Unity and interconnectedness: Difference between revisions

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

The ~~fifth of these five differing levels~~ of interconnectedness can be ~~referred to~~ as ~~a "~~'~~'state of unity between the self~~ and the ~~creation~~ of ~~all~~ external ~~systems''." It is defined as the experience of a loss of perceived boundaries between a person's identity~~ and all ~~external systems~~ of ~~behavior~~. ~~This includes not just the systems as they currently stand within the present moment but at each~~ known ~~point~~ of ~~their existence throughout all timelines~~ as ~~defined~~ by the ~~person~~'~~s internally stored model of reality. It can also include imaginary, hypothetical, and fictional systems or concepts~~.

The highest level of unity and interconnectedness can be described as feeling as if one's identity is simultaneously attributed to and unified with 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, ~~this feels~~ as ~~if one's sense of self has become attributed to all of~~ space and time ~~including every single past~~ and ~~future event such~~ as the ~~initial creation and eventual destruction~~ of ~~existence. At this point~~, ~~a number of commonly reported conclusions of a religious and metaphysical nature~~ often ~~begin to manifest themselves~~ as profound ~~realizations~~. ~~These are described and listed below:~~

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.”

* A perspective ~~which feels~~ personally responsible for the [[feelings of self-design|~~self-designing~~]], planning, and implementation of every single specific detail and plot element of one's personal life, the history of humanity, and the universe ~~as a whole~~. This naturally includes personal responsibility for humanity's sufferings and ~~its~~ flaws, but also includes its acts of love and achievements.

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 component~~ of ~~one~~'~~s life~~. ~~This~~ is ~~because death~~ is no ~~longer felt~~ to be the ~~destruction~~ of ~~oneself but simply~~ the ~~end~~ of ~~this specific point~~ of ~~conscious awareness,~~ the ~~vast majority~~ of ~~which has always existed~~ and ~~will continue to exist and live on through everything else~~ in which ~~it resides~~.

* The ~~realization that one~~'~~s preconceived notions behind~~ the ~~definition of their~~ concept of ~~“god” or “god-hood” can now be felt as identical to~~ the ~~nature~~ of ~~existence~~ and ~~to that of~~ one's self. </~~onlyinclude>~~

* 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 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 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.

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

====='''Similar concepts'''=====

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.

*'''[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.

*'''[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.

*'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nondualism Nondualism]''' is a philosophy found within many religions which states that there is no difference between the concept of the external environment and the self.

*'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Watts Alan Watts]''' is a philosopher who spoke extensively about the illusory nature of the self. His lectures can be found for free on the [http://www.proxybay.de/torrent/7154827/Alan_Watts-_Out_of_Your_Mind_(The_Essential_Lectures) Pirate Bay] and in parts within many videos across [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXmz605GAnc YouTube]. His book “The Book on the Taboo of Knowing Who You Are” is dedicated to a formal explanation of the philosophies and logic behind this perspective and can be found within the form of a [http://psychonautwiki.org/w/images/d/da/The-book-on-the-taboo-against-knowing-who-you-are-by-Alan-Watts.pdf free PDF.]

*'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interconnectedness Interconnectedness]''' is a philosophical concept which defines itself as part of the terminology of a world view which sees a oneness in all things. This is based on the idea that all things are of a single underlying substance or reality and that there is no true separation deeper than appearances.

*'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam%C4%81dhi Samadhi]''' is a Buddhist concept described as a state of mind in which the consciousness of the experiencing subject becomes one with the experienced object.

*'''[http://xenopraxis.net/readings/metzinger_egotunnel.pdf The Ego-Tunnel: The science of the mind and the myth of the self]''' is a scientific book which discusses the concept of an illusory self from the perspective of modern neuroscience and psychology.

*'''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_effect Overview effect]''' is a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts and cosmonauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from orbit or from the lunar surface.

*'''[http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/04/13/474071268/how-lsd-makes-your-brain-one-with-the-universe How LSD Makes Your Brain One With The Universe (NPR.org)]'''

*'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fajfkO_X0l0 Sam Harris: The self is an illusion (YouTube)]'''

*'''[http://beingtheuniverse.tumblr.com/ Being The Universe (tumblr)]'''

====Similar concepts====

@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
 ====5. Unity between the self and all external systems====
-The fifth of these five differing levels of interconnectedness can be referred to as a "''state of unity between the self and the creation of all external systems''." It is defined as the experience of a loss of perceived boundaries between a person's identity and all external systems of behavior. This includes not just the systems as they currently stand within the present moment but at each known point of their existence throughout all timelines as defined by the person's internally stored model of reality. It can also include imaginary, hypothetical, and fictional systems or concepts.
+The highest level of unity and interconnectedness can be described as feeling as if one's identity is simultaneously attributed to and unified with 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, this feels as if one's sense of self has become attributed to all of space and time including every single past and future event such as the initial creation and eventual destruction of existence. At this point, a number of commonly reported conclusions of a religious and metaphysical nature often begin to manifest themselves as profound realizations. These are described and listed below:
+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.”
-* A perspective which feels personally responsible for the [[feelings of self-design|self-designing]], planning, and implementation of every single specific detail and plot element of one's personal life, the history of humanity, and the universe as a whole. This naturally includes personal responsibility for humanity's sufferings and its flaws, but also includes its acts of love and achievements.
+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 component of one's life. This is because death is no longer felt to be the destruction of oneself but simply the end of this specific point of conscious awareness, the vast majority of which has always existed and will continue to exist and live on through everything else in which it resides.
-* The realization that one's preconceived notions behind the definition of their concept of “god” or “god-hood” can now be felt as identical to the nature of existence and to that of one's self. </onlyinclude>
+* 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 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 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.
+This state most commonly occurs during intense states of well-practiced [[meditation]] or under the influence of [[hallucinogen]]s such as [[psychedelic]]s.</onlyinclude>
+====='''Similar concepts'''=====
+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.
+*'''[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.
+*'''[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.
+*'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nondualism Nondualism]''' is a philosophy found within many religions which states that there is no difference between the concept of the external environment and the self.
+*'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Watts Alan Watts]''' is a philosopher who spoke extensively about the illusory nature of the self. His lectures can be found for free on the [http://www.proxybay.de/torrent/7154827/Alan_Watts-_Out_of_Your_Mind_(The_Essential_Lectures) Pirate Bay] and in parts within many videos across [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXmz605GAnc YouTube]. His book “The Book on the Taboo of Knowing Who You Are” is dedicated to a formal explanation of the philosophies and logic behind this perspective and can be found within the form of a [http://psychonautwiki.org/w/images/d/da/The-book-on-the-taboo-against-knowing-who-you-are-by-Alan-Watts.pdf free PDF.]
+*'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interconnectedness Interconnectedness]''' is a philosophical concept which defines itself as part of the terminology of a world view which sees a oneness in all things. This is based on the idea that all things are of a single underlying substance or reality and that there is no true separation deeper than appearances.
+*'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam%C4%81dhi Samadhi]''' is a Buddhist concept described as a state of mind in which the consciousness of the experiencing subject becomes one with the experienced object.
+*'''[http://xenopraxis.net/readings/metzinger_egotunnel.pdf The Ego-Tunnel: The science of the mind and the myth of the self]''' is a scientific book which discusses the concept of an illusory self from the perspective of modern neuroscience and psychology.
+*'''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_effect Overview effect]''' is a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts and cosmonauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from orbit or from the lunar surface.
+*'''[http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/04/13/474071268/how-lsd-makes-your-brain-one-with-the-universe How LSD Makes Your Brain One With The Universe (NPR.org)]'''
+*'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fajfkO_X0l0 Sam Harris: The self is an illusion (YouTube)]'''
+*'''[http://beingtheuniverse.tumblr.com/ Being The Universe (tumblr)]'''
 ====Similar concepts====