Reply To: Consciousness, as part of the quantum fields.

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    Rex Barker

    Member
    21 October 2023 at 12:21 pm

    Hello Chris,

    I wonder how we can move forward on this issue without accepting and acknowledging personal experience in this matter. Whilst I have been exploring this field for many years, I was inspired to do so through personal awareness of the nature of reality and the limitations caused by our sensory awareness capabilities. Science is hobbled by the need to quantify or specify every aspect under scrutiny, and yet we can experience the true nature of reality spontaneously within a context where no-one else with you does. There are so many moments when I have been aware of the immensity of reality but unable to describe it to another. On one occasion I was walking in a snow covered forest in the midst of winter with moonlight the only illumination. At one point, having already realised the potential danger of roaming wild boar packs, I realised I had nothing to scare them off. I could either return to the lodge for a torch, or trust the universe and continue my walk. I chose the latter and some 20 minutes later, having just turned to return, I was dumbfounded when my awareness of everything in the most intense detail occurred. I could clearly recognise every pine needle on each twig/branch, every individual snowflake, every insect crawling on the bark in minute detail. I was shocked and in awe. As I continued to walk the sense of connection was overwhelming and yet I remained peaceful and did not want the experience to end.

    In exploring the nature of our iconic memory during my psychology studies I became aware of how easily we allow our social enculturation to hobble our experiences. We do not want to acknowledge anything that isolates us from the ‘normal’ and in doing so restrict ourselves as we interpret the iconic memory to conform to social standards. I realised this as the experiment I was subject to progressed and realised that despite being asked to express the first thought that arose, my fellow students were filtering their response to avoid getting it ‘wrong’ and looking stupid as a graduate student. I accepted that I may be stupid and said whatever came to mind and immediately showed 30% increased positive identification. My results were excluded because I said what I had done and was therefore guilty of altering the hypothesis under which it was conducted. So much for science and reality!

    How can we now bring these together?