The Neural Basis of NonDuality
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 5:04 am
The nondual community and people like DAM often touted and peddled nonduality as if it is something great and they are superior people.
(I have had such altered states of consciousness in various forms, it is nothing great)
The nondual experience is an altered state of consciousness that happened to some people due to various mental [sane and insane] issues.
An altered states of consciousness can also be induced in many natural and artificial ways.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered_s ... sciousness
the Minimal Conscious State [MCS]
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=25317
This is the self-awareness with a sense of "I-ness" in the non-waking state.
This MCS is switched off during sleep but switched on during the dreaming state.
This MCS is also active when a person is in coma.
In the normal human being, the person has a waking state that operates in degrees within a continuum.
Example a person can be awake and be drowsy, drunk, etc.
A person in normal conscious state can even dream at the same time, note Lucid Dreaming.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream
A normal person in a waking conscious state is self-aware with an ego, i.e. the conscious I-ness, "me-ness" and is conscious of an independent external reality out there.
What happened in an altered state of consciousness is the normal waking state of consciousness is switched off in a split second [sudden knock on the head, a TKO in boxing or even in a orgasm] or some period of time as in a drug or hallucinogen session.
In the typical nondual altered state of consciousness as it had happened to those in the nondual community, the normal waking state of consciousness is switched off but the Minimal Conscious State [MCS] is still on.
When the normal waking state of consciousness [waking-I] is switched off, thus there is no experience of normal reality of the external reality and the waking-I [ego] but the MCS [the fundamental "I"] is still active.
It is because the MCS is still active that the nondualist can have hindsight reflection of that altered state of consciousness but find difficulty to put the experience into words precisely.
One good example of a non-bias experience of nonduality is that from Jill Bolte a rational neuroscientists who did not deliberately seek it but rather experienced it from a serious brain damage during a stroke.
My stroke of insight - Jill Bolte
https://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_ta ... anguage=en
One will notice from Jill Bolte's recall, she still have some sense of "I" [i.e. MCS] while being totally lost with her "ego".
This indicate her MCS is still active while her normal conscious self is switched off and she strove [from MCS and somewhere] to switch back her normal conscious self to call for help.
The neural basis of the nondual altered state of consciousness is this;
the normal person's waking conscious state is switched off by various reasons. i.e.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered_s ... on_methods
but the person's Minimal Conscious State [MCS] is still active.
Some nondualists will speculate from their experience to insist a real Absolute/Oneness exists. This based on a transcendental illusion and is delusional.
Views?
(I have had such altered states of consciousness in various forms, it is nothing great)
The nondual experience is an altered state of consciousness that happened to some people due to various mental [sane and insane] issues.
An altered states of consciousness can also be induced in many natural and artificial ways.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered_s ... sciousness
- 4 Induction methods
4.1 Pharmacological
4.2 Non-pharmacological
4.3 Pathologies/other
4.3.1 Traumatic experience
4.3.2 Epilepsy
4.3.3 Oxygen deficiency
4.3.4 Infections
4.3.5 Sleep deprivation
4.3.6 Fasting
4.3.7 Psychosis
the Minimal Conscious State [MCS]
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=25317
This is the self-awareness with a sense of "I-ness" in the non-waking state.
This MCS is switched off during sleep but switched on during the dreaming state.
This MCS is also active when a person is in coma.
In the normal human being, the person has a waking state that operates in degrees within a continuum.
Example a person can be awake and be drowsy, drunk, etc.
A person in normal conscious state can even dream at the same time, note Lucid Dreaming.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream
A normal person in a waking conscious state is self-aware with an ego, i.e. the conscious I-ness, "me-ness" and is conscious of an independent external reality out there.
What happened in an altered state of consciousness is the normal waking state of consciousness is switched off in a split second [sudden knock on the head, a TKO in boxing or even in a orgasm] or some period of time as in a drug or hallucinogen session.
In the typical nondual altered state of consciousness as it had happened to those in the nondual community, the normal waking state of consciousness is switched off but the Minimal Conscious State [MCS] is still on.
When the normal waking state of consciousness [waking-I] is switched off, thus there is no experience of normal reality of the external reality and the waking-I [ego] but the MCS [the fundamental "I"] is still active.
It is because the MCS is still active that the nondualist can have hindsight reflection of that altered state of consciousness but find difficulty to put the experience into words precisely.
One good example of a non-bias experience of nonduality is that from Jill Bolte a rational neuroscientists who did not deliberately seek it but rather experienced it from a serious brain damage during a stroke.
My stroke of insight - Jill Bolte
https://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_ta ... anguage=en
One will notice from Jill Bolte's recall, she still have some sense of "I" [i.e. MCS] while being totally lost with her "ego".
This indicate her MCS is still active while her normal conscious self is switched off and she strove [from MCS and somewhere] to switch back her normal conscious self to call for help.
The neural basis of the nondual altered state of consciousness is this;
the normal person's waking conscious state is switched off by various reasons. i.e.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered_s ... on_methods
but the person's Minimal Conscious State [MCS] is still active.
Some nondualists will speculate from their experience to insist a real Absolute/Oneness exists. This based on a transcendental illusion and is delusional.
Views?