Contemplation

OK, so if there is something else out there, something bigger than us, which doesn't seem so farfetched given how big the universe is, then... then nothing I guess. It exists. I'm inclined to believe that we are not alone in this universe. We don't know what other life forms are out there, they could be invisible living in our world. They could be co-existing with us on another dimension, on another plane of existence.

What makes drug induced perceptions any less real than sober perceptions? They both exist within our mind. I guess with the drug induced ones, sometimes all the senses can't sense them. And if one would further like to test it, then she can ask others if they are experiencing the same thing. In a sober state of mind, one can see a tree, and try to test it with other senses. And then one can have others feel the same thing. But what makes this more real?

I guess I have to define reality first. damn.

I guess most people's conception of reality has something to do with expectations. If something happens over and over again, then I start expecting it, and this cause and effect type of conditioning becomes what we call reality.

So, we are in a mindset that reality is whatever we can verify with our senses, which guide us in our daily activities. These senses better be the same time after time. If something does not correspond with our past experiences, it's either an anomaly, or we better change our beliefs.

If we are of the belief that it is an anomaly, then we regard this as unreality. Because if it does not happen all the time, then it is not real. Drug induced perceptions do not happen all the time therefore, they are not real, according to the above description of reality.

But we can't change the fact that the perception happened. I'm getting lost here. I'm going to go back to the original reason I began writing this.

I was contemplating earlier, about spirituality and religion. If there is something out there, I would have to say some religions went astray when they tried to assign human characteristics to whatever it is. Some tried to put their own characteristics on it, and made it white, male, powerful, etc... Furthermore, others said that only certain people know about this higher power, and everyone else must follow them in order to gain this knowledge.

This seems wrongheaded to me. Everyone has different ways of discovering things. Humans should not push other humans around. Religious leaders should present their teachings, and not try to scare people into following them. The idea of hell is completely off-putting to me. The physical idea of hell, that is. If god is goodness, and evil is the absence of goodness, or the absence of god, then this idea seems more attractive. Why scare people off with the idea of pain? One can say that the absence of god is the absence of goodness.

Then, of course, there's those who would say that giving another name to goodness is unnecessary. Actually, I think I agree. Why put the word "god" to goodness? Why put the word "god" to anything? why label "everything" as "god"? why label other beings as "god"? there's no reason to. god almost has connotations of power. That's just what I was raised into though, to believe that god is powerful, and wanting to be worshipped, merciful, all that stuff.

I feel different from my average self when I contemplate things like this. And this makes me wonder what I'm feeling. Some would be quick to say that it's god. No, it's not that god. It is what it is; contemplation, and a good feeling.

-LJL