Matty1

So there's this childhood wish I'm sure many people have or have had. Wouldn't it be great if you could traverse to ANY reality you want or experience anything you want (literally)? Here's the problem with that: what would be the difference between the realities you traverse to and your home reality in that case? In other words, your home reality would feel just as illusory as all other realities. Which means the people in it would feel illusory and you'd take them completely for granted; so the biggest cost, in my opinion, would be sacrificing genuine relationships rooted in mutual understanding and love. I don't mean romantic relationships. I mean any relationship. Your parents, your cousins, brothers and sisters, friends, work colleagues, lovers, etc Fortunately, God is smart enough to get the best of both worlds, which is where the imagination, literature, art, etc comes in. Notice that this mental distancing from what's happening in a book or a D&D roleplay or a movie is a GOOD thing. I might talk about this aspect specifically in a later post. But the point is that there's clear design constraints behind every creative decision of this reality. Don't just take these limitations for granted. These limitations, contrary to limiting possibility, add to it.

Scientists say, "Oh the only reason why we're in this universe and not some other universe is because this universe is capable of harboring life as opposed to some other universe." Uh-huh. Yeah. Okay. That would explain things if we were some primitive life form with basic "consciousness" and in life there would be nothing to do but to move (big maybe) and witness things (Hell, I doubt in this case even eating and shitting would be neccessary) . However, it doesn't explain how this universe is not only finetuned for life, but for such advanced technology (the thing that actually allows us to thrive). Yeah, bro, it's totally because of anthropic principle that I'm typing this on a device capable of sending information across the globe. Why am I a human as opposed to some dumber animal freezing out in the cold and am instead typing this on a warm cozy bed? "Uuh.. anthropic principle, bro. If you weren't human you wouldn't be able to have this kind of thought." Ridiculous.

One far out there theory that I've explored is that God essentially arises out of a chaotic state of everything and then this supreme being re-organizes that chaos into the universe/multi-verse. So for example, instead of positing that some arbitrary thing exists (like this universe), you instead posit that EVERYTHING that could possibly exists exists. Since God is logically possible to exist, then he exists. Notice that in this case consciousness (what we might call the Soul) naturally arises alongside this being, and since God is all-knowing (again, since he arose from this state of everything) he knows that this consciousness is part of it. So God is simultaneously whole (one such reality, you are that ground of existence) and has parts (the state of power, ominpotence, all-knowingness, etc) mutually arises as part of this Reality. So there is a paradox to be found here. You, as consciousness are a part of God, which is in itself a whole (true infinity). Or at least that's how this theory goes anyway. Contrary to what Leo says, no I don't think you'll literally experience every possible existence in the multiverse. If you did you likely wouldn't be here. It's very likely that God is smart enough to be selective about which experiences it chooses. Although it has the POTENTIAL for all possible existences, it likely only personally explores the coherent/pleasant ones.

I'll try to keep the tone of this post fairly casual. I'm not trying to provide an iron-clad rigorous argument, it's more just a rough outline of the logic of the argument. It goes like this. Suppose that the materialist paradigm is correct and that our consciousness arises out of the unique configuration of our brains. Then, the identity of the self falls upon being this specific person that arose out of a chain of causality. That is, first there was the big bang and then that big bang formed stars then new elements then planets etc etc until we got to the formation of DNA and animals etc etc and then to your grandparents meeting and reproducing and then your parents meeting and reproducing etc etc. The point is that this long chain of causality means the odds of you being this one specific person out of the zillions of possible other configurations is pretty much close to zero. But wait; we just posited before that you were this specific person and that your consciousness arose out of this unique configuration of your brain. So that would mean, under the materialist paradigm, that there's a much, much greater chance that you wouldn't exist than you would. So the intuitional leap that most people make with this to cover the gap in the logic is: "Well, I didn't mean I had to be this exact specific human, maybe if I didn't exist as this specific human then I would exist as some other human." However, that implicitly implies that not only can you not tie your identity to this specific human, but that you would HAVE to exist in some way, regardless of the chain of causality that happened to bring you about. You know who else, by definition, is a necessary being (in fact, the only necessary being)? God. Therefore, since you, with this intuitive leap in logic, would say that you would have to exist in some way, that your existence hinges on something outside this long chain of causality, which meets the definition of God. Ergo, you are God.

Correction: Reality is imagining "reality".

Dreams. Life supposedly works in the same way. Everything you see around is actually from within you and yada yada. I honestly have no idea what kind of experience would solidify the understanding of solipsism for you. It's not that there are no other conscious beings other than yourself, it's more that what you're experiencing isn't "consciousness"at all and is more the absolute foundation of reality. Solipsism implies only your mind is real, but there is no such thing as mind. There is only a single form of substance (reality) from which everything is built. God is an experience (or rather, THE experience. There are no others), and it can dress up however it wants. There's nothing stopping it from disguising itself as "multiple" consciousnesses at once like in a split screen game. Or like the consciousness of an entire civilization at once (like in an RTS game). It's just right now it's pretending to be a human's consciousness.

If God is infinitely powerful, surely he has the power to automate managing all those billions of galaxies, right? Otherwise, he'd probably be aware of the billions of galaxies as you are aware of your own name. Don't overthink it.

Before I get into the answer, let me clear up some misconceptions you might’ve absorbed through pop-culture. The soul as this ethereal transparent thing attached to your body that leaves your body when it dies is bollocks. Media depicts the soul in such a way as a story-telling device, and is not meant to be taken literally. This is a materialist depiction that still doesn’t answer how an immaterial mind can somehow emerge out of a physical substance. This depiction of the soul is just a substitute for the brain (a vessel that carries what makes you you) and is wholly incorrect. Quite simply, the soul is your immaterial immortal self; again, when I say immaterial, I’m not talking about this “transparent substance” like you see in the movies. That’s still material. By immaterial I mean the things you experience every day but overlay it with thoughts that it’s “all perception” and is “happening somewhere in the brain”. Also rubbish. Everything you see, everything you hear, etc is part of your soul. There are no soul(s) (plural), there is only THE soul, or the World Soul as some philosophers call it. This soul can’t go anywhere because it doesn’t exist in space-time, instead space-time is contained WITHIN the soul. So with that in place, let’s answer these questions one by one: Q: “Is the soul real?” A: Yes, with the caveat that ONLY the soul is real. Everything else are just ideas. Q: “How is it different from the life force within us? “ A: Life force/chi/energy exists within the astral-physical world and is more like one of God’s constructs/limitations that allow reality to run the way it is without breaking. Completely different concept. You learn more about it by delving into magick and energy work and other related practices. Q: “Is it possible to experience it?” A: You’re already experiencing it right now. Q: “Where does it go when the body dies?” A: Again, the soul is not attached to the body. It can’t go anywhere because it is reality itself. This universe is within the soul, not the other way around. Q: “Does it reincarnate? A: Possibly. But I’d let go of traditional religious dogma that describe the rules of this reincarnation. I’d also let go of the idea that you’d just reincarnate in the same universe with the same laws just perceiving life through a different body. God is infinite and so is his creativity. It might not even make sense for him to experience the same “universe” twice.