Reddit mentions of Why Materialism Is Baloney: How True Skeptics Know There Is No Death and Fathom Answers to life, the Universe, and Everything

Kastrup has written some really interesting books on his ideas along these lines. One I especially like is Why Materialism Is Baloney, in which he argues that a form of idealism is a more rational and skeptical worldview than materialism.

1. Things that exist can't disappear into thin air, and things that don't exist can't appear out of thin air.
   
   
2. All of the atoms that comprise your body existed in some form before you were alive. When you die, they will all still exist in some form. Atoms don't magically appear/disappear.
   
   
3. Likewise, your mind must have existed in some form before you were alive, and it won't magically disappear when you die. In other words, you had past lives.
   
   People have trouble accepting this because our culture teaches us that materialism and scientism are the default truth. We're taught that the consciousness is entirely dependent on the body, or more specifically, the brain, because science can't observe anything beyond that. There's no objective truth to this view; it's only the assumption of our culture. If history had gone differently, our culture could just as easily assume the opposite.
   
   There are tons of flaws in the ucchedavada view. Look up the hard problem of consciousness. Read about the shortcomings of materialism and physicalism. Subscribe to r/ScientismToday. There is a book called Why Materialism is Baloney. I haven't read it myself, and I think it supports a tirthika view, but it could still be interesting for you to read. The guy who wrote it also has a YouTube channel.
   
   >Basically what I am making this post for is, is there good verifiable evidence of past lives and consciousness going from one body to the next after death. Help me understand rebirth past a metaphorical sense if I am able.
   
   There's much evidence for rebirth in the form of personal testimony, but nothing that can compel folks who only believe in science. Past life experiences aren't consistent and repeatable enough for that to happen. In order for anyone to believe in rebirth, they have to be okay with the idea of believing in something that isn't scientifically verified.
   
   In general, to believe in anything spiritual you needs three points.
   
   
4. You need to be interested in the idea of spiritual things. If ordinary life satisfies you, you'll never devote enough time to studying spirituality.
   
   
5. You need to be okay with the idea of believing in something that hasn't been, or perhaps cannot be, scientifically verified. Spiritual things just don't work that way. They're not physical, they're not repeatable, and they're very much influenced by our state of mind.
   
   
6. You need to listen to testimonies with an open mind. Spiritual things are very much connected to our minds, so if you listen to every testimony assuming it's just imagination and placebo effect, you won't get anything out of it.
   
   >Please do not say that Buddha was an extraordinary being that could see past this realm of existence into others. This feels the same to me as him having psychic powers (Angulimala story.) This feels the same to me as people developing Pyrokinesis and things like telepathy. It feels like it is not at all real or likely in this existence. As always good points will be considered.
   
   I used to be a materialist and skeptic, and now I believe psychic powers and other things. There is no scientific proof that it's real; it's something that gradually becomes plausible as you're exposed to testimonies. I'll just share this one video.
   
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0yB_yUPiOc