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| Reality is what I say it is; assuming I'm not crazy.... | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 5 2005, 09:41 PM (249 Views) | |
| Franko | Aug 5 2005, 09:41 PM Post #1 |
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Shower Moderator
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A few days ago I had to visit a rather brand new office building concerning a minor matter. I was quite surprised when I got in the elevator and saw that there was no Thirteenth floor. C'mon, I thought. It's the 21st century. My appointment was in fact on the 14th floor, which I found amusing, since that really made it the 13th floor. While bantering with my orthodontist (sp) I brought up these issues to which he seemed amused to no end. "You know," he said, "you'd be surprised by some of my clients who are still hesitant to retain an Ortho/dentist who is on the 13th floor. Plus I 've seen clients who avoid appointment bookings if they fall on Friday the 13th. I can't say that I blame them. I've had some unlucky moments in my life that seemed connected to that number." Later on that day, I got to thinking. Could it be that if the vast majority of people within our culture truly suspect that there is something cursed about that number then that contributes to making it so? This started me thinking about other things that might have to do with our "collective conciousness". Aside from what you may think about phobias and superstitions, do you think it's possible that reality can be affected, not only subjectively but objectively, by human thought alone? Remember Apollo 13 ? Just a coincidence, or perhaps the result of subconcious misgivings about that number ? Could the human mind be that powerful ? Is part of our reality a construct of a Jung-like collective conciousness ? If so, how do we break free and see things clearly for ourselves? A brief history of the number 13 This thread is not for the purpose of "arguments" but more for a free floating discussion about how we discern reality. If there is such a thing. Feel free to take this thread in any direction. I'm going to start with the premise that "reality is what I say it is". Comment is invited. |
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| Sgt. Jaggs | Aug 5 2005, 10:11 PM Post #2 |
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How about a Voyager Movie
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I find that the merit for concern exists either with or because of the history. Either way there is something to it all. These types of things; these superstitions permeate our conciousness and lie in the background. They may be ignored a thousand times but yet if they are right even once we pay attention, take note, and become suspicious. :ph43r: Like it or not, signs, luck, blessings and curses all have a place in our phsyche.(did I spell that right?) The best example I can give is one of personification. In my job, I often hear people curse an inanimate object as if it were bad or evil or an adversary. I warn them to be carefull, and speak nicely to their machine. There is a good reason for this. As they curse it they are more likely to give it no care or worse harmfull action. Thus their actions bring about the consequence expected. I personally love the #13 and find it a very lucky number. Apollo 13 made it home from an almost guaranteed disaster right? Should be the most praised date ever. Dan Marino was #13, though never won a super bowl, is the all time leading passer in NFL history and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. While I agree with you #13 is what I say it is (for me it is what I think of it) There is something to be said of the paranormal in the human experience. I know I have seen it. Those things that rub us wrong in the dark of night warrant our attention. |
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| who | Aug 5 2005, 10:12 PM Post #3 |
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Have light saber. Will travel.
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I suspect there are many perspectives on what reality is. I hope this does not turn into a debate where we expect others to think like we do and argue about who is right and who is wrong. |
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| who | Aug 5 2005, 10:28 PM Post #4 |
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Have light saber. Will travel.
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I still have one of my college books from a metaphysics class called APPEARANCE AND REALITY. I should read it again. There are two basic ideas on the nature of reality. The common one is the scientific one which began with the big bang. Everything is matter/energy. Mind and everything of the mind is a yet to be explained epiphenomenon of the electro-chemical processes of the brain. Mind cannot exist without matter/energy. The other basic idea which is less widely held is that everything is a thought in Mind. Our Mind is so vast in scope and power that it is beyond what we can currently know. In a sense our Mind is divided so that there appears to be many minds. Our perceptions are thoughts we project. The "physical" world is a matrix composed of the interaction of minds. There is no matter/energy independent of Mind. At one point I believed the first as most do. I now believe the second. |
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| psyfi | Aug 6 2005, 01:52 AM Post #5 |
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psyfi
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I believe that thought can change reality both at the collective and the individual level. I don't understand too much about the process at the collective level, but I do know that the individual level can over-ride anything produced by the collective. I've experienced thought, at the individual level which changes reality and I have seen others do it. But it requires a special kind of thought, a moment of thought in which the mind is utterly without doubt that it shall see the desired change come to pass. The mind is doubtless at the level of consciousness, and doubtless at the level of the unconscious. This moment of total conviction is the thought that changes reality. This is what the bible means by the phrase "faith is the substance of things unseen," and this is why faith has indeed the power to move mountains and raise the dead. However, achieving a single moment of utterly doubtless thought takes some effort. |
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| Franko | Aug 6 2005, 08:20 PM Post #6 |
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Shower Moderator
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Yes, even as a techno-humanist, I get a little tired of the "reductionism" employed by some of my more "scientific" friends. Gee, we're just a side-effect of the real purpose of humanity- the perpetuation of the DNA strand. (Dawkins's Selfish Gene Theory) Then I have to wade through the neverending "here are the limits of science and technology" and really we're a "bio-computer" created by a system of intervallic evolution called "chaos theory". Leaves me a little thirsty. It's ironic that in quantum theory quite often the observation of effect actually affects what is going on; wave and particle cannot be observed at the same time; apparantly "quarks" have free will, but let's not dare make any "philosophical" implications about this.
I've always found this interesting, from a conceptual standpoint. I'm surprised by the number of people who often confuse projection with perception. It's difficult though sometimes to get past the emotional levels that some people live on. I think that I could percieve at least temporal reality a bit better sometimes if I could just turn off my "emotion" chip. At any rate, I wouldn't mind hearing you elaborate a little more on this subject. |
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| who | Aug 6 2005, 08:52 PM Post #7 |
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Have light saber. Will travel.
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These thoughts are a combination of reading, discussion, and experience. When I say that the "physical" world is a projection of the mind I do not mean it is outside of the mind. All of our perceptions are thoughts within our mind. Projection means that we believe and perceive that these thoughts are external to us and that we are separated from them. The "physical" world is similar to the dreams we have at night. One of the reasons I like THE MATRIX so much is that it demonstrates an example of what appears to be a physical world is not physical at all. The difference is that instead of a computer generating the physical world it is our Mind. |
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1:51 PM Jul 11