On the Nature of Consciousness-- It's Not Necessarily In Your Head

Yesterday I talked about how consciousness can effect reality, but what is this thing called consciousness? Ask a scientist and you might get an answer about how it is the result of chemical reactions and/or electrical impulses in the brain and nervous system. However, things such as out of body and near death experiences and astral projection show us that consciousness isn't localized to the brain or even the body. So, clearly this isn't the answer. A more honest scientist will most likely tell you that they simply don't know.

In order to answer this question we must turn to the ancient esoteric wisdom traditions of Kabbalah and Hermeticism. Both of these traditions have been studying the nature of consciousness for many thousands of years. So long, in fact, that their origins are lost in the foggy haze of time. Many if not most of the greatest minds that ever lived followed one or both of these traditions that were long relegated to secret contemplation and practice since the late days of the Roman Empire.

The Hermetic principle of mentalism, one of the foundations of Hermetic thought, states that "the All is Mind". The Hermetic concept of the All refers to everything in existence whether it is physical or energetic. To Hermetic practitioners consciousness, far from being a mere phenomenon of the brain, is the very fabric of the Universe itself and the totality of existence is thoughts in a Universal mind. While this may seem like mystical mumbo jumbo to many, the Simulation Theory that has recently garnered the support of top scientists posits nearly the same thing only it ascribes the Universe to some artificial intelligence or computer rather than an organic mind. This seems to be more likely a reflection of our modern culture to me.

The Kabbalistic concepts of Ayin and Ein Soph seem to support the idea that the Universe itself is composed of consciousness as well. Ayin literally means "eye" in Hebrew and is said to be what existed before creation. However, this includes before time and space themselves were created so the Ayin would not be limited to a long distant "before" but would permeate throughout all of existence forever. This makes it related, if not synonymous, with the concept of Ein Soph which is the Universal source of all existence. To the Kabbalists, everything in existence- every form, energy, and thought, is a manifestation of Ayin as it travels from Ein Soph through the 4 worlds and tree of life into physical form and back to rejoin into Ein Soph, the great unity of all. In other words, Kabbalists believe that everything in the Universe is consciousness that has separated itself from the rest of the Universe in a process of self discovery before going back through the process to rejoin it.

Of course, all this is only a brief glimpse of the complex ideas contained within these traditions. One could write volumes on either subject and only scratch the surface. However, these concepts do seem to explain the observations and discoveries from quantum physics, cosmology, and other scientific disciplines that have led to theories such as the Simulation Theory. Perhaps the ancients knew more than we give them credit for, knowledge that has since been lost, buried, or forgotten. There are concepts that would explain this as well but that will have to wait for another time. Til next time, happy steeming!