Why there has to be a self?

[gettoefl]

Self is the shell i plonked into the middle of the universe

to imagine I am separate from all the other various sized shells around me.

It is an amazing sleight of hand, a cunning hallucination to deceive the best of us.

I am separate from nothing but I conjured up oodles of space to be between me and everything!

Worst of all I forgot how to undo it all.

Let's save that chat for another day.

At least I have an idea what self is.

[Xonas Pitfall]

47 minutes ago, Sugarcoat said:

So why did it have to arise at all? It must be serving a function otherwise it wouldn’t arise right? 

It serves three primary functions (though there are many more, these are broad categories):

1. Survival

Imagine two cavemen or organisms. One ventures into the woods to hunt and notices a human being mauled by a bear, while another bear lurks nearby. This caveman lacks self-reflection or understanding (think of how donkeys or similar animals can’t recognize themselves in a mirror) and foolishly walks into danger. The other caveman, however, has the capacity for self-reflection. He recognizes the human as like himself, assesses the threat, and flees. This caveman survives, fucks, and passes on his genes.

Now, picture two cavemen with some level of self-reflection. One can only think a few days ahead, while the other can think weeks into the future. The latter builds a small mud shelter to protect against the rain, while the former gets cold, falls ill, and dies. Again, the more reflective caveman survives and propagates his genes.

This trend continues: greater consciousness and self-reflection that enhance survival get passed down. Even today, you see these patterns - people who gamble excessively, overeat sugar, or neglect their health often face early death, difficulty finding a mate, or struggles with safety, love, and purpose. These individuals are less likely to propagate their genes successfully. Evolution isn't perfect, of course - harmful traits can still spread, and people can reproduce despite those flaws - but the general trend is that traits beneficial to survival, including self-reflection and consciousness, persist. This is why the self, or ego, exists.

2. Expansion of the Universe

Simply put, as I mentioned earlier, God’s mind is infinite. It holds no bias, and therefore, it has no boundaries regarding what it can or cannot be, or what it can or cannot experience. If it wishes to experience a human ego or a conscious mind, then it does. You happen to be the one "observing" this specific human experience - not, say, an alien kangaroo-flamingo hybrid skipping through the Sahara Desert.

3. As Previously Mentioned:

33 minutes ago, Xonas Pitfall said:

Consciousness, or "observance," requires two differentiated selves or points of view for each to exist. If no one were there to know of Sugarcoat, and if Sugarcoat weren’t defined by any bounds of reality, as an individuated self Sugarcoat couldn’t exist - she would dissolve into nothingness, emptiness, or God. 

Something must stubbornly remain one way and not another; this principle manifests in both the physical, emotional, and spiritual realms. If all physical objects were infinitely fluid, changeable, or transmutable, there would be constant chaos and no stable structures or rules to define reality.

Similarly, if emotions lacked weight or meaning and were infinitely fluid (like a fleeting joke) then the depth of love, beauty, the pull of passion, and other profound feelings would not necessarily exist. This concept, though cliché in non-duality teachings—"without darkness, there can be no light"—holds deep truth, especially when contemplating the nature of the self in the highest spiritual sense.

God "needs" to experience everything because He is everything and can only be everything. Hence, limitations and rigid, concrete, stable forms must also exist

This ties into the second point: the infinite nature of God’s mind.

Edited December 30, 2024 by Xonas Pitfall

[Sugarcoat]

Very good answers I read them all I might just not reply to them all