What Peter Ralston Gets Wrong

[r0ckyreed]

I got Peter Ralston’s new book Whereof One Cannot speak. I just started reading it and am noticing one thing that doesn’t seem right. 

Peter Ralston states in the book that experience is subjective/relative/indirect and isn’t what is true/objective/direct. It seems like he is hinting at a veil of perception or something when he says our experience/perception isn’t truth. But it is. Qualia is Absolute Truth. Experience is what Truth is.

I can understand if he was referring to something subjective within our experience, but experience itself is Truth. It cannot be otherwise.

He also seems to hint at there being an objective world in which we interact with.

I will continue reading and contemplating to see if any new understanding comes about, but it seems like Ralston may be meaning something totally different when he refers to Consciousness and experience/perception.  But they are both the same in my eyes - no pun intended.  

Let me know your thoughts.

[Jirh]

It's not right or wrong. It's a perspective.

The idea that experience is truth is aligned with solipsism. But who's made that epistemic decision?

If you define the present moment as the truth, then yes experience is the truth.

But that's limited, and nobody truly lives that way. You may think it's because of delusion, but at the end of the day you are doing the same. You are believing in a past and a future, and you will probably never lose that belief. And you clearly believe in others, which you are seeking discussion with. These are truths. They're your reality, even if you pretend otherwise.

Ralston is not pretending, that's the difference.

Edited 9 hours ago by Jirh

[AtmanIsBrahman]

I noticed this too when I read the book. Either Ralston has totally different terminology than @Leo Gura, or there's a big difference in how they understand consciousness.

 

[James123]

4 hours ago, r0ckyreed said:

Experience is what Truth is.

Bullshit 

[Leo Gura]

He frames it in an poor and confusing way that makes it seem like experience isn't Truth.

What he means by "experience" is all the conceptual baggage the ego-mind adds to raw Being.

In his framework, if you strip away all the conceptual baggage from experience, then experience transforms into Being. Although of course nothing visually changes.

"Experience" is a loaded notion that implies a self who is the experiencer. If you remove the experiencer, you could say that experience stops being experience and becomes Being. Although, again, nothing visually changes.

If you remove the ego from experience it becomes Truth.

It's a silly confusion.

Edited 4 hours ago by Leo Gura

[James123]

1 hour ago, Leo Gura said:

He frames it in an poor and confusing way that makes it seem like experience isn't Truth.

What he means by "experience" is all the conceptual baggage the ego-mind adds to raw Being.

In his framework, if you strip away all the conceptual baggage from experience, then experience transforms into Being. Although of course nothing visually changes.

"Experience" is a loaded notion that implies a self who is the experiencer. If you remove the experiencer, you could say that experience stops being experience and becomes Being. Although, again, nothing visually changes.

If you remove the ego from experience it becomes Truth.

It's a silly confusion.

 no. Experience becomes belonging to body. Not You.

Then realization happens that Entire universe arises and falls within You. Including this realization too.

[Natasha Tori Maru]

56 minutes ago, James123 said:

 no. Experience becomes belonging to body. Not You.

Then realization happens that Entire universe arises and falls within You. Including this realization too.

Thanks for sharing your perspective 😃

[Leo Gura]

1 hour ago, James123 said:

Not You.

No such thing is possible.

Everything is You.

"Not You" cannot exist.

Edited 2 hours ago by Leo Gura

[James123]

10 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

No such thing is possible.

Everything is You.

"Not You" cannot exist.

These are just attachments to beliefs and experiences.

Forgot even everything, just Try to find yourself in the body. Where are you? 

[James123]

25 minutes ago, Natasha Tori Maru said:

Thanks for sharing your perspective 😃

Including this arises and falls within You.

[Leo Gura]

19 minutes ago, James123 said:

These are just attachments to beliefs and experiences.

Lol

Everything is You.

Edited 1 hour ago by Leo Gura

[Natasha Tori Maru]

56 minutes ago, James123 said:

Including this arises and falls within You.

A confession.

[James123]

1 hour ago, Leo Gura said:

Lol

Everything is You.

Show, point out that beautiful you.