Exploring Emotions, Perception and Culture

I have been continuing research into what thinks and what doesn't, and I have come to a few conclusions. Bacteria appear to think and make choices, such as swimming towards food and away from poisons. However, this form of life evolved naturally and is all mechanical - no thought required.

Let me digress a moment to discuss my views on evolution. I am not religious, and I accept that I need to learn more about evolution in order to understand it. I do believe things evolved, just as said in scientific circles, however, I suspect there may be some will involved in evolution - just as I suspect there is will involved with bacteria.

My suspicions have turned up no evidence of will in bacteria. However, what I do see is a complicated machine that has things like a memory - and this memory allows it to compare its current state to its past state to see whether or not it is moving closer to nutrients. This is temporal sensing, and it is necessary to make choices. However, these choices all seem to be mechanical when it comes to bacteria. It looks as if they were programmed or designed by someone, however that is supposed to be an illusion created by survival of the fittest. Even so, a bacteria seems to be something that was designed, just like a computer program, but cannot think for itself. But a computer program cannot be written unless it is created by something that can think for itself.

For a while now, I 've known about a theory called ORCH-OR which says there are quantum reactions in our neurons that cause thoughts. I think these quantum reactions cause perception and emotion, something not Newtonian in nature yet something that I think is still explainable through science.

So, the search for consciousness begins. What thinks and what doesn't. After a conversation with a friend and more research, I decided that something that thinks probably has a brain, and if I were to speculate, I'd say a brain with the ORCH-OR process. Maybe this could have evolved naturally. We'll get to that - also, I don't know anything about plants. Their thought processes have not been seriously looked at.

So I did some more research, and I found out that insects think. Bees and ants perceive each other and have feelings as well, according to scientific studies - however, it is not known how advanced these are. But a bacteria would not have the ability to perceive or feel. I believe perceiving and feeling are quantum processes. I believe that we are a quantum being and we perceive one perspective (our own) and feel one set of emotions (our own). We may empathize with others to simulate their emotions, but we can only feel our own.

This quantum thought brings with it something entirely new - culture. Humans are one of the only species that has developed the ability to store data in symbols. This allows for language, and more and more information is stored.

I believe there is a spiritual realm where all possibilities exist and in this realm, if one accesses it, they can quickly see what blueprints are the most effective. Or inventions can be made in the mind. This is basically the mental realm, but not some physical process, all quantum in nature. At any rate, ideas can be brought from that creative realm and stored in the physical realm through symbolism.

For example, I can write a sentence. Each letter in that sentence has an associated sound and an associated history. I wrote a thread on letters called The Alphabet of the Phonecians that describes how I think each letter actually has the secret to how to say it hidden in its shape.

Culture sort of becomes its own organism. Cars driving along roads look a lot like cells, and cities seem like entities in themselves. Corporations are like cultural entities as well as nations. What if a corporation or a religion was actually an entity composed of individuals, each with a perspective. Does this corporation or religion have its own perspective? Likely not, but it acts like it does.

The question that has me a bit suspicious is what drives life to go forth and evolve? I do understand that life gets its energy from the sun and nutrients from the earth, but a rock gets nutrients from the earth it sits on and has the sun in its face as well. We can focus on this another time.

a reply to: darkbake
Nice and thought provoking OP darkbake. The quantum analogy is interesting and makes me wonder if our ultimate destination will become more hive like with less individuality. It seems in nature, solitude/independance is less wide spread than social paradigms. Perhaps what differentiates us from other cells and such is our senses coupled with a non local force of some sort, whether it is intelligence, divinity or spawning of a transition into other dimensions.

It is fascinating how our world(universe),when scaling both micro and macro have such familiarity in their shape, design and function sometimes. Sometimes it makes me feel unique and other times insignificant. I really value consciousness and think that is what sets us apart and imo, creates training grounds for becoming creators ourselves one day.

Symbolism is a powerful factor as are archetypes, and I have read that symbols more directly affect our reptilian brain area, so I wonder if symbols will carry their value in our future, outside of identification purposes. I do believe they can be used nefariously for control in propaganda. Do those symbols represent something outside of their literal definition? That makes me wonder about shapes and sacred geometry, but that's a digression. A buddy one time told me words were superfluous and I thought about that for a while. If you take the dictionary and hold that against the backdrop of the entire universe(s) that is the sum of our knowledge, minus our ineffable experiences, and that seems pretty limited in a sense.

Sometimes I think language can be a gilded cage, entrapping our natural born outreach and growth rates. One could argue that written language is actually what brought us out of the dark too, so I don't really know. More questions than answers obviously, but this is why I feel privileged to be alive right now, to witness and be part of major transformative advents. I am reminded of Tesla's classic statement:“The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence."

The question that has me a bit suspicious is what drives life to go forth and evolve?

I think propagation to ensure survival is the underlying force

I think there is a whole lot of speculation going on in your thoughts.

The only way to get to the truth of the matter is through discernment and observation imo.

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Also there are fundamental problems with the discussion. For example - what is thinking? Do we really understand what it is? How do we define it? And if we have not, then when you ask "Does bacteria think?", then the question is ambiguous. The same goes for questions pertaining to feeling and perception. Unless we completely understand the phenomena, we cannot really ask if a particular organism engages in it.

a reply to: darkbake
Animals are aware of what is happening presently - they are aware but they are not self aware. Animals see and hear and feel.
Humans are aware of what is happening presently - but they are also aware of themselves. Humans are self aware and worry about themselves - the thoughts that arise in a human are mainly concerned with the survival of themselves. Human thought conflicts with what is happening presently - it often says things like 'this should not be happening'. Human thought believes in better and worse and good and bad, whereas an animal has no concept (idea) of good or bad - what is IS. Human thought is looking into time and making images of things that aren't happening - an animal does not do this. The animal is moved by it's DNA when it stores food for later, or hibernates. A human mind is full of what is not actually happening and that is why the human is seeking wholeness - it has to be full of what is not what isn't to feel whole.. The mind/thoughts fills one full of drama and horror because what is actually happening is not enough for the mind. The human mind wants to figure everything out so it can feel safe.
Prior to you being 'self' aware you are just aware. You are aware now of what arises as thought - always! Thought speaks in symbols which have been learned. Thought speaks, it talks about 'you' - about what 'you' did or will do. Thought has made a gravel image of you - the real you is here now - any image arising in mind is a dead image - it is not you.
You are aware of what is happening presently - and animals are the same but they do not have stories about them interacting with the world appearing as thought.

originally posted by: darkbake
I have been continuing research into what thinks and what doesn't, and I have come to a few conclusions.

Yes, and don't we know about it...Many threads such as "What thinks" , "What is alive", etc.

I think you are making good progress. Star and flag for perseverance. I like to see people stay focussed and on target.

Interesting analogy you make about cars in a city and ,generally, the population going about their business. We are indeed like micro organisms within an entity. Does that entity have consciousness ? you wonder.

Yes, it does seem that every living thing thing (except the rock that I will come back to) has a specific purpose and specific role . In my view, that immediate purpose is survival. For some microorganisms and animals, it stops there. For humans , it goes further and transcend the immediate objective of survival.

Now the interesting thing is, If as human we transcend to a higher level , what do we identify and map to ? Spiritual and Esoteric tradition will say the higher self (or whatever you call that higher level you can attain) maps to the universal will or even to god. That is fine but is there something that we are missing out?

I believe that there is something that is never being considered . We are made of the elements of out planet (Earth for bones; Water for blood and liquid; Air for our lungs and air they carry; Fire for our body temperature and heartbeat). We are effectively the expression of our planet. We are it and it is us . Therefore, even before we start looking at our higher self and it connection with the creative force of the universe, we need to consider that proximity to mother earth (remember, to stay alive , we eat of the earth). However, there is no "model" of earth as a macrocosm. There are plenty of macrocosm models but I do not think that I have come across the planet being described as a macrocosm of man.

Planet Earth does breath, sneeze, have body temperature, etc , if you think about all the natural wonders and phenomenon (Volcanoes, Hurricanes, Oceans, earthquakes etc). Why then is the spirit of the Earth not so prominent in our Phyche ? Why is it that it is the spirit of something outside the planet which is prominent when we rise up a level ?

My answer to that is that we cannot embody the spirit of something that we already are. However, we can embody the spirit of something that we seek to be.

originally posted by: crowdedskies
Why is it that it is the spirit of something outside the planet which is prominent when we rise up a level ?

My answer to that is that we cannot embody the spirit of something that we already are. However, we can embody the spirit of something that we seek to be.

We already are what we are - but we are not what is seen or heard - we are the seer of what is happening - whatever is appearing.
The entire universe is moving and it is known to be moving. 'Something' seems to be looking for an answer - Saint Francis of Assisi said that we should look for what is looking.
That which is looking does not move - it just sees what arises - it is aware.
You are already the spirit - seeing a body, seeing thoughts arise. Those thoughts can never speak about the true you because what you are is the unconditional ever present space which allows existence to appear.

originally posted by: Itisnowagain

originally posted by: crowdedskies
Why is it that it is the spirit of something outside the planet which is prominent when we rise up a level ?

My answer to that is that we cannot embody the spirit of something that we already are. However, we can embody the spirit of something that we seek to be.

We already are what we are - but we are not what is seen or heard - we are the seer of what is happening - whatever is appearing.
The entire universe is moving and it is known to be moving. 'Something' seems to be looking for an answer - Saint Francis of Assisi said that we should look for what is looking.
That which is looking does not move - it just sees what arises - it is aware.
You are already the spirit - seeing a body, seeing thoughts arise. Those thoughts can never speak about the true you because what you are is the unconditional ever present space which allows existence to appear.

Its you again ! (I mean Itsnowagain)

I will try and be more civil this time (as long as I do not get youtube videos thrown at me

All these statements from the so-called "spiritual teachers" above ignore the fact the we are here for a purpose. The incarnation in this illusion of physical reality is for us to take on challenges and apply our will and direct thoughts under our will. We are meant to be testing ourselves on this testing ground.

I do not subscribe to that notion that we need do nothing and just be - not for me. I am not here to BE. I am here to take the challenges ; to enforce my Will and gradually and surely, my Will seeks to align to something greater. I change what appears; create what is not. Doing my will and divine will is my mission. I am not here to sit and be

OP, There is a theory that Typhus has operated as/with a distributed intelligence. I know nothing of this theory except that it exists, but someone I respect told me they met a guy obsessed with the topic, who showed him a ton of info he'd collected over many years, and put it together for him, and it was mindblowing enough to "really make ya think."

Just thought I'd mention it.

RC