One's Metaphysical World View

[Chester]

Recently I experienced a true consciousness shift. I will save for another post the details behind that. TOT played a role and it was positive. Anyways... the shift came about as a result of an investigation I entered into all and only because I discovered a crusade that, on the surface seemed to make good sense yet, deep down inside I knew "something" was bothering me and I had to find out what that something was and why it was bothering me.

This led me to look deeper into my own most important world view which (for me) is... my current metaphysical view as to how "all this" came to be. My world view also includes the answer to "what am I." What bothered me was the crusade seemed anchored in a materialistic world view. I had explored materialism and realism and alternative views to some degree but I didn't feel I had a good enough handle on why my "gut" rejected "materialism."

I suddenly recalled a site called Skeptiko where the site owner had several hundred audio interviews with some of the world's most respected "thinkers" yet which spanned the spectrum from full blown militant materialists to the folks that can be placed loosely in a group we would call, "there must be more."

So I opened up the list and began to scroll down looking for a title that would grab me. "As this sorta thing goes" (when one lives the 'magical life' as I like to call it... hint, there's really no actual magic to it), I ended up at the one titled - "This philosopher goes toe-to-toe with materialist science… so far he’s undefeated."

I had never heard of Dr. Bernardo Kastrup until this moment. I began to listen. Within minutes I realized I wanted to read one of his books and ordered "Brief Peeks Beyond." A few days later the book arrived and I realized it was a compilation of essays. After reading the first several pages, I kept noticing he referred often to another book he had written called, "Why Materialism is Baloney." The title sort of turned me off so I didn't react until... after reading several more essays I encountered too many references back to this book, "Why Materialism is Baloney" and so I broke down and ordered it.

The book arrived just a few days before I was to leave for 17 days to meet my wife on the island of Curacao for a mission to get a silly piece of paper which is separating her from being with me back in Texas. The good news was that it was this very island I met Cristina 14 years ago and the island where we married, also 14 years ago. Just to make it "right" I got us a beachfront room at the same resort where we spent our honeymoon - yes... this was to be a second honeymoon too so not all that bad after all.

That the book came just before the trip set me up well for the opportunity to enjoy a peaceful contemplative reading opportunity.

All I can say is... "WoW!"

The most impacting book I have read in this lifetime.

Anyways - this thread will be dedicated to a discussion of the various metaphysical world views. My current metaphysical world view is best described by the term - "monistic idealism." But I always hold the right to shift my view(s) at anytime. To start though, I am sharing this interesting reasonably short video that I found much agreement with and can give the reader an idea of my own, current world view so the discussion that might follow has a starting point regardless of whether any member (or reader) agrees, agrees in part or wholly disagrees with my own view.

Enjoy!


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C5pq7W5yRM


EDIT (should have linked back to the original post)

[Cearna]

The book arrived just a few days before I was to leave for 17 days to meet my wife on the island of Curacao for a mission to get a silly piece of paper which is separating her from being with me back in Texas. The good news was that it was this very island I met Cristina 14 years ago and the island where we married, also 14 years ago. Just to make it "right" I got us a beachfront room at the same resort where we spent our honeymoon - yes... this was to be a second honeymoon too so not all that bad after all.

Hi Sam, this reply has nothing to do with metaphysics, but in 1973, I went on my first overseas trip, leaving from Sydney in the Italian passenger ship, the Galileo. We had several strikes amongst the crew, on the way over, one of them was at Curacao, instead of just virtually a one day stay, we had an extra day there -we were given $15 American to buy our food for the day, and I've got to say I loved that place!!!!! I don't know what it was, it just felt good to be alive there - I can truly imagine what a wonderful time you had. Good for you Mate.

The second point that I feel so Empathic with you about is the fact that were had to be separated. As you probably know, I had an Arab fiance' from Israel, he came to Australia for a three month stay so we could be together. I enquired into the chances of him being allowed to come here and become an Australian citizen and was told the only way he could do that was to go and live somewhere like NZ (if they would let him) and live there for at least 2 years and apply for the chance to be allowed here after that time. However, even that was going to depend upon whether he could pass our points system - a series of questions about whether you would end up being worthy to allow in, and mostly to decide whether you would be a burden to the tax payers if you came and were not going to be useful.

His skills were few, could speak English, but not really read it too well, and selling in the Old City markets to tourists did not constitute a great number of points on the points system. We decided I would have to go to live in Israel, which was not the best of ideas because I was almost an undesirable alien there for simply knowing and being with an Arab. Anyway, long story short, I sold my home, had enough money left to buy a small shop near to the Armenian sector, but in the Arab sector of the Old city, which the PLO burnt down, because Nasser opened the shop on one of the declared strike days - any one going against the strike had their livelihood burnt - but we needed the little money available. End of story I had to come back home and start again. But, once again I know just too well what long separations over four years meant to us, and I feel for what you have been through.

[Aragorn]

This post belongs under Philosophy but I am unsure if there is a category for Philosophy and if so, where it is. I really did look.... perhaps under "unsolved mysteries?" Please move it to the best place or perhaps we could create a sub-category under the appropriate major category and call the sub-category, "Philosophy?"

I have moved the thread to the Spirituality & Psyche category, Sam. That category covers both philosophy and metaphysics.

[...]

So I opened up the list and began to scroll down looking for a title that would grab me. "As this sorta thing goes" (when one lives the 'magical life' as I like to call it... hint, there's really no actual magic to it), I ended up at the one titled - "This philosopher goes toe-to-toe with materialist science… so far he’s undefeated." [...]

I have also corrected the link in the above paragraph. It had an extra "http://" string tagged to the end, so it didn't work when people clicked on it. Now it does.

I had never heard of Dr. Bernardo Kastrup until this moment.

The name rang a bell, so I did a search on the forum, and apart from you yourself having mentioned him once before, member dianna had also already mentioned him once, in this post here, on a thread called culture gloss, which she herself had started in September 2013. Other than that, he appears to be — as we say in Dutch — "an illustriously unknown person".

[Chester]

About (Bernardo Kastrup)

Bernardo Kastrup has a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering with specializations in artificial intelligence and reconfigurable computing. He has worked as a scientist in some of the world's foremost research laboratories, including the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the "Casimir Effect" of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). Bernardo has authored many scientific papers and philosophy books. His three latest books are: More Than Allegory, Brief Peeks Beyond, and Why Materialism Is Baloney. He has also been an entrepreneur and founder of a successful high-tech start-up. Next to a managerial position in the high-tech industry, Bernardo maintains a philosophy blog, a video interview series, and continues to develop his ideas about the nature of reality. He has lived and worked in four different countries across continents, currently residing in the Netherlands.


Why Materialism is Baloney


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOyWO7Yw8AY

[Elen]

Great points are made here!