rigsy - thanks for responding. My notion is not that we can't remember more than a few days. It is that our physical brain does not have the capacity to store more than a few days' memories. So they must be stored elsewhere. Where might that be? I propose that it is part of a consciousness that goes beyond this physical plane. That's why I mentioned the out of body stories. Jim
On Jun 20, 3:55 am, rigsy03 <[email protected]> wrote: > I dispute your notion that we cannot remember beyond a few days- I > have a fierce memory- though I may have to ask myself what was purpose > of my entering a room, cabinet, etc. Our dead continue to exist- they > are in our bones of memory, our appearance, habits, quirks. My > daughter is just beginning to find this out and I am quite silent > while I watch her journey- why ruin the surprise? > > On Jun 18, 3:16 pm, retiredjim34 <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > For some time, being retired, I have been thinking about such > > ultimate questions as: why are we here, what is life all about, what > > happens when we die, and do we continue to exist after we die. Drawing > > on a lifetime of reading and experience, I think I’ve arrived at some > > unusual answers. > > To begin building a foundation for those answers, I first wondered > > about just who I am; what is it that is me? I don’t believe I’m the > > reflection I see in the mirror. No. If I lost an arm or leg, I still > > believe I would be 100% me. It seems that the real me, then, is the > > consciousness that is within my body. Hmmm. How might I check this? > > How about my memory. During part of my working career I was involved > > with data storage and encoding, the object being to pack as much > > information into as little storage as possible. If you think about all > > the things you remember – scenes, happenings, conversations, other > > sounds, smells, numbers, taught information, etc. – and the capacity > > of the human brain, it is clear that the human brain can remember at > > most only a day or two of recent events. So where are the things I > > remember stored? > > I happen to have had a couple of out-of-body experiences. I recall > > being conscious of looking at my body lying on a bed, and of being > > able to look around the room and out the window. Each time the > > experience scared me, and I quickly returned to my body. But while out- > > of-body I now realize that I could recall everything I could think of > > while in my body; the me that was in my body was still the me that was > > out of my body. > > Many books describe out-of-body experiences. The best, I think, is > > Thirty Years Among the Dead by Dr. Carl Wickland. In it, he discusses > > numerous examples of patients who had died yet whose spirit was still > > “here,” entwined with another body. In each case, the spirit of the > > now dead person had what seems to be a perfectly normal memory of > > their life, and exhibited the personality quirks they had while alive. > > So it seems that the human memory resides elsewhere that in the human > > body. > > Fine, but still why am I here? Indeed, why is anybody or anything > > here? Consider what “here” is. We know that this world, and everything > > else in the universe, is matter disbursed in an almost infinite amount > > of space. But then we also know that E=mc². In words, this "here" can > > be reduced to the simple statement that all is energy, even matter. So > > “here” is a vast pool of energy, a pool that includes each of us as > > well as everything else in this physical universe. Yet it seems that > > our memory does not reside in this physical universe, given that it is > > not the me in the mirror but is present in out-of-body experiences. > > Could it be that there is a consciousness, what might be called an > > infinite consciousness, that contains each of our memories as well as > > everything else that has ever happened anywhere in the universe at any > > time, and maybe even a lot more than that? I don’t know of anything to > > disprove this possibility, so let’s assume for now that it might be > > correct. > > So why am I here? Well, all that is in the universe might be here > > simply because it pleases the infinite consciousness that this is so. > > It is simply an exercise of an attribute of that consciousness. Fine. > > But why am I here? Assume that the infinite consciousness wishes to > > experience this physical universe. Of course this could be done by > > endowing each thing in the universe with its own consciousness. That > > consciousness would know that it was part of a much greater whole. But > > it would also know that it was discrete in and of itself. Yet we don’t > > know that – each of us believes that we are complete and separate from > > all others; we have the freedom to be whatever we choose and do > > whatever we want. It’s as if there is a veil or curtain between our > > discrete consciousness and the infinite consciousness, this veil > > concealing our connection to the whole. (Unless we ponder such things > > as where our memories are stored.) Put differently, the only way the > > infinite consciousness can experience this universe from within the > > universe is to use such a veil to conceal from the individual’s > > consciousness his connection to the whole. Could that be why we are > > here? I think so. > > So what happens at death? Drawing on this view of consciousness, > > both > > individual and infinite, it would seem that all that happens at death > > is that the physical body ceases to function. The individual > > consciousness continues. And that is just what books like Dr. > > Wickland’s report. If you want to know what happens beyond death, the > > Seth books by Jane Roberts gives one view, or answer, a view that > > seems to build on that expressed by Dr. Wickland. > > I would welcome reading your reaction to all this. Does it make > > sense > > to you? Is this a rational and sufficient explanation of the ultimate > > questions, or of why we are here? Or not?- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
