At One With the Universe

Posted 10 Feb 2003 at 04:34 UTC by steve

The three most common views on consciousness in the past were that 1) The universe is made of matter and mind - the old style dualism of Descarte; 2) Only matter exists. Mind is just an epiphenomenon that arises from matter being arranged the right way (e.g. a turing machine); and 3) Only mind exists. Matter is an illusion. Number two is obviously the modern mainstream view. An article in The Age presents a new option: matter and mind or two sides of the same thing; both exist, neither is primary.

Reality is an Old joke, posted 10 Feb 2003 at 16:58 UTC by The Swirling Brain » (Master)

So, this guru goes to a hot dot vendor and says, "Make me one with everything."

What is reality? If we are just a figment in a dream, the universe seems real enough to us that we really can't perceive it if we are or not just a figment. At any rate, our destiny, in the astronomical view of the universe seems hardly modifiable and our fate is pretty much sealed. Instead of trying to change the universe, we should try to change ourselves and be content with the brief life that we do have. And, we should hope most of all that whoever is dreaming us doesn't wake up anytime soon. We have to assume and accept that what we perceive around us is reality, because accept it or not, reality is what is happening to us day by day. We must deal with that reality, be it a dream or not, because to us it is real, whether it really is or not. So in that sense, from our persective, matter is real from our state of mind and our state of mind is all that matters. :-)