Greetings Fellow Travelers

In regards to my existence here, I assume that inhabiting the physical bodies of my peers are analagous perspectives to mine; seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, smelling and, most importantly, integrating these disparate points of space and time into a vision of this euclidean n-space...rich with thought, meaning, and above all else, emotion.

I have not come to a decision about whether or not I am some sort of Dualist or an Idealist, or if those distinctions are simply semantic. I believe in the primacy of mind. What I can not accept to be true is physicalism, which goes so far as to claim that subjective experience is composed of physical matter. I do not accept the assertion by physicalism that the hard problem has been solved or is a mirage.

Everyone on both sides of the aisle knows that information is encoded by electrical impulses propagated by sodium ions fluxing in and out of neurons. What physicalism inevitably must seek to claim is that somehow these electrical impulses flowing along the axons of neurons with the flux of sodium ions further encodes fundamental aspects of physical reality as information in a physical medium and that the method in which it does this will be explained away with progresses in cognitive psychology. Without almost a shred of doubt I am quite certain this day will never come in my lifetime, the lifetime of my children, and never over the course of the survival of the human species precisely because the presence of physical reality emerges from consciousness rather than the other way around.

It would be argued by physicalists that emotions like love and hate are actually simply somehow composed of atoms. The challenge for them is to discover which atoms in what part of the brain arranged in what way retain this information. However if these atoms are separated from the machinery of the body they are nothing more or less than atoms; their specific arrangement in regard to the arrangement of everything else in the universe is necessary for the experience of love or hate. Therefore love and hate are merely associations with matter, but can not be strictly composed of it. Therefore it seems mistaken to assume emotions can be thought of as being constructed of physical matter. If emotions are part of the universe, which they certainly must be, yet they cannot merely be reduced into the components of matter, such as electrons and protons, it must be acknowledged that emotion is just as fundamental to the existence of the universe as we hold matter to be. And just as we hold matter to be timeless, that the same protons and electrons will exist after death renders us no longer aware of the body they once constructed, so too must be true of emotions.

I hold the universe to be, then, a collection of data points glued together by the fact that each and every one of us is constantly verifying it's presence. And by us, I mean our consciousness. Therefore, that the universe is not so much of an object as it is merely a shared dream. If you violate the boundaries of the dream; the dream is exited. I.E. if you disregard the laws of physics you die. But because the dream necessitates biochemical brains to register the presence of the dream, there are also chemical ways to exit the dream.

Yet, I do not believe this is an arbitrary dream. As referenced above, I mentioned that our consciousness, our ability to experience emotion, is eternal. Eternity can be said to simply be an absence of time. There is no evidence anywhere in science that time is an inherent property of physics; rather it appears to be a condition of the mind. We experience it now. Here. Within these constraints. But these are finite constraints to which we will not always be bound. The true reality is actually your mind independent the dream; your mind independent the dream is without dimension of space or time. It is pure emotion.

I believe there are reasons why we are here. I believe that just as we look around us and see the ecosystem, the environment, physical matter, to be in constant patterns of flux, driving itself in cycles that build in complexity; that we too, that our minds and our emotions...are part of something. And that our undeniable free will over our actions has influence beyond those which we see in the physical space in front of us; indeed that the physical space in front of us is merely a reflection of our minds. You will see the contents of your mind in front of you. The purpose behind all of this is within us.

This is an opportunity we have been given to sort ourselves into the locations our souls belong...to finds ourselves among the things that we contain within our self whether it be love and joy or hate and despair.

You will most likely be granted further opportunities in further lives, but there is no reason to linger here. You have been granted this opportunity to shed from your mind greed, lust, hate and selfishness. I suggest you not to retain these things. Negative repercussions will arise if you do so. This is an opportunity to perfect yourself. I know it is difficult. That is why I am here too. Walk in the direction you may. The choice is yours.

Very fine writing. Its a solid line of reasoning.

The best word to describe this illusion we call existence is subtle, isn't it?

Greetings indeed, Scylla!

That's a most eloquent entrance you've made and I look forward to hearing more from you.

Welcome to the Nexus!

Thanks guys!

I'm very happy to be here and interact with entities who possess such curiosities as I.

Welcome!

Do you have any thoughts on the potential purpose of our species in the greater scheme of this physical system we call the known universe? One thing to me is evident: after we got the whole, adjusting our environment to our needs thing down, we've steadily been increasing our ability to produce energy. All the the obvious benefits aside, do you think this particular detail points to a calling of ours on a spiritual level?

Hi Sadalsuud;

I do not think our species has a "purpose" within a "scheme" of the universe. "Scheme" has a connotation of intention within it; I believe the "intention" is within us...collectively...not within objects or all an powerful third party (God). We create our fate, but our fate doesn't have purpose any more than the steam rising from your cup of coffee has purpose. But you are aware of your fate. This is significant and should not be discounted.

Whatever value you choose to place on it....I believe we sort ourselves into the appropriate receptacle for the contents of our minds. Through our free will we create the present, past, and future that is appropriate to the contents of our mind. The nature of the emotions we hold within ourselves creates context to the history we choose to learn, dictates our present, and creates our future. The earth, in this sense, is a battleground of sorts. Hate, greed, selfishness and jealousy threaten to destroy it while those that learn to shed these negative things seek to preserve it. I do believe there are planets elsewhere in this universe upon which every soul lacks these toxic things. The only "purpose" I could see is simply the opportunity to shed these negative things. I can feel this is important. I suppose this can be called "purpose."

In regards to energy....we do not create energy and I am not sure what you mean by this. We simply re-arrange energy. The energy in petroleum, for example, is not created by us...we simply release it when we combust it. The energy in electricity created by solar panels is not created by us....it comes from the sun....we've simply engineered a way to capture it for a desired objective. Our use of energy is not at once good or evil; it can be generously used to improve the lives of people and also used to fuel war and destruction. What I can say for certain, is that exponential human population growth has been made possible because of exponential growth in energy consumption. To me it appears the primary driver behind extraction and use of these resources is purely economic, in other words selfishness. Moral responsibility has not been taken from the outset to preserve the integrity and sanctity of life, precisely because we have been too selfish. Wisdom and selfishness do not co-habit the same minds. I fear this may foreshadow a negative end for our species. It is difficult to change paths...but I do have hope. Hope that both myself and all my fellow humans can shed the evil things keeping us from progress. Regardless, the conscious force within each and every one of us will be recycled somehow; and I am inclined to believe it finds its way into a new body somewhere in the universe, reflective of the progress, lack of progress, or negative progress, it made in its past life.

I am also under the impression that this process of shedding selfishness and other negative things is a natural and inevitable component of a cycle or evolution of which we are unaware, and that indeed our consciousness is a crucial element of. Conversely it could be said our minds are places where the extreme poles of consciousness have the opportunity to align themselves; within animals or other organisms individual survival supercedes moral responsiblity because survival of the species is dependent upon individual survival. For us; I am under the impression the survival of our species is dependent on moral responsibility because without it base instincts for individual survival mutate into unnecessary and exaggerated negative characteristics, such as extreme selfishness, greed, lust, hate, and jealousy that result in negative consequences for our species. If we do not shed these things from the collective conscious of our species...we will go extinct.

By "scheme" i meant to imply the totality of the universe, involving all aspects. Intentions as a result of the unfolding events of life evolving included.

By "produce" energy, i meant our ability to harness fuels of various types with increased efficiency. I don't know why you thought i meant "create"; this was a poor choice of words on my part.

Have you never been subjected to a series of events that seemed impossible to be relative to each other, yet were? Events that, whether softly or harshly, bring to light some aspect of your life that merits some kind of attention? To continue this train of thought on the reasonable assumption that you have (considering the nature of this forum), would this not denote a design of sorts in the very fabric of life?

You speak of fate void of purpose, and I disagree. We are aware of our limited time, and assume nothing else is.. generally speaking. It seems evident to me that we chose our circumstances in life prior to reincarnation, and with free will we can choose to ignore all the signs that point us towards where we personally should be going as individuals, thus inhibiting progress as a soul. My thought that I wanted your input on is this: do you think, collectively, we are all aiming for a particular circumstance here on earth, within the abilities we have as humans? And our continued interest in more effective means of utilizing nature for power (be it electrical, fossil, solar, or biochemical advantage((cognitive-enhancing diets), etc): is this part of that focus?

I also hope that we change to a less selfish whole, in economic And personal terms. And I harbor a lot of faith that we will, as I've found that so long as you have an honest approach towards a sincere notion, the lines will connect inevitably.

Please don't take any harsh tones from my response much love, and I look forward to your reply ❤

Hi sadal;

Absolutely no harsh tones have I interpreted. I hope the same is true likewise. I will spend time, however, diving into semantics where I feel it is warranted, because doing so is crucial to effective communication; for otherwise both parties may misinterpret the premise put forth by the other.

About related events....everything is related. It is outside the realm of possibility they aren't. The only question is how those relations are perceived by the observer. Your own thoughts are the fundamental source of identifying cause and effect; how accurate they are or how far they go is up in the air.

I think any disagreement about fate void of purpose is purely semantic. I certainly feel the direction of momentum is choosing moral righteousness over gluttony in sin. But does a rock rolling down hill have purpose? Or is it simply a component of a vast clockwork? For those that choose gluttony in sin over moral righteousness, is that really their purpose? Is that what was intended by "the universe" to accomplish some sort of "purpose" ? Are they refuting the purpose? Or is it simply the way it is, the same way hot air rises? I do have my perspective and feel some purpose within myself....but is that the purpose of everything?

Don't get me wrong that I myself feel a force indicating to me a direction in which to travel. And I think this direction towards moral righteousness is fundamental to existence itself. I hope it is, at least. I feel that those that refute this "purpose" will be continually re-sent back to the negative places they have inhabited until they learn the lessons and purge the negative things.

In response to "do you think, collectively, we are all aiming for a particular circumstance here on earth, within the abilities we have as humans? And our continued interest in more effective means of utilizing nature for power (be it electrical, fossil, solar, or biochemical advantage((cognitive-enhancing diets), etc): is this part of that focus?"

I do not think we are here yet. I believe there are many of us who are aiming, collectively, for a particular set of circumstances. A humanity lacking all the negative things; "free to explore the universe in peace, forever" as it was once said. But we are not there yet, precisely because there are many many people who harbor negative things. I think we all do. The existence of money itself I believe is fundamentally morally flawed. But we all use it. We all scheme ways to get more of it for ourselves. I think we've been trapped here precisely because we need to purge those concepts within our psyche that allowed the development of this economic system from the get go. Doing so will be extremely difficult and time consuming. It will not happen within my lifetime. I can only hope that my influence will be to help slowly edge the pendulum in that direction.

In regards to energy; It may very well be that utilizing energy, such as releasing it from carbon-carbon bonds, or capturing solar energy from the sun and using it as electricity which drives motors that loose energy to friction and dissipate it as heat; has some sort of fundamental role in the physics of the universe....such as the presence of dark energy, which is crucial to preventing the forces of gravity from causing the universe to collapse on itself. I do believe that a universe unobserved is non-existent. Thereby it is fully within the realm of possibility that life processes play some sort of fundamental role in promoting the physics of an observable universe. There are all sorts of rabbit holes here with quantum mechanics and macroscopic things related to relatively....dark energy, red shift, existence of time, etc etc.