Francis Crick, the co-discoverer of the DNA, presented what he called the “Astonishing Hypothesis”: Human behaviour is merely the sum of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules. But, can human consciousness be explained in physical terms?

Those who embrace challenge the validity of Crick’s astonishing hypothesis.

Scientists, however, claim that mind and consciousness are only a pack of neurons, made up of a chain of lifeless molecules and atoms. Therefore, it can be fully explained in terms of “lower level sciences” of chemistry and physics.

(See also: Consciousness, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Including:

• Consciousness - Etymology
• Consciousness - Consciousness and language
• Consciousness - Cognitive neuroscience approaches
• Consciousness - Philosophical approaches
• Consciousness - Phenomenal and access consciousness
• Consciousness - The description and location of phenomenal consciousness
• Consciousness - Access consciousness
• Consciousness - Physical approaches
• Consciousness - Spiritual approaches
• Consciousness - Functions of consciousness
• Consciousness - Tests of consciousness
• Consciousness - Turing Test
• Consciousness - Mirror test
• Consciousness - Cognitive Neuroscience
• Consciousness - Philosophy
• Consciousness - Physical Theories of Consciousness
• Consciousness - People
• Consciousness - Miscellaneous

Read more here: » Consciousness: Encyclopedia - Consciousness

Consciousness:

This is a term with a very wide range of interpretations. However commonly referred meanings allude to perceptual consciousness, and introspective consciousness. Introspective consciousness seems so special because it gives inner awareness of self, and memory of other mental events. Also includes perceiving one's own perceptions with attributes (like good, bad, positive etc.). Normally associated to 'animated matter' and all forms exhibiting 'life'.

(See also: Consciousness, Psychic, Psychic Dictionary, Parapsychology, Parapsychology Dictionary)

The Dual Nature Of Our Consciousness

All things that have consciousness may be divided into two categories - those that move and others that cause movement. That which moves is matter, and that which makes the matter move is awareness.

Read more here: » Consciousness: The Dual Nature Of Our Consciousness

If the manual of life is encoded in our DNA, where do we look to find the blueprint of consciousness? This was a subject that fascinated Francis Crick, who, along with James Watson, discovered the double-helix structure of DNA 50 years ago.

Engrossed in the mysterious relationship between mind and body, Crick later felt impelled to turn his attention from matter to mind and from biology to philosophy Ñ but he persisted in believing that one day, consciousness could be explained in biological terms, using the tools of neuroscience.

Read more here: » Consciousness: Mapping the Physical and Mental Universes

Is there a global mind? Could it be detected quantitatively? In an empirical approach to this question, over the last decade a half-dozen researchers have examined the outputs of electronic noise-based, truly random number generators (RNG) before, during and after highly focused or coherent group events. The group events studied included intense psychotherapy sessions, captivating theater presentations, religious rituals, popular sports competitions like World Cup Soccer, and high interest television broadcasts like the Academy Awards 1. Results of over 100 experiments conducted during such events suggest that mind and matter may be entangled in fundamental ways, and in particular that focused mental attention in groups appears to be associated with negentropic fluctuations in streams of truly random data.

Read more here: » Global Consciousness: Seeking for Whom the Bell Tolls - Exploring Mind-Matter Interactions on a Global Scale

Prosperity Consciousness: Bridges or Walls - You Choose

Life continually brings to us more gifts than we can accept and acknowledge, more than we can treasure with thankful hearts. As we pursue the lonely journey through our own life experience, we carry with us the potential to reach heights of excellence. It is our vision of life that matters. We can either paralyse ourselves or set ourselves free. We can choose to open doors to a new life or we can choose to close them forever. We can either build walls or bridges in our life. The choice is ours.

Read more here: » Prosperity Consciousness: Bridges or Walls - You Choose

Indian philosophy’s focus is to determine the nature of that spirit or self which is the centre of everything, the animating force which makes a person alive, alert and aware.

It is consciousness, variously called the Self, Knower, Seer, Experiencer or the Witness. It knows no distinction of gender, nationality, race or religion. It is the unchanging and all-pervading, transcending the limitations of time and space, birth and death. Ultimately it is the substratum or essence of the entire manifest universe.

(See also: Consciousness, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

 Over the years, I've known a lot of ministers, healers, mediums and other spiritual folk. Just like all people, some were prosperous while others struggled with material lack. One group was not more selfish and the other more "spiritual." In fact, those who were adept at creating what they needed on a physical level also tended to be those who were able to create better health, relationships and general happiness for themselves. They were also better skilled at helping others to create the same in their lives, and they had the energy and resources to help others in this way. The difference between the two groups can be summed up in a now common but powerful term: Prosperity Consciousness.

Read more here: » Prosperity Consciousness: Introduction to Prosperity Consciousness

This is the keynote talk presented by Martyn Carruthers, at the University Forum on Human Consciousness, Hull UK June 1997. This article provide an in-depths perspective on Decision-Making.

Read more here: » Human Consciousness and Decision-Making

Ending Poverty Consciousness

Definition number one of "poverty" in the American Heritage Dictionary is: "The state of being poor; lack of the means of providing material needs or comforts." It is further defined as "deficiency in amount; scantiness; unproductiveness; infertility."

By "poverty consciousness," I mean the set of attitudes and beliefs and feelings and values associated with material lack or fear of material lack. Poverty consciousness equals a belief in limitation, and almost always includes fear.

Read more here: » Poverty Consciousness: Ending Poverty Consciousness

What raises us above other known sentient beings is our ability to be conscious of our own consciousness. But what does this mean, scientifically?

“It is now widely accepted that all knowledge, from the beginning of time, is available to each of us, an intelligence that is carried at the cellular, subatomic level. Highly evolved individuals who have touched the hem of the eternal and communed with the infinite through their higher consciousness, made that quantum leap but have been unable to transfer their understanding due to limitations imposed by language. Because language is incomplete and fragmentary, merely registering a stage in the average advance beyond the ape mentality. But all of us do have flashes of insight beyond meanings already stabilized in etymology and grammar.”

Read more here: » Consciousness: What is Consciousness?

 Most of the limitations we perceive in our lives appear to be etched in stone. We may even argue vehemently in their defense. We can be willing to describe in great detail why there is no getting around these limitations, why "impossible" is the best description of them. It doesn't seem to matter that others may not experience the same sense of limitation in a particular area, and we may go so far as to not associate with those who do not feel limited by the same things.

Read more here: » Success Consciousness: Releasing Limitations

Thus, in order to understand the nature of consciousness, I must here and now in this present moment be searching for a better state of consciousness. All definitions, no matter how profound, are secondary. Even the formulations of ancient masters on this subject can be a diversion if I take them in a way that does not support the immediate personal effort to be aware of what is taking place in myself in the present moment.

This is part IV from the first chapter of Jacob Needlemans book A Sense of The Cosmos

Read more here: » What Is Consciousness?: The Universe, Part IV – What Is Consciousness?

Matter is commonly referred to as the substance of which physical objects are composed. It constitutes the observable Universe. According to the theory of relativity there is no distinction between matter and energy, because matter can be converted to energy (see annihilation), and vice versa (see matter creation). Philosophically, matter constitutes the formless substratum of all things, which exists only potentially and from which reality is produced. In the sense of cont ...

Including:

• Matter - Matter in Science

Read more here: » Matter: Encyclopedia - Matter

Consciousness Explained (published 1991) is a book by the American philosopher Daniel Dennett which attempts to explain how consciousness arises from interaction of physical and cognitive processes in the brain. The book puts forward a "multiple drafts" model of consciousness. Arguing from research on the brain, it suggests that there is no single central place (a "Cartesian Theater") where conscious experience takes place; instead there are "various events of content-fixation occurring in various places at various times ...

Read more here: » Consciousness Explained: Encyclopedia - Consciousness Explained

White matter is one of the two main solid components of the central nervous system. It forms the bulk of the deep parts of the brain and the superficial parts of the spinal cord. Aggregates of grey matter such as the basal ganglia (caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, nucleus accumbens) and brain stem nuclei (red nucleus, substantia nigra, cranial nerve n ...

Read more here: » White matter: Encyclopedia - White matter

The Global Consciousness Project, also called the EGG Project, is one of the most significant of current research projects into parapsychology. Based at Princeton, the project researches into the theory that the human consciousness may create an external field which is not detectable via conventional means. Working on the assumption that while the field of an individual's consciousness is not measurable, the combined field of a large number of people who are experiencing similar thoughts or feelings ...

Including:

• Global Consciousness Project - Research
• Global Consciousness Project - Criticism

Read more here: » Global Consciousness Project: Encyclopedia - Global Consciousness Project

edit In cosmology, dark matter refers to hypothetical matter particles, of unknown composition, that do not emit or reflect enough electromagnetic radiation to be detected directly, but whose presence can be inferred from gravitational effects on visible matter such as stars and galaxies. The dark matter hypothesis aims to explain several anomalous astronomical observations, such as anomalies in the rotational speed of galaxies (the galaxy rotation problem). Estimates of the amount of matter present in galaxies, ...

Including:

• Dark matter - Evidence for dark matter
• Dark matter - Galactic rotation
• Dark matter - Structure formation
• Dark matter - Composition
• Dark matter - Alternative explanations
• Dark matter - Dark matter in popular culture

Read more here: » Dark matter: Encyclopedia - Dark matter

The journal Consciousness and Cognition (ISSN: 1053-8100) provides a forum for a natural-science approach to the issues of consciousness, voluntary control, and self. It features empirical research (in the form of regular articles and short reports) and theoretical articles. Book reviews, integrative theoretical and critical literature reviews, and tutorial reviews are also published. The journal aims to be both scientifically rigorous and open to novel contributions. The journal is edited by Bernard Baars and William Banks. It is an official jou ...

Read more here: » Consciousness and Cognition: Encyclopedia - Consciousness and Cognition