Doug

Emergence on this planet and around the broader universe seems to demonstrate an innate, ubiquitous principle of self-organization. Is this a necessary feature of any kind of existence?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergence

What IS the CONTENT of a thought? What do we say it is made of or composed of? How do we classify it?

In Jed McKenna's Theory of Everything, Jed McKenna says, "...Truth is not really relevant. It has no practical value or realworld application. It doesn't change or improve anything. I may understand that consensus reality isn't true, or even probable, but here I am. Truth is outside of all paradigms, but we live inside them."

Do you agree? Why or why not?

i.e. Level 7 users being able to knock a question around from one category to another.

...generates this entire realm?

I'm probably coming at this from the standpoint of the simulation hypothesis, or the idea of the net of samsara, if there's really any difference between the two.

And for instance... scientists apparently affecting the outcomes of their quantum experiments, meaningful coincidences with very high levels of improbability, winning money in the lottery, and so on.

done, without worrying about success or failure.

What needs to be done?

us, would you still call him God?

For some background, see The Simulation Hypothesis here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulation_hypothesi...

See also The Universe - Solved! by Jim Elvidge http://www.amazon.com/Universe-Solved-Jim-Elvidge/... .

Does anyone really think that their religious / spiritual experiences are not subjective? If so, how and why would someone think that?

As in, "Why am I alive?" or "Why should I continue to live?"

Is "Who am I?" or "What is asking the question?" a better question to ask? Are there other better questions?

What *is* asking the question?

I'm reading Shadow Dance by David Richo. In it, he says, "Ultimately, a union of opposites is possible neither through conscious ego alone, since it divides, nor through the unconscious alone, since it identifies. It requires a third force, the transcendent function of psyche, which emerges from our struggle with the darkest side of our shadow. In the ancient myth of Perseus slaying Medusa, Pegasus, the horse that rides to spiritual heights, sprang from Medusa's severed head: the healing third."

Can we see the healing third in the myth of the resurrection of Jesus, or in some other way of figuratively or literally combining life and death?

If so, have we come to any conclusions yet, or... what are we moving toward becoming?

Why is it so difficult for some people to just sit quietly for long periods of time with nothing to do, and not get bored, while this seems very easy for others?

If you like, please refer to the following web page, which is what triggered this question for me: http://www.free-range-humans.com/out-of-the-box/fp...

It also reminded me of this saying from The Gospel of Thomas: "If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not have that within you, what you do not have within you [will] kill you."

What is this referring to, that if brought forth from within you will save you? Is it the experience of "feeling alive" and buzzed about life, that's always there and able to be retrieved?

Accounts of near death experiences, or so-called afterlife experiences of people who have died and returned to life are taken seriously by many to be completely, objectively real. But why would people think that though hallucinations happen often enough at other times, these NDEs would not be hallucinations - a sort of death dream that may have some commonly repeated features among different people, due perhaps to the basic structure of the human brain/psyche?

BQ: How might this all tie into "remote viewing"? (Among others, the US govt has supposedly used remote viewing successfully to spy on the Soviets during the Cold War.)

I'm running Windows XP, and now starting to have problems with Java updates, on two different XP systems - a netbook and a Dell PC. Never had problems updating Java before. Last week, I had a problem updating the netbook, which was solved by doing a system restore and trying again, and now I'm having the same problem with the PC, and would rather not do the system restore to try to fix it. I thought the netbook problem was due to running a registry fixer and/or changing some services startup options. But I haven't done any of that stuff to the PC. Java uninstalls itself, then tells me it can't access a file, due to a "network error," and this is all under "Error 1316."

I did a system restore back to just before this problematic update, which restores the previous version of Java, and don't want to go further back to an earlier restore point if I can avoid it.

Thanks in advance for your help with this.

I was looking for some basic info on the job and education of an x-ray technician, and was redirected to the "radiologic technologist" page at Wikipedia. For a radiologic technologist, the following is listed for education, and I'm wondering if an x-ray technician might be able to obtain narrower, more specific certification, without needing all of this (if so, what does that consist of?):

Education

Education slightly varies worldwide mainly because of fairly common references. A high school diploma, passing the entrance requirements and criminal record clearance are mandatory for entry in the radiologic technology program. Formal training programs in radiography range in length that leads to a certificate, an associate or a bachelor's degree. Citing patient safety concerns, international trend now leans towards a bachelor's degree. Master degree programs are offered in many countries.

The educational curriculum substantially conforms worldwide. Usually, during their formal education, they must receive some training in human anatomy and physiology, general and nuclear physics, mathematics, radiation physics, radiopharmacology, pathology, biology, research, nursing procedures, medical imaging science and diagnosis, radiologic instrumentation, emergency medical procedures, medical imaging techniques, computer programming, patient care and management, medical ethics and general chemistry.

I read that in a book I was reading in transit earlier. It was written by Abraham Maslow, and is from the book entitled, _The Farther Reaches of Human Nature_. Do you agree or disagree / have any thoughts on this? I could ask this in psychology, but would get a different slant on it there. Trying here first.

I'm looking for another series or two that I'd like, that's new to me, from about the past 10-15 years let's say. I'm nearly done watching Firefly for the first time, and have really enjoyed that series. To give you an idea of what I'm looking for, other shows I've enjoyed watching or re-watching in the past few years include Babylon 5, Earth2, Warehouse 13, Eureka, Sherlock, most of the Star Trek shows, and I'm one of the biggest Doctor Who fans on the planet. I'd like to find a couple more shows that I haven't watched before that have some good, imaginative storylines with substance, and that make me think about them, with good casting and characters as well. A couple examples of shows I didn't go for: Farscape (just never got into the dialog/writing), and the new Battlestar Galactica (just too dark and depressing for me).

Thanks in advance.