DEFINING CONSCIOUSNESS
Webster�s New World Dictionary of the American Language
defines consciousness as: �the state of being conscious; awareness,
especially of what is happening around you; and the totality of one�s
thoughts, feelings, and impressions.� Consciousness, therefore,
encompasses our external as well as our internal reality. Cognitive
science defines consciousness as a phenomenon that is explained in terms
of computational or neural mechanisms such as:
The Western world is more apt to define consciousness
as the ability to be aware of external events that are recognized by
the five physical senses. On the other hand, the Eastern world is more
inclined to say that one is a conscious being if one has the ability to
be aware of inner events that are recognized by our higher sense organs.
CONSCIOUSNESS AND PERCEPTION
The next question is: �What is the mind conscious of?� In other words, of the myriad internal and external stimuli, what do we perceive and hold in our conscious mind? Our physical, conscious reality is perceived by our five physical senses: vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.
However, our five physical senses are limited to a small segment of the total electromagnetic spectrum, and even this small segment is much more than we can consciously register. Therefore, we must filter out most of our perceptions and send them to our unconscious and/or superconscious minds. Thus relegated, this information can be called upon when needed.
What is this filtering system? Physiologically and anatomically this mechanism is the Reticular Activating System, or �RAS.� The word �reticular� means net-like, and the reticular formation itself is a large, net-like diffuse area of the brainstem. Because the brain�s Reticular Activating System controls arousal, attention, and awareness (which are core elements of consciousness), it is the first line in managing how we interpret, respond to, and react to both internal and external information.
The RAS acts as a filter, similar to one on a camera or a microphone that filters out certain frequencies of light, sound, or other perceptual stimuli. Most stimuli will be filtered out and sent to either the unconscious or the superconscious mind. The stimuli that are filtered in will be imprinted on the areas of the cerebral cortex to which we have access in our daily, conscious life.
Our physical senses recognize stimuli as frequency and intensity. We cannot consciously perceive a stimulus that is above or below a certain frequency band. For example, we can only perceive light above infrared and below ultraviolet. The stimulus is still there, but we can only perceive it unconsciously through our first-, second-, fourth-, or fifth-dimensional bodies.
Also, we cannot consciously perceive stimuli with intensity below the threshold of our physical receptors. A sound may exist at 5 decibels, but if our threshold of hearing for that sound is 10 decibels, we will not consciously hear it. We also learn to adapt to familiar stimuli. For example, someone who has lived next to a train track for years may not even notice a passing train, whereas someone new to the area may perceive it as being extremely loud.
CONSCIOUSNESS AND PERCEPTION
The next question is: �What is the mind conscious of?� In other words, of the myriad internal and external stimuli, what do we perceive and hold in our conscious mind? Our physical, conscious reality is perceived by our five physical senses: vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.
However, our five physical senses are limited to a small segment of the total electromagnetic spectrum, and even this small segment is much more than we can consciously register. Therefore, we must filter out most of our perceptions and send them to our unconscious and/or superconscious minds. Thus relegated, this information can be called upon when needed.
What is this filtering system? Physiologically and anatomically this mechanism is the Reticular Activating System, or �RAS.� The word �reticular� means net-like, and the reticular formation itself is a large, net-like diffuse area of the brainstem. Because the brain�s Reticular Activating System controls arousal, attention, and awareness (which are core elements of consciousness), it is the first line in managing how we interpret, respond to, and react to both internal and external information.
The RAS acts as a filter, similar to one on a camera or a microphone that filters out certain frequencies of light, sound, or other perceptual stimuli. Most stimuli will be filtered out and sent to either the unconscious or the superconscious mind. The stimuli that are filtered in will be imprinted on the areas of the cerebral cortex to which we have access in our daily, conscious life.
Our physical senses recognize stimuli as frequency and intensity. We cannot consciously perceive a stimulus that is above or below a certain frequency band. For example, we can only perceive light above infrared and below ultraviolet. The stimulus is still there, but we can only perceive it unconsciously through our first-, second-, fourth-, or fifth-dimensional bodies.
Also, we cannot consciously perceive stimuli with intensity below the threshold of our physical receptors. A sound may exist at 5 decibels, but if our threshold of hearing for that sound is 10 decibels, we will not consciously hear it. We also learn to adapt to familiar stimuli. For example, someone who has lived next to a train track for years may not even notice a passing train, whereas someone new to the area may perceive it as being extremely loud.
EXPERIENCE AND CONSCIOUSNESS
Robert Ornstein, in his book The Psychology of Consciousness, talks about consciousness as a constructed reality. He believes that in order to create a stable, manageable environment, a sensory-filtering system develops from childhood and is continually adapted by subsequent situations. Therefore, our experience of conscious reality is actually only a representation of that which we choose to experience. It is our personal history of experience that creates a belief system that defines our reality.
Beliefs define our experience because they create our filters. Filters are custom-made, based upon a hierarchal system: what is most important comes first. How do we determine what is most important? The third dimension is based on survival. Therefore, that which is most important is that which will facilitate survival. Survival is a relative term and is dependent upon the circumstances of one�s reality. If someone is a street person, survival means finding edible food in the trashcan. On the other hand, if someone is a stockbroker, survival may mean knowing the intricacies of the stock market.
That which is familiar is also important. Therefore, we filter in what is familiar because it brings comfort and a sense of security. This sense of security is vital because it eases our fear. Fear is not overcome by bettering our life. Fear is a key element of third-dimensional life because there is always some possibility of danger. We seek to register what is familiar because it calms our anxieties, and we are startled by what is unfamiliar because it creates a release of adrenalin and a subsequent feeling of fear.
BELIEFS AND EXPECTATIONS
Our belief system, which is based on our history of experience, creates our expectations, and our expectations greatly influence our perception. A street person may not believe that he can survive off the stock market and so would not choose to notice the newspaper article on the stock market. On the other hand, a stockbroker may not believe that he can survive by recycling cans. Therefore, he may not notice the discarded can. Belief creates expectations, and expectations direct perceptions.
Beliefs also create our worldview and worldviews create beliefs. For example, the Western and scientific worldview believes that matter is the ultimate reality, the primary basis of existence. Because of this, consciousness is perceived as a consequence of our having a finite, physical body. Conversely, the Eastern and esoteric worldviews believe that consciousness is the ultimate reality and that the physical universe is our projection of our infinite, inner life.
As a result, those who believe in the Western and scientific worldview believe that only the third dimension exists, and they tune their filters to align with the frequency of the world of matter. On the other hand, those who believe in the Eastern or esoteric worldview believe in multiple dimensions, and they tune their filters to encompass the frequencies of the non-material realities.
Because of their beliefs, the scientific world has focused its primary attention on the intellect with its logical, deductive reasoning powers and the perceptions of the five physical senses of the physical body. Conversely, the esoteric world has focused its primary attention on the inner self and the extrasensory perceptions of the higher selves. In both cases, the belief system dictates expectation, and expectation dictates perception. We have access to both our inner and outer perceptions if we can expand our belief system to encompass both viewpoints.
ATTENTION AND PERCEPTION
�Where your attention is, there you are also.� But what is attention? We can perceive things without attending to them. Many events make up our conscious experience of life, yet most of them form a backdrop that is the environment in which we live. It is not until we observe our �self� focusing our attention on inner or outer stimuli that we become intimately aware of it. For example, we can hold a book on our lap and know that it is filled with letters. We know that those letters create words and sentences. However, until we take the initiative and choose to focus our attention upon those letters, we do not know what they say.
Perception is a triangular circuit. The first point of the triangle is our sensory preceptors, which carry the information to our brain. The second point of the triangle is our perceptual filter. Once the perception has been filtered in, it is a part of our conscious environment. In order for this perception to move beyond our perceptual �wallpaper� we must engage the third point of the triangle, which is our attention. It is the conscious focusing of our concentration upon a given stimulus that creates attention.
Attention can also be passive or active. For example:
Knowing that there is music playing is passive attention.
Listening to the music is active attention.
Hearing someone talking is passive attention.
Having a conversation is active attention.
Noticing a birdcall is passive attention.
Bird watching is active attention.
It is active attention that creates learning and intimacy. We will not learn from a person or an experience unless we experience it intimately. Without a conscious sense of self it is difficult, if not impossible, to experience intimacy with others or with our self. From the Western/scientific worldview, �self� would mean Ego. Alternatively, from the Eastern/esoteric worldview, �self� would mean Higher Self. As we expand our consciousness to remember our true, Multidimensional SELF, we are able to broaden our attention to encompass both worldviews.
Robert Ornstein, in his book The Psychology of Consciousness, talks about consciousness as a constructed reality. He believes that in order to create a stable, manageable environment, a sensory-filtering system develops from childhood and is continually adapted by subsequent situations. Therefore, our experience of conscious reality is actually only a representation of that which we choose to experience. It is our personal history of experience that creates a belief system that defines our reality.
Beliefs define our experience because they create our filters. Filters are custom-made, based upon a hierarchal system: what is most important comes first. How do we determine what is most important? The third dimension is based on survival. Therefore, that which is most important is that which will facilitate survival. Survival is a relative term and is dependent upon the circumstances of one�s reality. If someone is a street person, survival means finding edible food in the trashcan. On the other hand, if someone is a stockbroker, survival may mean knowing the intricacies of the stock market.
That which is familiar is also important. Therefore, we filter in what is familiar because it brings comfort and a sense of security. This sense of security is vital because it eases our fear. Fear is not overcome by bettering our life. Fear is a key element of third-dimensional life because there is always some possibility of danger. We seek to register what is familiar because it calms our anxieties, and we are startled by what is unfamiliar because it creates a release of adrenalin and a subsequent feeling of fear.
BELIEFS AND EXPECTATIONS
Our belief system, which is based on our history of experience, creates our expectations, and our expectations greatly influence our perception. A street person may not believe that he can survive off the stock market and so would not choose to notice the newspaper article on the stock market. On the other hand, a stockbroker may not believe that he can survive by recycling cans. Therefore, he may not notice the discarded can. Belief creates expectations, and expectations direct perceptions.
Beliefs also create our worldview and worldviews create beliefs. For example, the Western and scientific worldview believes that matter is the ultimate reality, the primary basis of existence. Because of this, consciousness is perceived as a consequence of our having a finite, physical body. Conversely, the Eastern and esoteric worldviews believe that consciousness is the ultimate reality and that the physical universe is our projection of our infinite, inner life.
As a result, those who believe in the Western and scientific worldview believe that only the third dimension exists, and they tune their filters to align with the frequency of the world of matter. On the other hand, those who believe in the Eastern or esoteric worldview believe in multiple dimensions, and they tune their filters to encompass the frequencies of the non-material realities.
Because of their beliefs, the scientific world has focused its primary attention on the intellect with its logical, deductive reasoning powers and the perceptions of the five physical senses of the physical body. Conversely, the esoteric world has focused its primary attention on the inner self and the extrasensory perceptions of the higher selves. In both cases, the belief system dictates expectation, and expectation dictates perception. We have access to both our inner and outer perceptions if we can expand our belief system to encompass both viewpoints.
ATTENTION AND PERCEPTION
�Where your attention is, there you are also.� But what is attention? We can perceive things without attending to them. Many events make up our conscious experience of life, yet most of them form a backdrop that is the environment in which we live. It is not until we observe our �self� focusing our attention on inner or outer stimuli that we become intimately aware of it. For example, we can hold a book on our lap and know that it is filled with letters. We know that those letters create words and sentences. However, until we take the initiative and choose to focus our attention upon those letters, we do not know what they say.
Perception is a triangular circuit. The first point of the triangle is our sensory preceptors, which carry the information to our brain. The second point of the triangle is our perceptual filter. Once the perception has been filtered in, it is a part of our conscious environment. In order for this perception to move beyond our perceptual �wallpaper� we must engage the third point of the triangle, which is our attention. It is the conscious focusing of our concentration upon a given stimulus that creates attention.
Attention can also be passive or active. For example:
Knowing that there is music playing is passive attention.
Listening to the music is active attention.
Hearing someone talking is passive attention.
Having a conversation is active attention.
Noticing a birdcall is passive attention.
Bird watching is active attention.
It is active attention that creates learning and intimacy. We will not learn from a person or an experience unless we experience it intimately. Without a conscious sense of self it is difficult, if not impossible, to experience intimacy with others or with our self. From the Western/scientific worldview, �self� would mean Ego. Alternatively, from the Eastern/esoteric worldview, �self� would mean Higher Self. As we expand our consciousness to remember our true, Multidimensional SELF, we are able to broaden our attention to encompass both worldviews.
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