Understanding Consciousness

Deepak Chopra: Understanding Consciousness
Thursday August 14, 2008
Categories: Vlog
when we understand the brain, we'll be able to understand consciousness objectively. But consciousness can only be explored by consciousness so it has to be a subjective experience....

Jim T.
August 15, 2008 4:52 AM

The idea that consciousness can be understood by studying the brain is a shaky assumption. Physical science assumes that activity in the brain creates consciousness and proceeds from that basis. But it is also possible that consciousness isn't even located in the brain, but merely creates activity in the brain. Just because it looks like the sun circles the Earth (from our limited perspective) doesn't mean it does. Just because it looks like the brain makes consciousness doesn't mean it does.

As you state in your video, it is difficult for anything to analyze itself objectively. Some say that consciousness is the mind of God manifested. If that is so, then for us to study our own consciousness would be like the clay trying to study the potter.

Bruce Michael Hubbell
August 15, 2008 12:19 PM

My fundamental tenet and credo is this:

There only exists Divine Being and Divine manifestations. Everything is being caused by the Divine purpose of God to know and share Itself through the metaphysics and mechanics of Divine Mind.

There is not Divine time - no “"In the beginning . . ." or truly a past . . . there is "THE WORD" as stated in the Bible. There is and always will be Only the Eternal Beginning.

All of us have access to Divine strength to manifest. And actually we do so daily with our word and we have done so since our birth and will continue to do so Eternally. This Here and Now is the living beginning/moment of our individual discovery of the Eternal Divine Creative Event and Divine birth of ourselves as individuated Divine Being. No time here.

Yet it is a Being’s' conscious or unconscious (reactive) Choices in using Divine Mind through Its actions of words and deeds which defines a Beings level of confession of Its own realization –or enlightenment.

Divine Mind is always neutral, always good and only creates and manifests whatever we feed or meditate on through our thoughts!!

Everyone knows and feels their own Divine Presence and feels the Divine Presence of others - EVERYONE.

Problems of unconsciousness arise because the Being does not have the discrimination to distinguish Itself from Its use or misuse of Universal Mind.

Unconsciousness and emotional entanglements occur when a Being becomes stuck in Its use of Mind as It identifies or gets lost in Its own self invoked and manifested conditions of thought and form, resulting in more subsequent manifestations and processes by the Being attempting to use Universal Mind to solve a self created problem in Mind. These "conditions" appear to the Being to be outside of Mind and mysterious to the Being. Yet these conditions come from the Being’s own attempts to use It’s limited understandings of how life works and how to use Mind to get out of the self created conditions of Mind.

Most of the time when the Being feels the state of "clear or "Awake", it is not because the Being is consciously choosing to change It's use of Universal Mind. The clarity or awakeness most Beings experience is by the Natural Laws and Principles of God or the Universal Mind; which is the fortune and the design of the Being’s' Spiritual path to grow Itself.

The process of acceleration of Awake is gracefully given and can be responded to by choosing to activate and surrender to a formal Spiritual practice with disciplines for our attention and our action

Bruce Michael Hubbell
August 15, 2008 1:10 PM

Consciousness is not an object - not a any dimensional field.

At best our obsession with the word signifies a movement in us globally to acknowledge the Eternally Present Event of Our Divine Birthing Is Occurring - and we need to discuss this. (i want to laugh)

And the word consciousness is not what we are wanting to know about any way.

We want to know about our selves and this field of Divine Manifesting form or Divine Mind as already manifested and birthing Divine Beings.

Bruce Michael Hubbell
August 15, 2008 6:41 PM

The Time Is Now Past to teach any more study, understanding or dialogue metaphorically on any Dharma - lest we be distracted from our already palpable incarnated personal Divine magnificence and The Global Sense of Each Others Awakening.

As This Causative Presence of Divine Enfoldment, with full and conscious expression as our very selves, we pause here: to contemplate, to breathe and to accept the gift our own deepening Spiritual growth - while enjoying the gracious company of each other, as we Awaken . . . each whole: a student and a teacher.

Bruce Michael Hubbell
August 16, 2008 6:26 PM

Deepak you said: But consciousness can only be explored by consciousness so it has to be a subjective experience.

I just got it that my responses to you was moving us from the objective gesture for analysis and opinion to the subjective - because we are It. And it is only from Here that we can open to expressing the Laws with demonstrations of the principles of the meta-physics of consciousness as our very moment to moment selves growing.

cool . . huh

Bruce Michael Hubbell
August 17, 2008 9:00 PM

To play conversation with the question; of what is consciousness - we must Move Our Conscious Attention To The Objective position of our Beingness - and chose to be standing with only what we know and have learned to date before we speak or dialogue.

But, to really demonstrate one has control of the subject "consciousness" one must understand the trick - or actual slight of one's and others conscious attention!

First, we are consciousness but we don't always act like it. - right?

It's OK. We're just waking up Here and Now (2008). Forget about the Spiritual dharmic languages of all of the Great Traditions = that's the problem here.

We are needing a NEW confirmed language to talk about awakening/birthing from and as consciousness, and Be it, as opposed to talk about it as an object outside of us.

So Here is the trick. In order to really know and understand consciousness as ourselves we must see naturally, in the moment and demonstrate in the moment, by choosing to act as cause, as consciousness, in the moment, with absolute clarity as to the differences in what is subjective and what is objective as well as to be aware of the intended result of action prior to the action.

To do this effectively we must operate Consciously (and actually do already naturally)AS Subjective to Presence - no objectivity here.

THE PROBLEM IS: Most of the time we do not notice subjective or objective consciously - or even distinguish the differences in their radical nature and different laws.

For truly, if you can’t identify clearly subjective from objective in your own experience, you will never know consciousness as source or Be It.

So the conversation ends on a true subjective level for most who wish to contemplate their nature as Consciousness Itself.

agree ??

Bruce Michael Hubbell
August 19, 2008 1:57 PM

Remember the trick of where and who do we consider ourselves to be - subjective or objective.

Only if we know and are consciousness do you see this presumption of either as part of our mistakes to know and Be Consciousness.

There are two intellectual "modern cultural approaches" we can take in our conversation life if we identify with the body as separate and living in a 4 dimensional physical universe. One is scientific materialism the other is religious provincialism. Speaking form either one we are identified as a separate individual in some kind of system; static and attempting to figure out what is so and where we are and who we are and how do we control the environment so as to prolong life - - hmmmm.

However, When We Are Consciousness or Standing As Present Being - where all arises to you "AS YOUR NATURE" - then our discussions are radically different. For when we are Consciousness we are no longer identified with the limitations of the concepts or effected by the absence of laws of any objective position. And in fact, here it is true of subjective, as a position in consciousness is also as restricting to developing true personal power to learn, teach or cause.

Only when the conversion at the level of our conscious attention has occurred, as part of our growth, are we capable to see, comprehend and utilize both subjective and objective AS THEY ARE – because we have no reaction to the condition of either reality but spontaneously choose to use their information as guides to further our Spiritual growth - THEN Consciousness Is Awake As Our Individuated Being.

Bruce Michael Hubbell
August 19, 2008 3:46 PM

and the tree fell in the forest . . . . . ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Susannah
August 24, 2008 7:45 PM

Consciousness is NOT a product of the brain. The brain's activity can show correlates to consciousness.
The brain/nervous system is a receiver and transmitter of Consciousness.

Consciousness, by nature is subjective. It is not an object, does not occupy space, although it is present along with material as part of sentient beings everywhere (including single cell organisms).

Consciousness is the ground of all being.
Consciousness is the Knower, the silent witness to all that is to be known.

The purpose of life is for Consciousness, the knower, to know its Self.

many blessings,
Susannah


Bruce Michael Hubbell
August 28, 2008 1:07 AM

Yes Susannah,

. . . .to know Itself = as US - individuated:

Each of US unique & YET identical As That One Itself Birthing and Awake As The Movement of Our Own Conscious Growth

This is what we are doing here - even right her and now; experiencing, initiating, acknowledging and expressing our new language of our Individuated and Global Birthing.


We are allowing the truth that each of US, as individual, group, community and for sure globally are learning to see and understand the Approaching Revelation Of The Meta-physics of Our Life As Individuated Consciousness.

"The Secret" - is not an accident or media event. It is the announcement of Principles Of Personal Action In Causative Consciousness.

We are Itself waking up - just like this.

Do you feel the motion in yourself - even just NOW???

Namaste'

Ajita
January 12, 2009 8:44 AM

Consciousness is the result of brain phenomena- contrary to another comment here suggesting that it exists outside of the physical brain. To be exact, consciousness is the set of all the brain functions at any given moment as they interact with all the relevant memories and perceptions at that moment. It is a dynamic process that gives the illusion of being- the ghost in the shell. Everything else is egotistical self-aggrandizement.

Bruce Michael Hubbell
April 18, 2009 4:55 AM

Ajita,

I have two responses:

First I impulsively wanted to say this - -

you bit on the classic error of identifying with a person in time, in a body, in a place, in time- huh

Instead of Being conscious you are by design of your awakening in spiritual seeking - that is what you are doing, right?

- I mean . . . what are you doing here?

It is obvious you are doing.

You are looking at others experiences here about consciousness and then looking at your own experience and then saying what is so for you today, which is probably different than say 10 years ago - ya think?

In your seeking you find some who agree and some who don't - then you some times read something new and you change as you are getting older . . . for I guess you about 18 - 30 something and the passion for the truths grows in you or at least you desire to be speaking about your truths to someone who will listen or at least someone who might put up some form of a reasonable fight on the subject . . .and then you sit back . . .reconsider what you experienced . . . then . . . well change happens - right?

and then i wanted to say - -

there is life discussed from assuming oneself outside of life and life discussed from life as life being life speaking life's expression consciously knowing the unique powerful realization of Being living as life . . .from that particular life position - like me - then . . . well change happens . . and there's you - right?

Ajita:
- is this different answered expression revealing??
- is this different for you to hear: as your real answer? and what Consciousness is as me??
- is this different a than the typical head on physical argument. . ."no consciousness is not the result of your brain phenomena because you are not your body" - that response ??


hmmmmmmmm - I wonder if Ajita will be back soon....

Ooohhh Ajitaaa - Come baaaack . . . . sooooon