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  • What is consciousness?

  • There is a very unique phenomenon,

  • which remains, even today,

  • inexplicable by science and philosophy.

  • Furthermore, this phenomenon is so common,

  • that only few even notice

  • that it is exceptional and cannot be explained.

  • This phenomenon is called:

  • "experience"

  • Suppose we look at a rose,

  • and we experience the color red.

  • But, what is red?

  • Some may say: "what's the problem?"

  • Red is in fact light,

  • an electromagnetic wave

  • in the range of visible light frequencies,

  • with a frequency of about 450 tera-hertz.

  • But, is it so?

  • According to the prevailing scientific theory today,

  • an electromagnetic wave is actually

  • an electric field and a magnetic field

  • moving together through space,

  • while the strength of the fields

  • oscillates at a certain frequency.

  • You may have seen this illustration before:

  • An electromagnetic wave doesn't look like that -

  • this is only a graphic illustration

  • of the strength of the force fields

  • of a single beam.

  • The three-dimensional structure

  • of the scattering of electromagnetic waves

  • is more similar to this:

  • Only that in this manner

  • it is harder to illustrate the two force fields

  • and the relation between them.

  • Ultimately, light is just fields

  • exerting magnetic and electric force.

  • By the way, the reason we don't

  • see the light exerting force

  • on magnets or electrical charges

  • is because the field is changing

  • the direction of the force it exerts

  • so rapidly

  • that it practically cancels itself

  • for objects on a large scale.

  • However,

  • it certainly exerts force

  • on objects at the molecular or atomic level.

  • But,

  • since light is essentially

  • just forces of attraction and repulsion,

  • where is the Red?

  • And why is it that,

  • if we slightly change the frequency of the wave,

  • as in this example,

  • it causes us to experience blue,

  • which is a completely different experience from red.

  • At this point

  • there would be those who would say:

  • "The blue and red are not in the electromagnetic wave,

  • but in the brain.

  • The electromagnetic wave is simply the trigger

  • that activates,

  • through the mechanism of vision,

  • the experience of blue or red in our brain."

  • OK.

  • So we have made some progress.

  • We agreed that experience

  • is not a quality of the external world -

  • rather, it resides inside the brain.

  • So let's look for the experience

  • in the brain....

  • In order to do so,

  • let us look at a simplified computer:

  • It has a camera,

  • a processing mechanism,

  • a memory and a screen.

  • The electromagnetic wave hits the camera.

  • The camera sends analog electrical signals

  • to the processing mechanism.

  • It transforms these signals to a digital code

  • which is then stored in the memory.

  • Later,

  • the processing mechanism

  • retrieves the code from memory,

  • converts it into electrical signals

  • that reach the screen

  • and are converted back into electromagnetic waves.

  • Can we say that the computer

  • is experiencing red?

  • Probably not.

  • In this system there are: electromagnetic waves,

  • electric signals,

  • digital codes, stored in a magnetic or other medium,

  • but, nowhere can we find an experience of red.

  • What about the brain?

  • The brain is not much different

  • from the computer,

  • (except it has no monitor)

  • The light, hitting the eye,

  • turns into electrical signals,

  • which are sent to the brain.

  • There they are converted

  • into other electrical signals

  • or to chemical signals

  • that are actually various molecules of protein

  • used for transferring the information

  • in the neural process.

  • So, what do we have here?

  • Electromagnetic waves,

  • electrical signals,

  • molecules,

  • brain cells and structures -

  • that are essentially

  • also molecules of various substances.

  • This is a machine that runs on physical laws.

  • So, where is the experience of red?

  • Where is the experience of blue?

  • Where is the taste, the pain, the love?

  • I hope you understand what I'm talking about.

  • There is nothing in the known physical world

  • that can explain the existence of experience.

  • This is a very subtle distinction,

  • so I want to give another example

  • that might further clarify it.

  • When you take a picture

  • and save it to the computer's memory,

  • where is the picture?

  • In the computer's memory, right?

  • Not true.

  • There is no image in the memory of the computer.

  • In the memory of the computer

  • there is a binary code,

  • which is a long number consisting of the digits

  • 0 and 1.

  • For example:

  • All the files on the computer are stored in this way,

  • whether they are images, music, text etc.

  • So, how can you claim -

  • that this number is an image?

  • It can equally be a text or music.

  • Indeed, this number is neither an image,

  • a text or music.

  • It is just a code.

  • Codes,

  • and virtually all information

  • are meaningful only in the presence

  • of a decoding mechanism -

  • a mechanism that has

  • the ability and knowledge

  • to take the information

  • and turn it into something else

  • - in this case, a picture.

  • Without a decoding mechanism,

  • this number is meaningless.

  • Similarly, everything in the brain

  • - its cells, its chemicals

  • or the electrical impulses in the nerves

  • - is just the interaction of forces

  • and physical structures.

  • These contain no experience.

  • They may serve as a code that triggers experiences,

  • but, where is the decoding mechanism?

  • Now we have reached consciousness.

  • Consciousness is the thing,

  • that makes the experience possible.

  • If you like, you can say

  • it is the decoding mechanism

  • of the brain.

  • Moreover, consciousness is the experiencer itself.

  • It is quite clear that there cannot be an experience

  • without someone experiencing it.

  • However,

  • the experiencer and the experience

  • are not the same.

  • As I said in the video "who am I",

  • the word consciousness is often used

  • to refer the mind or intelligence.

  • I use it with a specific meaning:

  • The capacity to experience

  • to be aware of….

  • We can imagine consciousness as a blank screen.

  • On the screen we can project films

  • using a projector.

  • The projector is the brain.

  • The films are experiences:

  • cold, hot,

  • love, pain,

  • knowing how to make an apple pie

  • and so on.

  • They are what I call: the MIND

  • or the PSYCHE.

  • Where is the viewer?

  • The viewer is actually the screen itself.

  • The screen enables the existence of these films

  • and it experiences them,

  • but it is not the films.

  • Let us look at some features of consciousness

  • which can be found out by self observation

  • and logical thinking:

  • 1) You cannot observe your consciousness

  • and the reason is

  • that consciousness itself is the observer.

  • It cannot observe itself

  • just as we cannot see our eyes.

  • We can only observe the thoughts,

  • the emotions and the sensations we have,

  • and conclude by that

  • what consciousness is.

  • It can be said that the consciousness:

  • needs the mind in order to know itself.

  • 2) Consciousness is constant and unchanging:

  • No matter how many films

  • we project onto the screen,

  • the screen will not change

  • and will remain essentially blank.

  • This means

  • that no matter what we experience in our life,

  • our consciousness is NOT affected by it.

  • You may say:

  • "but if I go through a traumatic experience,...

  • ...I continue to experience it...

  • ...all my life".

  • This is true,

  • but it isn't your consciousness that has changed,

  • but rather, your memory,

  • that is, the mind.

  • This means

  • that the projector gets stuck on a tragic film

  • and continues to project it

  • onto the screen of consciousness

  • for a lifetime,

  • but the screen itself is still blank,

  • that is: content-less.

  • By the way,

  • remember the condition for the existence of the "I",

  • in the video "who am I"?

  • The "I" has to be constant everywhere I am.

  • And since consciousness is always with us,

  • and it never changes,

  • it meets this condition.

  • Wait a minute

  • but if consciousness doesn't change,

  • then why are there people talking about

  • states of consciousness

  • or the evolution of consciousness?

  • In fact,

  • according to the definition I use,

  • these are states of mind

  • and evolution of the mind

  • which enables consciousness to experience

  • a more subtle perception of reality.

  • 3) Consciousness is nothing that can become everything:

  • Question:

  • When does it happen to us

  • that there are no films on the screen?

  • Answer:

  • When we lose consciousness

  • - like during deep sleep.

  • It is not that consciousness is gone,

  • but rather, that -

  • there is no experience projected onto it

  • and therefore it doesn't experience anything.

  • Therefore, we can say

  • that, in its essence,

  • consciousness is nothing.

  • A void.

  • Another question:

  • what films can be played on the screen?

  • Answer:

  • Any possible films.

  • This means that consciousness can experience

  • every possible experience.

  • Therefore, we can say

  • that it can, potentially, become anything.

  • And indeed it can,

  • because there is NOTHING in our reality

  • that is not an experience...

  • - but,

  • I'll explain this statement another time.

  • 4) The human mind limits the experiences of consciousness:

  • As we know

  • we can classify the human experiences

  • into three main categories:

  • Sensations - coming from the five senses,

  • Emotions - such as love, jealousy, anger, etc.

  • and Thoughts.

  • There may be other types of experiences

  • other than one of these three,

  • but, the human psyche,

  • as we know it in the average person,

  • doesn't know how to produce or receive

  • other types of experiences.

  • Even in the context of these

  • three types of experiences,

  • the human mind is limited.

  • For example,

  • there are animals that see and hear

  • beyond the range of frequencies

  • that we perceive.

  • If we could see light in ultraviolet ranges,

  • like bees, for example,

  • we may have been able

  • to experience new colors

  • that we are not experiencing now.

  • Finally, as human beings,

  • at least as far as we know,

  • our consciousness is limited

  • only to our inner world.

  • We do not directly experience

  • the feelings or thoughts of others

  • as we experience our own feelings and thoughts.

  • 5) Everyone's consciousness is the same:

  • if consciousness is a blank screen

  • that can experience

  • everything projected onto it,

  • this means that the consciousnesses of all people

  • are identical!

  • In fact,

  • they are identical to the consciousnesses

  • of animals

  • and any other sentient beings.

  • What distinguishes humans

  • and other sentient beings,

  • is the structure of their mind and its contents.

  • 6) Essentially, We are all the same:

  • Remember the question "Who am I?"

  • We have discovered that the 'I',

  • the "self", is consciousness.

  • And if all consciousnesses are identical,

  • so my "I", your "I"

  • and the "I" of

  • every other sentient being in the universe,

  • is identical.

  • I do not claim that all consciousnesses

  • are essentially the same one consciousness.

  • I have no way to examine this possibility.

  • I'm just saying that the characteristics

  • of all the various consciousnesses

  • are the same.

  • Many more profound insights

  • are coming soon

  • So subscribe now and get notified

  • when new videos are ready.

What is consciousness?

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