So I was watching some Bill Hicks clips on YouTube, and noticed again something he'd said, that previously hadn't stuck with me, prior to philosophy:
"we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There's no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we're the imagination of ourselves".

I started to look at other videos related to it online, such as this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIJHJzDQcRM

And ones that are more scientific than simply believing in a unified consciousness, in order to see if there could be any truth to it that could possibly fit in with my belief in some sort of materialism. Apparently quantum particles, as is discovered by science, are affected by observers. I'd always known about the observer effect, but never considered its implications. Without observers, the universe would simply be an infinite amount of potentialities. This got me thinking about Berkeley, idealism and "esse est percipi" (to be is to be perceived), and how this could possibly be backed up by empirical discoveries.

What do you think about the idea that we are all one consciousness? I mean one obvious line of reasoning that seems pretty intuitive is to admit that we are all one of the same string(s) of energy, interconnected, but that our consciousnesses and matter are still separate and distinct, as it's the function of matter that gives rise to mind (however, when you look at it on a quantum level, the differences between "different" atoms/molecules seems fairly benign).

Are we all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively? Is life just a ride?
I'd particularly like to hear Scarecrow's view on this, or anyone else that has attempted to reach "enlightenment" via meditation and the likes. I've always been skeptical, but lately I've realised that I'm viewing things in a particularly close-minded way. I mean, sure, I've always been open to new information, but I guess my mind has always been a bit TOO prejudiced towards my own belief in materialism, determinism, atheism etc.

I don't think the theories on unified consciousness are completely true, I mean if we are all just on consciousness shouldn't I be able to free your pain and shouldn't you be able to fill mine. At some stage in my existence I had this idea that maybe we are all just plugged into a machine that creates surrogates/avatars and that we are not actually physically here on earth...crazy right?

What do you think about the idea that we are all one consciousness?

Well my believe is that every man, woman and child each have their own consciousness and are not in anyway linked to any other person.

Are we all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively? Is life just a ride?

I don't think we are all one consciousness as I've stated earlier and is life just a ride? No. Life is a battlefield, a race track if you will that ever soul has to go through to be able to say they did it all at the end of their journey. I also see life as one big education institute, every corner you turn there is always a chance of l

Quote from Apex93

I don't think the theories on unified consciousness are completely true, I mean if we are all just on consciousness shouldn't I be able to free your pain and shouldn't you be able to fill mine. At some stage in my existence I had this idea that maybe we are all just plugged into a machine that creates surrogates/avatars and that we are not actually physically here on earth...crazy right?

Not exactly. I don't believe that one-consciousness theories can be reduced so simply as to say that our particular consciousnesses should be inter-twined. The theories are highly spiritual, in that many feel they can achieve this "enlightenment" via meditation or drugs, and some may even call it God, but it is also scientific. I suggest looking up super-string theory, or unified field theory. These are almost sub-quantum theories that tell us that everything literally is one. The material plane that we live in is superficial and deceptive, underlying it all is one "unified field". They also tell us that this unified field is intelligent, dynamic and interacts with itself, and also points towards some sort of self-consciousness. Have a look at this video here, he explains it very well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqdcdky9wR4

Also, that hypothetical is a philosophical one that has been put forth many times (by the analogy of the brain in a vat, or Descartes' "Evil Demon" hypothetical). It leads to solipsism, and I feel that sometimes we simply must take our own existence and the existence of the material world for granted, though I do agree that it's hypothetically possible for it to not exist.

Well my believe is that every man, woman and child each have their own consciousness and are not in anyway linked to any other person.

Whilst it's true that we experience subjective consciousness, I think what I've been discussing refers to some deeper, grander, more underlying and more fundamental state of consciousness. Some claim to access this level of recognition of oneness via meditation, which is something I'm particularly interested in. I'm still hoping that Scarecrow finds this thread. If anyone knows how to contact him, please ask him to provide some input on this (it is Scarecrow I'm thinking of, right? That spoke of his meditation and quest for enlightenment).

I don't think we are all one consciousness as I've stated earlier and is life just a ride? No. Life is a battlefield, a race track if you will that ever soul has to go through to be able to say they did it all at the end of their journey. I also see life as one big education institute, every corner you turn there is always a chance of l

I assume that last word was learning. I can agree there, I think the best thing that a person can do in this life is firstly, to be kind and considerate, and secondly to attempt to question, learn and discover.

hi

I'm convinced that the idea of a "unified consciousness" is accurate, but this is based on subjective experience and is something that would be hard to provide a meaningful debate about.

I think the best comparison I could make would be to say that realizing the collective unconscious is similar to a single independent cell within your body realizing that it's part of a greater whole. In this manner, it could come to an understanding that all the other cells (whether they are aware of this or not) around it are inherently a part of him also, albeit through a greater being that he is too small to comprehend. It's also interesting to note that this is likely why enlightened people are inherently loving and kind to everyone they meet, including the worst criminals. Harming others to them is the same as harming themselves.

I've experienced this kind of feeling (although it's probably i haven't fully realized or understood it) both through meditation and psychedelics (which is the main reason I'm convinced there's a connection between the two), but it's an elusive sensation. I think this also explains why when two people are tripping together, it often happens that they feel like they're communicating clearly without ever needing to say anything... but they usually don't understand how/why.

And yes, there are a bunch of other terms which I think are all talking about this; including "feeling one with nature", "meeting god", and so on.

I've read some nice words somewhere, something along the lines of: "you are just the universe, expressing itself as a human being, for a little while".

Sorry it's took me so long to reply to this, after bugging you to respond, haha.

Quote from Scarecrow

hi

I'm convinced that the idea of a "unified consciousness" is accurate, but this is based on subjective experience and is something that would be hard to provide a meaningful debate about.

I think the best comparison I could make would be to say that realizing the collective unconscious is similar to a single independent cell within your body realizing that it's part of a greater whole. In this manner, it could come to an understanding that all the other cells (whether they are aware of this or not) around it are inherently a part of him also, albeit through a greater being that he is too small to comprehend. It's also interesting to note that this is likely why enlightened people are inherently loving and kind to everyone they meet, including the worst criminals. Harming others to them is the same as harming themselves.

I like this analogy, though I cannot say I've experienced it myself.

I've experienced this kind of feeling (although it's probably i haven't fully realized or understood it) both through meditation and psychedelics (which is the main reason I'm convinced there's a connection between the two), but it's an elusive sensation. I think this also explains why when two people are tripping together, it often happens that they feel like they're communicating clearly without ever needing to say anything... but they usually don't understand how/why.

I've also heard "scientific" reports of mass transcendental meditation affecting crime rates significantly and such. I'd like to know if anyone thinks this is particularly reliable, because to me the results seem sound.

And yes, there are a bunch of other terms which I think are all talking about this; including "feeling one with nature", "meeting god", and so on.

I've read some nice words somewhere, something along the lines of: "you are just the universe, expressing itself as a human being, for a little while".

If you're interested in a possibly scientific, but equally spiritual, explanation for this, I suggest you watch this lecture:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqdcdky9wR4

It really convinced me, and is what made me create this thread. I'd love to be able to sit down and chat with that guy about it all. The unified field seems to explain quite a lot of this.

What do you suggest I do (meditation wise, I'm not confident with more than weed, haha, at least not until I meet some friends that wouldn't mind doing it with me) in order to attempt to reach this state? Obviously the only proof is subjective, so I'd like to see if I could experience that for myself.