path_of_one
Embracing the Mystery
This is based on some ideas in physics, but what I'm really interested in is the spiritual implications, so I've posted here. I've been reading about the concept of parallel universes and multiverses, and thinking about many-world theory. Basically, the idea that for every choice you ever made, the universe (and you) split into multiples, each identical to the others, but encapturing that unique choice.
So, right now, there is this universe here in which I decided to post this this morning. And there is a universe somewhere in which I decided I was too busy and didn't. Same goes for all the choices I've ever made- and you. Infinite worlds, many with my alter-ego in them (and many more, presumably, with me never having come into existence at all).
This is a very interesting concept to me, and it poses fantastically complex spiritual questions. If I exist simultaneously in so many different worlds, would I really be me? That is, underneath it all, would my soul be unified or forever fracturing? And if the soul is unified, but I exist in multiple planes at once, does this explain the odd sort of occurances of deja vu, precognition, dreams, memories of other lives, and such that people report?
What would happen at death? Presumably, "you" (all the yous that exist) die at different times, based on your varying choices. For example, a smoker dies at 60 from lung cancer, but his alter-ego who had chosen to never try a cigarette doesn't die until 80. Where does the first one go after death? Does he wait around somewhere for the other selves to join him? Does he watch his other selves' lives in the meantime or do something in the spirit realm/heaven/whatever? If reincarnation occurs, does the soul wait for all the bits of it to return before reincarnating? Or is each bit reincarnated on its own, which would fracture into ever more pieces of the original? Would there be any linear progression of soul development, lives, or even time at all?
If all these many worlds exist, presumably there are ones in which I don't exist at all (since there are worlds in which my parents never met). Or would I exist as my soul, but born into a different body to different parents? The possibilities are endless: there would be worlds in which nearly everyone you know you would have never met, worlds in which you fell in love with different people, married different people, and had different kids.
All this leads to a huge question for me related to many-worlds: what about moral choice? If there are worlds that correspond to every possibility of the choices you have ever made, can you really ever make a moral choice? Yes, the "you" that is in this universe can, but somewhere "you" fractured and made the wrong choice. If so, then "you" can't really be held responsible for anything in a spiritual sense, and it is nebulous if you could in a practical sense. After all, if many-worlds is correct, then somewhere you made the right choice, and it was the laws of physics that meant in another place- here- you made the wrong one. It gives new meaning for me to the teachings of Jesus that focused on thought being as important as action in moral matters. If many-worlds is correct, then the mere contemplation of an immoral act makes it happen somewhere. Yet, we all know that no one is perfect and one is bound to contemplate many immoral/unethical/wrong action acts in one's lifetime. If the universe is set up this way, then the point of our incarnation is not to make the right choices, because we will wind up making all available choices in the grand scheme of things. So what would the meaning of life be? And would there be any moral development of the soul at all? Would the soul simply be incarnated to experience incarnation?
And this doesn't even begin to look at universes that operate on entirely different laws of physics.
Kind of mind-boggling (the understatement of the year). Thoughts, anyone?
So, right now, there is this universe here in which I decided to post this this morning. And there is a universe somewhere in which I decided I was too busy and didn't. Same goes for all the choices I've ever made- and you. Infinite worlds, many with my alter-ego in them (and many more, presumably, with me never having come into existence at all).
This is a very interesting concept to me, and it poses fantastically complex spiritual questions. If I exist simultaneously in so many different worlds, would I really be me? That is, underneath it all, would my soul be unified or forever fracturing? And if the soul is unified, but I exist in multiple planes at once, does this explain the odd sort of occurances of deja vu, precognition, dreams, memories of other lives, and such that people report?
What would happen at death? Presumably, "you" (all the yous that exist) die at different times, based on your varying choices. For example, a smoker dies at 60 from lung cancer, but his alter-ego who had chosen to never try a cigarette doesn't die until 80. Where does the first one go after death? Does he wait around somewhere for the other selves to join him? Does he watch his other selves' lives in the meantime or do something in the spirit realm/heaven/whatever? If reincarnation occurs, does the soul wait for all the bits of it to return before reincarnating? Or is each bit reincarnated on its own, which would fracture into ever more pieces of the original? Would there be any linear progression of soul development, lives, or even time at all?
If all these many worlds exist, presumably there are ones in which I don't exist at all (since there are worlds in which my parents never met). Or would I exist as my soul, but born into a different body to different parents? The possibilities are endless: there would be worlds in which nearly everyone you know you would have never met, worlds in which you fell in love with different people, married different people, and had different kids.
All this leads to a huge question for me related to many-worlds: what about moral choice? If there are worlds that correspond to every possibility of the choices you have ever made, can you really ever make a moral choice? Yes, the "you" that is in this universe can, but somewhere "you" fractured and made the wrong choice. If so, then "you" can't really be held responsible for anything in a spiritual sense, and it is nebulous if you could in a practical sense. After all, if many-worlds is correct, then somewhere you made the right choice, and it was the laws of physics that meant in another place- here- you made the wrong one. It gives new meaning for me to the teachings of Jesus that focused on thought being as important as action in moral matters. If many-worlds is correct, then the mere contemplation of an immoral act makes it happen somewhere. Yet, we all know that no one is perfect and one is bound to contemplate many immoral/unethical/wrong action acts in one's lifetime. If the universe is set up this way, then the point of our incarnation is not to make the right choices, because we will wind up making all available choices in the grand scheme of things. So what would the meaning of life be? And would there be any moral development of the soul at all? Would the soul simply be incarnated to experience incarnation?
And this doesn't even begin to look at universes that operate on entirely different laws of physics.
Kind of mind-boggling (the understatement of the year). Thoughts, anyone?