What If Life Was Just A Thought?

[acs267]

I just wanted to know, what if life was just a thought? What if we were all just one person, or apart of one dream, that envisioned us as who we are? Couldn't this explain our strong emotions, personality, and even things that seem impossible? If everybody was just a reflection of sudden hatred, euphoria, or weakness.

Or maybe the 'things' are going on right now, yet, we make a parallel 'event' that was a reflection of the actual event? For instance, what if a person died in front of your eyes. What if this 'thing' becomes a 'event' that carries on to real life?

Whatever your answer is, and if you ever doubt that life is a actual thing, or idea, I can't necessarily believe you.

Because if I think life is just a idea created by my parallel mind, then of course, that could risk that everybody is just part of my idea. I could be fooling myself to never think of a different idea, which could possibly result in death?

This is already starting to make my head hurt.

[bloodmoon]

If life is just a thought, your real body still exist somewhere and you would wake up to it one day.  That's a comforting thought.

[sanjoea]

Life is a mixture of all experiences and feelings, everyone has to face it in their life time

[supernovax]

Life is a simulation and virtual reality. Wake up folks we are hook up into the matrix.

[Grasberg]

I think that the most interesting part is that the answer doesn't matter.  If it's real or not, you're here and can witness cause and effect.  Whether it's a simulation, a dream, a freak of quantum mechanics; you have agency in a universe with internally consistent rules. 

Don't go crazy, and enjoy it!

[gagalady]

Exactly It doesn't matter. Don't give such questions to yourself, they wont change anything. Just be wide-minded and live it!

[bitsmichel]

I just wanted to know, what if life was just a thought? What if we were all just one person, or apart of one dream, that envisioned us as who we are? Couldn't this explain our strong emotions, personality, and even things that seem impossible? If everybody was just a reflection of sudden hatred, euphoria, or weakness.

My answer will be based on numbers, and on estimates.

There are 1.361.000.000 humans.
There are 294,000,000,000,000 leaves.
There are 100.000.000.000.000.000 ants.

Lets go to a lower level of abstraction.

There are 133,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms on earth.
There are 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 planets in the visible universe.
Then there are about 798,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms in the visible universe.

Fun questions to think about (I have the answers):

1. Is the result of a single humans behaviour the result of all the atoms inside him - or -  is a subset of all these atoms causing this individual humans behaviour?

2. If you take away all of the atoms on earth and put them in a black hole, can you still think about it? in other words, to which degree do the atoms inside your brain influence your thought. Despite the religious theory of thinking without a head (i.e. soul), I have seen plenty of people with a head who cannot think 

3. Think about randomness. Is there randomness in the universe, or, is everything predetermined?  If you flip a coin, can you know the outcome of all the flips before you throw them? Say you do 10.000 throws.

Whatever your answer is, and if you ever doubt that life is a actual thing, or idea, I can't necessarily believe you.

You dont have to believe me. Just do the math

[rhino34567]

This kind of sounds like the idea of your life having been just a dream.

[Joshuar]

I just wanted to know, what if life was just a thought? What if we were all just one person, or apart of one dream, that envisioned us as who we are? Couldn't this explain our strong emotions, personality, and even things that seem impossible? If everybody was just a reflection of sudden hatred, euphoria, or weakness.

Or maybe the 'things' are going on right now, yet, we make a parallel 'event' that was a reflection of the actual event? For instance, what if a person died in front of your eyes. What if this 'thing' becomes a 'event' that carries on to real life?

Whatever your answer is, and if you ever doubt that life is a actual thing, or idea, I can't necessarily believe you.

Because if I think life is just a idea created by my parallel mind, then of course, that could risk that everybody is just part of my idea. I could be fooling myself to never think of a different idea, which could possibly result in death?

This is already starting to make my head hurt.

Questions like this, while challenging to the mind, are irrational and illogical and believing in them can qualify you to be insane... You shouldn't dwell on these types of scenarios too much.

Live life, don't try but just Be Happy, and set for yourself a goal. Giving oneself a goal to accomplish can inspire feelings of happiness, clarity, focus, practically a wide variety of positive emotions and thoughts. Set yourself a goal (realistic or one you think you can achieve, doesn't have to be right away), once you have accomplished it, make yourself another one, and so on and so on.

[golem]

Row Row Row your boat, gently down the stream merrily merrily  merrily, life is but a dream.

I think (regardless of the true meaning) - that the idea is - dream or not - take an active stance in your life and _DO_ something (row the boat) not just sit around pondering if its a dream.  It really doesn't matter.

[apsvinet]

Row Row Row your boat, gently down the stream merrily merrily  merrily, life is but a dream.

I think (regardless of the true meaning) - that the idea is - dream or not - take an active stance in your life and _DO_ something (row the boat) not just sit around pondering if its a dream.  It really doesn't matter.

Muahaha, what a fun interpretation of these well known lyrics. Seems accurate too!

[feina24h]

Even if its a dream i am living it and i am feeling it, dreams are not dreams when you live them 

[u9y42]

This thread kind of reminded me of the movie "Waking Life" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243017/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1). It touches on some of the questions put forth here, but it's still a pretty interesting movie in its own right, if you have time to check it out.

[spazzdla]

There is no actual way to prove anything around you really exists..  Don't spend to much time thinking about it, not many people understand the idea so you'll have no one to talk to about it and you'll go nuts thiking about it.

[u9y42]

There is no actual way to prove anything around you really exists..  Don't spend to much time thinking about it, not many people understand the idea so you'll have no one to talk to about it and you'll go nuts thiking about it.

And he would have no way to know if he wasn't just talking to himself... solipsism at its best. 

[zolace]

Ok you know what a thought is right?   This really dont make sense, but if your saying it Life was just imaginary, then how can you imagine without life in the first place unless you was plugged in the matrix.

[Hazir]

It's really very simple. All our beliefs, concepts, thoughts are just 'stories' in our head, our imagination - even the concepts of space, time, matter, atoms, us, head and imagination. Waking up from this 'dream' happens, where it is realized that there was a deep hypnosis and conditioning in how this mind/body experiences and interprets.