The ultimate mystery that has puzzled the greatest minds, so many minds, throughout history. The truth to our humanity is the fact that we are the universe realising itself, our subjective experiences guiding us along paths of perspective, that lead to our construction of what we see around us.
From the books that I've read, this idea of subjectivity comes up a lot, and has captured my imagination, especially because of the barriers this causes modern science when observing phenomena at the quantum level.
It's a very weird thing to think about. A very mind-consuming spiral that can keep you up at night for ages! I've come back to this post, writing and adding to it for a while now, so I haven't been madly thinking about it all in one go. So you could come back to different part, maybe spread the reading out over a few days; considering it's the biggest subject ever...
I think there are two main areas (whether these being the only two... that my head can't wrap around...) that pose issues to our understanding. The first being where consciousness has come from; how the hell did it happen? Why did it happen? (Though I feel why is a different question). We know of what an unlikely chance it was that life came into existence in the first place. Not only the formation of microorganisms as the origin of life once the earth was in a stable position to be the home of this life, but the unlikely chance of the earth getting to this position in the first place. How all the constants of the universe are precisely right for everything to be in this stable existence, how Jupiter's rapid spiralling inward due to its interaction with its magnetic field around it would have cleared all the rocks within the asteroid belt (99%) and inner solar system had it not been for Saturn to do the same and cause a further interaction to pull it back out. And even further, if Jupiter hadn't spiralled in at all, there would have been too much mass on the earth or after the formation, we would definitely have been hit by a meteoroid. The extinction of the dinosaurs.... The list goes on. Which makes pondering over why, an extraordinary question to be observed into.
But how consciousness appeared into this life equation goes beyond a philosophical discussion. The science behind the extraordinary movement of the planets, meteoroid crashing and workings of universal constants make logical sense, and even if we are struggling with working on a 'universal theory of everything', our brains can logically comprehend this, but consciousness seems to prove itself stubborn where logic is concerned.
We feel it should be explained by science, and yet we can't move past the thought experiment. Every science book that I've read that talks about consciousness never gives answers, not even the smallest piece of scientific logic or understanding, they repeat question after question to get the reader thinking. And I though this can be partly because the books are meant to reach a wide audience, without necessarily having a background with a career in science, but it really does further my impression of how much we don't know, how being the beautiful and so specific species that we are, has lead us to great insights but also great barriers. We are so capable and infinite yet does our existence of perception and thought really tailor towards an angle in which we have a limited view and understanding of the world?
The second main area about the mystery of consciousness is the experience of it itself. Now, this one took my brain a lot longer to really grasp the point made, and I'm pretty sure I still can't fully comprehend the question in place so if you're reading this and you have something to say that might help me then please share! Let's use an example... so we see the colour red. Our magnificent body works in a way so that our sensory systems receive this information as a reflected light wave and through speedy networking within us, our brain then received this information and processes it for our understanding. Explaining consciousness in terms of what physically happens with these networks, the electromagnetic and chemical signals we receive using our senses, the nervous system's network, it can be 'easily' explained and logically researched into using western science. However, this is where the delusional barrier begins...
Look back to the sentence in which I use the example, and really focus in on that last word...
'Understanding'. 'For our 'understanding'. What does this imply? Now I know the English language (alongside any human language) creates new barriers to our understanding of ideas, but let's really try to focus in, because even if you use the word 'perception' or 'experience' or 'comprehension' or the phrase 'subjective reality', this is the key part that leads us in the direction of mystery. Because this separates the real mystery of consciousness from what physically occurs:
What causes us to experience it?
This idea is a hard one to put into words, it really is. What makes the colour red, red? What makes the objective neurological connections in our brain give rise to a very subjective, deeply felt experience, when perceiving this seemingly objective reality? Surely if our western science is so resolutely based on objectivity and empirical evidence, this subjective experience seemingly coming out of nowhere shouldn't exist at all? And yet even when the most mind-opening discoveries were made not too long ago in quantum mechanics, most still can't believe that this subjectivity and 'magic' can be such. Too determined to fall back into past patterns of needing an ultimate theory of objective laws to define everything.
One book was aimed in a different direction and stood out to me. 'Biocentrism' by Robert Lanza. Though I do struggle with the idea that he is posing a 'theory' because it feels to me that his view (which resonates with me a lot) is just another possible way of looking at things we already know. As I mentioned before, dwelling on the thought experiment, in fantasy-land and not using facts and methodical logic. Though I really admire it, it is without new science or maths, new 'empirical' evidence (unless of course it's just not included in the book - but I would have thought he would have included some). He makes the bold suggestion that without conscious life, the universe wouldn't exist. Without the observer, there would be nothing to observe. He goes on further to suggest that consciousness wasn't just an unlikely chance, the universe was meant for it, all those unlikely things that needed to be so exact in order for us to be here, weren't chance at all. Which suggests intelligence...
Let me list his seven principles on Biocentrism, which I've typed out from my book (It's quite a lot so you could just skim through to get a feel for the angle consciousness is being explored).
What we perceive as reality is a process that involves our consciousness. An 'external' reality would have to exist in space. But this is meaningless because space and time are not absolute realities but rather tools to the human and animal mind.
Our external and internal perceptions are inextricably intertwined. They are different sides of the same coin and cannot be divorced from one another.
The behaviour of subatomic particles is inextricably linked to the presence of an observer. Without the presence of a conscious observer, they at best exist in an undermined state of probability waves.
Without consciousness, 'matter' dwells in an undetermined state of probability. Any universe that could have preceded consciousness only existed in a probability state.
The structure of the universe is explainable only through biocentrism. The universe is fine-tuned for life, which makes perfect sense as life creates the universe, not the other way around. The 'universe' is simply the complete spatiotemporal logic of the self.
Time does not have a real existence outside of animal-sense perception. It is the process by which we perceive changes in the universe.
Space, like time, is not an object or a thing. Space is another form of our animal understanding and does not have an independent reality. We carry space and time around with us like turtles with shells. Thus, there is no absolute self-existing matrix in which physical events occur independent of life.
Wow. Now those are some amazing thought journeys. And all of that rings true with me. I believe in every point made, it makes so much sense, and I would really recommend this book if you want to take this further.
So in nutshell, he says that consciousness is the centre of all and creates the universe rather than the other way around. Okay, sure, this is a massive shift in the way we have always assumed things to be. It suggests that we are not the universe in awakening but the creators of it. How we came before the universe did. And it is such a beautiful and elegant perception of such ultimate truths. Though this provides a new feel for where consciousness came from... Does it explain what consciousness is? No. At least, I can't see how it does. The main important thing I took from that book was how if the 'ultimate theory' of science doesn't have the conscious mind as the 'centre' (or maybe just play a very important part) of the theory, it can most definitely not be achieved at all (also sorry if my language seems slightly 19th century right now - I've been watching Poldark). Because after all, it is this conscious mind that is viewing this reality and piecing it together and coming up with this theories in the first place. And that's so easy to forget!
An interesting thought came to me the other day, whilst I was meditating. I had my eyes shut and was following my normal routine of becoming aware. To let go of my senses and become 'pure consciousness'. Well hang on a minute, this poses a new discussion for what consciousness is! Read any spirituality book and they will advise you to become consciousness without your senses. Well if to be conscious doesn't involve perceiving this external reality at all, as grounding as it might be, then the 'second main idea' of the experience of consciousness and what it actually is, proves to be even more difficult to analyse. So if we were to completely forget the thought experiment of using our senses to perceive red and what that subjective experience actually was, and think about what awareness is without our senses, I think we'd come closer to the answer.
Try shutting your eyes and being aware. Not aware of sounds or feelings or smells, but just being there. Just conscious...
Okay so we're sat, without our senses, with an empty void before us. What are we then aware of, to just be aware? I feel life inside of me. Yes, there may be pathways of neurones in the brain that result in our ability to function in this way, to be aware of ourselves, the universe and the consciousness we are, but the experience of this awareness, what causes that? No objective connections of things inside of us or scientific laws which govern our behaviour will ever be able to describe this weird experience. Or will it?
Maybe, however, there is explanation of what conscious is and how subjectivity can rise about it. We know so little of the human brain and discoveries at the quantum level have shown that the world is unimaginably magical, things that we would think to be impossible just aren't. So maybe there's an explanation that we just can't get our heads around (if you'll excuse the pun) because we're thinking too objectively, and there's answers that we need to open our minds further to find. Or maybe (and less optimistically), as human beings, we are unable to angle ourselves the right way to get to this answer because of the way our minds are constructed. Or maybe because we are the creators of our reality, we can't do a 360 degrees as it were and understand the origin of this creation because it would cause some kind of paradox. Or, perhaps there is an intelligence preventing us from discovering the real truth after all... (now I fear I'm venturing into too much fiction)
So the big question I want to leave you with, is if this is the case, why aren't physicists, scientists focusing such time and energy into bringing subjectivity and consciousness into the forefront of 'the ultimate laws of the universe'? If we need a breakthrough in science, this is surely the path we need to be taking.
I hope this opens up new doors of thought for you and you enjoyed pondering over this deep idea and reality of our conscious mind.
As I've said, I'm no professional in any science field and this isn't a post or blog to look at for scientific fact! I'm merely expressing some thoughts that I feel resonate with my truth and I want to really think about.
Please share theories or books you know of that you think I'd like to read up on. I'm always open to learn new things and be corrected on things. I'd absolutely love to hear some outside thoughts from different angles or further opinions to open up some discussions! You can email me or send a message below if you want to chat about the topics :)
Oh and also... Congratulations if you read to the end!! (It's a massive subject to think about)