Universal Mind?

[MelissaTaylor]

I wasn't sure if I should put this in the philosophy section or not...
I thought it might start an interesting discussion.

Go to this web page and read:
http://www.astralvoyage.com/remote/um.html

I just discovered this theory of "Universal Mind" and I found it quite interesting.

Do you think it could exist?
Any thoughts? Opinions?

[Taeguk]

A universal mind? Perhaps. And perhaps this universal mind is less than completely sane (that would explain quite a bit) :lol:

All joking aside, the idea of a "universal mind" is pretty old and has come up in some form in numerous cultures, religions, philosophies, etc.

Is it possible? I don't see why not. However it's also possible to believe that consiousness is fundamental to reality without the idea of a "universal mind". One can understand consciousness to be emergent or evolutionary, for example. From this perspective "consciousness" as we experience it is something that only occurs at a particular level of development, rather than being present from the very beginning (as it is in the "universal mind" theory).

I would describe myself as a panexperientialist, meaning that I personally think that some form of experience or "subjectivity" is always present, although in the vast majority of instances this is nothing like the level we encounter in human beings. Consciousness is fundamental, but the universe as a whole need not be self-aware.

[scameter]

Well, I personally have contemplated the idea of a universal mind behind the existence science explains, though I'm of course not saying the historical claims of science are entirely valid, I think that life had to have come from something. And since essentially the scientific explanation is that before the Big Bang there was nothing, no time, energy or matter, I think, as Einstein and Stephen Hawking did, that there is some intellect behind it all, though I'm not certain what type, that determined the characteristics of particles, the levels of order that occurred in life, the processes of that changing order, and everything else, none of which could have logically come from randomness if it all came from nothing. Perhaps what is behind this is personal enough to have a will, or perhaps it is simply an impersonal cause, I don't know.

[CSwriter1]

I think the theory of universal mind given at the link, means we have no freedom of choice, and I do not believe that is so. For everything to be known, means our lives would be dramas already written, and we would be trapped in our roles, with no choices to make, because they were already made by the script writer. And what are the qualities of the script writer? If this is some kind of god, it is really a perverted and depaved god, because the human drama has not been that pleasant.

Qualities of this god would also have a physical aspect, and it might be interesting to discuss them. Our air is full of little pieces of consciousness, in the form of radio and digital waves. We need ipods, radios, TV's to receive these signals. As far as we know, our unaided minds do not pick up and decode these signals, but I could be wrong? Does a controlling god send signals, say through the sun, that controls things like our weather and earthquakes and our consciousness? The author of "The Mayan Factor" wrote of a god in the center of the universe, that sends messages to earth through the sun. Astrology has made the claim that the position of planets causes earthquakes, and causes events in our personal lives too. Do these ideas of merit?

[Smurf]

I take it that

We create the questions - we create the answers.

[serenofsoul]

Here's a link to a philosophy with a very intersting outlook on the universal mind. It states that the universe is mental and everything in it exists within the mind of the infinite all. Pretty cool stuff.

http://www.kybalion.org/kybalion.asp?chapter=V

[loveGOD]

Greetings Friend..., the universal mind concept is interesting.
I imagine that at this moment, millions are focusing on love that creates a healthy energy for all. The first time I imagined that happening a meteor swooshed by, about 2ooft up all ablaze, the size of a large beach ball.
I think the closer to the truth the bigger the distraction. I didn't go off looking for the meteor, it was more important that I recall my thought just prior to that distraction. The thought was, the love of many has combined and become a truely sincere thank-you GOD love is everywhere. Peace-n-Joy