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'The nature of reality'-A small and unedited, first draft opinion of eveything...

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Dancan

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'Let's talk about reality'-A small and unedited, first draft opinion of eveything...

I believe everything that happens is governed by the past. Everything that has ever occured anywhere could have happened very differently had the past been different. Were you to go back in time and change one aspect, however small, of the past, it would have rippling effects on the future, akin to a stone thrown in a pond. Given enough time, the one change would change everything about the future, if only in a subtle way, as the one change starts a domino effect of changes, which also effect each other in a backwards fashion.

So, everything that has ever happened could have happened in a nigh infinite number of different ways, that number is ever increasing as time goes on. But everything only happens one way, and cannot ever be changed, in my opinion.

Everything doesn't happen for a reason, it happens for a nigh infinite number of reasons, it happens because of everything that has happened before it and the way in which these events have effected each other over and over, back and forth, constantly effecting different matter, until finally the current event occurs as a result.

There is no reality to concepts of fate or destiny, the future can be predicted in some respects, but is very much uncertain. Even what can be infered from the present cannot be placed in a specific time and place, who knows how the nigh infinite amounts of matter will effect each other and shape our future.

I could die tomorrow, i could live for another 50 years, the truth is it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of everything. I know what i have chosen to be important in life, and i will spend my life persuing those aims. I one day hope to form a successfull band, and leave a print on time that may never be forgotten. After all, it doesn't really matter what we do in life, it is up to us to decide what we want to imbue with importance. The reality is that there is no meaning to life other than survival. Every life force is simply trying to survive for the sake of living, so as my signiture suggests, the meaning of life is life itself. The purpose of life, the reason it exists, is simply to live. Therefore, i say live it up! Stay determined and achieve your dreams, whatever they may be, i am lucky enough to have to freedom to pursue my dreams, i am also lucky enough to have had the upbringing to develop my dreams, and keep them alive.

The past alone shapes everything that is the present, and will shape the future. After all, even our decisions are shaped by the past. I hope to leave the biggest print on time i possibly can, i hope to leave a legacy that will last for a very very long time. In hundreds of years only the truely outstanding will be remembered from our time.

I hope to effect the future of us many people as possible in a positive way...That my friends, is my highest goal in life.
 
I am changing your present as you read this. Therefore you are right, the past changes the present. But I believe the whole concept of free will and consciousness means that the present or the future can change your present. The past can seize to exist, the past can be dead.

Two minor criticisms:
I believe you want "affecting" different matter, instead of "effecting."
Also, I would divide the big paragraph for easy reading, starting with 'The reality is that there is no meaning..."

I see your assertions as questionable, however rational they are. Sure everything comes from the past, that's why we call it the past.

But what separates the past and the present?

Is there a distinct separation between the present and the past?

Is that separation evident during any given blurry moment?

Isn't everything a memory?

Your senses usually register about +0-500 milliseconds after an external event.
What if they predict the future -1 second in advance? You are expecting that I am goign to keep reading- which is a present rediction based on past experiences.

Doesn't the act of prediction create a future reality in the present?

Is the present what is displayed on your consciousness display screen?

I will heartily agree that the meaning of life is life itself, but I would not reduce everything down to survival.

Survival is the conglomerate of various biological motivations. Surely one may transcend basic survival drives toward abstract metaphors as ethics, morality, imagination, etc? After all, an archaea survives floating in goo. My lizard, Leon, survives by eating crickets and absorbing warmth. And I, David Spoey, survive by the information in my internal and external environment.
 
Alot of people follow the philosophy of living in the present. Leave the past in the past. To be quite candid with you, the main reason i am so obsessed with the past is because of how i believe my present situation has been shaped by it in a negative way, to say the least. I would love to put the past to rest, but there are several major issues preventing me from doing so.

I agree, the so called 'present' is ever moving and can't really be placed anywhere, after all, you could keep dividing the present time into smaller and smaller amounts, as it moves ever onwards. Therefore the present doesn't really exist, i would argue that everything that has occured anywhere is part of the past. However we call our current situation the present. After all, we can only exist in the present, our consciousness can not be anywhere else. Despite this, i find it impossible to define the present, without referring to the past.

In response to your final point, and to make a significant tangent, i think humans are infinitely more complex than animals, and so we have developed concepts such as morality, ethics, imagination etc...We have developed far beyond the other animals, and the truth is that much of this is not for our own good. We try to imbue the world with the results of our developed selves, when in fact, none of it really matters, it only matters because we believe it matters. Killings is apparently wrong, i believe this because killing an intelligent himan being that can feel pain is not ethical. But there is no higher force directing us not to do this, so many religions are built upon human ideas of perfection, which ironically often result in so many acts that would be considered against a certain religion.

My point is this, we consider this world to be ours, to be shaped as we see fit, if people step out of line, punish them, they must obey the rules that we set down, in whatever culture you may live in. Many people do not want to face the reality that we live in a world with no higher force looking down on us, in which we can only control our lives to a certain extent, in which we are really no different to the other animals on a fundamental level. But mentally, we have developed to an extent to which i would argue, is detremental to ourselves in so many ways. We should just be wondering around naked, mating anyone nearby, relieving ourselves anywhere, sleeping anywhere. That is what we are mean't to be doing, that is how our bodies our designed, that is our prerogative. But over time our intelligence improved and we tried to change the world to our liking. Sure we many have benifited from finding material to cloth ourselves, or finding a warm place to sleep at night, but have we really benefited from developing to such an extent that our mental state is in constant conflict with the physical state of the world???

Sometimes i wish i could just be really simple, hedonistic, happy, satisfied. I wish i could just be like the other animals. I probably wouldn't want this so much were my life more to my liking, but as i say above, i, and everyone else is too intelligent for their own good, ignorance is bliss.

Having said that, we must always remember that we can't regress back to a simpler childlike state, if we must be stuck with this constant conflict of mental to physical, then we should make the most of it. We should enjoy the plethora of traits and activities that set us aside from the other animals, love, friendship, compassion, trust, honesty etc... and of course just good fun that comes from such activies as rollercoasters and going to the cinema. In many ways i am thankful for our development. I do very much hope to make the most out of my future, given the circumstances.
 
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Yes, i learn't about this therapy in my psychology a level

Cognitive therapy seeks to correct "cognitive distortions," errors in perception that lead to the conclusion that life is hopeless or that everyday activity is unmanageable.

The fundamental problem with this therapy in respect to my situation is that i am not experiencing cognitive distortions, i think i have a fairly strong grasp on the truths behind my situation. Most cognitive therapy will at least ultimately delve into a patients past, after all, it is critical to understand the reasons for these 'cognitive distortions'. The truth of my situation is not set in stone, but i am confident i have worked out most of my problems and their causes in great detail.

Which leads me to focus on relolution, that most important finale to all this mental turmoil. The problem arises in that although i can see a great deal of positives arising from my mental disorders, the negatives will ultimately far outwiegh the positives and my future will permanently be effected in a massively detremental way.

I won't disclose any information here, there is just too much, and i don't want to discuss some of it. My current situation is that of a 19 year old, intelligent, mature, and honest man who has a great deal of other positive traits that are somewhat latent at present. It is very frustrating being as intelligent as i am, yet not having what i percieve to be a strong grasp on the world. Be it my personal world, and the rest of reality. I have a great understanding of my problems, but in terms of physical elements of my life, like the guitar i am trying to learn to play, my understanding is undeveloped. I am coming out of the worst of the depression now and am really trying to learn as much as possible. I had a very smart friend at school who helped guide me, but realised i was very troubled. he has gone to university now and i am really interested in finding websites that can engage my mind, get me thinking. Of course it's important to be somewhat cynical about what you read, but it is hard to be so when i don't have a frame of reference to work with in most cases.

Any recommendations?
 
changingminds.org
wikipedia.org
wordreference.com
pantheon.org
worldchanging.com
 
thanks, i'm not interesting in mythology, and i already frequent wikipedia, but the others appear to be very informative!
 
In order to define what has an impact on reality, we first need to define reality.

Is reality simply the optical picture that our brain assembles?

Is reality subjective or objective?

Is perception reality?

You must first define reality for us.

Not "the definition" but your definition.
 
Well i'm afriad i will have to give you one of the definitions, because that was the boundary within which i was attempting to work. I was talking about reality in terms of what is true. Now i believe truth can never be found for absolute certainty, there always could be factors beyond our knowledge or comprehension that disprove anything we believe we know. However, if you give it some thought, most people in life put finding truth as one of their highest goals, without even thinking about it. Think of any profession or hobby, and there is very likely to be at least an element of this constant search involved. I very much place finding truth near the top of my list, despite knowing i can never be sure of anything i know. I would love nothing more than to speak to a higher force that is infallible, but i don't believe one exists. Now say i'm wrong about this and we come into passing with one upon death, how could you be certain any answer you are given is really true? There could always be factors beyond our comprehension, perhaps the higher force is being controlled by something else, and just spouts a load of bullshit to fool the gullible, impressionable humans, lol. But seriously, ponder this, we can't ever know anything for certain, and never, ever will be able to.

Therefore, instead, i endeavor to discover as much information in my lifetime that at least appears to be true, not just in my opinion, but that of others, most importantly, the cleverest person i've ever met, who is now off at university, unfortunately for me...
 
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The teacher is already very apparent to me, but i am not ready, and he's not willing or able, given my mental disarray and his university status.

If you were referencing something else, then i missed it
 
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