What Are We?

I understand that I am me by my experience of being me. But what about you? Are you really there? Or are you just another aspect of me that is manifesting itself as something separate from myself?

Is my consciousness a product of this physical body? Or has my consciousness connected with the brain in this body for the experience alone? Does one need the other to fully exist?

Is my consciousness yours as well? Do we both exist as separate manifestations of a singlular mind? What is the purpose of this great single mind?

I have too many questions.

Originally posted by The Cyfre
I understand that I am me by my experience of being me. But what about you? Are you really there? Or are you just another aspect of me that is manifesting itself as something separate from myself?

Is my consciousness a product of this physical body? Or has my consciousness connected with the brain in this body for the experience alone? Does one need the other to fully exist?

Is my consciousness yours as well? Do we both exist as separate manifestations of a singlular mind? What is the purpose of this great single mind?

I have too many questions.

I often think thoughts like these.

In my opinion:

Originally posted by The Cyfre
Are you really there? Or are you just another aspect of me that is manifesting itself as something separate from myself?

I am really here, and I am separate from you or I'd know what you had for dinner and where you left your car keys when you couldn't find them last.

Is my consciousness a product of this physical body? Or has my consciousness connected with the brain in this body for the experience alone? Does one need the other to fully exist?

Yes. Without a functioning brain you have no consciousness. Without brain activity, your body is just a piece of meat that needs machines to exist. Somehow the brain produces consciousness holographically, I've heard, but I'm not too versed in the concept.

Is my consciousness yours as well? Do we both exist as separate manifestations of a singlular mind? What is the purpose of this great single mind?

There is no single mind. We aren't bees. We are separate. We're social animals and nothing more. If we were of a singular mind we wouldn't do the horrible things we do to each other on the personal and national scales.

I have too many questions.

I'm sure I can provide you answers. Will you like them, though?


[edit to fix quote]

[edit on 1-8-2007 by MajorMalfunction]

But why is my consciousness attached to this body?
This body could function fine without "Me" along for the ride. It could act exactly the same as it does now. By why am I looking out of it's eyes and thinking it's thoughts?

Originally posted by emjoi
But why is my consciousness attached to this body?
This body could function fine without "Me" along for the ride. It could act exactly the same as it does now. By why am I looking out of it's eyes and thinking it's thoughts?

Maybe consciousness cannot exist without the body.

>This body could function fine without "Me" along for the ride.

No,

> By why am I looking out of it's eyes and thinking it's thoughts?

who is, It?

Your body does not have thoughts.

[edit on 1-8-2007 by Stormdancer777]

Maybe consciousness cannot exist without the body.

This may be so. Though I think that there is something more complex than physics and electrical impulses going on, I don't take the jump that it guarantees that I have a "Soul".

>This body could function fine without "Me" along for the ride.
No
> By why am I looking out of it's eyes and thinking it's thoughts?
who is, It?
Your body does not have thoughts.

Why can't my body function fine without my self-knowledge, whatever it is?
Why can't it do all the functions of a human... think, love, care about things etc... on a purely biological level? You can find literature on "Love", as a chemical and evolutionary trait controlled by distinct areas of the brain.
Everything I do can be reduced down to Survival Traits by someone like Dawkins.

So for the survival of this lifeform, for the purposes of replicating DNA, "I" am not needed at all. Indeed my body does a heck of alot of quite complex things without the direct intervention of my Consciousness at all.

Much of the emotions I feel... that stuff that is supposed to raise us above machines... come from "below", from the body, from the sub-conscious rather than from my Conscious mind. Affected by my health, my diet, the pain in my back, the drugs I have taken.

I haven't figured it out yet.
But it isn't as simple as Dawkins mechanicalism, nor flowery spirituality nor religious faith.

Sometimes if almost feels like the damn Scientologists might be onto something.

Indeed my body does a heck of alot of quite complex things without the direct intervention of my Consciousness at all.

well it does I guess, yes one can be unconscious yet the body still functions,

so, oh?

To much to think about.

While I was reading this article I was thinking about how much goes on around us unnoticed.

So there are different levels of awareness, and some people are more conscious of their surroundings then others,

Say we were fully conscious, would it be more then we could take?

Once the body dies does consciousness continue, we don't know.

plato.stanford.edu...




[edit on 2-8-2007 by Stormdancer777]

Originally posted by MajorMalfunction
I am really here, and I am separate from you or I'd know what you had for dinner and where you left your car keys when you couldn't find them last.

I'd love to believe you, but I could be lying to myself. Besides, you didn't tell me what you think i had for dinner. For all we know you might have been right.

Originally posted by MajorMalfunction
Yes. Without a functioning brain you have no consciousness. Without brain activity, your body is just a piece of meat that needs machines to exist. Somehow the brain produces consciousness holographically, I've heard, but I'm not too versed in the concept.

I do agree that the body can't live without the brain. But if Random Event Generators display a clear influence of consciousness over physical reality on a quantum scale, this means that consciousness, or the spirit can interact with the physical world and exist on it in some fashion. this makes it possible for your mind to exist independet of your body.

Originally posted by MajorMalfunction
There is no single mind. We aren't bees. We are separate. We're social animals and nothing more. If we were of a singular mind we wouldn't do the horrible things we do to each other on the personal and national scales.

You're right, we're not insects. We're intelligent, social creatures who have built a civilization because of our ability to communicate. It's possible that earlier times held humans with other means of communication (i.e. telepathy, intuitition, etc.) in addition to language, and that the faint impressions of extra sensory perception is what remains of the ability? Even better, what if we are in the verge of exploring our own minds? The Earth was flat once.

Originally posted by MajorMalfunction
I'm sure I can provide you answers. Will you like them, though?

I liked your answer just fine. They just needed a little fine-tuning. =)

A lot of people think of the brain as the thing that *generates* consciousness...but what if, instead, it the thing that *receives* consciousness, you know, like a television set?

you are a drop of water to the ocean of conscienceness. I am like you just another drop your brain didnt need

A drop in the ocean is just a drop...but without that drop the ocean would be one drop less.

The ocean is nothing but drops...

Originally posted by The Cyfre
You're right, we're not insects. We're intelligent, social creatures who have built a civilization because of our ability to communicate. It's possible that earlier times held humans with other means of communication (i.e. telepathy, intuitition, etc.) in addition to language, and that the faint impressions of extra sensory perception is what remains of the ability? Even better, what if we are in the verge of exploring our own minds? The Earth was flat once.

I once pondered something similar: might atoms exist because some one thought they shoud and went looking for them. Then some one concluded something smaller than atoms exist, and went looking, and found electrons. Then some one else concluded something smaller then electrons exist, and found quarks. Soon, some one will look for something smaller than quarks; I'm betting they'll find what they are looking for.

How is it that in every field, a person dedicated to the search, always finds what they are looking for? Every christian finds evidense that Jesus must be the son of god. Every Muslim finds evidense that Mohamed must be the prophet of god. Every atheists finds evidense that there could not possibly be a god. Every UFO'ologist finds evidence of aliens.

Every believer prays. Many times their prayers go unanswered, but every morning they wake up, still a believer. Ask them why they believe, and they will point out to the few times that god has answered them.

Every atheist wakes up sure that there cannot be a god. If something supernatural occurs within there ability to obsevre it, they always have an alternative explanation.

Here's my point, what if, when the prayers get answered, it's because YOU made the prayer request HAPPEN? What if when you sought a miracle, and it happened, maybe YOU made it happen? What if we're changing reality everyday? Maybe atoms existed only after people decided they must exist. I don't know, I'm just saying. Cyfre, maybe I'm not here, maybe it's just you. And maybe YOU just want me to be here.

'what are we' is essentially the meaning of life... since you asked and seek, i will show you the door to the path which you seek, it is of course up to you to open it, and walk within...

www.edgarcayce.org...

www.are-cayce.com...

www.intuitive-connections.net...

www.near-death.com...

Many people will dicount these sites due to their prejudgements, but I am willing to 'assume' (i loath that word) that you are truelly seeking an answer...

basicly, we are parts of the creator seeking to become cocreators with that which created us... I know it dont sound 'normal' but the answer to your question is now on your doorstep (or at least the path to lead you there, if you wish to seek further upon your own)

EDGAR CAYCE... *sigh* as always, some guy makes some stuff up that sounds appealing, and because it sounds good it's declared to be the Truth.

nope nope nope. Just talk.

EDIT: Looking around his site some more, I see he does a line of quack medicine too.

And Astrology charts.


[edit on 7-8-2007 by emjoi]

Basically, we're both like tiny little individual strands in a great big web of reality created by all of the consciousnesses in the Universe. That includes all the people, all the fish, all the insects, all the plants, all the bacteria, and all the living cells these things (and you and I) are made out of. And if there are any other living things in the Universe, microscopic bugs or giant brains the size of a galaxy, they're part of the web, too.

We all create the reality of the Universe by observing it. That's basic quantum physics. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody exists in the Universe, neither does the tree.

And when we die, we lose our consciousness and that little bit of the web of reality we helped create fades out. But there are uncounted billions of other lives and consciousnesses keeping reality in place, so we won't be missed much.

Hope this helps!


[edit on 7-8-2007 by SuicideVirus]

Well put, Suicide.

When everything dies in the universe, does that spell the end for consciousness as well?

I've read a lot on the SCIENCE of consciousness (i.e. not Edgar Cayce), which has lead me to the conclusion that reality on a quantum scale is composed of pure consciousness. I do believe that the universe will continue to exist after everything in the physical world dies.

As these manifestations of our consciousness (all matter, all energies)decay and leave the physical world, they collect, go back to the singular point of origin. When everything has decayed and returns to that point of origin, it reacts and the universe starts again.

Personally, I believe that we some how create our bodies and this world from another place. Our bodies are just shells for our consciousness to enter and do what ever we intended to do here(Our other selves intentions). Sorta fits with the whole quantum mechanics thing and the we created our own world idea. We may never fully figure it out but, one day hopefully we might.