Consciousness Defined
“A human being is
part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and
space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something
separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness.
This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal
desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must
be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of
compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in
its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined by the measure
and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. We
shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to
survive.”
— Albert Einstein
What is the brain? What is the mind? What is consciousness?
Are mind and consciousness merely the bi-product of physical brain processes
or are they something that transcends brain functioning? Does any aspect
of this phenomenon extend beyond or brain and can any survive beyond the physical body?
There seems to be no single or universally accepted view that adequately
explains consciousness. Why is it that something we are all so
intimately familiar with so difficult to explain?
I act like you act
I do what you do
But I don't know
What it is to be you.
- David Chalmers
However it is defined, there is a considerable and growing body of evidence
suggesting that some core aspect of our consciousness transcends
the natural boundary of our physical body and our normal sensory mechanisms. This is what we refer to as "
non-local consciousness/em>". This conclusion is based on a considerable and growing body of evidence
that is now available from contemporary science and medicine that suggests
that consciousness is much more than the modern scientific world view can account for using our existing
main stream world view about the nature of consciousness (see
consciousness issues ).
Since the 17th century science has been based on the belief that all
phenomena are the results of blind but predictable interactions with
matter. This concept has led to a reductionist view of reality and a
materialistic focus – one of consumption, competition, conflict and
domination. However, by the end of the 20th century, new scientific
evidence has emerged from several new fields of study such as quantum
mechanics, non linear thermodynamics, systems and chaos theory and the
study of so-called supernatural phenomena that render the reductionist
and materialist view of reality not only untenable, but incorrect as
well. Instead, a new paradigm is surfacing which:
- Places great emphasis on consciousness and its role in the creation of physical reality;
- Reality is a holistic, interconnected matrix;
- Information, once gained is never lost;
- These concepts are true at a deep and fundamental level of existence.
Throughout the ages great spiritual teachers from all traditions have
spoken of reality being a limitless, transcendent and holistic
consciousness. Partly as a result of the legacy of the French
philosopher Descartes and the separations of the domains of religious
and scientific thought, the spiritual view of reality has been ignored
by modern science. Yet, our spiritual teachers have taught us for
millennia that we all have the ability to experience transcendent states
of awareness and intentionality and that they are demonstrably resident
in the human condition. These states are now beginning to be understood
as fundamental properties of our consciousness.
These transcendent states have been visited and described for
millennia by both our ancestors and contemporaries. Enlightened
individuals have been called by many names including avatars, mystics,
sages, saints, gurus and shamans. By whatever name they have been
called, all held a similar world view and advocated oneness,
unconditional love, living harmoniously with nature and one’s fellow
humans and recognizing the interconnectedness and interdependence of all
creation.
This hypothesis of interconnectedness, proposed by ancient sages from
many pre-scientific cultures has never been rigorously explored or
tested by modern mainstream science. To create the fundamental shift in
consciousness necessary to preserve civilization, experimental and
theoretical investigations are needed to fully understand and test these
unifying approaches to nature. The goal of these investigations must be
to fully integrate the reductionist, and purely materialistic view,
characterized by classical Newtonian science, with the holistic view
emerging from promising scientific disciplines in a manner that also
addresses consciousness and transcendent states of awareness. This
holistic view can then be applied to the macroscopic world including
living systems and social phenomena.
It is for this reason that the Eternea Consciousness Council focuses on
researching and understanding consciousness with emphasis on those
aspects of it that include
interconnectedness along with those that may extend beyond the physical brain
(e.g. non-local consciousness). In particular the Council focuses on the
following aspects of consciousness:
Mechanisms of Consciousness
-
Fundamental constructs of consciousness
-
Higher consciousness primitives
-
Various aspects of higher consciousness
-
Theories of consciousness
Manifestations of non-local Consciousness
More details will be provided at a later date.
Check out the Consciousness Council organizational
structure here
Articles on Consciousness
Leading
Edge Science on
the Survival of Consciousness
Science on Controversies
in Consciousness and in Understanding Reality
Papers on Consciousness
Does
Consciousness Depend on the Brain?
Why Materialist Science cannot Explain Near-Death Experiences
Dr. Larry Dossey: "Consciousness: / Why Materialism Fails"
Other Scientific Articles on Consciousness and Survival
For an excellent article entitled "Near-Death
experiences between science and prejudice" by Enrico Facco
and Christian Agrillo on mainstream science, its underlying assumptions and
its views on NDEs and why it has it wrong:
click here
Check out additional references in our Recommended Readings Page
Check Out Scientific Papers on Consciousness in our Members Area
For the lastest on consciousenss research, please
access our Members Area to read the paper
"Towards and Understanding of The Nature
of Reality and the Nature of Existence" by Edgar D. Mitchell, Sc.D. and Robert Staretz, M.S.
Can't access this section of our website?
Once you become a member you will be free to access it and all other papers
located in our member area.
For membership opportunities click here