What Is Consciousness & Where Is It?

[youtube]http://youtu.be/vXC0RUH1axE[/youtube]

 

What is the fundamental activity in the universe? Although neuroscience has made enormous progress in looking at the brain correlates of subjective and objective experience, there is still no theory on how we experience mental or perceptual reality.

This is known as the “hard problem” in consciousness research.


• Is there a scientifically viable way to explain consciousness?
• Does mainstream science have the methodologies to address this question?
• How do we explain intention, insight, intuition, imagination, creativity, or free will?
• Is free will an illusion?
• Are there states of consciousness that go beyond waking, dreaming and sleeping?

Wisdom traditions speak of higher states of consciousness such as soul consciousness, cosmic consciousness, divine consciousness, and unity consciousness. Is there a way of understanding these states or validating them scientifically? Is our current science which is based on a subject/object split equipped to answer these mysteries? What is the nature of the universe? What is the of nature awareness that makes it possible for us to experience the universe?

Deepak is addressing in this talk these questions as well as others cosmic riddles.