#0 · Dec 17, 2002, 15:58 · Oliver
I was sort of meditating/sleeping the otherday, when i got up and this thought just came to me, so i've decided to share it here and see what you think.
If I were to ask you, who you are, what would your answer be?
Would you tell me your name? Would you tell me things in your life that you think in a way define who you are? eg, I'm Harry, and Im a doctor, I have a wife and two kids......etc
What we percieve as who we are is a lot different then what we in actuality.
We all have a body, when you see your friend walking towards you, you see your friends body and think, thats my friend. You look at yourself in the mirror and think, thats me. But we are so much more then that, i think bodys are more of an outward expression of our experiences. Forget bodys, pretend that you dont have one. What are you now? You are what you experience. Each of us are our experiences, that is who we are, our consciousness experiences for a reason, and everything in our experience is who we are, the atmosphere, everything, our whole life, that is us. Its hard to explain in words but i hope im able to put people in this frame of thinking with what I write so that you can understand what I mean.
Everything we experience is us, that includes everything in our entire life, for example, you go down your driveway to the mailbox, everything u see, feel, smell, is you. Every experience we have in life is part of our consciousness, and is who we are. Now think about this, you see your friend, and your friend sees you, you are both experiencing at the same time, everything your consciusness experiences is you, everything your friend experiences is him or her. Therefor, by seeing each other, knowing each other, "experiencing" each other means that you are both each other as well as yourselves, in a way. You are really the same consciousness as each other, only seperate, that way consciousness experiences from different perspectives. Ok, lets think about the whole world now, all counsciousness is one, but it is seperated, everyone, everything in the whole entire world, universe even, is a part of each other. I could carry this on more, but i think i've communicated clearly enough what i wanted to say.
Heres some more thoughts though, Why are we all seperated? Why are we experiencing, what exactly is this thing called life? ...........
Oliver
#1 · Dec 17, 2002, 18:47 · fredhedd
#2 · Dec 18, 2002, 11:41 · Hephaestus
#3 · Dec 18, 2002, 15:39 · Oliver
Ollie
#4 · Dec 21, 2002, 08:38 · bitsmart
bitsmart -
information illumination -
bitsmart@bitsmart.org -
#5 · Dec 21, 2002, 20:44 · fredhedd
#6 · Dec 23, 2002, 09:03 · Frank
Yours,
Frank
#7 · Dec 23, 2002, 10:19 · Kodemaster
What's really bizarre is that when I write, I often think of myself as male. I feel like my whole approach to things sometimes is male...my sense of humour, certain personality aspects, etc. Most of my friends are guys, and I tend to get along with them better. I've also had better luck with male teachers.
I have no desire to become a man, nor do I have an interest in dating women. (sorry guys!)
I often feel like I was a man in a past life. Even my approach to dating used to be how guys approach girls; I've always felt compelled to go up to guys, ask for their numbers, etc. It's taken me a very long time to unlearn all of that, and to let them come to me. It doesn't come natural.
Jeni
#8 · Dec 24, 2002, 18:36 · Oliver
Me too Frank, Im not sure either, what a mystry
Kodemaster... thats interesting but I dont know what to say:)
I guess like my post, it makes ya wonder...
Oliver
#9 · Dec 25, 2002, 19:09 · cainam_nazier
But when I ask myself, the answer is just me. I can not be anything else. I do not try and act like some one else or some thing I am not. There is no mistery. I know who I am, every one does. But the main thing is wether or not you are capable of being just you. Or do you feel a need to sperate you self into neat packages. The work you, the home you, the crowd you, the alone you, ect.
David Rogalski
cainam_nazier@hotmail.com
I am he who walks in the light but is masked by the shadows.
David127385.freestoreclub.com
#10 · Dec 25, 2002, 22:24 · Oliver
lol at your first comment. You're right, you are you, that is who you are. So your answer is "I am me" when you ask yourself who you are. But what is your answer to "What is me?"
Oliver
#11 · Dec 25, 2002, 23:27 · cainam_nazier
I am what you see.
I am the meek of the earth, and a leader amoung men. I am the innocent and the guilty. I am your best friend and your worst enemy. I am the town idiot and the village elder. I am nothing and everything.
I am what I want to be.
There is no question of what I am.
It is a choice.
David Rogalski
cainam_nazier@hotmail.com
I am he who walks in the light but is masked by the shadows.
David127385.freestoreclub.com
#12 · Dec 26, 2002, 14:09 · Oliver
Oliver
#13 · Dec 26, 2002, 18:22 · Kenneth
(This is best done with 2 people, but you can do it by yourself as well).
Try to clear your mind, stay open, and just ask the question "Who are you ?" (If you are 2), or "Who am I ?" if your are alone...
Stay focused and open, and say out loud the first thing, that comes to mind. After that, say "Thank you". (If nothing comes to mind, just wait a little while, and then say "thank you", even though nothing has been said).
Continue with this little "game", and make sure to stay as open as possible
...
(Try to make a mental "snap-shot" of yourself before you do this, and then compare it to your self after you have done this little game)
/Kenneth
--- One thing at a time, be in NOW, and be gentle to yourself ---
#14 · Dec 26, 2002, 22:19 · cainam_nazier
It is not a question that needs to be asked. It is a choice that needs to be made. I choose to be who I am. Experiences give you choices about who you want to be, but you can choose to be either side of the out come.
I am begining to think that perhaps you ask this question because you do or have done some thing and you don't know why it is done, or the answer given seems illogical.
I just had a good example.
Okay I smoke. Now if you ask almost every one who smokes why they smoke they will most likely say this. "I don't know, habit I guess." This is a person who either does not know themselves or is not aware of the choices.
Now if you ask me I will tell you this. "I smoke because I want to, every one needs to be a little bad." I did not start smoking untill I was 18. At that point in time I decided that I was too good. So I decided to pick a habit. It was not because my friends made me do it, or it was the cool thing to do. By that point in time it was becoming very obvious that this country will eventually bann smoking out right. But I made the choice to start.
David Rogalski
cainam_nazier@hotmail.com
I am he who walks in the light but is masked by the shadows.
David127385.freestoreclub.com
#15 · Dec 27, 2002, 01:16 · Oliver
"I am begining to think that perhaps you ask this question because you do or have done some thing and you don't know why it is done, or the answer given seems illogical"
I think you should re-read my original post, the reason i started with a question was my way of bringing forth my idea.
I dont think that you are getting entirely what im talking about. Im talking about life, everything.
When I got off my bed from my meditation the otherday, this feeling suddenly hit me, its hard to describe, if u re-read my post you might get what i meant.
I'm kind of saying that we are life. We are everything.
Oliver
#16 · Dec 27, 2002, 22:21 · cainam_nazier
Okay so I was wrong. It's not the first time.
However to continue.
"I'm kind of saying that we are life. We are everything."
Yes I agree with this statement.
---
"Why are we all seperated?"
We are seperated because of what I mentioned earlier. The choice of who we want to be. A person may dismiss or deny some thing that they experienced simply because it does not fit into who they want to be. Rather often cold, hard, calculated facts mean nothing to a person if they don't fall into what they want to be. They get ignored and that person continues on thier path.
David Rogalski
cainam_nazier@hotmail.com
I am he who walks in the light but is masked by the shadows.
David127385.freestoreclub.com
#17 · Dec 27, 2002, 23:29 · Oliver
Think deeper. Why are we here? What is all this? How? That is the mistery i'm talking about.
Oliver
#18 · Dec 29, 2002, 23:26 · Squeek
~~~!
Marge: Homer no..You'll kill us all!
Homer: Or die trying!
!~~~
#19 · Dec 29, 2002, 23:33 · Squeek
~~~!
Marge: Homer no..You'll kill us all!
Homer: Or die trying!
!~~~
#20 · Dec 30, 2002, 07:00 · cainam_nazier
Me personally, I don't try to answer that one. It is too likely to lead to insanity. More so if you find the answer.
I focus more on why am I here. The question is much easier than people think, and really should be worded slighty different most of the time. More like "what are you gonna do with the time that you have?"
And besides, if you can't figure out why just one person, you, is here, then how are you going to figure out why every one is here?
David Rogalski
cainam_nazier@hotmail.com
I am he who walks in the light but is masked by the shadows.
David127385.freestoreclub.com
#21 · Dec 30, 2002, 17:36 · Oliver
quote:I for some reason think that both those things are very closely related.
Originally posted by cainam_nazier:
And besides, if you can't figure out why just one person, you, is here, then how are you going to figure out why every one is here?
Its fun to think about, why we are all here etc, its so awesome
Ollie
#22 · Dec 30, 2002, 19:37 · Squeek
~~~!
Marge: Homer no..You'll kill us all!
Homer: Or die trying!
!~~~
#23 · Jan 15, 2003, 10:46 · Combat Skill
#24 · Jan 15, 2003, 14:38 · James S
If we are the sum of our thoughts and experiences, then we are as liquid, because we are ever changed by the perspectives and moods present at the time of those thoughts and experiences.
I have spent some time in great confusion about who I really am, and I then realise that I have just wasted that time. Who I am is subject to change without prior notice. I'm ok with that.
How many existentialists does it take to change a light bulb?
Only one - but first the light bulb has to prove that it really exists!
James.
#25 · Jan 15, 2003, 15:20 · Fat_Turkey
] It's none other than FORTY-TWO!!! Yes! That's right. 42!!!!!!!!
But seriously. Why ask all these questions. Man has been puzzling about it for millions of years and never found the answer. We are here because a concsiousness chose to evolve the way it did from simple bacteria. We are who we are at this point and time. That whole thing about everything being your consciousness is bullcrap. So you're saying that if I say a leaf is green because my concsiousness sees it that way, it could be blue or purple or furikuri from somebody else's concsiousness. We are here because we are. I am who I am. You are who you are. And if anybody doesn't like me the way I am, that person isn't worth my time. Maybe all of you should watch Neon Genesis Evangelion, and the movies too. That series invokes a lot of questions like the meaning of life and why humanity exists and such. I recommend renting it at Blockbuster's or something because seeing it on TV will make you miss story lines and episodes. Give it a shot, especially Ollie. It makes you think a lot, a little bit like The Matrix.
#26 · Jan 15, 2003, 19:30 · James S
Studying the philosophical excretia of whacked-out hyper-active Japanese anime producers is truly a scary thought!
Stick to 42. It works, even if the ultimate question to the ultimate answer is all screwed up [
]
James.
#27 · Jan 17, 2003, 11:07 · PeacefulWarrior
#28 · Jan 17, 2003, 16:46 · kifyre
I've been reading No Boundary by Ken Wilber, and it made me think of this thread when I hit page 67. It's hard to explain. He talks about the self in relation to experience, but he tears apart all that New Age stuff about fully inhabiting the body and the senses. He talks about the timeless NOW, but he tears apart hugging to the present moment and denying the past and future. We are not the little guy/girl in our heads pulling the levers (doesn't exist), we are not our memories (memories are present tense). It's about what we are and what we are not, and it's been hitting me like a sledgehammer. Toss in One Taste , also by Ken Wilber for meditative/obe states, add a dash of Robert Bruce for some perspective (RB's reality does not contradict KW's reality, and in many places perfectly, explicity agrees.) and you get a great framework for a theory of everything. (The fun part then is filling in the details. [
])
Mark
#29 · Jan 18, 2003, 18:04 · Patty
A lot of the following is stream of consciuosness, hypothetical. YOu may consider it a waste of your time.
An interesting exercise to try: See how you behave when with different people. Don't simply reflect on it now, but rather spend the upcoming day seeing if you can be aware of your thoughts, behaviors, and beliefs through your interactions with different people.
I am finding that even what I believe changes depending on who I am with.
I think, what I "am" is incredibly flexible. (I think James said something like that too.) Maybe I am just a relative stable continuity of awareness. I'm aware of what this body was experiencing 30 years ago, but I am not that person anymore.
Why are we separate? Well, we aren't really. We are a group, we agree on things. How about the cells in our body? I think we are just a larger analogy of cells in a body. Do our cells have individual consciousness? Not the way we think of consciousness. Does our group society have consciousness? Not the way we think of consciousness. But you know, maybe there are different levels. We perceive separateness only because of the level we are at. Now, part of this particular paragraph is pretty silly, but whoever is enjoying thinking about these questions might like to think about levels of individuals and groups and how maybe we only perceive our consciousness and separateness the way we do --- because of the level in the system that we are at.
I "am" also --- enjoying the mystery unfolding.
#30 · Jan 18, 2003, 21:59 · Oliver
Fat turkey dont be so quick to dismiss an idea, how can u be so sure of anything? And no i wasnt saying that someone else may see a leaf in another colour than u might, I was saying something completely different.
Patty, I liked your post:) I've thought of that too. Also think about the way sub atomic particles make up an atom, and atoms make up different elements and everything in our world is a whole lot of atoms that make up what we experience. Maybe us humans and life here on a planet is making up something even bigger. The plannets orbit suns, i wonder what is outside of the universe, if there is even anything. there is SO much to wonder about.
Oliver
#31 · Jan 22, 2003, 22:10 · timeless
You get it don't you Oliver.
Who am I? I am an interesting character in an interesting play I decided to take part in. I am really into my character. I live and breath and take the entire experience of the play in.
BUT
I definitely realize that this body is just a character in a play that has a script that I can alter if I chose to. We take on these lives, personalities, family belief systems, religious belief systems, environmental conditions to not just experience but to see if we can do something amazing. Break through all the belief systems, perspectives, opinions and unit spirit with physical. Realizing that the spirit is one continuous consciousness (we are all one) while at the same time physically we are all separate.
Bottom line.... A person who knows themselves knows every other person, animal, living thing. A person who has done the inner journey and shone light into every crack and fault in their personality knows all. One would imagine that everyone would be falling all over themselves to reach such a wonderful point and yet we do everything to cover up our weaknesses and faults. We put on thicker makeup and more expensive costumes in this attempt. Often in this process we only deceive ourselves...no one else.
Who am I really? A wonderful energy experiencing something amazing that takes amazing guts because it is so easy to lose oneself down here. So easy to get fooled into thinking I am the character, costume and forget I am and integral part of the ALL....never alone and always loving.
Again quite a go Oliver.
#32 · Jan 23, 2003, 02:44 · Oliver
Timeless thanks:)
Isn't life great?
I think Your post was very on the mark.
I liked the way you used a play as a metaphor to get across what you were saying. Its true, that some people are too concerned about the props in the play that the dont really care about what the play is.
When we go out and experience, it is our life. We are forever experiencing and living. I guess you could say that our life is the sum of all our experiences, but really it is just one experince on a whole. Every experience is a part of something/someone else also experiencing.
Oliver
#33 · Jan 28, 2003, 15:38 · PeacefulWarrior
transmitting like a radio wave frequently feeling
what's goin' on
times are weird
all this static
things erratic
seems like we lost the magic
see hear how clear is inner quality
a yin and yang type of thang sacred geometry
ascending mad energy crazy bad
I'm something NASA freakin' wish they had
#34 · Jan 30, 2003, 13:23 · jason
#35 · Feb 01, 2003, 17:53 · ssjoku
#36 · Feb 02, 2003, 01:50 · DjM
Who am I? I AM. (FYI: the I is exactly what we are develping in this current epoch so your instincts are right on!)
It's not the WHO that is important, it's the what. It's not important WHO gave; it's just important that someone gave.
#37 · Feb 06, 2003, 18:43 · Anonymous
#38 · Feb 07, 2003, 17:12 · assia
I'm energy, mass, movement combined in an amazing equation of life.
For me, the energy is choice, expressed though my physical body, in a movement called love . . . or something like that
#39 · Feb 18, 2003, 08:02 · panabelle
Actually, Goku said that, not me. [|)] But I think it applies in both instances.