Beautiful stuff. I enjoy your groundedness and clarity, but also the courage and humility while challenging dominant perspectives and attitudes. I hope that more people, for most (neuro)scientists, will let themselves be inspired by your work and other researchers, such as Robin Carhart-Harris when it comes to psychedelics, or Chris Fields when it comes to physics. Rigidity and arrogance are the current norm amongst academics, and I firmly believe that a "compassionate" science communication integrating spiritual wisdom with such an approach as yours can make a change.
Hi Ruben, thanks for this. Would you agree that bypassing is the inevitable byproduct of the belief that mental formations trump sensory experience [in reducing prediction error?] and the twin belief that they are the way to find relief from suffering [dissatisfaction - the gap?]. It’s so deeply ingrained - every time you think you have wriggled free, it re-establishes itself without you noticing! Not that I am suggesting that sensory experience trumps mental formations either, but the path to freeing our attention and ultimately nibbhana seems to involve freeing attention from the anticipatory processes of the mind [at least language/narrative processes] as they attach to our little avatar selves who we project forwards and back in time and space to help us navigate life. And paying attention to sensory experience whilst releasing mental formations over and over again seems to allow this ‘re-balancing’ to happen. It sounds as if at some point in the descent through the jhanas that the system lets go of that attachment/belief in the quasi dream state being the ‘answer’ and settles on some other belief or prior; the great perfection or the great unfolding? I have glimpsed the possibility of that but I sometimes wonder whether it is possible to achieve whilst you are parenting. Because your life involves not only predicting your own state well, but the state of your children, at least until they are old enough to do so for themselves (well into the 20s I would say - especially now when we are all outsourcing functions of our minds to tech)! I would love to hear from mothers/care givers who have achieved nibbhana!
Hey Sarra, deeply thoughtful comment as always. Thank you! I resonate with basically your whole description, but then nibanna seems to rub up against responsibilities and the ordinary... so I find myself thinking: "what makes them not nibanna?". It's true, the quasi dream state is not the answer, but neither is the quasi elsewhere-nibanna that is not just that quasi dream. Are the dishes, the dirt, the children, and the weight of it all, not just the same substance as the figure on the meditation cushion?
Thank you! I've worked in science for some 20 years and have used probably half of the "scientific bypassing" phrases and attitudes you cite at one time or another (with another person or else during inner dialogue).
Contemplative practice has wholly upended this mindset (of excessive identification with the intellect) but also makes it very clear every day how much more is left to do (or not to do). A scientific/spiritual bypass is always a massive detour ime--one has to spend a lot of time and energy trying to find one's way back.
All of these bypassings are fueled by beliefs in theories, whether scientific or spiritual.
It's easy to bypass reality if you think there's a "more real" reality beyond ours.
That's why it was cool to blame evil on higher dimensions or Satan etc.
Humans are just realizing that their own consciousness involves making up myths.
“Belief is the death of intelligence. As soon as one believes a doctrine of any sort, or assumes certitude, one stops thinking about that aspect of existence.” - Robert Anton Wilson
---------
"I can't make myself believe that the millions killed by plagues, cancers, natural catastrophes, etc throughout history were all singled out by some Cosmic Intelligence for punishment, while the survivors were preserved due to their virtues.
To assume that Divinity would employ earthquakes and pole shifts carelessly murdering millions of innocent children and harmless old ladies and dogs and cats in the process, is absolutely and ineluctably to state that your idea of God is of a cosmic imbecile."
Beautiful stuff. I enjoy your groundedness and clarity, but also the courage and humility while challenging dominant perspectives and attitudes. I hope that more people, for most (neuro)scientists, will let themselves be inspired by your work and other researchers, such as Robin Carhart-Harris when it comes to psychedelics, or Chris Fields when it comes to physics. Rigidity and arrogance are the current norm amongst academics, and I firmly believe that a "compassionate" science communication integrating spiritual wisdom with such an approach as yours can make a change.
On a side note, I will use the opportunity to share an essay of mine that provides certain insights into how gaps between physics and spirituality might be overcome soon, in case we collectively decide to take a brave step and acknowledge some truths that have been in front of us all along: https://thingsiwasntsupposedtotalkabout.com/2023/11/23/why-music-theory-of-consciousness-investigation-of-qualia-formalism-at-the-implementation-level/
Thank you, Ruben. Looking forward to your future work!
Thanks so much. I appreciate the encouragement, it really does keep me going. I'm going to dive in and read your essay now. Keep in touch!
Hi Ruben, thanks for this. Would you agree that bypassing is the inevitable byproduct of the belief that mental formations trump sensory experience [in reducing prediction error?] and the twin belief that they are the way to find relief from suffering [dissatisfaction - the gap?]. It’s so deeply ingrained - every time you think you have wriggled free, it re-establishes itself without you noticing! Not that I am suggesting that sensory experience trumps mental formations either, but the path to freeing our attention and ultimately nibbhana seems to involve freeing attention from the anticipatory processes of the mind [at least language/narrative processes] as they attach to our little avatar selves who we project forwards and back in time and space to help us navigate life. And paying attention to sensory experience whilst releasing mental formations over and over again seems to allow this ‘re-balancing’ to happen. It sounds as if at some point in the descent through the jhanas that the system lets go of that attachment/belief in the quasi dream state being the ‘answer’ and settles on some other belief or prior; the great perfection or the great unfolding? I have glimpsed the possibility of that but I sometimes wonder whether it is possible to achieve whilst you are parenting. Because your life involves not only predicting your own state well, but the state of your children, at least until they are old enough to do so for themselves (well into the 20s I would say - especially now when we are all outsourcing functions of our minds to tech)! I would love to hear from mothers/care givers who have achieved nibbhana!
Hey Sarra, deeply thoughtful comment as always. Thank you! I resonate with basically your whole description, but then nibanna seems to rub up against responsibilities and the ordinary... so I find myself thinking: "what makes them not nibanna?". It's true, the quasi dream state is not the answer, but neither is the quasi elsewhere-nibanna that is not just that quasi dream. Are the dishes, the dirt, the children, and the weight of it all, not just the same substance as the figure on the meditation cushion?
Nicely written! Nice idea!
Gracias!
Thank you! I've worked in science for some 20 years and have used probably half of the "scientific bypassing" phrases and attitudes you cite at one time or another (with another person or else during inner dialogue).
Contemplative practice has wholly upended this mindset (of excessive identification with the intellect) but also makes it very clear every day how much more is left to do (or not to do). A scientific/spiritual bypass is always a massive detour ime--one has to spend a lot of time and energy trying to find one's way back.
Indeed! Thanks Martin.
Brilliant! Thank you!
🙏
It's truly impressive how resourceful the human mind is when trying to maximize for short term comfort.
True.
All of these bypassings are fueled by beliefs in theories, whether scientific or spiritual.
It's easy to bypass reality if you think there's a "more real" reality beyond ours.
That's why it was cool to blame evil on higher dimensions or Satan etc.
Humans are just realizing that their own consciousness involves making up myths.
“Belief is the death of intelligence. As soon as one believes a doctrine of any sort, or assumes certitude, one stops thinking about that aspect of existence.” - Robert Anton Wilson
---------
"I can't make myself believe that the millions killed by plagues, cancers, natural catastrophes, etc throughout history were all singled out by some Cosmic Intelligence for punishment, while the survivors were preserved due to their virtues.
To assume that Divinity would employ earthquakes and pole shifts carelessly murdering millions of innocent children and harmless old ladies and dogs and cats in the process, is absolutely and ineluctably to state that your idea of God is of a cosmic imbecile."
-Robert Anton Wilson
Especially dig that first quote from RAW. Thanks Rob!
☯️☮️