Our Consciousness

by IronGland 27 Replies latest jw friends

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  new boy

  We are spiritual creatures have a physical experience!
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  frankiespeakin

  Terry,

  Our rational mind takes these virtual bites through our senses. We cannot taste everything and we cannot use everything. But, we'll starve if we don't.

  Do you think the color red is a real color?? I mean do you think the mind's picture of red really resembles the actual wave lengths of the conceptualize spectrum we ascociate with the color red?
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  Siddhashunyata

  There is only one world but we are unable to perceive it as it is. The one world is..... the relative world within the absolute world. We see only the relative world unless we transcend and experience the absolute world (enlightment). If the enlightment is permanent we see the one world as it is both relative and absolute. . In the absolute world there are no opposites. It is experienced as one thing, dividing it creates the relative world . For example, if you could at once sense all degrees of heat , from the lowest ( 0 ) to the highest ( infinity ), temperature would , in the absolute world, be no temperature even though all degrees are there. Because all the degrees are there in the absolute world, it is possible to have a relative world within the absolute and that is what we have but they are only one world.
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  Heatmiser

  Once again while meditating in my pod,

  Hey IG, do you have a sensory deprivation chamber? If not, what is it that you are using to aid in your meditation? Just wondering, because I always wanted to try a chamber to see what my mind would do in a situation like that.

  Heatmiser
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  Terry

  There is only one world but we are unable to perceive it as it is. The one world is..... the relative world within the absolute world. We see only the relative world unless we transcend and experience the absolute world (enlightment). If the enlightment is permanent we see the one world as it is both relative and absolute. . In the absolute world there are no opposites. It is experienced as one thing, dividing it creates the relative world . For example, if you could at once sense all degrees of heat , from the lowest ( 0 ) to the highest ( infinity ), temperature would , in the absolute world, be no temperature even though all degrees are there. Because all the degrees are there in the absolute world, it is possible to have a relative world within the absolute and that is what we have but they are only one world.

  When I hear people make a statement of fact ("There is only one world") followed by the disclaimer that we are ignorant about the fact ("..but we are unable to perceive it as it is.") I wonder how the first part of the statement can be taken on face value. Isn't it erased by the second part?

  You see, mystical descriptions (which is what you are giving here) proceed from nowhere but your imagination which is shut off from all the rest of us.

  If your ability to perceive accurately isn't 100% when we can ALL see the object of discovery (the actual world); then, how are we to value in any way the "data" from your mystical imagination which is absolutely blank to the rest of us??

  You trust your imaginary values which have no common referent. But, you distrust what can be perceived and pointed to in time and space as little value because there is a smudge on your eyeglasses.

  Doesn't his seem a bit awkward?

  Just asking.

  Terry
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  tetrapod.sapien

  thanks for ressurecting this thread Terry.

  i think AlmostAtheist had a very decent point about consciousness:

  It's kind of hard to imagine that Microsoft Excel is just 1's and 0's, arranged in a certain order and executed sequentially, but it is just that. I think you're right, it is actually many simple things happening at once.

  this fits with the theory of evolution's explanation for so-called "irreducible complexity". the eye for example is said to be irreducibly complex. and yet science can show how the eye possibly evolved to what it is today. - perhaps, the same with consciousness. it most likely is many small mind parts that evolved over time to fufill different purposes, and then started working into a type of primitive consciousness. the mind parts, at some point, fit together. one day long ago, some pre-history bi-ped, suddenly found herself very very alone. she could still mate with other bi-peds, but there was something very different about the way she saw the world and herself. of course, it helped her survive, and she passed this trait onto her offspring.
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  tetrapod.sapien

  i also noticed that someone asked terry if he was a robot.

  i always answer yes to this question. why are we so obsessed with seeing ourselves as special? science has basically shown us that we are african apes with highly developed brains (ergo consciousness). so, what is the difference between a robot that is "super advanced", and us? mechanical parts? biological parts are mechanical parts too. muscle, bone, tissue, computer. yes, we are robots. we just refuse to refer to ourselves materially because the implications are just too uncomfortable.
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  Terry

  My problem with the concept of COMPLEXITY is that it is inside out.

  We have to start out assuming the existence; the identity of COMPLEXITY before we can begin defining it.

  T.