Solving the Hard Problem of Consciousness

[@zumamaya2396]

That was BRILLIANT!. I'm 67, and have read an awful lot on this subject - for the first time I understand the simplicity of Consciousness. I have spent far too many years with a logical mind trying to understand. I will watch this several more times. Thanks.

[@nayavoie4977]

ش م٣صقحي😊 ٩٩أح٩آ٣٣احآحلحح عععخ، عه٨

[@I-Am-Aware]

Dear Rupert, I'm going to use a phrase that I once heard you use in relation to a university professor who was speaking at the Science and Nonduality Conference. As the professor shared his views about the nature of consciousness, you stated that you could feel your "saber begin to rattle." I interpetted that to mean that is was all you could do to hold yourself back. I believe that I witnessed that rattling again--in a most delightful--and insightful--way! :-) Bravo, my dear guru. You are one to whom I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude for helping to awaken my being to its true Self. God bless. 🙏🏻

[@anandakumarsanthinathan4740]

I loved how Rupert guided him back to just 'be' to know and be aware that he IS indeed consciousness and that consciousness by itself is not a separate phenomenon. It is rather the source of all phenomenon. The hard problem is only as long as we dwell in the thoughts, emotions and feelings. From the place of looking, there is no problem. Here, there are no ideas, concepts and definitely no problems whatsoever. There is no time here either and so the question of eternity doesn't arise. 🙏

[@kerryburns6041]

I like the way you express this -- to take it a little further can I suggest that consciousness creates the noumena, and through our senses we perceive the phenomena ? I take the idea from Kant´s work on the noumenon and the phenomenon, which I found very helpful.

[@anandakumarsanthinathan4740]

@@kerryburns6041 , thanks much for your kind words. I have not read Kant's work, but have read a book or two by Ramesh Balsekar, a disciple of Nisargadatta Maharaj. Ramesh indeed refers to consciousness itself as noumenal. And as you mentioned, the noumenon experiences the phenomenon (external world) through the senses and mind.

[@kerryburns6041]

@@anandakumarsanthinathan4740 I think you put it perfectly, describing the way consciousness explores itself through infinite manifestations, including you and I. Greetings from Andalucia.

[@5thlevelweb887]

Yep, there's consciousness and there are also the contents of consciousness. One is always, the other transitory,

[@tombsandtemples]

Rupert, I do not know how i found you but I'm grateful. You have obviously found enlightenment. Your patience in your discussions is a beautiful thing to witness. Not sure why you continue to help others and share with us, but I'm truly grateful you do.

[@lindsaycoffey3327]

I think he does because helping others is a gift from God worth more than all the gems and precious metals in the Cosmos.

[@hyperduality2838]

Alive is dual to not alive -- the Schrodinger's cat. Being is dual to non being creates becoming -- Plato's cat. Thesis (alive, being) is dual to anti-thesis (not alive, non being) creates the converging thesis or synthesis -- the time independent Hegelian dialectic or Hegel's cat (Fichte's cat). Schrodinger's cat is based upon Hegel's cat and he stole it from Plato (Socrates). Duality (thesis, anti-thesis) creates or synthesizes reality (non duality). The rule of two -- Darth Bane, Sith lord. "Always two there are" -- Yoda. Form is dual to formlessness.

[@jonahansen]

@@hyperduality2838 WTF? You are lost in your own mind that is connecting misunderstood ideas.

[@BlacksmithTWD]

If there is just one there are no others, that's why.

[@lindsaycoffey3327]

@@BlacksmithTWD Correct 👍 One consciousness, split into a myriad of lifeforms. An infinity of eternal souls.

[@lindsaycoffey3327]

I love Rupert Spira, a greater teacher you will never find. This video proves that sometimes the most complex questions have the simplest of answers. ❤

[@aubreyekstrom8919]

You are not separate from Rupert, or Alan or anyone or anything. You too are a great teacher. 🙏

[@lindsaycoffey3327]

@@aubreyekstrom8919 Why thank you Aubrey 😀 you honour me and likewise. Much love & respect ✊ brother.

[@hyperduality2838]

Alive is dual to not alive -- the Schrodinger's cat superposition. Being is dual to non being creates becoming -- Plato's cat. Thesis (alive, being) is dual to anti-thesis (not alive, non being) creates the converging thesis or synthesis -- the time independent Hegelian dialectic or Hegel's cat (Fichte's cat). Schrodinger's cat is based upon Hegel's cat and he stole it from Plato (Socrates). Duality (thesis, anti-thesis) creates or synthesizes reality (non duality). The rule of two -- Darth Bane, Sith lord. "Always two there are" -- Yoda. Form is dual to formlessness.

[@lindsaycoffey3327]

@@hyperduality2838 Exactly! I like your thought processes they echo mine completely. Consciousness itself is the Cosmos and it creates itself through us. We are 5th dimensional creator beings outside of time, space & so called matter. In fact there is no matter or linear time, at least in this universe. 😀

[@hyperduality2838]

@@lindsaycoffey3327 Concepts are dual to percepts -- the mind duality of Immanuel Kant, The Critique of Pure Reason. Mathematicians create new concepts from their perceptions or observations all the time, "concepts are dual to percepts", so mathematicians and hence scientists are using duality to create new concepts. Subgroups are dual to subfields -- the Galois Correspondence. Addition is dual to subtraction (additive inverses) -- abstract algebra. Integration (summations, syntropy) is dual to differentiation (differences, entropy). Syntropy (convergence) is dual to increasing entropy (divergence) -- the 4th law of thermodynamics! Teleological physics (syntropy) is dual to non teleological physics (entropy). Gravitation is equivalent or dual (isomorphic) to acceleration -- Einstein's happiest thought, the principle of equivalence (duality). Potential energy is dual to kinetic energy -- gravitational energy is dual. The force of gravity is empirical proof that duality is real. Apples fall to the ground because they are conserving duality. Absolute truth is dual to relative truth -- Hume's fork. Truth is actually a dual concept. Generalization (waves, the non ego) is dual to localization (particles or the ego) -- wave/particle duality. The are patterns of duality hardwired into physics, mathematics & philosophy which can be used to make new laws of physics. The localized ego or Id comes from the non localized ego or Id or the generalized ego. Science and scientific thinking requires duality -- the positive is dual to the negative (electric charge, numbers) The observed is dual to the observer -- David Bohm. Deductive inference (mathematics) is dual to inductive inference (physics or empirical reasoning) -- Immanuel Kant.

[@seanelliscoaching]

The logical fallacy that Rupert makes is that a limitation of language (our inability to describe awareness and assign it attributes) is something other than just a limitation of language. We can use this same approach for any subjective experience. Please describe ‘redness’ and what it is to experience redness. You can’t. That doesn’t mean that red is an inherent and eternal aspect, it’s just the experience of our minds (via our visual machinery) meeting the world.

[@TigerDragonStorm]

Your logical fallacy is using a false equivalence.

[@GBBlue1]

@@TigerDragonStorm No, he's right. The trick here is mostly verbal. Because we are physical, our language is constructed according to the physical. Up, over, behind, down. So we are hard-wired to imagine things from a certain perspective. So any time we make something a noun, we imagine looking at it from an outside perspective. And this is what he does with consciousness. But there's no rational reason to suppose the consciousness that gives us experience and perspective, wouldn't also produce awareness of ourselves.

[@5thlevelweb887]

There's no rational reason for many things in the quantum realm.

[@NoRaengs99]

That’s not that appropriate. We can describe ‘redness’ to use visual image(apple,blood,etc…) but we can not describe ‘awareness’ by any means because it is not objective. It is only can be described by using itself. ‘Redness’ isn’t equal to ‘awareness’ except for abstractness of its definition.

[@ultrablue7477]

You fail to realize that you're a cockroach. That's the issue...

[@moseva]

I"m utterly shocked by this talk. Here the experience of Consciousness is addressed in such a way that the effect on the body actually sent shivers down the spine for real, I just felt it, I'm flabbergasted by how the concept was conveyed. Thanks Rupert you're a phenomenal teacher

[@RodrigoLobosChile]

Awareness doesn't require a rational process. This is SO profound and probably the reason nonduality is so alien to western paradigms. As an engineer, I find awareness is far closer to poetry, rather than science. Let yourself sink into consciousness until you only know peace and love, once you get there, revisiting that coherent state becomes so familiar and nurturing. 😌

[@mikro171]

I love Rupert, he is so brilliant in explaining Nonduality...

[@robertknisel533]

Yes I found a way to know love as never before. I don’t formulate questions very well so over the years I have not asked Rupert many. But it has not seemed necessary as one simply has to wait until he answers the unasked. But the first time I listened to Rupert it was clear that I was hearing Truth and only then did I realize how much that meant to me.

[@cakep4271]

Nah. I've had 100 friends talking about this at parties and coffee houses who were better at talking about consciousness than this guy. He just talks in circles about simple truths, Making things needlessly more complicated.

[@hyperduality2838]

Alive is dual to not alive -- the Schrodinger's cat. Being is dual to non being creates becoming -- Plato's cat. Thesis (alive, being) is dual to anti-thesis (not alive, non being) creates the converging thesis or synthesis -- the time independent Hegelian dialectic or Hegel's cat (Fichte's cat). Schrodinger's cat is based upon Hegel's cat and he stole it from Plato (Socrates). Duality (thesis, anti-thesis) creates or synthesizes reality (non duality). "Always two there are" -- Yoda. Form is dual to formlessness.

[@robertknisel533]

@@cakep4271 Nah

[@igorchemmykelly7202]

he is so brilliant in explaining ----------- A husband says to his wife: "Why does our dog always get good food, and I have to eat up all sorts of garbage left after everyone?" The wife replies: "Darling, but you can't explain it to the dog!" ))))))))))

[@nicholasallen5030]

Haven't we all had the experience of the emerging of consciousness? As a baby we are born but our brains are not fully developed. We can't remember being born or make sense of the world around us but by a few years our brains have grown and made sense of all it's inputs and becomes conscious.

[@orveclenunivsa9975]

Remembering would be to be conscious of thoughts, but babies are conscious of the stimuli comming from 5 senses (and also emltional)

[@krisharkleroad8]

What you are talking about is not experiencing the emerging consciousness as he is talking about.

[@seanmcdonald5365]

We gain consciousness early in the womb, the thing is just that our brains aren’t developed so we have no memory storage, we have no way to know what that moment was like. His point however was really that in order to experience, there must be awareness. So in order to witness/experience consciousness arising from matter, there would have to be something conscious. Also that you can describe what you are aware of, but cannot describe the awareness itself, it has no form to be described, it is just aware. With that, it is not restricted to limitations of form and must exist outside form since it has none. In other words, it exists outside of this 4 dimensional realm where everything has form. Which therein answers the question of consciousness being eternal, if it exists outside of our 4 dimensions, it is not restricted by time, it can exist at all points of time and can freely move through all 4 dimensions and is hence omnipresent and eternal. It was there at the beginning and it will be there to witness the end.

[@flaviasashainstrutoresdemt7701]

It's consciousness "modification", increasing sophistication or expansion... but it is not actual emergence.

[@krisharkleroad8]

@seanmcdonald5365 I remember being aware in the womb.

[@annemurphy8074]

I had 2 NDE's and it was totally clear that we are Pure Awareness/Consciousness and that it and it's not an it, does not arise from the brain/body/mind. There was no time, everything was simultaneous. All things could be said to be IN Awareness. I like to use the metaphor of a prism. Think of light being refracted through a prism and then making the assumption that the prism creates the different colours/wavelengths of light. The colours ARE the totality of light, not separate but refraction allows them to be seen as separate. Awareness/Consciousness could be said to "refract" through the brain/body/mind. In reality, there is no separation.

[@plumeria66]

NDEs are the ultimate evidence of who are are!

[@eightiesmusic1984]

@@plumeria66 No proof that they exist. None whatsoever.

[@l.h.308]

Just as I read your words a picture of a prism splitting white light into colors shows up to the right. "Why is the speed of light what it is?" by Arvin Ash. - A little piece of synchronicity, as Jung would say.

[@ommm7804]

I never found a person who could elaborate the "Simultaneous" thing..what does it mean?.. Im in future and past at the same time? Please explain I have plenty of time.. I can wait 😂

[@ommm7804]

@LifesInsight No Sir, you got me wrong.. That wasn't in sarcastic way.. The notion of it.. That I have plenty of time… which I physically may not ..but then I realized the depth of the confusion its creating.. Made me laugh.. Just imagine this… I said I have plenty of time…but the moment I said that.. There is a clock running towards my end.. But the 5D perspective says I have plenty of it. ..but during a particular moment… both perspective are not able to fit each other.. That's the confusion no one is able to clarify… if future is already happening… why are we putting effort to make a decision in this moment.. And 5d conscious people ask to stay in the moment… which is a request to make or change cetrain decision making… which creates another doubt.. When they know everything is happening already.. Why are they trying to change something in this moment?… do you get my point.

[@isabellajones8535]

It has been said, when the pupil is ready, the teacher comes. I am so happy to have found someone who thinks as I have for some time, who validates the conclusions I have reached after a lifetime of thinking and study. It's interesting to me, that logical analysis does lead to a grasping of the whole beyond logic and that this is where many Eastern ancient thought patterns like Daoism come to also. I found your questions to the young man fit my thought, my answers came easily, because now it's all so obvious and clear. Thanks you for your work.

[@mikebruno829]

I am an anesthesiologist. Every day I wink consciousness off and on for numerous patients. I believe I am seeing something that could represent an emergent phenomenon in our recovery rooms. The patient is the only one who does not witness unconsciousness. It is almost as if the for the patient....they do not "go away", nor does the Universe. There is a timelessness in that. I am new to Rupert. I feel he is is on to something. Something profound, fundamental. But I need further evidence than our sensation that awareness is not emergent from our "meat" brain.

[@holycannoli64]

Rupert's answer, to my understanding at least, would be to consider wakefulness, dream state and deep sleep. The consciousness is present in all three states. The "truest" state of consciousness is deep sleep because it is a formless void. Dream states project the world of forms onto the screen of awareness that the person experiences as a dream. Wakefulness is a state where the person experiences the world of forms through the 5 senses and through the mind. If you approach these questions from the perspective of awareness/consciousness rather than from the materialist end of the telescope, new insights will avail themselves to you. If you listen to more of Rupert's talks, he explains it all a lot better than I just did.

[@mikebruno829]

@@holycannoli64 Thank you. As an aside, I suspect memory formation may be fundamental to the sensation of "I".

[@mikebruno829]

@@lordmacaulay8739 In our jobs as anesthesiologists, I can not get past the feeling that we are definitely witnessing something astounding. That spiritual spark of awareness that winks on as the "meat" body reanimates in the PACU will never get old to me. It is such a privilege, almost feels like God is smiling along with us. Of course... then some of the patients start to vomit....takes some of the charm away 😉

[@Aed-Adlan]

Materialism and their brain 🧠 claims have been totally and absolutely debunked shown to be falsehood by God in God-Consciousness. The brain doesn't produce shit. Consciousness is God. Consciousness never goes off. It goes Super-On at death.

[@davidmickles5012]

My "conceptual" response to your question is as someone above mentioned.. Rupert's "lineage" (if he even claims such a thing) derives from 'Advaita Vedanta' and in this tradition there are 4 states or "modes" of consciousness - 1 waking, 2 dreaming, 3 dreamless sleep, and 4 pure boundless or fundamental consciousness - aka "Brahman" which is formless universal awareness. The 3rd state of "dreamless sleep" is akin to being under anesthesia and is a dull state of "awareness without objects." Its still a state of awareness (consciousness) but it is a state of "awareness with no reference" and so nothing to "notice" and compare itself to. The 4th state of "pure awareness" is different in that it is a state of "self-awareness" in which there is a "knowing of knowing" that is bright in comparison to the "darkness" of the 3rd state. The 4th state is the only "real" state of being because it is the source and most fundamental level of experiencing (aka "reality"). My next response is to your "request" of needing more evidence... The evidence for the non-emergence of consciousness from matter is found in your immediate experience. Investigate and dig deeply into THIS - what is it that is aware of these words? Your consciousness you say? Ok, what is it that is aware of your consciousness? What is it that is presently knowing your awareness of being present? What is it that is aware of your being aware? What ever "answer" you come to will not be correct if it is an "answer." Answers require a separation between the question and the answer, or in this case between awareness and what that awareness is aware of. Awareness is always "prior to" that duality. As Rupert said "Awareness is not a form, not an object," and therefore cannot APPEAR as an answer to the question of "evidence." Awareness is THIS - the immediacy of knowing "awareness," prior to its appearance as a concept. Dig into that..repeatedly. The fact of you experiencing "being" is the evidence you're seeking but is not something you can "pick up"

[@KaiTakApproach]

The problem is that Materialism is the equivalent of a religion, so deep in the modern culture that people don't even know they are following it.

[@raphdroidt692]

10 years ago i would have been laughing at you for saying such 'a ridiculous thing'...but i am glad i evolved. You are absolutely right.

[@jmike2039]

This type of tomato throwing isn't needed in the pursuit of truth within philosophy of mind. You can show issues with materialism without the weird sniping. Clearly the problem with materialism is an actual issue within the framework, not how you think people have it as a dogma.

[@KaiTakApproach]

@@jmike2039 look, don't accuse me of tomato throwing and weird sniping by doing the same thing yourself. If you have a counter argument then state it. Don't waste my time.

[@jmike2039]

@@KaiTakApproach you never gave an argument. What's the first premise?

[@KaiTakApproach]

@@jmike2039 go back and read it again. I don't have to reformat it to satisfy you. Have the balls to state your case before trying to pull this down into the gutter of pedantry. What is your argument?

[@mindfulkayaker7737]

I love the approach of Francis Lucille to this question. Science can’t neither prove nor disprove that consciousness is an emerging property of matter. Once you recognize this fact, then you have to decide what is better for us: the materialistic approach that brings suffering in the individual and conflict in the world or the non dual approach that brings happiness in the individual and peace in the world. Just a matter of pragmatism

[@rhysothomas]

I’m not sure that you do have to decide. We don’t know either way, that’s the truth. I think remaining agnostic is enough. It’s the certainty in the opposite assumption that causes the suffering.

[@dwarfman78]

I feel comfortable not knowing.

[@MagdiNonDuality]

We have tried the materialist model and have experienced the sense of lack and fear long enough. As you say, it makes sense to try the universal model and see how it fits. In my experience, to live according to the universal model, one reality, keeps affirming that it is the better path.

[@freetibet1000]

You make a good point. Once we have stabilized our experience of non-dual reality there’s no going back. When the inherent wisdom have been awakened you can no longer “unsee” the reality of unity. The only time choice is an option is at the beginning of the path towards awakening. Once you have had experiences of the non-dual unity you will never return to the darkness of clinging to form. There will be a process to uproot your old habits but that process will only have a timespan in relation to your present state of form and clinging to form. In reality, there is no timespan or a process that takes us from point A to point B.

[@balvenie55]

If its not your experience..that's ok as well..

[@davidalbro2009]

When you force the mind to stop wriggling away from the truth, it can only point to the truth. Hold the mind to its own questions, then it must point to the truth of reality.

[@hyperduality2838]

Absolute truth is dual to relative truth -- Hume's fork. Alive is dual to not alive -- the Schrodinger's cat superposition. Being is dual to non being creates becoming -- Plato's cat. Thesis (alive, being) is dual to anti-thesis (not alive, non being) creates the converging thesis or synthesis -- the time independent Hegelian dialectic or Hegel's cat (Fichte's cat). Schrodinger's cat is based upon Hegel's cat and he stole it from Plato (Socrates). Duality (thesis, anti-thesis) creates or synthesizes reality (non duality). The rule of two -- Darth Bane, Sith lord. "Always two there are" -- Yoda. Form is dual to formlessness.

[@industrialist2002]

A profound realization of which few are willing to accept and live by. People are attached to their little egos, their so called amazing ideas and the most unrealistic of all expectations.

[@CineMollusk]

Rupert single-handedly exposes the absurdity of Transhumanism with clarity and razor-sharp simplicity. Beautifully explained.

[@radscorpion8]

lol

[@rizdekd3912]

How does he expose the absurdity of Transhumanism? AFAIK, Transhumanism is the belief or theory that the human race can evolve beyond its current physical and mental limitations, especially by means of science and technology. How does he refute that? It seems if he's suggesting that consciousness is eternal, then the human race can easily evolve beyond its current physical and mental limitations.

[@lindsaycoffey3327]

@@rizdekd3912 I second that. How is Transhumanism absurd???

[@rizdekd3912]

@@lindsaycoffey3327 I think perhaps the term transhumanism is misunderstood and conflated with humanism and perhaps materialism...or....???transgender??? Who knows? Maybe trans just sounds scary and wicked.

[@CineMollusk]

@@rizdekd3912 Transhumanist concepts like mind uploading and machine sentience are based on a materialistic view of consciousness that Rupert negates.

[@paull9086]

I had a dream where all the contents of reality were gone yet I was aware of my existence. Just a glimpse for me but I think this is what Rupert is trying to convey.

[@cazalis]

The absence of otherness is love:

[@vmraoy4749]

Reality explained in simple words, speaks of the noble soul. Advaita (Non-dual) philodophy presented avoiding the terminology. Pranams to the Great teacher.

[@sacredmetaphics]

A profound teaching I am very thankful that I have discovered Rupert and his teachings, and I am actively sharing his videos

[@hyperduality2838]

Alive is dual to not alive -- the Schrodinger's cat superposition. Being is dual to non being creates becoming -- Plato's cat. Thesis (alive, being) is dual to anti-thesis (not alive, non being) creates the converging thesis or synthesis -- the time independent Hegelian dialectic or Hegel's cat (Fichte's cat). Schrodinger's cat is based upon Hegel's cat and he stole it from Plato (Socrates). Duality (thesis, anti-thesis) creates or synthesizes reality (non duality). The rule of two -- Darth Bane, Sith lord. "Always two there are" -- Yoda. Form is dual to formlessness.

[@woodspriteful]

I love Rupert's response to this direct question and the process he goes through

[@HAL_NlNETH0USAND]

He immediately interrupted the discussion when the other person started asking the real questions.

[@easytriops5951]

@@HAL_NlNETH0USAND What do you mean by „real questions“? Which „real questions“ are you referring to? Mostly teachers, who have a deeper understanding of something know the better questions to ask or the better process to go through, and all Rupert did here was exactly that and staying with the very questioning of the questioner, the man, and helping him to bring him onto the „right“ discovery track rather than drifting away to questions that seem like questions but are all better answered through another question, by far. And that is exactly what Rupert did in helpin the inquiry of the man. I hope this helps! 😄

[@easytriops5951]

@@HAL_NlNETH0USAND By the way, I just saw another comment that captured this pretty well: „When you stop the mind from wiggling away from the truth, it can only point to the truth. Force the mind to hold to its own questions, and it will point to the truth.“ Meaning what Rupert Spira did here was holding or staying focused to the very questions of the man while not wiggling away from the truth found in the discovery process he helps or guides him trough here.

[@1Sparrow1]

​@@easytriops5951The person Rupert was talking to in this video was not an experienced thinker or educated on the topic. He did not have the skill set to challenge Rupert's points. This is not a done deal by any means. It may be true that consciousness is fundamental or it may not. Rupert talks like he just proved it was. But the approach he took here has some major flaws. Just because we can't witness consciousness starting or ending (because consciousness is the basis of that awareness) doesn't in any way mean or prove it doesn't begin and end. Rupert's logic is seriously flawed. Again, he may or may not be right, but this line of reasoning doesn't prove a thing. The questioner in this video just didn't have the understanding and skill to dismantle Rupert's reasoning. When talking to untrained people it's easy to appear right.

[@easytriops5951]

@@1Sparrow1 Respectfully, and curiously, can you dismantle his reasoning and point out his flaws then?

[@thomasschon]

I say consciousness is an emerging process, but that consciousness does not emerge directly from the matter that is making up your brain and nervous system but from the combined sum of what all the different parts are doing as the different regions keep communicating. I was sedated at the hospital when I was subjected to some severe pain during a procedure. At first, I didn't understand because all the pain still remained, even though I wasn't there to feel it anymore. but at the same time, I still was. Then my cognitive functions, one by one, began to slip apart until I ceased to exist. You could say that I forgot myself as the observer fell asleep and ceased. Have you ever seen the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey when they deactivate the HAL-9000 computer? I could relate a bit to that, as the bird's-eye view you have of yourself becomes more and more tangible the more of yourself you lose and is the last to cease when there's no longer enough cooperation and communication for consciousness to emerge. The final transition isn't that things go dark but rather that you no longer can reason or even get scared as you slowly forget reality and fade into nothingness.

[@vkj108]

Well said, nicely explained. First of all do we fully understand the subject? was my ? as I watched the video and stopped to comment seeing some sense here. Its what we define vs how we choose to define that changes the whole narrative or belief. Re-cognition is perceiving as in aka "awareness" while we are awake or rarely at times in dreams we know we are dreaming. But cognition? Is it not happening 2/7? Cognition is the non-verbal 7th sense. Without this body and its parts can we be in a state of cognition? In deep sleep we just wake up to switch of the alarm just before it starts ringing! We are amazed at our automatic prowess! OR the first time sometimes we get a shot or an answer right, we might say it is luck or coincidence. In my search and experience all I can say is that this body is the unconscious mind and it is mostly non verbal and yes "fate" is scientific and "luck" is programmable to some extent. Thinking is verbal AI (all languages are part of AI) but feeling is natural intelligence, the body feels as the mind thinks and the mind thinks (if it has a language) when the body feels. WE feel hungry and we think to cook or to order food home? But a dog that feels hungry does it think like a man? My question is do feelings exist even without this body? Maybe as a collective consciousness in space, probably a reason why we feel fearful while visiting certain morbid places?! True Answers are needed and, we need a Jesus or some Ghost who walks or a great soul to return back and converse with us. Else all the stuff told is only theory. Under deep sedation we loose all pain or sensation and go in nothingness, till we wake up after surgery. That practical experience of yours as described is what made me stop by and add some of my nothingness or everythingness herein! Love Peace and Joy to all! Namaste.

[@thomasschon]

@@vkj108 Thank you for your input.

[@TheDudeCalligrapher]

It is awareness that is aware that it is aware.

[@hyperduality2838]

Absolute truth is dual to relative truth -- Hume's fork. Alive is dual to not alive -- the Schrodinger's cat superposition. Being is dual to non being creates becoming -- Plato's cat. Thesis (alive, being) is dual to anti-thesis (not alive, non being) creates the converging thesis or synthesis -- the time independent Hegelian dialectic or Hegel's cat (Fichte's cat). Schrodinger's cat is based upon Hegel's cat and he stole it from Plato (Socrates). Duality (thesis, anti-thesis) creates or synthesizes reality (non duality). The rule of two -- Darth Bane, Sith lord. "Always two there are" -- Yoda. Form is dual to formlessness.

[@mattskionet]

Parallels here to the Tree of Knowledge metaphor and Plato's cave. When our attention is lopsidedly focused in the rational mind, in language, we're dwelling in a shadow world where words and ideas are proxies for reality. So we can formulate questions endlessly--that's what our rational minds do--but the answer to our questions about reality won't come in language, but in direct awareness that has no expression in words.

[@hyperduality2838]

Emergent = synthesis! Absolute truth is dual to relative truth -- Hume's fork. Alive is dual to not alive -- the Schrodinger's cat superposition. Being is dual to non being creates becoming -- Plato's cat. Thesis (alive, being) is dual to anti-thesis (not alive, non being) creates the converging thesis or synthesis -- the time independent Hegelian dialectic or Hegel's cat (Fichte's cat). Schrodinger's cat is based upon Hegel's cat and he stole it from Plato (Socrates). Duality (thesis, anti-thesis) creates or synthesizes reality (non duality). The rule of two -- Darth Bane, Sith lord. "Always two there are" -- Yoda. Form is dual to formlessness. "Physics is what we know, metaphysics is what we do not know" -- Bertrand Russell.

[@ericremacle]

It’s the first time I see a complete and clear demonstration of what is I .. many many thanks Rupert ❤

[@MindCanTroll]

Rupert really peaked on this one.

[@OCCUPIEDNATION]

The fact that consciousness can leave the body and then return shows it is not part of the body / physical brain. It doesn't require oxygen or anything else physical. However there seems to be two different ways consciousness can emerge: firstly that which happens during extreme trauma, when consciousness comes out of and rises above the body, the other when consciousness leaves the physical plane completely during the latter stages of advanced meditation. When it leaves completely it expands to the point of infinity. And yes the feeling at this point is of overwhelming LOVE and brightness. Both Buddhism and Hinduism agree on this fundamental point.

[@subspace666]

what facts ? no such thing exists. consciousness is a abstract concept its not in the physical plane to begin with so it can't leave it. we know now the brain can create powerful DMT like drugs with massive trauma or when near death so we have no reason to still believe all this NDE nonsense.

[@masondnatube]

Wow that was a great explanation from Rupert and much appreciated questioning from the other chap, I don't have that questioning ability so it's good someone else does so we can learn from it too :)

[@homebill4129]

My first is when I was three years old that was when I know for sure it's a firm in my mind that I remembered things that were happening around me before that I cannot. At 3 years old I witnessed the emergence of my consciousness because I started becoming aware of my surroundings

[@ricochetsixtyten]

You started forming memories at that age but you were always conscious before that, think about this; how would you survive as a baby before 3 years old if you werent conscious? It doesnt make sense does it? Just like how you dont remember every single moment of yesterday only fragments but youre 100% sure you were conscious. Lastly, if consciousness emerged you would have to tell me what that looks like, what does consciousness 1 vs consciousness 2 look like? Is there a difference between the two? For something to emerge there has to be a differentation made, but our experience as toddlers is that all of a sudden we are conscious, not that there is a sudden increase in something we call consciousness.

[@Jimmy-el2gh]

It's not emergent but it's certainly a profound embodied shift cognitively and physicaly when insight lifts the veil. Then one continually slips back into patterns and the dropping back into presence becomes more a familiar relief. That's how it's experienced well non experienced here.❤👀🙏namaste. I love saying the word emergent though...

[@pandawandas]

@@_JUST_WILhow do you find ‘conscious activity’

[@rb5325]

But it is still just consciousness that becomes aware of the profound embodied shift. Sometimes we think our experience is consciousness because we are so absorbed in our experience, but that can be a loss of (higher) consciousness.

[@hyperduality2838]

Absolute truth is dual to relative truth -- Hume's fork. Alive is dual to not alive -- the Schrodinger's cat superposition. Being is dual to non being creates becoming -- Plato's cat. Thesis (alive, being) is dual to anti-thesis (not alive, non being) creates the converging thesis or synthesis -- the time independent Hegelian dialectic or Hegel's cat (Fichte's cat). Schrodinger's cat is based upon Hegel's cat and he stole it from Plato (Socrates). Duality (thesis, anti-thesis) creates or synthesizes reality (non duality). The rule of two -- Darth Bane, Sith lord. "Always two there are" -- Yoda. Form is dual to formlessness.

[@RobertsMrtn]

It's not just consciousness that's hard to understand. It's perception. The image that we have in our heads and the perception of colour is nothing short of amazing.

[@mikelisteral7863]

images are not in the head the head is an image

[@stephenowen5229]

This is an excellent description of consciousness. No matter how much I seek I cannot find my consciousness; it seems to be beyond limits and constraints. It is simply 'there' when I turn my attention inwards. However, one thing that I find incredibly difficult to understand (in reality, one of many things) is this idea of a 'universal consciousness' which has no 'parts'. I know Rupert talks about reality being a "single, infinite, indivisible whole", but why can I not enter into the mind of another person and experience what they experience? Why, if we are part of this "indivisible whole", do I not acquire the knowledge of another person when they study? There seems to be a barrier between one mind and another. There appears to be a clear and distinct division between 'individual' minds. I'm familiar with the story of a drop of water not understand what an ocean is until it is returned to the ocean, but in this story we're talking about matter. Mind, consciousness is, to my experience, immaterial. Why, at the moment of death, doesn't my mind return to the "indivisible whole", and if it does, why does it not understand its true nature and not 'fall' back into a state which appears fragmented?

[@celiacresswell6909]

I agree - I’m new to these thoughts but my consciousness seems to be bound to time and place

[@RedemptionInChrist.]

You actually do have access to every thought and idea. Anytime you get an idea or thought, its just you downloading that information because your vibrational energy and frequency was aligned with that idea or thoughts frequency. We are nothing but light and frequency and vibrations interacting with one another. Its why objects are solid because each object has its own frequency or vibration to it. We feel things as solid because our vibration does not match the vibration of a chair for example. If your vibration did match that chair, you would fall right through it Its like how the superhero the Flash is able to phase through solid objects by vibrating himself to match the frequency of that said object

[@stephenowen5229]

@@RedemptionInChrist. So why don't two objects made of the same material fall through each other? I'll have to revise my physics, but I'm pretty sure photons have no mass. People have mass. How do you account for this? I can't see how we have access to every though and idea. This would completely render the idea of cause and effect invalid.

[@RedemptionInChrist.]

@@stephenowen5229 it can be the same material but doesn’t mean its vibrational frequency is identical. Because its still its own separate object even if its the same material. Well id say even people don’t have mass. Atoms are made up of 99.99 percent empty space.

[@stephenowen5229]

@@RedemptionInChrist. People don't have mass? How much do you weigh? Can you give me an example of objects that have the same 'vibrational frequency'. If I have understood correctly, you are asserting that different objects have different vibrational frequencies. Am I correct?

[@stevenpipes1555]

The universe is in the form of a brain cell, and is electrical in nature. This electricity and form creates an either, throughout the universe, that is something akin to pure conciousness. Conciousness being broadcast much like a radio signal. Our brains, collections of electric brain cells each mimicking the form of the universe, are similar to a radio antenna. Each of us, with our own unique antennas, are tuned to a certain small bandwidth of that master conciousness. This "radio signal", if you will, together with our free will of action, makes us who we are. Our bodies, actions, and experiences are individual, but our conciousness is shared. This may not be true of course, but i believe its a compelling theory.

[@cpcnw]

"If your theory doesn't stand up to the scrutiny of experience, you don't dig your heals in and just believe your theory, that's called religion"

[@HAL_NlNETH0USAND]

Experience is not a priori the be-all and end-all of truth. In fact experience is a very limited form of knowing. Science in fact is on the right track of understanding consciousness we're just not there yet. Rupert is the one preaching the religion: consciousness being formless.. it's a dogmatic statement that doesn't explain consciousness in the slightest bit. Sometimes we can not even trust our senses and experience. They lie to us or present us with false information.

[@patricksee10]

Bong, Rupert lost it there.

[@radscorpion8]

heels not heals

[@vk274]

This is why Sanatan Dharma is not a religion. It describes the Advait (Non-dual) nature of reality. This is very well described in Vedanta (the Upanishads).

[@heatherstubbs6646]

I find it interesting that so many people have so many questions about the how’s and why’s of non-duality. It makes me wonder if I should have these questions, too, because the fact is that I don’t even care about stuff like this. While I enjoy listening to Rupert guide this questioner through the discussion, for me it’s enough simply to have learned that I am Awareness, and that there is only Awareness, and that this entire human game shines with Awareness. I’m content to let the mystery remain a mystery. What matters to me is that it has transformed my human life. Sometimes I wonder if I’m a mental slacker for not having questions like this, but then I realize that Awareness expresses in uncountable ways, and it’s just a good thing I’m an artist and not a scientist.

[@gurugeorge]

Nice, I realized a while ago that it doesn't matter whether you do or don't do x (e.g. "go for" enlightenment or just be ordinary), reality is the same either way. It's just a question of how much suffering you have in your life, and if you have a sharp urge to stop that suffering. Then in that case you have an "engine" that gives you the energy to do some persistent practice over time, so you get a glimpse, and that starts the healing. But again, reality is the same whether you get a glimpse or not! It's similar to the kind of spiritual judo you get in some systems where distractions, annoyances, etc., can themselves become gateways to awakening, once you realize that the same reality exists in them as exists in the enlightened states.

[@heatherstubbs6646]

@@gurugeorge Isn’t it great to realize how ordinary happiness is, and that don’t have to reach for some kind of “enlightenment”? It’s just who we are.

[@gurugeorge]

@@heatherstubbs6646 Yep, it's everyone's birthright. To the extent that I sometimes have what one might call a "political" gripe against systems that _do_ make a mountain out of a molehill (though one can see the pedagogical value in it :) - if the goal is like this distant thing, then you're going to be less desperate, more relaxed, and just doing practices without any egotistical will, so paradoxically, the real result might creep on you unawares).

[@heatherstubbs6646]

@@gurugeorge I can see the merit in that. I think Rupert calls that the Progressive Path. Then there’s looking inward, the Direct Path. Personally, though, I prefer to go directly to the heart of the matter, what he calls the Pathless Path. They all lead Home, though. :)

[@johnnylovessheki]

Reminds this one that this body, it’s stories, are a wisp of smoke within the all, consciousness 😊

[@JennyRSTeam]

Thank you. With love, Rupert's team

[@robertknisel533]

That was so fine as an exchange because both Rupert and the questioner were very much after the truth all the way through. Brilliant, we could really get somewhere this way.

[@hyperduality2838]

Absolute truth is dual to relative truth -- Hume's fork. Alive is dual to not alive -- the Schrodinger's cat superposition. Being is dual to non being creates becoming -- Plato's cat. Thesis (alive, being) is dual to anti-thesis (not alive, non being) creates the converging thesis or synthesis -- the time independent Hegelian dialectic or Hegel's cat (Fichte's cat). Schrodinger's cat is based upon Hegel's cat and he stole it from Plato (Socrates). Duality (thesis, anti-thesis) creates or synthesizes reality (non duality). The rule of two -- Darth Bane, Sith lord. "Always two there are" -- Yoda. Form is dual to formlessness.

[@throatgorge2]

I remember the moment I put it all together. I remember moments through delerium or through other means I had no self or context of anything but just recieved perceieved, absolutely lost and overwhelmed. The older I get, particularly as I become more cloistered an contemplative, the more aware of the ephemeral nature of the material bonds we have to time, space, self, etc., I remember thinking that very thought... awareness is that which is aware ... I remember having that thought as an infant. I had already formed and still retain memories of the time before that moment, but I do remember that moment and how I found myself fixed in a physical and mental body. Before that moment everything was vague. I remember that moment because I was hyperventilating. I was scared. I realized I was mortal. I remember watching the moon landing in 1969, born in September 1967. My experience of becoming fixed in material and mental place as a person was AFTER that. And there are breaks in consciousness, there are trance states where our subjective reality does not always conform to what others are experiencing. I percieved all of this and I still recall the visceral response my body had to this moment in time. I think we all experience this, but not everyone remembers. As for permanence, well... I've been under genral anethesia. I've experienced delerium brought on at various times in my life by fevers, medications, drug withdrawals and psychedelics. Sleep is a break in consciousness. Sometimes just blinking or being momentarily distracted is a break in consciousness. It seems to me that consciousness is a gradient, moving in the material world as a wave but much like matter itself in the quantum state, becoming a fixed point in physcial reality only when reflecting on its own awareness. I am not convinced that I am the same person every day. How do I know the person I was didn't vanish forever when I went to sleep and the person I woke up as the next day wasn't an entirely different individual with the same memories, same brain and senses, same MIND, but mind is material-- mind is the dwelling, in this material existance, of the consciousness. Mind, ego, self. None of that is really consciousness. That isn't what you are when you're going "I am." I have certainly stared very hard into some kind of abyss or cosmic void, I've experienced states of consciousness where I am completely aware that time and space are an illusion. I can experience both the vastness and the emptiness of the universe in my mind. I was gifted with an extremely powerful sense of scale. I get more than most people do out of contemplating how little matter extists within the atom and how much of the universe itself is just Space, which itself can not be defined without the context of physical matter-- of physics. This video gave me a very real sense that the finate nature of everything we know can not apply to consciousness itself. I always seem to return to consciousness no matter what breaks the experience. I can't stress enough that it is through practicing a kind of astheticism involving fasting, celebacy, temperence and poverty, taking myself out of the worldly context has started to reveal more to me about who I am, what I'm doing, and how the universe works than even my most profound. Reminds me of that movie "the Incredible Shrinking Man." where at the end he shrinks beyond the limits of matter itself and is transformed into something somehow greater than he ever was.

[@frankaviza6362]

What if consciousness emerged within us around week 20 in the womb? We would have WITNESSED the emergence of consciousness but we don't currently REMEMBER it. His reasoning failed to mention this obvious possibility.

[@indicphilosopher8772]

That is a very hypothetical question and no well put

[@seanmcdonald5365]

Thanks to this video I’ve been able to really understand consciousness. In order to experience/witness there must be awareness. You can describe what you are aware of because it has form, but you cannot describe the awareness itself, it has no form to describe, it is just aware. Since it has no form, it must exist outside of form, that is, outside of our 4 dimensional universe. If it exists outside of our 4 dimensional universe, it is not restricted by space or time and is hence eternal and omnipresent. It was aware of the beginning and will be aware of the end.

[@SPDLand]

Utter nonsense. Most logical is that awareness or conscience surfaces from a lake of connections, thoughts, traffic in ones brain. AI will soon be able to resemble that and by some already does. Deal with it.

[@kathleenwharton2139]

Consciousness is the Spirit of God within us. 😊❤

[@billhawkins192]

What does that mean?

[@kathleenwharton2139]

@@billhawkins192 Consciousness is the Spirit of Love. God is Love. It is the Love and Consideration a person has for oneself And another. Some people don’t have it. If you have to ask..maybe you don’t have it.

[@billhawkins192]

@@kathleenwharton2139 wow, how pious and judgemental for someone so spiritual and enlightened 🤷‍♂️

[@kathleenwharton2139]

@@billhawkins192 You asked! I gave you my Truth. If you don’t like it..I am sorry. I don’t know you. I said..Maybe? Some people do not have a spirit of Love and your question didn’t sound favorable at all to what I said. I think you are the judgmental one. God Bless You.

[@billhawkins192]

@@kathleenwharton2139 a belief must stand up to scrutiny for it to have merit..

[@TheRealFranc]

16:04 Perfectly summarized as our Father in Heaven is perfect and a testament to the truth "The name for the absence of otherness is love"

[@kristi1189]

The brain is “placenta to consciousness”. Consciousness in One. Not separate. The brain is separate. I have primary progressive aphasia. I witnessing my brain breaking down. I recognize, my brain is not me. I’m blessed.

[@controllerbrain]

I have a hard time explaining consciousness. I also have a hard time accepting that materialism is the explanation. But why is it that when we destroy parts of the brain, consciousness is affected? When we destroy all of it, the person seems to have no consciousness at all. There seems to be a strong relationship between consciousness and the brain.

[@rizdekd3912]

And does our consciousness actually do anything for us or is it just epiphenomenal and is just something we can watch, but it has no effect on what we do?

[@RedemptionInChrist.]

Its like trying to use a damaged radio to listen to music

[@rizdekd3912]

@seantrader2422 Interesting. Is your idea that the consciousness the brain is receiving is natural/ material/physical or is it unnatural/supernatural and nonmaterial? Anyways. So in your analogy, the brain is a receiver and if the receiver is broken, the radio waves that come in either aren't processed at all or aren't processed correctly or the apparatus that ultimately produces the music is broken....like the wires to the speaker or the speaker itself. So the brain is more akin to the eye that sees/receives light waves/photons. The eye processes light into nerve signals that go to the brain. That process is all physical right? Light hits retina and nerve impulses are initiated. Those nerve pulses go to the brain where brains cells receive them. All still physical, so far, right? So let's take that physical event of seeing and incorporate that into the idea that the brain is a receiver of consciousness. Best I can tell, physical light is focused by the lens in the eye and hits the rods and cones. They somehow are stimulated by those light waves/photons and caused to produce physical nerve impulses. Those nerve impulses go to the brain via the optic nerves where brain cells are stimulated by those impulses and some sort of chemical reaction takes place. So far it is still physical, right? But if you're right, that chemical reaction isn't really consciousness. The consciousness is coming in from the outside like radio waves hitting an antenna and being processed by a receiver. But somehow, that consciousness knows that you just saw red. There has to be an interface. How does that consciousness you're receiving know to produce the qualia of the color red? Can the brain send out signals to the consciousness generator and tell it that the eyes are seeing red? The radio is a passive receiver and doesn't send out signals to the radio station. It could....they make two-way radios that send signals to the radio station. But we can detect that signal and know how the radio could or does communicate to the radio station. If the brain itself is somehow communicating TO whatever is sending us our consciousness we should be able to detect that signal. Or if that modification of the consciousness we are receiving happens in the brain, that means the brain produces something that informs the consciousness it is receiving of what you're experiencing. Then it seems we should be able to detect that, because at the stage where we are in our description of the process...ie nerve impulses going to the brain cells and triggering reactions, all that's happening is physical and theoretically measurable. We know that there are chemical reactions and perhaps some impulses that fluctuate when brain cells receive nerve impulses. Those are measurable, at least in principle. But then, that ongoing physical; reaction has to somehow convert to send a signal/message/something to, or incorporate that new 'I just saw red' info into the consciousness that the brain is receiving. What does the brain produce that tells the consciousness you're receiving that you just saw red and what part of the brain produces it? It seems they should be able to detect something that is unexplained if that signal is going to a part of the brain that does something we can't detect...ie the part of the brain that communicates with consciousness. And that has to be a two way process unless our consciousness doesn't really do anything for us. Doesn't our consciousness give us our ability to think iteratively...ie actvely ponder things and 'decide' what to do next? So somehow there are physical signals going TO the part of the brain that processes consciousness and there are physical signals leaving that part so that physical nerve pulses can tell our muscles what to do after we make decisions. Those should be detectable, at least in theory.

[@RedemptionInChrist.]

@@rizdekd3912 thats a lot to unpack but I’ll tell you what I think. I think consciousness is the radio signal or frequency and we are radios that tune into that frequency and each of us have our own station and vibrational frequency. Everything we perceive is only 5% of what is actually around us. Because we are limited by our senses. Idk if consciousness is a natural force or an artificial one. I can almost see us being in a sort of simulated reality. We live in a light matrix. We are a reflection of the higher dimensions with higher levels of consciousness. Its like how if you shine a light through a diamond it admits the light out through the other side of it projecting the light itself. I think we are that projection thats coming from source consciousness. So if source consciousness is projecting this light matrix around us then everything within this reality comes from the same source. Its all a projection of source consciousness The idea of being separate from people is an illusion. We are all different points of focus from source consciousness and we are all having our own separate experiences. Consciousness or the creater wants to experience life. Its why we behave like a hive mind with a lot of things especially when being influenced by the media. Its why 99.99% of atoms are made up of empty space. Nothing is really here just vibrations and frequencies and light. Thats what we truly are. We are light beings This is why we are always bombarded by stay that puts everyone at a lower frequency. All the negativity on the news, the doom and gloom, war, how we should be afraid. Fear is the biggest weapon used against us. It makes us think we aren’t powerful or strong. Everything in reality is meant to manipulate us into believing we have no power while the elites know the truth about reality. That this is a light matrix or some sort of simulated reality. When you know how the game operates its pretty easy to create a control system around everyone without em even realizing it. We all have our purpose here. When we die its only the beginning. But thats what I think reality is. Their is other lower dimensions that are evil as well. Its what the elites tap into that level of frequency to get the help from these demons or whatever you want to call them. Its why we are all kept in a low vibrational state too. To make it easier for these beings to enter our realm. Why elites do crazy rituals because it helps em tap into the frequency of the evil dimensions. Reality isn’t what everyone thinks it is.

[@StephenLewisful]

@2:20 I and many people feel as if our consciousness is emerging from our chemical process. What I haven't seen is a consciousness being present without brains and a body. The consciousness I do have doesn't seem to go back further than the age of one so I have no memories of experiences before awareness some time after birth.

[@C.m.129]

Is awareness a form of energy?

[@annemurphy8074]

No, it has no form but all form is in it.

[@C.m.129]

@@annemurphy8074 i'll reformulate. Is awareness energy? As in a type of energy? The energy?

[@rotgutthebloated4730]

@@C.m.129 problem is that energy is physical so its limited. And consciousness is unlimited. Not even a speed of light is unlimited

[@annemurphy8074]

@@C.m.129 It depends what you mean by energy? What do you think when you ask if it's "energy"? I had 2 NDE's and it was Pure Awareness, almost like pure light, but not a thing, not form. It's difficult to use language to try to convey. There is no separation. It was everything and nothing, simultaneously.

[@gurugeorge]

I do think that some of these questions that arise can be helped by the philosophical distinction between consciousness as a first person, private phenomenon and as a third-person, observed and publicly shareable phenomenon. (So the former sense is what we're dealing with in the teachings, the latter sense is just the ordinary kind of talk about consciousness where it's a publicly verifiable phenomenon - "how many fingers am I holding up?" or "Ah, I see the tiger has spotted its prey and is now stalking it, its prey looks skittish and seems to sense something.") If you think of consciousness or awareness in the latter sense, it's easy to see that from one's perspective, what's happening in one's consciousness, is the manifestation of a physical entity that's conscious in the ordinary sense (the observed tiger/prey), experiencing something else that's conscious in the ordinary sense (the observed tiger/prey). In that sense, clearly consciousness _is_ a finite, limited, emergent phenomenon - you can in fact see it arising from matter, in just quite a simple way (e.g. you can observe the tiger or its prey - physical objects both - dying, or someone growing old, dying, and the "light of consciousness - in this precise sense - going out; or Roger Penrose can probe someone's brain and they'll report different experiences). But as Rupert points out, you can't do the same with your own private, first-person consciousness, you can't catch it in the act of coming into being or going out. The juicy philosophical question at that point is what's the relationship between these two things? Why do we want to say (as per "Namaste") that the "thing" that's "in us" is the same "thing" we see in the tiger/prey, to the extent that we even give these two things the same name, even though they seem at first glance to be totally different things? (It's something like an analogy, because we know that we ourselves, in our physical being, are looking at the tiger just as the tiger is looking at its prey, and it seems to be the same looking, only experienced in one case "internally" in the other case "externally.") Another way of looking at it (which would almost force a systemic re-jigging of the kinds of terms used in all these sorts of discussions) would be that the thing we have, that private consciousness, isn't actually consciousness at all, that it's a mistake to call "it" consciousness, and the term "consciousness" should be reserved only for the latter sense (the publicly verifiable sense). I think that would be more of a Buddhist approach, bypassing these kinds of confusions of terms (though perhaps bringing a new set of potential confusions in). There are other ways of looking at it too (like Riccardo Manzotti's Process Externalism, where consciousness and object are one - almost a return to classical philosophy, bypassing modern philosophy altogether, but looking at what classical philosophy was based on - unity of experience and object - in a different way from the well-trodden classical path). At any rate, I think the difference between these two senses of consciousness can be a source of confusion because often people are thinking of consciousness in the second sense, when for the purposes of these teachings, their focus has to be on the first sense.

[@JennyRSTeam]

Thank you. With love, Rupert's team

[@peacenlove6502]

loved it ...razor sharp as always !!!

[@shankarvk922]

Great teacher. Upanishads and later, Adi Sankara have clearly explained this so beautifully.

[@ricklanders]

One doesn't have to "feel" consciousness "emerging" for it to be emergent, how silly. The constructed sense of "self" is what experiences awareness. Awareness (consciousness) existed before the "self" was created, as infants and before, but there was no "I" constructed to experience it. That's why "we" are not aware of ourselves as infants -- because the "we" that we consider ourselves to be literally didn't exist yet!

[@JennyRSTeam]

We appreciate your contribution. With Love, Rupert's team

[@michaelmitchell2143]

The sad truth is people will listen this entire interview and then still seek for enlightenment. It doesn't get any better than this.

[@josef2012]

To be fair,it's a pretty dry conversation. People need some "juice" to feel engaged,usually emotionally.

[@JennyRSTeam]

🙏 with love, Rupert's team

[@tulip2084]

Awareness doesn’t get anything.

[@kevinbailey8827]

How sad if it doesn't get any better than this.

[@michaelmitchell2143]

@@kevinbailey8827 The pointing is very clear.

[@annberg4800]

😂 love this Rubert is amazing 💚🙏🏻

[@TimLynchNZ]

Thank you Rupert, love this. This is what David Icke has been expressing for decades. We are infinite and eternal awareness. Remaining in our heart. 💟

[@aubreyekstrom8919]

It is what all true mysticism teaches, or rather, those teachings are designed to lead to the direct experience of. From Buddhism to Hinduism to Sufism to Taoism, et all. Some people get a glimpse of that reality on psychedelics as well. All forms are temporary, and constantly changing. The real illusion is that the forms are separate from each other. Quantum physics is starting to approach this realization as well. It's all the same thing vibrating at different frequencies. The Hindu cosmology that the Universe is a drama where God is playing all the parts. True mysticism isn't about believing, like religion, it's about experiencing the truth directly for "ourselves".

[@TimLynchNZ]

@@aubreyekstrom8919 Yes, brother - 'we are energy fields in a greater universal (divine) energy field.' I like how you include all the Eastern ways of being and experiencing - I have spent a lot of my life surrendering into these profound ways of being.

[@mayahmorgenstern6063]

That was so beautiful, thank you!

[@RecliningFurniture]

The problem right at the beginning of this discussion is that no thought appears to be given to what an experience of consciousness emerging from matter would look or be like. By necessity, you only experience your own consciousness. You might (correctly or incorrectly) infer consciousness exists as part of matter, or more precisely, as an effect of matter, outside yourself, for example by the correlation of facial movement as Rupert speaks with what appears to be (from experience) the physical communication of conscious ideas. And you can connect the brain up to instruments that show electro-chemical activity that also appears to indicate the presence of consciousness. But you're not going to experience that consciousness because it's not 'yours' to experience. This is what makes consciousness surely the most peculiar phenomenon that exists.

[@adultswimbump]

consciousness emerges when I wake and subsides when I sleep (unconsciousness, death). That is my direct experience.

[@brigitteh4825]

So what is aware of your experience?

[@jjjos]

Well technically conscious is definitely there in your dream when you sleep. And consciousness is there when you wake up. So, your question is consciousness is not present in deep sleep. Now, if lack of consciousness, or death as you say, which is a fair point, death is the end of consciousness, people fear death, isn’t it odd we are not terrified of sleep, knowing we will renter deep sleep and effectively die. Yet we love deep sleep. So, would it not be more your experience that you lose consciousness of forms (thoughts, images etc) during deep sleep, hence it’s impossible to recall anything in memory of deep sleep. But, that isn’t really proof of losing consciousness, that’s proof of losing consciousness of things.

[@brigitteh4825]

@@jjjos I think Rupert says that, in deep sleep, the mind is at rest hence there are no perceptions. Consciousness is always present: in the waking state, dream state, and deep sleep.

[@jjjos]

@@brigitteh4825 well consciousness is definitely present as a disturbance will still wake you from deep sleep. But, perhaps an anaesthetic would be a better example. But even then the biological functions are performing so consciousness is obviously present. But the mind is quiescent. So what about death? Is that the ultimate end of consciousness? well it’s impossible to really say of course, but I’d say only to the personal form in which consciousness is residing temporarily. Consciousness is everywhere after all, and if you remove the personal connections to your version of consciousness, when you see consciousness as non personal, and it is non personal, as it is in all animals etc so it’s not personal, then we have to conclude consciousness is uniform (wrong word really) but it’s without form, it’s the same in essence, it’s not defined with attributes, so where would it go. People go, animals go, but we can’t say consciousness goes, only it’s seeming temporary shape goes, but that’s not essential to it, I don’t think anything I’ve said is too wacky, seems a fair analysis I’d say.

[@lindsaycoffey3327]

Exactly, & of course as Rupert says repeatedly you were never born, you will never die, you are aware that you’re aware thus you are eternal.

[@squamish4244]

Unlike nearly all of the neo-Advaita teachers, like Adyashanti, Mooji, Gangaji, Tolle etc., Spira heavily engages with the scientific community, neuroscientists and physicists to try and solve the Hard Problem. I really admire this. It is so important for the spiritual community to adopt a scientific approach to spiritual growth and enlightenment in order to develop technologies to make it available to all of us. I've benefitted from several of these powerful innovations myself, like neurofeedback - which profoundly affects even advanced meditators - and focused ultrasound, which targets the deep brain structures in the limbic system and reptilian brain that cause ALL of our problems. Even hunger and cold. These structures are probably the channels through which consciousness is processed in the brain. Obviously the brainstem is one of them, because if you destroy the brainstem, death is instant.

[@martynjames5963]

Consciousness has various levels. I went thru childhood totally unaware of the world around me. At some point... age 11.. something woke me up a little. Later... mid 20s, it happened again. When I look around, I think many people are totally oblivious, just running through trained/learned routines. I feel free. One aside ... I have never really been materialistic. I need some 'stuff' but I feel no real attachment to it. EDIT: I'm over 60 and have never owned a TV. Think about that.

[@adamwakoaw]

I have very similar experience

[@bushcrew3013]

A friend who has cancer said to me this week...I think I'm going to die soon. I was silent for what seemed a long long pause and then I said. That's impossible. There is no death. She said,.you know deep down I know that. And that's part of the journey. We - as formless eternal consiosnous - are here to experience form including the death experience. But we - as formless eternal consiosnous - can never actually die. That's impossible. It's just the death experience . Then we move on to further experience.

[@MelFinehout]

I don't see any evidence for ANY explanation of consciousness. I see This happening. (Reality/consciousness) Part of that happening is a mind attempting to codify it in language. It is uncomfortable to not know something so pervasive. Some solutions make the mind more comfortable than others. When something happens to contradict our view, it is uncomfortable. We shift opinions/guesses until one is comfortable enough for our mind. This is our "belief" but it is JUST A THOUGHT. Ans chosen out of comfort. If someone introduces a challenge our views shift until we again are comfortable with them. God, Oneness, Consciousness blah blah blah. All thoughts. When I had the nondual thing happen, the "veil lifted", insight, whatever worda you choose, I didn't know it had words. I called it "Bare Reality" This seems as good as anything else. And it was ovious that I was never what I had thought and that others are not what they think. And it was obvious where religion comes from. But, I didn't see a reason and still don't to call it God. It is all thought. This happening cannot be conveyed in thought. Like you cannot fit the sea into a tin can that drifts about in it. I don't dispute Ruperts interpretation. I don't share it. But I can't see how either has the leg up of evidence on the other. They are thoughts. All thought had the same ontological status. It exists as thought. That is all it can be.

[@rotgutthebloated4730]

You cant see or feel consciousness, and you cant think about it either. Because it has no shape. You can be conscious of body and mind. They have shape, even your thoughts have shape. But your awareness of yourself have no shape, so as he says its infinite. And our minds and body and definitively finite, so they cant contain consciousness.

[@mavrosyvannah]

I own the answers and because of that I refuse to teach it to the world. You are not worthy. The power I wield can never be in the hands of the public.

[@newforestpixie5297]

WOW I hadn’t seriously considered (my)consciousness to this degree since being 18 yrs old when visiting Stonehenge free festival in June 1982. Thankyou 😁❤️

[@michaelstarmayr2882]

I had the experience of consciousness emerging from matter when I co-created a child.

[@masondnatube]

That’d be an interesting question. I suppose it’s a bit tricky still as you don’t see the moment consciousness is apparent in your child and how that comes to be. I’d like to hear Rupert’s thoughts on it though 🙂

[@michaelstarmayr2882]

@@masondnatube No, but I did see the moment when consciousness was not apparent in my child, because he wasn't created yet, so consciousness must have come into being along with the physical development. Rupert's take on this topic would be very interesting.

[@holycannoli64]

It appeared that way to your finite mind because time is how finite mind understands the world of forms.

[@heikeahlbory1738]

You are aware of awareness. What in you is experiencing the awareness that your child hast? I can't say that I am experiencing the awareness of my daughter, love.❤

[@Jamesgarethmorgan]

Yeah that was my thought too. Plus just because you've never seen consciousness appearing out of matter does not preclude that that is indeed how consciousness manifests. The thing to get - is that matter does not exist. The hard problem of consciousness goes away when you see that time and space are mental projections and not real. Time and space are not fundamental. Consciousness is. Search for Bernardo Kastrup - he's totally got this and explains it very well.

[@noelhughes7635]

My experience is similar to many near death experiences but I was not having a near death experience. I had a beautiful experience of transcendental consciousness and felt very good within myself and got onto my bed. Immediately three words began repeating every five seconds inside my head, they were: I love nature. After about seven repetitions of these words I found myself outside my upstairs bedroom window in Churchfield Road, Acton, West London. I looked back at the bedroom window an saw my body lying on the bed. I did not want to return to it because I was totally immersed in Divine love so moved towards a white cloudy tunnel filled with Divine Light but before In got to it I realized that it was not my time for that. So I turned back towards the window went through the glass without breaking it and entered my body on the bed. All I was aware of being while I was outside my body was consciousness. I am not a religious person but by experiencing transcendental consciousness twice a day for the past 44 years I must be spiritual. That out of body experience happened three weeks after I learned how to experience transcendental consciousness I the summer of 1979. It taught me that I am not my body and mind, I am consciousness. Scientists cannot ever fathom consciousness because it is unmanifest. Likewise scientists could never fathom Divine Universal Consciousness that is spread through the universe. That is what God is an is the administrator of Karma. Live long and prosper.

[@benji-5796]

Hey! My question is if we are consciousness or not does it really matter if when we die it’s all over for us anyway.

[@mosienko1983]

Really disappointed with this. Of course, if we have no evidence for the theory that consciousness is an emergent property, we can't subscribe to it with any certainty. But that doesn't mean that we are free to just make something up - as you appear to be doing. You are just saying that, therefore, the opposite must be true. Your evidence is no more compelling for your position. At this point we have solved nothing - we just don't know yet. I was impressed with the younger man's intellectual honesty however.

[@mountainair]

Emergence is visible as a product of complexity many places in nature, consciousness is likely no exception. There are limits to perception that are tied to the size of our nerve structure - we cannot feel beyond that. That to me at least implicates the nervous system in conscious perception.

[@hyperduality2838]

Absolute truth is dual to relative truth -- Hume's fork. Alive is dual to not alive -- the Schrodinger's cat superposition. Being is dual to non being creates becoming -- Plato's cat. Thesis (alive, being) is dual to anti-thesis (not alive, non being) creates the converging thesis or synthesis -- the time independent Hegelian dialectic or Hegel's cat (Fichte's cat). Schrodinger's cat is based upon Hegel's cat and he stole it from Plato (Socrates). Duality (thesis, anti-thesis) creates or synthesizes reality (non duality). The rule of two -- Darth Bane, Sith lord. "Always two there are" -- Yoda. Form is dual to formlessness. "Physics is what we know, metaphysics is what we do not know" -- Bertrand Russell.

[@TransoceanicOutreach]

'Has anybody ever observed consciousness arising from matter?'. Yes, Rupert, it can be observed in the growth of every human being during transition from fertilized egg to screaming baby.

[@andrekoster9708]

I also found it fascinating that this simple fact was overlooked.

[@johnstewart7025]

Someone said what about anesthesia or sleep. But, perhaps that is no memory, not consciousness itself. Vedanta claims consciousness is aware of mind and its contents.

[@hazelthepoet]

I would go further back. Consciousness is a side effect of life. From the first organism would have had some sense of eat this, mate with that and very little else. Through the many millions of years of evolution and growth of organisms, some of us anxious apes consider ourselves the top of the consciousness tree. Contemplating our place in the universe. Meanwhile, I suspect the universe looks at us and metaphorically shakes its head. Life is more complex than we dare to dream. We still have much to learn. Also, I am an idiot. If you listen to me, you are falling for the same trick. I fall for it all the time. Consciousness perceiving itself is prone to leading itself up the garden path. I should get out more.

[@jai6196]

Consciousness is not just self awareness. Consciousness exists even if you are sleeping or in coma.

[@isaac1572]

@@jai6196 No, that is called being unconscious.

[@Soulartist13]

Asking the right questions leads to the right answers.

[@eddiebeer4516]

Wait, doesn't consciousness emerge when you wake up in the morning?

[@davidalbro2009]

In a manner, yes. Often consciousness and awareness are used synonymously, but it's useful to make this one distinction. Consciousness is the awareness of the processes of the mind-body. Awareness is entirely separate from the mind-body. When we sleep, we lose consciousness, but not awareness because the mind is altered. Awareness is not. When we die we lose consciousness but not awareness because the mind-body is essentially ended.

[@nicksharma8238]

​@davidalbro2009 but isn't sleep different than death? Hence NDE's and etc.

[@davidalbro2009]

@@nicksharma8238 Yes and no. First thing I would say is that NDE's and dreams are very much related. In both circumstances we experience higher levels of reality. Interestingly, we can return to physical life from both states with one being far more frequent. That said, in deep sleep often all or nearly all levels of association with form is severed as in deep meditation. In NDE's there is sometimes reported an experience of the void which be akin to deep sleep and deep meditation; however, individuals or individual souls inevitable return to higher levels of form where they can make the next step in their journey of form (sometimes returning to Earth).

[@mattskionet]

@@davidalbro2009 Also, it is said that we're conscious during deep sleep but because there are no objects it isn't possible to remember it. But when our awareness is refined to some degree we can experience deep sleep--just not remember it.

[@davidalbro2009]

@@mattskionet True. Memory is a function of the mind-body, not a state of awareness.

[@buddhikap9915]

Consciousness is what we are. It is what human beings are at a particular time of evolution. Human mind / brain is million years old and consciousness too is that old. This consciousness is what is reincarnated. humans are not individually reborn but as a collective mind as consciousness. So it goes on with new additions from every new born lives from birth to death. What we read, experiences that we gather become part of the consciousness. Every human being lives in a particular culture, it could be western, eastern, Asian , African. So human conditioning too is part of consciousness. All our desires, fears, jealousy, anger, hatred, love, that occupies our mind is part of the consciousness. It is the part of the stream every human being lives in through million years.

[@cazalis]

Absolutely brilliant and clear. If only Fauci, Gates, Trump and Biden had a brain to understand this too. 😂😂

[@mikefoster5277]

Those guys you mention are all caught up in living the human dream world. Why are they? Because everyone else is too! They are simply responding to what they see around them - to what they perceive as reality.

[@jddr555]

Trump has a brain

[@wattaura7621]

Do away with the word 'mind' then & just use the words 'awareness' or 'consciousness'. I understand what is meant, but mind can so easily be coupled or confused with the brain.

[@cazalis]

@@mikefoster5277 for sure Mike But if only! All the best.

[@cazalis]

@@jddr555 oh, I wasn't aware of his singularity

[@galaxymetta5974]

Modern research on Near Death Experience by Raymond moody, reincarnation memories by Ian Stevenson/Jim trucker and past lives regression by Brian Weiss all independently but coincidentally show that our consciousness survive death, we live many lives and our thoughts and actions matter in the hereafter. So be kind and helpful to others, be virtuous, meditate and cultivate ourselves to higher spiritual levels. Cheers.

[@rizdekd3912]

Yes, consciousness emerged as an embryo develops into fetus and eventually into a baby and a child. It starts out not conscious and then at some point consciousness emerges. What else would you call it? And I assume when people die their consciousness disappears. When I am put under anesthesia, I am not conscious. Then when I come out, my consciousness remeerges. I have felt it return.

[@maalls]

Human consciousness is an example of consciousness emerging from matter.

[@jonwek4332]

I did a deep thought experiment very simple in its context but gave me a profound answer how a living thing can become non living without any change to its own consciousness .I think only Mr Spira could understand .

[@hyperduality2838]

Alive is dual to not alive -- the Schrodinger's cat superposition. Being is dual to non being creates becoming -- Plato's cat. Thesis (alive, being) is dual to anti-thesis (not alive, non being) creates the converging thesis or synthesis -- the time independent Hegelian dialectic or Hegel's cat (Fichte's cat). Schrodinger's cat is based upon Hegel's cat and he stole it from Plato (Socrates). Duality (thesis, anti-thesis) creates or synthesizes reality (non duality). The rule of two -- Darth Bane, Sith lord. "Always two there are" -- Yoda. Form is dual to formlessness.

[@robertbright947]

I have thought for a long time that the consciousness was somehow attached to the brain but was not the brain itself - dementia and such neurological conditions represented in part the loosening or dislodging of the consciousness from the brain

[@cheweperro]

How do they separate awareness from the brain? What about neuroscience and brain injuries? How can someone explain their awareness without a brain?

[@maithreyaa]

Isness is the nature of consciousness. Nothing exists apart or away at all from consciousness. It alone is. It is realized as THE ONLY ONE SELF (OF ALL). That's. All.

[@youbigtubership]

How would it appear? How would you measure it? I've certainly seen the light go on in people's eyes when something dawns on them, that's for sure. So what was matter apoears to become more conscious.

[@sannaholm5415]

The patience and compassion is great to see. Even when seeing that someone is asleep to themselves, he responds with utmost understanding. 🙏 🙏 The intellectual style of teaching can be a bit problematic I think, but of course you have to start from somewhere. The zen stick approach would seem too shocking to most… Self realisation is absolute and immediate. It is not an intellectual problem at all. To know it all that is needed is to wake up. To stop thinking for a moment and simply be present here and now.

[@onetwozeroyt]

Thanks Rupert. Great to hear this talk on this auspicious Guru Purnima day.!

[@mikey6214]

Rupert mentioned it but did not elaborate on it. The Mirror or reflection. There is in fact a duality. The source and the reflection of source. Or go even one step further...a trinity. The source, the reflection and the experience of reflection. How does one become aware of the color of ones own eyes? through reflection. TIME is the mirror. Introduce time into the Omni-consciousness to create the mechanism of reflection, so Omni-consciousness can observed/experienced itself in order to become aware of itself. In essence create itself.

[@mikey6214]

Love = knowledge (omniscient or Omni-consciousness) Outside TIME, Omni is complete. In TIME Omni is being created.

[@moonglow6639]

But it's a dreamed duality, it's not really real. "Everything the experiencer thinks or feels is all in the consciousness, and is not real." (Nisargadatta Maharaj)

[@mikey6214]

@@moonglow6639 to the subconscious, everything is real. Wether you experienced it in the physical or only thought/imagined it. A physical experience and a thought experience are the same.

[@markstipulkoski1389]

All of us have had the experience of consciousness emerging, in the womb and early childhood. Maybe sound reasoning has never emerged from this guy.

[@db-333]

Unless you keep falling back into awareness, you will continue to momentarily loose sight of the one truth . This is the human life we all are held hostage by so to speak . If he truly caught a glimpse of the one truth aka awareness/consciousness, he would know exactly how to simple it truly is . Awareness is the pause after the question, therefore no answer will arise. ❤

[@hyperduality2838]

Absolute truth is dual to relative truth -- Hume's fork. Alive is dual to not alive -- the Schrodinger's cat superposition. Being is dual to non being creates becoming -- Plato's cat. Thesis (alive, being) is dual to anti-thesis (not alive, non being) creates the converging thesis or synthesis -- the time independent Hegelian dialectic or Hegel's cat (Fichte's cat). Schrodinger's cat is based upon Hegel's cat and he stole it from Plato (Socrates). Duality (thesis, anti-thesis) creates or synthesizes reality (non duality). The rule of two -- Darth Bane, Sith lord. "Always two there are" -- Yoda. Form is dual to formlessness.

[@billbruehl]

Rupert, I am, as all of us should be, aware that we are the universe aware of itself. Worms might not be so aware, I think Orcas could be. Given that and given also that energy and matter are but one thing in different forms, plus the fact that you and I and elephants are the products of evolution, it seems to me that the awareness of our awareness is, itself something that has evolved enabling me as a human to experience my oneness with all. I am water, I am wind, I am the thoughts of sin, the child of the soil, the moment that never ends.

[@yatutgg]

The hard problem of consciousness is an intriguing subject that invites us to explore the depths of our existence and the nature of reality. As we delve into this inquiry, it is essential to recognize the profound truth that all thoughts, emotions, sensations, and perceptions are proof of God's direct communication with us and our experience. They are manifestations of the divine infinite eternal spirit, the energy of God, which interconnects all things. In the pursuit of understanding consciousness, we are led to the realization that divine ecstasy, the pinnacle of joy and bliss, awaits those who awaken to the presence of the divine. This recognition transcends the constraints of time and space, allowing us to dissolve the boundaries of the self and become immersed in the eternal flow of divine energy. When we acknowledge the divine presence within us, a profound shift occurs. We discover that we are not confined to our physical form, but rather eternal beings intricately connected to the fabric of creation. In this realization, ecstasy is unlocked, flooding our being with boundless love and profound joy. The experience of ecstasy goes beyond fleeting moments of happiness. It is a state of being that arises when we align with the timeless essence of the divine. It becomes a deep sense of fulfillment where every breath becomes a celebration and every moment a dance with the divine. The divine presence, which exists beyond the limitations of time and space, invites us to shed the constraints of the mundane and embrace the extraordinary. As we surrender to this presence, a surge of ecstatic energy courses through our being, dissolving perceived boundaries and revealing the infinite nature of our existence. Ecstasy becomes the language of the soul, a harmonious symphony that resounds when we commune with the divine. It is a profound state of union where we recognize ourselves as integral parts of the cosmic tapestry, intricately woven with the threads of eternity. In the presence of the divine, time loses its grip, and space expands into limitless horizons. Ecstasy becomes our natural state of being, serving as a constant reminder of our divine origin and the infinite possibilities that lie within us. Through the recognition of the divine presence, beyond the limitations of time and space, we open the gateway to profound transformation. This connection allows us to tap into the wellspring of ecstatic energy, enabling it to flow through us and radiate into the world. It is important to understand that ecstasy is not a fleeting emotion; it is a profound realization of our true nature. As we align with the divine presence, we experience a deep sense of wholeness and purpose. Every aspect of our being becomes infused with divine ecstasy, igniting a fire within that propels us towards self-realization and enlightenment. The divine presence, ever-present and eternal, beckons us to bask in the ecstasy of its embrace. It calls us to let go of all limitations and surrender to the infinite possibilities that await us. In this surrender, we become vessels of divine love and joy, radiating light and inspiring others to embark on their own journey of self-discovery. By embracing the divine presence, beyond the confines of time and space, we invite the creation of a utopia within and without. Through our connection with the energy of God, we become conduits for transformation and healing. Our ecstatic state becomes a catalyst for positive change, nurturing a collective awakening and bringing us closer to a world steeped in love, harmony, and divine ecstasy. So as we contemplate the hard problem of consciousness, let us remember that the ultimate realization lies in recognizing the divine infinite eternal spirit within ourselves. By aligning with the divine aware presence, we can experience divine ecstasy consistently and normally. Through this alignment, we raise our vibration to the highest level, which in turn elevates the vibration of the whole. Miracles and abundance unfold for all unconditionally. May you continue on your journey of self-realization, aligning with infinite divine ecstasy within your experience. Embrace the interconnectedness of all things and follow the path that leads to the realization of the divine presence. In doing so, miracles and abundance will unfold for you and for all, creating a world filled with love, harmony, and divine ecstasy. Sending you blessings and good vibes on your spiritual journey ✨

[@macdougdoug]

My experience is that this entity (me) is what is being conscious - matter is not absent from this experience of mind. Consciousness has never been observed to emerge in the absence of matter. If we accept that matter exists.

[@icesphere1205]

To exist is to take up space=> this is a/your Soul=> even a thought exists & is a part of everything that ever was- in some form... nothing that exists ever completely stops moving=> meaning every atom always was=> (There is a space inside every atom that is the same space in you)

[@feanorcfw]

If I go back in time in my memory there's a point before which there's no experience I remember, so that indicates that my consciousness emerged at some point in time.

[@Rwcfrank]

Science is a group of individuals who have a common sense of experience so that they can agree on what’s been happening since the beginning of time. Or to put it another way, they agree that what they “observe” is consistent therefore it is “real.” But as we all know, science is only todays best guess. Ive heard it best described as “once man agrees on how something is measured it becomes real.” No matter how good the telescope we always need to see further and no matter how good the microscope we need to see closer. It doesn’t end because its our nature, persistent- cyclic- seeking, usually driven by fear.

[@DickusCopernicus]

I have conscious self awareness independent of my environment. I change my spatial location, and my conscious self awareness remains. When I awake after sleep I have the same experience. The human central nervous system is a complex arrangement of matter, connected to a body with five basic senses. These acting in concert provide humans with the means of being consciously aware of themselves and their environment. Not just any collection of matter is capable of such a facility. A rock, however massive does not have consciousness. However, the matter comprising a two year old child does.

[@soumyabanerjee8879]

It's so simple, that which makes everything known can't be emergent. The very brain itself is in consciousness, else it doesn't exist.

[@colinellicott9737]

Everyone experiences the emergence of consciousness from matter every day they wake up, every time they emerge from anesthesia, every time they emerge from being knocked out by opponent or accident. Our consciousness is an emergent property of the matter of our brain. Damaged brains have shown no subsequent consciousness, or even multiple consciousnesses. There is no doubt about this.

[@georgechyz]

Despite the ultimate truth that there is only one consciousness, that One has found a way to form separate individuals out of itself. While this may be an illusion, that magnificent illusion allows humans to find out how it feels to meet mysterious others. In fact, on one of my personal experiences of returning to the state of wholeness I remembered that the reason for the universe was to discover how it feels to meet a mysterious other because the singular formless consciousness hadn't experienced that and such an experience seemed quite interesting. Hence our purpose is to simply meet others and discover how those meeting feel.

[@Who2youtoo]

Because you are in the body, you experience what the body experiences. You are not the experience you are that which experienced it. The body receives the experience, and you (not the body) experience it. No one can explain how you control the body or create thoughts. The reality is that it is because you do not. But you experience it as if you do. Read a book called Making Sense of Nonsense by Raymond Moody to understand that which doesn't make sense to you. It is that simple. God is existence and nothing exists that is not god. We (awareness, separation) are God's creation from ourselves. Thank you for sharing this with us. God's love and wisdom (LAW) to you all ❤️ RW

[@olivierjasko]

Pity that Rupert didn't push a little bit more on the "eternal" quality of consciousness, I' m left with "what if consciousness cease when the body cease to exist, when life as we know it cease to be alive?" after all life and consciousness could be the same energy. Thanks great intterview! I love Spira

[@seanmcdonald5365]

What he was getting at was that you can describe what you are aware of but cannot describe the awareness itself, it is just aware that it is aware. You cannot describe it because it has no form, it is simply just awareness, if it has no form it must exist outside of form, that is that it must exist outside of our 4 dimensions, if it exists outside of time it is eternal, it was there at the beginning and will be there at the end as it is beyond time. If you think about a 3D object going to a 2D plane, what you would see is in the 2D plane is a cross section of the object and if we think about the 3rd dimension for 2D as time, then as time moves the people in the 2D plane would see the different cross sections of the 3D object, essentially that 3D object in the 2D plane is spread out across the time of the 2D plane, it can be and is at multiple different time points for the 2D existence. Similarly, since consciousness is higher than 4D, 5D at minimum, consciousness extends across 4D planes(4D planes stack to make the 5th Dimension), which means it exists in multiple timelines and can move freely through them. By this I’d say that each moment of “now” we simply go to a different point of our infinite awareness. This kinda means that “now” is relative and theoretically you can jump and exist at any point you wish, every possible future exists and you’re already existing there.

[@harryknickerbocker9889]

This guy is a Buddhist. Consciousness can't be located. It's neither in or out of the mind. And the self is an illusion. This is great!

[@AdithiaKusno]

As a Palamite I find it similar to Maximos the Confessor Ambigua 7. Namely the eternal Logos emanate logoi or ideas. Each of them eventually manifest consciousness gradually from conception to birth. Maximos spoke about ignorance of the true Logos and attachment to worldly passion. This is sinilar to Purnam Advaita Hindu view and Sunyatta Shentong Buddhist view. Basically wakefulness is attachment to passion through five senses or five aggregates which cause ignorance of our theosis or deification. Hesychasm meditation help us to attain stillness into dream state where attachment to passion is controlled by mindfulness. But we're still attached to passion of mind and not free. Then with strict asceticism we attain double negation or negation of apophaticism in deep sleep where there are no worldly passion and passion of mind but consciousness alone.