The Reality of Our Reality

[Azrienoch]

The Reality of Our Reality

I often wonder if what I observe as reality, is really reality.
If I'm driving along in my car, and I swerve to avoid an accident, I find myself, afterwards, wondering if I really did swerve at all. Am I alive? Or am I lying dead on the asphalt, bleeding profusively from the impact of my forehead smashing the windshield?

What is real, if my reality is not?

The concept of parallel universes is an intriguing and thought-provoking concept. The idea is that, when you look at time as a linear dimension, there are other "time-lines" running parallel to the original.
In each of these timelines, at least one difference exists. There a possibly infinite number of parallel timelines, or, since these timelines must govern a separate set of matter than the matter governed by time in this universe, a parallel universe.
We may, therefore, conclude that there are a possibly infinite number of possibilities in existence.
This idea was brought to light by none other than an unfortunate feline and her owner, Dr. Schrodinger. Shrodinger conducted an experiment in which he locked his cat in an airtight, sound-proof steel box, and tried to observe the cat.
What he found was that he could only guess what state of the cat was in, and that any guess had to be possible. From this, he concluded that, because the state of the cat could not be observed, the infinite number of possibilities for the state of the cat were true. In other words, the cat was starving, well-fed, dehydrated, hydrated, dead, alive, meowing, silent, speaking English, within the box, not in the box, existing, non-existant, etc., etc., all at the same time. The cat was in a state of all possibilities.
Hold on to this idea, I will get back to it.

The brain is an incredible thing, an object of mystery, as we hardly know a thing about it.
Reality, both abstract and concrete, is defined by our minds. Until we can percieve and prove, or disprove, a concept, we cannot assume that the concept is or is not so.
But just because we cannot make an assumption, or haven't even considered the concept, does not mean that it cannot be so.
Our brain translates waves to form our reality. Is all there is, in the universe, waves of various sorts? We cannot assume so, and so the possibility is there that our translation of the universe by our minds is incomplete.
Consider the world of blind people... No one there has eyes. Without the ability to translate those waves, they will have no concept of light waves, and may never discover them. As we all know, this doesn't mean that light waves do not exist.

The brain has been known to create translations that were not interpreted from anywhere outside the mind. For instance, consider the "reality" of a schizophrenic; their reality is not the same reality as the rest of the population, and do not even match up between two schizophrenics. Schizophrenics may experience many things that just aren't reality to us.
In all honesty, though, this is reality for the schizophrenic. We assume that their reality is incorrect, but who's to say? What if their reality is correct, and it's our own reality that is incorrect? What if we are schizophrenic?

What if I'm already dead, and just don't know it?

Let's get back to Schrodinger's cat. As far as Schrodinger is concerned, the cat is in a state of all possibilities...but did he consider the cat's reality? He did not make the assumption, based on his findings, that, according to the cat, Schrodinger, and the rest of the universe outside the box, was in a state of all possibilities.

We cannot percieve the universe, in any tangeable way, because we only percieve the TRANSLATION of the universe, an event that takes place in our brains.
The outside world is like the outside of the box, and our minds are like the inside of the box. We must consider the possibility that everything outside of our minds is in a state of all possibilities.

Because I believe in "life after death," I must consider the circumstance that my mind, my spirit, continues on after the death of my body. Since my body does not translate any waves to be interpreted in my mind after I die (a point that I hope we can all agree on), my mind/spirit must create a reality for me, just as the mind creates reality for the schizophrenic.
If that's the case, then who's to say that I haven't already died? Who's to say the same for you, dear reader? In fact, if you are dead, and your mind is creating reality, then can't it be said that you wrote this?

Am I really writing this? Are you really reading this? As Schrodinger would say,
"It's possible."

[Unikorn]

As a participator in the mass hallucination of your reality, I read your words. And I love your mind!

I work with poeple diagnosed 'schizophrenic'. Its fascinating work. Like a hyper sensory exprience perhaps. Daily I am touched, humbled and inspired by the people who allow me into their lives and let me walk some of their journey with them. And taking their stories from a spiritual perspective - seems to make more 'sense' to me.

Thanks for opening up this thread.....I will look forward to its unravelling

[Azrienoch]

And I love your mind!

Me too...it fits inside my skull just perfectly.

[FallingLeaves]

I,ve heard it said that the 'I" is an illusion. If this is true then there would be only mind. Not your mind and my mind. So my mind fits into you skull also Azrienoch!

Hehe

[Azrienoch]

Ah, but that only happens when this dimension is compared to other dimensions. When the splitting of the original, dimensionless point happens, divisions are created. What I mean by this is that you and I do not have the same consciousness, but we do have the same source for consciousness. Therefore, you and I are not one, but you and I are one with the One. A subtle difference, but it changes the outcome completely.

Though I do agree with you...I have a big head and a small brain...it's like a one-size-fits-all kind of skull...

[Azrienoch]

Sorry, I accidently forgot the opening paragraph...it's edited in now.

[Azrienoch]

I finally understand the movie "Vanilla Sky." If you haven't seen it, do so, and you'll know what I mean.

[Amergin]

I've heard it and considered it quite a bit myself - the idea that each individual on this plane of existence is creating their own reality. This given as true, then on some level it must be argued that we still do exist in the same reality, yet for each individual, at higher levels of consciousness, there seems to be line where the reality we all experience without may be the same but the higher reality of thought and emotion we each create ourselves. This higher reality I feel is either forged our own past experiences or own subconscious - not necessarily our conscious mind. If our minds are a composite of all our past experience then we truly ARE experience at work through the void of space and time, and I'll add that I've heard and considered myself the idea, that we on this plan are here to experience for Creator, in a sense. In light of all these ideas this idea might make a little more sense perhaps. When we talk about intangible things the play of time and space still makes it into the equation somehow.

So, I guess in part what I was driving at was, if we each experience our own levels of higher concsciousness and reality, yet we together experience another reality, then could it then be argued that although each individual may have their own set of spiritual ideals, truths, and practices, is there not a set of absolute universal truths and realities that in a sense bind all entities?

Also, consider - are we our minds? If our mind is the mechanism delivering thoughts, then it is not necessarily what is creating the thoughts. The mind seems to be there, telling us when to fight or flight, regulating our breathing, but to me, that seems to be all that it is there for. In Eastern meditiation traditions there is a standpoint known as the witness standpoint, where you in a sense step outside of your mind and watch the thoughts there conditioned to occur within your mind go by. If we were of our minds alone then this would not possible. When it comes to playing an instrument, having an experience, creating a piece of artwork, meditating, it seems clearer to me that these things are not coming from within the mind but from without, from a higher source. This being said, then we are not in our minds all the time, but a spiritual concscious with a computer. What do you think?

[Azrienoch]

As the essay suggests...it's possible. And interesting as well. A cross between the idea that there is only yourself and the idea that there is only everything.
What really starts to crank the rusty gears of my mind is the idea that there are no other consciousnesses, and that mine is the only one (or yours, since you are you).