(May 10, 2014 at 6:58 pm)MysticKnight Wrote: If we are connected to God, how would I explain atheism? I think it might be like the case where atheists are being held by God, God lives within them, and they are connected to this reality, but they just fail to recognize the phenomenon. They take all the mystical presence as a natural phenomenon.
Here's a Carl Sagan quote from Cosmos.
Quote:“The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean.[/b] On this shore, we've learned most of what we know. Recently, we've waded a little way out, maybe ankle-deep, and the water seems inviting. Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return, and we can, because the cosmos is also within us . We're made of star stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.
So, Is The Universe Conscious?
Quote:A recurring idea in the belief systems of the world is the notion that human beings are composed of two separate and separable parts: a physical body and an immaterial mind or soul.
Evolutionary theory completely overthrows this view. From an evolutionary perspective, it is impossible to maintain that the mind stands outside nature. Instead, it is a tiny fragment of nature, valued only by those tiny fragments of nature that possess it. Mind is not something separate from matter; it is a process embodied in matter.
Now here's the point: When we fully digest that the mind is the activity of an evolved brain, it radically transforms our view of the mind's place in the universe - and our view of the universe itself. The physical universe ceases to be an unconscious object, observed and explored by conscious minds which somehow stand above or outside it. Conscious minds are part of the physical universe, as much as rocks and potato peelers. Our consciousness is not simply consciousness of the universe; our consciousness is a part of the universe, and thus the universe itself is partially conscious. When you contemplate the universe, part of the universe becomes conscious of itself.
Similarly, our knowledge of the universe is not something separate from the universe; it is a part of the universe. Thus, for humans to know the universe is for the universe to know itself.
So, is it God or the cosmos within us? I'm guessing it's the same feeling but interpretations differ depending on whether people believe in supernatural beings or not.
Where are the snake and mushroom smilies?