I’m looking at the big picture in this blog and it’s hard to get started, because there are so many entry points. I have to start somewhere. I’ll go with my basic premise.
Let’s ignore a definition of consciousness right now and accept that all of us humans have one – a consciousness. And at least a vague idea that it’s what we experience as we live our lives – all that stuff that seems to go on in our head. There are theories that human consciousness is essentially an illusion or meaningless. Well, carry on with that thought if you wish, but I hold otherwise. For me, our consciousness is central to our existence, to our humanity and to everything important in life.
The field of consciousness science is a deep and murky… mashup. I’ve read some, but there are lots of different ideas out there, and lots of profound disagreements. I don’t want to get bogged down, when most people are pretty comfortable with a simple and intuitive definition, at least to start – the stuff that seems to go on in our heads throughout our life and all that flows from and through that.
At the simplest level, evolution is the idea that things change over time. I happen to think that evolution is an integral part of reality. I see life as inevitable and integral to the universe. And so is evolution to life – integral and inevitable. We’ll be exploring these ideas more in the future as we explore this big picture.
I think there’s good evidence that human consciousness has evolved just as our bodies have evolved. And our consciousness is now much more amenable to rapid evolution than our biologically based bodies. So we’re not talking about our brains evolving, which would be a slow process. Further – our consciousness is not directly attached to our brains. If it was, then evolution in consciousness would be very slow. Our human biology probably hasn’t changed much in tens of thousands of years and likely hundreds of thousands years.
But lots of products of human consciousness have evolved enormously in a very short time. Art, technology, culture, marriage and human relationships, laws, and governments have all evolved in a brief time. That evolution is very real – just as real as biological evolution. In fact, these changes have been the consequences and the drivers of this evolution in consciousness that I’m talking about.
Women have much more freedom in many parts of the world than they had in the past. This is still very much a work in progress, but you have to look at the blue sky and not the clouds. And the freedom women have gained and continue to gain, frees men as well. We’re all in this together – every human being.
Compare the world of today with that of ten or twenty years ago. Gay marriage is a reality and accepted by most people. That’s a radical change – evolution – in the notion of a fundamental institution that is a bedrock of society – the concept of the family.
Religion has changed. Fewer people attend traditional churches but the New Age and spirituality has exploded. Evolution.
People are questioning traditions and institutions as never before. Everything is being questioned by more and more people.
I’m not here to cite proof or statistics. Good luck with that. Either you see my conclusions and ideas as evident or you don’t. I am not putting forth an argument. I am discussing the most important ideas for humanity.
I have my Master of Science degree in human growth and development. In my work life, I’m an orthodontist treating people with techniques that have not been proven to be superior in the literature. I consider myself a devotee of science, who is becoming very aware of it’s limitations. One of the holy grails of medical treatment is “evidence based”. My research, when I was in school for my degree, involved human trials. Studying humans scientifically is very hard because there are so many variables to account for. Look at the literature on human nutrition. If you had to wait for scientific conclusions on what you should eat, you’d starve. Knowledge and wisdom are always moving targets. You have to go with what makes sense for you – always – in everything.
There are many very good orthodontists who believe the techniques and principles I, and others use, are no better than the standard techniques. Studies, as they have so far been performed, have not been able to confirm what I have seen with my own eyes. Science has not yet confirmed my patients’ experiences. I have been blessed to learn from very wise pioneers in my work life. And this is exactly what I’m seeing in my explorations in human consciousness. Many visionaries have seen a future for humanity, which cannot be proven or predicted with science.
Science is a wonderful, but limited tool.
Science is not to be ignored, but I’m not going to be researching or citing references here for my broad, sweeping ideas. I will be citing many brilliant people here and providing lots of references for you to explore and consider for yourself.
I have another problem that’s related – the limits of knowledge in one person.
Erwin Schrodinger was a physicist who considered the philosophical aspects of science. He was a contemporary of Einstein’s and won a Nobel prize. He wrote a very interesting book – “What is Life?”. He began the book with a dilemma facing everyone now, who looks at the big picture in life.
Schrodinger wrote:
“A scientist is supposed to have a complete and thorough knowledge, at first hand, of some subjects and, therefore, is usually expected not to write on any topic of which he is not a master. This is regarded as a matter of noblesse oblige. For the present purpose I beg to renounce the noblesse, if any, and to be freed of the ensuing obligation. My excuse is as follows:
We have inherited from our forefathers the keen longing for unified, all-embracing knowledge. The very name given to the highest institutions of learning reminds us, that from antiquity and throughout many centuries the universal aspect has been the only one to be given full credit. But the spread, both in width and depth, of the multifarious branches of knowledge during the last hundred odd years has confronted us with a queer dilemma. We feel clearly that we are only now beginning to acquire reliable material for welding together the sum total of all that is known into a whole; but on the other hand, it has become next to impossible for a single mind fully to command more than a small specialized portion of it.
I can see no other escape from this dilemma (lest our true aim be lost for ever) than that some of us should venture to embark on a synthesis of facts and theories, albeit with second-hand and incomplete knowledge of some of them – and at the risk of making fools of ourselves.
So much for my apology.”
Schrodinger, Erwin; Penrose, Roger. What is Life? (Canto Classics) (Kindle Locations 153-159). Cambridge University Press. Kindle Edition.
For me Schrodinger is saying that ultimately the human goal of knowledge is to explain and understand the biggest picture possible. This requires an enormous breadth of knowledge, which is beginning to arrive in the world. Yet clearly, no one person can understand much more than a small area of that knowledge. So to make any progress in exploring the big picture, you have to dive in and do your best. There is no other alternative. Experts in one area can always argue with generalists, as being simplistic in their particular area of expertise. But for me, a general approach is crucial to the world and to humanity.
I approach this big picture as a generalist, with no areas of specific expertise, unless you have crooked teeth.
And a major theme of my blog will be that everyone is qualified to plunge into these deep waters because we are all here to figure it out for ourselves. No one has a unique perspective, which is “true”, to the exclusion of others. We are all generalists, no matter what your education – lots, to not much. You are uniquely qualified to figure this all out because you are an expert on one thing – you. You are here, on this planet, to figure things out as best you can, for you. And I would love to help and inspire you in any way I can. It all comes down to you and your own thinking and feeling to form your own wisdom to guide you in this journey of life.
I do take issue, on one point with Schrodinger, who says “some of us should embark on a synthesis of facts and theories”. I say everyone of us should and must embark on this synthesis of facts and theories. The subject is too broad, too deep and too important to be left to the experts or the overly ambitious. We all need to confront the biggest picture possible as we face the future, which is calling to us. We all need to explore these issues in the way and to the extent that makes sense to us.
My call for everyone to join in on this exploration, speculation and synthesis, is a third theme of my blog, after connection and the evolution of consciousness. It is just as important as the first two.
To me, this exploration of the big picture is much more important than deciding who to vote for in the next election – which leads nicely to my next post. Hint – politics is the product of ideas and consciousness – not the first cause.
I’m exploring here just as I encourage all of you to do the same. Think of me as a jazz musician riffing here. Don’t ask to see the sheet music or my music education credentials. If you like my music – keep listening and join in. If you don’t? Engage me and improvise with me. Or listen to someone else.
But most importantly – make your own music! The world needs more music. And I’m interested in your music – your riffs on these themes and any others you think are relevant.
I ask for engagement and co-creation. I’m not interested in arguing. I’ve done more than enough of that in my life. Arguing builds walls. Connections are compromised and lost due to those walls. I am only interested in connections. I intend to ignore all walls and boundaries in my exploring and connecting here.
Discernment is different. We all have to look at the things that enter our life and decide if they make sense to become part of our life or not. But keeping at open mind and maintaining connections, at least on some level, is always valuable. Each individual must figure out the level of engagement they will have with anything or anyone.
Take what you can use and leave the rest. And maybe come back later.
We are here to change the world.
It is time.
Begin.