personal thoughts of reality

First of all, I was unsure of wherre to post this topic, so if any mods. need to move it, please feel free and then let me know.

Moving on though, I often like to sit around and wonder about various facets of reality. I've come up with many possible theories of things on my own, but that's certainly not to say that I necessarily believe such things to be true, just that the things I wonder about make logical sense, and so it's at least "possible" that it is the case.

For example, here is my most recent "thought".

Imagine the physical world that we look at is like a moving picture. As we all know, movies are created by single frames that change rapidly and give the appearance of something moving. Now imagine that this is exactly how we perceive the natural world around us. As we see things, we are seeing single images which are processed by our brains at a certain speed, and that we can only take in so much stuff at one times. I guess another way of saying this is to imagine we see a picture, a millisecond later, we get a slightly different picture, and so on... but what about the stuff that we're not seeing, in the milliseconds between the milliseconds of the things we actually perceive if that makes any sense? (trust me, It makes sense in my head)

I got this idea when I was thinking about every time I see something in the corner of my eye, only to look and see nothing. Perhaps whatever I saw was actually still there, but only I can't perceive it because whatever physical energy it's emenating (visible light waves for example) is traveling in the spaces between the images that my brain is processing, and for only that split second that I "saw something" was it traveling in sync with these images in my head.

I guess yet another way of describing this, is the same way that subliminal messages on television work. You get the moving picture that is relatively unchanging, but they sneak in a single frame of a naked girl or something. Although you DID actually see this thing, you don't realize it consciously because it was only there for such a short time Imagine you're looking at a ball on the floor. every time your brain processes an image, there's the ball, right where it was before. But what if while you were looking at the ball, that for one single frame of your brain some sort of unknown entity that travels through the air at close to the speed of light crossed the ball, but only you didn't see it becuase it was not in front of the ball long enough to actually see it?

I realize that may have been a bit tough to follow, and that a couple of those ideas were sligtly different, but hopefully you all get the idea of what I"m trying to convey-- Basically that there can be all sorts of stuff swirling around, and moving about, but that we can't see because it's physical image is only seen for such a short time.

Regardless though, that's just a random thought about reality, and like I said, I don't necessarily believe that it's a real phenemonen, but it's certainly possible, and I love to wonder.

Now I ask all of you.. do you have any of your own "theories" of reality? I'd love to read about them. I've got a few other theories as well, but perhaps I'll share them at a later time.

[edit on 7-4-2006 by evilgenyus]

was all of that just WAY too confusing for some people? should i try to rephrase it all again?

That's not the way I perceive reality at all. Instead of it being busted up into separate, discrete fragments, I think it's really more like cloudy, overlapping forms - some material but most not - moving in and through a cascade of dimensions, most of which we aren't even aware of. Our own consciousness gives them some kind of cohesion, but it's really just an illusion. Sort of like the way we see color TV, although what we're really looking at are bits of individually colored light.

I guess it just depends on how you look at it.

I'm glad this post isn't another Matrix right off.. but then again reality is similar to the Matrix in terms of no reality can be confirmed as yes or no.. just as the Matrix can't.

When I talk of such things, I feel our mind/brain makes sense of the world we are in. Many things may happen or go wrong and yet most people will not question anything odd as their brain will automatically tell them that everything is ok.. if that makes sense? We are taught from a young age what can/can't be done.. cause and effect.. perhaps our brain uses this and put's it into effect for us automatically.

Say i made a coffee, had a mouthful, went to reach for it again and it was empty, my brain would instantly tell me that I had drunk the cupful and the chances are I will put it down again and forget. I think the reality of the question is was there anything in the cup? I thought there was but reality is saying no and due to this reality, my brain doesn't question and thus I accept the inconcieveable.

Just my thought though!

I understand exactly what you mean Egenyus.

Psychanauts thru the use of different types of reality manipulation such as meditation or psychoactive substances can alter perception enough to experience in "real time" what you have described. Most of the time, what you see out of the corner of your eye are just visual anomalies; sometimes they're not.

My theory is that reality for most people is about all their primitive sense organs can perceive. When you "trick out" the big 5, the doors of perception swing wide open and there is no telling what you might find inside. Best be armed with the sword of faith and the shield of knowledge before you cross the threshold.

Originally posted by Knights
We are taught from a young age what can/can't be done.. cause and effect.. perhaps our brain uses this and put's it into effect for us automatically.


Just my thought though!

yeah, that's quite true. I wish I could go back to the days of infancy when all of the wonders of the world were not reduced merely to words. Like if I see a beautiful feathered creature and am just admiring it for what it is, and not have to look at it and know... "bird". I think often times infants and animals are perecptive to more things because they haven't been conformed to what is/isn't real, etc, but other people.

The very act of discussing the subject of reality; on some quantum level; opens a portal. Ever notice after a discussion of synchronicity; synchronetic events happen shortly afterwards.

Before I posted this, I just saw a dark shape scurry out of my studio door.
For lack of a better description, I'm going to call it "shadow rat."

ha ha.. shadow rats! that would be a cool avatar name/title (whatever you call names on here) perhaps you should consider that if you get bored some day.

lol..

No I just think my theory would explain such things like children having ghostly encounters or seeing ghosts.. they grow up and get told they don't exist and hence the appiristions also cease to exist.

I think the mind is a powerful device and this alone shapes our reality. At the end of the day nothing you see is real.. is anything actually there.. you think it is because your brain says yes.

If i said "ohh thats a nice shade of grass" how do i know the same colour i see is the same colour you see?? We don't. If i taste a carrot and think how nasty it is you may taste it get a different taste and love them.

But back to the point.. As we develop outside influences/storybooks/parents/teachers all tell us how to act, when to act, what to do, what to see, what things do etc. As if we are institutionalised from a young age to become the 'model citizen'.

'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' as it where

I totally agree with you there knights. it makes perfect sense.

Mod Note: One Line Response – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 7-4-2006 by Benevolent Heretic]

I think about this stuff all the time, I actually just wrote a paper for my personality psych class on the perception of reality and it's influence on the development of personality. It's obviously been mentioned but our reality is entirely based on our brain's perception of sensory input. But the brain get's pretty smart about it and attempts to predict incoming sensory input. Like when you take a drink of what you think is milk but turns out to be water. For that split second it tastes like milk, then a weird mix, and finally you realize it's water. Your brain took it's incoming input and saw that the last time you drank milk it tasted a certain way, so it sends the input to your tongue as if it had already received it. Only when it matched the previous sensory input to the actual taste of the liquid did the brain realize it was wrong. This also explains how our movements appear to be instantaneously thought out. I don't think about moving my hand, I just do it.

Our brain doesn't see light or hear sound, it just receives electrically endcoded messages and attempts to make sense of them. Our reality is just the observation of a physical universe around us which is severely limited by our senses. I think there could be all sorts of things in the milliseconds between our perception like you stated. To think that we have any grasp on actual reality is akin to us believing we are the center of the universe. It's closeminded and self centered.

The thing about subliminal messages is a great example. Our brain receives so many subconscious cues like that and our conscious mind doesn't pick up on them. In the past year or so I've attempted to, in a sense, communicate more with my subconscious. Trying to figure out why I remember the things I do or how I came up with a certain answer. Why did something make me angry or what sort of feelings was my decision based on. It's like the more I ask the more I become aware of my choices and decisions in life. I'm not saying this will help see what's in between the lines but I feel it's opened my mind and senses. I'm also much more at peace with my struggles in reality. I love thinking about stuff like this but it can be a burden at the same time. Unanswerable questions that just lead to more speculation and confusion. But at the same time you feel like you're starting to understand the world around you and see it in a way that most people never even question.

I feel like there is a lot out there, and if we can only sense .0001% of it then I'd like to be as open as possible to that percent as I can.

okay, i promise no more one line replies. I never knew that they were so frowned upon, but I can understand why.

Anyway, I said before that I might share another idea later, and I'm bored, so here goes...

I'm sure most of us have heard of a "lifeline". While I don't claim to be an expert on this subject, it's my understanding that it's the invisible cord that leads from the top of the head and that it's attached to the soul. ( correct me if I'm wrong anywhere). Supposedly, once this lifeline is cut, that is when you die. That got me wondering...

What if we are essentially worthless creatures and that we are only used as a means to collect energy which is sent up this "lifeline" to whatever is at the end of it?

It is said that everything in the world is created of energy. everything from our physical bodies, to the bar of soap in your bathtub. Additionally, there are different kinds of energy, and different ways to transfer energy.

Now consider our physical bodies. We have the sense of touch, in which we can feel heat energy, feel vibrations in moving things, etc. We have our eyes to collect energy from the visibal spectrum of light. Our ears gather sound energy, and so on.... I don't think I need to explain them all. Then all of these different forms of energy that we gather is somehow transformed to a single different energy which is sent up the lifeline that leads to whatever...

Perhaps also, when we create energy ourselves whether we are talking and sending out energy that way, or we are running and sending energy through the ground, or however else we might expel energy. What if our actions are not really "freewill", but rather we were made to transfer this energy by whatever entity we are attached to. (god perhaps?) Most people who believe in god would certainly say that he/she/ is a very powerful entity, (after all.. he can move mountains). Obviously then, it would make sense that a lot of energy would be needed in order to do the things that he does, and therefore... he created man to gather, transfer, and manipulate the energy to suit his needs.

Once again.. I don't necessarily believe these things to be true, but just another possibily that can't be ruled out entirely.

Possible.. nice theory I would never have come up with such a thing. Well if we are here to power up his batteries then there's no need to worry about asteroids/bird flu etc 'cause he/she requires us for his/her own existence... If I understood you correct?

If I died, I would be buried and i'd most likely be eaten by worms and thus my energy will be transferred back into the chain so that worm can breed and create new offspring and then get eaten and my 'energy' moves on.

Interesting theory!

okay, so maybe I"m really going out on a limb here ( if I wasn't on one already) but what if we ARE still susceptible to the bird flu, and etc.?

What I'm kind of imagining now, is what if these lifelines could be comparable to the neurons of a brain? When a child is born there are millions of neurons, pathways, connections and etc. However of all the neurons in the brain, only very few get used and those that haven't been "used" by a certain time tend to die off, so to speak. Therefore, what if we (certain individuals) are like these neurons that are essentially worthless?

For example...I'm a lazy person who has accomplished nothing in life. I sit around unmotivated, and am not inclined to learn or experience anything during my existence. Therefore, my neural connection (lifeline?) is of no use to this higher source, and as a result I will be eradicated/killed/etc by whatever means necessary, whether that be from the bird flu, or a bomb?

If we are comparable to these neurons in a brain, then there are millions of these neurons just as there are millions of people, and if wouldn't hurt much for a few of these 'worthless" connections to die off.

(hope that was clear enough..)

Originally posted by cedargrove


...Our brain doesn't see light or hear sound, it just receives electrically endcoded messages and attempts to make sense of them. Our reality is just the observation of a physical universe around us which is severely limited by our senses. I think there could be all sorts of things in the milliseconds between our perception like you stated. To think that we have any grasp on actual reality is akin to us believing we are the center of the universe. It's closeminded and self centered. ...

.

that was quite interesting stuff. I've always wondered how you are able to "see" or "taste" or "smell" stuff that's not really present. I wonder then, how our mind interprets whether something is really there, or if it's just imagining it, or if it can even tell the difference. It would be interesting to read your whole essay that you wrote about that stuff. perhaps if you don't mind, and are able to do it, you could e-mail the file to me.

Originally posted by cedargrove
To think that we have any grasp on actual reality is akin to us believing we are the center of the universe. It's closeminded and self centered.

I disagree with this statement. Our mind would simply be putting out 'energy' and our brain would be the mechanism that is manipulating that 'energy' to receive the desired effect. While, I agree we are not the center of the universe and to believe so is close minded and self-centered, we shouldn't disregard the fact that we can 'manipulate energy' to create our reality. For example, the psychic phenomenon of 'psychokinesis'. Many perceive that this is a type of magic, however, we are simply magnifying our brain waves and using more of our brain. We are projecting energy onto whatever it is that we are moving and thus that energy is what causes it to move.