You're one out of seven billion, what does your experience mean? (Everything and nothing)

a reply to: Profusion

I see what you're getting at, but I would venture that it's a little negative in terms of the value of human life (some would say it has no intrinsic value, but I wholeheartedly disagree). I believe that although we in ourselves are almost laughably irrelevant when taking the sum total of humanity into account (and what if there are other races? Even less relevant?) - despite the small sample size, our lives CAN be of immense value, either directly, or indirectly. Directly is where we take it upon ourselves to learn skills or nurture creativity to the point at which we are able to make a disproportionately large contribution to the progress of the human race. Indirectly is most of us, in that we provide support services one to another, out in a vast interlinking web of relationships which will impact directly upon those who are in a position to move our race forward.

In brief, we all support each other, which lends power to those of us suitably positioned to vault the gaps in our collective knowledge & understanding, our collective search for meaning & purpose, onward until infinity (unless something happens to curtail our march into history). We have value, we have purpose - discovering these truths as relevant to our individual lives, and supporting those who make the greater contributions - or even attempting to become one of the quantum leapers - that deserves credit as a life lived well.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Profusion

That's why I would say that your experience means everything and nothing simultaneously.

Cool.




Now what?

Just go with the flow ..

a reply to: Profusion

Considering how many people are born and die every day it's a lot more than that 7 billion you keep mentioning. More like a fifty billion or more over the course of the last few hundred years or so. But yeah your point stands.

a reply to: Profusion

My buttocks experience remarkable pressure.

originally posted by: deckdel
a reply to: Profusion

My buttocks experience remarkable pressure.

"Sounds great Greg" ---- Peter Brady to older bro Greg.

That's why I would say that your experience means everything and nothing simultaneously.

I think I understand where you're coming from but I feel that our experiences affect our personal sphere of influence such as our family, friends, colleagues etc. So by paying attention to what effects our personal environment and learning together and improving our own situation that over all we can collectively influence the bigger picture. When we read here of others experiences and are removed from their sphere of influence we see things from more of a subjective point of view based on our own thoughts, opinions and beliefs but if we were in their direct circle we could objectively see things from a different perspective based on their circumstances and situation. I believe the experiences themselves are not as important as the lessons learned and the application of them. When we look at things from the context of 7 billion people you're right each individual experience is pretty insignificant but if you were stranded on a deserted island with maybe just a few family and friends everyone would learn more from the experiences of the group. Now on to the point of personal truth.

On the other hand, I would say that while our experiences mean virtually nothing from the point of view that I just described, they mean everything to us personally. I hold that opinion because I believe strongly in the concept of "personal truth." This is how I believe "personal truth" works in a nutshell:

A color blind person may never know that grass is naturally green through direct experience.

I know a family of paint contractors and from talking to one of them they stated they were color blind. I thought it must be difficult in his chosen trade to do a good job due to this "disability" but given this was a family business I figured well the others help him out to compensate, then through more conversation I learned that all the males in the family were color blind. So one day I asked the oldest brother how in the world being color blind could they effectively run a contracting business. He replied they paint by numbers, To mix paint you have a color formula that has a number associated with it. as long as they new which number went on which wall, no problem . So the point is that even though they couldn't experience the color green themselves by being aware of their own obstacles they could still adapt and help others experience the color green. The contractors "truth" was they had no concept of green. The customers "truth" was the green that the painters put on their wall came out just as they had expected and they probably had no idea that the painters actually had no clue as to what color it was painted.So does that mean that for the painters green doesn't exist because they had no concept of it? It would do humanity good if everyone was a little more open minded and a little less self centered then as a whole we could better deal with the things that would really make a difference and quit squabbling about the little things that don't. Then the world could be a lot different and a better place for everyone. Good thread, really enjoy the exchange of thoughts and ideas. Just thought I'd give an opinion.

a reply to: geezlouise

Well stated I agree empathy is something everyone should work on but it's what most people seem to ignore or dismiss. From my experience people are wired differently and some seem incapable of understanding.

a reply to: deckdel

I ask that you take no offence as this is just off the wall humor to me and I intend no personal harm to you but your reply,

My buttocks experience remarkable pressure.

just begs me to have to ask is it outgoing or incoming? The way it was stated just kinda leaves it wide open. (Oops).
Please take no offence just thought it was funny.

a reply to: InconspicuousObserver

My line of humor is that of a sick b'tard, and I never take offence for humor.
That said, the pressure def was not incoming...

originally posted by: stabstab

By the way geezlouise is that you in the picture? Hubba hubba. I might have to stop stalking Rukia and start reading your stuff.

Personal experience (truth) for the above statement might go something like this: I feel my physical appearance is not adequate and long to hear people say nice things about my looks, therefore others probably see the same validation. I'll tell this person that I find them very attractive, attractive enough to sound creepy.

And since personal experience means everything, he said it. And since it simultaneously means nothing, no one cares.

a reply to: Profusion

I agree, I did a pre-university course to brush up on my maths and science, one subject I took was social science. I had to learn the hard lesson that just because something may seem true to me because of my experience doesn't mean the same for the majority, my experience is not everyone's experience so I shouldn't make generalizations based on experience. I now research something thoroughly before forming an opinion on anything.

a reply to: DarmokAndJalad

lol, I thought it was nice and simultaneously a playful jab at the other user in order to possibly induce jealousy. In fact this post really had very little to do with me but it was playful and I felt flattered, dare I confess? I also agreed with his initial point and I starred his post. Didn't know what to say to it so I just left it at that.

originally posted by: Profusion
You're one out of seven billion, what does your experience mean?

We are each and all unique Conscious Perspectives (Souls) of the One (unchanging, ALL inclusive) Universal Reality!
You have no clue how tiny each individual momentary Soul actually is (See; Planck volume)!
But without any single Perspective, the entirety of the Universe cannot be fully Known!
And ALL is Known!
So, even though teensy-weenie, God cannot Know OurSelf without each and every unique Soul!

"God cannot know himself without me." - Meister Eckhart

"The eye by which I see God is the same as the eye by which God sees me. My eye and God's eye are one and the same." - Meister Eckhart

a reply to: carewemust
Ya, its funny, in a few short years none of this or us will matter. But how many people we have had lived on this planet who all thought the same and all were the center of there own universe? I think they estimated how many people have lived on this planet, or more like close approximation questimation based on facts known today.

But anyway it was something like 108 billion people have come and gone on this planet, from your lowliest person to your mightiest to famous to whatever. Some have left more of a footprint then others, but all will not even leave even that in time, and on the cosmic scale its not even a blink of the eye.


And you know what? None of it matters, and in time everything is just dust in the wind, just a drop of water on the windshield that will be wiped or evaporate away. We are all the center of our own universes, or at least for a bit, then bye bye, and in time not even a memory remains, self experience is quite literally all there is and exists, everything else is sort of tacked on. So quite literally nothing matters, and its all just the moment.

So ya! In a few hundred years none of this will matter diddly squat, in fact by next month or next week most of the things people are worked over on this site right now wont mean anything, and by next year? What were we talking about?

we cannot confirm the actual existence of anything except our consciousness.

Human’s understanding of reality depends solely on his subjective feelings.

All time exists simultaneously, but the measurement is determined by the observer.

There is no existence without perception. Objects only exist as a phenomenon of consciousness.

www.learning-mind.com...