Sunday, September 23, 2012

Meta-consciousness theory released to the public yesterday



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Daniel A Briggs, PhD, released his meta-consciousness theory (MCT) to the public yesterday. Briggs proffers that MCT occurs during altered states of consciousness within the flux of electromagnetic brain plasma. He claims that this elevated state causes more than just a flux plasma (light-plasma production) observable on a MEG or EEG screen; he suggests that MCT causestransmuting events in the brain that alters neuron pathways and mental processing that transforms cognition, affect and behavioral outcomes. He claims that these transmuting events generally reflect changes (sometimes dramatic) in one’s 1) affect—attitudes, emotions, thoughts and feelings (which impact biochemical productions)—2) behavior—both reactionary and initiatory (which also impact biochemical productions)—and 3) thought processing (which also impact biochemical productions). These transmuting eventsproduce outcomes that facilitate improved relationships, improved fiscal conditions and improved health, both mental and physiological.
Briggs points out that the important thing to remember is that these developmental changes caused by transmuting events within the human brain accelerate the movement of the psyche toward ultimate morality, the highest elevated state of human consciousness. These transmuting events, at the quantum level (an event that leads to neuro-biological transformations), not only generate desirable post-event outcomes but are preceded by euphoric experiences of elation during the altered state of consciousness.
Briggs is tackling and unraveling one of the most complex and difficult areas of science research and study in modern times, the human consciousness. However, at present, even the most advanced and sophisticated brain scanning technology (MEG, EEG, etc.) is still far to crude to prove or disprove Briggs' theory empirically. Current devices can only detect the magnetic and electrical fields produced when the human brain thinks. Scientists seem to be able to observe theelectromagnetic brain plasma functioning in real time but are unable to dissect individual neurons in a living brain to observe the activity microscopically in real time. Therefore, science cannot determine how recall (neuron firing) actually works relative to thinking, perception, choices, conversation, feelings, emotions, etc., all of which are fundamental elements of human consciousness. It is not even known to science how long one's impression history is actually retained in the human brain or if "back-ups" are made before neurons deteriorate.

, Orlando Religion and Culture Examiner

Daniel Briggs, Ph.D. is a postsecondary educator, an executive and a religious philosopher with over 25 years experience in non-profit and for-profit leadership. He has professional experience ranging from being a NASD financial counselor to a certified psychoanalyst, from a for-profit executive...
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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Religion puzzles consciousness



By Christian Urrutia, staff photographer
currutia.advocate@gmail.com
Published: Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Updated: Wednesday, September 19, 2012 16:09
Urrutia
Most human beings try to make sense of the world by believing in a certain religion that set out to explain how we got to Earth and what purpose, if any, we have while living on this planet.

Growing up in a religious household and going through the process of confirmation within Catholicism, I saw firsthand how important faith is to one’s culture and one’s identity.

Organized religion lays down the foundation of ethics and personal morals by which people choose to live.

Author and neuroscientist Sam Harris suggests that “at the core of every religion lies an undeniable claim about the human condition — it is possible to have one’s experience of the world radically transformed.”

He goes on to say “What do we need to be happy?” In Western philosophy and monotheistic religions, like Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, everything people do in life can be seen as a response to this question.

Western religions look at human consciousness as a direct correlation between happiness.

In the way that it frequently connects the relationship between the mind and God — as opposed to a more Eastern spiritual perspective where the connection between the mind and consciousness — deeper truths are thought to be more fundamental than the physical world.

Various spiritual teachings from the East and West agree that there is more to happiness than conforming to a capitalist society and focusing on material-driven goals.

This is true particularly in Eastern spiritual traditions, which imply that people have the capacity to change their relationship to the contents of consciousness and transform their experience of the world.

Our spiritual possibilities will greatly depend on how we view ourselves. In physical terms we are in a continuing exchange of matter and energy with the larger system of the Earth.

The frontiers of the mental self are no easier to describe: taboos, linguistic conventions, prejudices,  aesthetic biases and commercial jingles — the ideas that occupy the landscape of our minds are transferred from the world at large.

The contents of consciousness — sights, sounds, sensations, thoughts and moods— are only expressions of consciousness at the level of our experience.

Personal transformation from the illusion of one’s self seems too much to ask, due to our perception of dualism in the West.

Our view of mind and matter, on these religious terms, comes down to a good vs. evil conflict, making the duality hard to change or to personally refute.

Comparing the two faith-based canons, one will find surprising and startling contrasts showing how each region views human self-awareness in relation to beliefs about God.

Christianity, Judaism and Islam, all governed by the man-made laws of God, limit the expansion of consciousness only to what scriptures of these religions instruct people to do in order to feel fulfillment and happiness — to serve God and live in the will of God.

This excerpt is just a section of a longer teaching on the nature of mind that Christians, Muslims, or Jews would never encounter in their own belief systems.

There is no greater obstacle to a truly open-minded approach to spiritual experience or growth than our current beliefs about God.
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Saturday, September 1, 2012

At Home in Consciousness



At Home in Consciousness
You and I may seem to live primarily in the physical world, yet our awareness began in pure consciousness, and as we traveled into the life layer by layer through different dimensions, each one gave us a new sense of self. We possess an entire self system.
The rishis studied this system and came to various conclusions.
  • Pure consciousness is always present in everything, no matter what world it occupies or form it takes.
  • The physical world has the least amount of pure consciousness because it is dominated by physical things and the illusion of separateness.
  • The closer you get to pure consciousness, the more powerful it becomes.
  • Changing one’s consciousness on subtle levels brings change to all the divisions of consciousness at once.
If we follow these principles, we can gain the same mastery enjoyed by the sages, or at least a fair share of it. Here are some tips for changing reality through consciousness:
The physical body: Nourish and respect your body. Appreciate its incredible inner intelligence.
The vital body: Go out into nature and sink into the feeling that this is your home.
The mental body: Develop positive uses of the mind. Find every opportunity to welcome signals from your higher self.
The ego body: Find a vision; go on a quest. Fit yourself into the larger pattern of growth. Seek ways to evolve personally.
The body of bliss: Develop your own practice for transcending and finding bliss. Experience your own being as a reason to be here.
Read more: Deepak Chopra's Tips, Spirit
Adapted from Life After Death, by Deepak Chopra (Harmony Books, 2006).


Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/at-home-in-consciousness.html#ixzz25ETqOdgq
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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Music Can Help People With Brain Damage Gain Consciousness



Listening to familiar music can help people who've lost consciousness due to brain damage.

BY AMBER MOORE | AUG 30, 2012 03:15 PM EDT
Tagsmusic, brain damage, consciousness
Listening to familiar music can help people who've lost consciousness due to brain damage.
The present research on effect of music was conducted on four people who were at different stages of consciousness; two in a state of coma, one in vegetative state and one in minimally conscious state. Researchers recorded brain activity of the participants while they listened to a list of names being played out. The list included the patient's name as well and it was preceded by either a song that the patient was familiar with or with musical noise, New Scientist reports
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The experiment was repeated on 10 healthy volunteers. Researchers found that participants who listened to familiar music had better brain response when they heard their names than when they listened to musical noise. In volunteers, music did not have any effect on the brain's response when hearing the person's name.
Lead researcher Fabien Perrin says that familiar music "activates our autobiographical memory - so it could make it easier for the subsequent perception of another autobiographical stimulus such as your name."  Perrin adds that there could be another reason that explains brain's activity while listening to music - "music enhances arousal or awareness, so maybe it temporarily increases consciousness and the discrimination of your name becomes easier," New Scientist reports.
There has been plenty of recent research on regaining consciousness but with conflicting results. One study suggests that voice messages, not music, help improve consciousness in people while another suggests that music might help people in the vegetative state.
"The familiar music might be causing an emotional arousal effect, and once [the patient with brain damage is] aroused, there is a small window that opens for increased communication and the brain responds to the name," said Carsten Finke, a neurologist at Charité Medical School in Berlin, Germany. Finke is not a part of the research team, reports New Scientist.
The study was presented at the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness meeting in Brighton, UK, last month.
 
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Read more at http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/11820/20120830/music-people-brain-damage-gain-consciousness.htm#b9KAsxeffjCHs0bL.99
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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Scientists Proclaim Animal and Human Consciousness the Same



Scientists Proclaim Animal and Human Consciousness the Same
A remarkable thing happened at The First Annual Francis Crick Memorial Conference held at the University of Cambridge, July 7 in U.K. A group of prominent neuroscientists signed a proclamation declaring human and animal consciousness alike. Called The Cambridge Declaration of Consciousness, it states:
We declare the following:  The absence of a neocortex does not appear to preclude an organism from experiencing affective states. Convergent evidence indicates that non-human animals have the neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiological substrates of conscious states along with the capacity to exhibit intentional behaviors. Consequently, the weight of evidence indicates that humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness. Nonhuman animals, including all mammals and birds, and many other creatures, including octopuses, also possess these neurological substrates.
To many pet parents and animal lovers, the conference only confirms what they already believed through their own observations and interactions with animals – albeit, not with the credibility of scientific research.
Stephen Hawking — considered the greatest mind in physics since Albert Einstein — was the guest of honor at the signing ceremony.  The declaration was authored by Philip Low and edited by Jaak Panksepp, Diana Reiss, David Edelman, Bruno Van Swinderen, Philip Low and Christof Koch, all well-respected neuroscientists.  The signing was memorialized by 60 Minutes.
Joseph Dial, former Executive Director of the Mind Science Foundation, explains why this declaration is historic and groundbreaking:
What is Consciousness?
There is an important distinction between intelligence and consciousness.  Intelligence is measured by the “capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc.”  So, is it fair to say humans are more intelligent than animals?  Animals certainly have a capacity for learning.  They cannot create an atomic bomb; maybe that should define them as smart?
The dictionary defines consciousness as “aware of one’s own existence, sensations, thoughts, surroundings, etc.”   Take a good, hard look at your pet; for that matter, watch a zoo elephant or a deer in the woods.  They are always aware of their own existence.  They feel pain and other sensations.  Your dog may get annoyed with you if you tease him with a treat for too long before tossing it his way.  A deer caught in your headlights feels fear before deciding to take flight.  Elephants mourn their family members just like humans.
What This Means for the Future
For millennia, humans have held onto their hubris regarding the belief in human superiority.  Perhaps The Cambridge Declaration of Consciousness will inspire a different attitude and further research into the minds of all non-human creatures.
Starting with animal rights through to veganism, changing the minds of those who believe humans are “top dog” will be a challenge.  Notable scientists formally recognizing animal consciousness on a level with humans should make for some interesting conversations.
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Photo of Inca birds by Rennett Stowe via Flickr


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