The science of consciousness

Monday, August 17, 2015

Understanding is the first step to conquer stress

Sorrowing Old Man by Vincent van Gogh

Stress is generally considered a state in which timely information processing is inhibited by increased expectation load. It occurs across the social spectrum and affects almost all age groups, including children. Stress leads to confusion and productivity problems; over the long term, hormonal and bodily changes weaken the immune system and lead to high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and even mental problems. In addition, stress probably contributes to diseases as varied as depression or cancer. This makes stress a serious professional and health issue. For this reason, it is imperative to look in detail at what anxiety is, what its causes are, and how to alleviate or at least reduce its adverse effects.

Stress is associated with time pressure and challenging, complex, or even impossible circumstances. Everybody gets stressed at one time or another, and the same stressors affect people very differently. Therefore, the mental state is crucial during challenging situations. Detail-oriented cognitive processing requires high brain frequencies. The overwhelming information load leads to a perceived shortage of time, forming a sense of deficiency or difficulty, and inhibits the ability to see clearly.

The brain generates thoughts in a similar vein or mood, so ideas and memories acquire the same flavor. For example, people judge others more severely after experiencing negative emotion (disgust), even if the decision in question is unrelated to the original feeling. Those with a guilty conscience overestimate their weight and consider chores harder than those with a clear conscience. Threatening, pessimistic, or failed experiences represent fragmented, distorted information masquerading as objective reality. Information overload can cause aggravation or desperation, which are typical stress symptoms. It inevitably interferes with concentration and compromises problem-solving ability. The stressed mind is on an inevitable path toward conflict. Like a released bow, conflicts relax the mind, resilience, and emotional stability. However, the emotional struggle and conflicts exact a high personal and professional toll: broken promises cause problems at work and strain relationships in private life. Not surprisingly, long-term stress contributes to a host of health problems.

Recognizing stress resulting from latent high brain frequencies can give us the tools to manage our lives better. Rehearsing stressful situations whenever possible is empowering, and so is using relaxation techniques before challenging situations. The goal should not be to eliminate stress from our lives entirely because occasional stress enhances focus and concentration. However, long-term stress is incapacitating and dangerous. Get rid of grudges, hurts of any kind, as soon as you have them. This is an emotionally challenging and meticulous task, but well worth the effort! You will have to develop a unique method that you can regularly follow. For example, taking a walk while focusing on a mantra, prayer, or meditation liberates the mind from negative thinking. Eliminating the after-effects of negative emotions is the best preparation for any challenge. Do not forget to regularly challenge your improved mind. Adversities allow us to grow and develop.

Discover more about consciousness by ordering my book, "Emotional Reasoning: Insight into the Conscious Experience."

From the Publisher

Barnes & Noble

Amazon Books

My mailing list

Monday, August 10, 2015

Wonder: mind wandering is a rehearsal for life's upcoming attractions

By Wonderlane from Seattle, USA

A wandering mind is a dangerous mind. In psychology the term, mind-wandering refers to an unintentional disengagement from current activity. It typically occurs during activities that are tedious, and require long-term concentration. For example, mental time travel during long-term driving can lead to accidents.

Understanding brain frequencies can facilitate understanding and prevention. During focused and detailed activity, brain frequencies increase, which indicates the large energy requirement of focus and concentration. The enhanced energy need of the action limits its time. We get tired when we concentrate for a long time. When the high frequencies cannot be maintained any longer, conscious focus fades. This relaxed state is a trip to fantasy land. The mind has a 'mind' of its own; the thoughts are almost impossible to control. Disengagement from the activity curtails performance and leads to mistakes. Such inward, spontaneous wayward thoughts formulate a resting state of imagination and mental time travel, and it is called mind wandering.

The mind forms a resting state, in which new experiences trigger liberal thought associations by intermixing with old memories. Using its free capacity, the mind is in a constant trial-and-error mode to find its limitations and possibilities; current events are evaluated by comparing them to past experiences. This comprehension and examination form a congruent mental picture from spatially and temporally dis-joined and disconnected experiences. This automatic and non-conscious process formulates our beliefs and attitude toward every question and forms the basis of automatic mental activity. This subconscious mental computation lends us 'gut feelings,' a kind of inherent „knowing.” Recent scientific investigations indicate that mind wandering is more frequent in people with a negative mood and that they also have more trouble reorienting to their task. Also, mental wandering was found to result in unhappiness. However, these findings only underline the inherent pessimism and self-defeating nature of a negative mindset. Negative mindset dictates an unhappy future by evaluating recent experience through the distorted vision of remembering. The mind manufactures the future as a perfect mirror of the unfortunate past.

However, in the creative mind mental wandering is a source of new associations, ideas, and discoveries. Spontaneous mind wandering builds confidence, it enhances performance and produces immense happiness. It suffices to think of the purposeful and rewarding mind wanderings of creative geniuses, such as Mozart or Einstein, for example. Mozart was said to have 'seen' a whole symphony in a flash of a creative moment. Einstein apparently had sudden creative ideas while walking with his friends. But you do not have to be Mozart or Einstein to become creative. You can benefit from my The four-step plan for creative success. This way mind-wandering is an automatic (independent of consciousness) exploration of either limitation (for the cynical mind) or, possibilities (for a happy person).
Contact me.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Complexity: an essential requirement for intelligent life

Time evolution of the universe

According to general relativity, clocks and time can only be defined correctly in the presence of matter. In other words, interaction is an essential ingredient and generator of time. More precisely, the consequence of "static" time is that the universe is static and unchanging for outside observers. Inside, participants perceive the evolution of the cosmos through entanglement. Entanglement triggers interaction (decoherence), which evolves toward polar singularities, called white and black holes. The poles also appear in particular solutions of Einstein's field equations. The gravitational effects of black holes aided their discovery, but white holes remain difficult to observe due to negative-curving, bulging fields, which deflect incoming energy, even light. As their names suggest, they might be the source of illusory light rays, which poses a significant challenge to their discovery.

Thanks to string theory, it is widely accepted that the universe has more dimensions than we experience. In string theory, the holographic principle recognizes the horizon as the information depository for a given volume of space (Susskind, 1994). The holographic principle states that the accumulation of information on the horizon, via interactions, turns particles into information-saturated black holes. The Euclidean spatial field, which determines the highest level of complexity, applies to our world and to life. Evolution is an ever-increasing complexity that works through the self-organization of matter into stars, planets, and living creatures such as us. The apex of evolution is the appearance of the still-evolving, brilliant mind, which cannot be a uniquely human quality. Some other planets in some other galaxies necessarily nurture life.

The universe's drive toward complexity is humbling, as the most complex matter known to man is the human brain. Nevertheless, the idea that evolution, including societal progress, is channeled toward complexity and order suggests a shining future for the cosmos' intelligent occupants, including mankind.

Contact me.

Discover more about consciousness by ordering my book, "Emotional Reasoning: Insight into the Conscious Experience."

From the Publisher

Barnes & Noble

Amazon Books

Monday, July 27, 2015

The science of consciousness: the bridge between science and spirituality

Meditation in Sri Lanka by Sarvodaya Shramadana

It is an ancient desire to grasp and understand the universe. The hypothesis introduced by the book,'The Science of Consciousness,' incorporates the mind within cosmic evolution. It examines complexity increase via material interaction, culminating in the intelligent mind. It is a cosmic unity that resonates with ancient intuition but is based on recent scientific research.

The book concludes that three elementary particle classes form the foundation of the universe. These elementary particles are the matter fermions (such as the electron), the mind, and the cosmos. Their identical energy structures and analog operational principles form a fractal structure of vastly different energy levels and sizes. The smallest are material fermions; their immense frequencies provide massive energy levels. Fermions make up the luminous fireballs of stars and the organic matter of biological organisms. The second, lesser energy-producing level is the mind. In contrast to matter, which takes shape in space, the mental world (minds, societies, or ecosystems) exists in time. Finally, the largest structure is the universe, encompassing everything in space and time. Therefore, the universe organizes space and time with gentle wisdom.

The hypothesis outlines an Aristotelian complexity: an organic, interconnected universe. It is also congruent with Hinduism, where Atman is the individual Self, and Brahman is the Ultimate Reality, the divine essence of the universe. Atman (the inner Self inside man) and the Brahman, the whole universe is one. In monotheistic faiths, the cosmos is honored as God, and Man was created in His image.

It also recognizes the karmic consequences of actions. The negative attitude mind is overwhelmed by details. Unable to see clearly, it is biased, judgmental, and controlled by the environment (making it matter-like). Only the positive attitude mind has free will (making it God-like), the wisdom to accept objective reality. However, the positive attitude mind has no incentive or motivation to seek change.

The hypothesis recognizes time as information and introduces the theory of gravity and emotions. Its new vision of evolution has implications for social sciences and economics.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Change your motivation to boost your mental potential

The author

The biological brain gives rise to the physical mind. Interaction with the environment is an energy- and information-exchange process. Interactions trigger energy imbalances — we call them emotions — which trigger actions to restore the neutral state. This is mental regulation. Thus, the environment regulates animal behavior by triggering appropriate emotions, which in turn elicit actions that extinguish those emotions. Emotions integrate the brain (and the organism) seamlessly into its environment.

Orienting in time, the mind interprets stimuli as binary codes, either past or future. The emotional history forms the mind's temporal landscape. The new is based on the promises and possibilities in unsecured, unknown situations, which can even be threatening. But they can also come with opportunities, such as food or finding a mate. The past corresponds to the need for safety and security, which can lead to boredom. Therefore, both the future and the past can trigger both positive and negative emotions. From mice to whales and humans, mental regulation is based on these basic orientations—positive or negative attitude.

Negative emotions are the tools of destruction, whereas positive feelings are the success generators of the mind. However, even positive feelings can produce emptiness and superficiality, which mitigates failure. Inversely, negative emotions can be turned around, making mental brilliance and success. This complexity gives rise to perplexing real-life examples: promising young talents ending as a miserable failure and inauspicious beginnings leading to spectacular success. This way, the individual creates his own history.

Therefore, attitude, through positive or negative emotions, is a fundamental component of personal success. Goal orientation is an imaginary mental compass that moves toward the future by automatically supplying an appropriate attitude in any situation. Even rats remember location clues better when working toward a goal. In human subjects, the motivation to obtain rewards reduces conflict-related activation, thereby enhancing performance. In computer simulation studies, a goal-oriented effort was a superior success method (Wissner-Gross and Freer, 2013). Working through adverse circumstances produces confidence, the mental capital for resolve, and motivation toward success. Inversely, belief permits goal-oriented work.

A more detailed explanation for some of these and other questions about the mind can be found in the book, The Science of Consciousness.

Discover more about consciousness by ordering my book, "Emotional Reasoning: Insight into the Conscious Experience."

From the Publisher

Barnes & Noble

Amazon Books

Sunday, July 12, 2015

The four step plan for creative success

Raphael: The School of Athens (Plato)

We live in a century of immense social and technological change, which demands a continuous increase in intelligence and creativity. Creativity and mental flexibility are vital to improving work performance, solving everyday problems, and enhancing the quality of life. Yet, despite a gradual increase in intelligence measures, the creativity of incoming generations does not change.

Creativity requires alternating between divergent and convergent thinking, culminating in the aha moment, the highly pleasurable feeling of discovery. Although arbitrary creative ideas can happen to anyone, it takes systematic preparation to achieve mental excellence, which is essential for long-term creative success. There are four crucial elements of creativity.

(1) Understand the problem. Knowing the crux of the contradiction or the problem is necessary to create or find a solution. However, too many details can be confusing and misleading. Your insight into the problem must be to the point, sharp as a needle, to puncture the perceived resistance of the difficulty.

(2) Accept the place where you are. Creativity is not linear progress. Most often, creative solutions come from those not highly invested in the organization. Leaders are often most invested in the status quo. Similarly, outsiders can gain insights not available to insiders. The lower you find yourself compared to your expectations, the better you are set for a breakthrough.

(3) Be immersed in the problem. All creative people have a hundred percent mental commitment. They cannot be disturbed! Whereas environmental disturbances disrupt most people, creative minds thrive in stressful situations, further sharpening their resolve toward the goal.

(4) Keep a light disposition. Children do not feel inhibited by expectations or social pressure. Their genuineness allows them to see the essence of things with creative potential. Playful activities possess an inner freedom that is conducive to creativity. Eliminating shaming, criticism, and pressure will allow creative instincts to flourish.

This last point is essential. Mental commitment is not a forceful and rigid concentration; creative people do not seem to work on the problem at all! Einstein often received creative inspiration while chatting with friends or engaging in mundane activities. Likewise, Mozart enjoyed light-hearted partying with friends, but in creative moments, he could 'see' a whole symphony.

Creativity visits a playful yet genuine mind: live with a clear conscience. Go for a walk; focus on a mantra or meditation to liberate your mind from a negative mindset. Mental house cleaning will often immediately create space for a creative solution. Keep going, even if you receive an unworkable or faulty answer at first. If you are persistent and optimistic, innovative solutions will visit you.

Creativity cannot be planned for but can be cultivated.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Black holes: science and imagination

Simulated black hole (Wikipedia)

Black holes are a favorite subject not only in science but also in the popular imagination. Their mysterious nature is twofold. First, black holes are ‘black,’ therefore invisible, second, their horizons form a singularity, beyond which even physics is unknowable. For this reason, black holes easily lend themselves to bizarre ideas. Black holes originated as a consequence of Einstein’s general relativity, although it was a mathematical conclusion reached by Karl Schwarzschild in 1916. For a long time not only the interpretation of Schwarzschild's solution was missing, but black hole detection was also a technical impossibility. Today black holes are the subjects of films, and scientific speculation, connected by supposed wormholes to distant worlds, entangled particles, lost information.

Black holes form by the gravitational collapse of extremely dense matter. In the last stage of black hole formation, a horizon develops, which irreversibly separates it from the rest of the universe. However, these ideas have been called into question recently. Almheiri and colleagues (2012) examined black hole entanglement and found that black hole horizons function as firewalls, burning up any unwitting trespasser. This conclusion is supported by Landauer's principle, which states a thermodynamic connection between energy and information. Since black holes are information-saturated, they would be devoid of energy. This way, incoming particles would have to transform all energy into information.
As a consequence, black holes are the end of time, matter, and all existence. Nothing more than their information-saturated horizon, black holes cannot be approached. This way black holes can be likened to the fabric of a balloon, formulating the outer boundary of the universe.

This way, there is no possibility of wormholes in and around the black holes. Although the suggestion, that black holes are gateways to other universes is exciting, it is also without any scientific validity. Like the banks of a river that contain the body of water, black holes seem to merely enclose the universe. As the riverbed can inform about the past of a river, black hole horizons are information depositories, although inaccessible, about the history of the cosmos.