The way this will work is we will exchange ideas each Wednesday on a Philosophical question.
The purpose of this is to provoke thought and encourage engagement. I want to know what you think. This week’s question is below.
Is it possible for a human to fathom the true depths of reality and existence?
For me, this isn’t a yes or no question. It simply depends on an individual basis.
I would say it is possible that a human can fathom the depths of existence, but only if they spend time in introspection.
The only way we can understand our existence is if we first understand ourselves.
While it is easy to slip into existential dread or to move through life as a zombie both paths will not amount to an understanding of self and by extension existence.
To grow and master the self, we have to dig deep to find the true self that lies behind the masks we wear daily. We must liberate the shadow self and brought into balance with the light and figure out our life’s purpose.
Where reality is concerned well, there are infinite layers to reality because we experience most from the level of personal perception. While we also share a common reality; reality is a microcosm sitting within a macrocosm for each individual.
What do you think? Hit View Thread to share your thoughts.
I think it is possible to do this, and many do have moments where they do get glimpses of this. The question is, can we do this in a sustainable way? I believe it is possible to strive for this, with differing levels of success, depending on how much we are able and willing to step outside of our "Selves", and allow ourselves to breathe in the greater reality within which we live and breathe.
I've had the moments, beginning with my earliest memory - at age 2 1/2, I was accidentally struck in the nose with a full swing of a wooden baseball bat - I have a specific memory of being outside of my body, floating somewhere above the entire scene, in a timeless moment that lasted an eternity, but probably only a few seconds in "real" time before I returned to my reality, where fear told me I was dying because of all the blood. When I had another out-of-body moment at age 25, I knew that I might be dying, but it felt so real, and I felt so whole, for the first time (since age 2 1/2), I was okay with that possibility. When I came back, but my best friend, who'd brought me back, died 5 days later, I no longer feared death, but more importantly, gradually realized I was here for a reason, and have done my best ever since to make this life count. It's been a long, at times difficult, journey, but living with a purpose beats the alternative, every day. I begin each day with prayer - in which I try to remember who I am and why I'm here - followed by meditation, where I just sit, breathe, and sometimes, when everything is right, I float out there for an eternal moment.
I had an insight on the morning of the day before my 60th birthday - a message came through to me, while I was fixing my morning coffee and getting ready to spend the day (it was Veterans Day) retracing my great grandfather's steps from Centreville, Virginia, to Gettysburg, Pa, where he marched for 6 days to join the second day of the battle there. The message was - "Yes, we are spiritual beings having a human experience - but make sure you allow yourself to have that human experience - that is why you are here." That was a gift that I have carried with me as I walk through my 60's. (I'm 64 now). For some reason, I find it important to do what I can to keep walking until I reach 100. But, it is most important that I be here, today, in this moment, as I strive for that goal.
Lacan says when a child reaches a certain point in development around 8-12 months and they see a reflection in the mirror they perceive that a reality of themselves. The image is a reflection of their physicality but not a capture of their true self which is the inner part that really shapes their reality. And even on the psyche level that self is not even a version of who we / the child is because we/ the child have been produce and made up by values and beliefs from culture , society our parents. In essence lacan says we are always searching for the real. But the real , the authentic , the original can never been found especially on this human plane. We are temporalities, malleable and adapting to change strive for a better version of what can be.
Why? Wednesday: Existence and Reality
I think it is possible to do this, and many do have moments where they do get glimpses of this. The question is, can we do this in a sustainable way? I believe it is possible to strive for this, with differing levels of success, depending on how much we are able and willing to step outside of our "Selves", and allow ourselves to breathe in the greater reality within which we live and breathe.
I've had the moments, beginning with my earliest memory - at age 2 1/2, I was accidentally struck in the nose with a full swing of a wooden baseball bat - I have a specific memory of being outside of my body, floating somewhere above the entire scene, in a timeless moment that lasted an eternity, but probably only a few seconds in "real" time before I returned to my reality, where fear told me I was dying because of all the blood. When I had another out-of-body moment at age 25, I knew that I might be dying, but it felt so real, and I felt so whole, for the first time (since age 2 1/2), I was okay with that possibility. When I came back, but my best friend, who'd brought me back, died 5 days later, I no longer feared death, but more importantly, gradually realized I was here for a reason, and have done my best ever since to make this life count. It's been a long, at times difficult, journey, but living with a purpose beats the alternative, every day. I begin each day with prayer - in which I try to remember who I am and why I'm here - followed by meditation, where I just sit, breathe, and sometimes, when everything is right, I float out there for an eternal moment.
I had an insight on the morning of the day before my 60th birthday - a message came through to me, while I was fixing my morning coffee and getting ready to spend the day (it was Veterans Day) retracing my great grandfather's steps from Centreville, Virginia, to Gettysburg, Pa, where he marched for 6 days to join the second day of the battle there. The message was - "Yes, we are spiritual beings having a human experience - but make sure you allow yourself to have that human experience - that is why you are here." That was a gift that I have carried with me as I walk through my 60's. (I'm 64 now). For some reason, I find it important to do what I can to keep walking until I reach 100. But, it is most important that I be here, today, in this moment, as I strive for that goal.
Lacan says when a child reaches a certain point in development around 8-12 months and they see a reflection in the mirror they perceive that a reality of themselves. The image is a reflection of their physicality but not a capture of their true self which is the inner part that really shapes their reality. And even on the psyche level that self is not even a version of who we / the child is because we/ the child have been produce and made up by values and beliefs from culture , society our parents. In essence lacan says we are always searching for the real. But the real , the authentic , the original can never been found especially on this human plane. We are temporalities, malleable and adapting to change strive for a better version of what can be.