Is the Universe a Consciousness?

(Philosocom's Subcategory Directory On Outer Space)

(Background music)

"the Universe make ourselves, a link of energy, as an extension of itself into the flesh, but we become an entity of our very own, reluctant to rejoin what we once were, jealous to continue as ourselves" -- Mr. John Duran

You and I are fellow cherry blossoms

In bloom in the same academy's yard

Blossoms in bloom are destined to fall

We shall fall nobly for our fatherland -- "Doki No Sakura", translated by Kota.

Introduction

According to New Age-style philosophies, the whole universe is, in fact, not just a collection of objects existing around each other, like planets, asteroid belts, and so forth. Rather, there is a one, big, spiritual being that "seems" to care, and even love, each and every one of us. Not only on Earth but everywhere else where there is life.

I have stumbled upon this strange quote on my digital desert wanderings.... Where did I find it? I do not know for sure...

"Your belief in yourself, makes the whole universe believe in you."

There is much optimism in this quote, correct, yet, it raises a lot of unanswered questions about existence. We can rectify this problem by using more than just logic, but also include our intuition. Intuition, is key of the unconscious, to understand the ways of the universe beyond our conscious mind. Therefore, deductive reasoning, as reasoning in general, is amplified by intuition...

Part I: The Mutual Fostering of Values and Its Functional Role

Reason can be intertwined with intuition. Reason is the conscious way of understanding, and therefore requires a disciplined life to develop and embrace a more critical mind. Intuition is of the unconscious, comes easier to utilize. Intuition amplifies reasoning, and reasoning makes intuition far more accurate. The integration of both allows us to reach accurate conclusions not only faster but also more easily, as we learn to discern between the minor and the imperative, the good and the evil, and all the other dualities of this universe....

A shared goal is better attained when there is harmony, not when there is competition or oppression. Harmony in families, in classrooms, in relationships, in organizations.... and in the mind.

Harmonize your mind, and you can amplify the power of your mind like a dictator would harmonize its city state for greater fulfillment of goals. Harmony thus serves a functional role to serve the will of a unified authority rule. In this case, that infrastructure, the mental empire, is your body and mind.

The universe, after all, is everything that is. The mind is a tool used for discovery... Not only discovery of the world, but ourselves, as well. The more we hone and refine this tool, the more we discover. Training, not only physical but mental as well, therefore becomes key for greater discovery to what appears to many as mystery.

Part II: Understanding Intuition and its Demonstration

Intuition is the extension of the universe. Intuition, as an unconcious tool of knowledge, allows us to know beyond the conventional.... the knolwedge of the universe itself. How else would intuition draw its knowledge from, if not from the very reality we somehow naturality understand... Reality, AKA the universe?

As such, intuition is always about discovering the truth... An ocean of truth. Intuition, furthermore, helps us see people beyond their ulterior motives. Finally, intuition seems to be increased through love, making love an uncanny breeder of emotional epistemology.

Therefore, an action that stems from intuition, can be seen as the execution of the universe's will, in theory. I also theorize we all execute the universe's will in our own respective ways. Love is connected to fate and destiny, for example, leading to another theory about children being the product of intuition... of the universe's will.

Let's take Afghanistan and its warring situation as an example: if we gather a group of people who are against the Taliban and make them all, as an activity, to believe firmly and with determination, that the Taliban regime will eventually fall -- what role will they and the universe play, should the Taliban actually be overthrown or collapsed eventually?

Not much necessarily. As I argued, logic makes the execution of intuitive knowledge more accurate. The greater the accuracy, the greater success we gain through executing our plans... that might be the universe's, by proxy?

Part III: The Mysterious Methods of Balance

It is important to remember that the universe/"the world" is a vast and mysterious place, and we do not know everything about it.... Our knowledge is not only conscious, but unconscious as well. Not only known by our minds, but repressed by our minds as well. Therefore, not only do we lack the divine trait of omniscience, but we also lack the very same knowledge we already have.... the one that stems from our inner light. The light we repress to survive in a society where acting is normalized...

Light. Intuition is a symbolic expression of light. Logic is meaning, or logos. We understand meaning, we enlighten our ignorance. We enlighten our understanding, it becomes clearer to us therefore.

The unification and mutual amplification of mind and heart could make it appear to us, more possible that the universe is more than just a collection of objects, and that it does have some kind of consciousness or awareness... Represented by our very own, individual consciousness. However, we cannot say for sure, and it is important to be open-minded and to consider all possibilities.

After all, in the Afghan case example, the Taliban's directive is not just to rule the Afghans, but also to extend their influence to their neighboring territories in order to promote and enforce Muslim Sharia Law. If they strongly enough believe in extremist Islamic ideology (which I suppose they do), will the universe support them too? Muslim radicalists, to promote the influence of Sharia Law, apply methods in the name of Jihad. Jihad is defined as "the promotion of what is right and the prevention of what is wrong.

Action is how the universe exerts its intuitive will onto its actors, its "biological machinery", us. This is why suffering is an inevitable possibility. We suffer, because we intuitively seek change. War is a struggle for change. Conflicting interests are the reasoning of war. War leads to peace, and peace leads to war. The universe works according to Taoistic principles, leading to moral ambiougity and to humans naturally being walking contradictions of complete opposites. Within the human element, I call is the "grey problem".

Understanding the grey problem, allows us by proxy to understand the universe itself, as we all originate from the universe. That is the universality of existence at least from a very physical aspect.

Does "universal consciousness" favor those who believe in something the most? Is it kind enough to support anyone who believes in any belief? Does it support anything at all? Is it capable of supporting anything like any self-conscious being can?

Under taoistic methodology, the universe strives for balance. Balance is the natural order of the seven essences of existence, within its void and its three expressions. Thus, whatever might happen under intuition, is done for the balance of the universe. Perhaps, this is why some of us are naturally good-hearted, and why others are naturally malicious.

Conclusions

In conclusion, while there is no physical evidence that the universe is a sentient or self-conscious being, it is difficult to actually determine if there is this supposed "brain" somewhere in the unknown universe, which serves as some sort of a psychic "nerve center" of everything that exists and lives.

Perhaps.... we are the neuron cells of the universe?

In order to keep an open mind, as we still technically do not know everything, the rational answer would be "I don't know". Logical inquisition without sufficient knowledge is insufficient by itself, as logic is not only per capability or the virtue of honesty, but also per our existing knowledge. Knowledge that is finite.

Article Review by Ms. Tamara Moskal

Intuition is knowing something without conscious reasoning.

There is a notable difference between the perspectives of philosophers and psychologists regarding intuition.

In philosophy, intuition is considered supreme intelligence, and according to Plato, it requires long intellectual training. It's the ability to acquire pure, unbiased knowledge that can't be obtained by observation, reasoning, or experience.

Intuition is often expressed as an epiphany of an idea or concept in philosophy and theoretical science.

Psychologists believe intuition results from an unconscious pattern-matching between past experiences stored in long-term memory and similar situations in the present. The information is processed automatically and delivered to the conscious mind with high emotional certainty.

Intuition should not be viewed as the opposite of analytic thinking but as complementary in decision-making and problem-solving.

Current research suggests that all humans are born with a fundamental capacity for intuitive thinking and that, as we mature, we can enhance our intuition by practicing it. Intuition is a complex and fascinating ability, but our intuitive abilities decline if we fail to listen to and cultivate them.