Does a "True Self" Exist?

[bennyboy]

Haha I made that call already, but pops claims ignorance on all that stuff.

For you to speak low of my parents, of whom you know mere inclination is disrespectful to them. I really don't appreciate it. Smear me, leave my blood the fuck out of it...please.

lolwut?  Not sure if serious.

[popsthebuilder]

For you to speak low of my parents, of whom you know mere inclination is disrespectful to them. I really don't appreciate it. Smear me, leave my blood the fuck out of it...please.

lolwut?  Not sure if serious.

My inability to take a joke.

[bennyboy]

lolwut?  Not sure if serious.

My inability to take a joke.

I don't think it's a joke, but a qualitative comparison between the ideas you express and those of non-Christian spiritualists and assorted hippies.  A lot of your language sounds like the kind of language that are commonly known as "woo."  You talk about aspects of the universe being reflected inside the self, for example.  Or you talk about everyone being united, or about "detachment from the self," the latter being google-searchable and shown to be found, word-for-word, in sites about Buddhism, shamanism, and other mystical traditions.  Zig Ziglar talks about stuff like potential as a pervasive force in human existence.

It's mysterious to me that you use the kind of language that spiritualists and mysticists commonly use, but that you are not aware of them.  In fact, it's so mysterious that I wonder if it's true, and that you might be an X-tian with a former hippie background.  And that's not meant as an insult-- it's purely an observation based on the word choices you make.

[popsthebuilder]

I don't know what an xtian ia. Hippies were on to something but you have to bathe and work hard for things to happen. What you say is interesting, I kinda want to research what you said. I admit that I want to study Buddhism and seem to be very aligned with it from what I can tell. I know they believe in a kind of reincarnation and balance. Past that I haven't the slightest. I am glad that some are starting to comprehend what I've been attempting to say without accusing me of manipulation.

[Salacious B. Crumb]

I don't know what an xtian ia. Hippies were on to something but you have to bathe and work hard for things to happen. What you say is interesting, I kinda want to research what you said. I admit that I want to study Buddhism and seem to be very aligned with it from what I can tell. I know they believe in a kind of reincarnation and balance. Past that I haven't the slightest. I am glad that some are starting to comprehend what I've been attempting to say without accusing me of manipulation.

A xtian, is a christian. Don’t sweat it pops. If you have this attraction to buddhism, then look into it, but question what you read and don’t get sucked into every belief they have, unless it actually rings true to you. I don’t want to get preachy, but just remember to question everything, and always ask yourself, “Do I really believe this? Why do I believe this? Is it because someone is telling me this is the true path? How do they know?” I believe we all have our own journey, and some have more paths they can follow, compared to others. Some are more afraid to take the journey, some want to take as many paths as they can, to try to figure out what is right for them. The journey is life, and I think it’s best to explore as much as you possibly can, so, then, you can choose the right paths (make the right decisions). The more knowledge the better, but skepticism and putting claims to the test is a must. I saw what you said in #31, but you seem to believe in some type of life force. Do you believe that we have a soul or some type of spiritual duplicate of ourselves, and maybe that is our true self?

[robvalue]

I think one reason people believe in things like "souls" is because they aren't comfortable with the idea that it might not be true. Such a reality would seem dead and meaningless to them.

But the thing is, reality doesn't depend on emotions. Either we have a soul, or we don't. And since no one can even define what it is, let alone demonstrate it's anything more than our imagination and projection, there's no reason to think there is such a thing.

If you're interested in the truth of things, you should make as few assumptions as possible. Humans having "a soul" is an assumption. Is it justified? Is it necessary? Can you coherently define it as something real rather than abstract, and if so, can you demonstrate in any way the existence of this thing?

Hint: please avoid the reflexive tu quoque fallacy, such as "Well you can't measure emotions".

[popsthebuilder]

I don't know what an xtian ia. Hippies were on to something but you have to bathe and work hard for things to happen. What you say is interesting, I kinda want to research what you said. I admit that I want to study Buddhism and seem to be very aligned with it from what I can tell. I know they believe in a kind of reincarnation and balance. Past that I haven't the slightest. I am glad that some are starting to comprehend what I've been attempting to say without accusing me of manipulation.

A xtian, is a christian. Don’t sweat it pops. If you have this attraction to buddhism, then look into it, but question what you read and don’t get sucked into every belief they have, unless it actually rings true to you. I don’t want to get preachy, but just remember to question everything, and always ask yourself, “Do I really believe this? Why do I believe this? Is it because someone is telling me this is the true path? How do they know?” I believe we all have our own journey, and some have more paths they can follow, compared to others. Some are more afraid to take the journey, some want to take as many paths as they can, to try to figure out what is right for them. The journey is life, and I think it’s best to explore as much as you possibly can, so, then, you can choose the right paths (make the right decisions). The more knowledge the better, but skepticism and putting claims to the test is a must. I saw what you said in #31, but you seem to believe in some type of life force. Do you believe that we have a soul or some type of spiritual duplicate of ourselves, and maybe that is our true self?

I really can't go into too much detail about it. I know that we are energy. I know you can't destroy energy. I believe that we return to the pool of good energy upon physical death, or go to a negative energy upon death. It depends on the weight of the person's actions. A scale I guess you could consider it in a way. We are weighed and whatever force was exhibited most through material life (3d) is what force we attract to upon material death.

Just woke up so a little fuzzy still. Sorry, hope it's legible.

[Whateverist]

Wow. I did not know that. Correction, I still don't know that.

[The Grand Nudger]

That's ridiculous Pops, and you're not -actually- talking about energy....so why don't you use some other word?

[bennyboy]

 I believe that we return to the pool of good energy upon physical death, or go to a negative energy upon death. It depends on the weight of the person's actions. A scale I guess you could consider it in a way. We are weighed and whatever force was exhibited most through material life (3d) is what force we attract to upon material death.

Just woke up so a little fuzzy still. Sorry, hope it's legible.

Sounds like an attempt to de-mythologize the Christian idea of heaven and hell to me. Do you have a reason to think that our energy, which cannot be destroyed, will retain a personal coherence and subsequent ongoing experience after the body breaks up? Because without that, then "good energy" and "bad energy" are just good 'ol "energy."