the grammatical rules. I sure don’t miss that shit.

[@r1pster05]

But it makes watching "The Life of Brian" almost 1000% funnier.

[@rickb2432]

@@r1pster05 good point.

[@elzoog]

That's too bad because many European languages (including the one you are using now) were influenced by Latin.

[@nicolanobili2113]

Well, you may not miss the religious stuff, but you should be glad that you took Latin...

[@ETERNALCYCLES]

Veritas Numquam Perit

[@chrishirst671]

This video could be retitled as "AronRa explains Cognitive Behaviour for the guy down the pub". Excellent presentation Aron

[@RBEmpathy]

Commenting again, because this video was brilliant. I remember we had a short interaction months ago where I asked if you would make a video like this, and you pointed me to previous videos, which were also enjoyable, but not as succinct. Lol you always have the best closing lines. Thank you for your hard work! Proud to be a patreon supporter.

[@Yahyahyahyahyahhalftone]

Thank you Aronra!

[@KeithCooper-Albuquerque]

Excellent Aron! You are so right: It is nothing but hot air.

[@josiatokirina1788]

Another Brilliant Lesson Of Truth and Reality. Thank You Aron!

[@tamatebako_yt]

this might be one of your best videos, how have i missed this?

[@KurisuYamato]

"sim card of the body" Damn, that's a good one.

[@Simon.the.Likeable]

Aron's shirt reminded me of the pinback button I gave my Dad back in 1980. It read "Often Wrong But Never In Doubt." He got the hint straight away. Lucky for me he had a great sense of humor.

[@RoburDrake]

"Bone to his Bone." Sounds two guys "docking."

[@doubtingthomas1312]

💜💜💜, thank you. I'm gonna play this 3x a day with adds.

[@quigonpatrick]

I don't know how anyone could listen to you and not realize you are correct. Other than the technical stuff that people can get lost in, you are so clear and easy to understand and make complete sense.

[@CarnivorousApe]

I'm a philosophical and scientific layman but I've always seen the mind as a function of the brain. No soul required.

[@smadaf]

24:44 "most people assume that our mind thinks up an emotion and then, because our mind is dealing with this emotion, we have a physiological response. For example: I see a police-car about to pull me over; my mind says I should be anxious; and, therefore, because I label this as an anxious situation, my heart-[r]ate will increase, I will begin to sweat, et cetera." Where is the peer-reviewed study, or even the survey of a representative sample, showing that "most people assume" that our minds "think up" emotions, that we feel anxious only after our minds say that we should be anxious? I've never heard anyone say that he or she thinks that emotions are a response to the mind's idea that a certain emotion would be appropriate. Think about it for five seconds and you see how far fetched it is: have you ever, for example, heard someone say anything like "Well, I met So-and-So, and my mind thought that I should fall in love with her, and _then_ I felt love for her"?

[@___Chris___]

The typical mistake in trying to understand conciousness is thinking of the brain as a hierarchy with orchestration at a single top level. In reality neurons are so strongly interconnected that most information can be both input and output. When most areas equally are receivers and emitters of commands, there isn't really anybody in charge. One might as well say: ALL neurons are in charge together. The reason why this doesn't end up in chaos is the high amount of feedback loops. Commands run rather in circles than following straight "arrows" from a single sender. I'm a physician, but also a hobbyist computer programmer with focus on neural networks and I think this combination might help me understand how "mind" works at the most primitive level. I once wrote a little computer program for fun to simulate kind of a primitive brain, only for visual functions: I trained an "autoencoder" type neural network to make abstractions from a continuous video stream (dimensionality reduction, followed by an attempt to reconstruct the original video frames). After a good training, I sometimes interrupted the input stream for a few seconds and continuously fed the outputs back in ("push-down" decoding) instead of real inputs. The result reminded of kind of an artificial "dreaming" state, or - one might say - artificial association, extrapolation and creatitvity, based on remote similarities of these "inputs" (=abstracted by the algorithm itself) and "remembered" earlier inputs during training. To give an example: I remember one situation where I had interrupted the input stream after it showed a group of penguins, then the computer by itself drew a clock watchface onto one of the penguins faces: it had "remembered" a scene from the Big Ben tower in London it had much earlier "seen" during training and "saw" a similarity in that penguin's face. "Wrong", but creative! Salvador Dalí couldn't have done it better. Of course, this was a simple computer algorithm that obviously had no consciousness, but the disruption of hierarchy by changing the role of inputs with outputs (and let the network reprocess its own results) made it act like it had one. In a real brain, with lots of interconnections between different regions for spatial relations, visual data, speech, auditory data, etc... in similar way a brain could anticipate the consequence of a decision or event by "simulating" it internally, with lots of intertwined feedback loops rather than a single command center. When "reward" and negative reinforcement are also part of the anticipation, the appropriate efferent signals are easily found: we would know what to do. Actually, the brain has an output equivalent for almost any input. Processing is always upstream and downstream simultanously. The example of retinal images and visual imagination is obvious. Motor commands can be seen as "imagined"/anticipated proprioception. Even pain has an output equivalent in somatoform disorders.

[@monsterinhead214]

That was thoughtful. I think you can get a good view of this process/state function if you are under great stress and trying to make a decision about new information. Check that out: the mind can spin.

[@sharpjwe]

Always great explaining We are and remain simple humans

[@zarpof3811]

12:00 suggests knowing fantasy stories makes one of lesser intelligence. Having make believe fantasy stories does not make one an imbibe or troglodyte. The difference between a LOTR fan and a religious fanatic is, one knows it's fake and the other doesn't. Brain power is not in question, just personal beliefs.

[@dedlunch]

Lol You provided evidence for his point I love irony

[@TracedaBassman]

Thanks for all the videos. I started with Noah's flood, and I'm still watching. Joe Rogan has a funny line where he says, "We used to be monkeys, then we discovered mushrooms, and we were different after that."

[@ThatTaRaGiRL]

LOL that was pretty hilarious and maybe even slightly true!

[@burtbackattack]

I think he got that from a Bill Hicks joke, still funny though.

[@normalsaline8913]

Monkey + mushrooms = Curous George... Monkey + MDMA = Bicurious George

[@2l84me8]

The soul is so powerful, that simply sneezing is its way of trying to escape. Thanks, god!

[@laurajarrell6187]

AronRa, thankyou for a great opening to my day. You've, over these years taught me much, and explained, or verbalized things I sort of knew. Some seems obvious to me. Like why early humans would consider blood and air to be 'sacred'. The loss of either caused death. Though you claim no expertise in this, your knowledge of it is incredible! This was a great talk. Early religion seems to have come from a mix of ego and imagination. Then, seeing how it led to being believed, tha scam or con parts came in and there you go, lol. Add some natural herbals, mushrooms, (gases at delphi) and there you get the more fantastical texts. lol. 👍🥰❣✌😷🎃

[@Lokisqueen22]

"Ghost clothes!" 😂 I almost choked on my coffee when you said that, Aron! 😂😂

[@PigRipperLAW]

Where do I get that shirt? I need it for when I visit my in-laws.

[@baharuddinbukari3088]

.. we all need it lol

[@robertleeds6589]

yep, that shirt... must have.

[@ETERNALCYCLES]

Replace right with left.

[@PigRipperLAW]

@@baharuddinbukari3088 For real.

[@PigRipperLAW]

@@robertleeds6589 ✌🏽🖖🏽

[@D-me-dream-smp]

Always fascinating- consistently ignites my passion to keep learning. Knowledge is precious.

[@gaffster787]

I watched this twice for the therapy value.

[@PlanetZoidstar]

14:00 - I used to believe that was the case for me....When I was *eight* . Then I just sort of figured out on my own that was not the case. That I wasn't some immaterial spirit, soul or angel controlling this human body. Actually shook me for a bit until I just accepted there's nothing wrong with being mortal.

[@CraftsmanOfAwsomenes]

Hey just a note on the linguistic comparison. "Mix of Anglo-Saxon and Germanic" is like saying "Mix of Texas and the United States" or for a more religious example "Mix of Greek Orthodox and Christianity". Anglo-Saxon is Germanic. Though it did mix with other Germanic languages to some degree (Old Norse, for instance), it's still a subset of the Germanic language family.

[@Lucius1958]

English started out as a Germanic language; but later influences from the Norse, and even later the French, tended to simplify its grammar; then other Latin and Greek, and even Arabic vocabulary creeped in... Perhaps this witticism describes it best: *"English doesn't borrow from other languages. English follows other languages into dark alleys, knocks them down, then goes through their pockets for loose grammar."*

[@CraftsmanOfAwsomenes]

@@Lucius1958 English still is a Germanic language. It's an ancestral categorization term. Loan words and grammatical shifts can't change that. Simple conversational language is almost entirely still Germanic in origin. (also Old Norse is also Germanic) I'm aware of all of this.

[@Asathegoopy]

Isn’t Germanic the name of the parent language of the Germanic language category?

[@geraintwd]

People complaining about seeing lots of ads, now I'm gonna have to watch this through again, as I don't recall seeing any.

[@fredericdouglas3574]

Very informative, as usual. One drawback is that there were way too frequent ads breaking up the flow here.

[@spaceghost8995]

I haven't seen a You Tube commercial in years. YT Premium account costs 42 cents a day.

[@derreckwalls7508]

Push the red time bar dot to the end of the video and when the replay arrow shows up you can "replay" without commercials. But sssshhhhh! Don't tell anybody.

[@brocksamson3282]

I use Adblock Plus with Firefox. It's zero cents per day, and you can just play the video without going to the end first.

[@spaceghost8995]

@@brocksamson3282 That can work but last time I used Firefox it caused a lot of problems elsewhere.

[@brocksamson3282]

@@spaceghost8995 Well, there is also Adblock Plus for Chrome.

[@autodidact2499]

Child hears mom's voice for the first time: Mom: Clean your room!

[@Seadalgo]

call off has me stuck at work until 4a, but at least the first hour will go quickly

[@thelastapistevist7174]

Thank you mr Amun Ra for youre great work realy learned a lot from all you're lectures and series.

[@42ndLife]

Regarding your comment about knowledge: I think it's less of an issue of knowledge accumulated and more of an issue of poor emotional regulation and inflated egos. We feel over whelmed by the fear of death or the experience of loss, so we cling to the concept of an existence after death. We feel disturbed by a chaotic world indifferent to us where anything (namely bad things) can happen to us, so we cling to the comforting thought of an almighty magic daddy who will make everything "right" for us. I know I'm not telling you anything you haven't already mentioned before, but I mention this now because I sincerely think that the only remedy to religion & superstitions is therapy. Specifically therapy that teaches people how to regulate their emotions and how to adapt to things that are beyond our control. Someone might try to counter me by pointed out that some people pray for the inner-strength to face hardships, but that's still just asking for someone else to change their feeling instead of doing the hard work of addressing their emotional states themselves. There's an aspect of denial in pray because the prayer is affecting begging a magical force to change the reality of a situation to match the prayer's wishes. Denial isn't helpful. Religion & superstation are all about appeasing our primal emotional responses, responses that override our reasoning. Religion & superstations provide comfort for our pain, validation for our ego, security for our worries and targets for our fears or anger. They are elaborate coping mechanisms. That's why until people learn to better identify, address and work through their primal emotional responses, no amount of knowledge in the world will be able to help us.

[@42ndLife]

@Naukumaija Mau-mau Yup. What you said doesn't change what I've said, it only illustrates why we're still stuck with this problem. It's our own unwillingness to change our unhealthy tendencies that leaves us stuck in place as a collective.

[@thomasmarthinussen8978]

Always interesting to listen to Aron Ra.

[@musaran2]

IMO "soul" is a mashup of: •Survival instinct (at core we are immortal !) •Personification (the wind has a mind too !) •Self-awareness (it's the source of consciousness !)

[@kenhoyer8601]

I believe in God, a creator, and believe in cause and we and the universe is the effect. Beyond the physical world, we are also sentient beings able have non physical feelings of love, sympathy, along with the ability to hate and disdain. The yin and yang so to speak. These human emotions are to me the result of a source that has the same attributes. I listen to Aronra because I like his logic and brings up good points and able to talk at a basic level that can be understood. I try to keep an open mind.

[@penguincommando]

Love and sympathy are manifestations of the physical

[@kenhoyer8601]

@@penguincommando For anything to exist it must come from metaphysics or thought before the physical to come into being.

[@penguincommando]

@@kenhoyer8601 that's an extraordinary claim.

[@kenhoyer8601]

@@penguincommando yeah it’s sort of like the chicken and the egg thing. I think for anything to be physically manifested there must be thought , thought brings about volition and movement , then action then creation. Nothing can be created before thought.

[@penguincommando]

@@kenhoyer8601 can you demonstrate your woo?

[@artenroyal10]

Is it just me or there were about 20 freaking ads on this video? Anyway, it was great to listen to this at max volume with my very religious grandma.

[@Dan_C604]

Nah it is not you, I counted up to 18 freaking adds...... and I refuse to pay this you tube premium bs

[@jasonbanks68]

Yes it was aggressively obnoxious with how many ads it had. Aron I love you but KZbin can go f@ck itself.

[@KC_AC_SC]

Use Ad Blocker

[@greglawrencemusic]

AdBlock Plus

[@jorionedwards]

uBlock Origin's better.

[@michaelclark6723]

Thanks man, your the real saviour here!

[@a.j.hernandez3537]

@3:47 This very accurate. I'm Cuban American and I grew up speaking English and Spanish. From my fluency in Spanish alone, I can understand a good bit of Italian, as well as Portuguese. I can read and understand a lot of Italian (Portuguese is tougher to read for me). I have also experienced what ARon is saying. I've had conversations with people speaking Italian and Portuguese to me, while I spoke Spanish to them. It's not the smoothest conversation but it's close enough that you can understand one another in simple conversations without ever having studied the other language one day of your life. From talking to Spanish speakers in my circle they have almost all had the same experience at some point.

[@GForceimpact]

Brilliant... Keep on sharing Aron!

[@nottristan6209]

Just in time

[@LetslearntoDIY]

I'm late lol

[@ojonasar]

31:07 - of course for them it really is a near death experience, the operative word being near.

[@stardustchimp375]

"Thou shalt not bear false witness" - Therefore I am atheist.

[@danielmartin5632]

@@jjphank Would that be the eternal punishment, for finite 'crimes', created by your 'merciful and loving' god? Laughable!

[@MrCool-lo3ls]

@@jjphank I'm not going to spend the only life I know I get with worshipping some god who needs a blood sacrifice for absolutely everything. Oh, and torture for eternity, having my skin burned off and then it regrows, just to burn agin is beautifully merciful. I want to be judged by my moral compass and my actions, not by whether I am part of this cult. And sorry for being so arrogant, as to consider myself to be nothing special amogst all life, as to consider myself to be of almost nonexistential size in comparrison to the universe. I should be more humble, like you who knows that you have a personal relationship with the all knowing, all powerful and all god creator of the universe.

[@TheBastius]

@@jjphank *_"Liars and fools will burn in hell"_* At least you are honest enough to admit that you are a liar and/or fool that will burn in the imaginary hell! I know of no bigger liars and/or fools than you reality denying, religious nuts. You people are professional and passionate liars lying 24/7 shamelessly. Listen, you fool: Absolute power means absolute responsibility. Therefore, it's impossible for anything to ever go against the will of the omni-God you merely pretend exists. Nothing can escape an omniscient god, and an omnipotent god has the power to change everything according to his will; from this it follows everything that happens is what happens because that's how this god wants it to happen. Therefore, 'sins' no longer exist resulting in nothing for Jesus to die for, and nothing for God to judge anymore. We would already live in the best world possible reflecting the perfect will of God. And if you have to be saved from your god monster, then you admit your god to be a moral monster. You admit your god to be a threat, a danger, a malicious bully. No one needs to be a saved from a good and loving and just guy. And how can we be the image of God, when we know for a fact that your God reflects the image of man? Your god is jealous, wrathful, sexist, homophobic, intolerant, violent, but also loving and forgiving (what you pretend your Jeebus to be). To cite Dawkins: "The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." Your god perfectly reflects the total range of human nature. From the worst to the best. God is like us because he is made up by us in our own image.

[@briq4339]

Aron at his best! Thank you.

[@laurajarrell6187]

Aron Ra, you just amaze me. This came up, when I clicked on your Islamic one today. I thought I'd missed it, but realized that I hadn't right away. Though it has so much, I listened again and still heard more. Had new ideas from it. That bit about the Sperm whales I'd sent you. How other animals may have more 'intelligence' than us. Just not the needs of an ape, to conquer, build, expand. If we were perfectly adapted to our 'element', we wouldn't need to keep exploring, maybe. But, dammit. I still say, these tech geniuses, instead of driverless cars and AI, should be working on a 'meditech' machine that repairs the whole body, keeping it at optimum health and age. I want my mind, more importantly, your mind, to stay as is, but our bodies go back to what age we are at prime, between 26 and 35. And we can renew up to say 15 times or so, then age out and die. Maybe at 1000 yrs or so. Even 500. But I want this invented now! I'll miss it if it takes 10 years or so, lol. 👍🥰✌😷🎃

[@markedwards4879]

This is one of your best videos to date.

[@baharuddinbukari3088]

.. when I was around 7,8 and 9, there were nights when I almost but couldn't fall asleep; laying keeping still, eyes closed, I could imagine at will, even feel the sensations, my body floating, up to the room's ceiling .. I've long lost that ability and I missed it but have never forgotten how it felt,; I always knew that it has something to do with the states that my brain is in, there's nothing spiritual or magical about it.

[@hib3032]

Or your parents stopped making you that delicious magic mushroom brew before bed time 😂🤦‍♂️

[@gerryhanly3194]

Excellent informative talk by Aron.

[@dweezilbop6274]

I grew up Mormon and ever since I was about 12, started having my doubts about god, comparing him to the likes of Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. I’d been wrestling with those thoughts in my head for so long, wanting to deny them out of guilt of being condemned to hell by an all powerful “loving” god who’d punish me for even so much as having these doubts. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started reading books and articles and watching tutorials from Professor Dave and Aron’s videos which have helped me affirm my status as an atheist. As someone who’s read both testaments of the Bible, cover to cover, and the Book of Mormon and other religious texts, I’ve come to the realization that all those years, I’d been reading fiction. So much of what’s in the Bible in particular, contradicts itself, leading to me to come to this conclusion. Most people I know consider themselves “spiritual” to some aspect but in the end, still believe in god mostly out of fear of what could await them when they die. What it really comes down to is we all should know the difference between right and wrong, be kind to people and have most people have a genuinely positive view of you. That’s where I am now. It makes zero logical sense to believe in a deity who’s not proven to exist. Science, and in particular cosmology and astronomy in relation to the “Big Bang” make more sense as to why we’re all here. Carl Sagan is also a big influence of mine in coming to this conclusion.

[@henghistbluetooth7882]

I have to say Aron I find this format of listening to you just talk about a topic almost 1:1 is much more interesting than some of the debate guests you’ve had on over the last year - some of whom (naming no names) can really go down rabbit holes of disjointed and random connected thoughts. I was watching whilst making dinner and it was as if you were there just having a conversation. You are so calm, measured, and provide such interesting observations and side-notes. It was an absolute pleasure. More please!! :)

[@Akira-Ainu_Nitai]

Hey Aron. Would you be interested in examining a book called “the secret of the she-bear”? It claims to be able to teach us the meaning of every myth from the pagan religions...which apparently all have the same meaning of reincarnation. I feel the book does a lot of mental gymnastics and finds connections that are not really there. However I would be very curious to hear your opinion on it.

[@JohanKylander]

Placenta duuude.

[@Akira-Ainu_Nitai]

@@JohanKylander lol. Yeah, I have a hard time believing ALL these myths somehow come back to the placenta/rebirth. But the book and her husband make a lot of good points. Since I wrote that comment I have also read “sorcery and religion in ancient Scandinavia” which I actually prefer over secrets of the she-bear. No concrete evidence and lots of speculation but the book even admits that. Overall it’s explanation of pre Abrahamic beliefs makes sense. Just an interesting take on things.

[@fleshanthos]

Excellent presentation. You deserve an honorary doctorate. Whenever I write similar explanations on Quora, and tell them NOT to assume they know more than Scientists, my posts get taken down. Ignorance spreads...

[@atheistmoe5528]

I've overdosed on drugs and yes hallucinations seemed Real I Imagined I was hovering over my Hospital bed when I recovered I realised yes it was Hallucinations

[@iUseVegas]

@@jjphank The power of psychedelics...(or other mind-altering substances) is that they often reveal, in the span of a few hours, depths of awe and understanding that can otherwise elude us for a lifetime. The devil has many forms, some designed to deceive the young, some designed to deceive the old and serious. If it is the devil that tempts the young to enjoy themselves, is it not, perhaps, the same personage that persuades the old to condemn their enjoyment? And is not condemnation perhaps merely a form of excitement appropriate to old age? And is it not, perhaps, a drug which - like opium - has to be taken in continually stronger doses to produce the desired effect? Is it not to be feared that, beginning with the wickedness of the cinema, we should be led step by step to condemn the opposite political party, dagoes, wops, Asiatics, and, in short, everybody except the fellow members of our club? The fact is that far more crime and child abuse has been committed by zealots in the name of God, Jesus and Mohammed than has ever been committed in the name of Satan. Many people don’t like that statement, but few can argue with it. Human beings have a demonstrated talent for self-deception when their emotions are stirred.

[@iUseVegas]

@@jjphank That is not the only explanation... The two people may believe they shared the hallucinated experience. However, it's just that, an hallucination. You are saying you trust false perception over accurate perception. How do you see no problem with this? I am convinced you will say anything and everything to defend your belief, even if it is most dishonest. You have no evidence except the worst and least reliable form in a hypothetical... It does not matter what you are convinced of... it only matters what you can demonstrate to be true.

[@iUseVegas]

@@jjphank If it's not just chemicals then you should be able to prove that and collect wealth and fame... I'll wait here...

[@iUseVegas]

@@jjphank why are you saying this here? Someone else might read it and collect the prizes before you can! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prizes_for_evidence_of_the_paranormal

[@iUseVegas]

@@jjphank Please hurry! I want my $5k! $250,000 To anyone who can show, 'under proper observing conditions', evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event." The person who refers a successful applicant to the CFIIG earns US$5,000. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???

[@youmaybebusy]

40:15 I mean... Yoda went on to be CGI mostly. Sooo, I guess he truly became a luminous being rather than crude matter. :D

[@hypnotoad3125]

Nice. 50 minute video, 2.5 hours of ads.

[@bjrneirikstrkersen1021]

ALL HAIL HYPNOTOAD! I WILL WATCH ALL ADS!

[@cyanah5979]

Why don't you just install adblock plus?

[@doubtingthomas1312]

@@bjrneirikstrkersen1021 Hail Carl Sagan!... I don't watch all adds, but I do let them play,..."why",. Because I support my favorite content creator. And the more I watch this KZbin channel with adds, the less adds play on his videos. "At least for me".

[@ohwiseowl9163]

Off topic but you're top is just brilliant 👍👍

[@RBEmpathy]

Nice!

[@hermione3muller674]

Thanks a lot for this. Very illuminating.

[@SuLorito]

Shocking number of ads.

[@CraigHorton-mg7sh]

Aron, you are a sweetheart.

[@Marconius6]

Huh, I always wondered what happened to the Arians... I always assumed they just went extinct after the Roman Empire broke apart and most European kingdoms became orthodox. I know the various Germanic tribes were Arian for a while, so it was sort of the "barbarian" version of Christianity.

[@shawnschaitel838]

thats where most if not all went most likely as while islam was most likely inspired by in some form by Christianity , Judaism , arab paganism and to some scholars Zoroastrianism as well the hypothesis he is talking about isn't supported outside a few fringe scholars (its something like 95 to 99% Consensus the Arianism thing is BS)and this even includes the non religious one) the reason for this resistance is do to fact that pretty most if not all of very fundamental doctrines of Arian Christianity that are wildly known are fundamentally opposed to the doctrines of islam thus making any connection impossible

[@timothyduffy889]

True story. I was in the city of Redding California awhile back, home of evangelical cult Bethel Church as racketeered by Bill Johnson as the leader to steal money from good people and a seventh day Adventist friend had asked me where the idea of a soul comes from. She went to Simpson University and thought it was God all along and me being somewhat knowledgeable about pagan religions said Mesopotamia. However, from out of the mouth of a professor we were both wrong; it was Egypt. Shouldve known too as the Egyptian book of the dead is highly detailed and intense about it not to mention that they have been enormously influential in many forms of the magickal arts throughout time. Dont worry, I am an atheist that found out that the occult is more about psychology than any real magic just like christianity. But I did find this to be interesting that a professor of a Christian university would know anything about this. Indeed, I got to get out more. Anyway, take care Aaronra and thank you for your most informative video uploads. Keep up the great work.

[@mdragon99]

I'm a "Romantic Mundane Physicalist" and my romantic side argues that the Egyptian Gods are the only Gods with significant physical evidence. Histories written in stone and Pyramids which still seem God like constructions. The old Pharaoh's and the old Egyptian Gods seem to be the only ones with legit historical claim to Godhood. Go Go Osiris!

[@MatthewCaunsfield]

A good, wide ranging lecture and only 50 minutes! 👍

[@jamtaco2667]

I've struggled and suffered most of my 36 years. It's been easier since I traded religion for cannabis and a passionate lover 💏

[@herozero5555]

Fireside chat with Mr. Ra!❤️ Awesome 😎

[@chrishamberg8028]

41:19 The inference described here does not constitute a proof for impossibility nor does it even count as evidence as such. Even if you except quantum physics as the infallible truth containing no errors and being a complete and consistent system for fact finding, it does not follow that we can say, "a soul is unlikely," much less could we say, "a soul is impossible." The claim is vacuous by definition. Moreover, the claim, "the body is the source of the mind, therefore a disembodied mind is impossible," begs the question. A fallacy of presumption.

[@neilsanghvi5229]

Aron's ability to unravel the logic of various religious beliefs, consider their apparently logical counter-arguments fairly, and then expose those as fallacies, is highly admirable.

[@AeonAxisProductions]

Last time i was this early I.... Thats a lie im never early

[@julianefaria7508]

Please don’t be so relatable 😭

[@AeonAxisProductions]

@@julianefaria7508 lol sorry i guess xD

[@Nedded]

Well, someone's going to hell for those lies Nvm, it doesn't exists

[@greglawrencemusic]

Have faith in your tardiness my son!

[@jj-qy6ty]

ty aronra, its difficult living with the believers and poorly educated, a joy it is to discover you.

[@aspieatheist6040]

I hold a B. A. in Spanish, and I'm surprised at how well I can at least read Italian.

[@Amanda-6666]

I´m german and worked nearly ten years in Italy, one time I was in Romania and I understood the newspaper.

[@fartingduck5316]

22:50 speaking of tripping; great timing with the dog!!

[@itsnotthatserious9871]

Thank you for this video; I’ve truly struggled to defend the belief system I was raised to have… since researching and delving into history and science I think I’ve had more clarity but your understanding of the subject and your presentation helps solidify everything. It’s almost a betrayal to be at the end of this journey, but at the same time my family was subjected to exactly what they subjected me to, so blame would be misplaced. I’m just thankful for the eagerness for critical thinking and logic- and for people like you who came before me.

[@GapWim]

9:20 (dictionaries getting things wrong) I’ve noticed the same thing, where many dictionaries equate a change in entropy to be a change in order/chaos … causing many people to misunderstand the 2nd law of thermodynamics. On the other hand, one of the dictionary definitions of ‘dictionary’ is to describe words as they are __used__ but not necessarily describe the scientific accurate definition … because a dictionary is not a science book.