Are We Real?

[Hazel]

There is a fundamental chasm in our understanding of ourselves, the universe, and everything. To solve this, Sir Martin takes us on a mind-boggling journey through multiple universes to post-biological life. On the way we learn of the disturbing possibility that we could be the product of someone elses experiment.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRzPM3FgF9I

[Carmody]

Are we real?

Yes and no.

The balance of probability.

Formation and exchange can only happen in a quantum differential environment, at least with reference to it's self, that is.

[Rich]

I think this was posted before in a thread called are we an experiment... or something.

Real as in what? What is supposed to be real? And what is we? What are you referring to with we?

[drgreig]

This is where I'm at as far as my "journey of awareness" is concerned...this whole "unreality of reality" thing...and it's a field of study that embraces concepts from both Buddhism and Quantum Mechanics and how they correlate. There is substance to this concept...certainly enough to acknowledge the fact that one day, Science and Buddhism will see eye-to-eye.

To draw comparisons between both schools of thought...here are two quotes (probably quite familiar to folks here) that harmonize with one another:

“We live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a reality. We are that reality.
When you understand this, you see that you are nothing, and being nothing, you are everything.
That is all.” [Kalu Rinpoche]

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“If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet.
Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.”- [Niels Bohr]

In response to your question, EmEx:
Within the Buddhist quote, "We [are that reality]", "We" is a grouping term...and as the source of the quote believes "we" are all part of an elaborate illusion that is a balance of "Nothing" and "Everything" simultaneously...and this person was a human being that is aware of Oneness within the Universe...this is how I've drawn the conclusion that "We" must refer to "the multiplicity of consciously aware beings" - most likely not specific to humans on this planet only but across the Universe.

From what I've learned thus far, ENERGY is about the only thing that can be considered "REAL".

[Shezbeth]

AFAIK, I (the physiological entity, the awareness and the individuated personality that surround/inhabit it) am not real.

Quite the doozy when I am the one subjectively perceiving everything else,....

[TargeT]

Are we real, in a different thread I ask " Do we live in the Matrix (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?73623-Strange-Computer-Code-Discovered-Concealed-In-Superstring-Equations--Do-we-live-in-a-Matrix--)?" and the answer appears to be "yes".

[Rich]

“If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet. Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.”- Niels Bohr

Then what are we left with?

[Mark]

An excellent documentary, I took the time to watch the entire thing. A visually stunning and concise exposition on the history of Western empiricism, discovery and revelation. I appreciate the Cosmological viewpoint for its openness and expansive understanding of the imagination's role in scientific inquiry. While the documentary commentators were obviously wedded to their own discoveries and processes, the narrator did an excellent job of weaving the story together in a coherent narrative that will give someone coming to this information for the first time a comprehensive overview of the state of science in its understanding of the nature of creation and consciousness itself.

Thumbs up. I have shared this with friends and family. Thank you, Hazel.