The years 1915........can you believe it?

[MikeW]

To think the human race will last much longer is delusional.

I both agree and disagree. It depends on what you mean. If you believe "the human race" is you and I, the people you see around you day by day... you're absolutely right. WE ARE DOOMED. We are doomed by our own absence of true consciousness.

But that's just it. WE... the people you and I know.. are NOT "the human race". The human race is a level of consciousness that is superior to you and I, AND it has a function, a purpose, a place within the fabric of the cosmos that has nothing to do with "going shopping" (not to mention all the other petty bullshit people concern themselves with). THAT human race has infinite survival potential precisely because it serves a cosmic function and KNOWS what that function is.

The mistake WE make is assuming that as we are, we already KNOW everything (or most everything) worth knowing. We think we already understand who we are, where we came from, where we are -- even "when" we are. <<< All of that is what I claim is totally false. I'm more and more convinced that WE *have no idea* what the truth of our situation is.

That "truth" is much closer to the analogy presented in movies like "The Matrix." It is an analogy that stretches back to the allegory of Plato's Cave and beyond. WE.. you and I and the people we know... live in an "illusion" that for us is totally "real". But it is not reality. It is a simulation. A fiction. A story. "His-story." The real who, what, where, when, and WHY we are is unknown to us. It is outside of "passing time"... outside of "history" altogether. As such, "the human race" is immortal. But, again, you and I and everyone we see... WE are not that "human race." WE are becoming "the borg" precisely because we've LOST touch with our true nature, our true consciousness, our real abilities. We believe we NEED electronic gadgetry to connect us together... when the truth is "the human race" is indelibly connected... not only through space, but time as well. All of this "stuff" we're making, devouring the resources of a planet that took billions of years to manifest, is nothing but the attempt to reclaim something that "the human race" never lost.

[johnny196775]

I both agree and disagree. It depends on what you mean. If you believe "the human race" is you and I, the people you see around you day by day... you're absolutely right. WE ARE DOOMED. We are doomed by our own absence of true consciousness.

But that's just it. WE... the people you and I know.. are NOT "the human race". The human race is a level of consciousness that is superior to you and I, AND it has a function, a purpose, a place within the fabric of the cosmos that has nothing to do with "going shopping" (not to mention all the other petty bullshit people concern themselves with). THAT human race has infinite survival potential precisely because it serves a cosmic function and KNOWS what that function is.

The mistake WE make is assuming that as we are, we already KNOW everything (or most everything) worth knowing. We think we already understand who we are, where we came from, where we are -- even "when" we are. <<< All of that is what I claim is totally false. I'm more and more convinced that WE *have no idea* what the truth of our situation is.

That "truth" is much closer to the analogy presented in movies like "The Matrix." It is an analogy that stretches back to the allegory of Plato's Cave and beyond. WE.. you and I and the people we know... live in an "illusion" that for us is totally "real". But it is not reality. It is a simulation. A fiction. A story. "His-story." The real who, what, where, when, and WHY we are is unknown to us. It is outside of "passing time"... outside of "history" altogether. As such, "the human race" is immortal. But, again, you and I and everyone we see... WE are not that "human race." WE are becoming "the borg" precisely because we've LOST touch with our true nature, our true consciousness, our real abilities. We believe we NEED electronic gadgetry to connect us together... when the truth is "the human race" is indelibly connected... not only through space, but time as well. All of this "stuff" we're making, devouring the resources of a planet that took billions of years to manifest, is nothing but the attempt to reclaim something that "the human race" never lost.

May i ask what "true consciousness" means?

[MikeW]

May i ask what "true consciousness" means?

Of course you can ask. But if you think I can answer the question, you're wrong. No one can answer that question. It's like asking what a fruit you've never tasted, tastes like. Well... I can tell you what it is LIKE (an analogy) perhaps... assuming I've tasted it... But how does that help you? You still don't know what it tastes like. You only know what I've said. The problem with a lot of so called "knowledge" is that people hear or have read something someone else "said" and think, "Oh, now I know what that is." <<< Well, if there is such a thing as "false" consciousness, that must be it, right?

To know what "true consciousness" is, you must find it for yourself, in yourself. No one can tell you what it is. No one can tell you how to find it, either. Anyone who says they know or know how is either lying to you or themselves or both.

All I can do is give you a clue: Pay attention. Pay attention TO your attention. Observe how long you can pay attention to your attention without loosing track of it, getting distracted by thoughts or fantasies or sensations or emotions. <<< That right there is the actual limit of your true consciousness. The question, then, is can this be developed further? Is it possible to pay attention to my attention in such away that I never loose track of it... never become distracted by the CONTENTS of consciousness itself?

This is all I can tell you from direct experience. The rest is up to you. I'll just add that having the question, holding the question as something not so much to be "answered" by words from someone else -- but as something to be discovered within one's self... that is closer to what is important. Curiosity, alone simply won't cut it. It takes sincere effort and dedication... perhaps a lifetime of it.

[johnny196775]

Of course you can ask. But if you think I can answer the question, you're wrong. No one can answer that question. It's like asking what a fruit you've never tasted, tastes like. Well... I can tell you what it is LIKE (an analogy) perhaps... assuming I've tasted it... But how does that help you? You still don't know what it tastes like. You only know what I've said. The problem with a lot of so called "knowledge" is that people hear or have read something someone else "said" and think, "Oh, now I know what that is." <<< Well, if there is such a thing as "false" consciousness, that must be it, right?

To know what "true consciousness" is, you must find it for yourself, in yourself. No one can tell you what it is. No one can tell you how to find it, either. Anyone who says they know or know how is either lying to you or themselves or both.

All I can do is give you a clue: Pay attention. Pay attention TO your attention. Observe how long you can pay attention to your attention without loosing track of it, getting distracted by thoughts or fantasies or sensations or emotions. <<< That right there is the actual limit of your true consciousness. The question, then, is can this be developed further? Is it possible to pay attention to my attention in such away that I never loose track of it... never become distracted by the CONTENTS of consciousness itself?

This is all I can tell you from direct experience. The rest is up to you. I'll just add that having the question, holding the question as something not so much to be "answered" by words from someone else -- but as something to be discovered within one's self... that is closer to what is important. Curiosity, alone simply won't cut it. It takes sincere effort and dedication... perhaps a lifetime of it.

Reminds me of metaphysics.

[TwisttheLeaf]

My dad was born in 1904 and my mother in 1906. They were married in 1921... that's right... HE was 17 and SHE was 15 years old. Apparently such marriages were not all that uncommon back in those days.

With the average life expectancy at 47, I guess they had to start a little earlier back then, yeah?

[MikeW]

With the average life expectancy at 47, I guess they had to start a little earlier back then, yeah?

Perhaps. My parents lived to be in their 90s, seeing their 75th wedding anniversary in the spring of 1996. My dad passed December of that year, and my mother about a year later. Both their mothers died in their 70s and their fathers in their 80s. I can expect to live to be 110. (Not that I intend to.)