EXISTENCE: AN EXPLORATION

The Origin of Existence is essentially the greatest question to face Rational Beings save for the raison d'tre of Existence. But putting that particular branch of Metaphysics aside, let us - for a moment - contemplate Existential Origins & what we can possibly deduce from the fact that there is an Existence existing currently at this point in Time/Space. As always, one must begin at the beginning: Cogito Ergo Sum - I Think, Therefore I Am. The Truth Ren Descartes deduced so long ago. There can be no discussion about the Validity of Existence whether or not something exists - for the simple fact that I Think, Therefore I - at the very least Exist. But where do I come from? What Caused my Existence? When I think about the actuality of my Existence, I realize innately that there are certain factors that must exist as well in order for my Existence to be possible. Factors such as Time/Space - the very substance of the place in which I Exist. Necessarily, if I exist, I must then exist at some place at some time. What exactly Time/Space consists of, I can not Truthfully say for my individual perception of Time/Space can not be logically verified. I have senses at my command but whether or not what I sense through my Perceptions is Actuality can not be confirmed at this moment. But regardless of what exactly Time/Space is, it is Logically evident that I exist within the confines of Time/Space in some capacity. This leads one to deduce the following: for me to Exist, Time/Space must have pre-existed myself or come into Existence at the exact same moment as my Existence. This leads to two possibilities: One - that Time/Space pre-existed my Being or Two - Time/Space & I are Existentially linked. Of course, this entire problem of the moment of coming into Existence assumes one simple fact: that I am not an Eternal Being. Before we talk more about the Time/Space & Individual Existential problem, we should perhaps explore the problem of Eternity. Eternity - by definition - describes a Being who Exists beyond the constraints of Time/Space. What I mean is this: an Eternal Being has no beginning & no end to its Existence. It simply just "is". So why is it right to think that I, as an Individual Being, am not an Eternal Being? My Individual Knowledge speaks to this. I Know very little. An Eternal Being - by definition - is a Being who is Omnisentient & Omnicognescent: Perfect in every facet. A Perfect-Eternal Being does not Move or Evolve in any way because Perfection can not improve or be reduced in anyway. Perfection is Absolute. Either something is Perfect or it is not. The very fact that I Move & Evolve: i.e. Change over Time/Space logically proves that I am Imperfect & therefore not Eternal. So if I am not Eternal, yet I Exist within Time/Space - as my Ability to Change dictates - logically I must then have a Beginning & an End. This brings us back to the problem of the moment of Existence - or the Problem of Existential Actualization: Did Time/Space come into Existence at the same Time/Space as me? One sees the dilemma immediately. To talk about my Existence "coming into Being" necessitates the Existence of Time/Space. I can only Exist within the Bounds of Time/Space - or else I would be Perfect. So the question still haunts us: Is it possible for Time/Space to Actualize at the same moment as Me? To speak of my Existence in anyway requires Time/Space. But what if we were to flip the Problem around: To speak of Time/Space does one need to speak of my Existence? Well, possibly not. It is entirely possible to rationalize the Existence of Time/Space without me Existing. But we are searching for Actuality & not simply a Possible World that may or may not Truly Exist independently of Logical Thought. But here again, is the cusp of the problem. There is no way, at the moment, for me to Logically State in a True manner that any Possible World I can Rationalize is not Truly the Actual World. The little Knowledge I possess beyond Descartes' Cogito does not add any Justifications to the possibility that the Possible World I experience through my senses is actually the Actual World. I must Believe that my Senses do not give me false information or sensations & that what I see, hear, smell, touch & taste actually Exists in Time/Space beyond the bounds of my Rationality - at least Justifiably to a High Degree.

The question becomes this: Do I remain the complete Epistemological Skeptic & concentrate on Absolute Truths or do I accept a certain amount of Belief within my Metaphysic so that I do not get stuck in an endless regress in relation to the validity of Sensory Data? But if we look at the second Existential Actualization possibility this problem becomes moot. This is the Sartrian approach to Existence. That Time/Space Actualized its Existence at the Exact Same Moment as I Actualized my Existence. In other words, the entire length of the Existence of Time/Space is equal to the length of the Existence of myself. At this point, the "Perception" problem is taken away because Time/Space is Existentially Linked to my Existence. The two Existences (Time/Space & Myself) cannot Exist independently. Absurd - you want to cry. That necessarily means that I am Immortal - that my Existential Beginning & Ending is the same as the Existential Beginning & Ending of Time/Space. But we have yet to describe my entire Existential Being! Given what I Know so far of Existence, that I Exist, that Time/Space Exists & that I am Imperfect - anything else is entirely possible. It is entirely possible that the total length of Existence is equal to the length of my Perceived Mortal Life (from the moment I was Born to the moment I will die) & that Existence as a whole Exists solely through me. This is what Sartre Believed, and for good reason! But the problem with this is that it discounts Memory. I personally have Memories of other lives I have lived. If we are right to think that Time/Space is Existentially Linked directly to my Existence & that I have Memories of Time/Space before my current Awareness, then it is entirely possible that the Birth/Death Cycle is simply a mechanism of Transformation akin to the various states of Matter (i.e. from Gases, Liquids & Solids). But to validate this argument we must take a moment & explore the function of Memory. What is Memory? How is it related to Consciousness & the Senses? Is it possible to validate Memory when one can not validate Sensory Perception? Memory, simply put, is the repository of all of our Thoughts when they are not currently being used by our Conscious Selves. Memory allows one to instantly call upon information previously held in the Conscious Awareness. The very fact that we are able to recall information & past thoughts validates the existence of Memory. The problems begin, again, when we start talking about Sensory Perception. Memories that are the result of pure thought without any Sensory Input are far more valid then Memories that are derived from Sensory Perceptions. This second kind of Memory is as dubitable - or even more dubitable - as Sensory Perceptions themselves. So, as with the Conscious Awareness itself, there are two kinds of Information: Rational & Perceptual Memories. It is obvious that Rational Memories are better representations of Actuality then Perceptual Memories just as Rational Thoughts are better representations of Actuality then Perceptual Thoughts. But the same problems with Perception again arise with Memory. It is entirely possible that the information stored in our Memory can become corrupted or degraded. We do not have an infallible Memory. Some of the things we Remember are clear as the day we first experienced them & other things seem hard to Remember or are disjointed. Even with Rational Memories, it is possible that things get forgotten or mixed up. But this seems less the case. It is very rare for me to forget that I Exist & that the Justification for that Knowledge is the Cogito. However, it sometimes happens that I get mathematics mixed up. I can't always Remember my Multiplication tables or how to do long Division. However, I can always Remember the basic idea behind simple Mathematics & am able to re-Rationalize simple Arithmetic. For example, I completely understand how the Multiplication tables work & can Remember this information at any time. But sometimes it takes me a minute to sit figure out that 6x7=42. As proof of this, I had to double check on a Calculator that 6x7 does indeed equal 42. So again, some Memories are more dubitable then others. But there seems to be a "Basic Set" building blocks if you will - that allows one to re-Justify the conclusions one is seeking or even reformulate the conclusions very quickly. It then seems Justifiable to a high degree that one should trust ones Memories just as much as one trusts ones Sensory Perceptions. But how does this get us further in explaining the relation between Times/Space & my Individual Existence? If Memory is a relatively accurate reservoir of past experiences & thoughts, then my Memory of my Past Lives points to the fact that Time/Space Existed before I, myself, currently Consciously Exist. But this leaves us with a new twist to the dilemma. If I Existed before my current Consciousness as my Memories suggest then when was the initial beginning of my Existence & what is the

relationship between this initial Existential beginning & Time/Space? One can postulate the possibility of countless past lives spanning back to the beginning of Time/Space. So, yet again, we are at the same place: what is the difference between the beginning Existence of Time/Space & my Individual Self? Logically, it is very hard to envision Time/Space without myself Existing in some form or another. To prove this, let us look at one of the fundamental laws of Physics: that Energy can neither be Created nor Destroyed. Energy is simply transformed. Taking this principal & applying to my Existence, it is immediately apparent that the Existence of Time/Space is linked directly to my Existence. At the very least, it can be said that I am infused with a Spiritual Energy (my Soul). In fact, I would postulate that my Entire Being consists of Energy at a set Vibratory Rate (including my Physical Body). But let us concentrate upon this Spiritual Energy. My Soul my Spiritual Energy comprises my Consciousness: my Awareness my Form. It is who I am more then what my Body could ever be. And indeed, if My Soul is Energy then it can not be destroyed or created within Time/Space according to that Law of Physics. But, if the Soul is immortal & able to progress & learn on its own, what is the purpose of its union with the Body? What advantage does Matter give the Spirit that the Spirit could not achieve on its own? Perhaps that is the problem with this Belief. Perhaps the Soul requires the Body in order to learn & to Progress - in effect change. Perhaps the Soul as Soul can not change unless it is able to Physically, Mentally & Spiritually Change. But this seems absurd because Free Souls are still Individuals - Individuals constrained to Choice like every other Being in Existence. Every single moment they are forced to Choose just like they are forced to Choose when living in a Body. Unless, of course, Free Souls do not inhabit the same Plane Of Existence as Living Beings. It is entirely possible that Souls - when detached from Matter - inhabit a Plane Of Existence where Time/Space as we understand it on this Plane Of Existence doesn't Exist or is radically different. This may allow Souls to stop their Development by not allowing them to make Choices except under certain circumstances. This would account for the need to form a union with matter. But what kind of validity can we apply to this possibility? The problem is that I have no Memories of my Existence as a Free Spirit even though I have Memories of some of my past lives. Perhaps this entire idea of "Free Spirits" is false & this idea that my Soul resides in another Plane Of Existence between lives is also false. Perhaps, one moves from one Living Form to another - an endless Birth & Death Cycle. But how does this possibility account for the many cases of Disembodied Spirits of the Dead? How does it also account for the fact that I have no recollection of a past life that ended around the time of the birth of my current Life Cycle? Well, the later can be explained away by the nature of Memory. But on the other hand, the validity of the former is also cast into doubt with the nature of Perception. Yet again, we have found ourselves unable to proceed due to the dubitability of Perceptions & Memories. Therefore, we must return again to the original question: What is the relationship between this initial Existential beginning & Time/Space? It seems obvious from our discussion that two possibilities are highly Justifiable. Either Time/Space Pre-Existed my Existence or Time/Space & my Existence are Existentially Linked. Looking at the nature of my Existence (namely my the properties of my immortal Soul) & what I can Truthfully deduce from the little Knowledge I possess, it seems that Time/Space & My Existence being Existentially Linked is better Justified then Time/Space PreExisting my Existence. The Act of Creation therefore, was the Actualization of Time/Space & Spiritual Energy, which lead to the formation of Life - or the union of Spiritual Energy & Matter; Metter being the Physical representation of Time/Space. March 16 - 21, 2007