In new film The Discovery, the knowledge that heaven exists leads to an epidemic of suicides. The co

In my time, they used hedonism as a nice tool to promote the wonders of a morally relativistic -yet pointless- materialistic reality. Nowadays they have shifted to some angsty teenager "arguments", like the supposedly "metaphysical" fluff that is this film's premise. Usually such demagogue is cited as a last resort (see desperate politicians), so you may be right when you suggest that it is all coming down.

I think there are a couple vectors:

-Fragmentation of the "skeptic" movement. Members accused of rape, sexual harassment, one of them imprisoned for fraud. The elimination of the Million Dollar Challenge (which was arguably always a scam anyway).

-A greater awareness of materialism's flaws, with enough momentum that the topic has to be addressed and wagons circled. There's a reason we see so many "panpsychism is wrong" articles popping up - materialists know they are losing ground. Heck Chalmers is going to hold a conference on Idealism, which is sure to make more heads explode! :)

-Quantum biology and increased awareness about how fields - an amusing addition to physicalism - play a role in bioligical systems.

-A reduction in religious fundamentalism in the West, but also increasingly in South America and parts of Asia. (Possibly elsewhere, this is just my own communications/travels.)

-The younger generation's lack of interest in manifesting a unified front against religion. Part of this, I think, has to do with the previous bullet.

-Increased awareness that parapsychology as a discipline even exists. While I'm admittedly no fan of Eben Alexander being the face of the NDE awareness movement he did boost the signal, so to speak.

-Increased awareness into problems with how science is practiced, along with distrust of top-down authority in general.

-Religion growing, not shrinking, in the world. Combine this with the above, and the increased communication across the world. Even the Western World supposedly being less religious is questionable - religious people have more children, after all. A person might abandon a literalist belief, or even become an atheist, while still being open to ideas like Psi and/or the afterlife.

Of course events could conspire to revive the skeptic movement, though I think the ground has shifted so much in terms of what people are concerned about I don't think the post-9/11 rise of New Atheism would be recreated.
 
Relatively few, but some do. "In my research base of 3,000 adult experiencers, a little less than 4 percent admitted they had attempted suicide after their episode. Some tried it right away, others within five or twelve years. When I asked why, all of them said Earth life was just too tough. They knew the other side was better than this one, so they resolved to go back." (PMH Atwater, The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences, 2007, Hampton Roads, p. 76.)

I've never attempted suicuide due too a combination of not having a painless way to do it and a prideful refusal to leave until I've at least tried attaining magic physically here. To the annoyance of certain spirits who claim to be friends from past lives who would rather I just pop out of my body so we can all go drink a beer or something. Although they too advise against physical suicide, citing possible albeit temporary damage to the soul which could result in memory loss, involuntary reincarnation, and/or ending up somewhere up there other than where I'd like to be or where they are/could find me.

That being said I've had quite a number of OOBE's where I've either been told I'm not allowed to stay out of my body, violently shoved back into my body resulting in physical injury, or attacked which also resulted in injury. At this point I ironically consider OOBE's and "leaving" somewhat of a health risk due to the dangers i've encountered on the other side.

::EDIT::

The other reason I've never stayed out is I just don't know how. As one of the spirits whom I'll call Ms. Yellow who met up with me during an induced OOBE in January 2016 "When you're like this you actually are out, the problem is you keep going back."

I've tried everything to stay out during them, including physically cutting the connection to my body. As in, with a sword. Yes crazy, but true. That paradoxically resulted in me going back to my body even faster. It honestly makes me think that destroying the body so there's nothing to go back to, i.e suicide, might be the only way to leave. And if it's this difficult for everyone else, well... maybe that explains something about spirituality and suicide?
 
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