What are some of your most profound realizations about life?

This is just an open idea to discuss just some of the thoughts and ideas which have hit you as profound in your life. Feel free to just rant out some ideas. I'm going to talk about a few of mine.

For myself, there is really quite a few profound realizations about life. The obvious things such as the natural beauty which life embodies. The deep mathematical and scientific achievements. The dreams.

Probably one of my most profound realizations come from dreaming. That state of which we all go to and come from on a nightly basis. It's like another reality; part of this one but subjective and raw defined by the very essence of one's own thoughts.

Dreams after all are just that, a canvas of thought arranged in a way that construct vivid 3D "virtual realities" if you will. But virtual realities none-the-less, a product of our amazing ability to think in the context of a dream.

Lucid dreaming really opened up my eyes. It's a very interesting state that allows for a perfect self-aware moment where instead of being in the usual waking reality; one is clearly focused and self-aware in a dream reality. It's powerful, vivid and amazing.

Second only to dreams that come true mind you. If you ever dreamed something and one day later it came true like deja vu, then you can probably appreciate that lesser known trait of dreaming. Very fascinating and prime for a broader science.

In summary, Dreaming exemplifies just how amazing reality actually is; when such a crossroad is met.

I think you hit the nail on the head there - lucid dreaming is definitely something that everyone should actively do at some point in there life. Some of the conversations and things I have done in lucid dreams in the past have completely changed my perspective on life.

Originally posted by homeslice
I think you hit the nail on the head there - lucid dreaming is definitely something that everyone should actively do at some point in there life. Some of the conversations and things I have done in lucid dreams in the past have completely changed my perspective on life.

Lucid dreaming, how to really put a value on such an experience. It's real, people can do it and the experience is like going to Disneyland and beyond. It really is a higher-level state of self-awareness. A cognitive reality of sorts.

I'm glad that we are capable of having consciousness during sleep.

It is an amazing thing, and so many people have never even head of it. I havnt actively been lucid dreaming in the last 5 years but went though a stage of lucid dreaming nearly every night.
It is better than any "real life" experience i have ever had.

Ha. Lucid dreaming can be totally crazy. I once had a dream where I was living in the same house, albeit with some changes, and I was living with my ex-girlfriend about to get married. I kept asking her, until I achieved lucidity, "What is going on?! Why are you here?" and everyone, including her, seemed to think I was going nuts.

She kept telling me, "Why are you so distorted?" Interesting phrase.

Finally, I achieved lucidity and jolted myself out of it. For some reason, it truly haunted me even though nothing bad had happened at all. Wonder if I experienced an alternate reality? Or it was just the crazy workings of the mind? Either way, it was interesting.

I'd try it, but I have this odd habit of scaring the sh(t out of myself all too often. lol..

You may like this album, if you haven't heard it already.. Can 'tor' it pretty easily.

www.youtube.com...

In a philosophy course I once took we discussed morality and logic and instances where the two overlap and where they don't. The Ten Commandments are a prime example of a blueprint for morality according to one religion. At the same time, however, following them makes logical sense to an agnostic like myself. If you constantly lie, then those around you will not believe what you say and you will lose credibility. If you kill people, you run the risk of being killed yourself and just generally making your environment a more dangerous place.

I believe that, much like evolution and creationism, logic and morality are not mutually exclusive and the two can and do mesh in many instances. You don't need the fear of hell or the incentive of heaven to make the right choices

Most people don't care about what you care about.

I have had experiences in my life where i have felt the future "ripple" into the present. I find this profound on many levels.

at 6 years of age, after watching a religious movie where saints mortified their physical bodies to achieve spiritual awareness, i walked out thinking, maybe we are here to learn something, but there has to be a better way.
this search for a better way would influence the next 60 years of my life.

also on dreams, at 6, after watching Dracula meets the Wolfman, and being scared to go to bed, i realized that i could control my dreams.
with a whip in my hand, i made the Frankenstein monster go down a well and start digging.(my dream).

until 11, i thought life was a stage, that everyone was playing a part and when i was old enough, they would let me in on the joke.
at 11, one day i realized people were actually as i saw them, that was a huge shock.
i spent that summer going for long walks in the woods trying to understand all of this.
came to the conclusion that peoples' main problem was out of control emotions.
and tried to understand and control my own emotions.

after studying physics for three years in school and doing r & d in the air force during my service time, learning that what i knew was not much.
i lived on superstition mountain in arizona, there i ran into a spirit being that made noise(rapid beating of air), had an earth smell and could go through solid walls.
made me understand there was much more to physics than i was told.

getting to be old, i've many experiences, but these three events were major.

reply to post by YouAreDreaming


I believe we are all one.. love is a cure for most ailments..
And forgiveness is the easiest thing to achiece..
All war is stupid..
One your EGO has been tamed your progress will be swift..
Be kind to mother Earth love and tend her well..
Peace and friedship to all people everywhere..
regards
plazmuh

Originally posted by mfc1PLAZMUH
reply to post by YouAreDreaming

 

I believe we are all one.. love is a cure for most ailments..
And forgiveness is the easiest thing to achiece..
All war is stupid..
Once your EGO has been tamed your progress will be swift..
Be kind to mother Earth love and tend her well..
Peace and friedship to all people everywhere..
regards
plazmuh

OP, do you have any tips on how to 'practice' lucid dreaming?
I've heard of 'dream journals' and what not, but never got around to actually writing down every dream, every time I wake up....

As for a response about the topic of realization, sheesh, I've had a lot, but it's rather difficult to think of a specific one.
Well, I'd have to say the realization of the official story of 9/11 being false gave me a colossal wake up call.
I'm only 22, and once I realized that the world was not all 'peaches and cream', I went on a path of knowledge I never thought possible.

I've always been an escapist; I just find life tough to bear sometimes. Naturally I am a dream junkie. I've even had Inception-esque multi level dreams before. I get frequent Deja vu, and it has led me to ponder upon the nature of time itself. There seems to be two distinct possibilities: either foresight is a natural human ability that's been repressed, or time itself is nonlinear (try and wrap your heads around that one )

reply to post by AskWhy11


You have to give yourself reality checks through out the day - you say to yourself "am I dreaming and then turn a light on or off, or look in a mirror, or read some words. then say no I am not dreaming.

Do this over and over as often as you can everyday. Soon enough it will cross over into your subconcious and you will one day while dreaming say to yourself "Am I dreaming?" then (in your dream) turn a light on or off - nothing will change, look in a mirror - you will not see a proper reflection, or read some words - they will be jumbled or change when you look at them twice. (there are many different reality checks you can do)

You then will say to yourself "I am dreaming"

Many people get excited at this stage and just wake themselves up. So stay calm.

Also, If the dream starts to fade, spin around or shake your head - a new dream will manifest.

A realization which really stands out for me was the day I realized there is no good and evil.

I remember the moment. I had been having a period of a couple of years of spiritual growth, in which I had been having realizations of various kinds, and having many paranormal type experiences..... guidance from within on various practices of meditation, movement, states of consciousness.

I was backing out of my driveway, and this dialogue was going on in my head, and it just suddenly dawned on me- there is no good and evil. No inherent, static, good and bad. All is relative.

It sounds simple, but in that moment, it was terrifying! The idea that there just simply isn't any right or wrong to learn and know and that can direct all your choices once you know it.

I asked myself outloud- "then... what do we do? How we do know what to do or not?"
The answer came back- "There is only the present, being completely present, completely aware, in each and every moment." No easy way out. No way to just get the list of answers beforehand and not have to be completely aware or paying attention much. It means beign completely engaged with the world, oneself, and others, in each moment.

That sounded impossible and scary. Like realizing you are always walking a tightrope, with NO security net beneath!
But with time, I found ti isn't as bad as it sounds, and is actually a path to balance in many ways.
It was a big realization for me, traumatic almost, and I guard it in memory to remind myself why some other people refuse to consider that idea- because it scares them, like it once scared me. That helps me feel compassion and allowance.

The most profound realization I had was that hell is real. It's not politically correct to agree that there is a hell, and most people are under the delusion that all religions lead to God; that there are multiple paths to heaven. The most profound realization is we, the modern people, are plain wrong. Pluralism is a lie preached across this globalized world, but it is just a comforting notion, because hell is true, and unholy and unrighteous people are going there. We keep telling ourselves it is sufficient to be good to go to heaven, but in reality we need to be holy people. Hence piracy, telling white lies, etc, is unholy behavior that most good people engage in.

Our actions, not just our beliefs, matter very much. It's a profound realization because it turns our modern ethical system upside down.

From the perspective of a Christian theist -

The most central, unifying realization I've had about life ever:

Sacrificial love is the most powerful force in the universe.

A few others:

Love is both at once a force more wonderful and terrible than death.

Truth (being defined as ultimate reality) must be demonstrated and consequently experienced to be known. Truth cannot be successfully pondered.

Truth is ever ancient, ever new.

And more recently:

One is never really "ready" or rather never going to feel ready to face his deepest fears, die to self, or conquer an enemy. It is instead one's willingness in faith to meet these trials despite feeling unqualified that prepares them for battle.

Love fiercely.

Regards,

followtheevidence

reply to post by Bluesma


Wow.
No angels , no demons.
Just this!!!
Life as art.
The divine comedy.

reply to post by Bluesma


That has been my realization too.