Outline:

• Our Approach
• Out Of Body Experiences (OBEs) and Near-death experiences (NDEs)
• Assumptions
• Methodology
• A Game of Fantasy to Reality
• Education
• Language, Words, Vocabulary
• Experimentation
• Dialog
• Dream Symbolism
• Goals

Our Approach

We at Subtle Realm have the attitude that any set of beliefs or premises presented to others without also indicating ways others can verify those things is thereby incomplete. An unverifiable system from any area of life is at best a proposal, a set of provisional understandings to be taken as possibly true until repeatedly proven either to be true or to be useful with corrections or adjustments in concept practice and understanding … or to be incorrect altogether. This we term “provisional truth”: a set of assumptions people make in order to make decisions, take action, gain experience and understanding through trial and error.

In considering how human consciousness may exist beyond the confines of the physical body we therefore posit a collection of assumptions as a basis for a departure point on the path of enquiry, experiment, discovery, learning and understanding.

Out Of Body Experiences (OBEs) and Near-death experiences (NDEs)

Sometimes called 'lucid dreaming' or 'astral projection', an Out of Body Experience (or OBE) is the experience of being fully conscious and functioning while being outside one's physical body. People who have experienced this often report sensations of floating, perceiving one's own physical body from a different place, and being able to direct or control one's experiences by using thoughts.

In addition there are numerous accounts of people from all walks of life in various cultures having undergone some physical trauma which caused their bodies to fall dormant and outwardly exhibit all the signs of death. Such people often report that during that time they were completely aware of the surroundings of their physical bodies, were able to move around at the location of the physical body, were able to observe the surroundings with clarity of consciousness and even capable of hearing and remembering conversations of others and events during this temporary death. And they often report quite clearly seeing their physical bodies as completely separated spatially from themselves during that time. They often report experiencing a sense of ease and freedom from distress that one might otherwise experience related to the bodily trauma. Any individuals around them who are attending to the physical body often report the body exhibited all the signs of death: breathing and heartbeat cease and the body might even start to cool. After some period of time the body revives and the individual once again finds him or herself back in the body with full recall of the events observed while separate from it. We are here terming such an event as a "near-death experience" or "NDE" for short.

Assumptions

Our use of assumptions presents the foundations or departure point our enquiry is based upon. Just as in any open description and reporting of a scientific experiment investigators indicate assumptions their work proceeds under. This is in order to give others the framework and context of an experiment and helps orient the understanding of others. In the spirit of friendly collaboration we present the following assumptions for the consideration of our visitors. We hope it might inspire your own enquiry and exploration as well as discussion and participation. These form the framework or set of “rules” or initial “givens” may take place within. 

1. Consciousness is not constrained to function only in a human body and only through the organs of the five physical senses of hearing, seeing, tasting, touching, smelling.
2. There are states of matter which exist beyond the observation of the five physical senses.
3. Matter in these others states interpenetrates and occupies the same volume of space as does the so-called “physical” matter our five senses do perceive
4. Such states of matter are capable of composing objects which have height, width, depth and which are coherent and stable for extended periods of time.
5. Residing in (interpenetrating) the human body during an individual’s waking state is a quantity of some such matter.
6. This matter exits the volume of the physical body when a person “falls asleep” and forms a coherent, stable structure or body which consciousness inhabits while an individual is asleep.
7. This form is capable of movement, has a set of senses which correspond to the five physical senses and serves as a stable “platform” through which the consciousness of the sleeper may act, interact, sense and communicate.
8. The individual is capable - with varying degrees of success - of remembering such activity upon “waking” in the physical body.
9. The mechanisms involved in retaining impressions or memories of this activity after waking are not yet understood and warrant further study.
10. Through cultivation of disciplines of exercising the consciousness it is possible to:
    
    1. enhance the capacity to retain memories of activity outside the physical form
    2. become self-aware while dreaming and thereby increase one’s perceptive and mental acuity while in a so-called dream state.

We expect to modify or delete these initial assumptions as well as add others as the body of insights and understanding presented here evolve over time.

Methodology

In general our methodology for realizing the goal of being conscious beyond the confines of the human body includes:

1. Educating ourselves as much as possible about these concepts
2. Establishing friendships and a community of people interested in developing an understanding of the existence of a subtle realm
3. Exploring various possible means to verify through direct experience the existence of stable coherent human consciousness independent of the body
4. Formalizing what has been learned through such efforts by reporting in as straightforward and concise a manner as possible

A Game of Fantasy to Reality

We use here but one analogy now common in our modern world but there are many paths to this. Specifically there exists in much of western culture today a gaming sense of reality which has grown up in cyberspace and spawned international communities made possible through the agency of the worldwide web. In gaming scenarios story lines take place in worlds created defined and governed by sets of rules. The coded algorithms enforce those rules by causing activities to take place within sets of limits. These essentially contain the physics and natural laws behind everything from the mechanics of motion to the range of emulated human feelings emotion and interactions. When a new gamer enters one of these secretly defined yet unknown worlds the user manual explains the parameters of that world and maps out the framework the new gamer’s exploration and eventual mastery will take place within. In this sense embarking on exploration of a world which is an undiscovered country is almost the same: the territory is unfamiliar, the land is enshrouded in mystery and superstition. The endeavor takes on a mythical sometimes dangerous and dream-like quality that is only dispelled through trial and error as “the way things work” are learned. In this sense delving into an active participation in the subtle realm contains the promise of the same adventure struggle effort and eventual self and other mastery at a scale and level that is at once both grandly far-reaching as well as deeply personal and meaningful. The experience of dreaming is had by nearly all people in the world, across all cultures, periods of history, genders, ages, life circumstance and so forth and holds the potential to transform the individual through direct contact with and experience of the subtle laws that govern this other existence that has always been with each and every one of us.

So in this quest should you wish to undertake it and explore you will be confronted initially by what seem to be mysteries but which over time become clarified into lawful realities. A parade of indistinguishable experiences which seem to have no rhyme nor reason eventually become discernable into different types and fall into different categories each characterized by different groupings of rules and laws. Along the way one’s self-awareness in this “new” land may become increased so that one becomes self-possessed and capable of experimentation. We become capable of volitional action which equals that which we exercise during our daily hours in the world where our physical bodies reside and function.

If one wishes to enter such an effort from the same perspective and with the same mindset as that found in cyber gaming, as a thing to be experienced, explored and enjoyed – as one approach – then so be it and welcome! But of course we welcome all people in all walks of life to join in this pursuit. Perhaps the most striking thing to emerge however will be that unlike alternate worlds dreamed up in the minds of game designers and which take us deeper into fantasy we instead will find this subtle existence to more and more reflect a single continuum of reality. And we will instead of drifting deeper into fantasy find ourselves and our place in this interdependent existence and realize it as part of our true home.

Education

To give a cultural and historical context we believe background reading will help give us a sense of placement in our efforts – where does this fit in our lives, how is it related to the experiences of others, etc. So we suggest books, articles, academic and research papers, historical and philosophical references to build the foundation for learning and experimentation. But we also subscribe to the approach of not recommending anything we’ve not tried or at least reviewed ourselves.

Language, Words, Vocabulary

Since many sources of writings about the subtle realm come from cultures and disciplines long pre-existing our own and since the terminology does not in many cases have equivalents in the English language we will be engaged as part of our work here in evolving a vocabulary; this can be found on the Glossary page. As in any discipline or science creating a terminology where each word has a specific meaning and usage will facilitate the clarity of our conversations with one another. This will help us deepen our understanding of each other and the topics we seek to explore.

Experimentation

We seek through practical means and various methods and exercises of human consciousness to better understand things such as:

1. By what methods or means may the memory of dreams be awakened or increased?
2. Is it possible and by what means if so to cultivate the same clarity of consciousness in the so-called dream state as when we are “awake” in the physical body?
3. If such a possibility exists then by what methods or means may lucid extension of consciousness independent of the body be produced or awakened?

Dialog

Our website includes blogs and a discussion forum. This facilitates exchange of information, ideas, experiences and supports the open growth on sincere, credible efforts to explore and learn. Please feel free to visit the discussions going on there and consider participating. We only ask the all participants adhere to the Guidelines for acceptable use so that exchanges are friendly and mutually respectful.

Dream Symbolism

We want to make it clear this site is not in any way intended to discuss dream interpretation. Symbolism in dreams is rich and widely varied. The meaning of symbols is principally dependent upon the individual and what has gone into shaping his or her thoughts, emotions, habits. Factors affecting one’s association of meaning with symbols can include (but certainly are not limited to):

No two individuals are the same and neither can a given symbol mean exactly the same to any two individuals.

Goals

At Subtle Realm we have a number of goals:

1. Establish and facilitate discussion focused on the exploration of extension of consciousness beyond the physical body
2. Educate ourselves broadly on the ways different cultures and philosophies have reported these ideas and experiences related to them
3. Lay the foundation for exploration and experimentation toward verification of such ideas through direct experience
4. Suggest methods and provide camaraderie and support to individuals engaged in learning and practicing different approaches
5. As much as possible formalize and set this pursuit on a firm foundation and path to facilitate ongoing experimentation and discovery well into the future
6. Make an awareness and practical application of understanding and method a normal part of life for as many people as possible