Yes, here is what I think. If everything we know exists within consciousness, then any supposed “more fundamental” thing whatever you might imagine must itself be a subset of experience. Anything posited as underlying or prior to consciousness can only ever appear within consciousness, so I don't see how anything we purpose could be more fundamental then consciousness because then we are refering to a thing we know nothing about.
Robert, this was a great read! A lot of my recent work has been caught up in the topics like consciousness, the quantum, tarot and more. Looking forward to reading some of the names you mentioned here. I recently read Bentov’s Stalking the Wild Pendulum…you might be interested in his theories! Bentov really changed my understanding of conciousness. I touch on some of that in my newest post, “Conciousness Causes Collapse: On Wigner, Bentov, The Quantum, and the Tarot, on my Substack, Tracework. I’d love to hear what you think about it!
Totally agree with so much of what you said. But I had also heard people claim consciousness is fundamental. And until the last couple of years I thought, "Nah, it can't be. It has to be a meticulously evolved trait. It's too powerful." I always dismissed it being fundamental. Of course until the entities in my dreams started claiming that as well and they make a good argument. It's interesting!
What do you think? It is fundamental like heat, osmosis, evolution etc, or built upon such fundamental aspects? And what is the the best evidence that it is a basic aspect of the universe? Boy, haha, that sure would make Nietzsche feel the fool.
Thanks for the comment! I think that all the things you mentioned heat, osmosis, evolution are made of experience because that is all we have access to. Thus to say they are more fundamental then experience is to say a part of experience is more fundamental then the whole which is incoherent I think.
Ooooh! I get it! Ok, haha that is so crazy. The experiencer must be more fundamental. Very interesting! Yeah I mean without that it’s just tree falls in the woods, but heck without the tree too to some extent!
This is such an interesting reflection.
In the Hindu way of seeing, consciousness is not something the universe developed, it is the canvas on which the universe appears.
Space, time, matter, energy, even evolution rest inside consciousness, not the other way around.
And your dream experiences fit that beautifully.
When the mind quiets, we start touching a layer of awareness that doesn’t feel “personal” anymore.
It feels older, bigger, and strangely familiar, almost like remembering something instead of learning it.
As for evidence, the strongest pointer is simple:
everything we know, sense, imagine, measure, or discover is known within consciousness.
We never step outside it.
That doesn’t prove it’s fundamental, but it makes a very strong case that it isn’t just a biological glitch.
Whether Nietzsche would feel like a fool, I don’t know.
But he might feel a little less lonely knowing consciousness may be the one constant that never turns against us.
Yes, here is what I think. If everything we know exists within consciousness, then any supposed “more fundamental” thing whatever you might imagine must itself be a subset of experience. Anything posited as underlying or prior to consciousness can only ever appear within consciousness, so I don't see how anything we purpose could be more fundamental then consciousness because then we are refering to a thing we know nothing about.
Robert, this was a great read! A lot of my recent work has been caught up in the topics like consciousness, the quantum, tarot and more. Looking forward to reading some of the names you mentioned here. I recently read Bentov’s Stalking the Wild Pendulum…you might be interested in his theories! Bentov really changed my understanding of conciousness. I touch on some of that in my newest post, “Conciousness Causes Collapse: On Wigner, Bentov, The Quantum, and the Tarot, on my Substack, Tracework. I’d love to hear what you think about it!
https://open.substack.com/pub/thetracework/p/consciousness-causes-collapse?r=6moahs&utm_medium=ios
Thanks for the recommendation! I am going to check this article out
I really enjoyed this piece.
You’ve taken a huge topic and made it feel personal and clear, not abstract or distant.
It’s rare to see consciousness explored with both thoughtfulness and honesty, and your reflections made me pause in a good way.
Thank you for writing something that invites deeper awareness instead of just more information.
Thank you!
Looks interesting. This is one of those headlines you save for later when you’re winding down for bed hahah!
Let me know what you think
Totally agree with so much of what you said. But I had also heard people claim consciousness is fundamental. And until the last couple of years I thought, "Nah, it can't be. It has to be a meticulously evolved trait. It's too powerful." I always dismissed it being fundamental. Of course until the entities in my dreams started claiming that as well and they make a good argument. It's interesting!
What do you think? It is fundamental like heat, osmosis, evolution etc, or built upon such fundamental aspects? And what is the the best evidence that it is a basic aspect of the universe? Boy, haha, that sure would make Nietzsche feel the fool.
Thanks for the comment! I think that all the things you mentioned heat, osmosis, evolution are made of experience because that is all we have access to. Thus to say they are more fundamental then experience is to say a part of experience is more fundamental then the whole which is incoherent I think.
Ooooh! I get it! Ok, haha that is so crazy. The experiencer must be more fundamental. Very interesting! Yeah I mean without that it’s just tree falls in the woods, but heck without the tree too to some extent!
This was genuinely so interesting! I loved your perspective sir.
Nice! If you build a thinking machine, it's still not a life form!
My favorite thing about this article is the curiosity! How you’re paralleling consciousness with many ancient traditions is a close second:)