My Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything: (The Question is the Answer)

Recently, I partook in something of a shamanistic ceremony involving certain sacred plants which ATS wouldn't appreciate me discussing at length. What I will talk about in depth is the revelation that I had afterwards. In about an hour or so of what felt like extreme clarity, I wrote something that is hard for even me to grasp in my current state of mind. As I read the words to myself, it seems as if they were composed by another person. I swear I didn't even realize that I had several of the words that I used in my vocabulary. While the writing style is even more long-winded than my normal posts, I feel that there is certainly something of value contained within. Therefore, I thought I'd share my "vision" with the members of ATS that have some time to kill on reading the thoughts of a deranged psychonaut.
For those of you who don't wish to read the entire lengthy post, you may scroll to the bottom for a synopsis, if you like.
There are several of you out there that I've developed a great deal of respect for when it comes to your philosophies. I'm looking forward to discussing/debating some of the ideas that I set forth in this.... rant:



The Question is the Answer




“In the beginning” seems a very appropriate way to begin a philosophical interpretation of reality and the purpose behind existence. After all, to fathom the end of a story, you must first understand the beginning.

The oldest known examples of conscious beings combining their shared knowledge into written documents dealt with this very concept. The various proto-civilizations across the globe, separated by the vastness of time and space, each came up with a different form of recording their thoughts and conveying them to their heirs. The diversity of the structures of these languages was matched only by the uniformity of their implementation; religion. The most inherently powerful creation of self-aware beings was first used to do much like that which I am attempting now; to convey an individual's subjective perception of the “creation” and “purpose” of reality to others.

Before I continue on with my personal attempt at spreading this illumination that brightens the path which we just might all travel eventually, I feel I should endeavor to address the concept of “the beginning”.

Almost all religion, archaic and new-aged alike, no matter how opposing their subsequent teachings may be, are all of one accord with their foundations being comprised of an intentional creation event starting it all. This is where time began, from the perspective of the shaman and the priest of antiquity, and in the ensuing religious traditions excepted as truth by their respective cultural descendents.

With the advent of the Scientific Method, perception became far more quantifiable than it had previously been by the written word alone. Once written accounts from the ancients, no matter how sacrosanct, were put to the inquisition of repeatable experimentation to determine their validity, a new exposition of existence came about. While this world-view disregarded the idea of a creative entity being the source of all reality, as this concept is impossible to confirm or disprove within the constraints of this method of reasoning, there still existed a fundamental concurrence between the scientific and religious reasoning processes. This of course, is the concept of a beginning to all of existence, emanating from a single point in time and space. While the religiously minded might state that everything began with the act of a creator god, spending sleepless nights pondering the paradox of a creator without beginning, and one reasoning out the question from a scientific stance would simply skip the whole paradoxical contemplation by focusing on material explanations for existence, they both simply accept that there was some point where everything began, without the ability to further expound upon this assertion far enough to explain why it happened.

There is one fundamental flaw that both science and religion share when it comes to trying to explain the “beginning” within the boundaries of their respective philosophical constraints. This flaw begins with the lack of awe for something that is utterly taken for granted by the tenets of both systems. There is a lack of the sheer reverence that is required to delve into the infinitely confounding essence of the one thing that endows them with the phenomenal power to ask their questions and create their answers; perception. Religion refers to this simply as the soul. Some scientific disciplines categorize it as a variable that has a causal relationship with determining how events that would only otherwise exist in a state of inactive potential will unfold. Both of these definitions, albeit equally eloquent and compelling, fall short of describing the attributes of such a vastly mysterious demiurgic force. If those schools of thought were able to define what perception truly is, they would know exactly how this universe came to be and the purpose behind this continual unfolding of new possibilities coming to fruition. To debate the origins of a creator god becomes meaningless when the concept of perception is deeply meditated upon. To hypothesize about different possibilities for a singularity event of some sort, leading eventually, to the abiogenetic inception of life, through almost infinite improbability, also fails to hold it's own against the premise of Lex Parsimoniae, when compared to this most simplistic, yet almost unfathomably profound concept: The beginning occurred when nature was first able to become introspective. This occurred the first time a living creature stopped thinking, “survive, reproduce. Survive, reproduce” ad infinitum, and spoke within its mind the most magical word ever spoken; WHY?

It may seem now, when having read to this point, as if a great deal of literary devices were used to build up to a crescendo that failed to reach it's peak. This is only because of the limitations of language. It is impossible to use a system of categorization that was developed to constrain the unknown, known and knowable, into objective reference points, as a tool to pass on knowledge that exists only in the realm of the unknowable. Unknowable that is, to all save geniuses, spiritual masters, and those who are often considered insane, each of whom are indeed, all of the above.

An apparent contradiction of reason comes when one realizes that to be able to comprehend the true meaning of creative perception, one must cease to reason. Just as conscious deliberation could never give an answer to the fundamental faults of our attempts to explain where existence originated through our previous paradigms, so must this elucidation be pondered on a level beyond (or perhaps before or behind) the level of conscious thought. It is only through the virtue of a silent mind that one can become strong enough to contain this infinite concept within a finite perspective. By ending one's thoughts, one may come to understand the nature of thought when it is allowed to return. By contemplation without labels and categorization, one may be able to see the true nature of any aspect of existence, beyond the limitation of syntax.

Once this state of knowing has been reached, a person may apply this knowledge to the practice of bettering one's self and their environment, even to the point of discovering an immortality that is often promised, but likely never awarded by religion.

Once a mind is filled only with the infinite nothingness that is pure potential, the ability to discover scientific advancements becomes truly limitless. Some sects of the Buddhist philosophy might call this state Zen. A poetic reference to science might be a comparison with the concept of zero-point energy. Regardless of what you might call this state, it should be understood that it is the prerequisite point of assembling any further development in the understanding of one's self, and it's workings within the inconceivably vast mechanism that is reality. Once the old adage, “gnothi seauton” is realized in its entirety, an instinctual acceptance of an even older philosophical precept, “as above, so below” is likely to occur. An understanding of these maxims on a level beyond that of modern man's emotional or logical mind, cleanses the doors of perception and allows us to explore our potential, not only as perceivers, but as creative perceivers. As such, we might ameliorate the state of helplessness to the preordained future foretold by militantly religious apocalyptic doom shouters that mold international policy to create self-fulfilling prophesies, as well as the depressingly linear science of Newtonian action and reaction, powering the seemingly unalterable current of thermodynamic entropy that our everyday awareness resides within.

To achieve the total freedom that is wordless understanding within a silent mind, is not a task that many will accomplish. Much like how there are many lifeless planets in this universe that fail in their potential to become a biosphere and produce the first step in the evolution of beings able to perceive, so too will the microcosmic reflections of sentient beings emulate the macrocosm by miscarrying their potential creation of the next stage of evolution. While one may apply a negative emotion to this admittedly unfortunate eventuality, we must accept that this is merely the nature of the universe: To cycle through an infinite array of possibilities, until even the most absurdly improbable becomes a certainty.
As sentient beings with the capability of communication, we have the ability to alter the improbabilities (albeit minutely) of others overcoming the insurmountable odds against their natural selection, so to speak. Lamentably, as most who read this will find, the battle of communicating such abstract principals, is all but a hopeless stand against the much greater army that is the lack of imagination fueled by the fear of changing one's most sacred scientific beliefs and religious theories. However, as creative perceivers, we have a much greater ability to alter these fractalizations of potential outcomes to unfold as we see fit.

As more of us become aware of the role that our perception plays in the very creation of reality, so too will our ability as a species to communicate on a non-verbal level increase, as it is impossible to become one with nothingness without realizing you are connected to all things. Through natural selection, this trait will likely become more prevalent with the arrival of each new generation. This is apparent, as individuals who possess this depth of empathy already, make far better lovers, mothers and fathers, with a much greater ability to engender such character traits into their biological heirs that make them far more attractive emotionally and instinctively. This next step on the evolutionary ladder may take thousands of generations to be the norm, or it may happen in the proverbial blink of an eye, depending on how certain fractal events, of an as yet undetermined path, unfold.

On a primal level, many people everywhere are beginning to realize that there is a massive change of some unknown sort, waiting somewhere just beyond the horizon. At the time of writing this, there are many who are speculating that this feeling stems from an eventual apocalypse of some form or other ending life as we know it. Others see this as a reaction to the socioeconomic upheavals and their often violent ramifications that are occurring internationally right now, and seem to be coming to head on a global level. Others still, have interpreted the various prophecies and predictions as meaning that we are on the cusp of an evolutionary leap to the next level of maturation as one age ends and another begins. Looking back on the telescoping time-line of biological and scientific progression, the last statement seems to gain some credibility, as we are at the point now where technology doubles in complexity almost faster than we can utilize what we have already invented and subsequently made obsolete. Paying attention to the patterns of history repeating itself as if to an eerily rhythmic tune of war-drums heralding the fall of yet another empire, makes the first two suppositions highly likely. Any way you look at it, (besides through the cataract of willful ignorance) there is a monumental paradigm shift about to occur, and with it the chance for us to mold our future into something inconceivably greater than our past.

If this change comes about by a flux in the “collective consciousness,” so much the better, we can certainly add our will to this egregore that could very well be the “god” of the next zeitgeist. If this comes about by the utter annihilation of all people and societies unwilling or unable to overcome their destructive instincts, then so be it, they will have proven their genes to be inferior and nature will cull them from the herd. There are a select few of us however, who will survive no matter what, and these people will utilize their more fully matured minds and hearts to raise the cosmic experiment that is man from the ashes of an otherwise final extinction level event. A person possessing even a modicum of the awareness that has been written about here, would hope for the former, and prepare for the latter. A person in control of their creative perception would will the preferable instance to take place. This doesn't mean that such a person wouldn't prepare for the possibility of the failure of change arising from the positive. A truly wise person would create around them an environment that is independent of the societies that are teetering on the precipice of an infinite abyss so they might not fall with them if they should falter in their balancing act. Such an environment could be easily built and maintained, supplying all of the comforts we are accustomed to in a way that could be self-sustaining until the sun dies or the earth is shattered by a rogue planet. True wisdom just might lead a person to strive for this independence, simply to enjoy the struggle for true freedom, even if they don't believe social collapse, and/or world war to be very probable. If a person didn't possess enough wisdom to find emancipation appealing for these reasons, but accomplished the goal through other motivations, then they just might eventually find wisdom in the quietude and peacefulness of an environment not plagued by the cacophonous symphony of destruction emanating from the writhing swarm of ignorant insects that think they are gods, but in truth, are lower than viruses when it comes to fulfilling their purpose.

In conclusion to this long winded exercise in run-on-sentences, a summation of the ideas included within might be pertinent:

1. Before “time” “began” there was nobody in the proverbial forest to hear the tree fall, therefore, it didn't make a sound. The prerequisite to achieving a heightened state of awareness is emulation of this silence that preceded the “beginning”.
2. Concepts like “time”, “space”, “solid”, “real” and so on, only truly exist because they are perceived as such. Before the first sentient creature questioned its existence and the nature of reality, there was no true existence and there was no solid nature of reality, as they had not been removed from their state of indeterminism by perception.
3. Once a glimpse of the understanding of the relationship between perception, creation, and alteration of reality is achieved, one will become more “in tune” with the various vibrations of the universe at large, leading to greater harmony within, and control of, one's surroundings.
4. This state of mind that some would call “enlightenment” is a natural part of the evolutionary process that all life must eventually achieve if it is to continue to become more complex, according to the predisposition of the universe itself.
5. There are however, many possible catalysts that may increase the rapidity of this process with humanity in the not-too-distant future, many of which are potentially the most dangerous events this world has ever been subjected to, some are based upon (most likely false) prophecies and (pseudo-scientific) predictions, and others still are formed from a scientific observation of the exponential progress of biological and scientific advancement that inevitably leads to the conclusion that if we don't destroy ourselves first, we will eventually evolve to a state beyond anything we can conceive at this time.
6. The most logical thing to do is to build completely self-sufficient communities of people who share the goals of personal betterment and the enlightenment of society as a whole. This serves two purposes: Sustainable production of life's necessities and desires will help to guarantee the survival of humanity beyond the depletion of our natural resources, and/or the seemingly unavoidable dangers of world war, pandemic disease, irradiation from nuclear power plant melt-downs, solar CME's or nuclear EMP's destroying the electrical infrastructure and the ensuing panic, chaos and death that would result within the cities, just to name a few.
7. You are a mirror image of the cosmic creative force. Whether you view this force as a conscious being or a mathematical certainty that things simply become more complex within an infinite array of possibilities, is immaterial. The universe that you hold together with nothing but your observation, found its beginning as we know it by a similar act of perception. The very act of questioning the universe essentially created it. Therefore, the answer to “life, the universe, and everything” is the question itself, as we are creators of this universe, and we may choose our own answer as to why we created it.

Excellent post. You've put into words alot of what Ive been thinking/feeling as of late.

Linking Pure Potential to Zero-Point

reply to post by TheHigherYou


Thank you for the kind words. I'm flattered that your first post was on my thread. Welcome to ATS. May you grow from the knowledge gleaned from this site as I, and many others have.

Originally posted by Q:1984A:1776

In conclusion to this long winded exercise in run-on-sentences, a summation of the ideas included within might be pertinent:

1. Before “time” “began” there was nobody in the proverbial forest to hear the tree fall, therefore, it didn't make a sound. The prerequisite to achieving a heightened state of awareness is emulation of this silence that preceded the “beginning”.
2. Concepts like “time”, “space”, “solid”, “real” and so on, only truly exist because they are perceived as such. Before the first sentient creature questioned its existence and the nature of reality, there was no true existence and there was no solid nature of reality, as they had not been removed from their state of indeterminism by perception.
3. Once a glimpse of the understanding of the relationship between perception, creation, and alteration of reality is achieved, one will become more “in tune” with the various vibrations of the universe at large, leading to greater harmony within, and control of, one's surroundings.
4. This state of mind that some would call “enlightenment” is a natural part of the evolutionary process that all life must eventually achieve if it is to continue to become more complex, according to the predisposition of the universe itself.
5. There are however, many possible catalysts that may increase the rapidity of this process with humanity in the not-too-distant future, many of which are potentially the most dangerous events this world has ever been subjected to, some are based upon (most likely false) prophecies and (pseudo-scientific) predictions, and others still are formed from a scientific observation of the exponential progress of biological and scientific advancement that inevitably leads to the conclusion that if we don't destroy ourselves first, we will eventually evolve to a state beyond anything we can conceive at this time.
6. The most logical thing to do is to build completely self-sufficient communities of people who share the goals of personal betterment and the enlightenment of society as a whole. This serves two purposes: Sustainable production of life's necessities and desires will help to guarantee the survival of humanity beyond the depletion of our natural resources, and/or the seemingly unavoidable dangers of world war, pandemic disease, irradiation from nuclear power plant melt-downs, solar CME's or nuclear EMP's destroying the electrical infrastructure and the ensuing panic, chaos and death that would result within the cities, just to name a few.
7. You are a mirror image of the cosmic creative force. Whether you view this force as a conscious being or a mathematical certainty that things simply become more complex within an infinite array of possibilities, is immaterial. The universe that you hold together with nothing but your observation, found its beginning as we know it by a similar act of perception. The very act of questioning the universe essentially created it. Therefore, the answer to “life, the universe, and everything” is the question itself, as we are creators of this universe, and we may choose our own answer as to why we created it.

1. If there was no one to hear the tree fall, how dew you know it fell?

2. Concepts only exist perceptually.

3. Understanding is the key to understanding.

4. Enlightenment is complexed but it's been complicated by falsities.

5. What dew you think this Construct is all about?

6. You have bought into this Matrix.

7. The universe that you hold together with nothing but your observation, found its beginning as we know it by a similar act of LOGIC.

Lastly, the Question is kNot the Answer, the Answer is the Question. You got it backwards and Logic proves it.

"The birth of a question is what begins the circle of life and the answer completes the circle, for another question to be born from, to continue the circle forever." - Old Toad Proverb

Ribbit

Brilliant thread and I'm super happy anytime I see somebody gain this perspective. You might be interested in the Holomovement Physics model. You will find that it validates many of your conclusions.

We create simply by observing. These bodies are the filter in which we observe. Some might call that a limitation but I call it an interesting experience which is why we keep coming back. I look forward to the change I see happening in its infancy and hope to see its blossoming in this incarnation but, if not, I'll catch it the next go around.

So, "in the beginning"...what? You never addressed that opening question.

Obviously, it wasn't a case of human perception pre-existing physical existence. The notion that an existent and perceiving something can't possibly exist before the genesis of physical existence seems pretty self evident. So, while I was reading the OP, I kept wondering when you were going to deal with the initial emergence of physical existence, but it never happened.

I don't know. Both religion and science can't handle the notion of initial emergence. Still, if something exists as physical and/or physically interactive with whatever else is physical - and therefore, by default, maintains a relative being state - then by definition it can't exist as infinite. That means that it must have come into physical existence at some point, and could never be an infinite presence. So, whatever is the truth concerning physical existence, you can't just ignore the simple fact that an initial instant of physical emergence is required for anything that can share a relative being state with the rest of physical reality. In short, this fact requires that any god or "unlimited" energy potential cannot exist as infinite, which requires an absolute being state, if that god or energy potential can impact or interact with physical existence that exists in a relative being state.

It's not poetry, but it's the truth about life, the universe and everything.

reply to post by Q:1984A:1776


the question is the answer bc the answer is before the question, so the question is true while knowing the answer but is more

in the beginning what is more then all beyond positive superiority answer, existed as a question end, which set existence objective all answers as an end fact before

i dunno how it is allowed to use so many words for sentences to evil life, why dont u enjoy urself expression ability given to u in writing poetry instead or literature

truth is by definition what can b said in shortest sentence clarity end, philosophy is to the question so future wise on the base of truth too much known

reply to post by Q:1984A:1776


In the beginning there was nothing and there is still nothing. The 'big bang' is banging, the bang ripples, waves of nothing, ocillations, vibrations. What is seen is nothing waving. On and off.

All 'things' that are seen and known appear and disappear. The smaller a 'thing' appears to be, the quicker it appears to disappear. Take your body for example, it appears to appear (birth) and disappears, say, 80 years later when it is burned or eaten by worms or bacteria. The cells the body is made up of appear and disappear, they say, after about 7 years. When we get down to quarks, they appear and disappear very quickly. A vacumn has been seen with 'virtual' particles appearing and disappearing.

These appearances cannot 'appear' without a 'seer and knower' of the appearance. A picture cannot be painted without a canvas. The canvas has to be empty first, just like there has to be silence between sound, there has to be a background of nothing behind all appearance. The 'knowing of', the 'awareness of' the appearances and experience is the background of existance. It is still and silent.

The 'knowing' of the appearance is not an appearance. It is 'not a thing' of perception, it is the act of percieving, the perciever, the knower.
You are the space in which all things appear and disappear.

youtu.be...

Can the seer be seen? The 'knower' of existance.
youtu.be...

yes i watched the hitch hikers guide to the galaxy the other night aswell and participated in some wonderful natural plants.
the answer i got was 42

reply to post by Q:1984A:1776


Do not try to fill the mind with nothingness.
Just realize that the mind appears in nothingness.
It is the no thing that knows a 'thing'.

The mind is just one thought appearing and disappearing. The mind/thought is an appearance. You are the seer and knower of the appearance.

You are the quiet that contains the mind:
youtu.be...

Originally posted by NorEaster
So, "in the beginning"...what? You never addressed that opening question.

Obviously, it wasn't a case of human perception pre-existing physical existence. The notion that an existent and perceiving something can't possibly exist before the genesis of physical existence seems pretty self evident. So, while I was reading the OP, I kept wondering when you were going to deal with the initial emergence of physical existence, but it never happened.

I don't know. Both religion and science can't handle the notion of initial emergence. Still, if something exists as physical and/or physically interactive with whatever else is physical - and therefore, by default, maintains a relative being state - then by definition it can't exist as infinite. That means that it must have come into physical existence at some point, and could never be an infinite presence. So, whatever is the truth concerning physical existence, you can't just ignore the simple fact that an initial instant of physical emergence is required for anything that can share a relative being state with the rest of physical reality. In short, this fact requires that any god or "unlimited" energy potential cannot exist as infinite, which requires an absolute being state, if that god or energy potential can impact or interact with physical existence that exists in a relative being state.

It's not poetry, but it's the truth about life, the universe and everything.

Thank you for your input.
I think that you might have missed something in my attempt at explaining a very abstract concept though. I won't hold it against you, as I certainly rambled on for quite a while in the OP.
I don't have much time right now to go into depth (further) on the ideas that I set forth, but I will expound on one idea that you questioned: If it is true that "an initial instant of physical emergence is required for anything that can share a relative being state with the rest of physical reality", then how do you explain Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principal, or Neils Bohr's Theory of complementarity, to name only a couple of instances of physicists talking about something very similar to what I attempted to expound upon? If these great men were correct in their conclusions that perception "bends", or possibly even "forms" reality, if you will, then how can you assume that there has to be some sort of "physical" existence before perceptual existence?
If you were the first conscious being to perceive it's own "physical" form, would the theory of The Quantum Wave Collapse somehow not apply to you? How could you have a "physical" form without it being perceived? Is this a "chicken or the egg" sort of question?
I'd really like to hear your thoughts on the matter.
Thanks once again for reading and responding with a well thought out rebuttal.
Peace,
Q&A