Plain Text of the Chapter Summaries--Psyche's Palace

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Psyche’s Palace:

How the Brain Generates

the Light of the Soul

David Aaron Holmes

The Library of Consciousness

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The table of contents,

Summaries of the first

five chapters,

and the index

CONTENTS

iNTRODUCTION

Chapter One

A PLAY OF LIGHT

Chapter Two

The globe theater

Chapter Three

THE MYTH OF CUPID AND PSYCHE

Chapter Four

NEUROBIOLUMINESCENCE

Chapter Five

CONCEPTUAL FRAMES

Chapter Six

EGOGENESIS

Chapter Seven

AS WITHOUT, SO WITHIN

Chapter Eight

RUNNING FOR COVER

Chapter Nine

Mood rings

Chapter Ten

THE THREE POISONS

Chapter Eleven

MISTAKING THE MAP FOR THE TERRITORY

Chapter Twelve

NOTHING DOING

Chapter Thirteen

Embracing the gentle mother

Chapter Fourteen

further conjecture

Chapter Fifteen

the stream of consciousness

Chapter Sixteen

CHILD’S PLAY

Chapter Seventeen

ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING

Chapter Eighteen

HIDDEN TREASURE

Chapter Nineteen

BIRTH-BREATH-DEATH

Chapter Twenty

BOTH SIDES NOW

AFTERWORD

INDEX

(Note: a one-page summary follows each chapter)

A SUMMARY OF CHAPTER ONE

A PLAY OF LIGHT

This new theory of consciousness was born from the insight that a class of neurons in the brain may actually be functioning in the same manner as the colored pixels (the tiny phosphorescent dots) on a television screen. Individually, their firings produce only infinitesimal electromagnetic bursts of an inwardly visible light, perhaps in an assortment of wavelengths (an array of colors). In the aggregate, however, this coherent, spatially extended, fine-grained quantum electromagnetic field is directly experienced by and as the Light of consciousness. These presentation neurons are the natural conduit between the body (matter) and the mind (an energetic field of Light).

Presentation neurons can be arranged in circular rings, one firing into the next, like colored lights around a theater marquee. Since the constituent neurons can be made to fire at predictable rates, these rings behave like simple oscillators or resonators. Paired rings of various sizes are able to resonate and display simple ratios. In musical terms, for example, a ring of five neurons with a ring of six neurons forms a pitch ratio of 6:5 and can resonate—and therefore present to consciousness—an interval of a minor third. The neural resonance chamber can be compared to a violin—one that produces and resonates tremendously complex patterns of Light. The brain serves as an aesthetic device by means of which consciousness determines what is pleasing (desirable) and displeasing (undesirable).

These “pixels” and resonators are the building blocks used by natural selection to improve and refine the presentation. In due course they evolve into a platform that supports and presents the vast sound and light extravaganza that now surrounds you: the sensorium.

The electromagnetic field produced by the brain is minutely detailed, and it is precisely at this level of detail that we directly experience sights, sounds and bodily sensations. Even high resolution images of the electromagnetic field surrounding the cerebral cortex give no hint as to how intricately the field is actually arranged for presentation at the microscopic level.

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A SUMMARY OF CHAPTER TWO

the globe theater

The chapters of this book present a series of progressive scans of the same complex object—sensorium consciousness in the bioluminescent brain. Each pass is intended to bring new features into focus, while deepening the understanding of material previously introduced. Here, the spotlight falls upon the spherical form of the sensorium presentation, revealing it to be a direct manifestation of the spheroid form of the cerebral cortex itself.

A catalogue of apparent inconsistencies in the topology of the brain has kept its straightforward presentational function well-hidden from scientific discovery. The very same cluster of anomalous features—when viewed 180° in reverse—constellate into a single, clear, and inescapable picture. Consciousness rides the brain backward! Like the prisoners in Plato’s cave who can view only the shadows of reality cast upon the back wall and who can hear only echoes, we have no way of knowing from inside of our own sensorium that the soul’s orientation is likewise reversed from that of the physical body.

The parietal lobe is theorized to function as a full-service, multisensory integration cortex that melds the presentation of our projected body image with other sonic and visual objects into a single, oceanic somatoaudiovisual space. The prefrontal lobe, on the other hand, occupies the “dark half” of the sensorium sphere; as the nerve center of the hyper-vigilant executive, it does not specialize in the presentation of reality per se, but uses its best “intelligence estimates” to generate its own set of hypothetical scenarios and contingency plans.

The cerebral cortex is also referred to as the iso-cortex (the “same-cortex”) because it has a nearly identical structure over the full six and a half square feet of its surface area. It is not this fact alone but a preponderance of circumstantial evidence that leads me to make this overly bold hypothesis: that most, if not all, of the surface of the cerebral cortex is structured for neurobioluminescent presentation and continuously engages aspects of consciousness in unimaginably diverse modalities of sensory and symbolic display.

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A SUMMARY OF CHAPTER THREE

the myth of cupid and psyche

The myth of Cupid and Psyche is introduced. These characters will reappear throughout the book to illustrate aspects of the relationship between the body and the mind in much more visceral, human terms. In the myth, Cupid, the god of carnal love, builds a palace for the mortal Psyche, the personification of the mind of beauty and light. Cupid’s palace represents the body, in particular the brain and the neuronal structures that support and constrain the sensorium presentation. This “living palace” provides Psyche with every sensuous delight but can also be experienced as an oppressive prison that she is never permitted to leave.

The vacillations in Psyche’s mood highlight a curious facet of this new theoretical perspective—that the primary function of even the most primitive sentient animal mind is fundamentally “aesthetic.” Desire (liking) propels movement toward an object; aversion (disliking) propels movement away from an object. These are the two most basic and universal functions of animal life. The ability to move toward and to move away from is, after all, what distinguishes mobile animals from their firmly rooted plant cousins.

Cupid is revealed to be both a loving husband and a monstrous tyrant who keeps Psyche in the dark as to his true nature. The relationship between Cupid and Psyche, the body and the mind, is strained. Psyche’s curiosity to discover who her husband actually is represents our own thirst to understand what it means to be a spiritual essence housed within a physical body.

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A SUMMARY OF CHAPTER FOUR

neurobioluminescence

This theoretical model of consciousness rests upon a single “metaphysical” postulate: that the quantum electromagnetic field is the source of a basic proto-awareness from which our own highly articulated conscious awareness is formed by evolutionary forces.

The sensorium is the quantum electromagnetic field produced by the firings of neurons that mimics the shapes and textures of the forms perceived in the outer world. The quantum field presentation is self-aware—its powerful sense of subjectivity due in large measure to the topology of the presentation—a hollow, spherical surround—from which it infers the self/world dichotomy and its own self-centrality.

The cerebral cortex is, topologically, a crumpled two-dimensional surface, overlaid with a wide variety of sensory cortical maps, which function as brightly-lit, constantly refreshed “presentation screens” of the primary sense modalities.

Awareness always arises in an initial state of blinding bewilderment at the moment of its emergence. It has no idea who or what it is—it is only aware of its own becoming. This is the source of its “affinity” for light and for further becoming, and its “disinclination” to return to darkness and annihilation.

The Light itself, an elaborate electromagnetic field fluctuation produced by the collective firings of billions of neurons, takes the form of a “lightbody” that emerges and reemerges moment after moment from a single point of origin in the brainstem, expanding in complexity, “fleshing” itself out, as it retraces the evolutionary and developmental pathways of the brain, all within a fraction of a second.

Our bodies go to the considerable trouble of providing lodging for an indwelling conscious entity in order to be able to exploit its innate capacity to distinguish what it likes from what it dislikes. Desire and aversion, wrapped up in a tight bundle of delusion that is mistaken for selfhood—these are the three primal forces that maintain the fundamental structure and functionality of the “sentient being.”

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A SUMMARY OF CHAPTER FIVE

conceptual frames

The most profound philosophical question of all—how bare awareness itself came to exist within the substratum of the universe—may be well beyond the scope of human understanding. In this chapter, the view is put forth that everything shy of this Eternal Mystery may actually lie well within the realm of the understandable.

The specific formulation of conscious awareness that we, as humans, are endowed with has been forged by hundreds of millions of years of Darwinian evolutionary pressures. We cannot find in this world examples of consciousness existing in the abstract; the human mind has evolved into its current form through natural processes deeply embedded in the wet world of biology. Sensorium consciousness is evolution’s practical application of a potentiality already inherent in the understructure of the physical and energetic universe.

The links between Buddhist thought and evolutionary biology are first broached in this chapter. Buddhism’s goal is to understand the true nature of reality and in so doing to alleviate the root causes of unhappiness. The Buddha’s Three Marks of Existence—suffering, impermanence, and no-self—are all irrefutable biophysical realities, enunciated expressly to thwart our futile attempts to find enduring happiness through the usual channels: by satisfying all desires and avoiding all aversive situations. This sobering troika makes short work of our infantile dreams of Heaven (a place of Eternal Happiness for Me). We can gain fresh insights into the Dharma through the scientific investigation of consciousness and its pivotal role in evolution.

Jason Brown’s theory of microgenesis is highlighted in this chapter because it offers a key insight into a possible mechanism for linking together three seemingly unrelated fundamental processes essential to the evolution of conscious, animate life. He shows how the entire evolutionary history of our species is not only paralleled in the stages of growth of a fetus during the course of its development, but that this recapitulation also happens continuously within the brain—moment after moment—propelling ever fresh iterations of consciousness through the same evolutionary and developmental sequence.

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Index

Abhidharma 35, 49, 50, 52-56, 193-94, 199

Advaita.................... 135-36, 235

advantage, body over soul 38, 80-81, 196, 200

aesthetics 9, 25, 27, 31, 40, 68, 198, 210, 213, 253

afflictions (dukkha)........... 216-30

agency

illusion of..................... 72, 184

proof of the existence of.. 188-89

algorithms 169-70, 172, 177, 203, 206

alleles.................................... 110

alpha brain waves............ 97, 247

altruism................................ 110

amphitheater, LGN as............ 156

amygdala.............................. 188

Anapanasati Sutta................... 237

anatman/atman........... 45-46, 136

ancestors 16-17, 47, 61, 77, 86, 90, 102, 121, 128-29, 155, 187, 199, 226, 240

first conscious 77, 121, 123, 128-29, 161, 179-80, 188, 197, 251

angle of orientation, perception of 147, 161-62

angst, existential.............. 40, 245

anima............................ 104, 149

animals, experience of selfhood in 39, 40, 65, 159, 161, 210

Answers in Genesis web site...... 67

arachnoid mater

insubstantiality of.............. 163

Aristotle, camera obscura... 126-27

astroglial cells................ 164, 165

attention 170-71, 187, 191, 195, 208, 240, 248

attractor basins.................. 98-99

attractors.... See chaotic attractors

auditory cortex 14, 16, 124, 170, 203, 205-06

Aum...................................... 204

automatons........ 39, 71, 107, 123

aversion.... See desire and aversion

awakening 40, 52, 62, 65-66, 76-77, 217, 221, 235, 239, 244, 246

awareness 11, 14, 26, 29, 30, 32, 34-38, 46, 50, 53, 60, 65-66, 68, 71-73, 76-77, 80-83, 87, 93, 95, 104, 107, 110, 113-14, 118-19, 120, 123, 128-29, 143, 148, 171, 180, 183, 185-91, 194-95, 229, 237, 239, 244, 247, 253-54

bare........ 15, 35, 119, 129, 237

quantum field and 11, 14-15, 29-30, 32, 34, 66, 119, 128, 190, 194, 247, 253

axon hillock................ 37, 134-35

axon/dendrite connectivity 3, 5-6, 36-38, 99, 146-48, 169-70, 185

bardo.............................. 77, 138

Beauty of the Peacock Tail’, ‘The 67, 70

being, first conscious See ancestors, first conscious

being, nonbeing and............... 136

bewilderment 35, 54-55, 73-74, 76, 81, 128, 175, 185

bhavachakra............. 108, 123-24

bhumisparsha mudra.............. 225

binary code............. 7, 13, 206-07

binaural input................. 12, 124

binding problem.............. 7-8, 151

binocular vision......... 124, 151-55

conjectural model for..... 151-56

biocomputer 38, 133, 162, 165, 169, 171

biogenetic law......................... 46

biophotons............................. 160

blind spot................................ 72

blobs..................... See color, blobs

blood-brain barrier.... 164-65, 188

Bodhisattvas 64, 108, 118, 229, 243

Four Bodhisattva Vows, The.. 64

body-mind 25, 41, 46, 60, 62, 94, 100, 102, 103, 111, 128-29, 179, 196, 203, 220, 226, 229, 230, 245, 254

body/mind............ See mind/body

Book of Causal Relations, The... 199

brain See also more specific entries and the illustration on page xii

brainstem 35,-38, 41, 47-48, 74

fetal......................... 184-85

microgenesis and 123, 175, 181-86, 188, 195, 254

chaotic system, as 6, 97-98, 171-74, 190, 209, 247

chemistry 40, 94-104, 122, 165, 170, 172, 185, 191, 196, 249, 253

counting and................ 202-03

cybernetic.......... 197, 123, 125

development, fetal, consciousness’s role in 185-86

frequency analysis by 3, 202-06

harmonic analysis by 31, 124, 174, 202-06

mammalian, old............ 35, 47

many brains theory and..... 100

material consistency of....... 165

nonlinear system, as 98, 190, 199

parietal lobe. 15-17, 48, 84, 166

passive medium, as 148, 169, 172-75

principal function of 4, 226, 252

reptilian................. 35, 47, 185

reverse orientation of 15-17, 86, 254

states 97, 100-02, 122, 129, 185, 210

topology of 12, 18, 33, 42, 83, 124

brain waves..................... 97, 247

brain-space....................... 147-48

Brazier, David 215-20, 223, 227, 229

analysis of the Turning of the Wheel of the Dharma Sutra 215-33

breath meditation..... 237-40, 246

Brown, Jason W. 35-37, 41, 47-49, 141, 180-83, 193, 254

Bruno, Giordano.................... 208

Buber, Martin......................... 82

Buddha’s First Sermon, The 215-33

Buddhadharma 45, 56, 225, 240-42

Buddhism...................... 136, 237

Brazier, David and........ 215-33

canon of. 215, 221, 237, 240-41

Four Noble Truths, The 62, 215-33

Mahayana 53, 56, 63-64, 135-36 mind, view of 53, 57-58

orthodox view of 63, 216-19, 223, 226-27, 230

practice of perfections and.. 248

practitioners of.................. 106

sentient beings in 40, 45-46, 61, 64-66, 71-74, 107, 109, 118, 136, 159, 220, 243, 245, 248, 253-54

teachings of 45, 55, 56, 108-09, 135, 194, 215

Vajrayana (Tibetan) 49, 55, 108

Zen 43, 64, 97, 108, 111, 135, 237, 239, 247

Buddhist “Rosetta Stone”......... 215

Buddhist psychology See Abhidharma

Burgess, Stuart.................. 67, 69

calm abiding......................... 247

calories consumed by brain 133-34, 189

camera obscura................ 126-27

Candide................................. 175

carnivores................. 113-14, 122

causality, karma and..... 57, 59-62

cerebral cortex 83, 144-46, 160-66, 206, 210, 252, 254

two-dimensional surface, as 33, 124-25, 144, 153, 162, 252-53

cerebral interstitial fluid 12, 164-65, 252

cerebral multiplex................. 126

cerebrospinal fluid 12, 144, 163, 165, 188, 252

archaic brain structures, in 188

clarity of.. 12, 163-65, 188, 252

sensorium, role in.............. 163

shock absorber, as....... 163, 165

channels, voltage-gated sodium ion 3, 33, 134

Chaos Theory........... 98, 173, 190

chaotic

attractors.................. 173, 247

resonators 7, 97-98, 172-74, 211

systems.............. 173, 190, 209

chase lights, theatrical......... 2, 38

chemical era.......................... 112

chiaroscuro............................ 154

chords, musical 3, 7, 95, 97, 101, 124, 173, 205

chromatophores.................. 68-69

circuits, computer 3, 4, 11, 13, 31, 121, 171, 189, 206

cochlear nucleus.................... 124

Cogito ergo sum...................... 189

color

blobs..................... 147, 159-60

cortical columns and 13, 145, 47, 159-62, 165, 252

perception of...................... 148

color constancy...................... 147

columnar organization........... 162

community of mind 176, 197, 200

compassion 34, 57, 61, 64, 67, 82, 99, 136, 216, 230, 237, 240, 243, 244, 248

competition, genetic............... 110

complexification 120, 171, 181, 188

computer paradigm 1, 4, 6-7, 13, 31, 38, 40, 81, 121, 133, 136, 149, 152, 162, 165, 169, 206-07

computer/resonator issue........... 7

conduit between worlds....... 20, 45

confusion............. 54, 67, 77, 240

connectivity, neuronal, two types 147

consciousness 1-8, 29-39, 48-56, 66-67, 76-77, 86-90, 95, 101, 113-14, 119-23, 127-29, 137-39, 141-44, 148-49, 155, 157-61, 169-74, 179-91, 195-200, 207, 210-15, 228, 235, 242-49, 254

animals and......... 65, 107, 248

Buddhist view of................. 157

cybernetic animals without 39, 125

eight modes of...................... 54

elsewhere in the universe... 129

evolution of.... 184, 120-21, 210

function of......................... 190

information processing, contrasted with 168-74

location of..................... 143-44

not within neurons............. 148

planes of..... 180, 182, 186, 194

six senses and 54-55, 83, 110, 128, 137, 202, 209, 226, 241, 246

storehouse........................... 59

universal........................... 118

viability during development 187

Containment of the Response to Afflictions, the 218

contiguity............................. 201

coordinate system, Cartesian

model of consciousness........ 178

cortex, cortices…See specific (auditory, visual, etc.)

cortical columns 13, 145-46, 150, 153, 157, 159-62, 165-66, 208, 252

cosmology 53, 56, 57, 58, 62, 216, 240

counting, time and........... 202-03

courage............................. 26, 80

creationism 56, 57, 70, 71, 118, 119

cube of consciousness....... 178, 180

Cupid and Psyche............. 93, 101

Myth of............... 19-26, 77-80

relationship between 24, 101, 165, 254

curiosity, Psyche’s................... 26

cuttlefish........................... 68-69

cybernetic era................... 113-14

cybernetics 7, 40, 65, 107, 120-23, 125-28, 161, 189, 197, 253

cyclical existence...... 25, 108, 226

cytoarchitecture 38, 123, 125, 136-37, 156-57, 164, 187

Dalai Lama........................ 49, 60

Darwin, Charles 44, 61, 117, 119, 226

Darwinism.... 57, 70, 91, 117, 119

challenge to Buddhism......... 57

creationism and................. 119

data, sense 4, 6, 31, 71, 80-81, 83-84, 89, 103, 124-28, 158, 173, 195, 197, 203, 207, 211, 253

Dawkins, Richard................... 110

death 20, 25, 45, 54, 79, 80, 102, 108, 110, 137-38, 186, 196, 218, 220-22, 238, 244, 254

Deep Blue.................................. 7

Deer Park at Isipatana............ 229

delta brain waves.................... 97

delusion 25, 40, 46, 59, 60, 64-67, 70, 107-09, 112, 198, 226, 230, 248, 255

dendrites 3, 5, 6, 36-37, 146-49, 169

dependent origination 44, 57, 217, 221

depth of field, perception of 147, 153, 166

Descartes, René 1, 8, 135, 149, 189

desire and aversion 25, 35, 40, 55, 189, 197-98, 216, 224, 234, 243, 253

destiny.......................... 191, 253

development

consciousness, role in..... 184-86

ego................................. 53-55

fetal.................... 35-38, 46-48

model, cube of consciousness 178

Dhammapada.......................... 58

dharma-chakra...................... 228

display 5-6, 12-16, 30, 36, 38, 66-72, 82, 84-85, 89, 97-98, 121, 126-29, 132-34, 137, 145, 148-49, 151, 153, 157-62, 165, 170, 177, 202-07, 211, 252-53

mental realm, of 12, 16, 157, 207

divine intervention................ 119

DNA 5, 60-61, 109-12, 117, 194, 243

Dogen Zenji....... 111, 237, 247-48

dots, phosphorescent.................. 6

doubled images.................. 152-54

dream consciousness.... 37, 180-83

dualism, Cartesian............. 2, 163

duality, mind/body 36, 136, 174-76

dukkha............................. 218-33

dukkha-samudaya-nirodha-marga 229

dura mater............................ 163

Dzogchen.......................... 135-36

Earth Touching Gesture, the... 228

edges, perception of.. 125, 147, 149

efficiency... 125, 128, 133-34, 199

ego 44, 50, 66, 72, 111, 136, 176, 196, 235-36, 248, 256

Abhidharma, in................ 53-55

development of................ 53-55

function of......................... 236

inflation of........................ 248

egogenesis........................ 53, 193

egolessness............................... 53

eighteen spheres of mentation 226, 229

Eightfold Path, the 215, 219, 227, 230

electroencephalogram.......... 5, 97

electromagnetic field 3, 5-6, 12, 29-37, 45, 71, 83, 130, 134-35, 156, 165, 171, 174, 183, 190, 202, 252-53

lightbody and 30, 36-37, 136, 148-49, 151-63, 171-75, 181-84, 187-90, 252

microscopic intricacy of.. 5, 252

electromagnetism 30, 32, 39, 89, 135, 174, 186, 204, 207

epiphenomenal leakage of... 253

structured......................... 207

elephant and the blind men... 8, 65

embodiment.................... 76, 167

emergence of complexity 37, 120-22

emergence of consciousness 37, 120-22, 142

Emergence of Everything, The... 120

emotional states.......... 40, 94-104

emotional survival kit............ 103

emotions 30, 67, 95, 98, 103, 189, 210, 226, 236, 239, 246

memory and................ 98, 209

Emperor of Scent, The............. 204

emptiness...... 43-44, 53, 106, 136

endocrine system................ 93-95

enlightenment 25, 41, 138, 215, 220, 222-23, 231, 233, 237, 240-41, 248

possibility of........................ 41

enmeshment of body and spirit 20, 45

entrainment....... 87, 201, 238-39

epiphenomenalism..................... 2

epiphenomenon 5, 123, 129, 171-74, 188, 252, 253

equality of experience, universal 159, 181, 248-49, 256

ethics 19, 56, 78, 215, 242, 245, 248-49

evolution 4, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 25, 30, 35-40, 44-47, 54, 56, 60-62, 66, 70-72, 82, 89-90, 101-03, 107, 109-13, 117-23, 125, 129, 133-34, 137-39, 142, 146, 154-62, 171, 179-82, 184-90, 96-199, 205, 210, 220, 238, 242-48, 254

bloody in tooth and claw 82, 243

computer analogy.............. 133

consciousness, of.... 17, 184, 210

creationism and....... 70, 118-19

emotions and.............. 101 -104

human mind, recency of..... 158

model, cube of consciousness 178-81

sensorium

astonishing artifact of..... 254

immense antiquity of..... 161

theory of............................ 117

evolution of consciousness

elsewhere in the universe... 129

evolutionary biology 192, 194, 242, 254

Buddhism and..................... 57

excitatory effects.................... 169

existential “qualia”

angst.......................... 40, 246

despair.............................. 246

isolation.............................. 66

existentialism.......................... 41

experience 2, 5, 6, 7, 12, 16, 20, 30, 36, 48, 52, 53, 56, 58, 65, 67, 73, 78, 81, 85, 87, 89, 100, 110, 121, 122, 127-29, 136-37, 143, 145-46, 151-56, 159, 161, 169-73, 181, 183, 186, 189, 190, 195, 200, 203, 207, 226, 235-39, 248, 250, 253

binocular vision, of......... 151-55

duality, of......................... 136

experiencer, bridge between 145, 235, 250

maps...... See maps, experienced

pleasure and pain, of... 125, 249

time, of................. 195-97, 201

extrastriate visual cortex........ 147

extrospection......................... 195

eyespots..................... 68, 72, 119

Feeling Buddha, The................ 216

fetus............ 47, 179, 180, 187-88

brainstem and.. 184-85, 187-88

consciousness and 184-85, 187-88

field, electromagnetic See electromagnetic field

field, visual 6, 88, 126-27, 153, 156, 253

First Sermon of the Buddha, The 215

analysis of.................... 215-30

text of.......................... 231-33

flying buttresses, meninges as. 163

FMRI, brain as...................... 5, 87

fossils, transitional................. 119

Four Noble Truths, the............. 62

analysis of.................... 215-30

fractals................................. 173

frequency...................... 203, 205

brain waves and.................. 97

neuronal resonators and......... 3

sense organs and......... 124, 159

sound waves and........ 174, 205

frontal lobe.................. 16-17, 157

cortical columns in 157-58, 208

rational thought and 16-17, 157, 208

Fundamental Neuroscience....... 161

Gaia...................................... 118

Gautama.................. 217, 223-27

Gedankenexperiment See thought experiment

genes 5, 60-61, 109-10, 170, 185-86, 191

genetic

code 60, 109-10, 170, 184-85, 191

theory.......... 46-47, 61, 109-10

geometry of three-space...... 151-52

gestation, consciousness, role during 184-85, 187-88

gland, brain as.......................... 6

Glimpses of Abhidharma....... 50, 52

God 7, 20, 111, 118, 119, 136, 176, 245, 250

gods 21, 22, 23, 24, 78, 79, 80, 83, 241

Golden Mean, the....................... 7

good and evil.......... 108, 136, 223

grandmother neuron.............. 170

gray matter........................... 145

greed 25, 107, 108, 112, 221, 224, 226, 230, 231, 245

ground of existence 54, 74, 76, 129, 254

gyrii (gyrus).......................... 145

habit energy....................... 60-61

half a soul.............................. 120

hallucinatory display 82, 146, 158, 182

happiness 35, 40, 41, 58, 62, 106, 107, 210, 220-23, 230, 243, 249, 255

harmonic

analysis............................ 202

overtones, missing fundamental and 142, 205, 212

presentation. 14, 124, 203, 205

relationships... 3, 7, 95, 97, 124

hate 25, 63, 107, 108, 112, 115, 226, 230

hippocampus......................... 188

Homo aestheticus................... 198

Homo sapiens................... 17, 120

homunculus 7, 14, 16, 84-87, 124-25, 144

hydrodynamics, mindstream and 175

hypothalamus....................... 188

ignorance 25, 26, 35, 39, 50, 54-55, 65-67, 77, 172, 222, 253

illumination 16, 142, 149, 152, 163

illusion 2, 7, 12, 17, 31, 34-36, 38, 41, 44, 54, 56, 65 -73, 80, 86, 93, 123, 128-29, 132, 136, 137, 144, 146, 149, 151, 154, 156, 175-76, 193, 194, 196, 200-01, 207, 211, 234, 239, 248, 251, 253

missing fundamental 205-06, 212

painting techniques and. 154-55

time and...................... 200-03

image connectivity................ 147

IMAX®................................... 73

immediacy............................ 199

impermanence.... 44, 50, 107, 108

information in DNA 60, 61, 109-10, 112

information processing model 4, 6, 31, 36, 39, 40, 107, 113-14, 121, 125, 134-35, 142, 147-48, 155, 169, 171, 172, 181, 183, 207, 210

inhibitory effects.............. 99, 169

instrument, musical, brain as 6, 25, 40, 205, 210

integration, mind/brain 14, 26, 94, 111

Intelligent Design, Theory of 119, 169

intelligent machine, brain as.. 171

introspection 7, 35, 77, 85, 194, 254

iridescence......................... 68-69

Isipatana............... 229, 231, 233

isolation, existential................. 66

I-thou relationship................... 82

I-thought.................. 36, 111, 136

Jesus........................ 56, 111, 240

Jianzhi Sengcan..................... 256

Juhan, Deane..................... 48-49

Kali............................... 243, 244

karma....... 56-57, 59-63, 107, 109

doctrine of........................... 59

“Keeping Body and Soul Together: A Theory of Neural Resonance” 198-99

Kondañña...... 227, 228, 229, 233

laminar organization...... 146, 208

Lao Tsu................................. 132

lateral geniculate nuclei.. 155, 156

layers of neurons, six....... 146, 157

leakage of Light............... 130, 253

LGN............................... 155, 156

liberation 44, 54, 55, 56, 60, 61, 62, 65, 76, 77, 107, 138, 216, 222, 223, 243, 244 and

Light....... 27, 84, 90, 97, 143, 159

awareness and........ 3, 6, 35, 36

circles of.......................... 2, 66

epiphenomenon, as.... 5, 128-29

expansiveness of................. 143

fetal development, active presence during, as 37, 184, 186-88

interpenetration with flesh. 163

leakage of.......................... 253

metaphor, not as..... 5, 168, 210

mindstream and.......... 37, 176

near-death experience of..... 138

non-duality of 135-38, 142, 168

patterns of 6, 38, 84, 148, 162, 189, 190, 252

quantum electromagnetic field and 3, 5, 36, 45, 83, 135, 190

religion and spirituality and 5, 32-33, 45, 129, 132, 135-38, 168, 176

sculptural medium, as......... 33

self, as 36, 70, 71, 81, 186, 211-12, 251

“spectral color” and.... 148, 160

visible 30, 32, 89, 124, 147, 202-03

light show 4, 15, 126, 164-65, 204

lightbody 30, 36-37, 137, 147-49, 151-63, 171-74, 181-84, 187-90, 252

lighting effects 4, 38, 68-71, 87-90, 134, 137, 148, 154, 158, 160-62, 196, 205

Light-pump...... 181, 184, 188, 195

activity in fetus 37, 184, 186-88

Light-rail............................... 254

Light-violin 6, 31, 89, 174-75, 195-96, 204-05, 210

liking and disliking 27, 40, 210, 253, 255

limbic system 35, 47, 48, 181, 182, 185, 188, 203

logic gates................. 11, 121, 206

luciferase.............................. 160

macromolecules.............. 112, 120

magic mirrors....................... 128

mahamudra.................. 49, 53, 55

Mahayana See Buddhism, Mahayana

mandala, memory.................. 209

maps................................ 124-29

auditory...................... 14, 124

consciousness and....................

cortical and subcortical 30, 31, 33, 38, 124, 147, 148

cybernetic.......... 125, 126, 128

developmental constraints.. 125

experienced, determining whether 155, 160-61

retinotopic.... 14, 124, 125, 253

somatosensory. 14, 84, 124, 125

sound frequency......................

tonotopic...................... 14, 124

topographic sensory 126, 128, 144, 181, 187, 195, 196

visual 14, 83, 88, 124, 127-29, 147, 253

Mara............................. 217, 223

marga....................... 216, 225-34

marquee, theater............. 2, 9, 38

meditation 5, 41, 43, 49, 50, 53, 62, 97, 167, 215, 217, 229, 230, 234, 235-40, 246-48

breath..... 237, 238-40, 246-47

Buddhist......... 66, 215, 238-48

calm abiding..................... 247

counterintuitive aspect of 235-36, 243

introspection................ 77, 194

mindfulness 229, 235, 239, 246, 247

upon unvarnished reality 41, 243

yogic, compared................ 238

medium

conscious........................... 201

neuronal activity as 4, 5, 30, 33, 36, 71, 148, 169, 171, 172, 175, 182, 187, 188, 201, 252

passive, nerve impulses as 169-75

propagation of Light, for 4, 5, 30, 33, 36, 71, 148, 169, 171, 172, 175, 182, 187, 188, 201, 252

sculptural, Light as............... 33

transparent liquid 163-64, 188, 252

melanin.................................. 69

memes, cultural DNA, as.......... 61

memory 12, 16, 36, 71, 72, 83, 84, 95, 96, 98-100, 103, 128, 137, 155, 157, 158, 170, 182, 195, 197, 201, 203, 207-11, 241, 244

mandala............................ 209

palaces of.......................... 208

personal, in microgenesis.... 182

sense......................... 203, 209

Mendel, Gregor........................ 61

meninges........ 144, 163, 165, 188

flying butresses, as............. 163

role in sensorium............... 163

shock absorber, as....... 163, 165

mental space.......................... 154

metaphysical leap.................. 188

microgenesis 35, 36, 53, 123, 180-84, 192, 193, 195, 197, 199, 254

microgeny

model, cube of consciousness 180

microtubules.................... 190-91

Middle Way, the..... 228, 231, 242

mind

analytical, calming........... 237

appropriate use of.............. 246

awakened............................ 61

Buddhist view of 56, 157, 199, 207

evolution, recency of.......... 158

insubstantiality of........ 53, 158

perceptual field of (internal) 157-58

presentation, haziness of..... 158

sense organ, as.............. 157-58

mind only............... 53, 56, 57, 58

mind/body

connection 72, 2, 81, 94, 110, 113-14, 128-29, 132, 144, 174-76, 190, 196-97, 254

identity of, apparent 84, 87, 176

interpenetration................ 163

non-duality and..... 132, 135-37

mindfulness 223, 228-31, 234, 235, 236, 238, 239, 241, 246, 247, 254

mindscape............................. 158

missing fundamental 142, 205, 212

modern synthesis, the............. 117

moksha................................... 81

molecules of emotion 94, 94-104, 210, 249

Molecules of Emotion, The.......... 94

molecules, self-replicating 109, 112, 129

moods.............................. 98-104

evolution of................... 101-04

memory and................ 98, 210

survival mechanism, as..... 103

Morowitz, Herald J................. 120

multiplex, cerebral, the.......... 126

music and the brain See instrument, musical, brain as

musical intervals............. 31, 173

musical mathematics............. 202

musical pitch 4, 124, 148, 174, 202-03

myelin.................................. 144

mystics 5, 8, 17, 21, 111, 135-36, 235

natural selection...... See evolution

nature vs. nurture................. 191

near-death experiences........... 137

neo-Cartesian non-dualism 14, 15, 135, 149

neo-Cartesian theater........ 15, 149

neo-Darwinism............... 117, 119

neocortex. 35, 47, 48, 53, 157, 162

nerve fibers........................... 144

nerve impulses, passivity of 4, 148, 171

neural resonance 4, 25, 40, 89, 101, 198, 205, 253

neural resonance chamber 9, 31, 41, 101, 173, 195, 196, 197, 202, 207, 210, 253

neurobiology......... 1, 2, 4, 93, 121

neurobioluminescence……… 5, 12, 29, 37, 56, 71, 75, 87, 89, 90, 123, 132, 138, 148, 155, 157, 160, 167, 171, 174, 242, 244, 248, 250, 252

neuroendocrinology................. 93

neuroimmunology................... 93

neuromodulators.............. 99, 102

neuronal

continuum........................ 124

oscillations, attention and... 239

oscillators 3, 4, 13, 31, 88, 173, 195, 202, 210

proximity 38, 124, 125, 147, 148

resonance 100, 197, 206-07, 210-11

sensation, memory, analytical thought and 207-10

resonators……… 31, 89, 173, 195, 197, 202, 206

neurons

binary on/off switches, as 7, 13, 206

circle of, fundamental unit, as to, 3, 4, 148, 206

pacemaker.................... 38, 48

passivity of 4, 148, 169, 172, 175, 195

neuropeptides 46, 94-97, 99-102, 122, 165, 170, 172, 185, 191, 196, 249, 253

neurotransmitters 11, 94, 99, 100, 135, 165

nirodha..................... 216, 225-33

nirvana 54, 64, 107, 136, 219, 230

nodes and anti-nodes.............. 174

non-action..................... 136, 235

non-duality 132, 135-37, 140, 143, 149

nonbeing............................... 136

nonconsciousness 39, 71, 113-14, 121, 122, 123, 130, 155, 169, 172, 201, 253

brain, physical, and 122, 172, 197

neurons and 148-49, 170-71, 253

pre-sensorium and 40, 71, 122, 197

noninterference..................... 171

nonlinear systems.................. 190

no-self..................... 45-46, 50, 66

not two.......................... 132, 136

now, the........... 48, 201, 211, 246

now-realization........................ 49

observer............. 36, 69, 155, 184

occipital lobe 14, 15, 16, 17, 86, 124, 166

ocelli....................................... 68

ocular dominance columns 147, 151-52

ontogenesis......... 47, 53, 181, 186

ontogeny......................... 46, 179

model, cube of consciousness 179

ontology................. 120, 123, 193

orientation columns........ 147, 162

Origin of Species, The. 44, 61, 119, 226

Buddhism and..................... 44

orthodox view, Buddhist 217, 223, 227

oscillations, time and......... 200-05

oscillators.. See neuronal oscillators

painting techniques........... 154-55

pairings, neuronal presentation structures and qualia perceived 160-61

palaces of memory.......... 208, 241

Pali....................................... 215

paradox, time as.................... 201

paramitas.............................. 248

paranoia................................. 53

parasitism............................... 73

parents.... 102, 122, 179, 191, 199

parietal lobe..... 15-17, 48, 84, 166

parinirvana............................ 219

passivity of nerve impulses 4, 148, 169, 172, 175, 195

Path, the 44, 55, 60, 65, 76, 219, 227, 229, 230, 232, 234, 235, 254

paticca-samuppada.. 217, 221, 222

Patthana................................ 199

peacock.... 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 160

perception …….. 81, 96, 100, 101, 118, 126, 137, 142, 143, 147, 148, 157, 162, 181, 183, 184, 192, 205, 207, 221, 226, 236, 246, 247, 248

Persian carpet 7, 144, 145, 146, 159, 162, 252

personality, persistence of....... 197

perspective, geometrical......... 154

Pert, Candace..................... 94, 95

pessimism, Buddhism and....... 106

philosophy, Buddhist 49, 57, 60, 61, 66, 107, 216, 234

photogenesis...................... 36, 37

photons 3, 6, 15, 29, 32, 34, 126, 134, 160, 253

phylogenesis 46, 47, 53, 125, 179, 181, 186, 203

phylogeny............................... 46

model, cube of consciousness 179

physics.... 33, 43, 45, 98, 135, 250

role in East/West Dialogue.... 43

theoretical............. 29, 43, 240

pia mater 12, 144, 145, 146, 157, 163, 164, 252

role in sensorium............... 163

thinness of......................... 163

transparency of.......... 163, 252

pixellation 13, 32, 134, 145, 157, 158, 252

pixels 6, 9, 12, 13, 32, 68, 70, 146, 155, 160, 163

plane of focus.... 152, 153, 154, 155

planes of consciousness 52, 180, 182, 186, 194

planetarium, personal............ 166

pneumatic tubes, cerebral blood vessels as 164

poem..................................... 145

point-by-point correspondence. 124

postulate, metaphysical 29, 32, 40

practice, spiritual 41, 49, 50, 55, 62, 66, 72, 76, 111, 112, 143, 193, 216, 220, 223, 225-27, 229-30, 235-40, 242-43, 246-48

pre-object........................ 48, 182

prebiotic era.......................... 112

preconscious animals 16, 39, 65, 123, 128-29

predator/prey relationships 66, 67, 70, 72, 102, 103, 111, 112, 113-14, 122, 129, 204, 226

predicament of the soul....... 25, 45

preferred embodiment.... 138, 160

prefigurement, arguments against......... 39, 123

presentation 9, 12, 13, 15, 17, 30-34, 48-49, 71-73, 81-90, 122, 134, 137, 142-49, 154-62, 166, 168, 170, 172, 189, 196, 211, 226, 249, 252, 253

five senses, robustness of..... 158

mind, of............................. 157

mind’s, haziness of.............. 158

neurons 9, 13, 29, 31, 89, 97, 146, 157, 160, 170, 252

orientation columns and..... 163

plane of.......................... 4, 161

qualia, of 145-46, 159, 160, 203

screens 31, 33, 34, 38, 147, 149, 156, 253

verisimilitude of 14, 38, 73, 89, 128-29, 134, 137, 161, 183

proprioception.......... 84, 145, 183

proto-awareness................. 29, 37

proto-consciousness.................. 30

proto-mood............................ 103

proto-self............................... 181

Psyche

beauty and.......................... 24

bewilderment of 73, 81, 128, 175

contrasted with Buddhist view 50

Cupid

at mercy of 80, 81, 93, 101, 110

identification with..... 83, 84

marriage to (carnal body) 21, 73, 80, 81, 104, 199

curiosity of.............. 23, 26, 79

emotions and.... 96, 101, 110-11

hell realms, in 77, 79-82, 111, 251

journey of awakening of 77, 251

naïveté of.......................... 196

psychein (to breathe), from... 24

quandary of......................... 25

reality of experience of..... 81-83

sensorium consciousness, as personification of............. 24

sentimentality regarding 50, 81

soul, as personification of...... 24

universal incarnation of 53, 83, 254

virtual.............................. 196

wraparound world of...... 82, 84

Psyche’s palace 15, 17, 22, 23, 25, 26, 80, 101, 110

psychology, Buddhist........ 52, 230

qualia 145-46, 153, 155, 159, 160, 161, 166, 203

quale……………………………….See qualia

Quan Yin....... 230, 243, 244, 245

Quantum Brain, The................ 190

quantum field

consciousness and 5, 14, 15, 19, 29, 30, 32, 33, 40, 119, 128, 205

quantum mechanics.......... 39, 43

quantum paradox.................... 43

Ramana Maharshi.......... 111, 136

Rational Biology..................... 117

ratios

aesthetics and 3, 4, 7, 31, 173, 175, 202, 206, 211

neural resonators and 3, 4, 31, 84

reactivity 112, 196, 220, 223, 226, 229, 230, 234, 236

reality 5, 6, 8, 11, 14, 18, 33, 40, 41, 49, 51, 52, 56, 57, 65, 66, 70, 80, 101, 104, 107, 120, 135, 136, 137, 138, 142, 146, 149, 151, 157, 161, 176, 193, 194, 201, 236, 242, 243, 248

Realmeditazion................ 41, 243

reductionism................ 1, 71, 118

reincarnation 49, 59, 60, 187, 221

relationship of body and soul 4, 6, 26, 198

religion and science See science and religion

REM sleep........................ 97, 180

replication of DNA........... 110, 112

res cogitans and res extensa.. 8, 135

resonance See also neural resonance and neuronal resonance

patterns 84, 96, 97, 98, 173, 174, 189, 190, 210, 238

time and...................... 200-07

universal phenomenon, as.. 198

resonators

chaotic.. 98, 172, 173, 174, 177

oscillating neuronal........ 3, 211

Response to Afflictions, the...... 218

retina 14, 30, 124, 125, 126, 156, 170

retinotopic map See maps, retinotopic

retrograde consciousness.......... 86

reverse orientation 15-16, 18, 86, 254

rhythms. 3, 7, 142, 148, 198, 205

Right View, Thought, Speech, etc. 228

rings of neurons... 3, 4, 31, 88, 211

RNA...................................... 112

sadayatana............................ 246

samadhi 223, 225, 228, 229, 231, 237

samatha................................ 148

samsara 54, 65, 107-08, 136, 226, 230

samudaya................. 216, 218-34

sangha............................ 76, 242

Satinover, Jeffrey.................. 190

Schrödinger’s Cat..................... 45

science and religion 8, 19-20, 29, 43, 44, 49, 57, 65-66, 71, 129, 135, 237, 242, 243, 244

screens, presentation 6, 13, 14, 15, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 38, 69, 73, 74, 81, 90, 100, 126, 128-29, 134, 147, 149, 152, 155, 156, 160, 253

self

animals and (selfhood in animals) 39, 40, 65, 248-49

center of presentation 81, 132, 156, 246, 248-49, 253

concept. 41, 184, 239, 246, 248

elucidation of, Buddha’s........ 44

emergence of 53-55, 121-22, 195

fabrication, as...................... 45

illusory nature of 41, 128-29, 195, 241, 255, 256

inference, as.................. 12, 83

LGN, projected in............... 156

microgenesis and 36, 41, 48, 49, 182, 196

nature, emptiness of..... 44, 106

neurobioluminescence and.... 71

other, and 54, 82, 111, 136, 248

persistence of..................... 199

personality and.................. 197

physicality of...................... 84

refuge, as....................... 44, 54

sensorium and 11, 35, 71, 82, 156

sentient beings, all, and 44, 248-49

separately-existing 50, 71, 84, 93, 226, 239, 248

solipsism and.......... 66, 128-29

spiritual inflation and........ 248

spiritual practice and.. 111, 239

welcoming.... 41, 176, 197, 200

world, and 34, 36, 37, 49, 86, 136, 137, 141, 168, 182, 184, 246

Self, the......................... 136, 193

Self-Embodying Mind, The 35, 47, 48, 141, 181, 193

self-inquiry...................... 127-28

Selfish Gene, The..................... 110

sensation, consciousness as pure 162

sense memories.............. 203, 209

sense organs 4, 25, 31, 44, 45, 65, 66, 67, 71, 113-14, 122, 125, 157, 159, 160, 161, 203, 207, 226, 229, 253

senses, mind as one of six 54, 55, 83, 110, 128, 137, 202, 209, 226, 241, 246

sensorium

animal brains and 161, 210, 248-49

apparent reality of............... 83

artifact of evolution, most astonishing, as 254

blood brain barrier, role in.. 164

brain structures and 4, 83, 87, 144

consciousness 18, 37, 39, 40, 56, 107, 120-23, 149, 174, 178-81, 215, 248, 252, 254

dark half of.......................... 18

display, generating the 13, 30, 97

emotions and................ 95-104

evolution of 40, 66, 90, 113-14, 119, 122-29, 161, 169, 196, 197, 215, 248, 252

evolutionary antiquity of 123, 161

extravaganza..... 4, 9, 134, 252

forward half of................ 15, 17

fully elaborated................... 34

illusory nature of 65, 72, 82, 93

information, distinct from 169-70

introjection of self into.......... 31

Light-violin, as... See Light-violin

lightbody and.............. 36, 173

meditation and.................. 239

meninges as cytoarchitectural feature of 163

miraculous simultaneity, as. 30

neurons’ firings and 36, 38, 134, 147-48

neuropeptides and........ 95, 100

objective presentation, as...... 81

presentation 37, 39, 89, 137, 146, 207, 211

quantum electromagnetic field and 83, 170-71

refinement of.......... 46, 73, 161

refuge as............................. 76

reversed orientation of 15-16, 18, 86, 254

spherical form of the presentation of 12, 93, 211-12, 246

subjective experience of 96, 110, 152

subjectively centered 12, 16, 31, 246

theater of the mind, as.............. 25

thoughts, presentation of, in 157-59

transition to.................. 119-22

self and world surround and 35, 36, 84, 211-12, 246

special effects and........... 30, 87

three dimensional space in 152-56

verisimilitude of 14, 38, 73, 89, 128-29, 134, 137, 161, 183

vision’s primacy in... 32, 151-56

sentient beings 7, 40, 45, 46, 61, 72, 74, 100, 104, 107, 118, 128-29, 159, 181, 198, 248, 253

definition of............... 65-66, 71

saving all 64, 109, 136, 220, 243, 245

sentimentality 41, 50, 81, 110, 111

sfumato................................. 154

Shakti and Shiva................... 254

six sense gates, the................. 246

skandhas.......................... 55, 241

sleep........... 88, 97, 180, 182, 186

consciousness during.......... 186

maintenance tasks and... 186

fetal development and........ 186

somatosensory cortex.......... 84-87

soul 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 21, 24, 25, 26, 38, 45-46, 50, 70, 73, 77, 104, 119, 120, 146, 149, 155, 179, 187, 188, 189, 198, 199, 244, 245, 254