by Jared T | Jul 30, 2020 | Consciousness, What is consciousness
“Consciousness survives death. You may think this is a religious or metaphysical claim, but it is not. To understand how this is possible, you simply have to accept a definition of consciousness that most of us already do: consciousness is a dynamic relationship between environment and individual. Anything that perceives the world, responds to it, and influences it is conscious. Some may argue that environment and individual are actually one, but for the purpose of this thought experiment we will consider them separate.
It is obvious that humans are conscious. We perceive the world with eyes, ears, limbs, and mind. We respond to it with thoughts, words, and actions. We influence it in every way that make change. Although consciousness may be the most complex for humans, is it unique to us? Certainly not. Although a chimpanzee may have a simpler view of the world, it still perceives, responds to, and interacts with it. A praying mantis does too, and the same is true all the way down the tree of life. Although the consciousness of simpler beings becomes less multidimensional, it still exists. If you accept the above definition of consciousness, you even have to cede that a simple, single cellular E. Coli bacteria is conscious. It perceives concentrations of favorable chemicals, and responds by moving the flagellum (little paddles that propel the bacteria) to approach those chemicals. As it processes them, the very environment is influenced as well. All three of the dimensions of consciousness are met. The conscious experience of an E. Coli is certainly less rich and less complex than that of a human, but it exists nonetheless.
Now consider the idea that perhaps consciousness can exist even outside the domain of biological life. An electron perceives the forces of electromagnetic attraction and repulsion. It responds by movement, and even influences nearby particles with its own fields. At the subatomic level, consciousness is perhaps as simple as it may become, yet subjective experience for that electron exists. The same may be true of celestial bodies, which are sensitive to, affected by, and sources of forces of gravity.
Everything is conscious, although along a spectrum of complexity. When we die, the experience we humans are familiar with decomposes along with our bodies. We no longer perceive, respond to, or influence the complex systems of sociology, psychology, neuroscience, infrastructure, or government. Our complex and rich consciousness is substituted with billions of simpler ones, first as the bacteria in our bodies die off and eventually as the atomic matter is all there is to “us.” We don’t cease to perceive, respond, and influence. We just do it differently.
Who knows, maybe it’s nice to be an electron.”
by Sierra H | May 27, 2020 | Consciousness, What is consciousness
“By giving consciousness a definition, we minimize the vast and infinite nature of it. And on the other hand, attempting to touch the entity of consciousness gently with words is a beautiful and awakening practice; and honestly one that more people need to have. I believe that inside a definition of consciousness, there must be an invitation—an invitation to go deeper within, to discover for yourself, what consciousness is to you.
Without consciousness, there would be no life. Period. Just like the way our bodies are nothing without breath, without a heartbeat, life is nothing without consciousness. Consciousness is the breath of life. It is the melody and lyrics that dance around the stable beat of a song. It is the quality of undeniable and inevitable mystery that comes with self-aware beings like us. It is the entity that brings us to life, and that which ends our life. It is what gives us purpose, a divine mission, and yet also what allows us to have choice in the way we relate to life.
Consciousness is the substrate of all life; the connective tissue that brings all things together in an infinite flow of complex, intricate and self-sustaining patterns. Consciousness is both our creator and that which we create. When we ask questions, meditate, and seek truth, consciousness is the silent conversation partner that shows itself through sensations, intuition, and sparks of insight and inspiration.
And maybe most importantly, consciousness is what we believe it to be. The universe operates in a co-creative existence, where all living beings within it are interrelated to the extent we may never fully understand. The fact that we, as humans, embody consciousness, means that we are active co-creators of not only our own experience, but also of the nature of the entire universe itself. By making the choices we do here on Earth, we decide the course of evolution, thus changing how the universe operates as an entity; changing how consciousness operates as an entity.
The importance of each individual nourishing their relationship with how they experience and relate to the force of consciousness is undeniable. I believe that of the things we must do in order to survive as a species and grow into a sustainable way of living, communing with whatever we believe to be consciousness is at the top of that list.”
by Swami Satchidananda | May 7, 2020 | Consciousness, What is consciousness
“There are three states of awareness that make up our human experience of consciousness. Life is really so funny. We can go around the whole universe and explore but that which is closest to us we take it so much for granted. We should spend a little time on the awareness issue and how it is really a miniaturized version of the universe itself and get to know ourselves. The three states of consciousness are the ‘awakened state’, the ‘dream state’, and the ‘deep sleep state’. I will expand on each…
Awakened state… You open your eyes in the morning. The five senses begin to function. All around you, you see beautiful and not so beautiful things. You hear lovely sounds of birds chirping and not so lovely sounds. You touch things and people around you and feel pleasure or pain. You smell lovely foods and you taste them. The five senses help you gather the information of names and forms and your mind processes them as likable or not. And you desire. This desire turns into thoughts and action and attachment to possessions. This is your awakened world – .all senses are working the supercomputer called the mind. It retains, in its memory, everything you experience as good or bad. You are capable of seeing yourself, too. How your body-mind functions. Every time you say ‘I’, you are referring to that one witness who sees everything. If you look closely and observe, that ‘I’ is not the physical body or the mind.
Dream state. In this state, you create a parallel universe without the use of the physical senses. The mind, however, is functional; you can, without depending on anything outside, create a world of your own, including your own body, and do all the things and more in your dream. The dream world is very real to you as the dreamer. Here, too, there is an observer that observes the mind and it’s functioning. Obviously, you cannot be the mind because that, too, is in the realm of observation. Fascinating things happen every night for rich or poor old or young sick or healthy; you are the Creator.
Deep Sleep or Causal State. Here, all awareness stops. Even the mind is in a deep state of silence. You have no idea of the world outside or inside. You are not aware of where you are. Yet, when you get up you say, ‘I slept deeply.’ How do you know? If you didn’t know you would not be able to say that. Here, too, the witness observes. It can observe what is and what is not. Open your eyes and once again you are back to the awakened world of things, forms and names outside…
There is one common witness: the real ‘I’, which is the observer of all these three states. Check this out with awareness. The definition of ‘I’i will change. The first step is to be aware of this and to put a question mark on who you really are. This, the Vedas calls Atman or Brahman. One that is pure consciousness and an observer of everything but never the object of your experience. These levels of awareness give you a framework to look at your real Self. Don’t take my word for it. Check it out in your experience – only then can you take ownership of it.”
by Swami Satchidananda | May 7, 2020 | Consciousness, What is consciousness
“Brahman brings consciousness to everything but does not participate in any action. It is free from the good or bad effects of karma. It is the same consciousness in every human being. This we call Atma. It is not your body, mind or ego. It provides consciousness that makes us experience the material things of the universe. It is the principle that allows us to look into ourselves as well.”
by Chiron | May 3, 2020 | Consciousness, What is consciousness
“In short, being-ness. Words cannot describe it but can point to it. Mind can comprehend it with labels but cannot truly fully know it. One cannot know consciousness but one can experience consciousness only by giving one’s intellect a chance to be silent. It is not even awareness. Awareness is what can be done when one has consciousness. Only by turning off the mind, like closing off the eyes, only can one can experience consciousness.”
by Big Dave | May 2, 2020 | Consciousness, What is consciousness
“One popular explanation of consciousness is that it’s the sense that there’s something it’s like to be XYZ — for example, a horse has consciousness because there’s something it’s like to be a horse. Viewed in that way, a rock probably does not have consciousness. But human consciousness is a horse of a different color, in that we have self-aware consciousness. Whether by gift of G/god or evolution, we have a unique view of ourselves (including our mortality) — as if each of us has a Mini-Me (sometimes referred to as a “homunculus”) who resides in our forehead and watches us live our life. Imagine your life as a movie and your homunculus as the guy/gal in the projection booth. Then imagine getting out of your seat in the audience and going up to the projection booth to see your life from that perspective for a change. Fun stuff….”
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