What Limits the Growth of the Mind?

What is a human being? What is life? Can science give us reliable answers to such questions? The electricity of life. The meaning of human consciousness. Are we alone? Are the traditional contests between science and religion still relevant? Does the word "spirit" still hold meaning today?

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Atlas
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What Limits the Growth of the Mind?

Unread post by Atlas » Tue Jun 19, 2012 7:00 pm

So what is the mind, exactly? I mean this on a natural level, not a philosophic or metaphysical level. All the other theorizing about how the mind works aside, we can actually see the mind as a storm of electrical activity inside our brain. When we laugh one area lights up on an MRI, and when we recall a distant memory another does so. Chemicals are released which react with other nearby neurons, but to say the brain is a series of chemical reactions would be incorrect (in my humble opinion).

So we've seen how life forms through bioelectric patterns. We see now that we as living beings grow into our own electric field, and that it is this electric field which causes the stem cells of our body to become the specific fields they were meant to be. Laboratory experiments of the manipulation of this field in tadpoles alters their development:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 175740.htm

The double helix structure of DNA alludes to it's electric nature, and electric field strengths as powerful as 15 million volts per meter have been measured inside of cells.

http://discovermagazine.com/2008/mar/14 ... side-cells

That the body is ruled by electricity is not what I'm arguing. I'm sure anyone who peruses the Thunderbolt Forums would agree to that. What I'm arguing is what limits the growth of the mind itself. I believe it is a combination of the electric field we contain within ourselves and the natural electric field of our environment around us. Our heart, the pump itself, and perhaps the various salts and our diet in general combine to make the machine. The mind itself is like a tree, with the leaves being our memories and the branches between them being the connections between them.

The natural electric field of the environment around us also plays a crucial role, I believe. Ted Holden has provided some insight into the existence of animals in our planet's history which simply would not survive in our modern environment. His argument that they would simply crush their selves under their own weight is not wrong, I believe. As the natural electric field of our planet evolved over its lifespan, I believe that this provided an evolution to the creatures of our planet through a manipulation of their DNA as they were developing. Some survived the transition, perhaps, and some did not.

But it is the effects of the natural electric field our planet possesses that leads me to believe that certain areas of the Earth were chosen for the magnificent, ancient structures we see; the ones that truly mattered and had some significance to the Gods of the ancient world. Imagine if you could perfect yourself, through a perfect diet enhanced with certain minerals, salts or some other electrolytes that were kept secret from the working class and channeled more natural energy toward our mind. Imagine if you had the perfect spot on the surface of the Earth, with the perfect electric field, enhanced with megalithic structures or an array of antennas that channeled the energy inward in a vortex.

Could we allow the mind to grow beyond the limits nature has imposed on us? Through meditation and discipline could we train our mind to perform tasks that are beyond our normal scope of practice? I believe so, and I believe the person that assumes this role for the rest of us is a god, our god or one of our gods.

Just some random thoughts. Discuss.
We are never at home, we are always beyond. Fear, desire, hope, project us toward the future and steal from us the feeling and consideration of what is, to busy us with what will be, even when we shall no longer be.

nubian
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Re: What Limits the Growth of the Mind?

Unread post by nubian » Thu Jun 21, 2012 4:34 pm

Perhaps what should be asked is, what causes all the electrical motion? Since everything in the universe is in motion(including the brain), it therefore appears that something else must cause this motion. But from engineering, we know that nothing moves without some sort of a fulcrum/pivot. It follows therefore, that from a logical standpoint, that this electrical activity attributed to the mind, which is in fact motion, has to have some sort of a fulcrum/pivot.

I think of this pivot/fulcrum as the MIND. So if we are to show evidence for the existence of this thing/entity/energy, it has to be not-moving(still). Its velocity has to be exactly zero. It should also have a displacement of zero?

p/s Why is it that when we meditate, we attempt to achieve a state of STILLNESS of mind? We are told to think of NOTHING, and be in the MOMENT? The metaphysical question is unavoidable.

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303vegas
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Re: What Limits the Growth of the Mind?

Unread post by 303vegas » Wed Jul 18, 2012 12:11 am

Atlas wrote:So what is the mind, exactly?
see 'the science delusion' by rupert sheldrake, chapters 7 and 8. in my opinion 'the mind' is an internal and external info field that we can develop access to and use of on a personal basis. someone who spends their time watching soap operas and eating crisps will access this field less than the person who is well-read and has an enquiring mind.
What I'm arguing is what limits the growth of the mind itself. I believe it is a combination of the electric field we contain within ourselves and the natural electric field of our environment around us. Our heart, the pump itself, and perhaps the various salts and our diet in general combine to make the machine. The mind itself is like a tree, with the leaves being our memories and the branches between them being the connections between them.
the idea of interaction is a good one but i don't think there's a diference between 'internal' and 'external.' we're just part of the whole. also we should give up thinking of ourselves as a machine, it's too simple a metaphor. the more we study it the more complex and perplexing it becomes. we shouldn't make the mistake of reducing everything to simple feedback loops like they tried with ecosystems. when this was attempted in the study of a small area of prarie, the more they studied it, the more complex it became and the feedback loop model could not cope with the interactions involved (see episode 2 of 'all watched over by machines of perfect grace,' a tv series by adam curtis.)
The natural electric field of the environment around us also plays a crucial role, I believe. Ted Holden has provided some insight into the existence of animals in our planet's history which simply would not survive in our modern environment. His argument that they would simply crush their selves under their own weight is not wrong, I believe.
i read an article in fortean times recently about a theory that the planet's gravity/'static-cling*' was once a lot weaker hence the free movement of the brontosaurus, etc. could it be that the K-T event was electrical in nature and energised the earth to the extent that it forced an increase in the 'static-cling*' reducing the ability of larger dinosaurs to move around? this, in combination with the ensuing 'nuclear winter' may have finished off the big boys and made anything bigger than a chicken too heavy to move on land? (i'm not a paleontologist so please correct any flaws in this idea.) perhaps this effect is wearing off with the passage of time?
But it is the effects of the natural electric field our planet possesses that leads me to believe that certain areas of the Earth were chosen for the magnificent, ancient structures we see.

Imagine if you had the perfect spot on the surface of the Earth, with the perfect electric field, enhanced with megalithic structures or an array of antennas that channeled the energy inward in a vortex.
the pyramid complex at giza is supposed to be at the central point of the earth's land masses. see 'thelle giza death' star by joseph p. farell.
Imagine if you could perfect yourself, through a perfect diet enhanced with certain minerals, salts or some other electrolytes that were kept secret from the working class and channeled more natural energy toward our mind.
i think this is possible but not everyone will be adept at it and indeed we wouldn't want the proles to have access to this kind of power.
Could we allow the mind to grow beyond the limits nature has imposed on us? Through meditation and discipline could we train our mind to perform tasks that are beyond our normal scope of practice? I believe so, and I believe the person that assumes this role for the rest of us is a god, our god or one of our gods.
i don't think there are any limits.

*i reckon that gravity is a form of static cling and as such can vary over the course of time and will resopnd to external events.
love from lancashire!

mague
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Re: What Limits the Growth of the Mind?

Unread post by mague » Wed Jul 18, 2012 5:21 am

Mind is only limited by its (in)compatibility to knowledge.

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phyllotaxis
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Re: What Limits the Growth of the Mind?

Unread post by phyllotaxis » Thu Jul 19, 2012 7:06 am

mague wrote:Mind is only limited by its (in)compatibility to knowledge.
Which is, I often wonder, only limited by the capacity to articulate a given knowledge with language.
To know is to think. To Know is to communicate.

mague
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Re: What Limits the Growth of the Mind?

Unread post by mague » Fri Jul 20, 2012 1:39 am

phyllotaxis wrote:
mague wrote:Mind is only limited by its (in)compatibility to knowledge.
Which is, I often wonder, only limited by the capacity to articulate a given knowledge with language.
To know is to think. To Know is to communicate.
The older i grow the more it seems that to know is to see. And the spoken or written word is not sufficient to express knowledge. Maybe Kanji, but i can only read like 1 or 2 glyphs.

Expression casues impressions, which seems to be the higher form of communication. No, actually it is the abstraction build from reality and impression that leads to depth. Personal interaction, simultaneous observation of impressions and the abstraction of both. By this we are able to climb the stairs step by step until we might allow our brain (or is it the brain that allows us.. ?) to accept that the abstraction of the reality layer and the impression layer is not only a holistic mind game but the real reality while "thought" and "emotion" are only fragments, caused by an impact. Probably the trauma Velikowski was talking about. To my "knowingness" caused by the idea of humans to own mind space, which is universal and public space.

The good thing is that with that impact probably two species got mixed up. Once they are completely mixed it might get better. If we survive it :D

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Atlas
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Re: What Limits the Growth of the Mind?

Unread post by Atlas » Sat Sep 08, 2012 5:18 pm

mague wrote:Mind is only limited by its (in)compatibility to knowledge.
I don't believe that, though. Just like the animals have their uppermost limits in terms of size, so I believe the mind has it's limits, too. This limits can be tweaked, and I'm sure this is how the God-mind project is achieved.
We are never at home, we are always beyond. Fear, desire, hope, project us toward the future and steal from us the feeling and consideration of what is, to busy us with what will be, even when we shall no longer be.

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tayga
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Re: What Limits the Growth of the Mind?

Unread post by tayga » Mon Sep 10, 2012 3:48 pm

nubian wrote:p/s Why is it that when we meditate, we attempt to achieve a state of STILLNESS of mind? We are told to think of NOTHING, and be in the MOMENT? The metaphysical question is unavoidable.
It's not really the subject of this thread but those who study consciousness from a subjective point of view treat the mind as something separate from the self. It is argued that the mind, although a useful tool, has become a dominant parasite which uses our energy to preserve itself. Time, and therefore past and future, are creations of the mind. Pure consciousness exists in the timeless now. Being can only occur here and now and it has nothing to do with thinking. By the way, it feels great :D
tayga


It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong.

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Normal science does not aim at novelties of fact or theory and, when successful, finds none.
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