I cannot wrap my brain around nothingness. That is to say that if I die Blam that’s it, my consciousness ceases to exist. I just can’t reconcile that thought no matter how much I try. The closest I’ve gotten is to imagine eternal darkness, but in and of itself eternal darkness IS something…
I realize nothingness cannot be experienced, but I can’t imagine what happens one second after I die…
On the other side of that coin…
I can’t imagine eternity. Sure I can picture perhaps a few thousand years, but forever? No. I’d imagine my consciousness would go completely insane. You think that half hour meeting is long just imagine what forever feels like.
Regardless of your religious persuasion, eternity is too much to bear. But so is nonexistence…
Also as a side note. Assuming that nothingness is the answer and that none of us are unique (that is there is no soul) then throughout eternity (the universes life span) eventually the same combination of DNA etc… that composes my consciousness will repeat, and thus I will be reborn- but will I exist then? Perhaps this is the middle ground between eternity and nothingness- simply stated the present. Sure it might be an eternal present bound to repeat itself, but at the same time it is finite…
Am I off base here? I can’t conceive not existing, yet at the same time it can’t conceive of eternal existence. Is there an answer?
It could be that cognition is limited.
Lekatt will explain it to you in a minute.
While I understand the Lekatt reference is a dig at me, I’m truly seeking an understanding that I can be comfortable with… Perhaps my cognition is too limited…
no, it’s not a dig at you.
it’s just a statement of what’s likely to happen.
The objections that you raise against eternity and non-existence relate to the ability of cognition to render the conepts.
It doesn’t seem necessary IMHO to equate failings of thought with… much else.
‘Eternal’ need not necessarily be defined as ‘an infinite number of days’
Nonexistence is easier to deal with; how did you feel before you were concieved? What sort of things did you think about? Where does your lap go when you stand up?
Does a swimming chicken’s cluck have an echo?.
I still don’t understand why you think that the universe will exist for infinite time, nor why you posit every possible arrangement of atoms will be repeated within that time. As for you “waking up” as a completely different bunch of atoms in future, see the current Continuation of Consciousness thread.
Actually yes I guess I do repeat… Perhaps I was just demonstrating the said rearrangement of atoms…
After rechecking the prior thread I must say “my mistake” as I thought I was bringing up some new argument, but perhaps not. I guess my question boils down to whether or not cognition and consciousness can actually imagine such a state of nonexistence or eternity…
Thanks for the link (which I must say I stayed away from due soley to the Sixth Day prejudice…) This seems to be more akin to what I’m looking for…
On a side note though, does understanding increase if the mind is unable to retain memories of prior postings?
Methinks not…
In reference to your original post. I think the easist way to understand eternity is to practice living in the moment.
Direct your thoughts to what you are doing at the moment, when they begin to stray to other things, bring them back gently to the task at hand. It takes practice, but the benefits are worth it. You become so concentrated on what you are doing in the present that things like nothingness and eternity are self evident.
It is only from the now that we can understand these concepts.
Have you ever been so concentrated on a task, game, book, or similar event that time stood still, yet when you finished it was hours later. That is experiencing the now. There is great understanding in these moments.
Love
Leroy
I guess when I posted this same line of thinking 10 days or so ago I was really living in the future.
Sorry SentientMeat for the repost. I’ve been reading the Arnold 6th day consciousness thread (It is excellent btw!), though now that my eyes have glazed over a bit, and I wonder what you thought of the link:
http://world.std.com/~twc/death.htm
(Originally posted by ChaosGod)
SimonX, I dunno why exactly, but your three word post just made me laugh out loud.