Is consciousness an illusion?
by Jon Rappoport
January 26, 2015
“Cutting through disinformation about consciousness is vital, because neuroscience is moving toward a mind-controlled society, based on the idea that individual awareness is an illusion, and stimulus-response is the key to shaping a new Collective of synchronized ‘happy’ brains.” (The Underground, Jon Rappoport)
A brief historical note: Roughly a century ago, as scientists and philosophers were attacking organized religion, they assumed that science would come to “rule” all knowledge, for the benefit of humanity.
Today, their descendants still believe in the simplistic dichotomy between religion and science:
If science fails to answer a metaphysical question, just wait a while and it will; otherwise, we will be thrown back into the opiate soup of religion, and that must never happen.
This is nonsense.
This either-or approach is fictitious garbage. Religion or science, as the only two choices, is a fraud.
So…here is one of those metaphysical questions:
What is consciousness?
Science has done nothing to explain it. It has tap-danced and speculated and made assurances, but explain it? No.
But here, a famous biologist faces the question head-on:
“How it is that anything so remarkable as a state of consciousness comes about as a result of irritating nervous tissue, is just as unaccountable as the appearance of Djin when Aladdin rubbed his lamp.” (Thomas Henry Huxley)
And here a modern philosopher retreats to the conventional position based on zero evidence:
“Above all, consciousness is a biological phenomenon. We should think of consciousness as part of our ordinary biological history, along with digestion, growth, mitosis and meiosis…Conscious states are caused by lower level neurobiological processes in the brain and are themselves higher level features of the brain.” (John R Searle, professor of philosophy, University of California at Berkeley)
Lower biological processes somehow “give rise” to “higher biological processes,” thus producing consciousness.
This is about as convincing as using your birthdate to buy a lottery ticket.
“Well, you see, we’ve learned a great deal about lower biological functions, so as we learn more about the higher functions, we’ll discover what consciousness is.”
Really? If this is logic, an ant is a spaceship.
Consciousness, as Huxley was implying, is a different KIND of reality; it isn’t merely atoms bumping into each other or forming structures.
For example, consciousness is you knowing you’re reading this page right now. It isn’t molecules spitting out a message that “you’re reading this page.”
Consciousness is you knowing you’re alive. It isn’t the brain somehow producing the words “you’re alive.”
Consciousness isn’t an illusion. The illusion is supposing the brain knows anything.
Physicists will readily admit that atoms and sub-atomic particles do not know anything. And since the brain is made up of those particles, there is no reason to assume the brain has the capability of knowing. It’s a system of systems that operates in wide-ranging ways.
Knowing you’re reading this page isn’t a brain- message you receive. It’s different. It’s not reducible. It’s not something you can break into small pieces.
You know you’re alive.
That consciousness, that awareness, that “act” of knowing is not physical. It’s non-physical. It’s not made up of particles. It’s beyond them.
It’s independent.
Consciousness isn’t a subject for study in a philosophy department or a physics or biology or chemistry department. It doesn’t fit into any category.
Is consciousness an illusion? No. The illusion is pretending it’s “the brain.” The illusion is the selling of a future in which all existence will be controlled by science. The illusion is “a better civilization” in which all brains are “harmonized.”
If consciousness is an illusion, then freedom is, too. If consciousness is just the atoms of the brain marching around and delivering pre-determined impulses, then freedom is a hoax.
And, under the surface, this is what neuroscience proposes. “Yes, humans believe in a quaint notion of freedom, but we know that’s ludicrous. There is no such thing. It’s merely particles in motion…”
While I’m at it, taking the particles-in-motion depiction of life as a first principle…then there is no you, either. There is no you, there is no me, there is no anyone. There is no individual, there is no group. All that is illusion as well.
This is the inescapable conclusion of physics taken to its widest application.
It’s also the justification for manipulating the brain in any fashion: since “no one is home,” what difference does it make? Nullify a synapse here, rewire a connection there, dose this area with a drug, stimulate those neurons with electromagnetic impulses…and bring about more agreeable obedience.
There are many educated people who refuse to understand that both organized religion and bottomless faith in science lead to tyranny. They lack the imagination and curiosity to explore other alternatives.
Therefore, their ignorance is stunning.
Jon Rappoport
The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED, EXIT FROM THE MATRIX, and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free emails at NoMoreFakeNews.com or OutsideTheRealityMachine.
You know, they are telling us, “You cannot know Truth…. We’ll give you our truth.” Well, no matter what anyone thinks at any level… GOD is Truth with a capitol “T”. If there is nothing greater than ourselves that we can know… then there is no reality… because there is no objective Truth. We’re just “choosing our own delusion” as we seek to “make our own truth”. And, basically, they want to “choose for us their delusion” as they take the role of “God”. If someone wants to say, “I’m creating my own truth”… well, that’s their business not mine. Because I’m not God…. I’m not their God… and that’s why no one can force agreement without violating someone else’s right as a peer and equal. What gets me about their people is their total lack of respect for others. They refuse to accept their role as peer and equal to others… as they seek to rule over us “for our own good”. I think it’s the default position of pride as people say, “There is no God that can be known”. They rush to fill the void… they believe exists… rising up against their own brother… because they think this is all a big competition between… to see who shall be God.
Sigh. In other words, they’ve gone power mad.
You’re right, Laura. And the ultimate expression of Truth was the manifestation of God in human flesh two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. This act of self-abnegation, more than any other, is the purposeful expression of the Love that God is. His wooing to embrace us by deliverance from the delusion of pride is the highest blend of wisdom and purest motive that the collective matrix cannot even begin to comprehend. Thus, full consciousness can only be achieved within the acceptance of our divine Source.
Incorrect, that was the “Roman” illusion.
In fact “Jesus” was politically a fusion of Pharisaic order and Essene wisdom. That’s why the Sanhedrin was abandoned. More recently they’ve abandoned wisdom.
So much to learn but so little to discover.
The majority Sanhedrin condemned Jesus because they had developed their own illusion over centuries. By virtue of disobedience to God’s counsels through His messengers (OT), they opened their minds to intimations of the prince of darkness – who continually endeavored to counteract God’s design for restoration of the human race – from that which he brought down via the Edenic fall.
The Jewish leaders’ illusion essentially consisted of personal/collective pride regarding a supposed national sovereignty under Roman control. Since Jesus was dealing with reality, they could not accept His teachings. True wisdom will never be found apart from a connection with the Source of wisdom and even life itself, the Great I Am.
Inescapably, the evidence is found in the very writings which the Jewish leaders professed to fully embrace. However, the fallacy was in substantially substituting traditions developed from their own opinion writers over time. Thus, they could not divine the clear prophecies concerning the very fulfillment Who was walking in their midst.
Specifically, the actual time of Jesus’ birth, as found in Daniel 9:24-27. And the place of His birth, Micah 5:2; other statements of His character such as Isaiah 7:14; 9:6, 7; 52:13-53:12; events such as Zechariah 9:9. Over 400 prophecies were fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. To acknowledge this evidence is the beginning of wisdom. Much to learn and much to discover by searching into and humbling oneself before both the written and living Word of Almighty God.
If you are going to give the down trodden slaves of Rome a god what kind of God should they have… an olympian who is a king god with thunder bolts at his beck and call…no, you give them a carpenter, a working class god, who gets up and goes to work every day and never complains about it. He doesn’t have pot to piss in, or for that fact, a window to throw it out off. But he has the work ethic.
Maybe you give them a trickster god who changes shape and actually tells them to defy the gods and reality and the universe for that matter….no you give them a god like lamb, a meek, mild and docile sacrificial animal, subservient, obedient, that turns his cheek and takes another blow from a Roman fist or kick from Roman boot.
How about you give them a god that wars and destroys and makes armour and forges weapons, he owns Mars and that all beings fear, because of his anger and xenophobia….no the down trodden, they need a god that renders under Ceasar what is Ceasar’s, even when it isn’t Ceasar’s. He is a peaceful god to the point that he is docile and can be exterminated. That will not use his power as a god ever in confrontation of injustice. That will not fight for his rights or his followers rights ever. That is the Christian god…powerless, a slave, with no inviduality. A herd animal, that is docile and without any distinction.
The Christian needs a god willing to oppress his women and the children born to them, in his religious zeal.
They need a god who appoints priests who make sure the clergy are exactly like their god….weak, and without imagination. Because thats all that is left to him.
A god willing to be tortured and taken without a fight and nailed to a tree…a god who has power to stop them from killing him by simply being a god, or saying I’m a god an this isn’t going to happen, because I am going to shit can you all into hell.
If that isn’t a big stinking load of Roman propaganda…well. I’m selling acreages on the Mars.
If your going to read the bible understand that it is the KING JAMES THE FIRST VERSION.
@OT….
You opened a can of worms ozzie….stop with the can openers….bwahahaha
@MB
I am not sure how to respond to that.
Does not truth transcend you, me and Roman slaves? I do decode existence in my latest book. Prime Source is the cosmic version of “God”. It is a book you haven’t read. I suggest you get a copy and you’ll then realise it is not a “can of worms”. Though I anticipate it will draw up more questions than answers.
The New Testament gospel of Mark was penned by a Roman aristocrat (associate of “Jesus”). Josephus (gnostic “Jesus”) was the product of Royal Roman (Piso) and Jewish Essene (Joseph Matthias) heritage. That’s why they argued he was the true king of the Jews anointed by John the Baptist (as successor to the royal line).
Believe what you like, but that is “what is”.
Perhaps Life just is, always was, and always will be; that Awareness, Creative Intelligence and Love are built-in properties; that there’s no beginning and no end, no origin, no source; that no ultimate supreme being, ultimate creator god or big bang is required to explain it; and that we are a particular expression of Life and its built-in properties. Hey, you never know; it’s a mystery for sure.
You are right, Brad, up to the point of “no origin, no source.” From there on you will find your answer here, the mystery unraveled part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSoSszHzziE
We have a hard time with the idea of ‘infinite’. In the case of Life, we tend to think in terms of an origin, of it coming from something (or ‘someone’) that we can ‘point to’. Because we live in a world of temporary forms where cause and effect is all around us, it’s natural to think in those terms. It seems plausible to me, though, that the essence if Life (which I would argue intrinsically includes awareness, creative intelligence and love) is not subject to limitation or qualification of any kind; no imagined source is required; perhaps it just is.
We do have a hard time with the concept of “infinite,” because we are mortal and in our small world we largely see beginning and ending. You are correct (IMHO), Brad, that the essence of Life intrinsically includes awareness, creative intelligence and love. Love, as a principle, is defined as selfless giving, humility, compassion, affection, and caring beyond any self interests, including life itself. And because we have and thus are able to recognize those qualities, the evidence of such Source is manifested in a multitude of forms around us in what we call “nature.”
However, we cannot assume that what we can identify is all of which the Source consists. We do not need to “imagine” a source. The evidence is all around us in multitudinous varieties. True science measures and can to some extent quantify the evidence. We can utilize gravity and electromagnetic energy, but we cannot explain why they exist or how they work. They “just do.” We can attempt to explain everything by the 2nd law of thermodynamics and entropy or the lack thereof. But it is an utter fallacy to presume – in the light of galactic continuity even as we have measured it for millennia – that we know all the physical laws of the universe or even a few of those principles by which the Infinite One operates.
Thus we can safely exercise faith in the Source based upon evidence at hand. That is more than sufficient for anyone to trust in and consent to worship. It takes far greater “faith” to accept the belief system of evolution for which there is no demonstrable evidence. Nothing has been observed or can be reproduced to substantiate this kind of wishful thinking. The “theory” of evolution does not even rise to the level of a theory. It is merely an hypothesis.
The qualities in the essence of Life which you/we identify are characteristics of personhood. They are those of a pure character, in the sense of nothing which destroys or lessens their intrinsic worth. Now we can ascribe all glory and honor to the One who “just is,” the Great I AM.
Perhaps the source is in and of itself.
I don’t think conscousnese is an illusion, it is probably the only reality that we know.
Leslie
“For example, consciousness is you knowing you’re reading this page right now. It isn’t molecules spitting out a message that “you’re reading this page.” -Rappoport
And it is a lot more than that….
I am reading your thoughts, which you have changed into these fixed symbols. These letters… which are put together to form words, which have definitions. And those definitions are pertinent within the context of your sentences and paragraphs. And this all comes together as a complete thought from you.
And what is even more astounding is that I can read those words and sentences (past), which form paragraphs. And interpret those into thoughts which therefor… stimulates thought about your thoughts which have been written in the past.
And my thoughts and contemplations are my consciousness getting involved with that fixed symbology in writing from the past from you.
There is no chemistry between the writing on the page and my consciousness (present). Or for that matter between your thoughts and your fingers typing the words and sentences (past).
This computer generated comment is not the ideas and thoughts of a conscious computer, but simply the means to transport the thoughts of my consciousness to the future.
“The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.”
― Philip K. Dick
The post on this website contains a lot of information but no knowledge. Each letter, word, and phrase could be considered as data. Each sentence, paragraph, and post could be considered as information. When you decipher the coded information and incorporate the information into the conceptual structure that you call your mind, you are generating the knowledge. That is to say, you are learning. Knowledge is information that is relation to other knowledge that is held in a mind. If you know this already then you will not learn it from this post. You may also not learn it if you cannot hook it to the concepts that are already in your mind.
Great article!
There are numerous examples of consciousness extending the use of the brain beyond itself. For example a computer uses a hard drive to store data. When the storage banks reach its capacity, you would likely replace the hard drive or buy an external hard drive for more storage. Before the computer was invented and currently, concsciousness would take a piece of paper and write down notes and thoughts, poetry, etc. This is an example of consciousness extending its storage capacity beyond the brain. A system would have to learn how to do this on its own and be able to connect beyond itself.
So the system that they would have to include into their consciousness model would have to be expanded to outside itself. This statement can be argued rationally but it is taking what is proposed from that type of thinking and applying to something obvious.
Another interesting theory from the fringes of science which is more interesting to me is the idea of the holographic brain. Memory is not stored in banks. Memory can be stored in the structure of the brain itself. Where the patterns make up the memories. Even if only pieces of the brain are observed, they would still contain that peice of memory. Similar to a hologram. This has been observed “en vivo”. There are a few theories that relate to holograms and the Universe in general and are laughed at by mainstream science who are as rigid as fundamentalist religion.
Although I agree that science does give us practical applications, they are not equipped to deal with topics such as “Consciousness”. I do not believe even language is equipped to explain “Consciousness”. It is like describing the “Source Thinker”.
I have decoded the mechanics of existence account for the physical and metaphysical in “relatively” scientifically.
https://ozziethinker.wordpress.com/2015/01/24/malicious-compliments/
Book is available for purchase by brave, intelligent readers. As there are no brave, intelligent readers none of you will purchase the book.
The problem is not the information or belief system. The problem is no one gives a damn.
Because dim witted individuals and groups have bombarded cyberspace with “free stuff” (I think with was corporate government strategy), discerning people think “investment in information” is a thing of the past, plus they struggle to discern the cream from the crap.
You know what means, Jon?
Blog-sphere will collapse into subliminal profundity. The only “decent” sources will offer veiled propaganda as “corporate government” already has the “alternative view” well under control. Enjoy the end of freedom.
Best
OT
Ok I wanted to throw @ozziethinker a recommendation on his book. I bought and read it last night and was surprised that an unassuming short read turned out to be pretty heavy.
You might recognize some things in it but with a different impact. It was disturbing at times and empowering at times. Being new to this type of language, I had to depart from attachments to previous definitions and symbols with the result being a centered feeling of focus that started with apprehension. I recommend getting his book, and plus you can help out an artist who can use the support.
@Andy
Thank you for the “plug”.
I am glad you enjoyed it.
What came to my mind by reading your article Jon, is that religion and science both require faith. Faith to me is a bit like wishful thinking.
But consciousness doesn’t requires faith. You know that you are conscious.
Technocratic pseudo science promoted by those high priests of the new religion who willingly sell their souls for a few pieces of silver and for the recognition of their equally misguided fraternal peers. This is the result when one comes to believe that their conscious soul is not based on ‘good’ science and no longer has any intrinsic value. Along with the soul goes love, morality, happiness, ethics and self respect. In a rare moment of lucidity, when suddenly confronted by their hopeless plight,… is it any wonder that suicide among those of high position is becoming so prevalent?
https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1268-an-atheists-daughter
The emotional turmoil experienced by those without hope and without help in this world is clearly spelled out in this article.
I noticed another quotation at the same locus; from Voltaire, who said
“I wish I had never been born”.
Such is the unendurable cross born along throughout life by the children of disobedience.
Their ignorance may be stunning to us, and it may be blissful to them? Although I’m not so sure most of them actually believe in the science they espouse? I’m not sure they ALL believe their own bullshit? I think the science they drop on us are spurious and specious designs, fear driven reactions, and methods to achieve what they truly desire and that’s ‘absolute control over every living soul’…they’re definitely deterministic when it comes to that end, there’s definitely a consensus form them there. Unfortunately for all too many of us ignorance is bliss. Most people would rather drool and fork GMO junk onto their tongue than fork lightning with it. We shouldn’t despair though, I think there’s plenty enough of us who will not be bridled or broken. Although often pacing and kicking up dust in stalls, plenty are aware of the vast… limitless terrain of consciousness to be stampeded across, in all directions, once fully awakened to our power as individuals with infinite reserves of creative imagination. We’ll be like many fire breathing wild Pegasi flying far over the cuckoos nest. I think all that sometimes, I like to think like that, because its true. I think they think like that some times too, and they don’t like to think like that, because it’s true, and that’s where THEIR glue factory horse shit science comes from, and thats when ignorance is bliss..for them.
E Pluribus Pluribus! Am I conscious?…Your Goddamned, fucking well right I am!
“We’re never gonna survive unless we get a little crazy”.
-Seal-
“Jesus, I mean you guys do nothing but complain about how you can’t stand it in this place here and then you haven’t got the guts just to walk out?
-R.P. McMurphy-
“Which one of you nuts has got any guts”.
-R.P. McMurphy-
“Hey you bastards, I’m still here”.
-Papillon-
Hi Jon. Just an alert to a commonly misunderstood form of English: the possessive pronominal phrase. There are also possessive noun phrases.
“Consciousness is you knowing you’re alive. . .consciousness is you knowing you’re reading this page.”
Who does the “knowing” belong to? You. So, it is your knowing anything. Check Wikipedia.
Your article is a good read, and I certainly concur with you concerning “the simplistic dichotomy between religion and science.”
My having read your blog helps to clarify concepts. My reading of your blogs is a daily refreshing; not “me reading this article” as is done by 97% of the public at large.
Thank you!
When I was born, I knew very little. I could cry and swallow. I learned to control my eyelids and my eyes. I detected patterns and came up with a model of my world. Life has been a process of improving my model by incorporating the stimuli that have experienced into the conceptual structure of my mind. The concepts in my mind are based on my first-hand experience, learning from others actions, ideas that others conveyed that I accepted as truth, and ideas that I have generated. Once I have determined that an idea is superior to the others that are in my mind, I increase the weight of concept and decrease the weights of the competing nodes in my conceptual structural. This process is called learning.
Every moment of every day every animal tries to maximize what it perceives to be pleasurable and minimize what it perceives to be painful. Each possibility is given a weight. In deciding should I eat the desert, I consider: do I have the time, do I have something better to do, how much does it cost, am I short on money, will I really like it, am I hungry, will it make me fat, will it make me sick … If I am focused on the short term, the immediate pleasure is give more weight. If I am focused on the long term, I may decide not eat it. This process is call consciousness.
Once your conceptual structure that you call your mind has enough knowledge, you might have a higher consciousness if you think about the way you think. The modern programming is trying to get you to think that you are too stupid to trust your own thought processes. The experts are so much smarter than you, you shouldn’t waste your time trying to think about anything other than which TV show is better – Celebrity Cat Fights or Dancing With Rich People. If you fall for this, you become a biological android or a child who will never, and doesn’t want to, grow up. This process is called pacification.
Once you learn that some things that people tell you are not true, you have a duty to reconsider every idea that came from that source. Some source may not know what they are saying is false. In this case, they are stupid. Other sources know what they are saying is false. In this case, they are lairs. They may have reasons for lying. They may think that they are smart and you are stupid and that they are helping you. It is up to you to overcome misinformation and disinformation.
” Some source may not know what they are saying is false. In this case, they are stupid.”
This makes them ignorant, as in uninformed of the truth, not stupid, which indicates a lower IQ.
There are many words with similar meanings: dumb, naïve, gullible, witless, stupid, ignorant …. Perhaps ignorant is a better word. Both words seem to be politically incorrect. I think, to not offend anyone, in the future, I will use intellectually challenged or differently abled.
LOL
Probably not a good idea, ever, to eat desert, unless you have an ocean of water to wash it down with.
Just sayin’.
I know what I wanted to say. After posting, I often find spelling or grammatical errors that I cannot correct. Thanks for reporting this defect.
“When I was born, I knew very little. I could cry and swallow. I learned to control my eyelids and my eyes. I detected patterns and came up with a model of my world” -Henry….
A world model so quickly after learning how to use your eyes. Your are a fast, an a more than ample student…what I care to ask Henry since tactile observances seem to be the method that informed your vast ‘World model’ which is a lot more complex, I would say than lookie, touchy, feely.
“Once your conceptual structure that you call your mind has enough knowledge, you might have a higher consciousness if you think about the way you think.” -Henry
Ding-a-Ling Henry….consciousness is a given…its the start of the whole mess. It doesn’t start after you have enough knowledge. It’s there in spite of that.
I read a story yesterday online about a man who woke up after being in a vegetated coma for 12 or thirteen years…when he awoke he spoke about his awareness of all during that period. He remember the nurses coming into the room putting the TV on in the room…and that he couldn’t stand that big purple dinosaur.
That is CONSCIOUSNESS Henry.
I have a three legged, one eared blind dog called lucky…when I call him, he come to me. Because he knows he is ‘lucky’.
“Physicists will readily admit that atoms and sub-atomic particles do not know anything. And since the brain is made up of those particles, there is no reason to assume the brain has the capability of knowing.” About as clear as it gets; great article!
This is an interesting point.
To what extent do these microscopic particles understand anything? They clearly do not have brains, but if they are participating in behaviours which are ultimately beneficial to us, at what point does unconsciousness supervene as size reduces?
I believe that all things are purposively directed towards an anthropic goal.
When one examines the video clips of proteins such as kinesin “walking” along a microtubular railway carrying protein assemblages for use in specific parts of the cell, it is extremely difficult to believe that they do not know what they are doing.
The Bible, as ever, gives us the answer.
“All things are upheld by the word of His power”.
The humbling corollary of this great truth is that even as He was being spat upon, scourged, mocked, and then nailed to a piece of wood, He was maintaining the integrity of the creation.
This is Love, the fundamental underpinning of the universe.
So, as physicists admit, “atoms and sub-atomic particles do not know anything.” How then, did purposeful development in some kind of life form evolve from “the big bang?” It appears to me to be a magnificent “scientific” contradiction.
Jon, you sound like an athiest. Are you? You seem, now and then, to take large swipes at “organized religion” as not being able to prove this or that to your satisfaction. In essence, unless man can understand fully what God has created, in this case a conscience in man, then it places doubt on the very existence of a conscience at all. I am of the mind to believe that all of man’s knowledge and understand could fit on a pinhead as compared to God’s wisdom. Believing there is something greater than you or I and our ability to understand the miracle of life is believing God has infinite wisdom and knowledge. We accept that by faith, which requires no scientific proof or an ability to fully understand truth.
Interesting points again. The NWO-NSA will not like this at all.
Faith is a much-derided concept; it is generally confused with something which is inherently blind.
However, the Bible defines faith in other terms.
“Now faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for; the EVIDENCE of things not seen”.
Thus, without faith, which is “The gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast”, there are certain realities which remain entirely hidden to the unregenerate mind.
You are correct, absolutely. Faith in God is something the NWO-NSA cannot compete against as it is directed toward something infinitely greater than those who promulgate the NWO.
Jon Rappoport, that missing link you are trying to fill in through the rational of the human mind doesn’t exist there, but lies in faith in God. You are partially there in saying the answer doesn’t lie in “science” but you take a detour in error by labeling “organized religion” as a mistaken pathway.
Jon, examine the life of a human baby. The very existence of that baby doesn’t lie within any evolutionary path of the knuckle dragging ape or some such thing. You have an imaginative mind, so imagine God creating human life simply in an act of His will: Adam. Hard to believe? No so. God, who created the laws of the universe, as he created the universe itself, doesn’t owe me or you any explanation as to His plan or inventions. He may do that which He will, and we often cannot comprehend it. We cannot comprehend how He can form a human life, so delicately balanced and formed inside the womb of her mother while ravages of evil seek to kill off that life. The human body itself is so delicately designed so as to be a technologically perfect, it is beyond our comprehension to appreciate it.
The pathway of “organized religion” can be misleading, inasmuch as there is a great deal of confusion out there making a distinction between being “religious” vs “spiritual.” We have to define these terms before having a lucid discussion. Religion as a form of worship has its place, as those of like mind assemble in a focus group. That includes atheists, who don’t like to call their belief system a religion, but that adherence being distinct from other belief systems makes it a religion.
Being spiritual is something of which we are all comprised. The force of will, conscience, affections/heart, awareness/existence are a matter of spirit as a product of life. The locus is in the mind which works via the neural pathways of the brain. This combination of body, mind, and spirit is what the Bible defines as the soul. We don’t have a soul, we are each individually a “soul.” This design is not a matter of accident, as the irreducible minimum for existence demands a Designer.
Now, organized religion can be misleading when it becomes so institutionalized that it becomes bogged down with formalities and organizational strictures. The individual attunement to purpose gets lost (or at least subverted) within the groupie stuff. And so, as Jon so correctly identifies, creativity is stifled and/or so greatly homogenized, that very little of real value emerges. Even beyond that, suppression of individuality forces a normality of acceptance: equals the matrix comfort zone. Thus, spirituality often gets lost in the practice of religion.
And so, faith in the Source of our being gets lost, displaced by faith in either a system or one’s own rationale. This illusory faith now wanders from point to point, sometimes slowly, but always with leaps in logic. Without adherence to the absolute (and only) values of our Source, wisdom and true knowledge cannot be attained to, or even recognized as such. We are not designers of the world in which we live, much less that of galaxies beyond.
Yes, timwebb2012, “faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for; the EVIDENCE of things not seen.” Yes, faith is the essence of our expectations, the proof of accomplished facts (prag’-mah) we cannot perceive – amplified Greek.
That is why very few have purchased my book: Decoding the mechanics of existence outside the perspective of object reality (materialism) both empowers and frightens at the same time. Indeed object reality is part of the whole, so wisdom affirms and debunks mainstream science. Darwin and others have assured we have, more or less, strictly measured an illusion backed by perception. Religion was the “politics” of latter day and that is why the world is slowly but surely “turning atheist”.
Notch by notch, I am gaining fans. A couple (from this board) have taken the plunge (and read the book) and realise I don’t bite!
Ozziethinker, who would want to take the “plunge” into some dark hole with no doors? “Decoding the mechanics of existence?” You sound like a wanna be cult leader. My friend, many have traveled your path, and most are dead now, their so called followers drifted off to some other leader who supposes they can out think the creator. They could not do so nor can you. Use any pop psychology words you want to try, some will bite as they are running from one hole to the next. Ultimately, you and followers of your thinking
must come to the last decision you will ever make, do I myself take the “plunge” toward the cross of Christ, or do I keep running away from Him.
I wonder whether the brain and other neurons (or even all cells) are some sort of filter or processing system for consciousness, or mind. If so, what would the purpose be? Maybe to protect us from something so infinitely powerful that, without an intermediary, it might be overwhelming. Maybe we are able to perceive and interact with the mind to the extent we have the ability to handle it, to the extent we can overcome fear of its power, and the barriers to it.
Like someone paddling a surfboard in the ocean, with a gigantic wave of mind coming toward him. If he doesn’t know how to surf, if he’s afraid of the water, it may kill him. But if he’s ready for it, he can get on his board and ride that wave.
Consciousness as self awareness is something we all possess, yet there are many people who, while they may have learned a great deal, are barely conscious. Their awareness level extends to self on only the most basic level of their ego and is mostly unaware of the power of their conscious mind. Our consciousness expands with our desire and search for ultimate truth and knowledge outside the matrix.
Our consciousness is also that which allows us to know what is morally correct in the form of our conscience, without being taught. It’s the seat of our soul and all knowledge and wisdom, but must be tapped into. It’s the database for all that is.
None should comment on this thread who are not, as Jimi Hendrix said, ‘experienced.’ For one to have any foundation of awareness by which to comment meaningfully on this topic, one ought have directly experienced a transcendant, or altered state of awareness—whether via meditation, NDE, OOBE, Shamanic journeying, respectful and focused ingestion of LSD, ayahuasca, et al.
Peace Or Mind?
The Annual Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee since 1901, yet true lasting global peace remains a dream, a hope, a utopia.
The world is in crisis, which drags us ever closer to the nuclear precipice.
There remains no choice but to address the fundamental problems of our global dystopia.
To discover the very roots of it’s unconscious nature.
Yet until the people begin to realize that the solutions we seek can only be found beyond the intellectual mind.
Global peace will remain a utopia!
How many world leaders, artists, scientists, academics, politicians, clergy, celebrities, know themselves?
Or are even aware that they do not know themselves?
Knowing oneself is intelligence.
Intelligence comes from seeing.
Not from the mind. – thoughts must cease for your intelligence to be.
Intelligence is consciousness itself.
Consciousness, being free of thought, is the door to knowing the absolute zero.
It is ever present within us.
Intelligence is always in the present.
“By placing the Hubble’s Space telescope orbit outside the distortion of Earth’s atmosphere.
It has allowed Hubble to take extremely high-resolution images of the universe.
Many of it’s observations have led to breakthroughs in astrophysics.”
Uncovering intelligence, from the distortion of mind, allows us to see directly the very nature of reality.
Fully unlocking the present will release humanity from its entire past of divisions, violence, hatred and war.
Set intelligence as an existential scientific constant.
Intelligence is a state of no-mind.
Our whole structure of education is built not on intelligence, but on intellect and competition,
Only trying to achieve results in the future.
Never realizing that intelligence is always in the present.
Education initiates the fever of ambition and the struggle for power.
Education does not make you more aware, more conscious.
It simply fills you with information by increasing the power of your memory.
But while the world and it’s leaders remain oblivious to this truth.
The implications are enormous.
The intellect without intelligence awake is one of the most dangerous things in the world.
And we are living under the danger of intellect.
Because intellect has given science immense power.
But the power is in the hands of children, not in the hands of wise people.
Only by knowing oneself, does a man become wise…
Knowing oneself is one aspect of intelligence. The truly intelligent recognize that what they don’t know is far greater than what they do know or even that which is collectively known. Yes, intelligence is always in the present, even while sleeping, But it cannot be constructively utilized unless in a conscious, wakeful state.
“Thoughts must cease for your intelligence to be?” That’s analogous to the notion that for me to have life, oxygen must cease. Intelligence is a quality of the mind, and we largely compare ourselves among ourselves by applying the IQ test. Thinking will be active day and night in the mind that hasn’t surrendered itself to hypnotic pleasures or hypnotic religious exercises. But those thoughts while sleeping can only vaguely assemble memories with imagination into what we term “dreams.” Conscious dreams are the result of unhampered creativity in the mind and best for constructive purposes.
“The solutions we seek can only be found beyond the intellectual mind.” True, insofar as our mortal intellects can function. Our minds are hampered by the moral lapse, called “sin.” Our limitations are the reason we must acknowledge the Supreme Intellect, which has formulated a restoration plan proffered for our edification. That plan is in effect and effectual, but not derived from naked intellect. It arises out of the ocean of life – named Love.
“Uncovering intelligence, from the distortion of mind, allows us to see directly the very nature of reality.” Our moral imperfection is the underlying reason for distortion of mind, producing a warped application of intelligence. Only by “uncovering;” i,e,, perceiving true intelligence based on the abundant evidence and making the positive response to it, can we see the very nature of reality, both the immediate and the eternal.
“Our whole structure of education is built not on intelligence, but on intellect and competition.” True, for accreditation/acceptance has to meet certain normative standards. That measure “initiates the fever of ambition and the struggle for power.” It stifles, as Jon so correctly states, both individuality and creativity. We do have a productive society in many ways, for there are those who arise from the ashes of this educational burn dump.
‘Our minds are hampered by the moral lapse, called “sin.” Our limitations are the reason we must acknowledge the Supreme Intellect, which has formulated a restoration plan proffered for our edification…’
.
You live in a world of illusion, because you have not yet even touched your own reality.
Intellect stands in your way.
You have not experienced yourself,
It is apparent just from your first few words!
Sin is a technique of the pseudo-religions.
A true religion has no need of the concept at all.
The pseudo-religion cannot live without the concept of sin,
Because sin is the technique of creating guilt in people.
The idea is invented by the priests to suppress you, subjugate you, humiliate you, destroy your dignity.
You will be surprised to know that the original root from where the word “sin” comes, means forgetfulness… forgetfulness is understandable, forgetting oneself,
That’s great, that’s what it should mean.
You were not aware, you forgot.
But religions have completely destroyed the original meaning of the word.
Truth has to be discovered within your own soul.
It cannot be borrowed from the scriptures.
Intelligence is your nature.
All that is needed is to uncover it.
The mind must cease for the truth to be.
Truth has no name, and truth is not confined in any system of thought.
Truth is not a theory, a theology, a philosophy.
Truth is the experience of that which is.
Truth is not intellectual or emotional; truth is existential.
Knowing it, you know the very heartbeat of existence.
.
You need not believe me, I am simply inviting you to experience it…
I’m an Obama critic. It’s really funny whenever I meet someone and agree with their disapproval of Obama, they instantly think I’m a Democrat. You gotta laugh. I explain I am as heartily against Democrats as I am against Republicans, or almost. However this causes a tic in their thinking. It does not compute. Same if one is a critic of science. It is taken as an approval of god. Again I am a staunch critic of science but an even stauncher one of religion or religious faith. Nothing could be more infantile to me than believing in some big daddy somewhere. I do wish people would get over it and grow up spiritually and take responsibility. However sometimes I wonder if the scientists actually have done more harm than the religions. How many dead ends has it led us to? How many pathways has it not gone down that could lead to higher knowledge, knowledge that is not dependent on technology? So for example, could we communicate with each other without relying on any technology? Science is biased towards technology and because of this, demolishes its credibility.
[…]
You say:
“And here a modern philosopher retreats to the conventional position based on zero evidence”
and quote John R Searle.
And later you say:
“consciousness is you knowing you’re reading this page right now. It isn’t molecules spitting out a message that “you’re reading this page.”
On what basis can you say that? How do you know? Do YOU have evidence?
Quoting huxley proves nothing.
[…]