Reclusland

February 6, 2009

- Sensory Perception Changes When the Brain Rests -

I mentioned this already in the comments, but it’s definitely worth bringing up in the main section as well:

From Physorg:
“The slow fluctuation pattern can be compared to a computer screensaver. Though its function is still unclear, the researchers have a number of hypotheses. One possibility is that neurons, like certain philosophers, must “think” in order to be. Survival, therefore, is dependant on a constant state of activity. Another suggestion is that the minimal level of activity enables a quick start when a stimulus eventually presents itself, something like a getaway car with the engine running. Nir: “In the old approach, the senses are ‘turned on’ by the switch of an outside stimulus. This is giving way to a new paradigm in which the brain is constantly active, and stimuli change and shape that activity.”

Of course, they get it a bit wrong, I think.  It’s not that neurons need to “think” in order to be, it’s that we can “be” without the need to “think”.

“cogito ergo sum”, but can you “sum” without the “cogito”?

Yes you can.  How? Turiya.

From “Eat, Pray, Love”, (which my girlfriend is currently reading): “The topic of the retreat, and it’s goal, is the turiya state – the elusive fourth level of human consciousness.  During the typical human expereince, say the Yogis, most of us are always moving between three different levels of consciousness – waking, dreaming, or deep dreamless sleep.  But there is a fourth level, too.  This fourth level is the witness of all the other states, the integral awareness that links the other three levels together.  This is the pure consciousness, an intelligent awareness that can – for example – report your dreams back to you in the morning when you wake up.  You were gone, you were sleeping, but somebody was watching over your dreams while you slept – who was that witness?  And who is the one who is always standing outside the mind’s activity, observing it’s thoughts?  It’s simply God, say the yogis.  And if you can move into that state of witness-consciousness, then you can be present with God all the time.  This constant awareness and expereince of the God-presence within can only happen on the 4th level of human consciousness, which is called turiya.”
(Chapter 66)

Also, see wikipedia’s etymology of the word “God”:
“Both the Philologists Grimm and Max Muller would conclude that the word ‘god’ is probably not related to the word ‘good’, and that they could not trace the word god to any definite root. Others, such as Morgan Peter Kavenaugh, in his book The Origin of Language and Myths, claim that the word god was taken from the Buddha’s family name of Gotama. He further claimed that this title assigned to the Buddha, became many words, such as in English the words, foot, boot, best, better and good. Others have come to a similar conclusion such as the Historian John Campbell who wrote; ” I have shown elsewhere that the English word God, the German Gott, the Persian Bhoda and the Hindustani Khuda are all derived from the same root as that which appears in Celtic Aeddon or Guydion, the Germanin Odin, Woden or Goutan and the Indian Buddha or Gotama””


ramblings —

  1. Didn’t really realize it before, but this:

    the brain is constantly active, and stimuli change and shape that activity.

    completely explains the potter’s wheel metaphor for dukkha. Ever tried to throw a pot and keep it steady on a rapidly moving wheel?

    What about when you’re the pot?

    Comment by Ian — March 23, 2009 @ 5:40 pm



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