Quote from the Lankavatara Sutra http://bit.ly/azCaUY

"So long as people do not understand the true nature of the objective world, they fall into the dualistic view of things. They imagine the multiplicity of external objects to be real and become attached to them and are nourished by their habit energy. Because of this system of mentation, mind and what belongs to it is discriminated and is thought of as real; this leads to the assertion of an ego-soul and its belongings, and thus the mind-system goes on functioning. Depending upon and attaching itself to the dualistic habit of mind, they accept the views of the philosophers founded upon these erroneous distinctions, of being and non-being, existence and non-existence, and there evolves what we call false-imaginations...

False-imaginations rise from the consideration of appearances; things are discriminated as to form, signs and shape; as to having colour, warmth, humidity, mobility or rigidity. False-imagination consists of becoming attached to these appearances and their names... The five sense functions and their discriminating and thinking function have their risings and complete ending from moment to moment... By setting up names and forms greed is multiplied and thus the mind goes on mutually conditioning and being conditioned. By becoming attached to names and forms, not realising that they have no more basis than the activities of the mind itself, error arises, false-imagination as to pleasure and pain arises, and the way to emancipation is blocked...

By the cessation of the mind-system as a whole is meant, the cessation of discrimination, the clearing away of the various attachments, and, therefore, the clearing away of the defilements of habit-energy in the face of Universal Mind which have been accumulating since beginningless time by reason of these discriminations, attachments, erroneous reasonings, and following acts... Getting rid of the discriminating mortal-mind is Nirvana.

But the cessation of the discriminating-mind cannot take place until there has been a “turning about” in the deepest seat of consciousness. The mental habit of looking outward by the discriminating-mind upon an external objective world must be given up, and a new habit of realising Truth within the intuitive-mind by becoming one with the Truth itself must be established.... With the ending of pleasure and pain, of conflicting ideas, of the disturbing interests of egoism, a state of tranquilisation will be attained in which the truths of emancipation will be fully understood..." (Lankavatara Sutra http://bit.ly/azCaUY )

I am not very familiar with the "Integral Theory" memeplex, however I have begun to observe and contemplate it. In particular my mind is contemplating the epistemological issue of...

How do Integral theory and naïve realism relate?

This question can be disected into two questions:

• How does Integral theory recognise (i.e. understand, describe, represent and assimilate) the phenomenon of naïve realism, either directly or indirectly via related phenomena?

• How is Integral theory influenced at an epistemological level by naïve realism?

If anyone has any comments, links etc regarding these questions and potential answers, then please let me know via facebook or twitter or email.

Regarding the second question,

The following quote from "An approach to critiques of integral theory" points to an area in which the influence of naïve realism may potentially be found within integral theory.  More >

@notthisbody how do memetic algorithms relate 2 collectiveIntelligence?

Related questions are, What is a meme, memeplex, mind, collectiveMind?

• A meme is a cognitive virus that breeds via repetition. Symbolic expressions are its outer form & ideas, beliefs, etc are its inner form.

• A memeplex is an integrated self-reinforcing network of memes, for example 'modernism' & 'Hinduism' are two memeplexes.

• A mind is a memetic ecosystem where memes & memeplexes compete for dominance. The ego / personality is the 'mainstream' memeplex.

• When minds communicate they interlink & form a multidimensional socioCognitive landscape - a larger memetic ecosystem - a collectiveMind.

• When the ideas that we think come filtered through our socialNetworks we are experiencing reality through the lens of the collectiveMind.

• When we share ideas with others we are contributing to the reality experienced by the collectiveMind.

• Culture is collectiveIntelligence in action.

More tweets from @anandavala at http://twitter.com/anandavala

• One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious (CarlJung)
• Our present ego-feeling is a shrunken residue of a much more inclusive all-embracing-feeling, a more intimate bond (Freud)
• Freud gave us insight/demonstration that the ordinary person is a shrivelled desiccated fragment of what a person can be (RDLaing)
• For man has closed himself up, 'till he sees all things thro' the chinks of his cavern (WilliamBlake)
• The 'I' that I think I am is a self image formed in the mind. I am not what I think I am. So what am I? That is THE question!
• When a thought is born you are born. You think there's 'somebody' who feels your feelings; that's the illusion. (UGKrishnamurti)
• Nothing keeps you from liberation except fear. You are afraid of being impersonal, of impersonal being. (Nisargadatta)
• That which is the subtle essence, in it is the self of all that exists. It is the True. It is the Self & thou art it. (Chandogya Upanishad)
• Imagine ur a sentient being within a VR, it would seem physical, you would seem separate, yet the true agent behind every action is the CPU.
• In this VR scenario computation "is the self of all that exists. It is the True. It is the Self & thou art it. (Chandogya Upanishad)
• RT @petervan Virtual Reality you can reach out and touch http://bit.ly/cJS08I When virtual reality feels real http://bit.ly/dtTvxA
• In tech VR we look from the outside in but in cosmic VR we are emergent from the information process, which animates every thought/action.
• Quantum Mechanics also provides an information theoretic analogy for the nature of reality
• The "physical universe" is analogous to a VR animated by "universal consciousness" and it evolves as a unified holistic process.
• Hence - events happen, deeds are done but there is no individual doer of any deed (Buddha)
• The objects we experience are objects-of-perception; the contents of awareness that are imagined to exist "out there" due to naive realism
• Hence - "with our thoughts we make the world" (Buddha)
• Signs of an emerging paradigmShift http://bit.ly/dfxL4R : quantum mechanics categorically proves naive realism is a false perspective.
• For details of QM disproof of naive realism search for "Stern Gerlach" http://bit.ly/cCOjTx or see relevant chapter of http://bit.ly/9XhElB

Personality

In general a personality can be described as an integrated set of modes of behaviour through which a system interacts with an environment. Each system has a range of potential behaviours and a set of stimuli / response associations. A stream of particular behaviours arises in response to a stream of events, which are part of an experiential interaction with some environment. Within this stream of behaviours and associations there are patterns and this set of patterns can collectively be called the generalised personality of the system. Different 'modes' of behaviour correspond to different sub-personalities.

Ego

The ego is a point of identification. It is a simulacrum of the system symbolically represented within a complex system's stream of consciousness. It functions as a point of self-reference and self-control.

Ego + Personality

Notes from a brainstorm about symbolism and its place in the broader context.

Firstly a mind-map that gives a high-level overview of the context in which these thoughts take place (full size pdf), and then some brief notes.

 More >

First a few words about the work and then some links.

In brief, in 2000 I intuitively received a vision of the nature of reality that re-oriented my world-view. Other than a new way of understanding, it mainly expressed itself in my mind as a form of mathematics, which I came to understand through the framework of information and system theory, mystic metaphysics, quantum mechanics and virtual reality simulation.

This evolved over time into a project that could be described as "laying down the mathematical foundations of a unified holistic science" and "using this foundation to shed light on and unify both ancient and modern wisdom". The work also involves self-enquiry; observation of, and participation in, the evolution of collective consciousness; and the navigation of a paradigm shift in our collective world-view.

To give some insight... Imagine that this physical universe could be thought of as a virtual reality simulation, within which we are evolved sentient virtual beings. It would all seem to us to be physical and in no way different from how it currently does. In this analogical context what I address is not the objects, people, places, events, sights, sounds, shapes, qualities, etc within the VR universe.

What I try to describe and model is the computational process, the logic of the simulator, the simulation process in action, the structure of the model that is animated, the low-level virtual processes and forms that arise within the VR, how these integrate and evolve into complex systems, how the behaviour of these gives rise to the principles of physics, how some of these complex systems may attain sentience and enquire into the nature of their situation, how they can most effectively achieve this, what they will find when they do and how does this whole situation relate to mystic wisdom and what it describes about reality.

What these virtual beings eventually realise is that ultimately they are not physical beings in a physical universe with individual identities, they are motions of a cosmic whole that is non-dual, non-physical, non-local, non-temporal, imperceivable, all pervading and the animating essence of all things.

Furthermore, there is a persistent cognitive habit that causes them to perceive and experience things from a dualist perspective. When this is recognised and its dominance over the mind is overcome, then reality can be apprehended clearly. Although it is not perceptible to their senses, it can be intuitively apprehended in no uncertain terms because it is the inner most essence of their being.

This underlying reality, beneath the film of appearances can be modelled mathematically and understood scientifically, thus providing a solid foundation for a unified holistic science/spirituality.

First see this memetic map of areas of interest.

Here is a general introduction, it's a bit dated but it paints an overall picture of my line of research. Here is a CV or rough chronological list of primary influences.

Here are various overview articles.

The main results so far and the main essay describing the world view implied by the results.

Here are a few brief articles...  More >

Did you know that last month:

Mexico decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamine and other drugs.

Whilst Argentina's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that it is unconstitutional to punish an adult for private use of marijuana as long as it doesn't harm anyone else. Supreme Court Justice Carlos Fayt told the state-run Telam news agency that "reality" changed his mind.

Also earlier this year, a Brazilian appeals court ruled that possession of drugs for personal use is not illegal.

According to Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue policy institute in Washington, a trend is at work, "It's all part of a harm-reduction approach," Hakim said, noting that policymakers are shifting away from getting rid of drugs and toward figuring out how to reduce harm to users and society.  More >

Extracts from two different Satsangs...

We are nothing. You have no reason to exist. As a matter of fact, you do not exist. (Laughter) You have never really existed. It is all a cosmic joke. There is no reason for you to be alive and to be here. This may sound like an insult – it is! (More laughter) But it is the truth and the truth hurts.

You may think you are important, that you have come to earth to accomplish great deeds, or to get enlightened. That is not true. The enlightenment is already here and it doesn't need you. You are not wanted by anything or by anybody. (Laughter) You are a complete failure. (Loud laughter)

In truth you do not exist. The illusion of your existence makes you think that you are important, that you are somebody. That is why we talk about being nobody so much; there is no body.

(It's All a Cosmic Joke, Robert Adams)

Below are extracts from the Lankavatara Sutra that are related to naïve realism, information theoretic metaphysics and self-realisation.

All that is seen in the world is devoid of effort and action because all things in the world are like a dream, or like an image miraculously projected. This is not comprehended by philosophers and the ignorant, but those who thus see things, see them truthfully. Those who see things otherwise walk in discrimination, they cling to dualism. The world as seen by discrimination is like seeing ones own image reflected in a mirror, or ones shadow, or the moon reflected in water, or an echo heard in a valley.

People grasping their own shadows of discrimination become attached to this thing and that thing and failing to abandon dualism they go on forever discriminating and thus never attain tranquillity. By tranquillity is meant Oneness, and Oneness gives birth to the highest Samadhi which is gained by entering into the realm of Noble Wisdom that is realisable only within ones inmost consciousness...  More >

My good friend Glisten was recently asked to describe the vision arising from my work in one sentence; I too gave this some thought.

The work is broad so here are five sentences that address different aspects:

• The allegedly physical universe is a construct of observable phenomena arising from a cosmic quantum computational process, and the stream of awareness that witnesses phenomena is a 'thread' of the cosmic process.

• All objects, places and events arise due to the unified cosmic process experiencing itself as it unfolds according to its nature; within that broadest context there is no separation and nothing is by chance.

• We are like virtual beings in a virtual reality simulation, where the world and the self that appear to exist are objects of perception reflected in memory, whilst the true Self of all manifest forms is the One Self, which is the unified animating process.

• Virtual reality provides a scientific / mathematical / computational analogy by which to understand the nature of reality; the cutting edge of modern science is beginning to realise this and will eventually be able to comprehend the ageless wisdom.

• The only obstacle to realising the true nature of ones Self and the cosmic Whole is naïve realism, which is a habit that operates at the root of the mind and distorts each moment of awareness; once this habit is overcome (by whatever means) awareness of reality shines through.

The distilled essence of my input to a conversation on the forum of the Society for Scientific Exploration (SSE), which is still continuing so this will grow.

Within the latest SSE newsletter there is an article called "Signs of an Emerging Paradigm Shift", which is about naive realism. The newsletter can be read at: http://www.scientificexploration.org/explorer/explorer_22_3.pdf

The relevance of these issues for SSE is that naive realist assumptions are the foundation of the wall of denial that is maintained by established science. Thus by overcoming these assumptions that wall is falling apart. This has profoundly revolutionary consequences for the whole of civilisation, and SSE is in a prime position to be at the vanguard of the paradigm shift if it chooses to be.

Warning: This discussion explores an alternate paradigm that is radically different from the established paradigm. For many people the established paradigm is intrinsic to the familiar world that they have known most of their lives and within which their ego has found its comfortable and secure niche. So be warned that this subject matter can elicit an unconscious irrational ego defence mechanism within your mind. To keep an open mind one must exercise self-awareness and from this much can also be learnt.

Enter the discussion...

The individual ego is a self perpetuating thought process within the mind that identifies with the activity of the mind and the contents of the mind and assumes that “I did that”. The collective ego is a ruling regime within a culture that identifies with the activity of the culture and the contents of the culture and assumes that “it is responsible and in control”.

In the same way that an individual ego believes that the organism is “its body” so too does a collective ego identify with the population. Thus the term 'ego' refers to the general phenomenon, which may be an individual ego in an organism or a collective ego in a civilisation.

Ego Defence Mechanisms are psychological strategies brought into play by individuals, groups and nations to cope with reality and to maintain self-image. An ego defence mechanism becomes pathological when its persistent use leads to maladaptive behaviour such that physical and/or mental health is adversely affected. The purpose of the Ego Defence Mechanisms is to protect the ego from anxiety, social sanctions or to provide a refuge from a situation that it cannot currently cope with.

Ego Defence Mechanism are pathological when they prevent the individual or collective from being able to cope with a real threat and it obscures their ability to perceive reality. Ego defence mechanisms are basically immature and are commonly used during the formation of the ego but usually persist throughout the life of the entity. Use of defence mechanisms prevents optimal coping with reality and leads to inappropriate behaviour. They are neurotic and common in almost everyone, and are not optimal for healthy reality coping and lead to problems with participation in the world thus they generally result in suffering.

Defence mechanisms are used by the ego to consolidate and maintain itself. Mental illness is a dysfunctional demonstration of a pathological maladaptive response to life events. An ego defence mechanism becomes pathological when:  More >