Why we can never get to objective truth
In this video, we investigate the foundations of our beliefs and the limits of what we can truly know. By exploring a thought experiment that challenges our biases, we reveal the inherent limitations in our pursuit of certainty and uncover profound implications for our understanding of reality.
00:00 Introduction
00:41 Final outcomes as being unequal
02:02 Listening to a discussion on morality
02:51 The introduction to a thought experiment
03:44 The thought experiment
04:31 Revealing some of the reasons
05:12 Revealing some of the values
05:57 Objective truth
08:13 Implications of no objective truth
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Deconstructing reality: The 4 outcomes
Every method of inquiry inevitable leads to infinite regress, circularity, a foundational assumption, or paradox.
00:00 Introduction
00:40 The point of a question is to disappear
03:55 Infinite regress
05:12 Circularity
06:20 Foundational assumption
07:24 Paradox
08:24 Assumptions in everyday life
10:38 Possibilities beyond the 4 outcomes?
11:20 Practical implications of 4 outcomes
12:34 Reality being an undivided unity
13:21 AI gives a hypothetical 5th outcome
15:07 Direct experience
18:11 Integrating direct experience with intellectual inquiry
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Deconstructing reality: Change and the universe
How do we experience change? I use the theory of the block universe as a starting point into my exploration of change and the universe.
00:00 Introduction
00:53 The block theory of the universe
02:58 The observer in the block universe
03:54 The main aim of the theory
04:22 A globe that is completely lit up
04:49 There is no observer
05:36 Change as a quality
06:16 The limits of traditional logic
07:42 Seeing change as static
09:07 Mistake of seeing reality as made up of pieces
10:33 The paradox of reality
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4
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Deconstructing reality: Change and the self
What is change? Is it really what you think?
00:00 Introduction
01:16 Change
01:56 Change needs time
02:30 Zeno's paradox of the arrow
03:59 Continuity and connection
04:45 Something has to remain of the past thing
05:24 A thing can't change from within itself
06:40 Change can only be experienced from the outside
07:59 Example of a simple change
09:48 The observer is the connector of change
10:20 Summary
11:23 Can the "I" change?
15:03 Dreams and the "I"
15:52 What does this mean for reality?
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The problem with giving advice
I talk about why I don't like giving advice and the problems that I've had when I did give advice.
00:00 Introduction
00:58 The effect of giving advice on me
02:13 The sickening effect of the ego
03:10 Paying attention to the ego
04:36 Giving advice doesn't work
05:09 What works instead of advice
06:52 The purpose of my videos
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Dreams reveal the truth of experience
In this video I talk about a dream that shows how we really experience reality. How this matches up with many spiritual teachings is interesting.
00:00 Introduction
00:42 The dream story
01:27 The experience as the dream
01:52 The observer
02:25 The character
03:01 What is the "I"?
04:01 Dreams as the dream
05:43 Dreams as a character
07:06 Dreams as another person
09:31 Changing the view of "I"
10:38 Experiencing death in a dream
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Protecting untrue beliefs
I discuss how I would protect an untrue belief and how imagination can help us find the answers that we were looking for.
00:00 Tower defense strategy game
00:57 How would you protect a belief?
01:23 First line of defense
02:26 Downplay its importance
02:59 Appear complex
04:09 True complexity
05:12 Surrounded by unrelated thoughts
05:44 Fear
06:35 No more defenses
06:57 What would you do?
07:16 Imagination
09:56 Why it's important to know
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3
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Making sense of a belief -- True person at bad times
This is contemplation of the belief that we see the true person when times are tough. Is this true? I've thought this all of my life and it certainly seems true. But I've never questioned it. So, I decided to go into it and see if it is true.
00:00 Introduction
01:22 Do we see the true person when times are tough?
02:26 Questioning the belief
03:08 People who are acting hypocritically
04:11 People who say the same thing in good and bad times
04:35 Heroes
05:07 People who act differently
05:43 Making sense of the different parts of the belief
07:16 Not the true self, just a trait
08:04 Clarifying and seeing the belief clearly
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The allure of negativity
What is it about negativity that is so attractive? Why do we think that negativity is the answer to all of our problems? What is actually going on?
00:00 Introduction
00:41 Powerful
02:18 Effective
02:53 Easy to do
03:08 It is believed to be normal
04:18 The positive parts protect the negative
05:09 It is something to do
06:02 Is negativity wrong?
07:45 What can be done?
08:24 What would the devil do?
09:46 Going over negativity before sleep
11:44 Misunderstandings of not being negative
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What is mood, really?
Is a mood just that feeling in the background, or does it even exist?
00:00 Introduction
01:00 The regular idea of mood
01:53 How does one experience a mood?
02:34 Physical feelings
06:13 Mental feelings
07:17 Thought
10:11 A different definition of mood
14:47 We are doing a mood
15:36 The true meaning of a thought
16:32 What you can do
16:53 Stopping the pattern of negativity
17:44 Gratitude
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How to do contemplation
00:00 Introduction
00:30 Start with something you want to change
01:42 Define words
03:22 Start with a question and break down the answers
05:11 Work on the answer by changing variables
07:56 How do you know when you are finished?
09:37 The benefits of doing this kind of contemplation
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Letting go of beliefs about disinterest ("I don't like...")
In this video, I go into beliefs about disinterests ("I don't like..."). We can see what happens when the belief is examined and then let go of.
(This video was made much differently than my usual videos. I had no idea what I wanted to talk about in the video. I just started talking. After about 30 minutes, this video came up. I had thought about this topic before, but not in years.)
00:00 Introduction
01:29 Belief that I don't care about fashion
01:44 The belief matched my experience
02:14 Questioning the belief
03:19 Something is not right about the belief
05:25 The belief is about the image of myself
06:04 The real belief
06:41 Letting go of the incorrect belief
07:27 Beliefs attached to an image of myself
08:30 The freedom of letting go of beliefs
08:57 Interests not attached to an image of myself
10:08 Small sense of not "being myself"
10:30 Give it a try
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What is worry?
In this video, I look into what worry is, why we have it, and what is its purpose.
00:00 Introduction
00:48 Recording your contemplations
01:32 Worry and falling asleep
04:36 Positive reason for doing something
06:19 What is the purpose of worry?
09:48 Worry is the least amount of doing something
10:35 Worry is amazing at what it does
11:36 The fear of wasting time
12:33 Just seeing the trick of worry
14:17 If possible, do something about it
14:47 Do something positive
15:24 Flood worry with love and gratitude
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Nostalgia, memories, and the feel of reality
00:00 The feel of reality
01:21 Nostalgic experiences
04:21 What makes nostalgic experiences pleasurable?
06:47 "Bad" memories also feel good
11:39 The feel of here and now
12:02 The ability to manipulate the feel of reality
13:12 How achieved desires affect the feel of reality
14:30 This is heaven and hell
16:36 When you get what you desire
17:40 How to get nostalgic feelings
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Free will and choice
In this video I delve into free will and choice. Is free will actually what we think it is?
00:00 Introduction
00:31 Definitions of free will and choice
02:16 The common story of how we make a choice
02:44 Example of a choice
03:41 The I and the chooser
05:26 The actual experience of making a choice
06:29 Why do we want choice?
06:50 Example of a clear choice
07:30 Does God make a choice?
08:09 The answer to the question of free will
09:31 What we actually want
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The reality of dreams
Many people say that the waking world is real and that the dream world isn't. "It's just a dream." Is this true? Let's go into it and see if the unreality of dreams is proven.
00:00 Introduction (definitions of real)
02:11 List of reasons dreams are considered not real
04:28 Time goes faster or slower
05:39 Things change quickly
06:25 Characters can be multiple people
07:29 Multiple locations at once
08:18 Nostalgic experiences (timeless and locationless)
11:40 Lack of consequences
13:13 Dreams are personal
13:36 Natural laws seem different
14:28 Judgment from one reality
15:03 None of these reasons point to unreality
15:38 What can we learn from dreams?
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The truth of reality is not hidden - This is all true
Both science and spirituality say that "true" reality is hidden from us. Let's delve into this and see if this is true.
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How does evil arise?
00:00 Introduction
00:37 Two groups: one helps each other, one doesn't
01:22 Problems increase, the group that shares is better off
01:48 Times become very difficult, group that shares has problems
02:24 Group that doesn't share
02:44 Where evil can arise
03:03 Separate by making a judgment
04:12 Anger arises
04:51 Separate more into jealousy
05:47 The desire for punishment
06:25 The world is a zero sum game
06:53 Power
07:14 Wanting punishment leads to evil
07:38 Evil starts with those who don't have a lot
08:21 Judgment of the world is arrogant and leads to evil
08:58 How those who have a lot contribute to evil
10:26 Societies that share have less evil
10:51 Adam & Eve and the tree of knowledge
11:56 Cain and Abel
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How to be interested in every conversation (a spiritual approach)
What can you do to make every conversation interesting for you? I break down what it means to have a great conversation. And like everything that I do, it becomes spiritual/philosophical.
Feel free to use the timestamps to go to chapters that you are particularly interested in.
00:00 Introduction
02:19 What do I mean by "conversation"?
03:02 To commune
03:53 Listening
07:36 Where do thoughts come from?
08:40 Being comfortable with yourself
09:38 Speaking
11:29 The visual aspect of conversations
14:36 Every topic becomes philosophical
15:12 What does it mean to be interested in something?
16:02 How to have interest in every conversation?
16:17 Become interested in every topic
17:15 Passion
18:02 Being comfortable with someone
18:35 The problem of steering the conversation
19:42 Noticing what the feeling of "being interested" is
20:47 Being interested in thinking
22:17 Don't "try" to be open, instead "feel" open
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How to learn from regrets then let them go
What are regrets? Are we trapped by our past? Let's look into regret together and see what they are and how we can let them go.
00:00 Introduction and definition of regret
00:58 What is a regret that you used to have, but don't anymore?
01:23 What is a regret that started much later than the regretful event?
02:01 Regrets can start and end at different times
02:17 If you had a perfect life, would you have any regrets?
02:34 Problems
03:11 Does regret show that there is a problem?
04:52 Regrets that have faded with time
05:18 Is a regret just a problem that hasn't be solved yet?
05:39 Think about a regret that you have now
06:00 Looking at an example regret to find the problem
06:38 What is the problem?
06:55 Three things that can be done when there is a problem
07:47 Look into the problem to see what can be done
09:14 The problem of conflicting beliefs and what can be done
11:57 Does regret work as motivation?
14:04 Having two conflicting beliefs that won't budge
16:16 Closing
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What is the devil?
If you were to create the devil, what would he be like? How would that match up to what religions say about the devil? Is the devil then real?
00:00 Introduction
00:38 How does the goodness of God show up?
01:21 What do people want?
02:02 Connection
02:34 The devil is separation
02:50 The personality of the devil
08:05 Other forms of separation
09:32 Explanation of God
10:30 The universe of knowledge added to the devil
12:09 The devil is a point in a process
13:42 Matter and materialism
16:03 The devil and society
16:49 Final thoughts
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Most people...
In this video, I talk about the phrase, "most people..." and what that means.
00:00 Introduction
00:31 Examples where it is possible to say this
01:10 Why are started thinking about this phrase
02:17 Asking someone their belief in God
04:34 Thinking about my idea of love
05:41 Paying attention to what we are saying