Dirty Sci-Fi Buddha

Musings

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DirtySciFiBuddha
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Despite all our advances, we have a poor understanding of our metaphysical reality (is consciousness a result of matter coming together, or did it precede the physical? Are we in a simulation? Do we have free will? And if we do, how much, and under what circumstances?)

So in the freedom of that uncertainty, I choose to believe that if I focus on the most optimistic heading that resonates (even if that’s objectively negative, like anger, because it is the best I can do at that specific moment), I can improve my standing and make my way into true positivity, while taking advantage of opportunities along the way.

No one else needs to believe this (forcing others into positivity always seems to lead to disappointment) but I consider our choice of personal focus to be an existential right.

Comments

32 responses to “Musings”

  1. Kenneth Avatar
    Kenneth

    One reason I like existentialism is that it brackets all metaphysical questions. From a phenomenological perspective, experience just is what it is, regardless of what external reality is like, and it’s this experience that we are actually living out.

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    1. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
      DirtySciFiBuddha

      Yes, I’m with you! Sometimes, existentialist writings can be a little frustrating when philosophers create new terms to try and better convey nuance and connotation, but I like their intent, it seems much like a zen koan where they try and use words to guide their audience towards the wordless (transcendent).

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  2. pedometergeek Avatar
    pedometergeek

    A philosopher, John Searle, doesn’t think we have free will. I happen to disagree with him and believe otherwise.
    ~Nan

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    1. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
      DirtySciFiBuddha

      I do too. At the very least, until it’s 100% disproven, we should assume we have at least some free will, because if we do and we pretend we don’t, we’ve wasted it.

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  3. Edward Ortiz Avatar
    Edward Ortiz

    So true. We need to continue to look for positivity and take advantage of opportunity along the way. Well said.

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    1. tricolourprism Avatar
      tricolourprism

      From anger to positivity? Hmm.. Living in the moment is what is overrated in the world….especially when even a child knows that it is but fleeting.

      Having said that, I do understand where you come from and the weight of emotion…

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    2. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
      DirtySciFiBuddha

      Thanks! Yes, life should be an adventure, not a horror story.

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  4. grandmentaldelusion Avatar
    grandmentaldelusion

    If people are positive all the time, they are lying to themselves. All feelings and emotions are given to us for something. We need to learn to apply them correctly.

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  5. bigskybuckeye Avatar
    bigskybuckeye

    There is real value in maintaining one’s personal focus. Our positivity will carry us forward.

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  6. DragonflyRose Avatar
    DragonflyRose

    I have thought of this a lot over the years. I had my natal chart done years ago and it describes me to a T, even down to my struggles in this life, as well as my gifts. Begs the question of is it all just pre-destined in accordance to the energy of the cosmos we were born under? I use an app called Co-Star I think you should check it out, for research purposes 😉 there are other places online you can get your natal chart as well but this is an easy to read app that calls you on your shit every day haha glad to see your posts! I don’t know how I unfollowed but I did!

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    1. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
      DirtySciFiBuddha

      Thanks for the recommendation, and no worries about the unfollow! I’ve unintentionally clicked plenty of things myself, only to find much later for whatever reason!

      The way I reconcile it in my head is I divide the self into three parts for logic’s sake. (I know it’s all one self, but if I need to logically work with the concept for whatever reason, I divide it so I can articulate it better). The surface, subconscious, and the deeper or higher self. From the surface perspective, things may seem fated–the surface is the equivalent of a finger attached to a hand. If the finger, like most of us, doesn’t recognize and honor the connection to the hand and the body, it can start thinking it’s at the mercy of fate and external forces. If it has to interact with the other hand, a foot, face, or some other part, it might think it’s interacting with something entirely separate from itself, when that isn’t the case. It might start thinking it’s at the mercy of outside forces, instead of recognizing they are part of the same entity. That’s how I see it–fate and free will is kind of perspective dependent. From a pure surface perspective, we either have no free will or very little. From a higher self perspective, everything we do cannot be viewed as anything but choice. So in my opinion it’s dependent on where someone’s focus is, how it’s distributed throughout the different aspects of self.

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      1. DragonflyRose Avatar
        DragonflyRose

        I hear what you’re saying. I think our deeper higher self is what has planned our experiences. We get to choose what to do and that opens a whole new set of choices. Kind of like a game. Will we pass this time? Will we learn what our higher self wanted to learn this time? I used to try and be in my higher self all the time and it just isn’t possible but we can connect for a time. It can definitely be a confusing rabbit hole when you try and describe it.

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      2. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
        DirtySciFiBuddha

        Very spot on! The video game model is also a great way to describe it, I think. Our in-game character is our surface self, while the player/programmer is our higher self. It kind of defeats the purpose if we never occupy our game character and go on some quests, but at the same time, we’re not in an existential prison–we can connect with our player/programmer self, adjust the settings, reprogram the game, play in different modes or restart as different characters, or even hop over to another one.

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      3. DragonflyRose Avatar
        DragonflyRose

        So true! I often say that I feel like I’ve lived many different lives in this 1 life already!

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      4. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
        DirtySciFiBuddha

        You and me both! Even as a kid, I felt like my fundamental personality was changing incredibly fast. No judgment, but it’s hard for me to comprehend folks who still keep in touch with people from school days. For me, it’s as if that was a completely different person interacting with them.

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      5. DragonflyRose Avatar
        DragonflyRose

        Haha I am in contact with a few from my school age days. But we are not close, it is a connection that is more of an acquaintance social media connection. We are all on our own paths. I see their struggles and I hope that what I share of myself brings them an understanding in their own life, if they so choose to look. I was a completely different person, true, but I think we have a duty to share with those willing to still be connected to me in some way, to share how I am growing and changing. It becomes like a ripple. Even if we never communicate there is still a connection that is there.

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      6. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
        DirtySciFiBuddha

        Great perspective! And yes, if a connection endures without you forcing it, then there is definitely something significant there. It must be cool being able to reminisce about the better parts of childhood with someone who was there with you. I tend to think of my time in the military as mostly boring and uneventful, but when I get around my buddies it’s pretty fun because all the bad stuff has lost its sting and the interesting and funny stuff remains, and we’re all reminded that hey, we got a lot of entertaining stories out of it!

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      7. DragonflyRose Avatar
        DragonflyRose

        I just started the book: The Mind & The Brain – Neuroplasticity and the power of mental force by Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D., and Sharon Begley
        I think it’d be up your alley. Wanted to share, I just started it today but I thought of you while I was reading it.

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      8. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
        DirtySciFiBuddha

        Very cool, thanks for the recommendation! Yes, the model of consciousness I subscribe to is that it encompasses body and brain. If you think of a circle drawn inside a square, where the circle touches the square at four points, I believe that’s indicative of the brain in the body. Then if you drawn a triangle around the circle/square, I believe the triangle is indicative of consciousness–it is not contained in the body/brain, but rather the other way around. There’s very cool medical cases of this stuff, to include out of body experiences during surgery where the patient described physically inaccessible information on different floors of the hospital, as well as terminal lucidity, where someone who’s brain is degraded to the point where medical science deems conscious interaction to be physically impossible experiences crystal clarity and has a fully cognizant interaction with people around them. Also, not sure how far you go into the psychic rabbit hole, but remote viewing is also a pretty cool subject.

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  7. sandyroybessandbugzy Avatar
    sandyroybessandbugzy

    This is interesting. I’m not sure I should ask this but why is your name what it is ? You may laugh.

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    1. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
      DirtySciFiBuddha

      No worries! My first books were based on a “dirty science fiction aesthetic,” where it was a more gritty and grimy sci fi feel. They’re also based around eastern mystical concepts and theories, hence the buddha part.

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      1. sandyroybessandbugzy Avatar
        sandyroybessandbugzy

        Thank you for your answer. This is out of my comprehension.

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  8. Bound Avatar
    Bound

    I’ve recently looked into life as a simulation, and was originally very neutral about it. As I read, I’m really warming up to the concept. There are variations to consider. And I guess you could look at any reality as a projection or part of a greater reality that is compatible with our limited senses.

    What I’ve been getting into is the idea that we choose to “play” this simulation in order to more fully develop within these constructs, with the idea of mastering our greater potential within. Sounds like a video game. What that does is qualify our experiences, no matter how bad they might become, as deeper learning experiences designed to help us master ourselves within the environment.

    From what I’ve been able to understand is that’s when obscure concepts like manifestation, and trippy new age abilities develop. Yeah, I was a skeptic about psychic stuff until I started following studies on how major governments openly used them to spy on the enemy during the Cold War.

    Worst case, I find the world thing fascinating to look at. Ultimately, the idea of leveling up consciousness sounds pretty damn cool.

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    1. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
      DirtySciFiBuddha

      Very cool! For me, it started as a bias–I wanted to believe the universe was inherently benevolent. If you accept a critical degree of randomness (where depending on the roll of a dice, good folks get punished regardless, and bad folks get rewarded regardless), it is random to the point of being cruel. You have to add in the premise of manifestation (simultaneous egalitarian/individual empowerment without zero-sum constraints) and reincarnation (if you screw up or fail to understand, you get another chance) to make reality into a no-lose game. I like to equate it to a video game, where the in-game character has the ability to shift to the player/programmer perspective, allowing them to use cheat codes, alter settings, constraints, and/or hop over to another game/genre. Staying in the player/programmer perspective is counterproductive, because it ruins the immersiveness and ability to create a narrative due to omnipotence/omnipresence (if you’re everything everywhere all at once, you have nothing to become, nowhere to go, and nothing to interact with). There’s more solid data on the premise that consciousness is fundamental to reality in random number generator experiments, which apparently beat statistical significance, as well as some less solid stuff surrounding the UFO phenomenon, which is largely reliant on credentialed folks who have nothing to lose by speaking out on the subject, due to stigma and other factors, to sometimes include the relinquishment of government pensions.

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      1. Bound Avatar
        Bound

        Right-right! Yeah, a game. And it feels great to level up. That said, you’re not out of the woods. But if you remember to hold up your confidence, play becomes easier, overall.

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      2. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
        DirtySciFiBuddha

        Yes, absolutely! Also, I think the mode and mood of play is much more powerful than we are typically led to believe.

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  9. JMN Avatar
    JMN

    I savor your pairing of uncertainty with freedom, and of heading (direction of travel) with standing.

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    1. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
      DirtySciFiBuddha

      Thank you! Yes, I never liked uncertainty until I started noticing that with an open mind, bad events sometimes became good over time, and sometimes, I was surprised by good stuff when I was expecting the bad.

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  10. isabellawolgoth Avatar
    isabellawolgoth

    I love Donald Hoffman’s treatment of the “matrix” question in his “The Case Against Reality.” It’s my trip, and I’m just posting it here for anyone new to the discourse.

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    1. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
      DirtySciFiBuddha

      Nice! Thank you!

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  11. Rupa Rao Avatar
    Rupa Rao

    However big a role destiny/ pre-destined plays, there is a place for Free-will. Efforts will fruit into outcomes.
    Seeds of efforts carve present and future too (if you believe in reincarnation then future life times too as body changes but soul continues on in new body based on karma…(cause effect) is the perspective)
    Lovely writing.

    https://ruparaoruminates.wordpress.com/

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    1. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
      DirtySciFiBuddha

      i’m with you. For the sake of logic, I explain it as a multi-tiered self. Our highest self has ultimate free will, and chose a series of constraints that can equate to a hallway, or our physical life. Our surface consciousness can choose how we traverse that hallway (our choices as a physical being).

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