Quote Originally Posted by Invader Tech View Post
You read my mind.

Anyone's guess is as good as mine, but that's generally where my mind is in terms of what we are with respect to reality. You used the multiple personalities example, so I'll ask that you consider another example I like to use often, which is that of a dream. A dream operates as it's own reality. It has it's own particular set of rules and vividness that you can actively control if you are aware of them. The dream characters inside are no more than an expression of yourself, your own mind, all divided and spread out into different people/things. Given enough time, these dream characters would soon come to theorize that the dream world they exist within is just an illusion (as well you know it is), and some will go so far as to suggest that they are a part of the same mind (which is collectively your mind).

With respect to dreams, the only thing that exists in actuality is consciousness (and perhaps the brain, which intelligently processes the information). All of the 'reality' that becomes the dream comes as a result of your consciousness. The real world that both you and I experience day to day is analogous to the dreamworld in the way I just described. Nothing more than a convincing illusion that we use to interact with each other ("a collective consciousness experiencing itself"). I'm sure this probably sounds outlandish to a great deal of people, but if you'd like me to clarify my point of view on this, I'd be happy to do so.

As for the origin? Who knows? Existence by itself appears to be a sort of paradox on its own, but here we are. The existence we experience implies that there be some source or point of entry, and I wouldn't be surprised if that 'source' was the consciousness we are all theoretically a part of.
I agree with that to every extent. If the one intial consciousness (which I've referred to before as Singular Consciousness - the universe's awareness of itself, on a fundamental level, before being broken down into the consciousnesses we've experienced as "individuals") is the byproduct that emerges from the supposed system of waves that we might surmise to be the true nature of the universe, then it would make perfect sense on so many levels. I agree with you on the "dream reality" aspect, and how our 'individual' consciousnesses are probably no more than a singular consciousness believing itself to be more than one.

The question though, is whether or not the consciousness(es) inside of that singular system could ever become aware of the reality outside of that level of perception? I mean, like with lucid dreaming: We are only aware that a dream is just a dream because we experience real life, and we can compare and contrast the two. But could those dream characters (or, in the case of this scenario: us) be expected to ever realize the reality that might lie outside of our frame of reference? We simply have nothing to compare and contrast the idea to. I do like the fact that we are trying to find out, though, and we are breaking into ground that is akin to a dream character realizing the inconsistency of dream content, and beginning to realize that there may be an absolution that lies outside of the "dream world."

Though we may never understand the "true" nature of the universe, the truths we uncover while searching for it are no less astonishing/important.