Our existence is inherent and meaningless

In his latest video, PhilosophyTube mentions this great analogy for natural selection (paraphrased):

“Imagine throwing random fridge magnets at a fridge, but they only stick to the fridge if they form a coherent sentence” – within this system, what initially may appear to be immensely meaningful or ‘designed’ is in fact just an inherent function of the chaos.

Extended to a metaphysical level, I’m experiencing a state of me-ness right now because there’s no other state I could be experiencing – not because I’m here for any purpose or because I have any kind of say in the matter.

Applied to the fridge magnet analogy, my existence would be like the universal consciousness throwing magnets and eventually seeing the sentence “I’m Pat experiencing Pat-ness” emerge on the fridge. This blossoming of individual consciousness from the universal ocean of mind may at first appear extremely unique and meaningful to the perceiving one (i.e. me). But hopefully upon gradually receiving a greater awareness of the state of the fridge and its randomly-thrown yet rule-following magnets, I will start to understand that I am no more special or purposeful than a particular grain of sand in the desert.

fridge magnets

Reflections on the horror of existence

I wrote this in my journal about four years ago. I wanted to put it here because it’s worth remembering these things, and being aware that my current sense of peace and fortunate privilege is all ultimately a part of the universal awareness trying to hide from the horror of itself.

It’s been a while since my LSD trip. About three months. And I feel like I’m gradually coming back to some kind of sanity and reality. But I feel like things have changed forever, like I’ve woken up to a reality that is more intense and terrifying, but also more vivid and beautiful, than I could have ever imagined.

I think the biggest change has been that I’ve realised that things are the way they are, because they’re the way they are. That sounds pretty stupid… but what I’m getting at is that the meaning of existence is inherent… things exist because they don’t not exist. It’s like why creatures evolve to suit their environments; filling a niche because that’s just what happens. I’m filling a Patrick niche, my own little bit of consciousness, because there is an infinite realm of possible consciousness that I inhabit a tiny part of.

Continue reading “Reflections on the horror of existence” →

no content

There is a Buddhist saying: “Statements about the nature of the ultimate truth have no content.”

Polish artist Zdzisław Beksiński was opposed to people analysing his work or even interpreting it. He stated that if he wanted to say something, he would say it. A painting, however, was a unique expression of something beyond language. Interpretation immediately destroys that.

“Meaning is meaningless to me,” he once said. He didn’t even give his paintings titles.

Yet it is immensely tempting to apply meaning to his work – especially considering he grew up surrounded by war, genocide, and suffering. The corpse-like figures that populate his paintings are reminiscent of the starved bodies of holocaust victims. German helmets and Greco-Roman architecture evoke the Third Reich. Vast towering cathedrals of bone and flesh link human endeavour with misery and doom.

And of course, these words ultimately do nothing to convey the depth of his paintings. There will always be something missing.

These words have no content.

beksinski

Mandelbrot set

Mandel_zoom_08_satellite_antenna

The Mandelbrot set

“is the visualisation of the space between nothing and infinity.”

= everything we know and everything we can’t know.

= the reason we ask the question.

= the mandala that is set in stone

yet flows through our fingers.

-> It is the tattoo that will burn into my skin until I have to

claw

out

but it is cast

in my bones.

The Noumenon-Numinon Nominum

The terms “Noumenous” and “Numinous” have both been used to describe the psychedelic experience, despite having etymologically distinct origins.

Noumenon is a term popularised by Kant to be contrasted with the term “phenomenon” – interpreted either as meaning “that which is thought” (as opposed to “that which is perceived”), or as the “unknowable nature of things.” It is derived from the Greek “noûs” meaning “mind.”

Numinous means “spiritual, mystical or religious in nature,” but can also be interpreted to mean a form of knowledge that can only be evoked through direct experience (rather than rationalisation or objective learning). It is derived from the Latin “numen” meaning “a deity or spirit residing over a place.”

These two words could arguably be sorted into the same Nominal (derived from the Latin “nomen” or “name”) category, since they both describe common facets of the psychedelic experience.

The “Noumenon-Numinon Nominum”