Is the universe just a dream we all seem to share?

Question

Are we some how all connected to a universal consciousness, and we actually created the universe. We, are actually the gods? We are the spirits and the source for creation and destruction?

Answer 1

Yes, you remember the larger truth.. What you said here makes sense..

We created this universe so that we can experience life and by doing so, define who we are.

Answer 2

This would be wonderful idea, and a useful one too. It makes us question. If we for example consider the universe to be a dream, or an illusion, than there must a reality of this dream somewhere. That something somewhere we cannot find or define in realistic terms, which proves to our reason that dream is all that we have. And that if all this is a dream then we are a part of this dream. And as we cannot wake up, or pull ourselves out this dream at will, or we cannot not walk away from it, then we are an integral part of it. In this case the part the dream for the dream is dream's own reality. If we are real then the universe is real and if we are an illusion then the universe is an illusion.

We can understand the universe and our own existence to be a dream or an illusion only if we are able to perceive a better reality, or supper reality somewhere, somehow. Soon as we cast a doubt upon the world we live in, we cast doubt upon our own existence, and this is no ordinary thing. For therein lies our ability for hyper perception – to perveive reality unimaginable. As a matter of fact if there is anything real than this is the one – our ability to questions what is real and what is not. We cannot prove whether we are alone imagining all this, or we are all together imagining the same thing, or there is some third being imagining us all imagining our own existence? We cannot prove, but we can question, as we do. And this is real.

If we were all but part of a dream dreamt by our collective consciousness that we would have been able to look beyond our dream. Even if we were alone person dreaming, we should not have been able to see beyond our own dream without breaking this dream. This means that we are dreaming within a dream that we often find time and mind to look into. This to me is a proof that we are all real, both collectively and individually just as we know we are. We are not entirely part of the physical universe that we observe, and we are neither a tiny part of it some other reality. We are realistically individual and conscious.

You can call ourselves spirits or gods but we are not the sources of all that happens to us and neither we are a slavish instruments of some other force. We are resist against acts of destruction, and choices we make permanently modifies the reality of the universe.

Answer 3

Yes, for one person(s) thinking. But the fundies would have a field day with that. Either Chief Joseph or Red Cloud once said in short, "We are all part of the Web of Life". And our species does act as if we are Gods, at least on this little rock. We seem to be the creators and the destroyers here. It is what's beyond that's a true mystery. Will we be as Gods or just an amoeba on a new world?

Answer 4

There has long been this argument about cause and effect; we assume that one comes before the other and always in the same order, but may be radically wrong. I'm not sure if it's ever possible to totally find out everything; somewhere, or possibly everywhere, things are so weird that we currently couldn't even start to contemplate it.
Perhaps we are all fragmented aspects of God (he being the fundamental of all things and not a thinking entity as we understand it).

Answer 5

yes, we are the source of creation and destruction, however we did not create the universe. I believe this to be obvious, however perception of the universe and it's creation lies within an individual. This topic relates back to the debate between science and religion. Science dictates that the universe was created via the big bang. This is questionable as we are also taught through science that nothing comes from nowhere. There has to be a source. The big bang could not have been created from nothingness, the "explosion" must have been created by explosives? no? *CONFLICT ION* Religion however, teaches that god created all, this is questionable also. Our knowledge (as the human race) makes us curious and leads us to question faith...
In conclusion, the universe is NOT a dream it IS there however conflicting debates make the idea incomprehensible... and is an idea that will never be satisfied

Answer 6

Pedro Calderon de la Barca wrote a famous play in Spanish on this very subject.

In an absolute sense there is no proof one way or the other, most would say. But, an indication is that since we know the distinction between our dream experience, that it is fragmented, and our waking experience, that it is consistent the indication is that the later is the real experience. That's not my argument but B. Russell's.

Either way, practically it does not matter.

Answer 7

Parallel universes have not been shown to exist, and other dimensions besides the 4 we know, if they exist at all, are not places you can go. You're already in them without knowing it. Sounds like a dream to me.

Answer 8

The reality that we observe is a mere remnant of the reality that unfolds each instant. In other words, space/energy/matter is a leftover of the simultaneity of action and inaction. Only when humanity embraces the persistent principle that generates the present, the human creator arises. Until that time, man will rely on God to explain his existence.

www.thefutureofsociety.org

Answer 9

You know, the world would be a very different place if that perspective were just as popular as any existing religious metaphysics, for instance that of Christianity or Islam. I wonder if we'd be any nicer to each other... Probably not though...

Answer 10

We are co-creating, creating, and created. So, all part of the intricate web of universal consciousness.
As for being gods, more like 'gods in the chrysalis'.