Enjoy the full clip from the wonderful film Waking Life…
I think this clip creates a wonderful jumping-off point from this episode and I’ll include some highlights:)
“Everything exists; nothing exists. Either formula affords a like serenity. The man of anxiety, to his misfortune, remains between them, trembling and perplexed, forever at the mercy of a nuance, incapable of gaining a foothold in the security of being or in the absence of being.” — E. M. Cioran
“It is our discomforts which provoke, which create consciousness; their task accomplished, they weaken and disappear one after the other. Consciousness however remains and survives them, without recalling what it owes to them, without even ever having known. Hence, it continually proclaims its autonomy, its sovereignty, even when it loathes itself and would do away with itself.” — E. M. Cioran
Although things exist external from our perception (probably), I cannot help but fixate on the endless question of how our interpretations influence our every interaction we have in this world, from our political beliefs, our relationships, our views on God, and how a society ought to be run. And yet, we cannot become endlessly fixated on those interpretations, as when we face this great mystery, we often find ourselves feeling lost and alone. We worry about the future and dwell on the past. We strive for success and fear failure. We yearn for love and dread rejection.
Maybe the consciousness we have knows only itself: everything outside of it becomes but matter for its exercise. Part of it does that, yes, however, our consciousness still falls back into only being able to know itself. So, it disdains all that is not strictly necessary for this exercise, and forgets the doubts as soon as possible…
We come into awareness of being conscious, yet we seek to become more conscious still…
For in the endless riddles of life, there is always something new to learn, some deeper truth to be discovered…some new dichotomy to be found and inevitably overcome.
The eternal becoming continues.
Also, I would love to hear from you…what are your questions? What do you think of the ambient sounds included in the episode? And anything else you’d like to say…I’ll include a link to submit this: here
With love.
Stay curious.
Exploring the gaps between certainty and uncertainty