Unity and interconnectedness: Difference between revisions

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====4. Unity between the self and all presently occurring external systems====

The fourth of ~~these five differing levels of interconnectedness~~ can be ~~referred to as a "''state of unity between the self and all presently occurring external systems''." It is~~ defined as the experience of a loss of perceived boundaries between a person's sense of self, the perceivable external environment, and all which they know to currently exist outside of this through their internally stored model of reality. This feels as if one's ~~sense of self has become~~ attributed to ~~not just~~ the external environment ~~but all of humanity, nature, and the universe as it presently stands in its complete entirety. The experience of this is commonly interpreted by people as “''becoming one with the universe''~~.”

The fourth level of this effect can be defined as feeling as if one's identity is attributed to the entirety of their immediately perceivable external environment.

~~When experienced~~, ~~this effect~~ creates the ~~sudden~~ perspective that one is ~~not~~ a ~~separate agent approaching~~ an external ~~reality~~, ~~but~~ is ~~instead~~ the ~~entire universe~~ as a whole ~~experiencing~~ itself, ~~exploring itself~~, and ~~performing actions upon~~ itself ~~through the specific point~~ in ~~space and time which this particular body and conscious perception happens~~ to ~~currently reside within~~.

The experience itself is often described as a loss of perceived boundaries between a person’s identity and the entirety of their sensory input or the currently perceivable external environment. It creates a sensation in the person that they have “become one with their surroundings.” This is felt to be the result of a person’s sense of self becoming attributed to not just primarily the internal narrative of the ego, but in equal measure to the body itself and everything around it which it is physically perceiving through the senses. This sensation creates the compelling perspective that one is the external environment experiencing itself through a specific point within it, namely the physical sensory perceptions of the body one's consciousness currently resides in.

It is at this point that a key component of the high-level identity alteration experience becomes an extremely noticeable factor. Once a person's sense of self has become attributed to the entirety of their surroundings, this new perspective completely changes how it feels to physically interact with what was previously felt to be an external environment. For example, when one is not in this state and is interacting with a physical object, it typically feels as though one is a central agent acting on the separate world around them.

However, while undergoing a state of unity with the currently perceivable environment, interacting with an external object consistently feels as if the whole unified system is autonomously acting on itself with no central, separate agent operating the process of interaction. Instead, the process suddenly feels as if it has become completely decentralized and holistic, as the environment begins to autonomously and harmoniously respond to itself in a predetermined manner to perform the interaction carried out by the individual.

====5. Unity between the self and all external systems====

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 ====4. Unity between the self and all presently occurring external systems====
-The fourth of these five differing levels of interconnectedness can be referred to as a "''state of unity between the self and all presently occurring external systems''." It is defined as the experience of a loss of perceived boundaries between a person's sense of self, the perceivable external environment, and all which they know to currently exist outside of this through their internally stored model of reality. This feels as if one's sense of self has become attributed to not just the external environment but all of humanity, nature, and the universe as it presently stands in its complete entirety. The experience of this is commonly interpreted by people as “''becoming one with the universe''.”
+The fourth level of this effect can be defined as feeling as if one's identity is attributed to the entirety of their immediately perceivable external environment.
-When experienced, this effect creates the sudden perspective that one is not a separate agent approaching an external reality, but is instead the entire universe as a whole experiencing itself, exploring itself, and performing actions upon itself through the specific point in space and time which this particular body and conscious perception happens to currently reside within.
+The experience itself is often described as a loss of perceived boundaries between a person’s identity and the entirety of their sensory input or the currently perceivable external environment. It creates a sensation in the person that they have “become one with their surroundings.” This is felt to be the result of a person’s sense of self becoming attributed to not just primarily the internal narrative of the ego, but in equal measure to the body itself and everything around it which it is physically perceiving through the senses. This sensation creates the compelling perspective that one is the external environment experiencing itself through a specific point within it, namely the physical sensory perceptions of the body one's consciousness currently resides in.
+It is at this point that a key component of the high-level identity alteration experience becomes an extremely noticeable factor. Once a person's sense of self has become attributed to the entirety of their surroundings, this new perspective completely changes how it feels to physically interact with what was previously felt to be an external environment. For example, when one is not in this state and is interacting with a physical object, it typically feels as though one is a central agent acting on the separate world around them.
+However, while undergoing a state of unity with the currently perceivable environment, interacting with an external object consistently feels as if the whole unified system is autonomously acting on itself with no central, separate agent operating the process of interaction. Instead, the process suddenly feels as if it has become completely decentralized and holistic, as the environment begins to autonomously and harmoniously respond to itself in a predetermined manner to perform the interaction carried out by the individual.
 ====5. Unity between the self and all external systems====