Integral Paradox

Do what you feel you have to do, but there are so many charismatic people out there with all sorts of worldviews, there has to be some reason specific ones are able to draw you in and others don't. Let rationality be the guiding force behind whatever you feel your identity should be, since it probably already is, though I think a complete breakdown of our former beliefs can be healthy and necessary at first.

My premise is well understood. In Abrahamic traditions, God isn't something you realize you are one with, it's a being you obey, to seek future reward and to avoid future punishment.

Yes but like I said, the theory of gravity waves was based on the need to explain the observable.

Right, and you can't get anywhere with math itself - you have to apply to something observable. Then boom, you have physics.

But it's never "what if there are these things called gravity waves? It wouldn't explain anything but it's possible." The theory of gravity waves was based on the need to explain the observable. By "not detactable" I don't mean to just our 5 senses, I'm including science and math, which can be considered extensions of our senses.

Something that doesn't occupy the same space as our 3-dimensional system can't be detectible, which means it fits the critera for non-existance, like the tooth fairy. It would be paradoxical for a physicist to claim that through emprical science, they found something that can't be detected. If another physical system existed that we could detect through physics, then physics is the thing linking these systems to one another, meaning they're not separate after all.

Anything with the phrase "nothing exists" is bound to be paradoxical. When I said "everything exists within something," I meant that every "thing" individually is part of something larger, and "universe" should be the word that encapulates that concept. What if there are multiple multiverses? Are we just going to come up with more and more words for what we think is the largest concept possible? I say we start with "universe" being synonymous with the entirety of existence, then use smaller concepts like "dimensions" from there. As Stef points out, it's totally possible for interdimensional beings to exist, but there's no evidence for them, and if there were, why refer to them as gods?

As Kevin pointed out, it makes more sense to use the word "universe" to refer to the entirety of everything. If there are other dimensions, then there must be some single law that allows them to exist. Everything exists within something.

What would these universes be part of? It doesn't matter how many dimensions there might be - there can only be one universe, which can only be understood through reason, not preferance.

If there are no neutral actions, a person in a coma is being moral even though they have no ability to be immoral. This asserts that free will is irrelevant when coming up with criteria for moral behavior.

You're right that the "one universe = one god" assumption makes no sense - not because of the quantity of gods, but because there's no need for the invisible dieties to explain how things work. It's a question about logic, not preference.

Life itself will be cruel. There's no reason the parents should introduce them to it. If anything, they should set the example that one doesn't have to be cruel to make it in the world.

If I'm God, why do you endorse mythical religions that endorse worshiping god as a separate being? Eastern systems of philosophy like Buddhism and Vedic texts are about reaching a realization of non-duality directly, as opposed to a world view that causes gay people to kill themselves.

Gimme Some Truth - John Lennon Im sick and tired of hearing thingsFrom uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocriticsAll I want is the truthJust gimme some truthIve had enough of reading thingsBy neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politiciansAll I want is the truthJust gimme some truthNo short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dickyIs gonna mother hubbard soft soap meWith just a pocketful of hopeMoney for dopeMoney for ropeNo short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dickyIs gonna mother hubbard soft soap meWith just a pocketful of soapMoney for dopeMoney for ropeIm sick to death of seeing thingsFrom tight-lipped, condescending, mamas little chauvinistsAll I want is the truthJust gimme some truth nowIve had enough of watching scenesOf schizophrenic, ego-centric, paranoiac, prima-donnasAll I want is the truth nowJust gimme some truthNo short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dickyIs gonna mother hubbard soft soap meWith just a pocketful of soapIts money for dopeMoney for ropeAh, Im sick and tired of hearing thingsFrom uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocritesAll I want is the truth nowJust gimme some truth nowIve had enough of reading thingsBy neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politiciansAll I want is the truth nowJust gimme some truth nowAll I want is the truth nowJust gimme some truth nowAll I want is the truthJust gimme some truthAll I want is the truthJust gimme some truth

It's not a quote, but I have to confess I can't get his Ayn Rand impression out of my head.