Chapter 8 Right in Front of our Eyes
Combs says personal growth is a natural implication of the perspective that views consciousness as a system near the edge of chaos.
How do higher levels of consciousness emerge?
Wilber believes that structures of consciousness tap into already existing states of consciousness. All people experience states of consciousness, waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep. People interpret their peak experiences in terms of their dominate structure of consciousness. This may be why spiritual encounters seem different for different people. Yet the entire experience of the sacred is steeped in a sense of profound realness beside which oridinary reality pales by comparison.
Chapter 9 A Benchmark for Evolution
The Wilber-Combs Matrix represents states of consciousness in terms of the developmemtal structures through which they are experienced and the realms of being that lend them content.
How far can a person penetrate above their root structure?
Perhaps all states of consciousness are available but as we develop we gain stability in the higher states.
The developmental process is one of becoming objective about aspects of self which were previously identified as self. This process allows our essential nature more freedom. At the mental level we gain a sense of autonomy. At the integral level we experience a growing sense of identity with others. At the transpersonal level our emotions, thoughts, and sense of self become objective.
Cook-Greuter found the most advanced individuals struggling to free themselves of perceptions, emotions, and thoughts. At this level the advance in complexity characteristic of the former stages turns toward greater simplicity as well. Perhaps greater objectivity allows for the greater purity and simplicity experienced at the higher levels.
Sri Aurobindo says we look down at the buzzing mechanistic mind from a position of objective nonattachment. He says we must separate the active mind (a factory of thoughts) from the quiet Witness which observes, eliminates, accepts and/or corrects the thoughts.
Combs says complexity brings objectivity. Our conscious self becomes integrated into a single fabric made up of thoughts, emotions, and motivations that otherwise drift as disconnected attractors that control us without our knowledge. Objectivity brings wholeness and freedom from fragmentation. Many people can read the behavior and emotions of others better than their own behavior and emotions. Objectivity towards one's own inner process brings self-mastery and understanding. This requires allowing diverse and ambivalent emotions, thoughts, memories and beliefs to become conscious. Psychological growth is the natural progression to higher levels of development.
Chapter 10 While the Mind is Utterly Indivisible
Combs says consciousness is not thought, feeling, sensation, imagination, memory or desire. All of these are events. They are categories of mind not consciousness. Objects of consciousness can be divided, but consciousness, presence, can not.
Consciousness takes the form of its container. As the mind grows so does consciousness.
Chapter 11 A Condition of Complete Simplicity
This chapter is about spiritual work. Combs uses a coordinate system of spiritual paths.
Axis one: constructive vs. emergent evolution
Growth of consciousness can occur by the gradual accumlation of elements, the way intelligence develops. Or in emergent evolution there can be a rapid and abrupt emergence. Deep insight in psychotherapy can suddenly appear, for example.
Axis two: ontic vs. noetic traditions
Tne ontic emphasizes realization of higher more real levels of being. The noetic emphasizes insight, knowledge, and truth. Ontic progresses by a constructive evolution, noetic by emergent evolution. Jnana Yoga uses both. The goal is direct identification with the Self; consciously becoming one's own true nature, by direct intuitive penetration to the essence of being. Jnana teaches, not this, not this.
To the question "Who Am I?" Ramana Maharishi answered not body, not senses, not thoughts, not emotions. When only Awareness remained, he said, "That I Am."
Paul Brunton described the short path, the habit of constantly reminding ourselves of our true nature. He says this is a form of practice that "begins and ends with the goal itself."
Axis three: anabolic vs. catabolic practices
Anabolic processes are constructive while catabolic processes are destructive. Ontic paths stress anabolic,constuctive evolutionary development, while noetic paths stress catabolic, destabizing practices that result in emergent evolution.
In spiritual practices, the deconstruction of oridinary consciousness is accompanied by active construction of nonordinary forms of consciousness.
In meditation an upright posture is used to promote strength and clarity of mind. The most advanced meditators can carry this clarity into day-to-day life. Meditation involves attention, which is the single most important factor in the activity of mind. Focusing attention brings an increased intensity and vitality to one's entire experience.
Mantras are also used in meditation to develop one-pointed attention. Combs says some mantras seem to act as attractors for subtle states of consciousness. He speculates that the uninterrupted repetition of virtually any sound can have a disruptive effect on the attractor of oridinary consciousness.
Combs refers to the self, not as the Self or Atman, but as a reflection of it in this human personality that can serve as an organizing principle (logos) guiding spiritual growth. He says development often progresses through periods of stability
marked off by bifurcations.
Vipassana meditation focuses attention directly on the content of consciousness. Balance increases as objectivity toward our own mental and emotional reactions increases. Objectivity or nonattachment is the single most important aspect of personal growth. The Witness carries one into the Atman Itself. Disentanglement from uncontrolled thought and emotion brings a clearing of the spirit and a new sense of freedom and nobility. Returning to a quiet balance point even after experiencing excitement cuts short the prolonged involvement with content of consciousness.
Advanced meditators can become quite animated or angry at times but it doesnt last.
Even neurotic habits disturb us less, we accept ourselves for what we are and raise above our qualities and take them less seriously.
Combs explains the two major traditions of human spirituaity. Introverted traditions withdraw from the world and extroverted traditions are active in the world.
Introverted forms lead to nirvana - a oneness with the inexpressible reality which always exists but is not recognized.
Combs says non-ordinary states of consciousness seem to be grounded in a profound state of peace and are marked by high intensity. Extroverted tradtitions are marked by an active, outgoing, and compassionate involvement in the living world. A pattern of consciousness takes shape which opens into the realm of active realization.
Introverted meditation focuses and concentrates attention. Extroverted meditation opens to experience the levels of being. Consciousness moves toward an opening to ever-widening realms of experience - inner sensitivity grows in cognitive domains as well as felt or intuitive domains. All this emerges from the self-organizing quality of consciousness as an autopoietic event. It is the ascendancy of pure experience over thematizing mind - the condition of realization or originary awareness. Originary awareness glows with the inner radiance of being yet opens us to the world in its immediate concreteness. It goes beyond the thematizing mind of mental abstractions toward an experience of the immediate present.
Gebser said integral consciousess is the most advanced structure of consciousness we know about. Combs says it is the most highly evolved cognitive structure, an intellectual end of the road. For those who cling to the thematizing mind the outcome may be bleak. Those with spiritual aspirations may be able to open to the light of originary awareness.
Combs definition of consciousness as a subjective presence reminds us of actual moment-to-moment experience. Objects and events are immediate and fresh, free of intellectual thematizations and remain transculent to the inner light of being.
Sri Aurobindo emphasized the importance of the body as the physical location for the most advanced forms of experience.
The experience of orginary consciousness is globally stable but never static and resting.
Each structure of consciousness has its own form of creativity but it is the brilliance of the origin itself shining through. Creativity is akin to spontaneity and freedom. Freedom is not external to us but our very condition. The true spontaneity of naturalness is an expression of Being. Supercompleteness is an intensification of consciousness in its original simplicity and freshness.
It is " A condition of complete simplicity, costing not less than everything." T.S.Eliot
Chapter 12 Living an Integral Life
Combs says we are of-a-piece - mind, body, sould, and spirit. Honoring this fact allows us to become complete human beings. We need to include our personal relationships and how we participate in the social and natural world in order to live an integral life.
How does one live an integral life?
Combs states that Ken Wilber's AQAL model is the inclusive. We are invited to consider the content of each of the four quadrants as we attempt to balance our personal and communal lives.
Combs says that we must also consider the four levels of body, mind, soul, and spirit. We care for our body with a balanced diet and exercise plan. We keep our minds active with new ideas and activities. We feed our soul with art, music, poetry, human friendships, and intimate relationships. We nurture our spirit with prayer and meditation.
Gebser says we need to live all the structures of consciousness; the wonder of the mythic, the clarity of the mental, the uplifiting light of the Origin.
Taoism embraces all of the structures of consciousness that Gebser identified. Most Taoists are opposed to any kind of hierarchy of authority and recognize each other as friends along the path.
The goal of Sri Aurobindo's integral yoga is to transform every aspect of ourselves into divine nature.
George Leonard and Michael Murphy's integral transformative practice was the first integral developmental progrm. It is explained in detail in their book The Life We Are Given. It is a commitment that requires long-term practice. Combs says only this practice explicitly addresses the social and cultural half of Wilber's quadrants.
Integral growth is a growth in complexity and an inner sense of wholeness as well as a lessening of fragmentation. Our thoughts, emotions, and bodies become interconnected.
Combs says we must each find our own path into the integral life but we all share the one light of the Origin.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Radiance of Being Section 3 Emergence
Emergence
Combs says personal growth is a natural implication of the perspective that views consciousness as a system near the edge of chaos.
How do higher levels of consciousness emerge?
Wilbur believes that structures of consciousness tap into already existing states of consciousness. All people experience states of consciousness, waking,dreaming, and dreamless sleep. People interpret their peak experiences in terms of their dominate structure of consciousness This may be why spiritual encounters seem different for different people.
The Wilber-Combs Matrix represents states of consciousness in terms of the developmental structures through which they are experienced and the realms of being that lend them content.
How far can a person penetrate above their root structure?
Perhaps all states of consciousness are available but as we develop we gain stability in the higher states.
The developmental process is one of becoming objective about aspects of self, which were previously identified as self. This process allows our essential nature more freedom. At the mental level we gain a sense of autonomy, at the integral level we experience a growing sense of identity with others. At the transpersonal level our emotions, thoughts, and sense of self become objective.
In her extensive interviews, Cook-Greuter found the most advanced individuals struggling to free themselves of perceptions, emotions, and thoughts. At this level the advance in complexity characteristic of the former stages turns toward greater simplicity, as well as greater complexity. Perhaps greater objectivity allows for the greater purity and simplicity experienced at the higher levels.
Sri Aurobindo says we look down at the buzzing mechanistic mind from a position of objective non-attachment. He says we must separate the active mind (a factory of thoughts) from the quiet Witness which observes, eliminates, accepts and/or corrects the thoughts.
Combs says complexity brings objectivity. Our conscious self becomes integrated into a single fabric made up of thoughts, emotions, and motivations that otherwise drift as disconnected attractors that control us without our knowledge. Objectivity brings wholeness and freedom from fragmentation.
Many people can read the behavior and emotions of others better than their own. Objectivity towards one's own inner process brings understanding and self-mastery. This requires allowing thoughts, memories, and beliefs to become conscious.
Psychological growth is the natural progression to high levels of development.
Next: While the Mind is Utterly Indivisible - unconscious thoughts
Combs says personal growth is a natural implication of the perspective that views consciousness as a system near the edge of chaos.
How do higher levels of consciousness emerge?
Wilbur believes that structures of consciousness tap into already existing states of consciousness. All people experience states of consciousness, waking,dreaming, and dreamless sleep. People interpret their peak experiences in terms of their dominate structure of consciousness This may be why spiritual encounters seem different for different people.
The Wilber-Combs Matrix represents states of consciousness in terms of the developmental structures through which they are experienced and the realms of being that lend them content.
How far can a person penetrate above their root structure?
Perhaps all states of consciousness are available but as we develop we gain stability in the higher states.
The developmental process is one of becoming objective about aspects of self, which were previously identified as self. This process allows our essential nature more freedom. At the mental level we gain a sense of autonomy, at the integral level we experience a growing sense of identity with others. At the transpersonal level our emotions, thoughts, and sense of self become objective.
In her extensive interviews, Cook-Greuter found the most advanced individuals struggling to free themselves of perceptions, emotions, and thoughts. At this level the advance in complexity characteristic of the former stages turns toward greater simplicity, as well as greater complexity. Perhaps greater objectivity allows for the greater purity and simplicity experienced at the higher levels.
Sri Aurobindo says we look down at the buzzing mechanistic mind from a position of objective non-attachment. He says we must separate the active mind (a factory of thoughts) from the quiet Witness which observes, eliminates, accepts and/or corrects the thoughts.
Combs says complexity brings objectivity. Our conscious self becomes integrated into a single fabric made up of thoughts, emotions, and motivations that otherwise drift as disconnected attractors that control us without our knowledge. Objectivity brings wholeness and freedom from fragmentation.
Many people can read the behavior and emotions of others better than their own. Objectivity towards one's own inner process brings understanding and self-mastery. This requires allowing thoughts, memories, and beliefs to become conscious.
Psychological growth is the natural progression to high levels of development.
Next: While the Mind is Utterly Indivisible - unconscious thoughts
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Radiance of Being Section II
Section 2 Evolution
Section 2 explores theories about the evolution of consciousness.
Chapter 4 Here and Elsewhere
In the Phenomenolgy of the Spirit, Hegel says human beings contain the spirit of the absolute, thorough the human divine spirit comes to self-recognition. Being unveils itself through human history.
Henri Bergson used the term elan vital, which is a nonmaterial force that nudges organic matter toward higher and more complex forms. The essence of elan vital is consciousness itself. He saw consciousness as the power of choice. The purpose of evolution is to free consciousness from all restrictions.
Teilhard de Chardin said organic life on earth forms a biosphere and the human mental level forms a web of inner life that encircles the earth to form the noosphere, which is evolving to a higher level of being, a planetary consciousness he called the Omega Point. This process occurs through a mutual enfolding of personal inwardness identified with the experience of love. Teilhard:
"Love alone is capable of uniting living beings in such a way as to complete and fulfill them, for it alone takes them and joins them by what is deepest in themselves."
Chapter 5 The Ever-present Origin
Jean Gebser claims that a new form of consciousness is developing. He called this new form integral consciousness. Gebser described five forms of consciousness that have already formed; archaic, magic, mythical, mental, and integral. Each structure has a unique perspective and enables us to understand the world. All structures are dependent on what Gebser called The Ever-present Origin.
According to Gebser, there is a spiritual depth to integral consciousness. Its diaphanous quality is suffused with the light of the spirit, the animating radiance of the origin. Gebser said, "In truth we ware (experience) the whole, and the whole wares us."
Gebser believed that projection is the mechanism by which potentials of the origin are first experienced. The retraction of the projection is an act of the new consciousness. In integral consciousness, space and time are withdrawn and reintegrated. Gebser said that it is essential that the inflated ego of modern mental consciousness be overcome by reintegrating the projection of individuality and separateness.
Gebser stressed the importance of the intensification of consciousness. Combs suggests that we think of this as being fully present in the moment.
Chapter 6 They Climb Indra Like a Ladder
Sri Aurobindo said, "Evolution is nothing but the progressive unfolding of Spirit out of the density of material consciousnesss..." This evolution is propelled by the indwelling spirit striving for self-expression and yearning to rediscover itself. The aim is not to create a state of perfection but to recover it. There is a part of the Divine that never becomes involved in evolution and it is this part that propels evolution. Without it the material world is dead.
Sri Aurobindo said that Integral Yoga strives to integrate and spiritualize the entire mind-body, while Supramental Yoga strives to bring down into human experience the transcendent energies and supreme knowledge.
The practice is a living meditation developing an alert and steady habit of calm self-observation. The superior mind is not a better thought machine but a better receiver of these energies and knowledge.
In his model the intuitive mind is associated with the subtle level of intellect. It grasps truth directly in larger chunks. Overmind is the transition between human and divine levels. At the Supramental level the Gods return into the One and stand united in a single harmonious action as multiple personalities of the One.
Chapter 7 All Quadrants All Levels
In this chapter Ken Wilber's Aqal model is examined This model is a way of organizing development into 4 quadrants so that all aspects are included in the developmental discussion.
The upper left quadrant concerns the internal subjective realm of reality (I). The lower left concerns interpersonal and cultural knowledge (We). The upper right concerns objective knowledge about material things (It). The lower right concerns objective knowledge about social systems and environments (Its). The upper and lower left are subjective and the upper and lower right are objective. The left and right upper quadrants are individual and the left and right lower are collective.
This model can be used to determine what it means to live an integral life that takes into account all of these influences on development and evolution.
Wilber calls the integral level of development vision logic. Here integrative wholes are recognized and yet all of the parts are celebrated. A compassionate and unified world vision is sought.
According to Wilber, involution can be understood as spirit descending into matter. Yet forms are being created in the higher realms of being and flow downward. This allows for kosmic creativity rather than pre-determinism.
The subjective self identifies with increasingly subtle realities. Previous levels are seen as objects of experience rather than as a source of identity. Emotions are experienced as processes that hold our attention rather than who we are. Thoughts are seen as flowing through our consciousness like clouds in water.
Beyond the integral level in Wilber's model these subtler levels are:
Psychic, nature mysticism. Here an intense sense of union with the entire gross realm is possible.
The Subtle level, deity mysticism, is the overmind or over self. Here strong identification with the body and mental self are released. Access to this realm as a stable structure of consciousness is indicated by a degree of conscious awareness in dream life - lucid dreaming.
At the Causal level, formless mysticism, the shift from God as the source of all forms to the transcendence of form itself is made - boundless radiance. Wilber:
"There is an eerie and beautiful numinosity to it all - a silent luminosity. You can't see anything except a silvery fullness. Shunyata. Brilliant formlessness with no objects. You are absolutely one with this Fullness which transcends all time."
Non-dual is the union of form and formlessness.It is the every present ground. Consciousness awakens entirely to itself, to its original condition and Suchness, which is at the same time the suchness of all that is. That which witnesses and is witnessed. The World Process arises as one's own Being.
Evolution is not a predestined unfurling of reality but a kosmic creativity flowing from deep subtle springs of Being. Evolution is the movement of Spirit back to its origin. The form that path back takes is always open to the creative outflow.
Next time Section III Emergence
Section 2 explores theories about the evolution of consciousness.
Chapter 4 Here and Elsewhere
In the Phenomenolgy of the Spirit, Hegel says human beings contain the spirit of the absolute, thorough the human divine spirit comes to self-recognition. Being unveils itself through human history.
Henri Bergson used the term elan vital, which is a nonmaterial force that nudges organic matter toward higher and more complex forms. The essence of elan vital is consciousness itself. He saw consciousness as the power of choice. The purpose of evolution is to free consciousness from all restrictions.
Teilhard de Chardin said organic life on earth forms a biosphere and the human mental level forms a web of inner life that encircles the earth to form the noosphere, which is evolving to a higher level of being, a planetary consciousness he called the Omega Point. This process occurs through a mutual enfolding of personal inwardness identified with the experience of love. Teilhard:
"Love alone is capable of uniting living beings in such a way as to complete and fulfill them, for it alone takes them and joins them by what is deepest in themselves."
Chapter 5 The Ever-present Origin
Jean Gebser claims that a new form of consciousness is developing. He called this new form integral consciousness. Gebser described five forms of consciousness that have already formed; archaic, magic, mythical, mental, and integral. Each structure has a unique perspective and enables us to understand the world. All structures are dependent on what Gebser called The Ever-present Origin.
According to Gebser, there is a spiritual depth to integral consciousness. Its diaphanous quality is suffused with the light of the spirit, the animating radiance of the origin. Gebser said, "In truth we ware (experience) the whole, and the whole wares us."
Gebser believed that projection is the mechanism by which potentials of the origin are first experienced. The retraction of the projection is an act of the new consciousness. In integral consciousness, space and time are withdrawn and reintegrated. Gebser said that it is essential that the inflated ego of modern mental consciousness be overcome by reintegrating the projection of individuality and separateness.
Gebser stressed the importance of the intensification of consciousness. Combs suggests that we think of this as being fully present in the moment.
Chapter 6 They Climb Indra Like a Ladder
Sri Aurobindo said, "Evolution is nothing but the progressive unfolding of Spirit out of the density of material consciousnesss..." This evolution is propelled by the indwelling spirit striving for self-expression and yearning to rediscover itself. The aim is not to create a state of perfection but to recover it. There is a part of the Divine that never becomes involved in evolution and it is this part that propels evolution. Without it the material world is dead.
Sri Aurobindo said that Integral Yoga strives to integrate and spiritualize the entire mind-body, while Supramental Yoga strives to bring down into human experience the transcendent energies and supreme knowledge.
The practice is a living meditation developing an alert and steady habit of calm self-observation. The superior mind is not a better thought machine but a better receiver of these energies and knowledge.
In his model the intuitive mind is associated with the subtle level of intellect. It grasps truth directly in larger chunks. Overmind is the transition between human and divine levels. At the Supramental level the Gods return into the One and stand united in a single harmonious action as multiple personalities of the One.
Chapter 7 All Quadrants All Levels
In this chapter Ken Wilber's Aqal model is examined This model is a way of organizing development into 4 quadrants so that all aspects are included in the developmental discussion.
The upper left quadrant concerns the internal subjective realm of reality (I). The lower left concerns interpersonal and cultural knowledge (We). The upper right concerns objective knowledge about material things (It). The lower right concerns objective knowledge about social systems and environments (Its). The upper and lower left are subjective and the upper and lower right are objective. The left and right upper quadrants are individual and the left and right lower are collective.
This model can be used to determine what it means to live an integral life that takes into account all of these influences on development and evolution.
Wilber calls the integral level of development vision logic. Here integrative wholes are recognized and yet all of the parts are celebrated. A compassionate and unified world vision is sought.
According to Wilber, involution can be understood as spirit descending into matter. Yet forms are being created in the higher realms of being and flow downward. This allows for kosmic creativity rather than pre-determinism.
The subjective self identifies with increasingly subtle realities. Previous levels are seen as objects of experience rather than as a source of identity. Emotions are experienced as processes that hold our attention rather than who we are. Thoughts are seen as flowing through our consciousness like clouds in water.
Beyond the integral level in Wilber's model these subtler levels are:
Psychic, nature mysticism. Here an intense sense of union with the entire gross realm is possible.
The Subtle level, deity mysticism, is the overmind or over self. Here strong identification with the body and mental self are released. Access to this realm as a stable structure of consciousness is indicated by a degree of conscious awareness in dream life - lucid dreaming.
At the Causal level, formless mysticism, the shift from God as the source of all forms to the transcendence of form itself is made - boundless radiance. Wilber:
"There is an eerie and beautiful numinosity to it all - a silent luminosity. You can't see anything except a silvery fullness. Shunyata. Brilliant formlessness with no objects. You are absolutely one with this Fullness which transcends all time."
Non-dual is the union of form and formlessness.It is the every present ground. Consciousness awakens entirely to itself, to its original condition and Suchness, which is at the same time the suchness of all that is. That which witnesses and is witnessed. The World Process arises as one's own Being.
Evolution is not a predestined unfurling of reality but a kosmic creativity flowing from deep subtle springs of Being. Evolution is the movement of Spirit back to its origin. The form that path back takes is always open to the creative outflow.
Next time Section III Emergence
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Radiance of Being Section I
Section I Complexity
Chapter 1: Minding Consciousness: Consciousness and Mind
Alan Combs defines consciousness as the essence of experience; "...the perfect transparent subjectivity through which the phenomenal world shines. Consciousness is a subjective presence. Without it the cosmos is dead." He further says consciousness is about something. It is intentional. Two others essential aspects of consciousness, according to him, are attention and meaning.
Mind on the other hand
Combs defines the mind as "all those inner processes and conditions that shape and color consciousness." He says consciousness exhibits wholeness, while the mind is fragmented. It is the unity and integrity of consciousness that makes the mind coherent.
Chapter 2: The Fire and the Rose
Combs says the ideas presented here will be useful throughout the book.
The first sentence of the chapter: "The image of stillness in chaotic motion is powerfully suggestive of a deeper mystical awarenss." Combs believes this is the tension between impermanence and eternal pattern, between process and structure.
Human beings lean toward the structured; reality as material objects. Consciousness is easily overlooked in this reality. The process perspective becomes apparent in systems theory, specifically autopoiesis or self-creation.
Systems are patterns of processes. What is essential is the process by which re-creation occurs and not the physical structure. Combs says the mind is an autopoietic process.
Chaos theory helps to conceptualize process aspects of a system. An attractor is a pattern of activity toward which a system slides of its own accord. Attractors represent the final disposition of a system after a period of chaos or change. Irregular rhythms show chaotic or strange attractors.
Some systems exist on the edge of chaos, they can undergo changes that produce growth. Such a change is called a bifuraction. Sprirtual and psychological growth are bifurcations.
Systems and chaos theory show a shift toward complexity. Complexity appears to be the hallmark of evolution. Evolution moves to increasingly complex and cooperative interactions between systems. This has implications for the evolution of consciousness also.
Chapter 3 Like a City Built Across the Ages
The human brain is the most complex known structure and is capable of assuming an infinite variety of states. Combs says the brain has followed a cooperative effort between subsystems to support a very special unity - conscious awarenesss. He asks, "What is the role of consciousness? and states that "...the subjective dimension of consciousness is so radically different from any objective property of matter that... it makes no sense whatsoever to think that it simply popped up full blown from an evolutionary progression that previously had nothing to do with it."
Because consciousness is informed by living, original ideas, dreams, and feelings can appear that are free, unpredictable, and cannot be foreseen. The creative complexity of the brain reflects the creativity of mind and conscious experience.
The brain creates a world and this world reflects the belief systems of the mind.
Combs quotes H. J. Jerison:
"The belief system that we call external reality is a collection of processes for constructing a three-dimensional space,linear time and coherent objects out of noise - and chaos-infused sense data."
Space and time are human constructs. States of consciouness represent the possibility of much larger experiences beyond space and time.
Combs suggests that we view a state of consciousness as an attractor to which a system is drawn according to its own nature. If conditions are altered enough the system can experience chaos and begin to look for a new attractor. This can result in the evolution of consciousness. In chaos theory, the abrupt appearance of an attractor is called a catastrophic bifuraction. Combs says this process underlies many techniques for personal and spiritual growth. In Zen the satori experience is sudden, but state training has destabilized the attractor of everyday consciousness, resulting in a catastrophic bifuraction and realization of a new state of consciousness.
Next time Section 3 Evolution - Several theories of the evolution of consciousness are explored
Chapter 1: Minding Consciousness: Consciousness and Mind
Alan Combs defines consciousness as the essence of experience; "...the perfect transparent subjectivity through which the phenomenal world shines. Consciousness is a subjective presence. Without it the cosmos is dead." He further says consciousness is about something. It is intentional. Two others essential aspects of consciousness, according to him, are attention and meaning.
Mind on the other hand
Combs defines the mind as "all those inner processes and conditions that shape and color consciousness." He says consciousness exhibits wholeness, while the mind is fragmented. It is the unity and integrity of consciousness that makes the mind coherent.
Chapter 2: The Fire and the Rose
Combs says the ideas presented here will be useful throughout the book.
The first sentence of the chapter: "The image of stillness in chaotic motion is powerfully suggestive of a deeper mystical awarenss." Combs believes this is the tension between impermanence and eternal pattern, between process and structure.
Human beings lean toward the structured; reality as material objects. Consciousness is easily overlooked in this reality. The process perspective becomes apparent in systems theory, specifically autopoiesis or self-creation.
Systems are patterns of processes. What is essential is the process by which re-creation occurs and not the physical structure. Combs says the mind is an autopoietic process.
Chaos theory helps to conceptualize process aspects of a system. An attractor is a pattern of activity toward which a system slides of its own accord. Attractors represent the final disposition of a system after a period of chaos or change. Irregular rhythms show chaotic or strange attractors.
Some systems exist on the edge of chaos, they can undergo changes that produce growth. Such a change is called a bifuraction. Sprirtual and psychological growth are bifurcations.
Systems and chaos theory show a shift toward complexity. Complexity appears to be the hallmark of evolution. Evolution moves to increasingly complex and cooperative interactions between systems. This has implications for the evolution of consciousness also.
Chapter 3 Like a City Built Across the Ages
The human brain is the most complex known structure and is capable of assuming an infinite variety of states. Combs says the brain has followed a cooperative effort between subsystems to support a very special unity - conscious awarenesss. He asks, "What is the role of consciousness? and states that "...the subjective dimension of consciousness is so radically different from any objective property of matter that... it makes no sense whatsoever to think that it simply popped up full blown from an evolutionary progression that previously had nothing to do with it."
Because consciousness is informed by living, original ideas, dreams, and feelings can appear that are free, unpredictable, and cannot be foreseen. The creative complexity of the brain reflects the creativity of mind and conscious experience.
The brain creates a world and this world reflects the belief systems of the mind.
Combs quotes H. J. Jerison:
"The belief system that we call external reality is a collection of processes for constructing a three-dimensional space,linear time and coherent objects out of noise - and chaos-infused sense data."
Space and time are human constructs. States of consciouness represent the possibility of much larger experiences beyond space and time.
Combs suggests that we view a state of consciousness as an attractor to which a system is drawn according to its own nature. If conditions are altered enough the system can experience chaos and begin to look for a new attractor. This can result in the evolution of consciousness. In chaos theory, the abrupt appearance of an attractor is called a catastrophic bifuraction. Combs says this process underlies many techniques for personal and spiritual growth. In Zen the satori experience is sudden, but state training has destabilized the attractor of everyday consciousness, resulting in a catastrophic bifuraction and realization of a new state of consciousness.
Next time Section 3 Evolution - Several theories of the evolution of consciousness are explored
Friday, July 17, 2009
The Radiance of Being
Recently, I started re-reading The Radiance Of Being by Allan Combs. In the foreword Herbert Guenther points out the dangers of model building and story telling. We tend to forget that the model or story is a human invention, the model or story then becomes a narcissistic trap and holds us captive. We believe that the story IS the reality. Guenther quotes Erich Jantsch:
"So desperate is our dependence on viable models and myths that we subconsciously try to elevate them from the muddy world of human emotions and interests to the crisp, clear heights of absolute truth. Physical models are set absolute and the myth of science is created. Social models are set absolute and their corresponding myths, or ideologies, subsequently imposed by social habits and taboos, or also by intimidation and force. Spiritual or cultural models are set absolute and their imperialism is defended on the grounds of belief in the form of religion or other evolutionary or pseudoevolutionary myths."
Nevertheless, Combs endeavors to find a thread of truth about what is real and follow it. He states that this book presents a radically revised understanding of what it is to be human.
The book is in three parts: The first is a discussion of the nature of consciousness and the mind. The second reviews the theories of the evolution of consciousness. The third presents an integral vision of consciousness and what it means to live a truly integral life.
The first section is entitled Complexity. The first chapter is entitled Minding Consciousness.
That section is for next time.
"So desperate is our dependence on viable models and myths that we subconsciously try to elevate them from the muddy world of human emotions and interests to the crisp, clear heights of absolute truth. Physical models are set absolute and the myth of science is created. Social models are set absolute and their corresponding myths, or ideologies, subsequently imposed by social habits and taboos, or also by intimidation and force. Spiritual or cultural models are set absolute and their imperialism is defended on the grounds of belief in the form of religion or other evolutionary or pseudoevolutionary myths."
Nevertheless, Combs endeavors to find a thread of truth about what is real and follow it. He states that this book presents a radically revised understanding of what it is to be human.
The book is in three parts: The first is a discussion of the nature of consciousness and the mind. The second reviews the theories of the evolution of consciousness. The third presents an integral vision of consciousness and what it means to live a truly integral life.
The first section is entitled Complexity. The first chapter is entitled Minding Consciousness.
That section is for next time.
Monday, January 12, 2009
PostModern Progressives
Last fall I volunteered for the Minnesota Peace Team at the Republican National Convention in St Paul, Minnesota. I saw the peace team as another indication of a new consciousness being born into the world. The members of the peace team were able to maintain a peaceful presence in the middle of the turmoil and help the demonstrators, the police, and the Republican delegates as needed without undue internal conflict. I believe they were able to do this because they framed the experience using an enlarged and peaceful perspective.
Politically, I would call this new consciousness Postmodern Progressivism.
The Progressive Movement during the industrial age saw the interconnectivity of the human community. They succeeded in creating child labor laws, better and safer working conditions, labor unions, and women's suffrage.
Postmodern Progressives must deal with the problems of the information age. They emphasize the cultural context in which individual experience takes place because they understand that cultural constructs can limit or expand personal experience.
Postmodernists understand that human perception and interpretation constructs theories about reality that frames our experience. At some level we co-create our experience of reality and this created context provides a useful and meaningful perspective in which we all live and act. Postmodern Progressives see that meaning depends on perspective and that all perspectives contain some truth, so they don"t restrict themselves to one narrow perspective, they are able to take multiple perspectives.
Progressives believe that we are all in this together and therefore creating meaningful constructs should be done by all for all and should not be left to the privileged elite.
Postmodern Progressives see the limitations in both liberal and conservative thinking and yet can include the truths contained in both perspectives. From the conservative perspective it takes individual initiative and innovation, fiscal responsibility, and the honoring of tradition, culture, experience, and expertise. Postmodern Progressives understand that not all perspectives are equal - the wider and more inclusive the perspective, the more truth it contains. Therefore, from the liberal perspective they take the equality, inclusiveness, and mutuality of the pluralistic community, as well as the global perspective.
The Conservatives are fighting to maintain their power as if their life depends
on it because it does.The conservative perspective is fading because of the new consciousness that is emerging globally. This does not mean that the truths contained in that perspective cannot be preserved and used when appropriate.
Liberals also must give up the idea that their perspective is always correct.
Postmodern Progressivism is beyond the two-dimensional mindset - left, right, center. It is a multi-dimensional perspective that transcends and includes many political viewpoints.
The global problems facing us are immense. Einstein said that problems cannot be solved with the same mindset that created them. We need to allow and cultivate the new consciousness I saw in the Minnesota Peace Team at the RNC.
Politically, I would call this new consciousness Postmodern Progressivism.
The Progressive Movement during the industrial age saw the interconnectivity of the human community. They succeeded in creating child labor laws, better and safer working conditions, labor unions, and women's suffrage.
Postmodern Progressives must deal with the problems of the information age. They emphasize the cultural context in which individual experience takes place because they understand that cultural constructs can limit or expand personal experience.
Postmodernists understand that human perception and interpretation constructs theories about reality that frames our experience. At some level we co-create our experience of reality and this created context provides a useful and meaningful perspective in which we all live and act. Postmodern Progressives see that meaning depends on perspective and that all perspectives contain some truth, so they don"t restrict themselves to one narrow perspective, they are able to take multiple perspectives.
Progressives believe that we are all in this together and therefore creating meaningful constructs should be done by all for all and should not be left to the privileged elite.
Postmodern Progressives see the limitations in both liberal and conservative thinking and yet can include the truths contained in both perspectives. From the conservative perspective it takes individual initiative and innovation, fiscal responsibility, and the honoring of tradition, culture, experience, and expertise. Postmodern Progressives understand that not all perspectives are equal - the wider and more inclusive the perspective, the more truth it contains. Therefore, from the liberal perspective they take the equality, inclusiveness, and mutuality of the pluralistic community, as well as the global perspective.
The Conservatives are fighting to maintain their power as if their life depends
on it because it does.The conservative perspective is fading because of the new consciousness that is emerging globally. This does not mean that the truths contained in that perspective cannot be preserved and used when appropriate.
Liberals also must give up the idea that their perspective is always correct.
Postmodern Progressivism is beyond the two-dimensional mindset - left, right, center. It is a multi-dimensional perspective that transcends and includes many political viewpoints.
The global problems facing us are immense. Einstein said that problems cannot be solved with the same mindset that created them. We need to allow and cultivate the new consciousness I saw in the Minnesota Peace Team at the RNC.
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