Rupert Spira: God Is Self-Aware Existence

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hi I have a question about about my cat
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and the question is what do I have in
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common with my cat and I have the same
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question about bacteria what do I have
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in common with bacteria and also a
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particle Sabich sub-atomic particle or
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even a string what do I have in common
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with a particle so a particle yeah a
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bacteria that cat
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and yourself yeah and that means
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anything really but okay one thing I
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know
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yes that well I don’t know if I know it
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but I there is
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well we’re made of particles so in some
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sense there is a connection between all
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of them and there is a theory called
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quantum mechanics where they in physics
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introduced it’s a yeah it’s it’s a
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successful theory that describes reality
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but not everything but they and when
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that was born the quantum mechanics they
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had a lot of discussion about
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consciousness and today when we had this
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morning session of meditation I listened
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to the sound of the AC and then I
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realized that I’m aware my cat is aware
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or maybe even awareness itself
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and what about other bacteria and other
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things and how would where this will
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limit what is what do you we all thought
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about consciousness so for example how
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far down the chain does consciousness go
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yeah exactly what is the limit and okay
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so and for example Buddha what I
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understand he was actually meditating on
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a being uh he asked himself I am a cat I
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am a bacteria and he could when he
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meditated he could what I read to see
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the smallest parts of reality I don’t
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know how we did it but so what is your
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when you meditate on I am a particle
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what do you find but I can’t want your
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first question about what do you have in
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common with a cat a bacteria and the
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particle and then you say to or anything
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for that matter let’s let’s not them so
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let’s take yourself would you agree that
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you exist yes would you agree that your
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cat exists yes would you agree that
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particles exist yes you mentioned them
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so I’m taking would you agree the
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bacteria exists yes and then you said
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and anything else for that matter so
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let’s take a few other examples would
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you agree that a thought when it is
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present exists please say yes yeah
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yeah okay though it’s not a tree
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Crescent yes no no no this is not not a
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trick question
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don’t worry I’m I’m not tricking you and
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just being straightforward
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would you agree the term a toothache
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when it is present exists yes would you
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agree that anything anything at all
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whatever it is when when it is present
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it exists yes so would you agree that
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existence is common to everything yes
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and therefore cannot be the property of
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any particular thing it cannot be the
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property of or limited to any particular
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thing well let’s let’s back up one is
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when we say a cat exists or a thought
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exists or eye exists I exist is there
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any difference between the existence of
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each of these things the quality of
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existing is there any difference between
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the quality of exists now precisely so
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existence is is the same for everything
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and therefore cannot be limited to any
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particular thing no now do let me just
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let me just
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when a thing disappears what happens to
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its existence
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are you talking about I mean usually
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transformed to something else no I’m not
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talking about the the the cat or the
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particle I mean I mean its existence
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what happens to its existence existence
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is is common to everything
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when a cat disappears where does its
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existence
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there can be many answers if there is a
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person to me that is there can be many
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possible answers to that or what do you
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mean the can existence become
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non-existent can he disappear anything
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that yes appear disappears must
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disappear into something where would
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existence go when he vanished into what
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would it dissolve from my own personal I
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don’t know you
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the answer is existence cannot cease to
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exist it doesn’t disappear so we
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normally think that every object all
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these innumerable objects that the
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people that catch the bacteria the
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particles the thoughts the toothache say
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we normally think of all of these as
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objects which have existence which have
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their own little packet of existence
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which disappears when the object
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disappears but are we sure that objects
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have existence rather than existence
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having objects when you say we are you
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bacteria now or whatever you know you
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you you you and I you and I because I
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think the thing is that I’m talking
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about taking perspective from not from
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our own experience so for example but
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but but let’s let’s stick with our with
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our own experience the to take the
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existence of this glass takes its
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existence and the existence of the
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flowers and the existence of your
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thoughts what is the what is the
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difference between the quality of
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existing in each of these cases are
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there different kinds of existence
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whereas existence always the same fact
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for my own experience it’s a perception
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of or something or or you I I granted
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the the the appearance of the glass and
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the flowers and the chairs are different
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but their existence their quality of
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existing is that not the same for
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everything and when we say about that
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glass it is when we say about the flower
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it is let me say about the chair it is
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when we say about the person she is we
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say about the light it is what is the
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difference between the business of each
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of these objects no it’s it’s the same
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it’s the same so business being or or
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existence is the common element in
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everything and is therefore not the
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particular property of any one thing it
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is not limited to one thing just shared
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by all things
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exactly so what are your thoughts then
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about but when it comes to where but
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hold on just just pause with the
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implications of what of what we’ve just
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said we said that the the essence the
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existence of everything is the same it
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is shared existence is the one thing
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which is not a thing that all things
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have in common now what is there to a
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thing other than its existence the way
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to find that out would be to remove
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existence from the thing and see what
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remains of the thing if we were to
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remove existence from this class what
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would remain of the class nothing
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so what we’re saying is that there is a
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single existence a single being from
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which all things borrow their apparent
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existence but that being that isness is
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not the property of any particular thing
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or is not limited to any particular
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thing in other words it is unlimited so
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what we’re saying is that the the that
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isness is not divided up between things
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we’re not saying this has a certain
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portion of isness and this has a certain
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portion we’re saying there is a single
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unlimited business or being from which
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everything borrows its temporary
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existence
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now just go one step further than that
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if we go to the the isness or the being
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in ourselves that is the experience we
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refer to when we say I am when we say I
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am we refer to being or existence and in
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order to be able to say I am we must
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know that I am and the experience I am
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is not known by something other than
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itself when we say I know that I am the
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I that I am is the same I that knows
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that I am therefore this it is our
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experience that existence is known by
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itself it is aware so existence is not
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something dead and inert existence is
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aware and the religious name for that is
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God self-aware being from which or
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seeming things borrow their apparently
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there apparently individual identity
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that’s what God is self-aware existence
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and it is shining as everything there is
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nothing to anything other than its
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existence in other words there is
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nothing to anything other than God’s
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infinite self-aware being
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so your answer is there is no limits to
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consciousness going yet it’s a shared
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it’s a shared property share he yes yes
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yes so well let me say I’m going to just
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push you even further so yes it’s true
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that a certain stage to say there is no
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limit to consciousness or self-aware
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being another way of saying that is it
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is unlimited or infinite infinite means
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not finite infinite but even that is not
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quite right because in order to say
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consciousness is not limited we would
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have to find something that is limited
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to contrast it with but we have already
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seen that all there is to anything is
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its existence and existence it has no
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limits so we can’t even find something
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limited to say consciousness is not that
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so in relation to the belief that
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consciousness is limited it is valid as
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a halfway stage to say it is unlimited
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or infinite but in truth it is not
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unlimited or unlimited it is not finite
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or infinite but the mind simply cannot
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conceptualize that so the best the mind
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can do is to say it is infinite but that
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make that statement makes a concession
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to the minds belief in finite things
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when those finite things are
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investigated we don’t find them and
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quantum physics has a right to the same
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conclusion
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you
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you