Session 5.3: Follow-up – Where is Consciousness?
In this extra video I explore the idea, associated with Bernardo Kastrup, that we are whirlpools in the stream of universal consciousness; that the brain, rather than producing consciousness, tunes into it like a radio. A “whirlpool” doesn’t quite do it justice – think instead of the intricacies of the Mandelbrot Set. I reference the podcast “Where is my mind?” that fleshes out this idea with some fascinating scientific research, and then go a bit beyond into some very trippy territory.

Review of This Session’s Invitation
In the story of the separate self, we are fundamentally alone, imprisoned in our own subjectivity. No one can ever know what it is like to be another person, let alone an animal, plant, or rock. Indeed, the rational, scientific mind would deny it is even a meaningful question, “What is it like to be you, rock?” It is nonsense. OK, let’s try it. The invitation here is to find a boulder and open yourself to feel its consciousness. I think you will find that it’s consciousness is one of profound silence. Boulders blast silence out in every direction; rocks and pebbles carry little specks of silence. So, spend a little time with a boulder if you have the opportunity. Try it also with a tree, a cloud, or an animal, using as a mental invocation for your encounter the question, What is it like to be you?