Samsara - the Wheel of Birth, Death and Rebirth: A journey through spirituality, religion and Asia

We humans live on a tiny blue dot in space, planet earth, a "small stage in a vast cosmic arena....a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam” (Carl Sagan). We all experience suffering, and we all die. We have no certain idea what we are, where we have come from, what our lives might mean, and where we might be going after death. Are we all trapped on the wheel of birth, death and rebirth, our bodies the clothing for the soul on its journey driven by karma and ignorance again and again in to the world of matter and form? Does religion mean anything in the twenty-first century? Is spirituality possible without religion and does it have any value as humans navigate their way in to a post human future ? Can consciousness exist apart from the brain, and if so, what are the implications for samsara and rebirth? Are spiritual forces and beings real or fictions? Can quantum physics, parapsychology, mysticism or psychedelics give any clues as to the nature of consciousness, reality and ourselves and the validity of ideas such as samsara and rebirth? What, if anything, might spirituality offer someone agnostic, sceptical and dissatisfied with both organised religion and the lack of a spiritual life? This is the account of a personal journey, triggered by loss, in to the possibilities of spirituality, rebirth, samsara and Tantra, and the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism that hold them as central, along with the pleasures and pains of travel in the rich cultures of Nepal, Bali, Cambodia and India. Part exploration of spirituality and religion, and part travelogue, this book will get you thinking about your own life and death and where they might fit in to the bigger picture.