Reality as we know it. What is 'real'?

Discussion in 'Philosophy' started by MPower420, Aug 24, 2008.

  1. #1 MPower420, Aug 24, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 24, 2008
    First off, it's been a long night. For anyone interested in knowing what goes on in this thick ass skull of mine... here you go. Please feel free to leave any comments on the subject. Input would actually be greatly appreciated. Please keep an open mind. If you're one of the sheeple... click the X located at the top right of your screen. Please. Save your energy on something more futile... like playing with legos. Alright? Thanks.

    Have you ever noticed that your mind has the amazing ability to adapt? How flexible people can be and how many different things we believe? From the most amazing, to the most outregeous, and to the most mundane. Your mind has a pattern of thinking. Can you see it?
    If you were a follower of the Hinduism faith, you believe reality is entirely sound. If you were born out of the Aborigine culture you will believe that reality is a dream. If you were born in the Western culture, as most of us were, and sometimes watch the Discovery channel, you believe reality consists of objects, like atoms, particles, cells and neuron networks firing electrical impulses inside your brain. If you believe what you were taught in school you believe in evolution... that man evolved from ape. If you believe what Christianity tells you, you will believe God created you. If you believe in pastafarianism you will believe The Flying Spaghetti Monster rules the earth. If you were from ancient Greece you believed that the history of the world were Gods and Titans fighting each other. If you were born today you think the history of the world is what you can read on the internet. If your interest is in the field of science you will believe science has all the answers. If your interest is spirituality you believe the Tarot or I Ching has answers to the questions surrounding us. If you lived a long time ago you always thought the world was a giant tortoise. If you lived in medieval times you thought the world was flat. If you live today you "know" the world is round. If your interest is economy, you see marketing and money everywhere you look. If you are an alcoholic it seems damn near impossible to stop drinking. If you are not, it is always possible to refuse a free drink. If you listen to thrash metal, you think metal is king. If you listen to rap you think rap is king. You might think Quake is the best shooter, or Unreal. If you were born into a poor family, you see rags everywhere. If you were born into a rich family, you see riches everywhere. If you're a programmer, you see people and the world as computer programs and machines... you see code. You see patterns. This is me. If you're a musician, you find songs everywhere. If you study geometry or math, you see numbers everywhere.

    Everything we "know" can be broken into three categories. It is either a myth... i.e., Big Foot. Numbers... from things such as calculus, geometry, and trigonometry. Or a metaphor. Which you can find your own definition for.


    There is no reality other than what you percieve. Everywhere you look, there are only myths, numbers, and metaphors . The problem arises when you believe that it is real.

    All these groups of people I wrote about above believe that what they are thinking IS real. I mean, think about it. They thought or think it is real as much as you think your own reality is real and right. All people today and in history were thinking that what they know is the truth.

    Science is believed to be a method of understanding reality because it works. You can have "evidence" to prove one thing or another. Science gives us useful results. Thanks to science we have computers, medicine, pacemakers, defribrilators, etc.


    Mysticism also exists because of one and only one reason. For the same reason science exists. Both are methods of understanding our reality through experience.


    Every tribal and/or ancient society in the world had their own shamans and their own rituals. Does it make you think? Whether it is South America or the middle of Africa every society had some kind of spiritual belief system. They had no way of communicating across the continents of our world, they had no televisions, telephones, or the internet. Yet they practiced the same beliefs. Why is it so important? The best explanation I have... it works. A shaman in a trance can get things accomplished. He could help hunters find animals, he could cure dieseases and even predict future events.

    Scientists also make our lives easier by producing medicine and using statistics and physical laws to help predict future events. The fact is, both methods work in one way or another in our everyday lives. That's why people use them.

    Do you think your reality is better than the Native Americans? Do the Native Americans think their reality is better than yours?

    Your method of understanding and knowing of the world is all a belief system. Christianity, Buddhism, shamanism, science, optimism. I feel that none of these systems tell us anything about reality itself. They can only "tell" us how we are thinking at that moment of time. They are metaphors that help us operate in our world. They don't tell us anything about the ultimate reality itself. Our minds work only on metaphors… and we cannot escape the realm of the metaphors we create for ourselves to live in.
    Some people try to find the ultimate Truth and they believe that tools like science are able to find it for them. Yet they don't see the only reason they can't find it... they are not true to themselves. "Truth" is just another metaphor, that like all ideas, are just created by humans. Why do we need to find what it is?

    It's like an Escher picture... the steps always lead somewhere, even if it looks like there is an end. You are always stuck on these damn steps. You cannot go beyond the metaphors of your mind. You are always going to be stuck on your interpretations of your reality. You are always stuck on thinking it is real.

    You can believe in just about anything if you give it enough time. Everyone's own reality makes perfect sense to them. They wouldn't call it reality if they didn't believe in it. We are all right and at the same time we are all wrong. In every moment, every second of our life time we're creating and experiencing only interpretations and metaphors. We are not actually seeing reality as it is. From a neurological point of view our brains are just constructing meaning from sensory input. What you perceive consciously is the end phase of massive filtering and modelling. The final result, what you see or think of reality, is just an interpretation. Nothing more. Hell, the Aborigines thought we were all dreaming... are we?
    If this dawns to you, it has the power to change everything you "know". All that you see, hear, smell, feel, and think... everything you have been taught by your parents, friends, society, your religion, and school is just an interpretation of reality based on simple mind structures like geometry, psychological archetypes and finally myths. No understanding is different or better than another. Everything is a model existing entirely in your concious mind.

    This is why there are 6.6 billion realities. Not one reality, as most close-minded individuals like to think. Every person in the world, has his or her own reality. And the SHITTIEST thing is that most people think that their reality is better than the reality of anyone who differs their views from their own.


    Most anyone will try to convince others that their reality is far greater than everyone elses. They fight, brainwash each other, and even start political parties. Some people go to the extreme and end up starting wars. In essence, at it's lowest level... wars are fought soley over ideas.


    It's scary as hell that people will kill each other, just on the basis of their thoughts. One side wants to exterminate the Jews, the other side wants a New World Order. They have all the money they will ever need. They want more. They want power. They want control. That was World War II. If you live in the Western culture you think the Allies were the good side and they were saving the world from evil. If you were a Nazi, you thought the Axis was the good side because you needed more space. You thought it was the "right" thing to do. Whatever side you're on, you always think you're on the good side. If everyone's so good... why do we have to kill each other?

    You must notice this, if anything is ever going to change. Like any other, WWII was a war of differing realities. A war over whose metaphor was better than the others'.

    I believe people need to be open minded and to live their life outside the box. Open minded individuals don't think their ideas are better or worse. This allows them to take any world view and use it as a source of inspiration. This is the only way something new can be created. First you must destroy whatever it is that is enslaving you. You think something is, must be, can't be or should be? Chill the fuck out. That's only a metaphor you have created. Destroy it and use another one. Use a metaphor that will allow you to be great. Use a metaphor that everything can be and will be. It's all basic psychology.



    Stop thinking about the things you want to accomplish and make them happen. If it seems impossible, it's because that's the meaning you created. Don't ever believe anyone telling you something is impossible. They don't know shit.
    You're only as powerful as the metaphors you use.


    This right now... this is your reality. This very second. This moment in time. The air you are breathing right this instant. This is just another one of the 6.6 billion realities running similtaneously. You can change it anytime you want. It's called choice.


    Don't follow anyone or anything.
    Never think you know the truth.
    Never believe anything you see, hear or read.
    Never believe what you think.
    Keep an open mind.
    Allow for any possibility.
    And don't believe me.
    Question everything.

    Your ability to question and reason... it's key to your own reality. It's the key to the doorway that leads to the depths of your mind. Use it.



    Now I leave you with ONE question for anyone that feels that they can answer it.

    How do you define real?




    Coming soon. "The Mayans: December 21, 2012"




    Y'all have a good one and peace out.
     
  2. That which is as Is. Naked existence. Suchness.
     

  3. soooo did you take the red pill or the blue pill? hahahahaha dude im really baked. so, suchness, is basically being such? i dont think that came out right but i cant think right now
     
  4. So who are the sheeple? The non-critical thinkers and suchness?

    Suchness
     
  5. That was actually worth reading MPower420 +rep. I agree with you on a lot of levels, and have for a while. Its all about perception man. Thats why psychedelics like acid, and shrooms are such a brainfuck, it takes your whole concept and understanding of the world you live in, and it completely shatters it, grinds it up into dust and blows it in your face. It opens new doors, and turns off some of the filtering that your brain does that allows you to percieve your typical "reality". It's almost as if you're experiencing your senses for the first time, and thats what makes it so mindblowing.
     
  6. thanks for the +rep man. i appreciate it. i've always wanted to experiment with acid but i've never met a source. i feel like i've opened as many doors as i can through meditation and mary j, i wanna try to open a few more.
     
  7. Dude. Just... Dude.

    Well formed, well written.

    I said something to Sam_Spade the other day with the entire context of this post in mind, before you even wrote it. You can even check the thread (Click the button in the quote).


    At a first glance, that sentance may seem normally submissive. But look again and you'll see exactly what you said above. We, as humans, are never wrong. We, as humans, are never right. Accepting that, is only the first step to the first step to the first step to the first step to the first step... etc... etc... etc...

    Man, I'm copy+pasting this post into MS Word and saving it. Well said, my friend. WELL said.
     
  8. It is what it is.

    Great stuff man, 'tis a pleasure to read.
     
  9. damn. im not exactly sure what to say. i agree with you though. +rep i saved this on my computer btw.
     
  10. thanks for all the replies guys. i appreciate it. it felt nice to get my thoughts into writing for once haha thanks alot though

    to mmjnoob, sheeple are just people who will follow anyone or anything, just b/c they are told to do so (think of germany under hitler's rule). hope that explains it

    to vc77, i actually read that post the other day haha im still thinkin about droppin my 2 cents in on it but ill have to go smoke a couple cones first

    thanks again for the replies, keep on keepin on fellas
     
  11. You have a lot of interesting things to say. I like reading your posts, especially while smoking, because this is the kind of stuff that blows my mind. Very good post.

    Could you format paragraphs a bit more though? I had to read it like 10 times lol, kept loosing my place :D
     
  12. #12 MPower420, Aug 24, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 24, 2008
    haha thank you, im glad you guys enjoy it :D it feels good to know that i can rant/ramble about my philosophies on life and there are people who actually want to read it, so thanks again. im sure there'll be more to come

    oh, and i reformatted it for ya. i thought about doing it last night but im quite the procrastinator haha
     
  13. anymore interesting writeups? =p
     
  14. haha im glad ya found it interestin, and yeah, im sure ill be writing more in the next couple days. ill let ya know when it comes up
     
  15. You put a few scattered thoughts in my head into a big essay, and I'll give you some rep for that like some others have.

    There have been hundreds of religions used in the past that everyone nowadays labels as primitive and obsolete. What makes christianity, hinduism, islam, rastafarianism etc. any more true than greek mythology? Not a whole lot. Scientology has 500 fucking thousand members if I remember correctly, and that was spawned from a fictional book about volcanos and aliens and retarded shit. Again, 500,000 people.


    Very true. I wish the human brain was born with critical thinking capabilities and able to come to logical conclusions by itself, but unfortunately the people raising a child can make them believe in literally anything they want them to.
     
  16. thanks man haha i appreciate it. you bring up a good point though man, and you're definitely right. i wanna ask real quick, it's veryyyy similar to scientology... in a very satirical way. but have you ever heard of The Church of The Subgenius? check it out if you haven't already, and you can find their "Bible" on the 'official' website. skim through it for 10 seconds and tell me if it sounds like Scientology to you. it's complete bullshit, made up, garbled up words in parts, and people "believe" it. it's just an extremely satirical view on religion as a whole, and the members "believe" it as in a way to actually laugh at everyone who is too stuck up their own religion to see what's going on around them, and they don't even see it.

    oh and btw, i'm baked out of my skull, and i decided to get a gram of 15x salvia extract today for $18. i'm probably gonna try it in the next couple days depending on my mood, so i should have a decent write-up before too long
     
  17. Funny shit :laughing:

    PRAISE HIS SWEET NAME
    -- OR BURN IN SLACKLESSNESS TRYING NOT TO!

    And I wouldn't rely on salvia to give you any major revelations, there are better psychedelics for that. You're usually too preoccupied with the intensity to do any thinking. Not a bad price though, around here it's a gram of 20X for $40 in headshops.
     
  18. haha see what i mean? funny shit it is.

    as for the salvia, i've never done it and i wanna see if maybe it can shed some light on a few things. it might be a little too strong or not strong enough, i'll find out in a few days. and as you said, there are better psychedelics out there for what i want, but i have no connections in that area. everybody i know deals weed and that's it. so until i can get a connect im SOL on that one
     
  19. i like the way you think. heres something you might like.


    an exert from-TAO TEH CHING, by Lau Tzu.

    Tao can be talked about, but not the Eternal Tao.

    Names can be named, but not the eternal name.

    as the origin of heaven-and-earth it is nameless:

    as "the mother" of all things, it is nameable

    so,as ever hidden,we should look at its inner essence:

    as always manifest,we should look at its outer aspects.

    these two flow from the same source, though diffrently named; and both are called mysteries

    the mystery of mysteries is the door of all essence.



    when all the world recognizes beauty as beauty,this in itself is ugliness.

    when all the world recognizes good as good,this in itself is evil.

    indeed, the hidden and the manifest give birth to each other.

    difficult and easy compliment each other.

    long and short exibit each other.

    high and low set measure to each other.

    voice and sound harmonize each other.

    back and front follow eachother.

    therefore, the sage manages his affairs without ado,

    and spreads his teaching without talking.

    he denies nothing to the teeming things.

    he rears them, but lays no claim to them.

    he does his work, but sets out no store by it.

    he accomplishes his task, but does not dwell on it that nobody can ever take it away from him.




    by not exalting the talented you will cause the people to cease from rivalry and contention.

    by not prizing goods hard to get, you will cause the people to cease from robbing and stealing.

    by not displaying what is desirable, you will cause the peoples hearts to remain undisturbed.

    therefore,the sages way of governing begins by

    emptying the heart of desires,
    filling the belly with food,
    weakening the ambitions,
    toughening the bones.

    in this way he will cause the people to remain without knowledge and without desire, and prevent the knowing ones from any ado.

    practice non-ado, and everything will be in order.





    the tao is like an empty bowl, which in being used can never be filled up.

    fathomless it seems to be the origin of all things.

    it blunts all sharp edges,

    it unties all tangles,

    it unites the world into one whole.

    hidden in the deeps,

    yet it seems to exist forever.

    i do not know whose child it is;

    it seems to be a common ancestor of all,the father of things.
     
  20. greek mythologoy muddled up spirituality so bad it is nearly impossible to find where the line is between good and evil. This religion became called hellenism, and is basically where the term Hell in the bible comes from.

    Isreal made an alliance with rome, to allow them to carry the torch, or the best teachings available, in order to stop what the Seleucids had begun to do to Isreal; They were attempting to get rid of Liberal ideologies in order to turn their ideologies towards a very right wing stance (which was basically mass boot camps for people).

    Other nations have 'carried the torch' in the past, India was always a very large source of light. However now all the lights are starting to get blurry.

    Nobody is hardly even able to 'see the light'.

    Why do you think that the copy cat grey hound bus killer in Alberta was screaming, "How would you like to walk around without an eye."

    People are loosing their souls at an alarming rate. But it is of no surprise because of how much our leaders are prepared to do these days, in order to mess up our mind so bad we have no idea which way is up anymore.

    Up to a point. But some kids fight back, in what ever way they can, if they can see what your doing is bogus.

    Eventually that fighting back, becomes a personality, which becomes crushed, and then they're left with just doing a role in society, with blinders on.
     

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