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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 12th, 2023

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  • The really interesting part of that quote is: what am I?

    Modern culture would have us define ourselves as a lonely and isolated centres of awareness trapped inside a human body. But if I must define my environment to define myself as an organism (e.g. I don’t exist in a vacuum of suspended emptiness) then the definition of ‘l’ includes the environment.

    What’s missing in modern culture is a definition of ‘I’ that’s all encompassing and all inclusive. I am me because you are you and the two are inter-dependant. I’m not religious but I do have an interest in theology and philosophy. When Jesus said “I and the Father are one”, he meant literally, only the Catholic church would have you believe he’s a special edge case and the good word, that we’re are all one, never got out.

    I challenge anyone reading this to put disbelief aside for a day and temporarily accept that everyone you meet is another version of you in disguise. That you all share the same source of consciousness that has been differentiated by your genetic container (your body) and unique experience/perspective, and see how your attitude towards others changes. Or in other words, take the philosophy of ‘Treat others the way you would want others to treat you’ literally.

    Personally, I define ‘l’ as the whole cosmos. I don’t know how I do it but neither do I know how my stomach digests. A doctor could explain how digestion works but that doesn’t help them digest any better than me. It just happens.



  • It is possible to know one without the other, however the first experience becomes the baseline upon which other experiences are compared and measured against forming a spectrum.

    Take a baby for instance, early in life they are exposed to milk, the feeling of being close to their parents during feeding and the feeling of a full stomach (happiness). However, this becomes the reference point to compare feelings of being alone and hungry (sadness).

    If a child experiences nothing but absent parents and malnutrition, the child will not know it is sad because there is no comparative reference point. Its just normal.

    Another example, a long time ago when life expectancy was much lower and daily life was very hard, the circumstances needed to feel happiness were much lower. A woman living a hard life in an isolated wilderness suddenly receives a fine dress from a distant city and, compared to her daily harsh reality, it brings her extreme happiness.

    Compare that to modern times where daily life is much easier and we have access to almost anything we want. Not surprisingly, people find it harder to find happiness. Why? Because they don’t have the comparative negative baseline.