There is a movement within me, an awareness—a deeply personal transcendent awareness—which, from my perspective, clearly does not originate from some temporal source in the world. There are those who might say such concepts are an illusion. I have often thought that they said such things to make the world seem more comprehensible—to make them … Continue reading The Soul That Rises With Us
Title: Self Awareness: Size: 21.5” x 30.5”x 1.75": Media: acrylic, oil, collage & assemblage: Surface: canvas over masonite & board with wooden framework: copyright 2009 Lisa L. Cyr, Cyr Studio LLC, http://www.cyrstudio.com "The only right and legitimate way to (a mystical) experience is that it happens to you in reality and it can only happen … Continue reading Inner Worlds Within Worlds – Redux
Ever since the hominid brain evolved sufficiently to provide modern humans with a degree of cognitive talent that still surpasses any other known species, the blossoming of conscious awareness slowly provided Homo sapiens with the ability to not only be aware that they exist, but to utilize this new ability deliberately and with purpose. It … Continue reading The Voice of Thought
In the Review section of the WSJ this weekend in an article by Frank Wilczek, he casually suggested that it shouldn't be so difficult to accept, intuitively, that life and mind emerge from matter, as if we were all just somehow mistaken or deluded about the source of life and mind. Wilczek shared the Nobel … Continue reading Emergent Realities
According to Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, intelligence is defined as: noun 1. capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc. 2. manifestation of a high mental capacity: "He writes with intelligence and wit." In a recent study conducted at the University of Western Ontario, researchers … Continue reading An Artificial Version of Human Intelligence?
The evolution of life on our planet has produced an extraordinary variety and diversity of species, and the paths followed by many of the branches on the tree of life have held sway for millions of years before ending completely or splitting off into whole new species. The ability of each branch to continue into … Continue reading Evolution of Cognition
Freedom of the Human Spirit, is a 28-foot-tall bronze figurative sculpture that sits just to the east of Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was created by Marshall M. Fredericks for the 1964 World's Fair. "The development of science and of the creative activities of the spirit in general requires still another kind of freedom, which may … Continue reading Freedom of the Spirit
“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness." -- Einstein A recent conversation with a dear friend with an extraordinary gift for … Continue reading The Intimacy of Consciousness
There's almost no telling how love will unfold in our personal lives or as we move through the world-at-large. As we progress through our lives, we all seem to arrive at our own understanding of what it means to love someone. We learn first about love from our parents or primary caretakers whoever they end … Continue reading Reflections from Within
Moving to California was almost like landing on a completely different planet for a young man from the East Coast. In all my prior travels up to that time, I hadn't been further north than Boston, MA and only as far south as Washington, DC. Just about every trip that had taken me anywhere beyond … Continue reading The Heart of Life
John's Consciousness 