4/6 Reflector PLL-DLR

Mindfulness

How Is Consciousness Related to the Brain?

“More recently, I’ve heard some truly mind-blowing hypotheses about the nature of consciousness. I recently encountered the ideas of Dr. Eben Alexander, a neurosurgeon who had a near-death experience (NDE) in 2008 which was the subject of his New York Times number one bestselling book, Proof of Heaven. He described familiar NDE elements from his days in a meningitis-related coma: traveling through a tunnel, encountering a being of light, connecting with profound, all-embracing love.

I recently spoke with Alexander on the Think Act Be podcast, and he described a relationship between consciousness and the brain that turns conventional scientific thinking on its head. Alexander suggests that rather than creating consciousness, the brain actually limits it.

“I often say that we are conscious in spite of our brain, not because of it,” said Alexander. “It really has to do with the fact that consciousness is fundamental.” He continued, “Consciousness is not something you can get behind. You can’t see it as a derivative from the matter of the brain.” (This notion is captured in the title of the article, “What If Consciousness Comes First?”)

So if our experience of consciousness doesn’t arise from the brain—where the heck does it come from? According to Alexander, “We truly live in a mindful universe, with top-down causal principles that are very powerful in determining the events of human lives.” He posits that these causal principles “are not the simple, predicted result of a kind of bottom-up causation looking at the subatomic particles and cells.” Instead, consciousness is the building block of the universe and gives rise to everything we experience—including ourselves.”

Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/think-act-be/201908/how-is-consciousness-related-the-brain

Increase Your Self Awareness

“How to See Yourself Clearly: Skip the Introspection Mode

Too much self examination can kill you

“A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small parcel.” ― John Ruskin

Late one night a blind old man was about to go home after visiting a friend. “Please,” he said to his friend, “may I take your lantern with me?”
“Why carry a lantern?” — asked his friend. “You won’t see any better with it.”
“No, perhaps not.” — said the blind one. “But others will see me better, and not bump into me.”
So his friend gave the blind man a bamboo lantern — it had a big candle inside. Off went the blind man and, before he had gone too far, a traveler bumped into him.
The blind man was furious. “Why don’t you look out?” — he stormed. “Haven’t you seen the lantern?”
“Lantern? Well, the candle is OUT!”— replied the traveler.
Introspection is like a lantern — it might provide light, but it doesn’t guarantee seeing.
The blind man didn’t need any light. However, once he depended on it, he became careless and stopped being aware. The old man literally bumped into a stranger.

Being obsessed with self-improvement can have the same effect. The introspection mode — continually examining your thoughts and feelings — can get you stuck. Rather than becoming more self-aware, you lose touch with yourself (and others).
You might be thinking: “Gustavo, you always write about the importance of self-awareness. I don’t get it.” That’s precisely the point of this post, introspection is something different — rehashing thoughts doesn’t generate insights.
To see your true-self clearly you don’t need light, but to increase self-awareness. That’s the path for personal growth.
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