Is consciousness connected to the fine structure of the universe?

On March 27 I interviewed Dr. Stuart Hameroff of the Center for Consciousness Studies of the University of Arizona. Here is an edited transcript of that interview.

Deepak Chopra

Stuart Hameroff

Excerpts from the interview:

“The only reality is mind and observations. But observations are not of things, to see the universe as it really is, we must abandon our tendency to conceptualize observations as things”.

DEEPAK: So you know when I’m actually looking at a rose, what is happening is a spacetime event in consciousness.

STUART: Yes, and it also relates to Alfred North Whitehead, who said that the universe isn’t made of things, it’s made of processes, of events. Everything is events, and some of those events are conscious events. He called them occasions, occasions of experience.

STUART: I think when we meditate or are in altered states, we shift to a higher frequency, which is also higher intensity, higher experience. Kind of like going from red to ultraviolet, something like that. When that happens, the outside world can slow down in perspective. So people in car accidents for example, when the car is spinning, report that the world slows down, because they have gone from say 40 to 80 conscious moments per second. The perception of the outside world appears slower. Great athletes say that when they’re playing well, the other team is in slow motion. Michael Jordan said that.

If you can get away with putting it off until next week, or even the week after – just do it!

Not what Nike has in mind – but an original Dark Matrix inspired motto exposed!

Have a look at this blog post: A miracle on Earth Day and see what I mean.

Before I could even slap this post onto a blog page I’d already downed a second cup of Chikree and had an hour long conversation with one of my MOST favourite people in the whole, wide, world – my gorgeous daughter Grace who is studying in the U.K. As I said – the day will have it’s way with me……

Hi there Dad, Ma-Millie and Kids! (little dogs named Delilah and Samson)

It’s been a huge while since I’ve written, but there’s not a day goes by when I don’t think of you.(this is true)

To prove it, James and I are investigating the possibility of going sailing with a couple from Durban with the idea that when they sail to the Mediterranean we hop off as close to Atlanta as possible and come and visit you!! That would mean BOTH James and I  could maybe pop in!! We are meeting with the couple at the end of the month to see what they are like and for them to see if they like us and then we will take it from there. I’m working on him to not pour all his money into a boat until we have tried sailing for a while. With the weather changes it would seem the sea has become noticeably rougher. Even Sir Branson’s attempt to break some or other record by crossing the Atlantic came to grief because of a freak giant wave. And there are more and more of these stories that are just making me a bit nervous!

Now I remember saying I would also like to describe the beginnings of my day to you – and today seems a perfect day for it as it is a Saturday, and I love the feeling of a Saturday, even though it is a Saturday on the mountain which is distinctly different to a Saturday, say in a city or town – with one exception – on opening my eyes I know it’s a day off from the usual grind.

This morning dawned overcast and cool. I’m alone at the moment as James is away on work. I opened my eyes, looking straight into a pair of intense, owlish, green eyes. Tattoo, my little black cat was sitting hunched up in front of me, willing me to wake up. She is very gentle that way. I had another cat who would dig her nails into my nostrils and not so gently tug until I begged for mercy and got up and fed her. Still, the silent treatment works as I become distinctly aware of a psychic hole been drilled into my skull.

Look at those skull drilling intense peepers!

I rolled over to have a look at Tammy lying on her pillow, on the ground next to my side of the bed. She has a black blanket with pink hearts on it which she snuggles into. She was looking happier and well rested, so the course of antibiotics are working and this proved the case as she later joined me while I was making some Chikree (coffee substitute) and begged a treat off me. She has had infected gums for the last week (a common complaint for Spanials due to a design error in their jaws) and after exhausting my home remedy arsenal I’ve resorted to using allopathic. She’s getting on now – 11 years – and don’t see why she should spend one minute more in pain than is necessary.

"So is it treat time already?"

So that’s what I did – I mooched bare foot into the kitchen with Tattoo darting ahead of me – she is also getting on, although 12 years is not so old for a cat – jumping with a familiar thump sound onto the feeding table. She had cause to complain as all the food bowls were empty! Pooklie, the littlest and youngest member of the family, uncurled herself from her nest on the kitchen counter, where she is NOT supposed to be sleeping, and jumped down with her characteristically “hurmpfffff”. I swear that’s the closest I can get to a literary imitation of the sound this dragon kitty of mine makes. Okay – musically the end part of the sound goes up and is a sweet, whistley sound. It is an arresting sound and always works at arresting my stride as I stop and stoop down to give her a love. She is a white cat who mostly looks like a black cat – and if you think that’s a riddle it really isn’t! She is covered mostly by black looking fur  – except for darling little white socks and cute patches on her nose and chin – but when you part her fur there’s an inch of white fur next to her skin. Gettit?? She is a white cat parading as a black cat, which really is clever and something I wish I could do living in Africa. It is also clever for another reason as I would never have dreamt of being enslaved by a white cat (here I am making a huge assumption that I would have had a say in the matter!) as they are sooooo full of nonsense, tending to have skin problems and allergies. Well, guess what – she does! That’s why I don’t reprimand her for sleeping where ever she is comfortable as it is just so hard for her to find a spot to rest that agrees with her. Most materials, like blankets – of any kind – seem to cause her skin to twitch and shudder, resulting in a massive leap in the air and a scolding look at me as if I had something to do with it. And I might add – in case you were thinking it -  we do not have fleas in our house. So mostly she curls up on little stacks of paper and straw mats that I put together for her. She has discovered that the grass place mats stacked on the kitchen counter are comfy AND forbidden, so was there ever going to be a choice here!?

"I'm just not amused okay!"

Kettle on and filled with yummy filtered water from our reverse osmosis filter that James so cleverly installed a couple of months back. This is really a life saver as the quality of our municipal water has become barely drinkable due to mismanagement. While the kettle boils I’m gainfully employed by my slave masters in doling out treats and breakfast. Pooklie was more interested in another love than breakfast – a cat after my own heart – and with another “hurmpffff” launched herself off the feeding table and invited me to do some bend downs, sort of like yoga postures that cats encourage their slaves to do, that entails them painfully stretching from the hips down and stroking these little bodies that keep moving just beyond reach. It’s is very good for getting the blood to the brain and toning the bum muscles so as always I am happy to acquiesce(I spelt that hoping against hope that the spell check would NOT go on, but of course it did!)(actually on the “sc” combo at the end of the word that I didn’t get – so not such an idiot after all!).

The kettle got to the right level of hissing desperation – it doesn’t switch itself off, so I have to stand close by to flip the switch to put it out of it’s misery. Anyone dithering over flipping the switch of a life support system?? You know who to call – I do it at least 5 times a day. Chikree is a coffee substitute made from mostly chicory and I drink it with creamer as I can not tolerate caffeine rushes nor can I tolerate milk. Can you see why I attracted a cat like Pooklie? She knew I would be understanding and sympathetic.Even our gardener has all kinds of food allergies – what the heck is going on when a young, strapping Xhosa man can’t eat wheat without turning pale and sweaty!!?? Having procured a mug (has to be MY mug – the one I bought from our local pottery called Starways) full of this doubtful brew, I head gleefully for bed, smartly side stepping Pooklie who is angling for me to do some more bend downs – and that’s when the thought of cuddling up in bed with my mug of Chikree next to me and the laptop on my lap (where else?) to write you this email occurs to me and no sooner had I grasped the inspiration than the deed is done, the mug empty and I hope you’ll enjoy the sharing!!

My mug next to a lovely, thought provoking, beautifully illustrated book by Andrew Hofmeyer

What to do with the rest of the day??? Well it is still seems like bed is a good place to stay with the weather looking determinedly winterish – and I have downloaded a number of free e-books which I am keen to sift through for the nuggets of goodness they will hopefully have to offer – and surprise me they often do. Then there is the thought of James’ arrival home from East London later this afternoon, which means a quick straighten up around the house and a supper to prepare (it means more than just this of course – I do have a nice warm feeling in the pit of my stomach at the thought of him being home again), but that is still some time away. I think the bed has won this round – that is until one of my pals phones and twists my arm to come out for coffee and cake – they never give up up, Bless them – and then no doubt the baboons will see my car leave (I can hear the sentinel shouting the odds as I write) and make a bee-line (okay – a very BIG bee-line) for the chestnut tree growing next to the house and……. I hate the mess they make of the tree – and I guess I’m prepared really for the day to have it’s way with me. Ce’la vive (okay I flunked French and the spellcheck checked out on this one offering “Flame’s” hopefully as a correction – huh???) – I know, you know what I mean )

Lotttttttttttssssssssaaaaaaaa LOVE

Your daughter

Wotsername?

See if you can tell who is who from the above post!

The photo of the Alsatian in the top right hand corner is of Jonathan who has slipped the bonds of the Matrix, but who will always be a part of any family photo.

You know you’ve had a light lunch when it’s over before the coffee’s made!

So you think that’s lunch you’ve just eaten?? Diane’s Dark, Dreary Matrix

I’ve just been over to Flikr and as always ended going down the most awesome rabbit holes. Of GREAT interest to me is that artists are also using this platform to showcase their work, including a whole bunch of molekine art groups. Really worth looking at – especially the works of one “whitestoneturtle”.

Also have a look at the portrait on danny st’s photo stream called Stranger #47 – totally arresting!

Okay! Have to include my favourite Flikr photo for the day:

I’m coasting – as you can see from the above. It’s a mountain Thursday – guaranteed to be totally different from a city Thursday. It’s hard for me to even imagine the sound of traffic or the feeling of having to do/be/work somewhere. What a luxury!! I bet even Sir Richard Branson is hustling right now wishing he could be hanging out like I am! Guess, for now, that makes me a billionaire!!

As far as spell breaking goes!!!! This should really be called a “spell bound” blog. I am however digging Eckhart Tolle’s stuff about being present and not jerked around by the pain body. Also starting to wonder if the “Dark Matrix” is not just the “unconscious self” or as I now prefer to call it – “the deeper self”??

I am also digging (anywhere but in the garden) Dan Millman’s book “The Life you were born to lead”. There just is s-o-m-e-t-h-i-n-g about numbers, or maybe I should say “behind” numbers that makes them interesting. This is not going to be a discourse on numerology – yet, but I’m certainly starting to see, for instance, a chatty person in the light of “She’s probably working with 5 energy” or a very aloof, cool person as “He’s got 7 energy”- and mostly I’d be right! Dan’s book puts a lot of meat on numerology’s bones.

Haven’t finished a post off for a while with my favourite quote:

So you think that’s air you’re breathing?

From The Matrix movie

Vivian if you're 52 in this photo I definitely want to know your secret!

One of the many spells she has very successfully managed to break is the “You have to be a very educated, qualified and well known writer to be published” spell. Also the “You have to write what publishers think will sell” spell got bludgeoned by her.

Another one “You have to be hip and happening – translate that into young – to become a famous blogger spell” has had it’s guts ripped out. Okay – she’s actually not that old either – but non-the-less, pretty fine going there Vivian!

Don’t believe me?? Have a read on her blog site: Vivian Swift and check our her Website for more stuff.

Tell you what – I’m in AWE!

A “not doing” is a doing that your habitual nature, most often your less conscious self resists doing with all it’s might.

When that self resists picking up the phone and making an important, potentially life altering call; making the call and being damned or exalted – is a “not doing”.

My ” not doings”  have been:

1. To pack away the books that tempt me to read them all, all at once. I have processed this one and have found that on a less conscious level I feel they may disappear before I can read them, which is just not logical, okay!
2. Then I’ve tackled the assignment, which is writing essays on five of the archetypes discussed on Douglas Forbes’ Human Pincode workshop, and have almost completed two so far!
3. The 6th pillar will have to wait until the weather clears so the builders can complete it – but at least I have got them on standby!
4. And I have definitely got my blogging cap back on: Easter rains come early? and Rainbow over the Hogs

I still have to listen to Gerald’s 14th CD – and then I’m going to go over each one again and will do a write up here on my thoughts and feelings about his Remote Influencing course. I still have to also get back into Facebook and do a catch up there – but feel that is not such a priority.

I’ve re read some of the posts on this blog and found myself rubbing out Gerald Durrell’s name (witness no link created between his name and his ARVARI website) and I’m wondering why?

I’m wondering why the row of stone pillars I had built has the last one half formed making the whole line of five pillars look spare?

I’m surrounded by towers of  half read and digested books.

I have an assignment that I just don’t seem to get around to finishing……. WHY??

I’ve read somewhere – probably in one of the many half read books – that babies delivered with assistance have issues with putting in that last bit of effort and so on some level I guess I’m waiting for someone else to complete everything for me. Makes sense. So having identified this spell, how do I go about breaking it??

1. Get back to blogging – it’s not going to blog itself, and this is a good exercise for me to develop my honesty and writing skills.

2. Listen to Geralds’ last ARVARI CD, so I can say at least I have finished the course and then decide if I want to continue working with it.

3. Get the last stone pillar completed.

4. Put away all the books that have nothing to do with my assignment until I’ve completed the work.

5. Finish the freekin assignment already!!!

6. Get it into my head and heart that NOBODY’S coming to do it for me!!

Spell breaking can be just  that – you take the spell firmly in both hands and you crack it over your thigh, very firmly and snappily like.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

WARNING!

BRAIN CELL TWEAKING READ

This is a well written essay that outlines how physicists and metaphysicians are AT LAST on the same page about the nature of reality.

I’m only offering some excerpts from this article here – get the full version at:

A Holographic View of Reality

David S. Walonick, Ph.D.

“Bohm (1987) concluded that the implications of nonlocal connections are that objective reality itself is entirely a construct of the human brain. The true nature of reality remains hidden from us. Our brains operate as a holographic frequency analyzer, decoding projections from a more fundamental dimension. Bohm concludes that even space and time are constructs of the human brain, and they may not exist as we perceive them.”

“Matter itself may be gravitationally trapped light. (Toben, 1975)”

“One of the most central themes of modern physics is to be able to describe the mechanics of our perceived universe. In the 18th century, Leibniz first maintained that space, time, matter, and energy were merely intellectual constructs (Talbot, 1991, p. 291). Modern quantum theory supports this proposition, where matter exists only as a probability on a continuum. For example, when we attempt to observe an electron, it becomes impossible to pinpoint its exact location. Bohm remarked that “what appears to be a stable, tangible, visible, audible world is an illusion. It is dynamic and kaleidoscopic–not really there”. Bentov (1982, p. 56) describes reality as a vast empty space filled with oscillating fields.”

“The atoms of our bodies are very high frequency oscillators that vibrate at a rate of about 1015 Hertz. It is quite possible that our bodies blink on and off at this frequency. We currently have no technology to measure such rapid phenomena. (Unterseher, et al., 1982, p. 364)”

“Carl Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious is compatible with holographic theory.”

“Synchronicities are coincidences that are so meaningful that it is unlikely that they can be attributed to chance alone. Jung was the first to perceive these events as more than simple coincidence. He proposed that some unknown mechanism buried deep within the psyche was responsible for these events, and that they were controlled by some kind of acausal mechanism. Physicist Paul Davies (1988) agrees that “non-local quantum effects are indeed a form of synchronicity in the sense that they establish a connection–more precisely a correlation–between events for which any form of causal linkage is forbidden.” (Talbot, 1991, p. 79)

Another physicist, F. David Peat (1987), believes that synchronicities represent “flaws” in the fabric of reality. These fissures give us a momentary connection to the underlying nature of the implicate order. They demonstrate the possibility of connecting with the true nature of the universe. Peat believes that the scarcity of synchronicity demonstrates the degree to which we have cut ourselves off from the deeper orders of mind and reality.

Many scientists now believe the brain and body operate on holographic principles on the cellular, molecular, and neural levels. In Space-Time and Beyond, Bob Toben (1975, p. 130) describes how DNA contains the coding for orderly growth. “Nonlinearity in electrochemical reaction pathways of biological processes provides feedback patterns that are responsible for self-organization. On a deeper level, there may be self-organizing biogravitational fields whose structure determines the shape of biological molecules, cellular differentiation, and the overall shape of living systems”.

“Many physicists have begun to describe the universe in words that resemble Eastern philosophy. Bohm talks about the “dimension of consciousness beyond the concrete world of our ordinary experience”. Capra discusses the “web of connectedness which cannot be described in words”. Beauregard quotes from ancient Indian scriptures about the “illusionary nature of separateness”. John Wheeler summarized the holographic view of the universe when he said, “There may be no such thing as the ‘glittering central mechanism of the universe.’… Not machinery but magic may be the better description of the treasure that is waiting.” (Toben, 1975)”