"Wind" by Andrew Wyeth For many people, the idea of being "near death," is one they would rather not contemplate, but as anyone who has survived an accidental or unintentional brush with death can tell you, suddenly finding yourself at the edge of such a possibility tends to narrow your focus sharply on whatever action … Continue reading Neuroscience and Near Death Experiences
Driving all day to our destination for Thanksgiving dinner this year gave me some additional time for contemplation, and a chance to review some material that has been on the back burner. There haven't been many such opportunities recently, and I know that my writing has suffered from my inability to focus well these past … Continue reading Making Progress Slowly
These past few weeks have brought me face-to-face with some of the most challenging moments of my life. Facing life squarely is always a challenge one way or another, but confronting the consequences of my brother's illness took me to levels of challenge I never imagined. Forced to consider and respond to circumstances beyond anything … Continue reading Finding My Way
As I write, Hurricane Sandy is bearing down on the East Coast of the US, and is expected to make landfall plus or minus 50 miles from our home. We have spent most of the day in preparation for punishing winds, torrential rain, and possible flooding. The storm is approximately 900 miles wide and will … Continue reading Hurricanes and Hope
I have felt such a broad range of emotions of late, and have switched between experiences of different key elements so frequently, that I have been unable to focus very clearly on any one matter for very long. The crux of the matter seems to be that the disparate elements vying for my attention all … Continue reading Consciousness in the World: Finding Our Way
Sitting beside my brother's bed in the early morning hours, watching him sleep peacefully, I came across this image of earth from space, and it occurred to me how remarkable it is that life as we know it exists at all. We rarely contemplate the larger implications of life on earth since we are immersed … Continue reading Life Ebbs and Flows
Recently, I posted about the development of consciousness in our distant human ancestors, and the parallels between that development and how our modern children develop. I wasn't expecting to be considering how there might be a parallel to be drawn from the gradual loss of access to consciousness as a consequence of the debilitating effects … Continue reading Consciousness in the World: Between Life and Death
All things being equal, our common sense notions of the world in which we exist can be said to represent a version of reality that is reasonably reliable as a general standard for determining our individual status within it. In spite of the fact that our perceptions of the world are a product of a … Continue reading Appearance and Reality
As a new life begins, in the swirling chaos and excitement of birth, the immediate impact on the consciousness of the parents and extended families is profound, although we often don't recognize the radiant waves that ripple across our immediate world of consciousness, since we are caught up in the web of newborn childcare and … Continue reading Consciousness in the World: A Thirty Something Son
Life is Never Nil I heard the autumn winds this morning; I know what is to come. I cannot halt the tides of life; I calculate the sum. There is no hiding place to find; There is no turning back. There is no changing lane this time; There is no fade to black. My heart … Continue reading Life is Never Nil
John's Consciousness 