>I think that time is a
>construct by which we make
>sense of the world, but
>which does not exist as
>we know it outside of
>our minds.

I see where you're coming from. This reminds me of the question "If a tree falls down in the forest, does it make a sound?" Outside of our brains, do sounds exist? Sight? taste, touch? It's ALL a construct by which we make sense of the world. (Does this make sense to you? let me know if it doesn't)


>I think that the mind is
>not under my control, and
>Phraktal's piece out of The
>Dreaming Universe seems to agree
>with that -- there are
>thoughts that arise because of
>the connection of neurons in
>the brain, and thoughts that
>arise because of the collective
>unconscious, but they just sort
>of happen. If I
>am my thoughts, or if
>I owned my mind --
>like if I could exert
>my will on my mind,
>then I should just be
>able to say "Okay, thinking
>mind, turn off for a
>while now," and get really
>quiet. But there's always
>a lot of noise in
>the mind.

I believe we have very limited control of our minds. We can all remember the name of the street you live on on demand. However, if you see somone you haven't seen in a long time and you can't remember their name for example, this is what "fires up" those neurons in the brain. Subconsciously, the brain will make associations with the face, or any other familiar feature. This will (sometimes) lead you to remember the person.

The brain is just like a computer. When you run an application like Netscape for ex. all of your settings (personal info) are in RAM. This allows easy retrival of that information. If you try to open up a GIF or Jpeg(any external info) from your hard drive, that information must be read into(processed) RAM memory. It takes longer because the computer must analyze the data and make sure everything clicks so that you can see(remember) your picture. If the data is corrupted, either you'll get a distortion, or you won't see the image at all. This is not to say that your brain is corrupted, but the associations made probably led you to believe it was someone from high school, when it was really a neihgbor from your pre-adolescent days.

The mind is a wonderful thing, aint it? We could probably talk about it for years and still end up asking the same question - Is all we are what we know? (that is the original question right?)

peace...