I noticed that John said that 'Consciousness exists and will continue to do so forever in the Unified Field.' That would seem to imply that consciousness is embedded in a container called the Unified Field, and that the two are different, that the Unified Field is not consciousness, and is 'bigger'. Is that what John intended to mean?
A system of belief is a system of ideas one has that one thinks are true, but that one does not know are true, otherwise belief would not be a requirement to maintain these thoughts in this manner. Belief is a surrogate for truth. Does this mean we can never know anything? We are zombies living in a dream? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Denise Evans <dmevans365@...> wrote: > > <snip> > "The ideas of multiverses and consciousness can fit within you belief system > if you choose to do so. They do not necessarily refute the idea that there is > a heaven or hell. These ideas, IMO, are made available for you to find your > faith so that it is in keeping with recent ideas in science. Or, they can > also strengthen your faith depending on how you perceive these ideas." > > > Yep.  I find that my belief system evolves...I accept/reject/holds in > reserve or non-judgement more possibilities as time rolls on. > > > ________________________________ > From: John <jr_esq@...> > To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 9:19 PM > Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: The Mystery of Consciousness > > >  > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Denise Evans <dmevans365@> wrote: > > > > O.K. àSo then, how does one reconcile with the idea that there is this > > seeming hierarchy to consciousness. à> > > > Back to my original post, Sam states that "Arranging atoms in a certain way > > appears to bring consciousness into being. And this fact is among the > > deepest mysteries given to us to contemplate." à> > > > > > If this were true, This leads me to believe one of 2 things: 1) Once we die > > and our spirit or soul "returns" (for lack of a better word) to the larger > > consciousness...our atoms could be up for grabs again and perhaps we would > > become part of the mix that our world "reincarnates" as a rock; > > It all depends in what your faith tells you. Most believers would think that > your soul would return the Self or the larger consciousness. If you're a > Hindu, your atoms after you die are like old clothes that are to be > discarded. You are no longer identified to be part of those atoms. Those > discarded atoms could be part of a rock, a star, or a tree. > > Or, 2) once having been arranged as a form with consciousness...the basic mix > doesn't change and we re-incarnate as human again or other being with the > ability for consciousness intact. àAnd, if consciousness is primarily > characterized as "sentience", then depending on whether we agree that animals > possess consciousness, we could potentially reincarnate as such. > > If you're a Hindu, you can believe that you can reincarnate as a human being > which depends on how you lead your life here on earth. If you lead a life > unworthy of a human being, you can reincarnate as an animal or even lower. > > Or, 3) THIS IS IT.....and all the past life philosophy is in fact an illusory > projection of our brain of existing parallel realities. > > You have to make your own choice in what to believe. No one can make this > decision for you. > > > In all cases...the idea that there is some "consequence" or "punishment" or > > "continued karma to work out past this life" associated with the way we > > lead our lives today leading to future condemnation of some sort is > > seemingly a completely human construct given the multiverse/consciousness > > theory. àHeresy, basically. > > The points we were discussing have nothing to do with what faith to believe > in. The ideas of multiverses and consciousness can fit within you belief > system if you choose to do so. They do not necessarily refute the idea that > there is a heaven or hell. These ideas, IMO, are made available for you to > find your faith so that it is in keeping with recent ideas in science. Or, > they can also strengthen your faith depending on how you perceive these ideas. > > Heresy is a loaded word. It requires that you state what your criterion is > for heresy. It appears that you're the only one who knows what the criteria > is. > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > From: John <jr_esq@> > > To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com > > Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 3:30 PM > > Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: The Mystery of Consciousness > > > > > > à> > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Denise Evans <dmevans365@> wrote: > > > > > > I'm liking this idea of "parallel" or "other" realities. > > > > > > So in terms of consciousness and dispensing with the factor of linear > > > time and the question of which came first (chicken or egg > > > question)...could one say that consciousness and the universe/multiverse > > > and "love" persay (and I mean that in the context of "God is love", are > > > one in the same? ÃâàSame energy, defined differently depending on > > > purposes we are wanting to interpret? Ãâà> > > > The answer to your question is, YES! But I would like to add what Thomas > > Merton said about God: He or She is everything that you can think of, but > > at the same time, It is NOT. > > > > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > > From: John <jr_esq@> > > > To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com > > > Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 11:55 AM > > > Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: The Mystery of Consciousness > > > > > > > > > Ãâà> > > > > > > > > > > John believes the latter:ÃÆ'ââ¬Å¡Ãâà> > > > > > > > > > > > "The paradox of consciousness is that it takes a highly developed > > > > sentient being to understand that it is the basis of creation of the > > > > universe." > > > > > > > > > > > > Sam spends a lot of time on whether "Something can come out of > > > > nothing"...or "can consciousness emerge from unconscious complexity" > > > > > > > > Heck, who knows? ÃÆ'ââ¬Å¡ÃâàSo, in my curiosity, I googled the > > > > question and lo and behold, the topic of multiverses. I did attempt to > > > > read the 4 Levels of Multiverses from Max and his wonky website. > > > > ÃÆ'ââ¬Å¡Ãâà> > > > > > > > This may have been posted before, but here it is again. > > > > ÃÆ'ââ¬Å¡ÃâàIt is a cosmologist who explains multiverses as the > > > > soap bubble theory with umbilical cords that could give a scientific > > > > way to explain both the Christian God and Buddhist nirvana > > > > philosophies, for example. I think I may have grasped this > > > > concept.ÃÆ'ââ¬Å¡Ãâà> > > > > > > > http://liberatedmind.com/2009/10/can-something-come-from-nothing/ > > > > > > > > But now I have forgotten...what is consciousness and how does it relate > > > > to the universe or multiverse?ÃÆ'ââ¬Å¡Ãâà> > > > > > Denise, > > > > > > The multiverse can apply to all the various possibilities that apply to > > > your life. There are various universes that you can inhabit. For > > > example, there is a different universe which applies for the timeline > > > relating to your choices. That is, there is a universe in which you are > > > married. And, there is also another universe in which you are not > > > married. The paradox is that during your lifetime you have a choice as > > > to which universe you choose to manifest or live in. > > > > > > In other words, there is a universe that exists next to you in which > > > Elvis Presley is still alive. And, there is also another universe next > > > to you in which the Nazis won the WWII and we are all now speaking German > > > and have the swastika as our national logo. > > > > > > Furthermore, our consciousness can fathom the probability that our > > > multiverse can continue on forever. But at the cusp of infinity, another > > > multiverse could exist which we cannot contact or verify with our > > > telescope. Hence, we can only speculate that this neighboring > > > multiuniverse could only exist as pure potential floating in the Unified > > > Field of all possibilities. > > > > > > So, there you have it...the whole extent of Consciousness. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > > > From: tartbrain <no_re...@yahoogroups.com> > > > > To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com > > > > Sent: Thursday, October 20, 2011 10:08 PM > > > > Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: The Mystery of Consciousness > > > > > > > > > > > > ÃÆ'ââ¬Å¡Ãâà> > > > > > > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "John" <jr_esq@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > The paradox of consciousness is that it takes a highly developed > > > > > sentient being to understand that it is the basis of creation of the > > > > > universe. As such, this same being can understand that consciousness > > > > > is different in various level of existence. For example, a dog has > > > > > consciousness that is less developed than humans. But a dog's > > > > > consciousness is higher than that of a tree. > > > > > > > > Consciousness is Consciousness. It does not develop. It does not > > > > become. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Similarly, the tree has a higher level of consiousness than that of a > > > > > rock. This continuum follows through the minutest particles in the > > > > > universe. At the most profound level, one can see that there must be > > > > > a a consciousness that created space and time and that started the > > > > > evolution of matter from the quarks to human beings. > > > > > > > > > > If you graph the energy output of the universe from the beginning to > > > > > the end, you will see that the energy was at the infinite level at > > > > > the time of the Big Bang. This is the paradox that scientists do not > > > > > accept or understand since their equations break down at the instant > > > > > of creation. > > > > > > > > > > Conversely, it appears now that the energy output of the universe > > > > > will continue to dissipate ad infinitum. In other words, the > > > > > universe started from infinity and will end in infinity. > > > > > > > > > > But throughout all of this cosmic lifecycle, Consiousness exists and > > > > > will continue to do so forever in the Unified Field. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Xenophaneros Anartaxius" > > > > > <anartaxius@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > Sam Harris has published two blog posts on consciousness in the > > > > > > past couple of weeks. > > > > > > > > > > > > http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-mystery-of-consciousness/ > > > > > > > > > > > > http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-mystery-of-consciousness-ii/ > > > > > > > > > > > > As consciousness is occasionally a subject entertained on this > > > > > > forum, perhaps these essays will interest someone. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
