The actual quote from Dostoevsky’s “Notes From The Underground,” goes as follows: “And yet I think man will never renounce real suffering, that is, destruction and chaos. Why, suffering is the sole origin of consciousness. Though I did lay it down at the beginning that consciousness is the greatest misfortune for man, yet I know … Continue reading Origins of Consciousness
The only means of strengthening one's intelligence is to make up one's mind about nothing-- to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts. - John Keats (1795 - 1821) No matter what aspect of conscious experience we wish to consider, whether it involves a clearly temporal action or event like wrestling an alligator, … Continue reading The Dynamics of Consciousness
“If you were able to create an immortal version of yourself, would you? Until this decade, that question was the stuff of science fiction, but now experts in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics suggest it will indeed be possible.” --excerpt from film promo Throughout the tumultuous days in the recent past, I never … Continue reading New Year Ahead: Artificial Immortality
The subjective experience of consciousness, as all functionally cognitive people know it, is in a constant state of flux. The person you were yesterday when you experienced your first ride on a roller coaster or jumped out of a perfectly good airplane for the first time is not the same person you are today, having … Continue reading Spiritual Resonance
The debate has raged for centuries. Ancient religions have wrestled with the notion of the existence of a separate “individual self or soul,” which might actually be a mental illusion (Maya) blocking our efforts to eventually attain true enlightenment. According to the Eastern philosophical view, release from the relentless cycles of Samsara (Moksha) requires abandonment … Continue reading Taking Care of Your “Self?”
"In active contemplation, a person becomes able to live with themselves. They learn to be at home with their own thoughts. They become, to a greater and greater degree, independent of exterior supports. Their mind is pacified not by passive dependence on things outside themselves--diversions, entertainments, conversations, business--but by their own constructive activity...thinking their own … Continue reading Our Own Inner Truth
The Unplanned Journey In reviewing the events and experiences of the past few months, struggling as I have to make sense of it all, it seems that my natural instincts have been a great deal more useful than any deliberate mental process I attempted to employ along the way. Hindsight typically provides us with a … Continue reading An Unplanned Journey
Within the next few weeks, I will be traveling on the earthly plane to visit my daughter in Virginia in order to be present for the arrival of a new grandson, and to share in the joy of participating in the activities taking place surrounding the appearance of a brand-new life in our extended family. These … Continue reading A Threshold of Joy
This world has within it many different individual souls, personalities, beings, creatures, plants—living things—each with its own set of values, assets, and particular liabilities. None have a worth greater or lesser than the other in the broad scope of life. All living things have a disparate measure of worth. Humans sometimes feel that theirs is … Continue reading A Purposeful Universe
The Challenge of Comprehending Consciousness I know that there is a connection between my inner world and the world without. Subjectively, it is clear to me that this is the case, and I am confident that the statements I make, the theories I embrace and put forward, are a reflection of my genuine knowledge—the genuine … Continue reading The Challenge of Comprehending Consciousness
John's Consciousness 