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

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.