One Truth.

MY LIFE LENS is a philosophical quest into understanding the nature of “creation” and “reality” at the level of the individual and the infinite.

BING chat answers.

When I asked GPT-4 the question “is there one universal truth”, the reply surprised me.

The concept of a universal truth has been debated by philosophers for centuries. Some people believe that there is no one universal truth, but that we all live our own truths ¹. Others believe that universal facts exist and can be progressively discovered ².

In general, a universal truth is a statement that is true for all people and at all times. For example, “violence against women is never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable” is considered a universal truth by the World Health Organization ³.

However, it is difficult to find something that is actually a “Universal Truth” because we are not aware of it quite so readily if it is not a part of our universe ⁴. Laws of physics are the most ready example of “Universal Truths” but even with those - we cannot be entirely sure with many of them ⁴.

My One Truth

The only thing I know to be true is that my mind exists. Without it, I don’t exist to myself.

I know for certain that Consciousness is the most fundamental requirement for existence because that is where I am aware of my thoughts, feelings and memories. All of my thoughts and feelings arise as conscious artifacts in response to my perceptions of living in a “material” universe. This perceived sphere of existence is manifest solely in my mind even though it seems as if it exists externally to “me” in time, space and matter.

I created the phrase My Life Lens to remind me, and to signify to others like the readers of this post, that I view every instant of my existence through the lens of all previous instances which generated thoughts, feelings and memories. I alone can know my own mind which is why it is “my” life lens.

I think of all human language, both linguistic and artistic, are toolsets of the mind that we, as beings of consciousness, create to understand our “material” universe. The creation of all such “language” always arises from the mind of individuals but can, and often do, become shared artifacts of consciousness in the “collective”.

Consciousness and concepts of God share similarities.

Both consciousness and God are not well understood. They appear to exist beyond physical measurement, touch and (scientific) investigation. Human attempts to understand their true nature arise from the mind as ideas, feelings and choices (such as faith).

Both are alleged to be the wellspring of “creation” and fundamental to “reality” (https://www.openbible.info/topics/god_is_the_creator_of_everything_that_exists). In my metaphysical understanding of “creation” and “reality”, individual beings of consciousness produce articons in “mind”. Shared articons are considered Articons which universally comprise the Mind of God.

The Bible claims that we were created in the image and likeness of God, (https://biblehub.com/genesis/1-27.htm). What if this interpretation by biblical scholars has been wrong? Did they fail to consider the possibility that God is pure consciousness and we are created as “beings of consciousness”? And what if all that we perceive as the “material” universe is, in reality, a construction of Artifacts of Consciousness shared in the “Mind of God” by individual beings of consciousness?

Here is the one question that begs an answer:

Do we live in a material universe comprised of trillions upon trillions of atoms? OR do we live in an illusory universe comprised of trillions upon trillions of articons (artifacts of consciousness)?

Another related question becomes:

Do we, as beings of consciousness, share a vast ocean of Articons that represent our “reality”? Is this the true nature of Creation? Is the biblical notion of God just an unsophisticated attempt by past beings of consciousness to understand their “reality”?

Food for reflection this morning over coffee as I add one more post to My Life Lens.