I am god too!

I had a eerily similar experience albeit with much more "keys" in my body and I came to the same conclusion.

I was given the option to "ascend" and leave this plane of existence to rejoin the One but I opted against it so that I may continue to share my love with those around me and awaken them to their "mistakes".

This read has made me very happy to realize that I am not alone and that I am not the true creator of this universe but others may also have the same experiences. Thank you for your exposition, jbark!

But in arguing for randomness are you not expressing support for a non-deterministic universe? With all due respect, are you not mistaking randomness for unpredictability? Given that the act of predicting is a projection into the future to accurately determine a given outcome, it is fair to say that an unpredictable universe is not incompatible with a deterministic one... But a truly random one IS, no?

Comidas por reflexion,

JBArk

Actually, I’ve been arguing both sides.

Most physicists, based on the experimental data they’ve generated, believe in a truly and fundamentally non-deterministic universe. I tend to believe (irrationally) that the universe is deterministic. But the point is that free will is an abstraction, and a non-deterministic universe doesn’t change that. (How does non-determinism - randomness - imply free will?)

As far as randomness and unpredictability go, all random events are of course unpredictable, but not all unpredictable events are random. For example, when you throw dice, the movement of the dice macroscopically conforms to classical physics (deterministic), yet the outcome of your throw is unpredictable. This is because all of the data needed to accurately track the movement of the dice is not known. In theory, every dice throw is predictable. In theory, every unpredictable non-random event is predictable. The unpredictability in such cases is due to a lack of information.

However, quantum physicists consider many phenomena to be truly random:

What if "random" could be influenced? Imagine a Gaussian or normal distribution; now bend that curve slightly to your favor. Randomness could be influenced to be on your side.

Ahh… Good question, and it has been asked of physicists before.

What is NOT random in quantum mechanics are the particular statistical distributions. So altering random outcomes in a way that changed the distributions would be evidence of some non-random process or “influence”.

But if you were to change particular outcomes, yet preserve the overall distribution, then I guess it would not be possible to detect the underlying non-random process.

Michael Talbot does a good job of describing this in his book The Holograpic Universe. He uses Bohm's ideas of adeeper level of reality called the Implicate Order (enfolded) and our own level of existence called the Explicate Order (Unfolded). The manifestations of all forms in the universe are the result of countless enfoldings and unfoldings between these two orders.

Kinda like what you guys are saying.

Great writeup...makes me want to drop some acid...been 20 years and I would love to do it again if I could only find some.

If a system is wholly non-deterministic, it MUST be one of free will, no? If nothing determines our choices beyond our own consciousness, then our consciousness is engaging the choice, and exercising true free will. To my understanding, that is... No?

JBArk the determined free willer

See my response in the free will thread.

That was an awesome read, Jbark. One thing you really conveyed well is the "heavyness" of an LSD trip. I'm always amazed to see others "have fun" on LSD while I get all tangled up in existential thought, somewhat like you describe, only with a lot more personal emotion/relationship-related content. That "key" has never taken me much beyond an enhanced, obsessive and at least slightly psychotic view of my own life. Only k, nitrous and DMT have done that.

I like the idea of the contract. I often get that feeling that we somehow "chose" to be alive and to arrive here with nothing. Were we trying to prove a point? Entertain our "selves"? Are we succeeding? Is some form of success an issue?

Psychedelics have also reconciled me in part with some incarnation of the idea of progress. I amuse myself with the idea that this contract is one that encompasses everything that our known existence contains. Life, evolution, consciousness, civilisations. Starting at square one, we seem to be on a mission towards divinity, or oneness, or whatever we want to call it. We stand here in the middle of the construction process which should ultimately take us back to the moment before the contract was signed, possibly so that we may sign it again, roll the dice and go for another round. Because we can. Because that's how God gets to feel something, play, exist. As it stands, we have this "time" thing happening to us which I find absolutely strange, but these keys, as you say, give us a glimpse not just of the end, but of how dice roll can also turn out.

I'm rambling. That's a sign that your reports inspired me

Amazing reports. Reminds me of some of my old journals back when I used to drop acid a lot. The whole quantum mechanics discussion is, admittedly, over my head. I know next to nothing about quantum mechanics. A difficult subject for me to learn about, for some reason.

Still, great write up.