Home

Tag: consciousness

  • You Are Not in the Universe — The Universe Is in You

    “Space and time are born in you. You are not born in space and time.” It’s a sentence that feels almost rebellious the first time you read it. We are so deeply conditioned to believe that we are small beings moving through a vast universe — born at a particular time, in a particular place,…

  • The High Price of Mental Wandering: Why a Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind

    In our busy modern lives, it’s easy to believe that multitasking or constantly thinking ahead is a sign of productivity or even intelligence. We plan, we dream, we ruminate—often while doing completely unrelated tasks. But groundbreaking research by Matthew A. Killingsworth and Daniel T. Gilbert challenges this idea and reveals a surprising truth: the more…

  • The Universe ‘I’s: Alan Watts on Death, Consciousness, and Being

    Isn’t it remarkable that from the vast nothingness of what you don’t remember—your past before memory, before birth—you find yourself here, alive, conscious, watching, listening, being? Alan Watts, in one of his most haunting and poetic monologues, delves deep into the mystery that most people avoid thinking about: death. But rather than fear it, deny…

  • Why Analytical Idealism Still Needs the Heart of Advaita

    Analytical Idealism has sparked a fascinating resurgence of interest in metaphysical questions once sidelined by modern science. Its central claim—that consciousness is the fundamental substrate of reality—resonates deeply with non-dual traditions, especially Advaita Vedānta. Thinkers like Bernardo Kastrup have offered rigorous, compelling arguments within the language of Western philosophy and analytic thought, demonstrating that consciousness…

  • The Everyday Science of Meaning in Life

    For as long as humans have reflected on their existence, the question of life’s meaning has hovered at the edges of philosophy, religion, and literature. Is life meaningful? And if so, how and why? While these questions may sound like the domain of poets and mystics, modern psychology has quietly built a robust science around…

  • The Illusion of Self: What Altered Minds Teach Us About Who We Are

    What if everything you thought you knew about yourself—your memories, your body, even your sense of being—was not as solid as it seemed? Science writer Anil Ananthaswamy invites us to explore this provocative idea through the lens of “altered selves,” experiences shaped by conditions like schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, foreign limb syndrome, and out-of-body phenomena. His exploration…

  • What It’s Like to Be a Bat: Why Consciousness Still Eludes Science

    In 1974, philosopher Thomas Nagel published an essay with a title that sounds like it belongs to a children’s book: What Is It Like to Be a Bat? But behind this seemingly playful question lies one of the most profound philosophical challenges of the modern age: the mystery of consciousness. Specifically, whether we can ever…

  • The Conversation That Might Just Shift the World: A Meeting of Minds on Consciousness, Science, and Reality

    Imagine a world where science and spirituality are no longer strange bedfellows but companions in the same inquiry. Where the age-old questions of “Who am I?” and “What is real?” are not dismissed as abstract musings but approached with the same rigor and reverence as particle physics or neuroscience. That world doesn’t just exist in…

  • Through Our Eyes: Bernardo Kastrup, Idealism, and the Meaning Behind Suffering

    What if our suffering wasn’t meaningless? What if every ounce of pain, injustice, or despair wasn’t just something to bear, but something through which the universe learns what it is doing to itself? This isn’t a metaphor. It’s the heart of a deep philosophical vision put forward by Bernardo Kastrup—computer scientist, philosopher, former CERN researcher,…

  • The Dance of Order and Disorder: Consciousness, Evolution, and Creativity

    Have you ever thought about how life balances the chaos of randomness with the order of design? Dennis Noble, an acclaimed scientist, believes this balance is the key to understanding life, creativity, and even consciousness itself. In a recent interview, he explored how the interplay of order and disorder shapes evolution, biology, and our understanding of the…

  • Exploring Consciousness: Beyond Brains, Quantum Fields, and Machines

    Consciousness has puzzled scientists, philosophers, and thinkers for centuries. Federico Faggin, inventor of the first microprocessor and pioneer in touch technology, believes we need to fundamentally rethink our approach to understanding consciousness. In a recent interview, he shared insights from his book, Irreducible Consciousness: Life, Computers, and Human Nature, explaining his belief that consciousness is…

  • The Illusion of Free Will and What It Means for Us

    Sam Harris, a well-known author and thinker, challenges a fundamental belief: the existence of free will. In his talks, he argues that our sense of making conscious choices is just that—a sense, not reality. Let’s explore his arguments and what they mean for how we view ourselves, morality, and society. Why Free Will Might Be…

  • Understanding Process Philosophy: A New Way of Thinking About Reality

    We all know that life is constantly changing. Nothing stays the same, whether it’s a tree growing, a river flowing, or even our own thoughts evolving as we experience new things. But what if this idea of constant change wasn’t just something that happens in life—but was actually the very nature of reality itself? That’s…

  • Understanding Consciousness Through Attention Schema Theory (AST)

    Have you ever wondered why we feel conscious? Why do we have that inner experience of being aware of the world around us and of ourselves? A fascinating idea called the Attention Schema Theory (AST) offers a fresh take on this age-old question. What is Attention Schema Theory? Imagine for a moment that your brain…

  • Why I Don’t Consume Meat

    A Reflection on Sentience, Sukshma Sharira, and Consciousness As someone deeply connected to spiritual practices and the exploration of consciousness, I’ve found myself continually reflecting on the choices I make—especially when it comes to food. One of the most significant decisions I’ve made in my life is to stop consuming meat. This choice is not…

  • Understanding Consciousness: Insights from Anil Seth’s TED Talks

    Understanding Consciousness: Insights from Anil Seth’s TED Talks

    As someone deeply interested in the topic of consciousness, I was profoundly moved and enlightened by Anil Seth’s TED talks. These talks and his book, Being You, have become cherished resources in my journey to understand the nature of consciousness. My fascination with this topic also draws me towards spiritual wisdom traditions such as Vedanta and…

  • Unveiling ‘I am’: The Fundamental Sense of Existence

    Unveiling ‘I am’: The Fundamental Sense of Existence

    Is ‘I am’ a thought or feeling or cognition? The ‘I am’ or ‘aham vritti’ can be considered as a form of cognition, but it’s more than just a thought or a feeling. It’s a fundamental sense of existence or being.