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Simon Lewis

Author, Writers Guild of America, west

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Conversation with Simon Lewis: How do we make the most of our Consciousness?

Due to enthusiastic responses we are keeping this conversation for two days!

My goal is to find ways to answer this most important question of our time, so others may find their inner selves. Everyone wants and needs maximum mental performance, yet school dropout rates attest to the size of the gap that our adolescents drop into. Why are these solutions a hidden secret? How can we develop an integrated approach to maximize our most precious resource on Earth — our collective consciousness — and nurture it in each of us? Why aren’t measurable repeatable approaches, to bridge the gap from potential mind toward actual mind, widely known and available to all from youth to old age, and how do we make this become a reality?
I hope you join me to discuss these and other questions,

Simon Lewis
More info about the speaker:
http://www.ted.com/speakers/simon_lewis.html
www.simonlewis.us
http://atavist.net/blindsight/

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Closing Statement from Simon Lewis

I just finished reading all of your final comments and want to extend special thanks to TED for making this civil, thoughtful and remarkably global forum possible, as well as the INK organization who originally invited me to India in association with TED, and gave a first opportunity to share my ideas before an international audience.

And I want to thank each of you, who spoke or who listened, for it is your contribution that empowers all. I understand from TED that remarkable audience of some 2,000 participated online in our swiftly assembled colloquy, with over a hundred drawn to participate with comments from countries as far apart as the USA, India, South Korea and China.

I wish all of you of the happiness to be found in seeking the hidden path toward actual mind, and I thank you for showing me how much interest and concern there is, how many tangible ideas are offered, from around the world to help achieve this for all societies and ages.
Thank you, Simon Lewis

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  • Sep 29 2011: I am so appreciative of this stimulus for a meditation. I've been listening to the dozens of topics that have arisen, as possible launches for a contribution I could make. I am new to your work, Simon, and deeply touched by what I've seen. I've been working on this how-to topic for a long time, and may be near finishing my novel about it. The idea I would add here, in this blessed exchange, is a concept of depression that may be useful: experiencing it as gridlock -- a shutdown induced by collisions between what the deep true self Knows, and all the conflicting cultural memes of ought-to and compelled-to and what's-true. No smoothly functioning identity and sense of coherent motion (including thought and feeling) can arise from such a contradictory traffic jam. Unsnarling this means questioning some memes that are very important to significant portions of culture, which is one of the reasons the how-to approaches are a little sparse (and the depression label is pasted on top of otherwise inexplicable inner phenomena, which do produce biochemical artifacts, which are frequently called the cause, in what is actually a self-reinforcing feedback loop). The personal gridlock emanates out into social and cultural conflict. I'm working on reinterpreting some of the memes in a more empathetic light, so that oppositional energies don't squash people any more than we are already squashed. Maybe the epidemic *labeling* of depression is a good sign that true selves are waking up -- even if the first encounter is with the walls of falseness that used to be considered signals of validation, worthiness, success, or love.

    Thank you for your willingness to move through all that you have, so that this moment, right now, and the wonderful way I feel in connecting here, could happen.
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    Sep 29 2011: 'Why are these solutions [to making "the most of our consciousness"] a hidden secret?'

    There are several reasons for this. I have found that if you pose this question to 100 so called thinking experts, they will give you more than 100 answers. All of these answers will be incomplete, few will describe the actual thinking processes, which will also be incomplete, and all answers will be needlessly complicated and difficult to understand for all but the highly educated, which are the ones who need to improve their thinking abilities the least.

    "How can we develop an integrated approach to maximize our most precious resource on Earth — our collective consciousness — and nurture it in each of us?"

    This is a problem I have been working on for the past several years. The answer can be found in the way we define the method of communication between the participants in a collective consciousness endeavor.

    If we allow complete freedom of communication, the conversation usually devolves quickly into illogical thinking and angry uncivil behavior towards other participants. Conversely, if we are overly restrictive, such as a town hall meeting conducted under 'Robert's Rules of Order', many of the participants will feel alienated and frustrated by a cumbersome and complicated process that they believe serves to stifle their input. Also, many people enter a problem solving discussion with a hidden agenda, and because of that, they take sides and take ownership of ideas that have not been fully explored. Like a high school debate, their goal is to win the argument, and not to collaborate with one another to find the the best possible solutions with the greatest consensus.

    These issues, among others that serve only to limit effective communication between the participants and to stifle collaboration, can be eliminated by using the right system. I explain one possible solution here:

    http://Causense.com

    Feel free to respond by using the feedback form at the bottom of the page
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    Sep 29 2011: "Consciousness is the key, consciousness is the means, consciousness is the end" Sri Aurobindo

    "There is enough for every man's need, but not for every man's greed" Gandhi

    However the most damaging aspect of our collective denial revolves around our thinking that the environment is a subset of our economy, instead of the other way around.

    Will the last humanoid please turn off the lights.
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    Sep 29 2011: A distinction must be made between what is and what we perceive. The numerous material appearances we observe are attributes of the conscience, but the conscience itself is not reserved only to humans. The conscience is much more than that. It is a universal power which penetrates through the whole reality and transcends all human attributes. The human is one of the many manifestations of the conscience, just like everything that surrounds it, although a human is a special manifestation because it has thinking capacities. Thinking is a specific development of the conscience, valuable and useful without doubt, but it is also extremely one–sided and possibly dangerous, because it has the tendency to develop its own theories and to isolate itself from the real conscience. Man isn’t privileged just because it is the only being aware of reality, but in the fact it is privileged thanks to its potential of reflection, able to reach the consciousness from which everything emanates.
  • Sep 29 2011: Open forum public schools. Seating for hundreds, just like the ancient schools. Passing true knowledge from generation to generation. Not industrial knowledge, but, fundamental earth based knowledge. Keep your universities and colleges, as well as creating new open forum institutions. The school system could cater to like wise motivated individuals who will pave their own path through education based on their interests. Giving students hands on approach to learning, increases motivation to learn more about it. Open forum gives access to passersby, and those with the thought to stop and listen.

    Bringing education to groups of thirty in the community. Active educational networks to ease the cost of materials and supplies. Open source digital educational interface for alternative access (OLPC). Dedicated national funding and resources on priority listing. Backing the system by purchasing a number of neglected buildings. Reclaiming the buildings, and putting it to good use.

    This would allow small groups of neighborhood kids to learn life long skills in a more natural and inclusive way. Maybe, think of it as an educational franchise. Thus enabling people to work their way through management, to ownership. Giving rise to autonomous employment and skill acquisition. Self funding education, in essence, for everyone, to learn anything. Making sure resources are unlimited, would allow for the best educated populace in the world.

    To cut public funding costs, and reallocate funding from food programs currently active, to teaching the urban populace to grow their own organic produce, and raise livestock and poultry. By franchising, corporation sponsorship incentives spur economic growth by alleviating long term investments, and increasing long term ROI. Thus, providing basic necessities and allowing productivity, morale, health and economic standing to increase.
  • Sep 29 2011: Consciousness seems to be based on perception. Collective consciousness seems to be a thought shared by many people. If thoughts are generated by inducing synaptic response, perhaps, collective consciousness is a harmonic resonance created by the amplification or transfer of tuned synaptic aparati.
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    Sep 29 2011: Consciousness is also a gradient thing, with people being basically consciousness or very consciousness. We all experience some form of "Darwinian" survival consciousness in our nature....
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    Sep 29 2011: There's no evidence that the human race as a whole has ever done anything except sleep, eat, breathe, etc. There have been great and incredible displays of consciousness to which the rest of us can aspire. But I don't see the point of your comment. Maybe you could explain it a little more?
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    Sep 29 2011: Hello Tara. Forming questions is central to consciousnees, hence the wise adage to follow those who have questions and seek the truth, and run from those who say they have all the answers and know the truth. I think you may find very interesting my INK talk on TED which is at:

    http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_lewis_don_t_take_consciousness_for_granted.html

    If my talk does interest you, then my book Rise and Shine is essentially an exploration of my consciousness in a very moving story. On Amazon and Barnes& Noble you can read some reader reviews and the first two chapters of the Kindle, I think for free, or order the hardcover, etc.

    http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Shine-Extraordinary-Journey-Recovery/dp/1595800514/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262136209&sr=1-1

    http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Rise-and-Shine/Simon-Lewis/e/9781595800510

    And the two radio interviews this week also give a chance to hear me speak about consciousness within my life:

    KCRW show UNFICTIONAL:

    http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/uf/uf110923its_always_now

    KCRW show THE BUSINESS:

    http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/tb/tb110926a_hollywood_producer

    I don't want you to think of this as a burden, and simply suggest you explore some of these links and see if they give you good interesting questions that brighten your day.

    Thank you, Simon
  • Sep 28 2011: Hi Simon
    I have schizophrenia and live in the present, it's a way of thinking or percieving time and space. People consider me disabled but I don't, I simply don' think like everyone else. I once took a psychological test and the person giving it to me said that was faster and more accurate than my supervisor could do it. I'm well employed and spend much of my spare time in the forest where I feel connected to nature. MRIs and CT scans show a lack of grey matter, but something is clearly working well, any ideas on what that might be?

    James
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      Sep 29 2011: Many ideas and possibilities , James, within within your many billions of nerve cells and their constant search for possible neural pathways and workarounds. It's interesting you spend time in the forest. The reporter for The Atavist describes how I spend hours tree-gazing, looking at the Canary Island palms in my back yard. I feel the air stir my hair, hear the sounds of birds and watch the light and shadows play on the cones and needles. There may be pathways to your mind that are more accessible to you in this visual and auditory (and olfactory) environment.

      Congratulations for finding such good ways to live within time and space that works for you.
      • Sep 29 2011: Thank you for the reply Simon, have you ever noticed how the wind shapes the way our vegatation grows? This is especialy clear on high mountains or places that get heavy wind gusts on a regular basis. By the way, you inspire me to know I can do anything that I want to do if I put my mind to it.
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    Sep 28 2011: Thank you Simon for your response. It was very helpful.

    Good luck with your book.

    Dennis
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      Sep 29 2011: You're most welcome, Dennis, and thank you.
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    Sep 28 2011: For one thing, our society wastes highly intelligent apes on stupid, absolutely stupid labour. I don't know if things could be otherwise, but I'm sure our industrial division of tasks is the worst thing that happened since the invention of agriculture.
    We've got the best brains in the animal kingdom, yet the vast majority of us are living like ants, boring ourselves to death with ridiculously dumb jobs, having consumerism as our only painkiller.
    Hiring someone to sit in a bank for 30 years should be considered a crime against humanity.
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    Sep 28 2011: United our consciousness in a common understanding. hehe.
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    Sep 28 2011: "How do we make the most of our Consciousness?"

    I am not a neuroscientist--just a house wife and mother-- but I have noticed that certain behaviors increase my own self-awareness.

    Here is my Recipe:

    1. Good nutrition to promote balance in neurotransmitters

    2. Regular exercise (especially exercise which increases my heart rate) According to studies by Dr. Servan Schreiber this reconciles imbalances between the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex. (One such study demonstrated that running was more effective as a long term cure for depression than drugs. If you know someone who is depressed—become their running partner).

    3. Regular “mindfulness” practice, such as meditation or “down time observation”— (I call it “making my brain climb into my body”). This is just trying to listen, feel, smell and see simultaneously without reflecting on the stimuli.. I read that the frontal lobes have neural pathways to all other cortical areas and to the limbic system, so practicing these connections makes sense if you want to maximize self-awareness.

    4. Make time to day dream time and consider my life’s purpose and plan how to put it into practice.

    5. Just Do It--making my plans become actions



    What I would like to better understand is this: does consciousness have an evolutionary purpose or is it simply a byproduct or our neural complexity? Can consciousness be separated from the body?
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      Sep 28 2011: A very good recipe, and I suggest that it's no accident that as a wife and mother your focus is on the long-term health of consciousness for you and your family. There are many answers to the evolutionary purpose of consciousness, but think you demonstrate one so clearly: transmission of values, qualities, and ultimately survival through the thousands of generations that have brought us to here, and through your insights one can only hope will bring us through thousands more. I hope many more think and practice as you do, as well as turn to medicine and science where indicated as helpful toward actual mind, and healthy mindfulness.
  • Sep 28 2011: Time spent in-taking the breadth of information this generation needs may preclude the depth of thought needed for true understanding. The rate at which information is being provided and learned is very fast relative to prior generations. Does this promote superficial understanding? There use to be more energy expended trying to get answers, so they perhaps then they were more precious. Now, you’re a wiki away from almost anything, and it is effortless. Thinking, learning, and study all take work. Where is the work ethic learned? The path of least resistance is to sit at home and watch TV (now 24/7 with hundreds of channels), play video games, play on the computer.
    One observation is that we are no longer focused by adversity. Generations back, man against nature was more of a concern than it is today. Food, wars, predators, and weather were all potential threats. Fear from these circumstances is less of a threat. Concern for survival is less of an issue today. Fear as a motivator is diminished. A few generations back, immigrants with no education told children stories of how lucky they were to go to school and have a real chance to get ahead in life by parents who may not have made it through high school. Kids watched their parents struggle and decide they wanted something different, so they were motivated by observation of a struggle. Perhaps the struggle has changed. Kids might be de-motivated by watching their parents struggle with marriage or the constant barrage of negative media, creating feelings of hopelessness and apathy. Kids might be de-motivated by the thought that success through academic achievement is less certain now, as the quality of their lives will on average not match that of their parents. Then there is college debt, and possibly a degree that that has no more earning potential than a high school diploma. These are de-motivational circumstances facing kids today.
    The fix is to change the de-motivating circumstances.
  • Sep 27 2011: Their isn't an existing program to teach this in school before teaching regular classes.
    I have advocated starting a program and contacted a company that designs such programming EFFECTIVELY and trains people to deliver the content. It works in about 90% of participants .
    I delivered this in person to a public education institution board president over two hours including a Q & A session, and the response was, "It sounds great, but, our bloated budget is in question and though this doesn't really make a dent in that, with the dunderheads that are in charge on the board, it will be a bone of contention and politicized rather than implemented.".
    Very predictable.
    There is no will to deliver this sort of content that would actually unlock the secret to self actualizing students and great school scores among the administrations of public schools in America.
    That's a huge reason why it isn't widespread, because our traditional and institutional methods of knowledge transmission are not concerned with the quality of knowledge transmitted by them as much as "looking god" and "trying" as a play for funding, no emphasis on results or quality of process.
    As far as some kind of "God Consciousness"
    I think God is the concept "that there is something that works and something that doesn't work" and that you as a singular entity may know the difference and experience a universe where that is so rather than universal entropy. Seen as a whole, the universe may appear as entropy with pockets of order, those pockets allow consciousness to exist in them as a byproduct of the existence of order. That doesn't mean we exist as any accident, it doesn't mean anything at all. However, here we are, and we may as well invent and live a life worth living in the present since we exist on a razor's edge of the illusion of time. How that works with the talk, anything is possible, even recovery from this traumatic injury.
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      Sep 28 2011: You make good points borne of experience. I hope that it is parents who will show the way for they are the repository of the long term perspective that fills Rise and Shine, my INK talk on TED and my profile in The Atavist. When Actual Mind is our lifetime goal, quarterly income statements and annual school budgets are barriers to overcome. To your discussion of the universe, I suggest that the universe is conscious and that we are at the dawn of understanding it--witness neutrinos thought now to exceed the speed of light--but that is a conversation for a different time. Thank you for your contribution, and let us hope these ideas can make a difference in the schools, to help so many children and adults, and so many tomorrows.
      • Sep 28 2011: Thank you for your very generous contribution to our consciousness.
        I'd like to introduce you to a friend whose foundation is about this very issue that you bring to our consciousness. He can be found at : http://www.foundationalchemy.org/Mission.html
        Thank you again, I hope you may both benefit each other in this work and bring this even more to light. It really needs to be a much more public and heard conversation.
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    Sep 27 2011: What do you mean with "increase cognitive awareness through natural processes". I mean, what do you consider as not being natural? Do I have to think about being natural while living my now right now?

    Also, to be considered natural should not be reasonable to be some kind of symmetric process such as: "From Potential Minds to Actual Minds, and from Actual Minds to Potential Minds"? Or is this another individualistic line of thought?

    What is collective consciousness? If it is really consciousness, should not the collective actually realize that? Or perhaps you just realized that we have some kind of collective inconsciousness, and then just called it collective consciousness?

    So I guess, I will put the same simple question as you did: Is it possible to unleash the unbounded energy of the self and multiply it in a global common goal, so that when divided by everyone can recover each one's energy loss with immense joy and fulfillment?

    Yes, because after all, we are just tourists here...
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      Sep 28 2011: Good questions, Bruno. By "natural processes" I mean to exclude psychoactive or psychotropic substances that cross the blood–brain barrier to affect brain function, perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior. My experience, repeated across published research, suggest that there is so much--so many unbounded energies of the mind --that is untapped, leaving depression as the WHO's leading world disease, that may be tapped with natural interventions, i.e. targeted therapies without broad psychoactive therapies.
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    Sep 27 2011: To make the most of your conscience you must rest your mind and free your soul. The rest takes care of itself. Live in the present and embody truth. The strength to do this is in Love. You must realize that you are not in control that love is. Do not fight it or deny for that will lead to pain and suffering. If you can embody love and truth you will have infinite strength. As corny or cheesy as that may sound. My friend Love is simply Truth. Truth never dies; love never dies. Many people in this world mistake God for a deity(or multiple). God most simply put is: truth. Know Truth; free your soul and rest your mind. Something cant come from nothing unless everything is nothing and nothing is everything. Only that which is, exists; only truth is exists. Three principles govern all of creation: that which is, that which is not, and that which is nothing. Nothing is the empty vessel which truth fills. It is the very same principal that determines your ability to read my text. The contrast of black and white shows you the text. One cannot exist without the other. People ask which came first the egg or the chicken. The only true answer is they are one in the same. Because, how can one exist without the other True or false? The entire relationship of reality is love. Please read the website below if you wish to understand more my friend. There is no limit to love. Peace and love be with you.
    Truthcontest.com
    • Sep 27 2011: Depends completely on YOUR definition of truth, and I think if you defined you definition of truth your explanation would make perfect sense to many more people.
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        Sep 28 2011: Truth is simply the present. Live in it, embrace it, and love it. The good times and the bad; make the two one. Be aware of everything in your present even pain. The present is all we have and the only thing we can know for a fact. Practice this and you will see a definite positive change .
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      Sep 28 2011: Brennan,
      Love is all powerful, yes. At the same time, the research shows up to 30% of children have learning difficulties that are not self-correcting with love alone, and that with screening and detection and targeted therapy and stimulation it is possible to avoid academic failure and maximize children's future. I hope your definition of love might expand to include a society that loves its future by using science to nurture the consciousness of all. This is something more than love and caring; it is love accompanied by effective intervention and action.
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        Sep 28 2011: My definition of truth is: that which is. Truth is fact. What is the one thing we all can know for a fact to be true? Why the most obvious answer is the present. You can see it, you can smell it, you can taste it, and you can hear it. Simon i completely agree science is one of the answers. For what is science? It is merely the collection of data from the present. The most raw and uncensored form of truth. I used to be an atheist and i believed science held every answer. I now know science is a big part of the answer but not the whole answer. To be a good scientist one must ask the right questions some times asking the right questions is very difficult without a little inspiration from the observation of the present. The most simple and condensed form of my message is: to live in the present love it all, even the times that are more bitter than sweet. If one does this inspiration and life will flood one in a way that one could never have imagined.
  • Sep 27 2011: BUDDHISM BUDDHISM BUDDHISM BUDDHISM
  • Sep 27 2011: I think we can also consider Maslow's hierachy of need theory. The majority of individuals are content to have achieved the first 3 levels either through personal effort or social support. As humans our basic physical and emotional needs are more of a focus than our mental agility or our ability of to "reach our full potential". A futher subset of individuals will strive for the 4th and 5th level because that is part of their nature, and its the natural order of life to want more. The ability to have a mind that strives for more knowledge, and or better use of waking consciousness is a nutured trait taught by whoever is responsible for our formative years. We learn the ability to maximise time through experiences we gained in our youth. By the time we reach adulthood, the distractions of today's society, and our need to just have the basic physical, emotional and social requirement catered for, can leave even the most brilliant mind fatigued and inept to reach for conscious growth.
    • Sep 27 2011: Maslow's theory figures very highly in this sort of work BUT it's not a complete course. I still love it though.
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      Sep 28 2011: I think the question is where the true balance lies between nature and nurture. To take the four Cs of Consciousness I raise in INK on TED, my goal is some long term population studies and see the outcome. Not simply accept that some limp in their learning and accept the first 3 levels of Maslow's hierarchy, but understand the sub processes of consciousness and see how far each mind can then rise toward Actual Mind.
  • Sep 27 2011: What specifically do you mean by 'maximise our consciousness'? That phrase could be understood in many different ways - the mind has many different faculties. Are you talking about maximising concentration, memory, alertness, complexity of thought, awareness, self-discipline, joy, compassion, intuition, or what? Without answering this question, I think a focused discussion is impossible.

    "Why aren’t measurable repeatable approaches, to bridge the gap from potential mind toward actual mind, widely known and available to all from youth to old age, and how do we make this become a reality?"
    That is an interesting question. One possible answer is that mainstream Western culture has looked down upon the consciousness and thought it less valid than the material world. The scientific method led to a worldview in which all that exists is matter and the mind is an unreliable, irrational instrument to be overcome. If this is your worldview, then you neglect training your consciousness, and instead focus on rearranging the physical world around you. This Western, scientistic worldview has been extraordinarily successful at rearranging the physical world according to human whim and - I think few will deny - has been equally unsuccessful at cultivating happy and high states of consciousness.
    This trend is already reversing. People are taking more and more interest in their consciousness and in all kinds of mental training. Maybe one reason is that scientific theories (specifically Einstein's) started to include the observer's consciousness about 100 years ago; common sense seems to catch up with science after about 100 years. Another reason is that with neuroscience, faculties of consciousness like concentration, compassion, or whatever, now have physical correlates, which make them more valid to materialist worldviews.
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    Sep 27 2011: The ultimate potential of consciousness can be fulfilled when an individual strives to resolve the ultimate question of his self-awareness and his identity. One has to look at all his identifications, and question if one is defined by that. Most of the wisdom traditions recognize meditation to be an integral part of such a deepening process. Wanted to bring this idea of different meditation upon self-awareness in order to deepen and enhance it .. :)
  • Sep 27 2011: I had an experience during which I integrated into the divine. Here's what I learned, if you care:

    The divine is grateful that a piece of it (us) is conscious to experience this world. Our correct mental posture is some mix of "THANK YOU" and "YOU'RE WELCOME."

    As far as what you're asking about "developing an integrated approach..." etc. Here's my idea:

    Dissolve boundaries and continue dissolving boundaries. Cultural, educational, social, relationship, emotional, physical, political, spiritual. All tension has its source in some kind of separation.
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      Sep 28 2011: I do care, Mike, and thank you. There are many separations that prevent problems of consciousness and learning to reach their potential solutions. INK, TED and this conversation Ihope over time wilt help overcome.
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    Sep 27 2011: Thank you everyone for this good conversation and to TED for making it possible. I will check in for comments for the next two days. Best wishes, Simon
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    Sep 27 2011: I believe the reason why this might be so difficult to answer is because it has no single answer. Everybody has their own personal consciousness, their own personalities. Unlocking your full mental potential is a very personal journey everyone must go on. Some lose there way and it may be a longer path for others, some may never make it. But I believe it's a path you must take on your own.
    Only you know how to unlock your full potential. I believe it can be achieved through philosophical thought about your own mind, personality and actions in which you discover all the things that hold you down, and let them go. Reaching some sort of intellectual nirvana.
    • Sep 28 2011: Agree. And also different country, different world has different levels of consciousness. How do they interact under their systems and how do different systems interact with each other plays a role in person's life. Hope more and more people realize and recognize this is not luxury to seek the answer, and at some point or the other human is destined to face the challenge.
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    Sep 27 2011: That is such a good question! i have actually been asking myself about this a lot the last three days. there needs to be a more fully realized model of this to show the people who would be unlikely or unwilling to read about or respond to dramatic change. something that shows these people a glimpse of what our potential could be if we had the technology to provide unlimited information in the best package possible. Also, funding in biological nanotechnoligy could help a lot. :)