The (Un)Certainty of Conviction

[BeboNow]

I’ve been reading posts in Science and Spirituality and one thing that impresses me in nearly every one is the level of conviction of the authors. Subjects include such hard-to-pin-down concepts as time, quantum mechanics, death, corporeal existence, and self/other, but even the most elusive themes are presented as absolute statements of “what is” as if they’re the most definitive picture of reality.

The problem I have is that each of these definitive statements of “what is” presents a different truth with its own center of gravity and no relation to, and sometimes in contradiction to, other truths. They bring to mind the image of a field of Easter Island monoliths each staring fixedly at “the truth” but each staring in a different direction.

I’ve had a few seemingly paranormal experiences and spiritual epiphanies over the years, and at least the paranormal ones clearly fall under existing labels such as precognition and past-life connections. But I have trouble being absolutely certain the experiences were what I perceived them to be, and even more trouble being certain about their explanation.

I readily accept the possibility that the insights in some of the posts come from a spiritual voice of wisdom external to the author, but surely not all of them do. For those that don’t, I see four ways the insights can be generated within the author: 1) instruction from a teacher, 2) conscious reasoning, 3) intuition generated from the gut, 4) the creative process behind art. While any of these ways could be how the spiritual voice communicated its insight to the author, I’d say more often they’re spontaneous eruptions from within.

This ambiguity about the origin of their content matches the uncertainty of my own experiences. With my uncertainty of conviction, I’m left wondering how the authors can present their cases with so much certainty. Clearly there’s a way since so many have. I just haven’t found it.

[inavalan]

Each one of us is right in their own reality.

It seems that each one of us creates their own reality based on our beliefs, thoughts, emotions.

We can easily observe how our perceptions change function of what we learned, or we believe we've learned. We could say that all that honestly express a conviction are right, in their own reality.

There are also those that express strong convictions about something they want to believe, but that's not part of their reality, and will never be.

[BeboNow]

If each person lives only their own reality, then either there is no absolute reality or absolute reality is being negated. Either way absolute reality is effectively gone. The idea that there is no absolute reality beyond what each of us creates in our heads brings three thoughts to mind:

1. It suggests each individual reality is equally valid, equally “true,” and is therefore universally enabling. Any act is justified if your reality justifies it. No fundamental meaning is left to values like honesty and compassion. With each validated by the standards of his own reality, Trump and Putin are no different from Einstein and Gandhi.

2. The assumption is self-contradictory. Stating that there is no absolute reality is itself positing a thesis of an absolute reality.

3. Each of us demonstrates that we believe in a fundamental reality, an absolute truth, every day, and that we know what it is. We act every day on what we believe to be “what is” and we speak and act with the assumption that we’re right. We seldom question our thoughts or our motivations as being anything less. We function as if the basis for our actions comes from an absolute, unambiguous truth from outside ourselves and we have its dongle.

Descartes started it with “I think, therefore I am.” Either the entire universe is a creation of my thoughts and nothing exists beyond my thoughts, or something is there supporting them. If something is there, it’s something I neither created nor defined. It’s an authentic framework on which “what is” is hung, and while the framework may change over time, it doesn’t change as my thinking changes.

Because of the limitations of the human mind, we can never know this framework. Like our understanding of matter going from mixtures of earth, water, air, and fire to believing matter is made up of quarks, we can advance our models, but we can never know the reality behind them. But there is a reality behind them and that reality is absolute, independent of how we think of it. The framework that supports “what is” gives absolute truth its shape, even if we can never know what it is.

But while we can never know absolute truth, we can approach it asymptotically. With each step we can come closer to knowing it. Personally I’d rather stay in this endless struggle than believe that the only reality is my own personal bubble of belief.

[Shivani Devi]

It is very easy to get bogged down and weighed down by scientific "concepts" trying to explain the inexplicable, so that it fits neatly within a box of cognitive dissonance.

Even if the ideas presented may seem logical or rational to us...even reinforced by experimentation or circumstantial evidence, there is still room for improvement, doubt or a whole new theory or take on it...and nowhere is this more observable than in the philosophies of quantum mechanics and neuropsychology.

I would like to give a beautiful example here.

I really don't know how I feel about reincarnation. As a Hindu, I am "expected" to believe in it, but it is something that I just can't blindly believe in...nor do I discount the possibility of it occuring...You could even say that I have no real opinion on the matter.

I watched a documentary the other day about reincarnation and saw three stories..

The first was about a young boy of three who started to speak Tibetan and claimed he lived a previous life as a Buddhist monk...Now, even before his birth, both parents were already Tibetan Buddhists, spoke in Tibetan, talked about that monk...

Scientists put the whole thing down to "latent memory" in that the brain can store memories, even before a child is born...even within the first few years of life...and the brain isn't conscious of learning this...and so those memories are SUB conscious...

I bought that explanation.

In the second case, a woman recalled a previous birth in Ireland...said her name was "Mary" and had 8 kids...She went to Ireland, found 5 of the surviving siblings who had not seen each other for 60 years and reunited them.

A priest said that it was possibly Mary's SPIRIT which spoke to this woman, giving her all the instructions, and she probably wasn't Mary in a "past life" but became the recipient of spiritual instruction.

I bought that explanation.

The Third case was about a Boy who had a cyst on his tonsils...He claimed to have been shot in the throat as a French Soldier in a previous life...and after having made the connection, his cyst disappeared.

Thing is, a week before that realisation, he had an operation to have his tonsils removed...and the cyst probably vanished by itself with the removal of the tonsils which caused the cyst to appear in the first place...that was only logical.

I try and "debunk" everything first and what is left, must be the truth...and so far, I haven't seen any cases of reincarnation that would convince me...but that's also not to say that because it can't, doesn't mean I disbelieve it either.

Also, for a reality to be "absolute" it must totally go beyond and transcend any and all PERCEIVED notions of what "reality" IS.

[Compendium]

My 2 cents

We are all apart of a collective conciousness and as a piece of the collective conciousness we all experiance what we believe exists this is why people are so devoted to what they believe.

An example of this in a way would be, I believe in Big Foot, the evidence of Big Foots existence is real so In my reality Big Foot is wondering around undiscovered in some remote location. This is my reality. We are co-creators in our lives and as such we create our own reality. Reality is subjective in much the same way being normal is subjective it depends on the persons view points and this dictates their reality.

Just my 2cents :)

Namaste`

[marcel]

There is no way of really knowing anything. You can alway find an explanation why what you think is wrong.
Our brain processes input. You can question whether your brain draws the right conclusions, you can question whether that input is manipulative or if there was any input at all and your brain just created that itself.
So there might be an absolute reality but you have no way to be sure of that.
What's left is belief. And there's not so much difference whether you believe in a religion, in science, your feelings, your state of mind. If you ask enough questions you can doubt anything.
So if a person insists that his truth is the absolute truth you can question if he acutally exists.
People can exchange ideas, that can spark something in others or inside the one who offered the idea. But absolute truth is unattainable.

[weareunity]

Hello BeboNow. What particularly occurs to me concerning certainty/uncertainty is that uncertainty can be greatly discomforting, the not knowing would--I suspect--much rather know. Certainty provides foundation, albeit maybe false. I suspect even false certainty is felt preferable to discomforting uncertainty. There is also the observation that the offering of certainty gives people power over those who need certainty as a psychological counterbalance to apparent insignificance in the infinite.

In earlier days of our species those who were thought able to predict exercised great influence. Those who promoted beliefs which offered an explanation of existence also exercised great influence. Perhaps the temptation to derive personal significance and influence still causes folk to present hypothesis as certainty. Perhaps also the need for certainty is so great that reason becomes abandoned, a casualty of the power of certain psychological needs.
Certainties may be best considered as stepping stones beneath our feet, for else they may become millstones around our necks.?


All the best. petex

[r6r6]

There can only exist five regular/symmetrical and convex polyhedra of "U "niverse.


There exist many rational, logical common sense pathways of thought that lead to this conclusion, and no rational, logical common sense pathways that lead to another conclusion.


People who keep believing there is infinite possibilities are deluding themselves for their finite life-time.


Is it possible to have a biological/soul unicorn that gives birth to a Toyota Prius every five days? In those alledged univere's of infinite possibility, yes.


At best we can say there is possibility to have infinite set of metaphysical-1, mind/intellect/concepts, given eternity to ponder the ever next concept.


There is not an infinite set of cosmic laws/principles and there is no evidence of rational, logical common sense that leads to such a conclusion.


Infinity is crutch for those people who cannot handle/grasp the of reality finite sets.

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by r6r6r

There can only exist five regular/symmetrical and convex polyhedra of "U "niverse.


There exist many rational, logical common sense pathways of thought that lead to this conclusion, and no rational, logical common sense pathways that lead to another conclusion.


People who keep believing there is infinite possibilities are deluding themselves for their finite life-time.


Is it possible to have a biological/soul unicorn that gives birth to a Toyota Prius every five days? In those alledged univere's of infinite possibility, yes.


At best we can say there is possibility to have infinite set of metaphysical-1, mind/intellect/concepts, given eternity to ponder the ever next concept.


There is not an infinite set of cosmic laws/principles and there is no evidence of rational, logical common sense that leads to such a conclusion.


Infinity is crutch for those people who cannot handle/grasp the of reality finite sets.

At this point, I shall take whatever you say, then divide it by zero.

[Compendium]

R6r6 I lived a finite life for awhile. It never made sense

Since I have physically visited moments of the future while I was awake where I had a choice to make a change or leave it be. Unfortunately I didnt know what had happened at the time and I was still grounded in the biblical belief of things like that being inherently evil and so I did nothing. Lives where changed and not for the better I might add. There are multiple universes and timelines all running in parallel with ours. We cannot see them, but occasionally some of us get a glimpse.

What you said is not the same, but very similar to how scientist who are rooted in the disinformation process of the ETs and UFO phenomenon say. With statements such as "They couldnt put enough gas or petrol into their spaceships to get here." Or how "only a planet with liquid water can sustain life." Both of which are laughable concepts. After all there is a man on earth who was studied for over 100 days for 24 hrs a day who survived without food.
The Universe is too vast and galaxies and solar systems innumerable to say our laws of physics apply to all of it. It is ridiculous to even assume that honestly. Many things are infinite and to cap things by saying everything is finite is a very limited view point. I understand the Human Brain has difficulty accepting concepts of infinite, but once the thought can be accepted and tried on and worn for awhile it is very easy to see the puzzle pieces fall into place.

To each their own though the above is simply the reality I live in on the path I have chosen for myself. You may think it is an ignorant belief system or that in your opinion my underdeveloped brain simply doesnt want to accept the limits of finite, but it is impossible to deny what I have experienced as well as seeing the visual evidence of it all with my own eyes. Yes my shell may have a finite time on this planet, but the energy of my conciousness has and enjoys an infinite life on the otherside of the Veil. The science behind the laws of Conservation of Mass and Energy which is based in our human physics actually agrees with this. For energy cannot be destroyed and even though my shell which is also energy may be recycled into other energetic organisims my conciousness is mine and I conciously choose where and what my conciousness does. Wow such a paradox.

Namaste`