Philip Goddard's site

[sono]

Has anyone come across Philip Goddard's site? Any insights/views or comments? He considers ALL astral contacts as "negative" - strange, in my opinion, to see it from only one point of view. philipgoddard-music.co.uk is the link. . . .

[Lemon_Grass]

Our experiences shape our worldview, and Philip had some terrible experiences. His views on channeling are not unusual in metaphysical circles; for example, several subsets of the Rosicrucian movement view all forms of channeling and hypnotism as attempts by malicious souls to gain control over others. There are of course other groups, such as fundamentalist protestants, who would view any form of astral contact as forbidden, too, but I think that can be attributed to a disagreement over the definition of astral contact. Perhaps it might be more instructive to consider their view of determining whether contact is angelic. Duration of the contact is a key metric for them because they do not believe that angels linger. Thus they view any prolonged channeling relationship as highly suspect. I tend to view Philip's site as a warning to think critically when involved in any spiritual contact. You wouldn't trust a stranger off the street who told you that you were once best friends. Maybe you were, but you would actively listen and judge the messages they had for you to determine if he was a good or bad person. Furthermore, if he asked for a favor, you would be even more cautious. If you read some of his background, you'll see that Philip didn't realize this for a few years, and during that time he was taken on quite a ride by some entities. He also had the unfortunate experience of falling in with dark "teachers" -- those who consume their students rather than enlightening them. Again, he did not recognize the signs for some time. In other cases, he placed all of his trust and faith in people who were as blind as he was. The end result was spectacular disillusionment and a decision to withdraw, which one could view as a resolution to stay grounded all the time. Living in the present is a valid a choice, and I feel that it was very positive that he learned so much about himself in the process.

[sono]

Thank you for that very in-depth reply; I do believe you have assessed the matter correctly. From the perspective of my conditioning/religion, astral contact is considered to be part of the material existence - the "maya" or glamour aspect of "god", & part of the general "enslaving" illusion; not spiritual in nature. Personally, I have not yet had the experience of conscious contact with higher aspects/deities/teachers in the astral, but those experiences I have had were exciting and positive. I suppose I asked because I myself still have a sense of distrust towards astral events. . .. .

I sense you are an adept, if I may use that term? I have not noticed messages from you on this board before.

Namaste

[ButterflyWoman]

From the perspective of my conditioning/religion, astral contact is considered to be part of the material existence - the "maya" or glamour aspect of "god", & part of the general "enslaving" illusion; not spiritual in nature.
Do you come from a Hindu background?

The viewpoint of the Astral as being part of the maya is interesting. I suppose it might actually be that. It's not necessarily any more part of "reality" than the material world. Wow. Never thought about that before.

[EDITING this post, about 4 YEARS after I originally wrote it, because I'm so struck by it] I can now say that I absolutely have experienced and continue to experience the Astral as an extension of maya (or lila, if you prefer). There is no division between "spiritual" and "material" any more for me, and everything is pretty much subjective rather than objective. Wow. My view has changed dramatically in just a few years. I see and understand in a much broader and deeper spectrum than I ever imagined possible. Cool. :)

[sono]

Hello, yes I follow the Hindu teachings - was brought up Buddhist, actually (by spanish mother, mind you!) but was sent to catholic schools. . . so probably have a very muddled world view!

[CFTraveler]

From the perspective of my conditioning/religion, astral contact is considered to be part of the material existence - the "maya" or glamour aspect of "god", & part of the general "enslaving" illusion; not spiritual in nature.
Do you come from a Hindu background?

The viewpoint of the Astral as being part of the maya is interesting. I suppose it might actually be that. It's not necessarily any more part of "reality" than the material world. Wow. Never thought about that before. I have always had this thought/belief: if it has form, astral, mental, or otherwise, if it can be perceived, as energy, as ideas, as lessons, if there is movement there is space, if there more than, less than, the ability to compare, then it is Maya.
This, believe it or not, is a very comforting thought, because you don't have to believe everything you perceive; just perceive it.
But I agree that my perspective is often different. :wink:

[CFTraveler]

Hello, yes I follow the Hindu teachings - was brought up Buddhist, actually (by spanish mother, mind you!) but was sent to catholic schools. . . so probably have a very muddled world view! You probably got all the good parts out of all the teachings.

[Lemon_Grass]

From the perspective of my conditioning/religion, astral contact is considered to be part of the material existence - the "maya" or glamour aspect of "god", & part of the general "enslaving" illusion; not spiritual in nature.

Neat! I had not read about Hindu view of the astral before. Now I've added it to my notebook.


I have not noticed messages from you on this board before.

That reply was my first message here, but I had been lurking for a few months.

[sono]

From the perspective of my conditioning/religion, astral contact is considered to be part of the material existence - the "maya" or glamour aspect of "god", & part of the general "enslaving" illusion; not spiritual in nature.
Do you come from a Hindu background?

The viewpoint of the Astral as being part of the maya is interesting. I suppose it might actually be that. It's not necessarily any more part of "reality" than the material world. Wow. Never thought about that before. I have always had this thought/belief: if it has form, astral, mental, or otherwise, if it can be perceived, as energy, as ideas, as lessons, if there is movement there is space, if there more than, less than, the ability to compare, then it is Maya.
This, believe it or not, is a very comforting thought, because you don't have to believe everything you perceive; just perceive it.
But I agree that my perspective is often different. :wink:

I really like your "different perspective", much food for thought- thanks!!
Namaste

[newfreedom]

A few days ago, i stumbled across Philip G.'s site for the first time and have been busy reading it since then.

I find his experiences very interesting and can relate alot to what he has 'been through'

I also find his understandings on what he has experienced very interesting too and know others who have experienced 'hells' from the 'so-called' 'Good Guys' and are not at all impressed with the 'light'

Although my own 'hellish' experiences were also under the direction & with the support of my 'spirit teams' (as i have interpreted it) there was only one time where i actually felt that all 'spirit' was totally against me and this extreme paranoia phase didn't stay with me long

What i also find interesting too, is that Philip G. feels all his emotional triggers / emotional releasing phases and all his gained 'spiritual' understandings & insights about his emotional releases & their connection to himself are completely false & un-necessary.....

For me to think in this way, is highly disturbing, because i always felt everything i was going through a 'necessary' to clear myself of 'baggage', heal & become more aware & more my authentic self which i hoped would have me living a 'nicer' more connected & fullfilling life


Philip G.'s 'working model' does not work for me, BUT i think his experiences and some of his understandings can be helpful and interesting to some.

If you have ever been told you are manic or in psychosis then reading Philip G.'s experiences with the 'Dark Force' maybe be helpful and certainly interesting...

[CFTraveler]

For me to think in this way, is highly disturbing, because i always felt everything i was going through a 'necessary' to clear myself of 'baggage', heal & become more aware & more my authentic self which i hoped would have me living a 'nicer' more connected & fullfilling life
I can't know why this author decided this was unnecessary, and I agree that it's not how I'd think of it, but I have an idea of why he might think this way-
I think there is a tendency for organized thought systems to require suffering as a neccessity, and I think this is also nonproductive- I have always believed that, whether something is perceived as good or bad, if it leads you to become a better 'person/ego' then it is necessary- but in retrospect sometimes this gets extrapolated in a system and the thought becomes "it is necessary to experience negativity to grow", and then it becomes true because thought systems take it on as truth (in a LoA or egregor kind of way).
So I think it would be good for spiritual systems to stop being of the thought that suffering is necessary, and at the same time realize that anything that has happened was necessary for that person, but their experience can teach others and so it is not necessary for 'everyone' to go through it.
I'm not sure if this is clear, but someone I used to know used to say that people forget all about Grace, and that's a shame. :-)