How do I know that YOU have consciousness?

Originally posted by yic17

Originally posted by StripedBandit
How do I KNOW your consciousness is separate and individual?

If our consciousness is one and connected .. then shouldn't I be able to merge into your mind and live as you? Or as anyone else that is also conscious?

Adi Da said that after his Enlightenment, He would meditate other people!
And there is also the transmission of spiritual energy or Shaktipat.

The second Siddhi: The Siddhi of meditating all others, the spontaneous awakening of purification, meditation, and Spiritual signs in others through his regard, by their spending time in his company, or by them giving him their regard at a distance.

Originally posted by yic17

Originally posted by StripedBandit
How do I KNOW your consciousness is separate and individual?

If our consciousness is one and connected .. then shouldn't I be able to merge into your mind and live as you? Or as anyone else that is also conscious?

Who's to say you don't? If consciousness is not bound by our space-time universe then you could live as each living thing, every minute of everyday.

Imagine if after each day, you rewound time and lived inside of your best friend. That friends choices would directly effect how you experienced your day, thus giving "you" the power over everything else. And this cycle just repeats over and over until a non conflicting reality emerged with and infinite amount of possibilities.

Everyone has that little spark inside them where they feel unique, strangely powerful, and somewhat disconnected from everyone else. It's those people that realize how real this power is and take action that make the world the way it is. You are the reason the world the way it is....you can change everything just by choosing to believe you can.

The real question is what will you do with that power? Will you exploit others? Help them? Try to become rich and famous in a world that you, yourself have created?
Or will you just run away...scared of choosing a path for either morale reasons or fear of realizing absolute power.

Not to scare you, but it's terrifying when you realize how much influence you have over this little interconnected world. I saw everything I ever desired start to unfold before my eyes and decided to run away, I literally couldn't handle that much responsibility. I've retreated back into a 'safe' way of life and create ordinary problems for myself like most people (money, women, putting on a little weight, unfulfilled dreams)...and I can tell you the reason we have these problems is to keep ourselves from realizing our own potential. Blame the Obama, the economy, the Illuminati all you want, but the fact is "you" have let these people take control and tell you what to do.

/end deep reflection

Sorry about the long post...I know it probably sounds like I'm endorsing a Tony Robbins product but I'm just speaking from what I've experienced. Hopefully that answers your question

Originally posted by Nostradumbass
If consciousness is not bound by our space-time universe then you could live as each living thing, every minute of everyday.

lol .. I certainly would like to do that.

Originally posted by Nostradumbass
Everyone has that little spark inside them where they feel unique, strangely powerful, and somewhat disconnected from everyone else. It's those people that realize how real this power is and take action that make the world the way it is. You are the reason the world the way it is....you can change everything just by choosing to believe you can.

...and I can tell you the reason we have these problems is to keep ourselves from realizing our own potential.

And how do I realize I have this power within me? How do I realize my own potential? This power that allows me to change everything?

Please don't say "meditation" ... even though I know meditation probably can take me there ... unfortunately, I have a fear of meditation ... @___@

I ate some bad mushrooms once and believed wholeheartedly that I was the god conscience and that I had created everything and knew everything. It was amazing. Also when I was back in high school I believed that I was one of the few with a conscious mind, while others were merely "shells" thrown into this world for me to interact with. It may sound selfish but it's just a little ignorance and youth mixed up.

Originally posted by totalmetal
it's just a little ignorance and youth mixed up.

yes, from the point of view of the ego - that is certainly true.
but I am not talking from the ego's point of view.

I am asking this question (in all seriousness) in order to seek for the truth.
that what if it is true that I am the only one with a consciousness? ego talk aside.

reply to post by yic17


I think the more frightening thing is that consciousness is only experienced by a small minority given that coinsciousness is self awareness.



How many people watch this video and are aware of what is going on?

Ive met about 3 people in my life that are not on glazy eyed autopilot if you get me, that scares me at times.

Its an interesting question because there is nothing that can prove it to you or anyone else that asks it.

reply to post by yic17


If you are interested in the classical answers to this question, a good place to start is with solipsism, which describes exactly the state you're pondering -- a philosophical position which holds that only one's own mind can be said to exist.

Here are some links to get you started:

en.wikipedia.org... (basic wiki)

Chapter on Solipsism from Introduction to Philosophy (what it says on the label)

www.iep.utm.edu... (nicely organized, clear entry in the Encyclopedia of Philosophy

The general consensus is that solipsism cannot be disproved, but that it has little practical application as a guide to life. In my view, because it predicts nothing, it's basically nonsense -- a kind of playing with words that doesn't really mean anything. No one can prove that everyone else isn't a projection of the same evil entity, either -- but both couldn't be true, so the absence of an answer isn't the presence of confirmation.

Trust.

You cannot rationally expect any better than that simple answer. I wold imagine the more complicated the answer, the less viable it is. The simple answer is that i trust that you like me experience the world and experience it in a like manner.

Originally posted by yic17

Originally posted by Nostradumbass
If consciousness is not bound by our space-time universe then you could live as each living thing, every minute of everyday.

lol .. I certainly would like to do that.

Originally posted by Nostradumbass
Everyone has that little spark inside them where they feel unique, strangely powerful, and somewhat disconnected from everyone else. It's those people that realize how real this power is and take action that make the world the way it is. You are the reason the world the way it is....you can change everything just by choosing to believe you can.

...and I can tell you the reason we have these problems is to keep ourselves from realizing our own potential.

And how do I realize I have this power within me? How do I realize my own potential? This power that allows me to change everything?

Please don't say "meditation" ... even though I know meditation probably can take me there ... unfortunately, I have a fear of meditation ... @___@

Meditation is such a mainstream word nowadays. Everyone who does P90x yoga can "meditate" and ascend to astral travel. I'm not a new

Personally the best way I could explain it is to slow down time as much possible. Take notice of the one million things going on around you right now instead of just focusing what your going to have for lunch or what your co-worker is probably whispering about you. And as vague as that sounds...Start by eliminating words from your thought process, then comes from slowing down your breathing at an accelerating rate, focusing on a single object in the room room, and feeling yourself consciously drifting off in a world where you don't have to worry about cashing anything into your memory bank (you know, like when you constantly analyze every little thing that happens and take note of it in case it happens again.).

A lot of people use drugs, but I don't recommend it. Most drugs cast you into a world you aren't ready for, it's like a shortcut to enjoying life the way you want. But that world usually comes in conflict with the world that society has laid out for us...a lot of cognitive dissonance which leads to paranoia. And if you reach a deep enough level (I'm talking shamanic) your mind will literally live in it's own grandiose world which is just as real as the one we are communicating on now.

Hope this connects on some level with ya

This kind of reminds me of something I think about a lot... How do I know that the red I see is the red you see, and not actually blue in your perspective?

Idk. Sorta came to mind. Star for you, thanks for making me think.

Originally posted by yic17

Originally posted by totalmetal
it's just a little ignorance and youth mixed up.

yes, from the point of view of the ego - that is certainly true.
but I am not talking from the ego's point of view.

I am asking this question (in all seriousness) in order to seek for the truth.
that what if it is true that I am the only one with a consciousness? ego talk aside.

I think, therefore I am.

I say, I am stupid but I do try to learn after having experienced my own stupidity.

Thats the best I can give you to prove that I am real.

I am sure this will make sense to you, unless you are blindly asking this question.

If you can actually think critically for yourself, you are aware of who you are and what you are here for.

I can't help but ponder the possibility that I am the only real being here, but it's quickly met with the fact that things happen out of your control, people interact without you, there is evidence in the work they accomplish. You didn't invent electricity did you?

Or did you?

I believe both are correct. I am the only real being & so are you. I couldn't always recognise myself in you, but now it's clear.

Originally posted by yic17
And how do I realize I have this power within me? How do I realize my own potential? This power that allows me to change everything?

Please don't say "meditation" ... even though I know meditation probably can take me there ... unfortunately, I have a fear of meditation ... @___@

Why are you afraid of meditation?

Meditation is also practiced with every breath and step. It is simply building awareness of what is within you, and outside of you (as nostra is saying). The specific activity of meditation (one type, at least) is to focus on "being" without the distraction of movement (as moving around tends to make things slightly trickier). One goal is removing the barrier from within and without.

Grow aware of your thought processes as one system that resides alongside others. In your body, this involves becoming mindful of your breathing as a system, heartbeat, the senses, etc. There are two common approaches, the usual is to use force and apply ones perspective actively. The second is to simply observe what is already there by actively "being" the systems simultaneously. i feel the second has more success, but everyone has to explore a bit

As far as knowing others have consciousness, there is just no way for ya to know, though we just might

Originally posted by yic17

If our consciousness is one and connected .. then shouldn't I be able to merge into your mind and live as you? Or as anyone else that is also conscious?

Merge please merge, just make sure it's while I am sleep and not conscious, then pay some of my bills and dust my house cause I don't like that much.

All kidding aside, I stopped pondering that stuff in college when I was studying philosophy as a major, it will stress you out and make the mind chase itself, like a dog chasing it's tail.

I don't believe we are equipped in the current physical state to answer these type of questions, in fact since all of our physical and mental senses can be deceived, what's the point?

The only "answer" I can give to this, is that I believe others have consciousness because I am unable to control my reality to the fullest extent. If I was the only conscious being, I should be able to morph the physical world as I see fit, but that isn't the case. I guess you could say I believe in a world created by a collective consciousness, rather than the consciousness of a single being.

The idea of parallel realities for each person also intrigues me, but I haven't had time to ponder the implications of that yet.

Originally posted by sinohptik
Why are you afraid of meditation?

The types of meditation I practiced before were one where I focused on my third eye and another where I listened to my thoughts until they're clear.

I had some spiritual experiences from deep state meditation that are ... negative (in my opinion). Which pushes me away from continuing ...

One time I meditated .. the same night I went to sleep .. I fell asleep into the same reality we live in now. Meaning, I woke up thinking I woke up but turns out I was still within my dream. And no, it wasn't just a lucid dream. I had lucid dreams before - this one - it was 100 times more real than a lucid dream. When I woke up from that "dream" which felt just as real as reality - I could not tell if I was awake or still inside a dream (even though I was already in this reality). It was frightening. I know I may sound like a sissy just now - but that experience was really scary. I woke up in complete panic not knowing what's real anymore - or if anything IS ever real.

Other than that experience, usually when I meditate to a deeper state - I felt like there are evil entities trying to stop me from keep going. I know it could be just be my own mind creating fears. But I did have some paranormal (ghost) experiences in the past. Such as I fall into lucid dreams (fully aware) yet I had no control - paralyzed and trapped with dark entities (ghosts) around hurting me physically. Though even those could be just my own mind playing mind games. Uhh no I don't have any history of mental problems or anything. Function perfectly everyday

Anyways, simply I had many negative experiences whenever I meditate too deep that gave me fears of it ... -_-

Originally posted by yic17
One time I meditated .. the same night I went to sleep .. I fell asleep into the same reality we live in now. Meaning, I woke up thinking I woke up but turns out I was still within my dream. And no, it wasn't just a lucid dream. I had lucid dreams before - this one - it was 100 times more real than a lucid dream. When I woke up from that "dream" which felt just as real as reality - I could not tell if I was awake or still inside a dream (even though I was already in this reality). It was frightening. I know I may sound like a sissy just now - but that experience was really scary. I woke up in complete panic not knowing what's real anymore - or if anything IS ever real.

Wait a minute ... maybe I had an out-of-body experience ... @___@!!

Originally posted by SeeingBlue
I am the only real being & so are you. I couldn't always recognise myself in you, but now it's clear.

I think this is too deep for me to understand at this point ...

Originally posted by Nostradumbass
Personally the best way I could explain it is to slow down time as much possible. Take notice of the one million things going on around you right now instead of just focusing what your going to have for lunch or what your co-worker is probably whispering about you. And as vague as that sounds...Start by eliminating words from your thought process, then comes from slowing down your breathing at an accelerating rate, focusing on a single object in the room room, and feeling yourself consciously drifting off in a world where you don't have to worry about cashing anything into your memory bank (you know, like when you constantly analyze every little thing that happens and take note of it in case it happens again.).

This sounds a lot like Eckhart Tolle's method. Is it the same you're describing?

I never labeled his method as meditation. I always thought of it just as being aware. But I suppose it is one type of meditation. I used to follow this practice a lot - for a few years. It does help me eliminate my ego and connect with others better. But I wasn't able to use this power to create everything I want in life? lol

Practicing this awareness meditation did allow me to enter this state of oneness once. Where I felt complete peace like never before. It was definitely an altered state. But it only lasted for like 10 minutes or so. Is this the state you're talking about?