Does Consciousness Survive Death? | Prof. Donald Hoffman | The Tim Ferriss Show

[@timferriss]

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[@vettevegas]

How do we know the wave function exists and collapses under observation and measurement, if we cant measure and observe it?

[@johnb8854]

@@vettevegas *Measuring is only the comparing of two units of measurement... It resolves nothing...*

[@hhhxzkvhvu7859]

Ive always considered myself a "rational", non religious, non spiritual person. After meditating for about 600hours over the past 2-3 years ive had an intense experience where my consciousness expanded towards everything around me. The sky, the stars, trees, houses etc...litteraly everything. My whole identity was vanished away for a brief moment and all i could say afterwards was "i cannot believe it. ive never been here". By that i mean me, the ego. That constant and repeating stream of thought, that we all build up in our heads. So yeah, i highly agree with Dr. Hofmanns theory that consciousness is fundamental, in one way or another. I believe thats what all the religions are pointing to and which is the core of their lessons, only theres so much dogmatism and strict rules to it that we nowadays dont believe in possibilities like that anymore.

[@NatarajaYogi]

This brief moment of your identity vanishing away for a moment, this is a clear description of a 'cessation'. This is not an expansion, but a release of your projection of separation. That you can describe it so well means this cessation was quite long. Usually they last for a fraction of a second, and the person doesn't know much of what happened, though a shift in perception is usually notable afterwards. Sounds like you had a clear 'awakening insight', to put a label to it...the initial and permanent realisation of the nondual nature of reality. I'm guessing your perception after this event 'opened up' somewhat, as if taking the 'blinkers' off? And yes, after this you see through all the dogmatism and strict rules that people who haven't seen this truth use, because they take that which is pointing to the truth as the literal truth. But now you have witnessed the truth, you understand where it is pointing. 😊

[@shawnclark732]

I had the beginning of that experience. Just the start of it. But it was so scary that I locked up and pulled back from it. It happened at a moment when I was very very relaxed AND also simultaneously very focused and aware. My awareness started to expand beyond the "me" that I usually am. But it felt unstable. Like I might go crazy or that the "me" might die, so I pulled back from it. I've never approached it again, but of course it remains my most profound experience. It showed me that what's looking through my eyes is "fooled", moment by moment, into thinking it's "me".

[@mightyelf2660]

What type of meditation do you do?

[@mightyelf2660]

@@shawnclark732do you do any type of meditation or how did you get to that experience?

[@shawnclark732]

@@mightyelf2660 I’ve done some meditation but that was a complete accident. I had been pondering the extreme relaxation of fully accepting terminal illness (like if you had two weeks to live) and how you would literally not care about anything like paying bills or retiring or whatever. It would just be pure relaxation and focusing on loved ones. I then went to the movie Inception in the theater. For some unknown reason I wanted to try to see through the acting. Like to see it the way the actors and the people on set see it. So I was very focused on the actors. And I focused so hard that I did see thru the acting. And I was very relaxed because of that terminal illness pondering. I wasn’t trying to accomplish anything except focused awareness. I believe the combination of deep relaxation and intense focus is what did it.

[@Dion_Mustard]

As someone who has had an Out of Body Experience (and was once skeptical), I can tell you now that without any doubt Consciousness is MORE than brain. My consciousness separated from my physical body and I travelled places. Look up Non Local Consciousness, its a fascinating concept.

[@rikard4711]

+1. Also had OBE:s. 100% sure that the brain doesn't create conciousness. It's very intertwined with conciousness though but conciousness very much survives death of the physical body. Also, think about it - how would the brain alone create the conciousness we enjoy every day. Really think about out. How could it?

[@Dion_Mustard]

@@rikard4711 good point.

[@chrisr4066]

How do you know it wasn't just your imagination?

[@Dion_Mustard]

@@chrisr4066 1000% not imagination. I experienced it you didn't. Enough said.

[@chrisr4066]

@@Dion_Mustard How did it happen?

[@emzywillrich7243]

My late mother came to me in a dream after her death and told me that none of this is real. Now, that's a dream I have never forgotten. 😃

[@spumemonk11]

A dream with-in a dream.

[@ry77801]

It’s like watching a movie 🍿 character you know they are not real ! We are the same thing it’s all a illusion

[@GITMachine]

@@ry77801 True, but it sure as hell is entertaining, no?

[@MrSridharMurthy]

Wow!

[@saintsteph]

I had a dream just last night with the same message. Nothing we see with our outer eyes is real. It also let me know that puppies are not the answer, we have to face what is in front of us with Faith.

[@dorothyhellmuth3408]

I'm blown away! I have been studying an ancient and relatively unknown yoga tradition called Kriya Yoga Siddhantha for nearly 50 years, whose radical idea of our purpose is that every living thing is an agent that allows consciousness to discover its own existence. I never believed the idea could be expressed so perfectly in terms of math and science. Perhaps the "avatar of the age" is a person who speaks in the language of science..

[@rileyhoffman6629]

You might enjoy listening to David Chalmers, physicist, in conversation. Similar in perspective.

[@lusherenren4222]

I dislike how they never give it explicit credit.

[@stunningfilipinabeauties]

Donald Hoffman is a rarity--a scientist and a competent philosopher at the same time. His ideas are fascinating even when I disagree with them, which isn't most of the time

[@cynfowler1]

I stumbled onto Donald Hoffman at the very beginning of my metaphysical journey in 2020 and the deeper I go the more relevant his scientific ideas get. I always find his chats so mind blowing yet infused with humor and lightness.

[@ahad1609]

Yes siddharsnrhatahtatanatana buddha muddafudda will know all the things and yoga is totally not a waste of time or some lower class movements

[@jjn6914]

It's kind of amazing how compatible Prof. Hoffman's hypothesis or understanding of consciousness and death is with NDE survivors' who overwhelmingly recall that their physical bodies are simply avatars, and there is a higher realm of some kind of "source" where they are simply aware and in profound peace.

[@Adrian-wh3mk]

NDE is much like an appropriate DMT dose

[@Uroki_ANGLIYSKOGO_s_Nulya_]

@John Sampson Whatever a man believes in his life, that will manifest. If a man is an atheist and believes that after death there is nothing, then his/her Consciosness will see nothing after leaving body, because he/she programmed it to see nothing by being an atheist.

[@jonpicojones4032]

@John Sampson personally it’s a lot less freaky to think nothing happens, because realistically who would give a shit lmao. Not me, that’s for sure; however if experience continues I literally can’t imagine what that’d be like, and that freaks me out a lot more than a nice long dirt nap. Especially given, no matter what you’re still going to have to part with everyone and everything you love in this life. If you can’t think about it, then who cares, a very satisfying end for me to have this be my only friends, family and life forever.

[@jonpicojones4032]

@John Sampson one is good enough for me man, and I don’t fret otherwise. It’s all well, to live well is to die well and I’m glad I ever got a chance at all to experience what life is. Even if there is another, all we can be sure of is the one we live now and ought to concern ourselves most with our actions in this life.

[@SolveEtCoagula93]

@John Sampson Totally get where you are coming from John - indeed I really hold a similar perspective. However, if you haven't already done so, check out the work of Peter Fenwick and his wife Elizabeth. They are psychiatrists who worked in hospices. They have no agenda to pursue, but merely report on the experiences of people. He started gathering the stories of nurses, the dying and others when he realized that no one else was listening. There is a long term, deeper, more rigorous study of NDEs being carried out in Holland, and they have some amazing results. (One case in particular happened during a brain operation, and the patient's data provides very interesting reading and is objectively confirmed by the clinical records.) As, I say, I'm still very open to what happens but the as we gather the data you may find it is not so 'woo woo' as many would like to believe.

[@irenamagdalena6807]

Yes, that is the way I feel and understand consciousness for a long time now. Exactly the way Hoffman verbalised it. It feels so good I’m not alone ❣️

[@casualgamer3689]

wow you two should create some kind of team and go out conquer the worlds minds 😝

[@niblick616]

Unfortunately, what you and Hoffman happen to 'feel' is no guide to what is true. You need actual valid and verified evidence to do that.

[@mahoneypmichael]

It's fascinating to listen to a psychologist/cognitive scientist talk about consciousness and try to prove that it is fundamental with mathematics and evidence. When philosophers and mystics have arrived at the same conclusion intuitively and have no doubt what this world is and that consciousness is all there is. We all need to get there since the physicalism model so far has practically destroyed humanity and will if we all can't wake up. I'd love to see Tim host a discussion with Rupert Spira or Francis Lucille and Bernardo Kastrop and discuss consciousness.

[@GameOfLife55]

How does one wake up ? Ultimately, it feels like the effective way to ditch the physicalism model is to stop living in the physical "world"

[@pedestrian_0]

@@GameOfLife55 you already are awake, everyone is. It's just that the mountains of concepts that people have put on you have blurred what you are. You are space in which everything exists. I'd advise on taking up Sam Harris as your teacher and letting him guide you and help you find what you are and what you're not.

[@User0resU-1]

If Hoffman is right does it matter if 'we' don't 'wake up'. Probably not imho.

[@dillipjena7713]

@@User0resU-1 Yeah, it does not matter. It's up to you, if you are perfectly fine with the cycles then no damn one can stop you from living in this life.

[@dogsbollox4335]

Do you take the blue 💊or the red 💊?

[@jjay6764]

Hoffman is one of the best scientists in the world today. What he says matches Plato's Allegory of the Cave. When people have Near Death Experiences they see what's outside of the cave(3rd dimension) They come back to tell the prisoners in the cave that it's amazing and there's so much more outside of the cave but they get scoffed at because the prisoners in the cave think the shadows on the wall(3rd dimension, the material world) has an objective existence and is all that there is. People who are so connected to the cave can't unplug. They really think what we experience in the cave(materialism) is all that exists.

[@nickstoic2944]

Great comment, indeed people having a NDE can see their own bodies in a hospital bed from under the ceiling, e.g Elizabeth Taylor and Elvis Presley.

[@nickstoic2944]

@Edward Armstrong I dare you to look into such phenomenon. Near Death Experience: The Illustrated Dossier by Marisa St.Clair. You tell the lady she is a liar :o)

[@nickstoic2944]

@Edward Armstrong There are many other people claiming the existence of consciousness which is non physical. Eckhard Tolle, Dr. Joe Dispenza, Ralph Smart just to name a few. You can look up to find out more about psychological warfare, Looking Glass and so on. You might be surprised. The soul never dies.

[@harveyfredrickson826]

@Edward Armstrong Useless comment..No follow up, no clarity, but useless though...

[@nickstoic2944]

@Edward Armstrong Well champ, I respect your opinion. English language expresses a dramatic truth with "Watch your breath." In that breath is the gift of life. When the breath leaves there is no life left, no brain. I suggest you follow your path and I follow mine.

[@AndrewUnruh]

My educational background is in the hard sciences and I was once a strict physicalist. This view persisted even after I experienced something that fits the description of kundalini. The first real doubt in my viewpoint was when I compared consciousness with every other emergent property. That’s when it appeared highly unlikely to me that consciousness just spontaneously appears from our current understanding of the physical world.

[@Fusion991]

Ok

[@batcollins3714]

My late sister and her husband, A heart consultant, went to India and studied under Maharishi Maresh and they taught me, A lowly carpenter, and what I heard in this video is so pure, so true that I had to add, in my humble unlearned knowledge that what is spoken of here is true. There are no words to explain but I have felt pure joy that as a human I could not express, yet I try. What they try to convey here is so, so true that anything I say could not explain what the pure joy of BEING will answer every question that you could think of, yet when you experience this transendence, you don't need to ask, you know.

[@Tiomoments]

I had this experience n you are right.

[@jjay6764]

Here’s a quote from Nobel Prize Winner Max Planck. “ I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.”

[@SusanBloodgood-o5s]

And that freaked out the materialists scientists

[@donTeo136]

That quote always struck me strong , U cant get behind your own mind. U cant get behind your 'seeing'... at least as far as we can understand that in this here. So any here/I has to be the known totality ME. Is that all? - The known me now. I would say the known self, is tiny compared to the unknown self. Just for the fact flashes of the other self sometimes are revealed, which i grant reality. Real stuff.

[@Acke1974]

​@@donTeo136try some mushrooms and you will experience the 'I' behind your experience. Also, well put 🫶🏾

[@slomo4672]

​@@donTeo136Seth books 📚 by Jane Roberts explain it all

[@tim59ism]

NDE's hold the key to narrowing down the debate around the hard problem of consciousness. Great to hear open minded scientists like this.

[@BradleyCoopertest]

NDE's are created in the brain by noradrenaline and dopamine. When the brain dies, the experience is over.

[@tim59ism]

@@BradleyCoopertest If that makes you happy, Slyoldfox, rock on with it.

[@MonstarChan3]

Unfortunately NDEs are likely a result from the brain releasing hallucinogens, mainly DMT, upon death.

[@tim59ism]

@@MonstarChan3 Except your statement has absolutely no basis in fact. DMT has only ever been identified in miniscule quantities in the human body, never mind the brain. It takes a substantial dose of DMT to produce any hallucinatory effects at all on the brain and it's also short acting. The amount naturally present in the human body is not even enough to make an active brain see a pink chicken, never mind explain how they can see what is going on in the room from the ceiling and down the hall. You would be wise not to pay attention to the nonsense about NDE's that is spread around the net by psuedo sceptics.

[@BradleyCoopertest]

@@MonstarChan3 Finally someone with a brain, and not afraid to use it. 😊

[@MrSpacejase]

It's like taking a drop of water out of the ocean and bottling it for one year before going to the ocean and dropping it back into the ocean where it seems to disappear into infinity. Although the ocean is finite, pretend that it shares a similarity to fundamental consciousness. The drop of water in a year developed its individual self and once returned to the source, it experiences both oneness and individuality. Reminds me of Isaiah, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you and set you apart. This still brings to mind a first mover of all things. Anyway, just thinking lol

[@glynmwaka]

I find the idea that once the self merges with source (Consciousness) it disappears which makes life as we know it useless and futile. For instance some people teach that we are here on earth to learn and later all that knowledge goes into oblivion and has no bearing on the individual because you don't exist anymore. However when you say that we experience both oneness and individuality that makes perfect sense and I find it rational. In Africa we experience our ancestors in diverse ways and the Yogis that teach oneness contradict themselves when they prostrate in front of their departed Guru's pictures and shrines because this is not different to ancestral veneration. #ancestors #ancestralveneration

[@wiwiweriley4290]

@@glynmwaka We go through "similar" (in essence, not in form) experiences throughout our lives. Various things shift and change our experience of life, existence, the world and self. Some slowly, gradually (like growing up from a child to adult), or very quickly - like psychedelics. Gradually, or suddenly you find your sense of self viewing the world and yourself through a very different lens. And yet...you don't misstep. That experience of self doesn't miss a damn beat even in situation when the entire perception of reality turns upside down and inside out. It just goes sort of like "oh, so this is how things are now...cool" and goes along No matter what comes, I'm quite confident it will be perfectly fine. No matter what reality you find yourself in, it has a tendency to feel like home

[@yarik6591]

❤

[@edwardsmith9644]

I use a similar analogy. Our consciousness is a drop of water in an ocean of uncounted other drops. We exist as drops and we exist as ocean. When you look deep within your self you find the ocean.

[@niblick616]

Just more word salad I’m afraid, without anything to demonstrate any of it is true in any way.

[@timallsopp9622]

Although I am not as elevated at this moment, about two years ago I had a very highly elevated experience. It lasted, at various levels for two or three weeks. After the initial awakening if you will, I was walking outside and simply looking at a flower on a fruit tree, I saw much more than the flower. It was life, the field or god if you will. I looked so calmly at my wife and said, we are it and it is us. This came through me. I had never read or listened to any non duality type of info. There were moments when I felt as if what I understand to be me was almost nothing. I could look at it(my so called self) and it was quite humorous. All the issues and worries were a total laugh. I could see the movie if you will. In the mornings, things were a little like the old self so at night I wrote some things down to kind of remind me of the state I was in. One night, very elevated there was a knowing, deep feeling and understanding that we are it(the universe, one etc)and eternal. The note I jotted down was, I am eternal. Sadly that clear understanding isn’t there as the ego crept in after the two three weeks. Trying to let go to that elevation but if it takes until this body dies then so be it. Sorry so long, there is much more to it but I don’t want to bore anyone

[@fnorddock7290]

This was not boring. It was worth the read. Almost like another witness takes the stand.

[@jamesgibson3276]

As mentioned some nde's prove that consciousness functions beyond the body. When I say some I'm not discounting all. I just refer to the ones where essentially a dead person can describe specific and detailed sounds and sights along way from the body that can be confirmed by others.

[@XxSEETH3RxX]

Yes. I knw because I died 30 years ago and came back. Matter of fact after I left my body it was as if I had no past there. It was the end of thought. I felt pure peace and thought of nothing. The future, the past...

[@charlesgallagher1376]

You a zombie.

[@emzywillrich7243]

I hope consciousness can one day be uploaded. I would love to live multiple lifetimes to continue to enjoy this beautiful planet. What a wonderful gift life has turned out to be.

[@yograjbir9993]

Conciousness is omnipresent

[@cuervos69]

You’re wrong and Camu & Schopenhauer were correct: life is absurd and meaningless. When we die, we die. Period. Everything else we do, all our behaviors and endeavors, are ultimately motivated by the fear and avoidance of death. Get in your heads: you will not find the answers you desperately seek. The only thing we’re sure of 99.99999% is DEATH. You won’t survive it. If you do, you won’t remember this life nor will it matter to you if you do remember this lifetime. It’s utterly meaningless, AT best.

[@hyperpersonal]

@@cuervos69 meaning is something that derives from your own experience of the world and therefore you can't 100% claim that life has no meaning. At most you can claim it has no meaning to you, but other people might feel otherwise. Even if there is nothing after death that doesn't mean live has no meaning. You must create your own meaning, spend more time doing things you love, become a better human, love, laugh, listen to music, drink wine, take a walk, admire the beauty of nature, art, people, helping others in their path, creating stuff, eating good food, traveling, sex, drugs & rock n roll. there is so much meaning to be found everywhere. We might think life is a tragedy because we are all gona die, but we can also think that life is a miracle because we can all experience it for some years instead of being dead or unborn for 14 billion years before our birth. Don't take Schopenhauer's word, however bright he might have been, he was just another human, not the bearer of all truth. Your life is yours, make your own meaning. Peace brother 🐴

[@Truthshouldalwaysbetold]

You don't want your consciousness uploaded, you want your memories preserved. Think about living eternity with your memories and memories of every life you would have lived. Losing your memories is the greatest blessing one can receive as the memory is replaced by wonder.

[@Truthshouldalwaysbetold]

@@cuervos69 You are literally dying right now. You die to live. You survive death everyday, what makes the body's final death any different? Do you notice any of the other aspects of death in your daily life? Probably not unless you find yourself all alone and helpless, then we tend to realize that we are always dying. It is not really scary until you realize it as the thoughts are all that make it scary, otherwise it just is what it is.

[@mariaacosta1441]

I’ve experienced close to death (the tunnel and it’s light) several times loosing awareness of my own children and loved ones, until one early morning all vestiments of me vanished completely including my ability to think. There I was in the nether region of nothing, zero value mathematically speaking yet there was an understanding of all comes from nothing. Imagine understanding something without the ability to think. When I came back, I thought of me as a third person. As I entered this present awareness the first thought was: what has she done to this body? The pain was very apparent. I saw the wall and thought: this must be her house. When I saw the man in the house I thought: that must be her husband. The two large photographs on the wall must be her daughters. It took me a week to re-acclimate to my own life and I have never been the same. Is as if I experienced a hard reset. He is the only person I’ve heard talking about some of my experiences. For those waiting impatiently for him to conclude his experiments perhaps you would like to take on the experience yourself and go on exploring beyond perceptions and all you think you know.

[@jovanyagathe2299]

Experiencing hallucination. A brain under panics.

[@ThatDudeTrent1]

I had this happen to me for about 3 months one time. The only way I brought myself back was through meditation.

[@BC-lf4om]

Thanks very much for sharing your experience.

[@unpopular_opinion8615]

@@jovanyagathe2299 yeah experiencing hallucinations when brain under panic even when there's no oxygen supply to the brain, smh😊

[@wiwiweriley4290]

I got a childhood experience kinda like that. It's my first memory that *feels* real. I mean, I do have memories from before that experience, but I can't recall experiencing them. If that makes any sense Early in the morning I got woken up by my parents. Was 5 years old I think. I can recall that morning as if it happened yesterday. My body was kind of going through the motions like it was something it's done many times before (which it did), but my experience of it felt like the first time ever. First time being there at all. Looking at everything and everyone, something in the mind was telling me what and who those are...that must be my mom, that's my dad.Oh, that thing is the toothbrush, now how was I supposed to use it again? Went through most of the day like that - recognizing and not recognizing things at the same time. Kind of like starting some kind of a computer game where you are tossed into some point in time and place, given a quick rundown of what's up and figuring things out from there. Including the past - it happened to the in-game character and the virtual world in there...its lore, its history. But you are only finding it out then. It happened to the character, but not to *you*. That's what it felt like. All memories before that day feel like pictures, things I learned about after the fact. And ever since that moment, I've been acutely aware of my own awareness. Which made me into quite the odd kid

[@uriel69879]

It's not important WHO you are, but THAT you are

[@travislawrencemusic]

I've been playing around with these ideas since I was 16. Primarily as a way to argue for atheism against theists. I called it "The God Game". Later I coined "polysolipsism" as way to talk about the possibility each of us having our individual universes. I messed around with the idea of what you're not defining what you are, as well, and believe it to be the argument against Descartes' "I think, therefore I am" proposition, since what I am not must exist to define what we I am...and without anything that is not me, I would have nothing to even think. The funny thing is, the more I live, experience, and learn, the more the idea of "The God Game" seems to be supported rather than refuted.

[@RilkeForum]

5:27 I like and respect Hoffman very much and I am in awe of his argument. But what I don’t like about it is that we as humans are reduced to icons which will dissolve. People who have had NDEs talk about that their first person perspective, their being, their essence, felt intact as they left - that they as individuals mattered. That is a philosophy which I feel is much more value giving - and this preservation of all valuable individuals is also supported by NDE accounts.

[@djfootfoot]

I am 1 of the few people who has been in a coma as well as dead. Different years. Imagine falling asleep and never waking up. No dreams. No consciousness. And upon being revived, my consciousness took mins to reboot just like a computer. I have since been told time and time again by people,who have never had the experience, that I’m wrong. I died wrong. I don’t even bring it up anymore. Would be happy to discuss sometime.

[@tim59ism]

Being dead as you say you were, only gives you about a 20% chance of having one of these experiences. But researchers now think that everybody probably has them but they somehow forget it. Cardiac arrest is a massive assault (insult) to the brain, apparently.

[@tudor772]

@@tim59ism the last part is what i've been thinking, i mean, i've been seeing my girlfriend, my dad, aunt, friends and other people twitch and move and kick their feet or even act very distressed while asleep, and in the morning when id ask them if they remember anything from their dreams theyd be like "no i havent dreamed anything", yet i clearly saw them doing behaviour that indicated that they did in fact dream, and quite interesting experiences at that. I dont rlly think that people who dont remember any experiences from their near death states "died wrong", it's just that the brain probably erases them in their cases, like the brain erases dreams in the cases of many people. Meanwhile other people for whatever reason get to keep their near-death experiences the same way some people seem able to remember most of their dreams and even keep dream journals. It's a matter of being lucky, i guess.

[@earthwombat]

coma isn't the same as death though and not all comas are the same. it depends on whether part of ur brain can function or not.

[@hildejutta1625]

You have been "newborn" - so to speak! Yes! You have been given a new task for life - could I be right about that?

[@electricmanist]

Everyone dies at some time or another. (Their physical bodies of course). However their human life experiences form part of their spiritual growth process. Nothing is wasted even things we consider merely trite. We are all part of the universal consciousness, even though at this stage, we are perhaps only a small undeveloped part. NDE's are a bit like a temporarily opened window/door to an awareness of another world -which we all will one day experience. I speak from personal experience.

[@shaharporat]

Our individual existence notion is just an Icon of consciousness throughout consciousness exploring it self. This approach is standing in the hart of Advaita Vedanta. 🙏

[@Bob-v3g4m]

Which is pretty much meaningless, as bad as "evolution" or "creation by a God". What is the end result of Trillions upon Trillions of beings consciously suffering?

[@shaharporat]

You are right! Non-dual Vedanta is a very abstract field of non-materialism. I'm trying to figure out the human phenomena. By understanding myself and others people behavioral patterns, I can take life easier and navigate my life better. OSHO, was a phenomenon in decoding the human behavior. Eckhart Tolle, is a present spiritual teacher that dealing with it as well. It's a journey of self-exploration, which one has to take, in order to be in a better place with himself and his life.

[@Bob-v3g4m]

@@shaharporat Tolle, so superficial a child could see his talk is just a jumble of nonsense gathered from all popular sources. His failure is to try to convince others that the way to understanding is to play silly mind games with themselves; i.e. meditate upon Jesus. Which not only reinforces the mental concept of someone greater, but also fools folks into believing they are "on the path".

[@shaharporat]

@@Bob-v3g4m You should find your own way to explore your self to understand your mind set and behavioral roots.

[@doloreslehmann8628]

I've listened to this man and read his book, and I must say it's brilliant, but he's been telling the same things for many years now, I would be interested if there's actually any progress in the testing of this model. He always ends with like: "We could test it this and that way", but never if any of this is already taking place and with what results.

[@flux9433]

if there are any results so far by now we won't be show any of it it will become the barrier where the question of the whole experience from whom we are driven for will end in a physical phase and it will be shocking for many of us. 8

[@Mercury6_]

No one understands consciousness so believe whatever you want without concerning yourself with testing. Essentially, your opinion of consciousness is just as probable as anyones opinion

[@TokyoShemp]

He is more sophist than scholar who can't back up self-aggrandizing rhetoric.

[@doloreslehmann8628]

@@TokyoShemp That's not true. He backs it up with quite a lot of evidence, I'm just interested in the progress of the mathematic calculation he proposes (I'm too bad at math to follow this particular part of his hypthesis.)

[@TokyoShemp]

@@doloreslehmann8628 There's no there, there so to speak and all the rest of it.

[@smashhimmungo5798]

I had a DMT Trip the other night on my balcony of my apartment and this is what i can remember ! 5 heavy blazes in quick consessions off the vape that contained DMT - NT Off the Acacia acuminata bark plant ! After my 5th hit my ears started ringing and a euphoria came over my body full of peace love and bliss then geometric colourful tribal disco light patterns started to appear then BOOM ! STRAIGHT INTO THE BREAKTHROUGH ! Now this where your Consciouness elevates ! The feeling i got was there was no time or space it was weird then i got up and i was glowing in a brisk green purple white light ! I walked from the balcony into my living room but it was more a floating cant feel my body as i was actually part of the living room before i even walked in it was so Bizzare ! I was actually getting a bit of anixiety but then reminded myself this is actually really awesome ! It felt like i was a ghost inside a dream ! The whole experience went for 10 mins then as soon as i came out of the breakthrough back into this 3D world i Realised THERE IS ACTUALLY ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY AFTER DEATH AND IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL AND LOVING IT REASURES ME NOT TO SEPERATE LIFE FROM THE VOID FOR ITS ALL CONNECTED AND ONE CONSCIOUNESS ! 😀💖

[@aioniansage6081]

Well, thank the good lord you didn't jump !

[@smashhimmungo5798]

@@markartist8646 haha and so is death !!

[@Dion_Mustard]

i've had an OBE. i separated from my physical body. it was no illusion.

[@revminTphresh]

consciousness and living systems need each other . all living systems, from the subatomic to the universal, requires consciousness-energy in order to evolve. conversely, consciousness energy needs living systems to raise its resonance. like every cell in my body possesses its own consciousness energy, but is part of the living system we know as "min-t " that is a higher resonance being that is part of the living system we call "earth", etc...

[@jamesmziegler]

It's tough to explain NDE similarities across the globe on a materialistic basis. You can't, in fact, unless our understanding of neurobiology is grossly incomplete, so that we don't even know where in the body consciousness arises.

[@Dialogos1989]

You can actually. When the brain is damaged or deprived of oxygen it can hallucinate and fabricate experiences. You would trust the eyewitness accounts of a drug addict or brain damaged person in a court of law would you?

[@jamesmziegler]

@@Dialogos1989 That's apples and oranges. Your analogies make no sense because these NDE's happen when there is no activity in the cortex. Hence, as I indicated above, neuroscience has found no alternate site from which consciousness arises. It's baffling, surely, if we assume an organic cause for consciousness.

[@Dialogos1989]

@@jamesmziegler that is assumed. They report these experiences only after they wake up. The brain can construct these experiences as it comes back online. There’s a good intelligence squared debate on this topic with Steven Novella, Sean Carrol, and Eben Alexander if you’re interested. Bottom line is, at best we have anecdotes for these “NDE” which is the worst kind of evidence for anything. On top of that, people have reported Buddhist NDE, Christian, and even atheist. The simplest explanation is that these are constructions of a weakened brain, not accurate descriptions of reality.

[@jamesmziegler]

@@Dialogos1989 The simplest explanation is that current thinking about the origins of consciousness is seriously flawed -- based on our best scientific evidence. We shouldn't make stuff up just to sidestep the challenge.

[@Dialogos1989]

@@jamesmziegler no one is making anything up. The best we can say about consciousness is that it is tied to neural activity. NDEs are not really evidence of anything substantial.

[@jialaowai]

I like the conversation. One suggestion: if you could keep the side-by-side view shown in the preview, it would be less distracting than the alternating speaker view.

[@skeyjordan7616]

As an ancient modernized dna activated man, it’s probably a good idea to look into why every single death especially for deaths where the body is ambulatory and all limbs intact and under the age of 100 year old are dying, when they aren’t suppose to be, (exclude accidents and bodies being pulverized etc), This was gleaned some time ago and it was from a 2010 reading novel (novels have a strange way of sharing truths) She had laughed softly under her breath. 'Every goddamned death's a murder. Why do you think they come after us doctors with their lawyers?' He realized that he had never had his knowledge of a human being. Thanks Tim and loved your hard work and dedication. Congrats as well!!!

[@memetboki]

I used to think the same idea. I jot down my thoughts on Quora question asking for "what happens after we dead?" But I answered it a long time ago, and here's my thought and answer in short: "What if all of our soul right now, and all the living being is just the same soul from the early stage of living on this planet? So when we're die, the soul is transcending and going to enter any "conscious-ready" organism?" Our soul and our consciousness are always moving, but our memory and our thoughts were integrated on the brain and thus we can't retrieve anymore of it when we dead.

[@Googlurg]

Interesting perspective, like Hoffman said, the physicalist model of consciousness magically arising from brain function, an organ made of non conscious matter. Although I don’t personally believe that for a minute, I find it so interesting. How, and why would non conscious matter give rise to this cosmically mysterious thing we call consciousness and/or mind? And by that logic, what would happen if that same variable of brain matter, formed from nothing again? Would I BE again? Because by the material belief, consciousness should be an illusion, along with free will and decision making, meaning all our experiences AND scientific discovery are all fluke? Then wouldn’t that discover also be a sham? It’s so paradoxical and odd, and although most likely not the plausible conclusion for a second, it’s still such an interesting idea. Tl;dr: Consciousness is wack, yo.

[@marcosbatista1029]

eben alexander is a neurologist and he desagrees with you , because the says he cant form new memories with his brain injuried , and he saw his sister and remmeber it , it make sense because space is just a illusion and there is no limit for data , so infinity cant be overloaded with information , its just a question of relevance , how relvante for me is a information ? about the past , or something else , what is of value can be keeped .

[@memetboki]

@@marcosbatista1029 thank you for sharing your thoughts too!

[@7freedomfighter]

10 years later or so sweet man, Id say I think so. ❤ Eternal Life❤

[@cherylanne4762]

4:24 'what we are, what amebas are, are consciousness trying on different headsets' : this is essentially the same thing David Icke says when he observed that life is points oc conscious awareness having a human or an ameba experience.

[@tunahelpa5433]

I see the question as being stated kind of backwards! It should be "does the persona survive death"..... Because the consciousness is real, but the persona - the physical body, brain emotions, memories - those are all ephemeral.

[@electricmanist]

Perhaps one should avoid putting everything into the rubbish bin (emotions, memories experiences etc) and instead consider all experiences as 'building blocks' which help build the spiritual being we are on the way to becoming. -(Some say we already are !) Nothing is wasted,- every experience contributes to our growth !

[@ShadowTheHedgehogCZ]

5:52 - How could consciousness "learn" something? For learning, we have to use our brains. To create new neural networks. All of those rot away after death. If consciousness is a separate higher layer above the neural network of our knowledge and memories, then I don't suppose it copies the same function as the brain, that would make it redundant. So after it gets detached from the interface, it completely forgets 100% of absolutely everything, as if the whole life was totally meaningless.

[@qigong1001]

I guess he would argue that "neural networks" are just icons in space time (or the whole brain) too. Plus, in his theory, its probably assuming too much that memories are stored in the brain. And I suppose the memories would be useless as they would be inaccurate representations anyway. Or maybe the memories would have to be translated to some deeper language of consciousness.

[@eduardohurst995]

@Michael Ellingsworth if this is indeed an eternal process, all world religions are both meaningless and meaningful simulations of God's mind simultaneously?

[@eduardohurst995]

A little verbose, it was just a simplistic observation. However thanks for giving me those names, I'll have to look into their work.

[@eduardohurst995]

Indeed, it cannot, if consciousness is ALL no "knowledge" can be gained it is already aware supremely and forever ♾️.

[@michaelmckinney7240]

You're right. It would be meaningless and completely nugatory if it were something apart and separate from an enduring spiritual reality, but such a connection does exist, and that connection subsumes all thought, and human experience.

[@anthonyw1499]

I love that he's putting a scientific spin on non duality that takes it into a new realm. I still love Rupert Spira as he'll go deeper into the philosophical aspects of non duality but this was perfect

[@potter5647]

Let's be friends 👋

[@raymondparsley7442]

Pitch your pup-tent and sleep alone in a dark isolated graveyard if you really think there's no spirits to play upon your mind... The gentleman's thinking and explanation on the subject is deep and interesting...He's also honest for not demagoguing the subject one way or the other. NDE reports from the world over seem to be telling us there is an afterlife, and we have returned to share the good news. Tears my flow... when we go... from sadness... NDE allows us to see... our souls are set free... a message of hope and gladness.

[@johnb8854]

*I was pronounced "DEAD On ARRIVAL" at a medical center, in 1973... More than half an hour passed, then my heart started beating again... During that time, I "LIFE The Real Self", ( NOT the human entity ) entered the WHITE LIGHT, and have remained in the WHITE LIGHT to this day... I have NOT left the WHITE LIGHT, nor returned as others have reported to have done ! Those who claim to have returned, have NOT recognize WHAT, The WHITE LIGHT really is, and have put a human interpretation on the LIGHT... When we recognize WHAT the LIGHT actually is, and accept it, we remain in The LIGHT...*

[@lukaradojevic7195]

I think, that what we think of as matter and spirit or consciousness,is entangled, and there is no separation between them,they are just different side of the same coin. so, there is nothing that is fundamental or derived,it is all one same phenomenon of life.both matter and spirit are just our ideas and abstract words that we use to describe this sensation of separation that we have,that is consequence of our limited perceptions and identification with just our thoughts,which are the basis for our ego and persona ,which is based on memory and sensations of the body and mind..when our body dissolves, all of our atoms won't disappear(basic physics says that energy cant be created or destroyed,it only change the form), so they will continue to exist and change the form,same with consciousness. so there is no death in reality,only changing of a forms and patterns.our persona and mind identity dies off and it can feel scary and painful at the moment,but that is not real anyway since we are not our persona.and if you don't like who you are as person,it can be liberating act of detaching yourself from the chains of your mind. so death is to be celebrated actually,but in our society that we live in,which is so compulsive,egoistic and identified with the cult of personality,death is looked at taboo and disease,which just says how primitive and unwise we actually are.people used to celebrate death thousands of years ago,because they knew that they finally became free of the chains of this world

[@joaocosta3506]

Bs, if it was that way the universe couldnt come into existence as there was no consciousness to begin with. When we die, the atoms continue to exist, but with the ceassing of metabolism and nutrients to tissue, consciousness ceasses too, brain activity stops

[@paultaylor7947]

I think it's good just to accept life and make the most of things we experience like be thankful for the joy on our lives by just being

[@joeclark1621]

Saying that consciousness is reduced to brain and we are nothing but material is like saying that sensations and awareness are not real but just vessels and nerves observed by neuroscientists from a third person observation. Love Professor Donald Hoffman.

[@electricmanist]

Talking to people who have experienced a NDE (near Death experience) reveal that have gone far beyond such theories as 'mathematics' or other learned concepts; death is merely a transition from one level of awareness (consciousness), to another. It's a pity that so many who consider themselves to be 'learned' came up with such complicated theories which merely complicate matters. We are not the physical body--- this is only a vehicle via which we have various experiences.

[@AtypicalPaul]

Wow, this is how I have come to think of consciousness as. I've never heard anyone else put it like this. I'll be looking into him more

[@potter5647]

Hi how are you doing today ✋

[@PJGRAND]

When we pass away we still live on in the hearts of our friends our family

[@paulrharmer]

Donald just described Buddhism in scientific terms. Eloquently done. 🙏🏻

[@potter5647]

Let's be friends ✋

[@motherearth1147]

Buddha /bood , means “to be” in Farsi language!

[@india9unknown]

Adwaita Vedanta / refer ashtavakra geeta, older than Buddhism

[@zoponex3224]

My very thought. Amazing that Buddha found these truths so long ago, and provided a path for the rest of us, yet so many either suffer in confusion or seek to create new ways to the same truth.

[@zoponex3224]

@@india9unknown Interestingly two very opposite ideas.

[@mujeebrahiman27]

Mere consciousness, consciousness without content overcome ".Now you got it.

[@thesightings4403]

Using computing metaphor Brain- hardware Mind- software ( from morphogenetic fields to family scripts and beyond) Consciousness- both above plus ability to differentiate. Cloud- place" where your individual software goes after death with all data ( memories, attachments and so forth) If you know how to use Command +M during e.g meditation you can get access to your individual data and cloud.

[@ilikedogs870]

That’s a dope metaphor lol

[@Larr.y]

Using computing metaphor Brain- hardware Mind- software Consciousness- electricity (that powers the Brain-Mind / computer)

[@rosimasis3942]

Learning is a product of the experience. Consciousness is mind and mind has memory - Chan

[@fiveoclockdock]

An interesting theory I heard about is that everything in this universe down to an atom has a consciousness, the more complex an organism is, the more information it can recieve in order to do its "duty" in physicality. The more information that is processed the more consciousness and awareness it has. Over the years of thinking about this weird existence we call life, I feel confident in saying that as much information as we think we have, we're only as knowledgeable/aware as a blade of grass coursing its way through soil.

[@DianamPhoenix]

That is called panpsychism...

[@3122-t6h]

Wow! That's profound. I'm far from being academically gifted but I could get my head around everything he said. The most rational and logical approach to the subject. I also like that on a couple of occasions he conceded he could be wrong, something those who push creationism need to add to their narrative, at least then I would have some respect to what they are saying.Well done Prof. Hoffman!

[@Clairelong-kf7tg]

It's not just the consciousness that survived, all the memories of that one life survived, maybe if gets erased later, but let me tell you. They're still there. That doesn't mean that you should be lazy in this life and just, oh I can do it in the next life, you should still aim to achieve and produce the most of of this one. Live like you only have one life, even though that's false.

[@rijd2304]

We will never know, and that's ok. The workbook called 30 Days to Discover Who I Am by Harper Daniels teaches some simple mindfulness exercises.

[@chadkline4268]

The guest's physicality definition of consciousness is 100% correct. Now, add a spirit that binds to consciousness. Now, you have it correct for a living human or other creature with a nervous system. Sensual desire binds a spirit to an available field of consciousness (like magnets), a field of wherein sensory input is radiated. What is a spirit? Life, presence, similar to what we are in a dream, that which creates sentience, the sense of 'am here', the combination of awareness + conscience or an instantaneous non brain knowing + a power of intent. Awareness reads the field of consciousness, conscience filters, and optionally intent can be used to induce thought or muscle movement. It operates all day and all night and never sleeps or tires or dies. The spirit is zero dimensional and outside of spacetime. It never ages and cannot break into smaller pieces. I don't say this as conjecture, I say it because of direct knowledge and experience. NDEs are not death. Death, in the beginning, is a void, pure emptiness, a spirit with no connection to any form of consciousness, which includes that generated by the dream faculty. A spirit with sensual intents will rebind. I don't know what lays beyond the void for those without remaining sensual intents.

[@thepresentmoment369]

@John Sampson what about people who have had half their brain missing and didn't know about it until later on in life?

[@thepresentmoment369]

I've heard NDE accounts where they went beyond the void you speak of.

[@chadkline4268]

@John Sampson I didn't say those things. I said consciousness is a field of the nervous system, of biological origin. If you take drugs or suffer brain injury, consciousness is affected. But the awareness that is reading that state of consciousness always remains the same. Just like when you sleep, your sensory consciousness is completely shut down, but then the dream faculty generates an alternate consciousness which may function to ensure a spirit remains bound at night. All creatures seem to dream, and there is probably a good reason for it. One may question the parts of sleep that we do not remember, and when we are not dreaming, or things like comas ... And I think in such cases it is important to keep in mind that the spirit only knows here+now, it is the brain that has the ordinary memory. So, even if the spirit is active, and bound to a consciousness that is 99% turned off, there won't be any memory. On the other hand, I hypothesize that things like facial recognition, or recognition in general, may require far too much data and far too many calculations for a brain (keep in mind that these things occur in an instant), and that the spirit may have some part in the sense of familiarity/recognition which is rooted in the spirit as part of the 'knowing'. And maybe this also explains child prodigies and Deja Vu.

[@chadkline4268]

@@thepresentmoment369 There are people that have had 3/4 of their brain removed. Some have been born with hydrocephalus so severe that there is only a thin film of cerebral tissue on the inside of the skull. Yet they are fully functional.

[@chadkline4268]

@@thepresentmoment369 I'd like to hear one if you ever come across one again 😊 that would be interesting for me ... One great sage said that if you took all the pleasures of 100 years on earth, with the power to have anything you want in this world, still, that would not equal one day, so to speak, of the pleasure found in attaining the ultimate liberation from flesh. But, presumably, everything is beyond the capacity of words to describe at that stage.

[@godfreecharlie]

I've had a similar view he mentioned about nature trying on different hats. To me the whole process of evolution is nature venturing down any and every avenue, seeing what works, how well it works, combinations, to get to an infinity of perfection. Very time consuming even for a Universe.

[@stevebrown6215]

This is what spritualisim says about consciousness. Thank you for sharing!

[@sustainabilityaxis]

A good question by the host at the end about what is the origin of all this and why. If some more light can be shed on this, that would be really helpful. Apparently it is a close loop process unless proven otherwise and started unintelligently (first conclusion by a layman). However, it appears we will never be able to separate ourselves with physicalism and endlessly revisiting the paradox of something from nothing. Good content and keep it up. Thanks

[@donlimuti8659]

Tim, You have one of the best "handles" on Donald Hoffman. Taking him in little bites is very effective. And I think you both like the experience as judged by your mutual shit eating grins ;) Hoffman is amazing ....thanks for giving him some access to the universe.

[@I-Am-Aware]

Consciousness (Awareness) is the fundamental "reality." All events, objects, and persons are occurring within a dream--the "Waking State." 🙏

[@johnb8854]

Consciousness is NOT Awareness ! "Awareness" is one of the components, that involves the 'function', you call Consciousness.

[@I-Am-Aware]

@@johnb8854 I do appreciate your sharing your insights. I know it can get easy to get lost in semantics with this subject. Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj called Awareness a "rock solid block," in "I Am That." Rupert Spira often interchangeably uses the terms Consciousness and Awareness. Salvadore Poe calls it "Aware."

[@Wolf88888]

Any serious discussion of this topic should include some mention of the fact that currently over 1 MILLION people per year are reporting near-death experiences. With advances in medicine, NDE's are no longer a rare phenomenon and, even if one completely discounts all cases where it could be argued that the individual was not truly 'clinically dead', then that still leaves a huge amount of evidence to support the belief that consciousness both precedes, and continues after, death.

[@tim59ism]

@John Bridges you are correct but this is not about evidence anymore. It's the defence of materialism at all costs.

[@michaelmckinney7240]

You're exactly right John.

[@Dion_Mustard]

you're spot on. also there are things like past life memories/ regression / out of body experiences, etc, all of which suggest consciousness is INFINITE.

[@cas..4724]

@@Dion_Mustard not really because the brain will start to hallucinate in a state of panic so many of these stories could just be hallucinations

[@tomatoversace3427]

@@cas..4724 A dead brain can't panic.

[@Pegasus4213]

This is without a doubt in my experience, the best exposition of how fundamental consciousness may be in the formation of the experience of reality, by a scientific mind! BUT... it only mirrors, what has been taught within channelled communications from the 'Seth' sessions and books of Jane Roberts in the 1970s and onwards and also the corroborative sessions of Mary Ennis's, 'Elias' personality,, who also explains that consciousness is the primary reality. These channelled communications have been asserting this important role of consciousness for many years now. Hopefully, science will pursue the views expressed so wonderfully clearly here by Donald Hoffman!

[@sonalylakhotia3428]

I completely resonate with Prof. Hoffman. Could it be possible that consciousness is exploring its true potential and also trying to evolve?

[@rashkehof2458]

Mystics seem to have said/say that Consciousness is already everything, so it cannot evolve, it is already complete and endless..

[@DianamPhoenix]

@@rashkehof2458 Eeexactly!

[@FrostekFerenczy]

Not likely.

[@ptgannon1]

I see a lot of discussion about consciousness in terms of personal experience, or "who I am," but he said that part dissolves. Quantum Field Theory would agree.

[@f1rstprinciple]

Most likely, this is the ultimate question, so that makes you the very best, and Hoffman is likely the best person to answer.

[@stratostatic]

That put a lot of pieces together for me. Thank you.

[@LucasGage]

"Getting dismembered alive by a drug cartel, what a wonderful icon." This is why I believe this "Consciousness' is really a subconsciousness that doesn't choose to take any specific form or not, rather, it must take all forms, including ones whose fate are as terrible as my example.

[@undercoveragent9889]

And like a religious fanatic, you can justify _any_ evil with your dogma. When you regard human experience as little more than a 'KZbin channel' for God, you abdicate your own moral agency.

[@JB-ip7vr]

This is so strange, I had that exact thought too. Like if consciousness is trying on all the headsets, does that mean at some point I am going to get my head cut off by a chainsaw by the cartel. I am really looking forward to that life. Or the one where I get thrown off a building for being homosexual. Or buried up to my neck and stoned as an Iranian woman who had an affair. These things have all happened to consciousness.

[@tiumencz1]

@@undercoveragent9889 It depends on whether you believe God is a director or a viewer of this YT channel. That makes huuuuge difference. As you can see in islam vs christianity.

[@undercoveragent9889]

@@tiumencz1 Hmm... Let me see... _A God that directs people to burn ants with a magnifying glass_ or _A voyeuristic impartial God who gets off on it?_ What use are either to human progress? And in what way do _either_ affirm moral agency?

[@DianaTheWarrior]

I've been thinking endlessly about the same thing. I firmly believe that consciousness is fundamental and outlives the trial of this earthly life, but at the same time I've been so frustrated at those who claim that "we're all one and everything is love." Yes, getting dismembered alive by a drug cartel is love, sure - I mean, if "everything" is? Those same people often claim that we all have planned our lives before we were born. Like, the baby born out of rape with HIV because the mother has HIV, born into starvation just to die after a few weeks of intense suffering - who would CHOOSE such a fate?! So instead of that love-and-light BS, I'm glad that Donald Hoffman and a few others offer a scientific approach and perspective on consciousness.

[@suncat9]

I agree with the great physicist Erwin Schrödinger and the Upanishads, that there exists ONE consciousness having an infinite variety of experiences.

[@Sumtrip799]

If my wireless transmitter transmits then the box blows up(death) does the receiver still receive the signal which is after death?

[@IggySmallz100]

I am not a physicist or mathematician…but I am interested in knowing what Donald’s work produces... It’s really interesting… I watched one of his interviews a couple of times, years ago, just to make sure I wasn’t misunderstanding what he was proposing could be possible to prove mathematically… @Tim Ferriss please get him back on your channel in a year or two…

[@michaeljacobs5342]

It seems in the understanding of consciousness may be compared to trying to experience music by means of musical symbols only; the symbols are not the thing of itself. The same applies to quantum physics where our mental concepts become a limitation to dimensions beyond a physical dimension. As the brain of man is a product of universal intelligence that the function of consciousness is an ever unfolding process in time. That through the brain is able to create the necessary neurons to make the connections that brings us ever closer to an understanding of universal higher intelligence; as the edges of the dream merge with the dream landscape, mind understanding mind, knowing itself.

[@jacquiventurini7877]

Prof Donald Hoffman is an amazing visionary in the world of science.

[@davenchop]

may be true but also could be full of sh*t....we will never know

[@nexstory]

"My" consciousness is itself the illusion. This is not something I possess, but who I am. Beingness is itself consciousness, A rock is conscious of its rockness. A tree its treeness. A planet, galaxy and on and on is consciousness expressing itself in an infinite number of ways. As such, I am forever and always opening and closing my eyes.

[@Sincere-c]

This is undoubtedly mind blowing. He is a super genius. More power to him.

[@Drogers8675]

It seems to me that everything evolves. Wouldn’t that go for consciousness too? A never ending evolution to transcendence.

[@balmainbuckobucko2643]

If consciousness separates itself in this dimension then there's no reason why it can't separate itself in a higher dimension. Life after the illusion of death may be possible.

[@flux9433]

just dream buddy

[@Farsider3955]

🤔…… 3:32 - 3:48 ….. 👍🏽This question always comes down to the “problem” (or “reality”?) of infinity. In ANY aspect or direction: up, down, outward or inward - multi-dimensional - mathematical - there’s no escape from infinity. And it is unfathomable…..forever.

[@humboldtharvey4960]

This has been my takeaway from Buddhism for most of my kind of long life. I believe this is what the Buddha taught. And if you think this is true you will be more likely to believe in the infinite dimensions theory. And there is also the possibility that there is only one consciousness. I'm not sure if I can express this correctly but what I mean is there is only one thing expressing itself in all forms separately but at the same time. In other words, all the other conscious beings around you are actually you experiencing it simultaneously because you perceive time as linear when in fact it is an overlapping loop in infinite forms. I hope that made sense. Another way to express this opinion of the Professors is the old Hindu this is all just God's dream.

[@Farsider3955]

I like and appreciate your comment very much. What I struggle with in this framework of “only one consciousness” is how we try to explain and/or understand how this “one consciousness” includes expression of itself in the most despicable (shall we dare use the word ‘evil’?) ways (i.e., enslavement, torture, murder….need I go on?

[@humboldtharvey4960]

@@Farsider3955 The fundamental belief that there exists an objective evil is a man-made construct. Originally there was a separation in the vast unchanging sea of consciousness that has brought about every conceivable variation of experience. In Buddhism, this is considered the first cause. A turbulence if you will that began to perceive itself differently than the whole. It is only this illusion that leads us to pain and suffering as we unknowingly perpetuate our isolation by believing in the separation. Thus the pathway out taught by the Buddha. So objectively there are only creatures striving to fulfill desires in a dream-like state that cause their own suffering. So the pain you see is self-created from a Buddhist understanding. The object of the game is to wake up while human and free yourself from this cycle of manifestations. Once a being is enlightened, which only means to see one's true nature of unlimited awareness. The true nature of mind unstained by the confusion of the dream so to speak. And free from the cycle of Karma, actions and circumstances that define the next moment. We suffer because we want. And to fulfill our desires we hurt others. Why this began or if it can end for all are questions of no importance as they are only a mind dance. Yes, I am aware that Bodhisattvas strive to end the suffering of all creatures. So blaming the universe for the creation of duality that manifests in ways uncomfortable to your understanding is of no use. What is useful is seeing it as it has to be for you to exist as you are and strive to free your mind and that of others as well is our credo. You are thinking about it in a Western Judeo-Christian fashion which to me is a perspective that can not reconcile the suffering you experience. Another way to put it is for the individual to stop negative actions which lead to more grasping. To use our consciousness to move away from stiff ideas and boxed in thinking of temporary phenomena and see that everything is created to give us the possibility to become at one with the ultimate nature of the universe. Since we began there, so we can return.

[@kawaiiufocafe5399]

@@Farsider3955 it is just "pure" consciousness. It by itself dont understand reality in the objective way to care about things.

[@ahad1609]

Buddhafudda had no idea

[@christopherbaird4952]

Take away time: what do you lose? Motion. You can see (ignore the necessity of motion for light for the moment) things that are in front of you, and a little off to the side. Far away you can see outlines but details are faint. Close up details are clear, but broad outlines less so. This is like looking at history. You can even infer what is behind you based on what is in front of you in the same way that you can infer what will probably happen in the future based on the past. If you take away time, depth is the ultimate spatial dimension and it seems different. Time, similarly, is our ultimate spatial dimension, it's only our perception that is different. Light is stationary in the time dimension, and the "observable universe" is moving backwards through the time dimension at "the speed of light."

[@dogsbollox4335]

Dark matter of dark energy?

[@niblick616]

@@christopherbaird4952 Light is not stationary from the perspective of the observer and depth is not the ultimate spatial dimension if time is also the ultimate spatial dimension.

[@christopherbaird4952]

​@niblick616 my argument is that dimensions are hierarchical: depth is higher than height or breadth, time is higher than any of those three. And we are moving through time at, for lack of a better way to explain it, the speed of light.

[@niblick616]

@@christopherbaird4952 None of your claims are supported by reality. Please demonstrate that any of those unsupported assertions are true with some real world examples.

[@LivingHybrid]

Please if you guys want to know about consciousness, death, soul... Read about in Bhagwat Geeta, swami Vivekananda said about it, Osho Rajneesh said about it, JK said about it, Sadhguru is currently saying about it... India has said all about this a million times. Just study one of the above and maybe get a reference point. I am not saying they all are correct, just a reference point. Out of curiosity. Thanks.😇

[@v1kt0u5]

All human opinions anyway, not actually tested by the scientific method.

[@delrayking5724]

@@v1kt0u5 it cannot be tested for now twat. Our monkey brain cannot compute beyond this 3D reality

[@khonyeleaglefergumedov9175]

@@v1kt0u5 scientific method has just brought depressions

[@khonyeleaglefergumedov9175]

@@v1kt0u5 btw science is done by humans as well

[@azhivago2296]

I find it immensely relieving to think when the body dies consciousness is totally over forever.

[@kawaiiufocafe5399]

Maybe your current life or your perspective for something beyond here are not being really good. Maybe it is possible to create inside your mind universe a plane where you will rest forever in a rustic wood house with another company also made from your mind. Just chilling forever

[@azhivago2296]

@@kawaiiufocafe5399 Well, look, it's like this: as the ancients say, 'life is suffering'. Even the most ideal lives full of meaning, love, and pleasure are unavoidably tainted by pain: a crippling injury, a miscarriage, infidelity, envy, malevolence, the death of one's parents, and ageing and decrepitness. Being human is unavoidably hard, even for the most privileged. Personally, I am extremely fortunate - I have achieved great successes, I have a truly wonderful family, and I continue to experience profound meaning and what some may call 'the touch of god'. Nonetheless, if it were hypothetically possible, I would have chosen never to have existed - the discomfort is just not worth the pleasure, in my opinion. And, in my view, your speculation on what consciousness after death might be is simply vacuous and not remotely appealing...

[@kawaiiufocafe5399]

@@azhivago2296 i was zen Buddhist for almost 15 years so I know this suffering concept very well. We all live in a inpermanent and dualistic world. Some people say that thr beauty resides in the sadness since in make us reflect in the impermanence of things. When we have a good life and a little of brain to think about these things may this inpermanent fact of reality can hurt more than in a miserable life. The idea that one day or other all good things will be taken from you one by one. But maybe it is our perspective from what we know about what life and death is. Anyway I believe that to exist as individuality would not be a obligation. That you also can plan your extinction as an individual. Dont be attached to anything is also be dead to everything but i particularly dont think it is a life that worth to be lived. I hope you can find your way to peace

[@azhivago2296]

@@kawaiiufocafe5399 No offence, but you're just deluded if you think you can 'plan your extinction'. You're in fairyland.

[@thepsychicskeptic]

It’s quite simple. When our memory dies, so do we. That’s why dementia patients fade away to nothing. There is no divine consciousness guiding the body. The brain ceases to function and so do we. It’s the same when we go in for a small medical procedure and are given a drug to make us forget. It’s as if the procedure never happened. Our “soul” is affected by the medication. If the “soul” was independent of our body then we shouldn’t forget. I’ve had many OBEs and am certain they were hallucinations.

[@4lround3r]

How come we forget our dreams, although we we're dreaming?

[@thepsychicskeptic]

@@4lround3r that’s a great question (I’m not being sarcastic). I had to think about that! I guess it confirms what I’m saying. We are our memory. Without our memory, it hasn’t happened (to us). That’s why they use amnesia inducing drugs on us when carrying out small medical procedures. If we had a soul seperate to our body, it should remain alert and know what is happening, but it doesn’t.

[@sepmercury5180]

Exactly. There is no such thing as meaningless and silly as eternal life for an individual. There is a short timeframe in which we get a change to observe the universe and experience life. We pass our genes and the humane organism lives on through us.

[@lenakrupinski6303]

There is no death 🙏🙏 you are life, consciousness 💙💙 The body mind is all an illusion & comes out of thought!! All is one consciousness which experiences itself through form🙏🌎🙏 All that you see isn't you it's an experience !!🙏🙏🙏🙏 you are a figment of your imagination💙💙💙

[@metsrus]

there is death...i had hazily felt and remember dying many times, maybe infinite. It's just you can't physically experience death, only consciousness. It's weird. It's like a constant movie, everything played and planned out already, just your "consciousness" flowing through it. My consciousness will reach an ending, but my consciousness will not go away or disappear, if that makes any sense. I'm really bad with explanation, but the closest thing to how i feel is quantam immortality

[@metsrus]

@@BloodSweatAndMeth i don't know, just wanted to share an experience of the mind. and no i don't consider it fact either, maybe my mind is just going. I don't claim to hold any truth.

[@smashhimmungo5798]

@@metsrus i understand you ! 😀

[@garymoore3446]

I feel in my heart that consciousness is all there is!

[@buickkkkkk1]

I died from a overdose seven years ago and I was dead, it was not a dream, or a chemical release from my brain or any kind of hallucination I was dead. I was dead and consciousness of the fact I was dead. I was put in a pit where I could move in all directions, but I had no body I was just a conscious and knew I would never be able to get out, in time past or in time present or time future 'I know that sounds strange' I was going to be separated from everything and everyone for infinity and that was terrifying. But thank God I remembered my times when I was in Church as a child, after some time I cried out to God and immediately my hart started beating and I woke up. I know now are souls are like programs you are either going to be uploaded or downloaded if you get downloaded don't listen to the daemons begging you two curse God, cry out for GOD..........

[@mlegacywlyfe1115]

Same here lol. What we experiences was called th void. It's cold, dark, lonely. Mine was induced by overdose as well. Later, over time the more I reamed the more it was like I was being guided how to heal my body from tower benevolent beings...including thing I never knew of or had anyway conscious awareness of..

[@mlegacywlyfe1115]

And for me I heard prayers or lamenation of my love ones and was aware of h light above but never went thru it..only woke up...coughed up the meds..and felt better as if nothing had happened..but was warned not to try to do it again..there was no judgment no harshness ..I guess the only deacons I as fighting was already here because I hated this physical reality or my life the time..I went back in meditation and discovered no its not eternal..look up shamans and psychopomps..

[@ZeusHelios]

If consciousness is fundamental then, What was it's first thought/knowledge? And why? What triggered it's first thought? Where did it get it's knowledge from? Did it already know everything? If so what exactly did it always know? Does it know it's own future? Is this consciousness energy and matter? Is the universe all that it is? Did it create the universe out of its self or did the universe exist separate from itself from which this consciousness used the materials from the universe to create the universe? If consciousness knows everything then, Why does it need to experience everything? Maybe this cosmic consciousness knows everything and we are nothing but knowledge or information in its mind? Like a story or information on a hard drive or a book, the characters don't really exist except this consciousness who holds the story or information in its mind?

[@ragnar999tobi]

What if Consciousness after dead restarts from the past, just with a different choice we took in an alternative reality, to see what would happened if? What would we have experienced if? Endless possibilities endless lives and choices to live...

[@multisurplus]

I always thought we get another chance to do things different.the next time,I try to remember my mistakes so I can change them next time around.

[@jason4453]

Yes I believe that you can come back as yourself, and relieve your life over try different paths. Marry different people ect.... It's a beautiful hypothesis, Anthony Peake has written books on the theory. It's a beautiful hypothesis. 🙏

[@Slide61]

100% in concurrence. Came to the same conclusion on the headset/avatar concept long ago. What is 'reality' after all? Space-time is a conceptualization. Physics and thermodynamics you describe is simply a manifestation of this 'reality' which could be a thin curtain that is pulled back at 'death'.

[@yifuxero5408]

All that is, is Consciousness. "I am That, you are That, all this is That" (pure Consciousness, Brahman). Brahman is the universe, the universe is Brahman. Access "Mahamritunjay Mantra -- Sacred Sound Choir," and "Om Namah Shivaya - Shivananda Adi". Listen to each for 5 min per day for at least two weeks. The question will be answered. Consciousness is timeless and unending, true.,

[@zoponex3224]

Could you provide links for each those? I would very much appreciate it!

[@yifuxero5408]

Everything is Pure Consciousness. Life after physical death is a function of a subtle body existing in the higher dimensions. Advanced Yogis can generate and act in those interdimensional bodies while living. Ramana Maharshi stated that he operated 20 different duplicate bodies in different dimensions.

[@joaocosta3506]

@@yifuxero5408 put them in a science lab and show it to us, mere mortals!

[@dearluciella5032]

I've always have my past memories in third person point of view, almost all of it except for some specific memories like me remembering reading words or number on paper/internet and the likes. Weirdly my dream memories are always in first person point of view.

[@BesharALAzzawi]

“We are consciousness trying on different headsets” well is that not the essence of Hinduism? The world is a drama played by “god”

[@sevengrapes1257]

My interpretation of Lyall Waston's book Supernature is just this.

[@pramodkulkarnica]

Welcome to Vedanta The models you are discussing are similar to that discussed in Vedanta

[@michakoodziej5741]

I love this worldview! It reminds me of a Sufi saying: God was a hidden treasure and created the world to be known (in the sense that God / Consciousness discovers itself through the creation).

[@ElectraHorvat]

I have the exact same idea of what consciousness is doing, and I don't know where from. I think it's from psychedelics, when you know in your bones that consciousness is everything. I just don't know if I've ever been exposed to this idea previously so I'm just reinforcing it or it is the psychedelics. and I always get the sense it's a game for consciousness, it enjoys the slow process of waking up. I don't think I'm scared of death, makes me a little sad, yes. I don't know if I just don't understand death fully or I'm at peace because I know I am consciousness. once I had a strong message while tripping that nothing matters. I still don't really like the sound of this, and I'm hoping it's a delusional thought. but would it be true? any opinions?

[@zoponex3224]

Meditate. That is where truth lies, without the need of chemicals. Everything you need to understand is within you, but you must still the noise of life. It is definitely true, on a macro scale, that nothing matters.

[@paulchapman112]

His idea that consciousness is an entity exploring... Paul Stamets in 'How to Change Your Mind' suggests a similar thing - the mushrooms have found a host (humans) that they can use to spread themselves (as mushrooms don't have legs).

[@tomroz5046]

"The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you." ― Werner Heisenberg

[@EthelredHardrede-nz8yv]

Werner was wrong. So are you.

[@tombradford7035]

Fascinating and eye-opening and mind-opening.

[@dorothysay8327]

Answer to the title: Of COURSE it does. Our soul/consciousness is here having a limited, physical experience in a space-time continuum. Secular materialism is NOWHERE today….it’s *done*. Quantum physics has placed scientists climbing up on the same mountain where theologians have been sitting for millennia.

[@alexale5488]

Hope so. I want my mind (which is basically me) to be eternal.

[@GrantJohnston-dr9rt]

I'm done for,I will find out first hand very soon!

[@arfurdaley8528]

Tom Campbell explains this very well in much more detail.

[@michaelshortland8863]

If consciousness has no arrow of time, then when you came into existence you are eternal,

[@kimjellen4508]

This is straight up Seth Material 👍 and probably ancient Tibetan too. Lovely convo.