"The Consciousness Singularity" by Shawn Mikula Options

[Shawn]

from http://brainmeta.com/index.php?p=singularity

What is the Singularity? Different people mean different things by this term. For me, the Singularity refers to the point of time in the future when human consciousness, at both the personal and species level, experiences an abrupt transition, a phase transition of sorts, into a state of transcendence that is conceptually impossible for us to imagine "what it's like" with our current limited cognitive abilities.

My usage of the term "Singularity" is an analogy to the well-known singularity in physics, the black hole, where you cannot see beyond the event horizon because light cannot escape from it. In a similar manner, we cannot see (or imagine) what's beyond the consciousness Singularity because it's beyond our cognitive (or imaginative) capabilities.

Imagine, if you will, what a monkey would experience if suddenly it's consciousness became like that of a human. Before the transition, the monkey would be incapable of imagining what it's like to be human simply because it's beyond it's cognitive capabilities. In the same way, I believe our species will undergo such transitions in our consciousness of such magnitude that we cannot even begin to imagine what these new states of consciousness are like.

At the Singularity, history as we know it, will cease. The universe, as we experience it now, will cease. Consider the most transcendent and mystical states of consciousness that have yet been experienced by mankind: these will pale in comparison with what's to come! This is the Singularity. And there won't be just one Singularity, but many, as consciousness overcomes and transcends itself, over and over again.

Our consciousness will be expanded beyond the confines of an egocentric sense of self to include transpersonal experiences and transcendent self-identity. This new existence will be both a form of collective consciousness and a form of expanded individual consciousness. Though sounding like a contradiction, realize that these two descriptions of transcendent consciousness are really two sides of the same coin. The Singularity is so far beyond our experience and knowledge today that we cannot even begin to comprehend it, unless we ourselves experience transcendent states of consciousness.

How do we realize the Singularity? How do we experience transcendent states of consciousness? See http://brainmeta.com/index.php?p=expandconsciousness for an answer.

[Shawn]

Hello Joe, Dan, Numinoso,

Dan, thank you for your encouragement.    I'm curious though: what do you mean by creating cyber brains for nodes?  Maybe you could elaborate on this a bit more.  I remember your discussion about brain nodes in another thread, but wasn't sure how to interpret your statement about cyber brains.

Joe, the brain tweaking I have in mind has absolutely no relation to the changing of awareness that takes place in the process of meditation.   Modifications to the brain are relative, as are states of consciousness.  Meditative states of consciousness are not what I'm after since it's simple enough to attain these in the absence of any significant brain manipulation, at least not in the sense that I'm using the term 'manipulation'.  By 'manipulation', I mean that there will be a time, in the very near future, when we will know enough about the organization of the brain, that we can go in and physically, chemically, and biologically modify it's structure and function.   Indeed, we're already in the initial stages of having and employing the awesome capability to manipulate our brains in this way (via electrical/magnetic stimulation and neuropharmacology), though the current techniques are rather crude and, more often than not, underscore our ignorance of brain function and organization.  However, with more knowledge of brain function and organization will come more manipulative power; the power to control and modify our brains, and hence the power to control and modify our states of consciousness.  The power to attain states of God-consciousness such that have never been experienced before, by anyone.  We speak of the Self and God, and the experience of these.  But I tell you that even more intimate relations with God (or the Self) will be achieved by manipulating and controlling our brains.  

Our brains are the key that will unlock the doors unto higher realms of consciousness and Being such that are entirely beyond your, or anyone else's, comprehension or experience.  In the end, we will confront our Maker (God, the Self, whatever you choose to call It) in the most intimate and mystical way, and this will be achieved thru our ability to manipulate and control brain states.

Numinoso, you brought up some of the hardest questions.   I'm not quite sure how to best reply.  The answer to how to actually manipulate and control our brains will necessarily be multifaceted.  There are many ways currently to do this.  However, our current methods are rather crude and unsatisfactory, and do not offer the type of manipulation and control that I envision.    What we must do first, though, is obtain a better understanding of how the brain functions and is organized.  This is the necessary prerequisite before any serious attempts at brain manipulation and control can be realized (beyond the rather crude techniques and methods available to us today).

We must learn more about the organization and function of our brains.  When we have sufficient knowledge, only then will we harness the power to control and manipulate our brains in order to achieve transcendent states of God-consciousness such that have never been experienced by anyone before.

Imagine what a rat brain is to a human brain (if you're lucky, you'll know what each one looks like).  Well, the type of manipulation and control of our brains that I have in mind will make the human brain in relation to our modified brains like the rat brain is to the human brain.  And it won't stop there.  It'll just be the beginning.   There is no limit to the extent to which we'll be able to enhance, augment, expand, manipulate, and control our brains.    Hence, there will be no limit to the extent to which we'll be able to enhance, augment, expand, manipulate, and control our states of consciousness (particularly God-consciousness) and Being.  

You see, it's all relative; our brain structure/function, states of consciousness, everything.

There will be a time when I will expand the neuroscience section on this site to accommodate the direction I've outlined here.  I'm engaged in work now, and that sort of makes it hard for me to sit down and compose all my thoughts on the matter.   It's the dilemma of writing versus activity and experimentation.  That is, when one is engaged in activity, in research, experimentation, and the like, it makes it very hard to slow down and stop to write about what you're doing.  Conversely, when you make the time to sit down and write about what you're doing, you can no longer be engaged in what it is that you're writing about.

However, that being said, there will be a time, soon I hope, when I will be able to temporarily cease my activity and work, and be able to set down all of my thoughts on the matter onto paper to share will others.  In the interim, I'm afraid that unintentionally incomplete answers are all I can really give.

namaste,
Shawn