Re: I know you know I know...

Posted by Hal on October 06, 1998 at 09:08:51:

In Reply to: Re: I know you know I know... posted by BB on October 02, 1998 at 18:57:12:

: "anyone esle?" I'd bet you ALL of us have that experience...Because we all think that OUR "truth" is the best one, or else we wouldn't have thought it as THE truth, right?
: I mean...if I believe in something, it being a philosophical idea, psychological therory, God, moral, or simply "who said what, when and why" -and what have you - I have chosen to believe in it because this is what I personally think is true or right. Nobody can belive in anything they don't think is true or right.....so, what makes your truth better than anyone elses? Everybody think their truth is the right/ best one....that is why we think it's the truth!

: I am really curious, and not trying to be sarcastic or rude, but what IS "The Truth" as you see it?
: (You said, "I do believe that there is a such thing as THE Truth")
: Wanna share? Please? (See, I'm still looking for "The Universal Truth")

: BB

I guess I have two levels of meaning when I say that there is such a thing as THE Truth. The simpler level is when several people see or experience some events, and then tell you about the events. Invariably, each person will have a different version of the story, and will disagree with some of the other people on at least some points. They may each feel that they are telling the truth (i.e. they are not intentionally lying) but as I see it, no more than one of them can really be correct. There is only one way the events unfolded, but each person experienced them differently, or experienced different parts of the events. Then our ego comes into play and insists that OUR experience of the events is how they actually happened--we alone have THE truth.

On the other hand, it can be argued that there is no THE truth, but one experience is as much a truth as any other. In other words, truth is dependent on the observer. Intuitively, this feels all wrong to me, but many very wise and smart people have given good agruments that this is the case, so I have to consider it. The most provable examples come from quantum mechanics, in which the act of observing an experiment affects the results of the experiment--there is no answer independent of the observer. And two different observers can see two different results, and can both prove that they are correct.

The second, deeper level of Universal Truth that I believe in is much more difficult to explain. It has to do with the reality behind all that we see and experience. I've read about it in books by Enlightened teachers who claim to know this reality, to know God, to know how the Universe works beyond the world of appearances that we normally experience. But they say that to realize this, it must be experienced directly; it cannot be put into words. So I don't really understand it except as a vague concept, and the books say that our ideas of what it might be like are certain to be wrong.

I wish I could help more than that, but I don't really know any more of this Ultimate Truth than you do. I hope to find it someday.

- Hal -

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• Re: I know you know I know... BB 10:40:59 10/06/98 (0)

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