“The Buddha taught that our true nature is emptiness- a lack of a permanent Self- and when this true nature is realized, the divine states of the Brahma-viharas - loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity- emerge.” “In the teachings of the great yoga masters, our true nature is Brahman, the universal soul, of which the … Continue reading Our True Nature
Anil Seth Twitter Finally made substantial progress with Philip Goff’s recent offering on the subject of consciousness, and as someone equally intrigued by the advancements of science and their implications for both neuroscience and the efforts to develop a science of consciousness, I must admit that I find myself in agreement with many of Goff’s … Continue reading Galileo’s Error
Conventional wisdom these days isn't much help when we look ahead to the future of life on earth, since life is fairly unconventional these days by most reckonings, and even what might previously have been described as common sense hardly seems common at all anymore. If there is any consolation to the currently prevailing … Continue reading Intelligence, Cognition, and Consciousness
Contemplating recent comments about what it means to be a conscious human, I began to consider what really distinguishes us from all the other inhabitants of our planet. There are some distinctively human traits to be sure, but it seems more like a combination of several important capacities and foundational characteristics that sets us apart. … Continue reading The Blossoming of Consciousness
"It has certainly been true in the past that what we call intelligence and scientific discovery has conveyed a survival advantage...provided the universe has evolved in a regular way, we might expect the reasoning abilities that natural selection has given us would be valid also in our search...and so would not lead us to … Continue reading Reason and Intuition
By coincidence, all day today, I was working at my part-time job, which places me in a position of interacting with a large number of random people, and as I am naturally inclined to be social, as the opportunity presents itself, I try to engage each one in a brief conversation, mostly as a polite … Continue reading Celebrating Life and Love
A few years ago, I wrote a book review of David Gelernter’s book, “The Tides of Mind,” which opened new avenues of thought, and in particular, I appreciated his use of the imagery of a “spectrum of consciousness,” with descending and ascending layers from being wide awake and alert to dreams and unconsciousness. Although interesting … Continue reading Consciousness and Dreaming
© Courtesy of Attila Krasznahorkay Physicist Attila Krasznahorkay, right, works with a fellow researcher at the Institute for Nuclear Research at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Recently, scientists at the Institute for Nuclear Research at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, believe they may have discovered evidence of a previously unknown “fifth force,” that may be … Continue reading A Greater Understanding
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.—Ralph Waldo Emerson Many times, when I am fully engaged in stillness and practicing my own personal version of mindfulness—giving up my normal attention to the present living moment—it’s almost like drifting back through time; with eyes … Continue reading The Universe Is Alive
"At the turn of the last century, people's hope was in science, technology, and modern progress. As we approached this millennium, we realized the extent of that progress, and that it hasn't taken us far enough. There is a part of us that still has a spiritual hunger. We have spent the past century looking … Continue reading A Spiritual Hunger
John's Consciousness 