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| Articles about Consciousness |
| Prosperity consciousness | | 2008-06-11 16:23:41 | | For many of us when it comes to money we worry a lot. For some people the issue of money is an struggle. For others is not a problem. Why is that? I believe that manly is a state of consciousness;...
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] | | By: Emotional Freedom | | |
| | A Philosophical Dissertation On Consciousness | | 2008-06-09 22:26:24 | | Introduction
The question of what our consciousness is, or how or where it is produced, has been the subject of much philosophical inquiry over the past centuries. Some have relied upon spiritual conclusions, claiming that consciousness is one’s soul (though today, the term “soul” often means one’s emotional individuality).
There are different claims across ancient civilization, offering [...] | | By: Dissertation Writing Guide | | |
| | Your Body is a Map of Your Consciousness | | 2008-05-31 21:27:51 | | by Martin BrofmanYour Body Is A Map of Your Consciousness - by Martin Brofman, PhD.Everything begins with your consciousness. Everything that happens in your life, and everything that happens in your body, begins with something happening in your consciousness.Your consciousness is who you are, your experience of Being.You decide what ideas to accept and which to reject. You decide what to think, and you decide what to feel. When these decisions leave you with residual stress, you experience the stress as if in your physical body. We know that stress creates symptoms. The interesting question is, "Which stress creates which symptoms?" When we are able to quantify this process, we are then able to see the body as a map of the person's consciousness, relating particular symptoms to particular stresses and particular ways of being, in the same way that Type "A" Behavior has been able to be associated with heart disease.Everything Starts In Your ConsciousnessTo understand this map, we must | | By: tips n trick diets success | | |
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| CONSCIOUSNESS OF RESPONSIBILITY | | 2008-05-27 09:45:15 | | CONSCIOUSNESS OF RESPONSIBILITYIn a hadith reported by Abdullah b. Omar Prophet Muhammad said: "We are all shepherds and we are all responsible for those who are under our hands (i.e. in our flocks). An administrator is a shepherd. The man is the shepherd of the family. A woman is the shepherd of her husband's home and children. We are all shepherds and we all are responsible for our duties as such." (Bukhari, Nikah, 91) In this hadith, which uses the metaphor of the shepherd and the flock, the importance of the consciousness of responsibility is emphasized; while attributing responsibility to all sane and mature individuals, it is also indicated that other roles, such as being an administrator or the head of a family, carry a greater responsibility due to the obligations connected with such duties. The human being, who agreed to ta | | By: EN SEVGiLiYE | | |
| | Human Consciousness, Intelligence May Suddenly Shift | | 2008-05-14 20:41:00 | | By Steve HammonsIn The American Chronicle Many researchers have hypothesized and attempted to prove that human consciousness is undergoing significant change.This alleged change is not just increased intellectual knowledge or even social networking via the internet and other mass media.Rather, people from diverse fields including, but not limited to, various sciences, education, defense and intelligence communities, psychology and spirituality have conducted research about the fundamental nature of individual and group changes in human consciousness.That is, our individual awareness is purported to be increasingly linked with a larger energy or field in terms of quantum physics theories, spiritual concepts and Nature in ways we may not fully understand at this time.Over the last few decades, research into extra-sensory perception (ESP), "anomalous cognition" (unusual or unconventional awareness or abilities), "remote viewing" (ESP methods developed in Project STARGATE by the U.S. milit | | By: Spiritual Village | | |
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| Sabbat Consciousness | | 2008-05-01 19:31:00 | | כ'ז בניסן תשס"חAnnwyn 28In follow-up to my previous entry, In The Current Of An Epiphany, I note that the Sabbat fire festival called Beltaine is traditionally observed tonight, and astrologically observed May 4 in my location. Veronica Cummer in her new book Sorgitzak, writes of Sabbat consciousness:The Sabbats in ancient times were as much altered states of consciousness as they were celebrations tied to a particular place or season. The powers that were called upon and raised were as much within each Witch as they were in the sacred hilltops or the secluded valleys or forests where the rites took place, for we are all filled with webs of energy in much the same manner as the Earth. To work with one is to work with the other, as the inner reflects the outer and the outer reflects the inner.In this way, when we activate those webs inside us, we also activate them in the Earth. We spin into physical being the patterns of energy brought down ... To be clear, Witches of old en | | By: Walking On Fire | | |
| | Images Reign Over Consciousness. | | 2008-04-17 18:43:00 | | Our entire planet is ruled by images already established in the mind. Whatever you hope to be, whoever you think you are, wherever you feel you must go, all of it is image based. Self-growth is image based, fixing self-perceived problems is image based, your saviors, saints, and gurus are all image based. There is nothing outside of the image as far as one's life is concerned. Everything you do is for the sake of the image you have of yourself. Images lie at the beginning and end of every endeavor. In fact, there can be no destination without an image, for it is the image that you arrive at, nothing more. Those among us who peddle freedom, truth, and understanding are selling images, for they are none other than the fulfillment of an image themselves. An image is but a fixed representation of a mistaken aspect of living. It is static, dead, defined, and always known, either by you or another. Like a snapshot of life, it holds nothing within it but a picture, empty and utterly meaningle | | By: Compassionate Council | | |
| | Inside Out To Divine Consciousness | | 2008-04-11 19:07:00 | | ז' בניסן תשס"חAnnwyn 8Encoding critical actions to Divine Consciousness, as described more explicitly in The Epiphany, turned inside out, שיד is the Divine Name שדי.The 3-flamed letter shin (ש) corresponds to the active collapse of created consciousness (of Beriyah, Yetzirah and Assiyah) into the point at the base of the letter. Thus, shin corresponds to the actions of consciousness corresponding to this portion of my poem (The Epiphany):allmythoughtsvavfeelingsvavquestionsvavanswersvavmeaningsbecoming beingmashing together, collapsing into my gutthena silenceThe letter yod (י) is not a mere point. Rather, the letter yod is a point with a little tail that curls around, as if it is turning inside out. Thus, the letter yod corresponds to that which breaks through into the silence as described in this portion of The Epiphany:cutting the bursting emptiness, wheneternity into a split mo-mentpercolatingthena rush ofa whirlwindbursting fullmore than I couldever understanding | | By: Walking On Fire | | |
| | Dissertation Samples-A Philosophical Dissertation On Consciousness | | 2008-03-29 00:25:22 | | Dissertation Samples-A Philosophical Dissertation On Consciousness
Introduction
The question of what our consciousness is, or how or where it is produced, has been the subject of much philosophical inquiry over the past centuries.
Some have relied upon spiritual conclusions, claiming that consciousness is one’s soul (though today, the term “soul” often means one’s emotional individuality). There are different [...] | | By: Dissertation Writing Guide | | |
| | The Voice and Consciousness | | 2008-03-26 09:11:05 | | Every person holds a map of consciousness within their voice. The energy inside the voice directly affects the mind and body. Using the voice is an efficient and natural way to massage the bones, organs and skin from the inside out. It is a natural accessory for the release of tension, the stimulation of the mind, the expression of thoughts and bridging the emotions with the mind. Forms of drumming, singing, and chanting all create endorphin releases that reduce pain,calm the mind, lower brain wave patterns and balance the body. Music therapists are using the voice as a tool for healing the link between conscious expression and physical disabilities.New forms of healing and relaxation insist that the generation of the vibration come from within the client rather than through the instrument, the drum, a recording or the voice or music of the therapist. New systems are encouraging you to do it yourself…to tune in and tune up.Self-created relaxation is actually a repatterning and retrai | | By: Reiki Retreat | | |
| | Consciousness Without Death | | 2008-03-15 19:28:00 | | ט' באדר ב' תשס"חRaven 10In Unblemished Mitzvah, I wrote that my soul is watered by a treasure of the hidden world, namely that known as Ein (אין), meaning "nothing" or "without". Ein is the state of nothing which precedes conscious awareness of Ein Sof (אין סוף, Without End). Conscious awareness of Ein Sof is known as Ein Sof Aur (אין סוף אור), the Light of Ein Sof.This shabbat morning, before I wrote the entry, Unblemished Mitzvah, I had a waking vision of resurrection, as described in a subsequent entry, Up From The Grave.Between Ein and Aur, between nothing and conscious awareness, in the name Ein Sof Aur, is the word Sof. Sof is usually translated as "end". Interestingly, another translation of "sof" is "death". Thus, a literal translation of Ein Sof Aur is "without death awareness". In other words, Ein Sof Aur is conscious awareness experienced within a state without death.Thus, my writings today have gone from Ein (Unblemished Mitzvah and Holy Holy Hol | | By: Walking On Fire | | |
| | Life: The Understanding of Consciousness. Part 2 | | 2008-03-15 12:12:00 | | As the mind continually identifies itself with the physical body, thoughts and feelings begin to surface from the silent background of consciousness. Both owe their existence to this marriage of consciousness with the body. However, these thoughts and feelings spring from the limited perspective of this newly emerging identification and are therefore 'self-centered' in nature. By ‘self-centered’ we mean that all of these thoughts and feelings seemingly arise from an individual body, called ‘me,’ and move out in a linear direction towards ‘the world,’ which we're referring to as everything other than ‘me.’ The experience of life is, therefore, translated through this screen of 'self-centeredness,’ which weighs every encounter against whether or not ‘I need or do not need, want or do not want, am or am not.’ Through time and experience a dichotomy solidifies between ‘me’ and everything else, as a means of guaranteeing survival. Consciousness, or mind, now identi | | By: Compassionate Council | | |
| | Life: The Understanding of Consciousness. Part 1 | | 2008-03-14 14:20:00 | | What we’re speaking about is not a religion, nor is it the perspective of a religious person. It is not new-age theory or even some ancient Indian thought system concerning the non-dual. It hasn’t been practiced or handed down from one guru to the next, nor is it some fanciful concepts strung together to lead one astray. It is simply a series of observations gathered from the practical, and truly functional, lifestyle of being aware of one’s own mind at work. Since one cannot be compelled to become aware of one’s mind, nor can one do so in the hopes of achieving some desired result, it is left to those who have a genuine interest in doing so. It is left to those who feel deeply that understanding one’s own makeup is in absolute line with the natural movement of life itself. Maybe you are one of those people. There are human beings everywhere, but can there be said to be an individual consciousness for each human? Surely the memories of each individual are varied and star | | By: Compassionate Council | | |
| | Toward machine consciousness | | 2008-03-02 13:07:18 | | Here is a follow-up regarding our earlier post about a Russian group claiming to have built McFadden-style EM field consciousness hardware. Researchers K. N. Shevchenko, N. V. Shevchenko, and B. V. Shulgin have now made available their (as yet to be peer reviewed) paper outlining their experiments.
read more | | By: Machines Like Us - Science and Technology News | | |
| | David Lynch: Consciousness, Creativity and the Brain | | 2008-02-27 10:10:13 | | The inside story on transcending the brain, with David Lynch, Award-winning film director of Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, Mullholland Drive, and Inland Empire; John Hagelin, Ph.D., Quantum physicist featured in "What the bleep do we know?;" and Fred Travis, Ph.D., Director, Center for Brain, Consciousness and Cognition Maharishi University of Management.
read more | | By: Machines Like Us - Science and Technology News | | |
| | Thoughts on carrying and transmitting consciousness | from laymen to king | | 2008-02-19 11:16:58 | | 1.when it comes to carrying and transmitting consciousness, depending on the nature of the message, on the nature of age and the target audience - the transmission can be different. obviously a consciousness destined for grandness eventually reach a grand audience. but interesting to note from world teachers of humanity that there are examples where consciousness is first transmitted to the kings rather than the laymen or it can work in parallel.the mighty prophet Moses was inspired and commanded to go to the King of Egypt first to carry and speak the consciousness to and to deliver the message. instead of the ordinary / lay people it was a contrast to observe. for most of the world teachers, the carrying and transmission of the consciousness started with the ordinary. Jesus started his ministry by calling ordinary fishermen in a fishing community near the sea of galilee. his followers during his lifetime where all these ordinary people of the society. the early community of the follow | | By: Inspirations and Creative Thoughts | | |
| | Thoughts on carrying and transmitting consciousness | from inner to outer and outer to inner | | 2008-02-18 23:34:57 | | while being at Global Oneness Project's event on Consciousness & Global Change, and listening to the vision and teaching of oneness, few stream of thoughts on how to effectively carry or transmit consciousness was coming to me which i will share here in 2 part posts.the methods of teachings of great world teachers is something really fascinating to look at in that regard. each world teachers such as Moses, Buddha or Muhammad - it's a source of great teaching and inspiration to see how they not only had very personal inner awakening of consciousness but they also went to the market place, to laymen, to the society deeply busy in mundane business to share that great awakening and consciousness. the methods might be different, but that great sincerity of each of such world teachers who single handedly inspired and changed lives of nations, ages after ages - are mind boggling. for the enlightened beings such process was a journey from inner plane to outer.first each had a profound deep | | By: Inspirations and Creative Thoughts | | |
| | | | Consciousness and Global Change | A Foundation for Spiritual Activism | a day long event | | 2008-02-08 09:57:17 | | "May we be those who shall renew this existence."- Zarathustra"(...) I personally feel very strongly that those of us who have a spiritual awareness have a vital contribution to make, in a way that brings together our own inner awakening and inner awareness and the present global situation. specifically (...) the state of mystical oneness and its relationship to the whole of life."- Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, from the talk Awareness of Oneness+ What is the foundation for real global change?+ How can the individual affect the whole?Come this Feb, 17th Berkeley, California, an event of discussion, meditation and consciousness opening is arranged that will combine an inner and outer exploration of oneness. Sufi teacher Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee will explore how an awareness of oneness is the foundation for any real change, and the Global Oneness Project will use films to show how oneness is lived around the world.Sunday, February 17 (11am to 5pm)A Free Event With Films, Discussion & Meditati | | By: Inspirations and Creative Thoughts | | |
| | How to Eliminate Poverty Consciousness | | 2008-01-19 00:55:00 | | By Jafree Oswald and Margot ZaherCreators of The Secrets of ManifestingHave you ever wondered how poverty consciousness is created and what you can do to step out of it?Sometimes it happens that we become overly entangled in the material world and get wrapped up in feeling that we always need more money. This idea of lacking money sends toxic stress chemicals to the brain causing the body to fight or flee for its life.Anytime we repetitively feel that there is not enough of "this or that", it forms a chemical rut of impoverished thinking in our body-mind which depletes our energy, manifesting vibration, and financial outlook on life. Every time this lacking feeling is regurgitated it creates mini "poverty attacks" in the inner world, which eventually manifest into physically lacking finances on the outer world.The good news is that this entrapped cyclical experience is only here to give you an experience of what you don’t want, so that you are inspired to one day become clearer on wh | | By: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT | SELF IMPROVEMENT | BODYN | | |
| | | Two Streams, One Winding Line Of Consciousness | | 2008-01-05 13:00:00 | | כ"ז בטבת תשס"חGrael 28This Shabbat, the black wax of my main ritual candle was cut quickly and completely down one side like a river cut into the wax (as the deep melted pool of wax drained from around the wick, see graphic, click to enlarge) to the candle holder (over 1-2 inches depending on the perspective of timeline) by the very high radically jumping and leaping flame connected to the wick’s fire. It happened so fast that I only noticed it as the melted black wax was already pouring down the side of my altar. The flame was so unusually high-jumping (I’d estimate it reached 6-9 inches at times), it was so furiously energetic, that I had put it out with a candle snuffer lest it reach over and catch fire the cloth which covered my crystal ball. After putting out the potential fire hazard, I stuck a fingertip into the melted, still warm but cooling, wax on the side of my altar cloth. I’m not sure why I did this. I just did it. I wanted to know the feel of the wax. Wha | | By: Walking On Fire | | |
| | Convergent Havdalah Consciousness | | 2007-12-22 21:42:00 | | י"ד בטבת תשס"חGrael 15Earlier this evening I posted a few entries pertaining to the kabbalah of my new concave black skrying mirror, noting in one of the entries (Mirror Magic) that a concave mirror (as described by Wiki) is "where a parallel beam of light becomes a convergent beam, whose rays intersect in the focus of the mirror" and that the mirror rests upon a bed of letters symbolizing the concept of yovel (jubilee).The graphic collage I used to illustrate that entry is the left (first) image shown above. The right (second) image next to it was (later this evening after my entry was posted) shown on Foxnew's online frontpage (until they changed to a different image consisting of a row of power lines and headlights in a blizzard). | | By: Walking On Fire | | |
| | How To Leave The Influence of Body-Consciousness | | 2007-11-24 08:00:58 | | If there is one vice present others are not far behind. So too, if there is one positive quality it can take the soul forward to perfection, gradually embracing all other virtues on the way.By focussing on my virtures, not stay on my defects, they will strengthen. Beacause the destination in Raja Yoga is high, defects are bound to apprear. If, instead of becoming unhappy, I look at my strong points, without ego or body-consciousness, and seeing them as gifts from God, they will take me far beyond negativity.The negative approach of trying to tackle the vices is like a little boy trying to plug up all the holes in the wall of a dyke. Eventually he runs out of fingers and toes to block the holes and is unable to stop the flow. The positive approach is to take God's help. I go beyond the defects that keep appearing, bey seeing myself more and more in the mirror of His qualities.What else but virtue can I give to God? Only the love that is in my heart. I am then able to serve the world wi | | By: Raja Yoga Meditation | | |
| | Forms Of Body-Consciousness - Laziness | | 2007-11-17 12:34:52 | | When the weight of past sins is heavy it produces a type of spiritual sluggishness that hampers the effort to change thought, words and actions. The laziness on a subtle level deludes the soul into imagining that "Everything is alright. There are no problems. I'm OK." The soul rejects the impulse to make internal efforts. There's an expression in India that spiritual endeavour "isn't as easy as going to your aunty's house". Many desist from practices like meditation after only a few tries because laziness pulls the soul towards complacency which it mistakes for contentment. Laziness, you could say, is one of the main perpetrators of a negative state of mind, robbing zeal and giving birth and sustenance to the other vices. All of the above negative forces surface in the mind at any appropriate situation unless the soul is in the sweet remembrance of the true Mother and Father. When I know myself from God, these vices and their offspring such as sloth, vanity, jealousy, faul | | By: Raja Yoga Meditation | | |
| | Forms Of Body-Consciousness - Anxiety And Worry | | 2007-11-07 08:08:59 | | In the natural state there are no ripples of gloom. I am perfectly peaceful and content. Nothing disturbs me. In ignorance I am worried when expectations meet disappointment, when someone to whom I am attached goes away or has an accident. Worry saps the life-energy and drains away courage, zeal, reason, memory and happiness. As a yogi, the only worry I have is forgetting God and my relationship with Him. | | By: Raja Yoga Meditation | | |
| | Forms of Body-Consciousness - Fear | | 2007-10-27 07:39:11 | | Fear exists only when we are body-conscious. It is the result of attachment to the physical body, identity, possessions or status. If I am fearful, any harm that the body may be subjected to may cause me to lose my sense of distinguishing between truth and illusion. As a yogi, I know and understand how the soul is related to this body and to this world. I understand completely that death or loss is nothing but a change of circumstances which can be viewed impartially and with complete security. My life is in God's hands and my actions are according to His directions. I am resolving my karmic account so I have nothing to fear from the consequences of my past actions. Fear of an unknown future, which is common to most, is replaced by the assurance that everything I am doing in yoga is guaranteed to have a positive result for eternity. | | By: Raja Yoga Meditation | | |
| | Stream of Consciousness: Kitchen Computing | | 2007-10-21 23:54:15 | | I love gourmet cooking and more specifically, I really enjoy creating art using food. I was pondering the possibility of making a dedicated kitchen computer to help me while I am cooking. The more I thought about it, the more I decided that I did not want a bulky computer sitting on [...] | | By: Pigonastick! | | |
| | Forms of Body-Consciousness - Greed | | 2007-10-17 21:50:17 | | The natural state is one of sharing and self-satisfaction; to have nothing but to have everything. With greed, I build walls of material possessions within which I run around in circles in the race of self-aggandisement, accumulating this, acquiring that.Greed robs the soul of its dignity as it becomes lost in the pleasures of the senses, especially taste and colour. The greedy soul, stripped of its royalty, attempts to substitute inner wealth with material things.Greed for food, possessions, power or ambition, hinder the development of spirituality in the soul. The greedy soul can never be content. I have "greed" only for the wealth of knowledge and the love of God. I can appreciate beautiful things but I have no desire to own them. True natural love brings calmness but greed is a fire that burns within and agitates the mind to constantly search for things to acquire and accumulate. | | By: Raja Yoga Meditation | | |
| | Forms of Body-Consciousness - Anger | | 2007-10-04 08:38:21 | | Anger is the negation of love, which indicates that the angry soul actually needs love. It burns the soul and others in connection with it and disturbs the natural state totally. People mistakenly believe that anger can bring a situation under control thereby creating a "satisfactory situation". But when I am not satisfied with myself I cannot be satisfied with others nor can I satisfy others.Anger is a spear that wounds feelings. When I react with anger, all I am really doing is damaging myself as well as the other. When there is preoccupation with selfish desires, plans and motives, the soul lays itself open to anger attacks or its related forms: envy, jealousy, impatience, annoyance, irritability, disgust, backbiting, sullenness, violence, contrariness, sulking. Each time anger is expressed, harmful secretions flow through the metabolism causing many physical disorders, such as ulcers, heart trouble and psychosomatic problems. | | By: Raja Yoga Meditation | | |
| | Forms of Body-Consciousness - Ego Or Arrogance | | 2007-09-25 04:08:20 | | Thinking highly of one's wisdom, wealth, physique, beauty, experience, social status or family creates the delusion, "I should be loved or respected for these things." This self-love, or rather conceit, removes all sense of reality and generates many false notions. On top of that it usually backfires. Searching for respect and regard through a glorified image of myself, will not find it. It just breeds discourtesies. I think that the whole world revolves around me and should listen to my opinions. Both the "superiority complex" and the "inferiority complex" ("I am the best", or "I am no good") are forms of arrogance because the thought process is egocentric and the repeated word "I", "I", "I" is predominant. Because of internal confusion of identity, the soul wishes to find security by winning the attention of others.The natural state is love for one's true self and others. Ego is love for the physical identity and its temporary masks. Even though we suspect we are weak, we | | By: Raja Yoga Meditation | | |
| | | Forms Of Body-Consciousness - Attachment or Possessiveness | | 2007-09-14 23:39:28 | | Pure love is spiritual. Its misplaced forms are attachment and lust. But people regard attachment as the "glue" that keeps the household and family unified. In reality, the people or things that I consider as "mine" end up as my captors binding me in a net of worries and fears. The people or things that I cling to through attachement are compensations for the insecurity of the soul to lost in matter. Spiritual love is unconditional but attached love imposes so many conditions according to the likes and dislikes of the parties involved. Instead of being the thread of happiness and unity as it is supposed to be, it is the cause grief and anxiety within any relationship.For example, a child is born and the parents think, "This is our child, thank God." Yet if the child were to die they would weep and become lost in a maze of negative thoughts, none of which could bring back the child. In this case, the "child" is the body which has died not the soul. The parents are not the creat | | By: Raja Yoga Meditation | | |
| | Replicating Messianic Consciousness | | 2007-09-09 01:41:00 | | כ"ה באלול תשס"זIn follow-up to a previous entry, Line Letter Key, where I wrote:On the 14-letter row, the only line letter that was definitely an Ogham letter was the final letter, the 14th letter.I need to be clear. The only line letter that was definitely an Ogham letter was this 14th letter in the first row of letters. None of the other letters are any I've ever seen before.The remaining letters were line-like in form-structure as are Ogham letters, but they were not Ogham letters.The remaining letters were written with the force-flow as are Hebrew letters, but they were not Hebrew letters.I think the 13 remaining letters of the 14-letter row and the unnumbered letters of the row below it represent a mysterious hybrid where both form (Gevurah) and force (Chesed) are One. Importantly, the union of opposites (Gevurah and Chesed) is a function of Da'at, an expressive "external" partzuf of Keter.An "internal" partzuf of Keter is Atik Yomin. This partzuf is concerned with the | | By: Walking On Fire | | |
| | Consciousness of the Soul | | 2007-09-02 19:09:13 | | Jesus raised three people from the dead. He spoke to them as if they were alive. They responded to his voice. This shows that the soul is always conscious. It proves that the doctrine that the soul sleeps until the judgment is false. The spirit goes to God at death of the body according to [...] | | By: Online Business Alliance & Niches | | |
| | MindMods CogSciTech Consciousness Paper Posting #2 | | 2007-08-28 06:42:12 | | This paper is called
"Consciousness Redux" and is something of a history of theoretical
positions on the function of consciousness. It was written by
George Mandler of the University of California University
College London.
Consciousness Redux
George Mandler
University of California, San
Diego and University College London
Copyright (C) 1993 George Mandler
I start with a review of 20 years of proposals on the functions of
consciousness. I then present a minimal number of functions that
consciouness subserves, as well as as some remaining puzzles about
its psychology. In the process I stress a psychologist's
functional approach, asking what consciousness is for. The result
is an attempt to place conscious processes within the usual flow of
human information processing. | | By: MindMods CogSciTech Biofeedback & Neurofeedbac | | |
| | Is Consciousness Definable? Video from PBS | | 2007-08-27 17:49:55 | | PBS's Closer to Truth featuring Christof
Koch, Leslie Brothers, Joseph E. Bogen Stuart Hameroff try to
answer this question. These four scientists have the same question
but give four different answers.
(http://www.mindmodulations.com/mindmods//images/blogimages//Morning_Consciousness.jpg)
Is Consciousness Definable?
One problem is that there are too many definitions! And getting
these four guests to agree on what consciousness is and what causes
it, is a fun but hopeless task that is revelatory at the same time.
These four leading brain scientists couldn't even agree on at what
level a simple "memory" was stored, whether as a gross "brain
circuit," at the synapse between nerve cells, or in the
microstructure of the nerve cells as some sort of quantum effect.
But why should it be any different now? Philosophers have debated
the "mind-body problem" and the existence of "free will" for
thousands of years. However, never before have we been in a
position to examine the brain with such precision. Even as we begin
to understand the deep science that underlies our cognitive
processes, there is no letup in arguments whether we are anything
other than automata, just reacting to stimuli -- vastly more
complex than a bacterium to be sure -- but fundamentally little
different.
Although this spirited and highly qualified group manages to
disagree on just about everything, in the midst, they give off a
tremendous amount of information about the key issues involving the
understanding of consciousness today: Are our "minds" just the
artificial integration of multiple brain systems? Are our feelings
of self, that unique personal sense of mental "qualia" (e.g., does
the color "red" look the same to you as it does to me?) anything
other an "epiphenomenon," seemingly real but in reality an
illusion? How do firings of neurons, or ultimately vibrations of
atoms, emerge up into human self-awareness? Psychiatrist/author
Leslie Brothers firmly believes that there is someth | | By: MindMods CogSciTech Biofeedback & Neurofeedbac | | |
| | MindMods CogSciTech Consciousness Paper Posting #1 | | 2007-08-22 16:59:08 | | We're going to try and post an
interesting paper on consciousness at least once a week. There are
debates among those philosophers and scientists who study
consciousness about pretty much every aspect of consciousness -
especially about what consciousness actually is. Many of these are
surprisingly easy to read, given the nature of their arguments.
This first paper called 'Being Conscious of Ourselves' was
written by David M. Rosenthal and published in The Monist issue 82,
2 (April 2004) in a special issue on self-consciousness.
BEING CONSCIOUS OF OURSELVES
Abstract: I argue that we can explain how we are
conscious of ourselves by appeal to essentially indexical
thoughts we have about ourselves, in particular
about our own current mental states. I show that being
conscious of ourselves in that way doesn't require that
we are aware of ourselves in some privileged way that's
antecedent to the higher-order thoughts we have about
our own mental states. The account successfull | | By: MindMods CogSciTech Biofeedback & Neurofeedbac | | |
| | | Forms of Body-Consciousness - Lust | | 2007-08-16 01:09:16 | | Souls are points of light without gender. Love is natural between them. Seen in this light, lust and frustration are only due to a lack of real love. Transitory sexual enslaved enjoyment is nothing compared to the loss of awareness it entails. We understand that there can be no lust between souls.I see all others with pure brotherly vision. I love the soul, not the outwardly shape and form of the soul's body. Lust robs me of physical and spiritual strength and leads me even more deeply into sense-gratification. Trapped in the world of flesh and bones I am a slave to colour, form and touch. Throung the loss of reason and self-awareness, I fall into attachment.The curtain descends on my power of discrimination as the intellect is weakened. Lust is a feeling that waxes and wanes. As it waxes, correspondingly, spiritual vision and understanding dims. As it wanes I come back to my senses. The desire to satisfy the sexual craving is perhaps the most basic of instincts related to | | By: Raja Yoga Meditation | | |
| | Conversations on Consciousness from the Guardian | | 2007-08-13 13:26:11 | | The last three links are interviews of Francis Crick by Sue
Blackmore.
Imagine sitting by a California swimming pool surrounded by flowers
and hummingbirds and trying to interview the great biologist
Francis Crick (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1962/crick-bio.html), writes Sue Blackmore. If it sounds
peaceful, it wasn't. At the age of 78 and in failing health,
Francis was more than a match for me.
"Now let me say why I think all that's nonsense," he said at
one point, and "You ask that only because you're interested in
Buddhism". But what a treat it was to be able to delve into his
theories of consciousness and discover the reasons why he thinks
we'll one day find the neural basis for consciousness.
My partner, Adam
Hart-Davis (http://www.adam-hart-davis.org/), enjoyed the visit too. When we arrived at the door
Francis greeted us warmly and then dismissed Adam instantly "You
can go to the kitchen with
Odile (http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituar | | By: MindMods CogSciTech Biofeedback & Neurofeedbac | | |
| | Consciousness Restored to Man After Six Years with Deep Brain Stimulation | | 2007-08-09 18:07:31 | | This is an incredible story of hope reported in
Nature (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v448/n7153/edsumm/e070802-07.html) this week which describes how neuroscientists implanted
electrodes in the brain of a 38-year-old man who had been
in a minimally conscious state for more than six years
following a serious assault. By electrically stimulating a brain
region called the central thalamus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalamus),
they were able to help him name objects on request, make
precise hand gestures, and chew food without the aid of a feeding
tube. The thalamus is involved in motor control, arousal
and in relaying sensory signals — from the visual systems,
for example — to the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain
involved in consciousness. | | By: MindMods CogSciTech Biofeedback & Neurofeedbac | | |
| | Women Who Run With the Wolves | Feminine Consciousness, Woman Archetype | | 2007-07-29 09:55:36 | | The one who cannot howl, will not find one's pack. Within every woman there is a wild and natural creature, a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing. Her name is Wild Woman, but she is an endangered species.Though the gifts of wildish nature come to us at birth, society's attempt to "civilize" us into rigid roles has plundered this treasure, and muffled the deep, life-giving messages of our own souls. Without Wild Woman, we become over-domesticated, fearful, uncreative, trapped. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D., Jungian analyst and cantadora storyteller, shows how woman's vitality can be restored through what she calls "psychic archeological digs" into the bins of the female unconscious.In Women Who Run with the Wolves, Dr. Estes uses multicultural myths, fairy tales, folk tales, and stories chosen from over twenty years of research that help women reconnect with the healthy, instinctual, visionary attributes of the Wild Woman archetype. | | By: Inspirations and Creative Thoughts | | |
| | Moving With Messianic Consciousness | | 2007-07-14 16:19:00 | | כ"ח בתמוז תשס"זThe Erev Shabbat, Friday the 13th, Hebrew letter tarot reading I did last evening during the planetary hour of Mars under the Dark New Moon, came down, in order as:hei-pey-zayin הפזFrom the shoresh פזז meaning [1] to move energetically, exert energy and impervious gem, הפז has a gematria of 92, the same gematria as the word containing the mysterious Divine Name pertaining to the coming of messianic consciousness [2], namely מאומה as found in Bereshit 22:12 concerning the akeidah, the 10th trial of Avraham.And he said: 'Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know that thou art a God-fearing man, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from Me.'Footnotes:[1] Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew, R' Matityahu Clark[2] The Hebrew Letters, R' Yitzchak Ginsburgh (p. 211)Technorati tags: Torah Talmud Torah Judaism Kabbalah jewish mysticism mysticism jewish meditation meditation shamanism kab | | By: Walking On Fire | | |
| | Matriarch Of Covenantal Messianic Consciousness | | 2007-07-01 18:42:00 | | ט"ו בתמוז תשס"זIn parashat Pinchas is the phrase (Bamidbar 26:46) "the name of Asher's daughter, Serach ..." (v'shem bat-Asher, Serach). In Hebrew, this phrase reads:ושם בת-אשר שרחThere are 3, well actually 4, words in this phrase. We have seen this 3 or 4 phenomenon before - with both the Hebrew letter shin and with the Celtic fire festivals.The gematriot:ושם = 346בת = 402אשר = 501שרח = 508_______1754 = digit sum = 17 טוב = final digit sum 8Adding the gematriot of each word by place-column:6 + 2 + 1 + 8 = 144 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 43 + 4 + 5 + 5 = 1714 + 4 + 17 = 35 אלד = final digit sum 8We can see that the word אלד is hidden in the gematriot of the Torah phrase introducing Serach as a significant member of Yaakov's family. The Sages wonder why is Serach, a woman, mentioned so atypically and significantly here?This is what I think - Serach, like Yitzchak and Yaakov, is a direct recipient of the covenantal blessing from Avraham and Sarah. In other | | By: Walking On Fire | | |
| | Birth Of Messianic Consciousness | | 2007-07-01 01:15:00 | | ט"ה בתמוז תשס"זOh, what magic is real life!Esbat Tammuz. I've previously posted (here and here) that my Hebrew letter tarot card deck contains 22 cards. There are actually 23 cards in my Hebrew letter tarot deck. I'd forgotten.I've had these cards for years and I deliberately didn't look at the face of the cards as I shuffled them during the only two tarot readings I've ever used them for to date. I have no thoughtful reason why I do that (carefully and purposefully not gaze at the face of the cards prior to "reading" them). I just have a thoughtbare reason beyond reason why I do it. The only time I see the face of the cards is as I read them. I didn't count them either.Today's Shabbat Tarot reading.עד Moon 100% full in Capricorn, during the planetary hour of the Sun.I set out to choose 3 cards at random from a shuffled deck spread out faces hidden, in order, the first two came easily,tet-hei טהbut the third card had a fourth card stuck behind it as I pulled it ou | | By: Walking On Fire | | |
| | Step Toward Messianic Consciousness | | 2007-06-24 00:43:00 | | ז' בתמוז תשס"זNinth (ט) tarot reading just performed on myself using my standard spread and procedure.Moon data: waxing gibbous 63% (אחדים) fullPlanetary hour: sun (יהוה)S/Q - eight of wands (staff of Moses)P1 - five of swordsP2 - Priestess בP3 - ace of swordsP4 - Lovers וP5 - queen of swordsP6 - Judgment רP7 - knight of cupsP8 - Wheel of Fortune כP9 - seven of pentaclesP10 - seven of cupsLooking up, I see the word kruv (cherub כרוב), a protecting angel and a vehicle for the Divine Presence, covering me from all harm.The cherub represents female symmetry, where the cherub of the tarot reading reflects over the tarot reader (me), and according to Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, represents the first step toward messianic consciousness.The letter beit (ב) in the position of Priestess and Chochmah corresponds to the situation of my dream this morning where Binah and Chochmah joined hands as sisters within the feminine psyche, producing mature da'at.Technorati tags: | | By: Walking On Fire | | |
| | There is a method for working within consciousness... | | 2007-05-20 17:20:00 | | There is a method for working within consciousness in order to out picture the results of your heart's desire. All of our efforts for the past untold millenia have been towards finding out this process and then making use of it in our world to benefit our lives and those around us. the method involves a thorough understanding of what is mind, what is thought, what is the subconscious, and what is "I am." Recently this study has taken me through various authors in the New Thought field. For me New Thought is precisely what Modern Kabbalah needs to be about. I am studying this aspect of mind over matter and will let you know in the interim how I am proceeding | | By: Thought Into Form | | |
| | Fractal Consciousness | | 2007-05-10 12:02:39 | | I love fractals. They were a revelation to me when I first learned about them, as I imagine it was for science to learn there really are patterns in nature. “Mandelbrot’s reality has shapes undreamed of by Euclid, and surprises that ridicule the idea of order…clouds, coastlines, tree branches, commodity prices, word frequencies, turbulence in fluids, stars in the sky, a reputation, fame, the passage of history itself… - all are fractal shapes.” (Morrow, Lance. ESSAY: Let Us Recuse Ourselves Awhile. (Time, 03-05-1990), p. 72.)
In my book I suggest awareness of fractals might help spark the consciousness necessary to create a world outside of what are now considered to be our boundaries. Some researchers believe ancient civilizations were processing fractals long ago, evidence of which is found in ancient carvings and artwork. I always thought the Mandelbrot fractal resembled a sitting Buddha on its side. I believe fractals may be a much larger part of our subconscious | | By: Surfing the Tao | | |
| | Class Consciousness | | 2007-01-29 05:06:00 | | What happens when a train of thought derails? Does one try to rescue the capsized ideas or salvage their germs? I was engrossed in thought, traveling by the second class women's compartment of a local train when the loud bickering between a fisherwoman and another passenger made me pull the mental alarm chain and stop my thoughts in their tracks. The fisherwoman swearing like a, well, fishwife said to her meek co-passenger with her nostrils flaring, “If you wish to travel in such luxury, take the first class instead.” Therein she reiterated a well-established fact. We Indians are a class conscious people.Perhaps the greatest contributors to our class consciousness are the railways. In the days of colonial rule, the vast majority of the natives traveled cooped up in the third class compartments while the thin upper crust of Indian Lat Sahibs traveled first class waited upon by flunkeys and bearers. The railways have affected our ways of thinking and collective psyche profoundly. We often hear someone or something being referred to as ‘third class’ instead of ‘third rate’ or ‘downright contemptible’ - a telling example of railway parlance being expressively applied to everyday life. Gandhiji was indeed wise to have blacklisted the railways along with doctors and lawyers. On being asked why he always chose to travel third class, Gandhiji is famously said to have replied, “Because there is no fourth class.” Comparing the state of Indian railway services with global standards, it seems we are yet to move ahead of ‘third class’.Alas! The third class is now obsolete and the railways have raised the least common denominator to the second class. And then there is the air-conditioned class or AC. The AC is such a luxury that those who cannot or do not travel by it feel as if they are in BC.The Japanese have their ‘Shikansen’ (High speed line) trains since the sixties. The French TGV holds the world record over the latest Bullet prototype. The Pend | | By: Crazy Quilt | | |
| | Soul and Body Consciousness | | 2006-10-23 06:48:42 | | The soul is conscient energy, aware of its own existence. Consciousness can be described as the feeling "I am" or "I exist". If you examine any thought-decision-action process, you will find that behind it, there is always the feeling: "I am something or the other". Consciousness is thus the springboard for thought, decisions and actions. In other words, the soul reacts to external circumstances according to how it regards itself at that particular moment. For example, a surgeon is able to perform surgery when there is the consciousness of being surgeon. That very consciousness unlocks or gives the soul access to all the information and experience related to being a surgeon. The soul when it has the consciousness of being a soul is able to have instant access to its own original qualities.There are two different basic levels of consciousness; "I am a body" or "I am a soul", the former, illusory and the latter, real. When the feeling is "I am a body", the thought process is trapp | | By: Raja Yoga Meditation | | |
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