You are making me look up complex words, Benjamin : - )

I read one book of Plato and I enjoyed that his voice was very much like my brother sitting next to me on the couch. But I reject the logic Plato follows: Starting with A he links this to B, and then starting with B he links this to C, and before you know it he linked A to F. All steps must be agreed to, because all are true, but the ensemble of steps... that is Plato's weak spot. No matter if all steps from A to F are 100% correct, the link from A to F is simply not 100% solid. It is too simplistic, too black&white, while the universe must always be understood in full color.

I do follow Spinoza in that God can only be real when seen as an abstract.

As such, God cannot be equated with matter, but can be equated with energy (and matter can then be seen as a subset of energy, albeit of imperfection).

I have nothing with folks that put the brain at the center of it all, because that is like saying that the eye of the storm commands the storm, while it is 'merely' a byproduct.

Buddha understood reality better, at least as I see it. He proclaimed that after death the parts that we are made from return to their original selves. As such, each of us is a collective outcome, a synergy of original energy with that synergy being unique and that after we die will never return. But unique should not be mistaken for special. If reincarnation exists, then the next person is the outcome of specific parts that did not exist in such ensemble prior. Meanwhile, the parts are themselves far from unique. They are ordinary.

I believe our material reality was established via two pathways: the neutrons and protons are the direct outcomes of original energy that got damaged at the end of the prior state of the universe. Because the proton has a positive charge, the negative counter charge (electron) was pulled out of the remnant of the original energy and the remnant itself was not damaged. As such, matter exists in two settings at the same time. We are damaged original energy, and our life spark is from the remnant of the original energy that is not damaged (but also not complete).

Not sure if that answered your curiosity, Benjamin. Do you mind explaining yourself and your standing better to me? I can look terms up on the internet, but I like real-life examples or ideas best : - )