NSN is founder and CEO at Sensei Technologies. He has been practicing Heartfulness meditation for 20+ years and is deeply interested in the science of spirituality, software architecture & design philosophies. He also works with Brighter Minds to develop tools and techniques to enhance cognitive skills, especially for children.

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NS Nagaraja

<h4>N.S. NAGARAJA writes about sleep, dreams, cartoon heroes, near death experiences, twisting space and possibilities. What can our senses really tell us about the world around us and inside us?</h4>

Yes, I should have just slept that night. I was half asleep and ready to rest. The inseparable, my phone, caught my attention, and so I checked one last time for the day. There was a message from an old school mate, and it said a thing or two, ending with, “On matters of God, I am undecided.” I stared at it for some time not knowing how or what to say.

This spiritual field of feelings is not easy to explain to the intellectual mind. I felt, “Intellect of this kind could be considered as a state of ignorance for the other kind!” In the same half asleep, I happened to read a short article on Near Death Experiences, which said that NDE research is only records of the experiences of people who went through it, and that is not scientific enough. It said that NDE could simply be a neurobiological condition produced under low oxygen levels in the brain, leading to hallucination. How convincing (not)!

I thought, “Less oxygen leads one to biological death, is it not?” But this particular article was trying to convince us that one day science will be able to show that NDE is a creation of the brain and there will be methods to simulate that condition in the brain. Long ago, when I started meditation, I used to think that meditation could just be triggering a chemical change in the brain. Subsequently, my brain allowed for many possibilities and helped me transcend the trap of theories so that I could explore reality with an open mind. The same questions, time and again, cross many minds. Now it was surely time to sleep.

I slipped into sleep with some sort of awareness. Of course it was not a NDE for sure! Now I was in a dreamy state in which there was an idea: what if, now, at this moment, the physical space around me has another dimension? ...

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<h4 class="text-center">Article by N.S. NAGARAJA</h4>
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When I was half asleep

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<h4>NS NAGARAJA presents to us an index of some theories of consciousness that have
 been put forward in the fields of philosophy, science and spirituality. They are not the only theories, but they do
 awaken the curiosity to discover more!</h4>
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‘In Search of Consciousness’ is a nicer title than the article itself, and you will find
 out soon enough! This topic is all about a self in search of itself. For what purpose? When the finder finds
 oneself, who will know the answer? The finder or the found? Sometimes philosophy sounds like this, doesn’t it! The
 purpose of this article is to capture key ideas about consciousness from the perspectives of philosophy,
 spirituality and science, and to motivate you to Google more – this is certainly not an exhaustive list. Not only
 that, this indexing type of article may encourage you to search, think and tinker with consciousness itself!
<h4>What is consciousness?</h4>
Let us start with a simple definition by Dr Christoff Koch: “Consciousness is everything
 that we experience.”
We have a physical body that performs many functions. Likewise, we all have, “Something
 in us that makes awareness or perception possible.” We know the simple sensory inputs of smell, taste, sight, touch
 and sound, which generate rich inner experience. The inner experience can be joy, pain or complex imagination, and
 so on.
Is the experience a physical phenomenon, arising out of complex information processing
 in the brain? Or is it a non-physical phenomenon associated with constructs like the soul or the self, or some
 universal field of energy?
Some philosophers consider experience as the hard problem of consciousness. Some
 scientists argue that once we understand how it works, it will be yet another physical process. This article will
 list some of the key intuitive approaches (spiritual approaches) and more mechanistic approaches to consciousness.

<h4>Theories of Consciousness</h4>
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 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/buddha_ee8681b1fa.jpg"
 alt="in-search-of-consciousness" />

<h5 style="text-align: center;">The Buddhist concept</h5>
Way back in 400 BC, Buddhist philosophy proposed that consciousness is the life force
 that continues across rebirths, and also posited that there are 9 levels of consciousness:
Levels 1 to 5 arise out of the five senses: eyes – sight, nose – smell, ears – hearing,
 tongue – taste, and body – touch;
Level 6 is the mind consciousness related to ideas and thoughts;
Level 7 is the inner life that creates the sense of self and is associated with emotions
 and attitude;
Level 8 is the subconscious, the repository of all karmic effects, that lives beyond
 this life; and
Level 9 is pure consciousness – a life force that creates complete harmony of the
 internal and external, and a sense of connectedness or oneness.
Buddhism provides a set of practices to expand or deepen consciousness through
 meditation and contemplation.


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<h5 style="text-align: center;">Plato</h5>
Around the same period, Plato theorized that the mind receives information through
 senses, and the soul uses this information to create form and perception.
The allegory of Plato’s Cave is a simple thought experiment that gives interesting
 insights on how Plato viewed the problem of perception. Aristotle, who was Plato’s disciple, argued that the soul is
 seated in the heart and is the principal power by which life itself happens. Aristotle seemed to imply that
 consciousness is the property of the soul itself.


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<h5 style="text-align: center;">Integrated Information Theory and Consciousness
 Meter</h5>
Many scientists have tried to derive an understanding of consciousness by starting with
 the laws of physics, and therelationship between consciousness and the brain is still a subject of deep research. On
 the other hand, Integrated Information Theory (IIT) is a body of research that seeks to explain consciousness by
 first accepting its existence, and then reasoning about what sort of physical entity could manifest consciousness.

IIT was first proposed by Giulio Tononi in 2004 and has since undergone many
 improvements. Some characteristics it attributes to consciousness are:
It exhibits composition where there are distinct elements in it that are part of the
 experience.
Each experience is distinct and differentiated from other experiences in the past or
 future.
It is unified and it cannot be reduced to smaller experiences of phenomena inside it.

IIT lays down certain postulates on what a physical entity like the brain that manifests
 consciousness needs to have. It should have cause-effect power, meaning it can influence other entities and can be
 influenced by other entities.
IIT also gives an account of why conscious brains might have evolved: brains that
 reflect the causal structure of their environment in their internal causal structure can adapt better.
IIT lays down facts about relationship between the brain and consciousness as well as
 providing certain inferences and extrapolations about consciousness. For example, the cerebral cortex is more likely
 to manifest consciousness than the cerebellum, because the neurons in the cerebral cortex can form a complex large
 enough for consciousness whereas the neurons in the cerebellum do not.
IIT also predicts that experiences can be had even when the cerebral cortex is silent,
 like in states of meditation. This body of knowledge has become an important step in advancing our understanding of
 consciousness.
Tononi and team have developed a tool to measure the consciousness level of a person.
 The Zap and Zip Technique involves sending an intense magnetic pulse through the skull and recording the induced
 electrical flow in the neuronal networks. A simple algorithm is then used to compute the complexity of brain
 activity. When tested on normal people, people under the influence of anesthesia, and people in a comatose state,
 the values obtained have consistently shown that it is possible to quantify and determine whether someone is
 conscious or not. Further research might help us understand how widespread consciousness is in nature.


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<h5 style="text-align: center;">Global Workspace Theory</h5>
Imagine you are seated in a theater, looking at the stage. On stage there are many
 actors, objects, the backdrop, movement, colors and sound. Now imagine a spotlight focused only on one actor and his
 actions. Everything else is still there, but it is not the focus. The director, technicians, audience and all other
 activities have slipped into the background and the spotlight highlights the one actor and his movement as the main
 focus. All the complex co-ordination, support and direction processes are all hidden. The conscious part is seen by
 the audience, directed by the spotlight. Hold on to this idea.
Now think that the whole brain is a theater, with many parts of the brain performing
 various functions. Now assume that our focus (spotlight) is on some set of thoughts or experiences; our conscious
 awareness is mainly on one thing, and all others are in the background. Global Workspace Theory proposes that all
 sensory and other inputs are communicated to all cognitive functional components of the brain. The conscious
 experience is generated as a result of some focused neuronal activities, and many others are hidden in the
 background to support this. According to GWT, consciousness in an integrative function of the brain to generate the
 rich experience. Bernard Baars is the architect of this theory, which provides an interesting perspective to origins
 of consciousness.


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<h5 style="text-align: center;">Orchestrated Objective Reduction – the Quantum View
</h5>
Many scientists have constructed new theories to explain consciousness. Karl Pribam,
 David Bohm and many others have believed that classical mechanics is not sufficient to explain the phenomenon of
 consciousness. They propose that the quantum mechanical phenomenon, the entanglement and superposition, may play a
 role in brain functioning and, in some way, provide the basis for conscious experience.
Roger Penrose and Stuart Hameroff have been working since the early ’90s on a theory of
 consciousness known as Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch-OR or OOR). OOR is a new effort to bring physics and
 neuroscience together to explain how the brain may be involved in the process of consciousness. The fundamental
 hypothesis is that the neurons have molecular structures (microtubules), which can potentially support quantum
 processes. This theory argues that consciousness is not because of some complex processing in the brain, but instead
 it is because of quantum processes inside neurons. Such a possibility in theory opens up large scale information
 processing, and even takes perception beyond the individual into the realm of a connected universal field. There
 seems to be some early evidence to prove the existence of quantum activity in brain cells.


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<h5 style="text-align: center;">Subtle Body Approach – Energy Field</h5>
In the Heartfulness philosophy, consciousness is seen as the integrated field of the
 subtle body, which has a spectrum consisting of the subconscious, conscious and superconscious. The expansion of
 consciousness from the current level of a person to the depths of the subconscious and the heights of the
 superconscious is known as spiritual evolution. And this evolution continues beyond the consciousness spectrum.
 Daaji has written extensively on the spiritual anatomy of the chakras, the subtle bodies and consciousness. Daaji’s
 integrative approach provides simplified and rich information, and many new insights for all who want to dive deeper
 in the mysteries of consciousness.
In search of consciousness, outwardly, will give you lots of theories. In search of consciousness inwardly, what will
 you get?
Deep within it is bliss; high above it is oneness.
Transcending consciousness; what lies beyond?
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References: 
 Integrated information theory, <a
 href="http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Integrated_ information_theory">http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Integrated_ information_theory
 </a> 
 Integrated information theory: from consciousness to its physical substrate, <a
 style="color: #b38a1b;"
 href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn.2016.44">https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn.2016.44</a>

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<h4 style="text-align: center;">Article by NS NAGARAJA</h4>


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In search of consciousness

<h4>NS NAGARAJA shares some thoughts on the science of peace.</h4><hr>Peace is something everybody wants. Perhaps it is one of the top ten highly prized items! What is this peace?Peace is “freedom from disturbance.” A disturbed state comes when there is disruption from normal and steady functioning. This applies to an individual inside, as well as to a community, a state or a country. By the time I finished writing this line, almost accidentally I read something about T. S. Elliot’s The Waste Land. I was sure that I would not be able to read and understand 434 lines of poetry, but I wanted to check what it was about. The ending caught my attention: “Shantih shantih shantih.”. I was not interested in The Waste Land any more, but in the person who wrote it, and what made him write “Peace, peace, peace” at the end. He must be a noble soul.The Nobel prizewinner had a great amount of disturbance in his personal life. It pushed him to create great literary works like The Waste Land that left a yearning with the signature saying, “We want peace, peace and peace.” Elliot moved on from The Waste Land and produced other great works, perhaps in the state of peace.This led me to explore more of the science of peace. The first reference I came across is from the field of practical philosophy taught in the Upanishads. I must warn you that I know very little about the Upanishads, but they talk about Tapa trayas, the three kinds of troubles (I had a lot of them!) and how to resolve them and achieve peace. Adi bhautika (physical realm) troubles arise out of external circumstances, Adi daivika (divine realm) troubles arise out of karmic laws and Adhyaatmika troubles arise out of one’s own self – body and mind.The Upanishads preach that shanti mantras (prayers for peace) can bring the troubled individual out of this troubled condition. Now my curiosity started growing. We all know that a particular state of being embodies a certain level of consciousness, but that itself is a knowledge and we may not have of full understanding of it. In the ancient teachings, mantras were used to invoke certain knowledge and a condition in the person reciting them, whereas repeating them mechanically is a ritualistic act with little or no results.&nbsp;<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/peace_from_the_waste_land_other_realms_1_img_bf1ec4f39c.jpg">&nbsp;Here are some of these prayers called shanti mantras.One from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says:Aum! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. (Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe), It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone. Aum! Peace! Peace! Peace!This evokes a sense of the vastness of existence. The “I” is part of such infinity. Moving the mind in this thought itself can be elevating. Attaching the mind to that higher ideal, that Reality, even if it is temporary, will produce corresponding vibrations and feelings.This one from the Taittiriya Upanishad brings a simple idea of togetherness. If we truly immerse our minds in the meaning, will we not start caring about our co-travelers?Aum! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together; May we work conjointly with great energy, May our study be vigorous and effective; May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any). Aum! Let there be peace in me! Let there be peace in my environment! Let there be peace in the forces that act on me!&nbsp;<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/peace_from_the_waste_land_other_realms_2_img_ae4136f5d7.jpg">&nbsp;The following shanti mantra from the Aitareya Upanishad is about integrity and being truthful:Aum! May my speech be in accord with my mind; May my mind be in accord with speech. O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me. May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me. May all that I have heard not depart from me. I shall join together day And night through this study. I shall utter what is verbally true; I shall utter what is mentally true. May That (Brahman) protect me; May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me; May That protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker. Aum! Peace! Peace! Peace! Lead us from the unreal to the real Lead us from darkness to light Lead us from death to immortality Aum! Peace! Peace! PeaceNow, can all this knowledge and understanding of peace come without truly being in that state of being, that spiritual condition? Ponder over it.Let the spiritual condition create the necessary awareness and knowledge in us. If pursued under proper guidance and with the help of Yogic Transmission, meditation can truly create that spiritual condition in us. Let peace not remain as knowledge or definition. Let it be the foundation of our existence and help us launch our consciousness into a realm yet to be known.&nbsp;

NS Nagaraja

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