Identity alteration: Difference between revisions

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The fifth level of identity alteration can be defined as feeling as if one's identity is simultaneously attributed to the entirety of the immediately perceivable external environment and all known concepts that exist outside of it. These known concepts typically include all of humanity, nature, and the universe as it presently stands in its complete entirety. This feeling is commonly interpreted by people as ''becoming one with the universe''.

When experienced, the 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. People who undergo this experience consistently interpret it as the removal of a deeply embedded illusion, with the revelation often described as some sort of profound “awakening” or “enlightenment.”

When experienced, the effect creates the sudden perspective that the person 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. People who undergo this experience consistently interpret it as the removal of a deeply embedded illusion, with the revelation often described as some sort of supposedly profound “awakening” or “enlightenment.”

Although they are not necessarily literal truths about reality, at this point, many commonly reported conclusions of a religious and metaphysical nature often begin to manifest themselves as profound realizations. These are described and listed below:

* The sudden and total acceptance of death as a fundamental complement of life. Death is no longer felt to be the destruction of ~~oneself~~, but simply the end of this specific point of a greater whole, which has always existed and will continue to exist and live on through everything else in which it resides. Therefore, the death of a small part of the whole is seen as an inevitable, and not worthy of grief or any emotional attachment, but simply a fact of reality.

* The sudden and total acceptance of death as a fundamental complement of life. Death is no longer felt to be the destruction of a person, but simply the end of this specific point of a greater whole, which has always existed and will continue to exist and live on through everything else in which it resides. Therefore, the death of a small part of the whole is seen as an inevitable, and not worthy of grief or any emotional attachment, but simply a fact of reality.

* The subjective perspective that ~~one~~'s preconceived notions of "god" or deities can be felt as identical to the nature of existence and the totality of its contents, including oneself. This typically entails the intuition that if the universe contains all possible power (omnipotence), all possible knowledge (omniscience), is self-creating, and self-sustaining then on either a semantic or literal level the universe and its contents could also be viewed as god.

* The subjective perspective that the person's preconceived notions of "god" or deities can be felt as identical to the nature of existence and the totality of its contents, including oneself. This typically entails the intuition that if the universe contains all possible power (omnipotence), all possible knowledge (omniscience), is self-creating, and self-sustaining then on either a semantic or literal level the universe and its contents could also be viewed as god.

* The subjective perspective that ~~one~~, by nature of being the universe, is personally responsible for the [[feelings of self-design|design]], planning, and implementation of every single specific detail and plot element of one's personal life, the history of humanity, and the entirety of the universe. This naturally includes personal responsibility for all humanity's sufferings and flaws, but also includes its acts of love and achievements.

* The subjective perspective that the person, by nature of being the universe, is personally responsible for the [[feelings of self-design|design]], planning, and implementation of every single specific detail and plot element of one's personal life, the history of humanity, and the entirety of the universe. This naturally includes personal responsibility for all humanity's sufferings and flaws but also includes its acts of love and achievements.

This state most commonly occurs during intense states of well-practiced [[meditation]] or under the influence of [[hallucinogen]]s such as [[psychedelic]]s.

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Similar accounts of the experience of unity with the universe and the apparent illusory nature of the self can be found across a surprisingly large variety of independent religious, philosophical, and psychological sources. A number of these have been collected and listed as a set of documented examples below:

*'''[[wikipedia:Egolessness|Egolessness]]''' is a documented emotional state within psychology where one feels no ego (or self) and no distinct sense of self apart from the world around oneself. This is often described as feelings of oneness and being inextricably woven to the fabric of one’s surroundings or environment.

*'''[[wikipedia:Egolessness|Egolessness]]''' is a documented emotional state within psychology where one feels no ego (or self) and no distinct sense of self apart from the world around oneself. This is often described as feelings of oneness and being inextricably woven into the fabric of one’s surroundings or environment.

*'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneness_(metaphysics) Monism]''' is a philosophical position which argues that there is only one thing which all things are not separate from and it works together as a unified system of behavior.

*'''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_monism Dialectical monism]''' is a philosophical position which argues that the appearance of duality arises from the mind's need to impose divisions and boundaries upon an essentially unified whole. Thus, for the dialectical monist, reality is ultimately ~~one~~ but can usually only be experienced in terms of division.

*'''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_monism Dialectical monism]''' is a philosophical position which argues that the appearance of duality arises from the mind's need to impose divisions and boundaries upon an essentially unified whole. Thus, for the dialectical monist, reality is ultimately a single unified system but can usually only be experienced in terms of division.

*'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_feeling Oceanic feeling]''' is a state within psychology which is described as a sensation of an indissoluble bond of being connected with the external world in its integral form.

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 The fifth level of identity alteration can be defined as feeling as if one's identity is simultaneously attributed to the entirety of the immediately perceivable external environment and all known concepts that exist outside of it. These known concepts typically include all of humanity, nature, and the universe as it presently stands in its complete entirety. This feeling is commonly interpreted by people as ''becoming one with the universe''.
-When experienced, the 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. People who undergo this experience consistently interpret it as the removal of a deeply embedded illusion, with the revelation often described as some sort of profound “awakening” or “enlightenment.”
+When experienced, the effect creates the sudden perspective that the person 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. People who undergo this experience consistently interpret it as the removal of a deeply embedded illusion, with the revelation often described as some sort of supposedly profound “awakening” or “enlightenment.”
 Although they are not necessarily literal truths about reality, at this point, many commonly reported conclusions of a religious and metaphysical nature often begin to manifest themselves as profound realizations. These are described and listed below:
-* The sudden and total acceptance of death as a fundamental complement of life. Death is no longer felt to be the destruction of oneself, but simply the end of this specific point of a greater whole, which has always existed and will continue to exist and live on through everything else in which it resides. Therefore, the death of a small part of the whole is seen as an inevitable, and not worthy of grief or any emotional attachment, but simply a fact of reality.
+* The sudden and total acceptance of death as a fundamental complement of life. Death is no longer felt to be the destruction of a person, but simply the end of this specific point of a greater whole, which has always existed and will continue to exist and live on through everything else in which it resides. Therefore, the death of a small part of the whole is seen as an inevitable, and not worthy of grief or any emotional attachment, but simply a fact of reality.
-* The subjective perspective that one's preconceived notions of "god" or deities can be felt as identical to the nature of existence and the totality of its contents, including oneself. This typically entails the intuition that if the universe contains all possible power (omnipotence), all possible knowledge (omniscience), is self-creating, and self-sustaining then on either a semantic or literal level the universe and its contents could also be viewed as god.
+* The subjective perspective that the person's preconceived notions of "god" or deities can be felt as identical to the nature of existence and the totality of its contents, including oneself. This typically entails the intuition that if the universe contains all possible power (omnipotence), all possible knowledge (omniscience), is self-creating, and self-sustaining then on either a semantic or literal level the universe and its contents could also be viewed as god.
-* The subjective perspective that one, by nature of being the universe, is personally responsible for the [[feelings of self-design|design]], planning, and implementation of every single specific detail and plot element of one's personal life, the history of humanity, and the entirety of the universe. This naturally includes personal responsibility for all humanity's sufferings and flaws, but also includes its acts of love and achievements.
+* The subjective perspective that the person, by nature of being the universe, is personally responsible for the [[feelings of self-design|design]], planning, and implementation of every single specific detail and plot element of one's personal life, the history of humanity, and the entirety of the universe. This naturally includes personal responsibility for all humanity's sufferings and flaws but also includes its acts of love and achievements.
 This state most commonly occurs during intense states of well-practiced [[meditation]] or under the influence of [[hallucinogen]]s such as [[psychedelic]]s.
@@ Line 73: / Line 73: @@
 Similar accounts of the experience of unity with the universe and the apparent illusory nature of the self can be found across a surprisingly large variety of independent religious, philosophical, and psychological sources. A number of these have been collected and listed as a set of documented examples below:
-*'''[[wikipedia:Egolessness|Egolessness]]''' is a documented emotional state within psychology where one feels no ego (or self) and no distinct sense of self apart from the world around oneself. This is often described as feelings of oneness and being inextricably woven to the fabric of one’s surroundings or environment.
+*'''[[wikipedia:Egolessness|Egolessness]]''' is a documented emotional state within psychology where one feels no ego (or self) and no distinct sense of self apart from the world around oneself. This is often described as feelings of oneness and being inextricably woven into the fabric of one’s surroundings or environment.
 *'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneness_(metaphysics) Monism]''' is a philosophical position which argues that there is only one thing which all things are not separate from and it works together as a unified system of behavior.
-*'''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_monism Dialectical monism]''' is a philosophical position which argues that the appearance of duality arises from the mind's need to impose divisions and boundaries upon an essentially unified whole. Thus, for the dialectical monist, reality is ultimately one but can usually only be experienced in terms of division.
+*'''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_monism Dialectical monism]''' is a philosophical position which argues that the appearance of duality arises from the mind's need to impose divisions and boundaries upon an essentially unified whole. Thus, for the dialectical monist, reality is ultimately a single unified system but can usually only be experienced in terms of division.
 *'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_feeling Oceanic feeling]''' is a state within psychology which is described as a sensation of an indissoluble bond of being connected with the external world in its integral form.