I Am Developing My Own Philosophy
This is me being my own Devil's advocate while looking at my mental journey in life which started off religious. It's a mental journey that many people take during life. I'm not offended easily so if you think I'm crazy just say so.
Eternity is what freaks us out big time. When we are small our parents often use that fear to install certain religious beliefs in us. This does give a bit of peace of mind, at least for a while. But then I started to wonder, "Why was I lucky enough to be born into the religion and culture that I was ?" According to my childhood religion I would be going to spend all of eternity in bliss while people belonging all other beliefs and or cultures would be going to damnation for eternity. Why were they so unlucky ? Then I realized that their religions/cultures taught them the same thing from their perspective.
After years of thought and religious guilt I decided that the whole religion thing was basically limiting, divisive and elitist. So I chose atheism. But then after a while I wondered , "OK , so now why am I doing this whole life on Earth thing ? What is the reason , the incentive , the ultimate goal ? " If I don't have an incentive then why bother ? If my existence ends when I die then there is no incentive.
I do have an absolutely awesome daughter who is styling in life so far, so that is a reason to live. But...when I die that reason will cease to exist together with me. So it is just a temporary reason. No matter how much I love my daughter it would not be a good enough reason.
In terms of evolution and Atheism, at least from what I understand, the meaning of life is to help our DNA reproduce itself. So now my mind can't help but ask , "Why ? Why should I care about that ? " When I die any reason that I have managed to bluff myself with in order to live to a natural old age death will cease to exist when I die. So why should I care about anything ?!? Does our DNA have a collective memory stored somewhere ? Yes, that memory is stored in it's evolutionary process and in the Genome as far as I know.
OK great ! That evolutionary journey is truly wonderful and awe inspiring ! The amount of time (at least as us Humans understand it) that it has taken to get to this stage is mind blowing ! When I consider the size of the universe I practically grow weak at the knees in awe. However when I die all of that wonder and awe that I felt for the process of life and the universe will cease to exist. So why should I care ?
If life bugs me so much then why don't I just put an end to it right now ? If I am unable to access that collective memory involving the details of all life that has existed after I die then there is no reason to do any of this.
So from an Atheist point of view we live by pure chance on a planet which is protected from the harsh environment by a thin atmosphere. This is a result of Billions of years of evolution by this universe. And this is just one universe among many ! After all this time Humans manifested themselves and now we have evolved to the point where we think, "Why ?!? What for ?!?"
This is where religion stepped in. It can give some people a reason to live but when I pondered it it came up short time and again. So I rejected it. My Atheist stance has softened though. I can't call myself an atheist anymore. But neither can I tolerate the doctrines of religion which are clearly used by man largely for ulterior motives. I rejected strict Atheism because it was bringing me closer to wanting to die just to put an end to my mind which refuses to be satisfied with living just because it can. This is my conscious mind I'm talking about.
Through experience I have noticed that in certain important decisions in life I need my conscious and subconscious minds to be in agreement otherwise the decision won't be final or respected. I'm talking about things like when I gave up drinking alcohol (23 yrs ago) , coffee and reduced my sugar intake in a big way (1 yr ago). It took years for my conscious mind to come to an agreement with my subconscious mind. When that happened I just gave up the drinking which had made me an alcoholic and the coffee which was giving me migraine headaches. No withdrawal symptoms , I just stopped on a specific day when my 2 minds finally agreed.
That may sound weird but it is the way it happened for me. So now I have to ask myself, " If I am my conscious and my subconscious minds then why the hell do I have to negotiate with my subconscious over a period of years ?!? Why doesn't it just listen to me ?!? "
So for years now my 2 minds have been negotiating and discussing eternity because if there is no eternity then there is no good reason to bother with anything. Well at least that is what my conscious mind says. My subconscious is saying that there is a good reason even if my DNA refuses to tell me what it is.
A psychologist once suggested to me that I may need some medication to help me have a reason to live. I refused because I want my conscious mind to finish it's negotiation with my subconscious like it did when I gave up alcohol and coffee. I do not want a settlement to be achieved through force of medication. I do not believe that this will have a lasting effect. And what if I can no longer afford such medication ? What then ? No, that is not the route for me to follow. My 2 minds have to agree voluntarily. Hence my journey into metaphysics with both of my minds trying to co-operate.
When I contemplate things like Quantum physics then my conscious mind is very intrigued while my subconscious points to it as evidence of a reason to live because it seems to indicate that there are still so many things happening that do not even obey the laws of physics as we know them. My subconscious ( sometimes confused with imagination or intuition) alleges that the reasons are therein.
Also both my minds are well aware of the fact that about 95% of what the universe consists of is referred to as Dark energy because it cannot even be detected by us Humans in any way other than the fact that it clearly has an effect on everything else. We do not even know what 95% of the universe is ! So I am no longer strictly Atheist, but neither will I tolerate religious doctrine.
The more I learn the more I realize I don't know. I hope eternity does exist for my mind. I would love to travel around the universe and check things out because I am not amused at being stuck on one planet in such a vast and splendid universe. I do not necessarily want to carry on being a Human though. I am a bit tired of this physical body and all of it's daily requirements which irritate me.
According to mainstream scientists the universe began at that point where there was a "Big bang". In other words this all came from one point in space. A source. According to mainstream religions we were all created by "God". A source. Both of those points of view say that everything in existence came from a source. Whether it was some reverse of a quantum singularity or a God, it is the same source.
On the other hand there are now theories that speculate that the universe has always existed and that there was no Big bang. That just raises even more questions though.
Previously when in a similarly contemplative mood about life, the universe and everything I have read about studies done by universities in connection with what people have experienced when clinically dead. When they were brought back to life they had stories about what they perceived while brain dead. I don't think that someone who has just escaped death would be inclined to lie about what they saw while dead.
I have read more than one story written by medical doctors who had an experience while clinically dead. This is not possible to have thoughts or see anything while dead according to our understanding of how the body works. Yet it has happened, time and again.
I have read about children who have taken their parents to a place where they lived a previous life and described details about the place and people there without any foreknowledge .
What does this all mean to me ? It suggests , quite strongly, that our minds are not just a part of our bodies. It seems that they can exist without a physical body. This doesn't mean that what I was taught as a kid about Heaven and Hell is true though. It does however suggest to me that we are all part of something that we do not understand.
Like I said, the more I learn the less certain I am.
Namaste :-)
Eternity is what freaks us out big time. When we are small our parents often use that fear to install certain religious beliefs in us. This does give a bit of peace of mind, at least for a while. But then I started to wonder, "Why was I lucky enough to be born into the religion and culture that I was ?" According to my childhood religion I would be going to spend all of eternity in bliss while people belonging all other beliefs and or cultures would be going to damnation for eternity. Why were they so unlucky ? Then I realized that their religions/cultures taught them the same thing from their perspective.
After years of thought and religious guilt I decided that the whole religion thing was basically limiting, divisive and elitist. So I chose atheism. But then after a while I wondered , "OK , so now why am I doing this whole life on Earth thing ? What is the reason , the incentive , the ultimate goal ? " If I don't have an incentive then why bother ? If my existence ends when I die then there is no incentive.
I do have an absolutely awesome daughter who is styling in life so far, so that is a reason to live. But...when I die that reason will cease to exist together with me. So it is just a temporary reason. No matter how much I love my daughter it would not be a good enough reason.
In terms of evolution and Atheism, at least from what I understand, the meaning of life is to help our DNA reproduce itself. So now my mind can't help but ask , "Why ? Why should I care about that ? " When I die any reason that I have managed to bluff myself with in order to live to a natural old age death will cease to exist when I die. So why should I care about anything ?!? Does our DNA have a collective memory stored somewhere ? Yes, that memory is stored in it's evolutionary process and in the Genome as far as I know.
OK great ! That evolutionary journey is truly wonderful and awe inspiring ! The amount of time (at least as us Humans understand it) that it has taken to get to this stage is mind blowing ! When I consider the size of the universe I practically grow weak at the knees in awe. However when I die all of that wonder and awe that I felt for the process of life and the universe will cease to exist. So why should I care ?
If life bugs me so much then why don't I just put an end to it right now ? If I am unable to access that collective memory involving the details of all life that has existed after I die then there is no reason to do any of this.
So from an Atheist point of view we live by pure chance on a planet which is protected from the harsh environment by a thin atmosphere. This is a result of Billions of years of evolution by this universe. And this is just one universe among many ! After all this time Humans manifested themselves and now we have evolved to the point where we think, "Why ?!? What for ?!?"
This is where religion stepped in. It can give some people a reason to live but when I pondered it it came up short time and again. So I rejected it. My Atheist stance has softened though. I can't call myself an atheist anymore. But neither can I tolerate the doctrines of religion which are clearly used by man largely for ulterior motives. I rejected strict Atheism because it was bringing me closer to wanting to die just to put an end to my mind which refuses to be satisfied with living just because it can. This is my conscious mind I'm talking about.
Through experience I have noticed that in certain important decisions in life I need my conscious and subconscious minds to be in agreement otherwise the decision won't be final or respected. I'm talking about things like when I gave up drinking alcohol (23 yrs ago) , coffee and reduced my sugar intake in a big way (1 yr ago). It took years for my conscious mind to come to an agreement with my subconscious mind. When that happened I just gave up the drinking which had made me an alcoholic and the coffee which was giving me migraine headaches. No withdrawal symptoms , I just stopped on a specific day when my 2 minds finally agreed.
That may sound weird but it is the way it happened for me. So now I have to ask myself, " If I am my conscious and my subconscious minds then why the hell do I have to negotiate with my subconscious over a period of years ?!? Why doesn't it just listen to me ?!? "
So for years now my 2 minds have been negotiating and discussing eternity because if there is no eternity then there is no good reason to bother with anything. Well at least that is what my conscious mind says. My subconscious is saying that there is a good reason even if my DNA refuses to tell me what it is.
A psychologist once suggested to me that I may need some medication to help me have a reason to live. I refused because I want my conscious mind to finish it's negotiation with my subconscious like it did when I gave up alcohol and coffee. I do not want a settlement to be achieved through force of medication. I do not believe that this will have a lasting effect. And what if I can no longer afford such medication ? What then ? No, that is not the route for me to follow. My 2 minds have to agree voluntarily. Hence my journey into metaphysics with both of my minds trying to co-operate.
When I contemplate things like Quantum physics then my conscious mind is very intrigued while my subconscious points to it as evidence of a reason to live because it seems to indicate that there are still so many things happening that do not even obey the laws of physics as we know them. My subconscious ( sometimes confused with imagination or intuition) alleges that the reasons are therein.
Also both my minds are well aware of the fact that about 95% of what the universe consists of is referred to as Dark energy because it cannot even be detected by us Humans in any way other than the fact that it clearly has an effect on everything else. We do not even know what 95% of the universe is ! So I am no longer strictly Atheist, but neither will I tolerate religious doctrine.
The more I learn the more I realize I don't know. I hope eternity does exist for my mind. I would love to travel around the universe and check things out because I am not amused at being stuck on one planet in such a vast and splendid universe. I do not necessarily want to carry on being a Human though. I am a bit tired of this physical body and all of it's daily requirements which irritate me.
According to mainstream scientists the universe began at that point where there was a "Big bang". In other words this all came from one point in space. A source. According to mainstream religions we were all created by "God". A source. Both of those points of view say that everything in existence came from a source. Whether it was some reverse of a quantum singularity or a God, it is the same source.
On the other hand there are now theories that speculate that the universe has always existed and that there was no Big bang. That just raises even more questions though.
Previously when in a similarly contemplative mood about life, the universe and everything I have read about studies done by universities in connection with what people have experienced when clinically dead. When they were brought back to life they had stories about what they perceived while brain dead. I don't think that someone who has just escaped death would be inclined to lie about what they saw while dead.
I have read more than one story written by medical doctors who had an experience while clinically dead. This is not possible to have thoughts or see anything while dead according to our understanding of how the body works. Yet it has happened, time and again.
I have read about children who have taken their parents to a place where they lived a previous life and described details about the place and people there without any foreknowledge .
What does this all mean to me ? It suggests , quite strongly, that our minds are not just a part of our bodies. It seems that they can exist without a physical body. This doesn't mean that what I was taught as a kid about Heaven and Hell is true though. It does however suggest to me that we are all part of something that we do not understand.
Like I said, the more I learn the less certain I am.
Namaste :-)
