Why do I see from my eyes and not yours? Why am I me and not you?(answered )

[Someone here]

Long read ahead..so go make some coffee 

This question is actually one of the deepest philosophical questions one may think of, and I am not absolutely sure if everyone who provided their answers in this topic fully understands the underlying thought of this question.

It is a very intriguing question, and it is very hard to formalize in words. “Why am I me?” is indeed the best possible wording if we try to put it into English, but it still fails to provide an immediate clarity of what this question is about.

Let me share with you some of my personal experience around this question first.

I do not remember exactly when I asked myself “why am I me?” for the first time in my life, but it definitely was before my 5 or even before my 4.

One of my very early memories related to this question was a sudden “discovery” that all adults (including my parents) were blind. Literally! OK, let me explain. I was a very young child (I do not even know what my age was, but I remember myself lying in a baby bed) when my mom came to my bed and started talking to me. And when I looked at her face (specifically paying attention to her eyes), I surprisingly discovered I could not see the world from her location. I cannot explain why, but back then, I expected that presence of someone else’s eyes would have immediately resulted in my ability to perceive the world from their point of view. It may seem ridiculous to you (and to present “me” as well), but at that time I probably failed to fully understand that my perception was only “my” perception .. I expected a somewhat “global shared field of perception” to exist. Of course, I did not (and could not) put this logic into words then, it was merely a vague “feeling”, but I do remember it well. And more and more observations of other adults at that time led me to a conclusion that they just cannot see, their eyes are somewhat “empty”.

That funny story was not like directly asking “why am I me?” yet, but it was a kind of a “prerequisite” to it. Much older, when I already possessed a more “adult” understanding of the world (i.e. I already knew other people could see as well, I already knew I had not been always existing , as I initially used to think, I already knew children and adults were just different stages of aging, and not two “fundamentally different sorts of people”  as it seemed to me earlier), but still being young enough (no more than in my 4 or 5) this question came to me for the first time. I did not have any wording for it yet - back then I just called it this question for myself. Much later, I found a somewhat suitable verbal form for it ..and it was “Why am I me?” .

This question was so strange, so hard to explain, so hopeless to be ever answered, that it made me feel  helpless every time I tried to think of it for long enough. It was sometimes even scary to think of it deeply, but at the same time my curiosity made me come back to it again and again.

 

And today ..I'm finally able to find the answer to this question for myself. How ? Well,I noticed a very strange and unexplainable thing (and also it was somewhat frightening): I am “the center” of perception, “the center” of consciousness, “the center” of self-awareness. That was not anyone else but me. It made me feel as I was a very special, a very unique human being on the whole Earth.Why me? How come I was born such an unusual creature, not like anyone else?

But on the other hand, I already understood that no one would believe I was special if I dared to tell it to anybody. So, I kept my “discovery” in a deep secret. And, frankly speaking, it did not feel that bad at all to be the unique center of perceptionBut I realized I would probably never find any explanation to that fact - and it was depressing.

I am the center of perception in the Universe. At least, it is the way I feel it. Although I know that any other person feels the same, this knowledge comes from my daily practice. I can never be 100% sure that other people are conscious. Theoretically, there is a possibility that all other people are philosophical zombies.they act as if they had consciousness, and even if you ask any of them if that person is conscious, they will undoubtedly say “yes” .but it does not prove they are conscious .. they can be “programmed” this way. Of course, it is merely a theoretical possibility, but it cannot be scientifically disproven. As to myself, I am fully aware that I am conscious and not a philosophical zombie.

Then a few months ago ..I stumbled upon Leo's solipsism video ..and since then my whole life changed and there is no going back . I awakened to what Leo calls "Absolute Solipsism "

I can go even further then the classical concept of solipsism, and I can also deny time .which seems logical (later you will see why). Time is also an illusion produced by my mind and specifically by my memory. It is not possible to prove that the past existed . everything may have appeared just now, with the current state of my memory which cheats me. And it is not possible to prove the future will exist for the same reason .I know about the future based on my previous experience. But if all my previous experience is nothing more than a trick of my mind, then it is very likely there will be no future (as there was no past). All that exists is my mind at the present moment. Period.

And so now I'm satisfied with my conclusions. I'm finally at peace of knowing why am I me.  Because I'm God. The only being in the universe. 

Edited January 4, 2023 by Someone here

[Saupahar]

Nice.

[michaelcycle00]

I’ve decided not to make any intellectual conclusions before validating them through Psychs. Is there any reason you haven’t at least tried to harvest shrooms? They’re rather amongst the cheapest Psychs I’ve heard. 

[Thought Art]

There is only one conscious being 

[Someone here]

16 hours ago, michaelcycle00 said:

I’ve decided not to make any intellectual conclusions before validating them through Psychs. Is there any reason you haven’t at least tried to harvest shrooms? They’re rather amongst the cheapest Psychs I’ve heard. 

I have repeated this over the months .I can't have access to ANY psychedelic (including mushrooms) in India because they are banned and illegal.  The only option for me is via the dark Web. And I obviously don't want to put myself in legal problems . There is not even weed dealers where I live .so imagine how tough it is to find more potent psychedelics.

[Someone here]

16 hours ago, Thought Art said:

There is only one conscious being 

And do you know who that is?  You will be surprised 

[Breakingthewall]

@Someone here is not answered. How do you explain that you are having a finite concrete experience? reality is infinite. Do you think that the others are zombies without conscience, as can be seen from the solipsism video? 

you should be experiencing everything that is possible to experience right now. Why is not like that?

Edited January 5, 2023 by Breakingthewall

[Arthogaan]

29 minutes ago, Someone here said:

I can't have access to ANY psychedelic (including mushrooms) in India because they are banned and illegal. 

Do you plan to move out eventually?

[Someone here]

12 minutes ago, Breakingthewall said:

@Someone here is not answered. How do you explain that you are having a finite concrete experience? reality is infinite. Do you think that the others are zombies without conscience, as can be seen from the solipsism video?

Let's  just say that it can be real, but how you can you tell if it is real or not?

With the things we know, we can not say if it is real or not. Maybe if we discover the limits of the conscience or how to disguise between 2 consciences then we would know if is only one conscience living at the same time in all the beings, or many consciences.

 we have no direct experience with the external world; that the entire realm of conscious experience happens internally, within our…er, I mean, within your own mind. That seems to be a pretty indisputable observation. But that would also appear to make it impossible, in a very fundamental way, to prove that anything independent of one’s own mind exists at all. And so, along with that realization comes the rather provocative idea that maybe stuff..other minds, or maybe just everything external to your own mind doesn’t actually exist.

Now if you’ll allow me to wax nihilistic for a moment: So what? I (you) can neither prove nor disprove any solipsistic state of being. So whether or not solipsism is an accurate description of the actual state of affairs (or if there even is an actual state of affairs to describe) doesn’t appear to make a whit of difference in how I interface with the external world, be it real or imagined. So I may as well go about my business assuming the reality of whatever philosophical ism makes me most contented.

[Someone here]

6 minutes ago, Arthogaan said:

Do you plan to move out eventually?

I actually want to move to the US. But I couldn't figure out my way to the Green Card yet .

[Breakingthewall]

9 minutes ago, Someone here said:

Now if you’ll allow me to wax nihilistic for a moment: So what? I (you) can neither prove nor disprove any solipsistic state of being. So whether or not solipsism is an accurate description of the actual state of affairs (or if there even is an actual state of affairs to describe) doesn’t appear to make a whit of difference in how I interface with the external world, be it real or imagined. So I may as well go about my business assuming the reality of whatever philosophical ism makes me most contented.

Agree, but that only means: I don't know. I think you can know. solipsism is simplistic. let's see... there really is only one pov, the pov of total reality, or god. this pov is the existence of all that can exist, and it is infinite. finitude is a special effect. you are god, and so am i, and our pov is infinite and exactly the same, by definition.

So why are you you and I am me? How does infinity divide itself by being indivisible? I think the mind can't handle this. I have had insights but once they pass, you can't remember them as they are on another frequency. Leo doesn't define it either. He just says: you have to wake up to understand it. after having published a 2-hour video talking about it in which he only says: only your POV exists, the others are in your POV. yes, ok, but everything in your pov has its pov, since everything is infinite. 

[Someone here]

16 minutes ago, Breakingthewall said:

Agree, but that only means: I don't know. I think you can know. solipsism is simplistic. let's see... there really is only one pov, the pov of total reality, or god. this pov is the existence of all that can exist, and it is infinite. finitude is a special effect. you are god, and so am i, and our pov is infinite and exactly the same, by definition.

So why are you you and I am me? How does infinity divide itself by being indivisible? I think the mind can't handle this. I have had insights but once they pass, you can't remember them as they are on another frequency. Leo doesn't define it either. He just says: you have to wake up to understand it. after having published a 2-hour video talking about it in which he only says: only your POV exists, the others are in your POV. yes, ok, but everything in your pov has its pov, since everything is infinite. 

You DO see from my eyes. "I" am you in the body called "me." "You" are me in the body here called "you." We are each other. All of humanity is each other. All of life is each other.

We perceive "you" and "me" as separate individuals because we equate ourselves with our consciousness and consciousness-as-experienced is individualized. 

 consider.. When a single cell splits into 2 cells, which cell is the original cell and which is the "new" cell? Think about the 10 trillion cells that make up your body. Which one of those is the original fertilized egg, the original "you"?

[Nemra]

On 1/5/2023 at 5:29 PM, Someone here said:

I have repeated this over the months .I can't have access to ANY psychedelic (including mushrooms) in India because they are banned and illegal.  The only option for me is via the dark Web. And I obviously don't want to put myself in legal problems . There is not even weed dealers where I live .so imagine how tough it is to find more potent psychedelics.

Have you read your country's drug laws?

Being illegal doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't do it.

Have you considered all of the cases successfully getting it?

[michaelcycle00]

On 1/5/2023 at 5:29 AM, Someone here said:

I have repeated this over the months .I can't have access to ANY psychedelic (including mushrooms) in India because they are banned and illegal.  The only option for me is via the dark Web. And I obviously don't want to put myself in legal problems . There is not even weed dealers where I live .so imagine how tough it is to find more potent psychedelics.

These are just excuses, you’re not gonna get sent to jail for buying psilocybin spores and the sites that sell these are extremely discreet as well. The shipping company workers aren’t gonna open a perfectly normal looking package out of the other thousands that they receive daily. Or put you in jail for some mushroom spores they couldn’t even prove are “hallucinogenic” in the first place. Lol, that doesn’t even happen in developed countries let alone India. And in the one in a million case scenario it did, you just hand one of the workers say a $50 bill (probably less) and you’re good to go… it’s India after all. 

[michaelcycle00]

On 1/5/2023 at 6:18 AM, Breakingthewall said:

Agree, but that only means: I don't know. I think you can know. solipsism is simplistic. let's see... there really is only one pov, the pov of total reality, or god. this pov is the existence of all that can exist, and it is infinite. finitude is a special effect. you are god, and so am i, and our pov is infinite and exactly the same, by definition.

So why are you you and I am me? How does infinity divide itself by being indivisible? I think the mind can't handle this. I have had insights but once they pass, you can't remember them as they are on another frequency. Leo doesn't define it either. He just says: you have to wake up to understand it. after having published a 2-hour video talking about it in which he only says: only your POV exists, the others are in your POV. yes, ok, but everything in your pov has its pov, since everything is infinite. 

Why would Leo say his POV doesn’t exist though? That he’s not having an experience. That’s deceitful.

And then to make sure he meant what he said I asked him if he said that as a pointer and he said that no, that he was in fact very serious. Like he’s no different than an imaginary dragon I can conjure up in my mind right now. How can you take him seriously after that? Also, @Inliytened1 has also said that we’re imagining him and Leo waking up. I think there’s some truth to that. How can my experience be so stable while there are thousands of people becoming the totality of existence every day and deciding to “destroy the Universe” while I’m still here watching Netflix? Lmao. I think everything becomes a paradox if you push it far enough. They destroy it and they don’t, they’re me and they’re not. There’s one but also many blah blah blah. I would still like to know why Leo would make such a scummy move telling everyone he doesn’t exist though, and I’d like to hear it from him @Leo Gura

[Carl-Richard]

On 4.1.2023 at 8:30 AM, Someone here said:

I am “the center” of perception, “the center” of consciousness, “the center” of self-awareness. That was not anyone else but me. It made me feel as I was a very special, a very unique human being on the whole Earth.Why me? How come I was born such an unusual creature, not like anyone else?

Experience the cessation of all perceptions, of the "center" of consciousness falling away, and see through the illusion of solipsism.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Carl-Richard

[Thought Art]

@Carl-Richard illusion of Solipsism? How would cessation do that at all?

[Thought Art]

On 2023-01-05 at 9:32 AM, Someone here said:

And do you know who that is?  You will be surprised 

Less a who, more a be

[Theplay]

The mind is a tool for the heart, and my heart tells me there are other sentient beings.

[Carl-Richard]

1 hour ago, Thought Art said:

@Carl-Richard illusion of Solipsism? How would cessation do that at all?

Solipsism is thinking that the perceptions you associate with your human experience are absolute and that there is nothing beyond them. But there is something beyond your perceptions: it's consciousness.

The solipsists thinks: "there are some perceptions present: my body, which feels like it's at "the center"; an environment, which surrounds my body; and some other bodies in that environment. No other bodies can be at the center, because that is how it appears".

That is a mistake. The feeling that your body is "at the center" is an illusion. You can prove this by witnessing your current body disappear and remaining as pure consciousness. Then, "the center" is just seen as pure infinite void. You can also smoke salvia and become a window, or have various types of out-of-body experiences. So if "the center" can be decoupled from your body, then you can't attribute "the center" to your body in the first place. In reality, all bodies are at the center (and not at the center at the same time).

Edited January 6, 2023 by Carl-Richard