As I have grown older, and hopefully wiser, I have developed a feeling of being more connected to the things around me. The killing of a spider or an ant, now feels damaging to myself. The last time I had to cut down a tree, I felt as if I had changed a part of something beyond that tree. Something beyond my knowledge. I have wondered if all things in the universe are not somehow linked. Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't all things on earth spring from the same(original)matter and energy? Therfore, am I not just as connected to the first rock as I am to the first human? Am I alone in this sense of a giant collective ONE?

You are indeed connected to a rock. So are the other rocks; in exactly the same way and to the same extent.

The difference is you can worry about it- but that doesn't mean you have to.

You are indeed connected to a rock. So are the other rocks; in exactly the same way and to the same extent.

The difference is you can worry about it- but that doesn't mean you have to.

I don't think I truly worry about it. It does, however, make me wonder if this is where man's ideas of gods and reincarnation stem from. It also makes me stop and think before squashing a bug.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

 

I think altered states of consciousness, whether through brain damage, seizures, chemicals or meditation do have something to do with spiritual beliefs.

 

I don't think I truly worry about it. It does, however, make me wonder if this is where man's ideas of gods and reincarnation stem from. It also makes me stop and think before squashing a bug.

 

That's fine, but I would still recommend treating for termites and ants. I also wouldn't rule out antibiotics for those pesky bacteria.

 

I think altered states of consciousness, whether through brain damage, seizures, chemicals or meditation do have something to do with spiritual beliefs.

 

 

 

That's fine, but I would still recommend treating for termites and ants. I also wouldn't rule out antibiotics for those pesky bacteria.

 

That's a very interesting video.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

 

I think altered states of consciousness, whether through brain damage, seizures, chemicals or meditation do have something to do with spiritual beliefs.

 

 

 

That's fine, but I would still recommend treating for termites and ants. I also wouldn't rule out antibiotics for those pesky bacteria.

Thanks for the link. What an amazing experience she is able to share. Vivid example of of your statement regarding altered states of consciousness. I am curious what her level of spirituality was like before her stroke. I think it is a healthy thing, regardless of the catalyst, to wonder about our existence....to question what we are.

 

I don't plan on turning my life over too nature anytime soon; still going to take antibiotics and kill termites.

I think it is a healthy thing, regardless of the catalyst, to wonder about our existence....to question what we are.

 

I agree completely. I should add that I do not mean to imply that spirituality requires any altered state, just that maybe some memes are possibly started that way and they are not necessarily a bad thing.

I agree completely. I should add that I do not mean to imply that spirituality requires any altered state, just that maybe some memes are possibly started that way and they are not necessarily a bad thing.

Absolutely. Many of history's "enlightened" figures developed/explored spirituality via intoxicants,fasting, sweat lodges, sleep deprivation, and so on.

You are in the same universe as all matter and governed by the same laws of physics. All the stuff on earth was made from more or less the same stuff. All life descended from a common ancestor. Other than that, I can't think of a deeper connection.

You are in the same universe as all matter and governed by the same laws of physics. All the stuff on earth was made from more or less the same stuff. All life descended from a common ancestor. Other than that, I can't think of a deeper connection.

Yes, exactly what I have been bouncing around in my head. What is amazing to me, is that it has taken 43 years for me to grasp what should be a fundamental premise.