Categorical thinking and integral vision

What makes a person happy? 
A simple question and so many possible answers!

It can be exciting to reflect upon all the possible new insights about happiness, its ontology, biological and neurological foundations, the epistemology of its cognitive and psychological states, genetic and epigenetic dispositions for it, maybe even upon transpersonal implications of permanent happiness!

I would suggest that the multitude of pictures that paint reality can hardly be a bad thing. It is categorical thinking that might present a problem.

Do we have to passively wait for decades or even haft-centuries to comprehend that certain (predominant at the time) notions were reflecting only a single aspect of reality?

Thinking categorically or actively seeking to align with only one aspect of reality, compulsively sticking to one single frame of thought, and focusing on the boundaries of a single field instead of seeing the bigger picture, might never bring about thorough progress.

Separating various aspects of reality and being stuck in such categories is a frequent state of mind, it seems. It does not have to be, however. 

Be that as it may, in the quest for integral vision the approaches like material reductionism, categorical thinking, and disinclination towards everything that does not correspond to one specific aspect of reality, might prove counterproductive.

The advantage lies in flexibility, fluidity, and the ability to shift an angle of vision – and that is nourished by deep self-awareness above reason.

What do you think?

The challenge of Quantum integration

There has been a lot of books and articles published in the last decades on the subject of quantum mechanics verifying, as it were, the various spiritual traditions. I have observed some really interesting notions of (attempted) integration of certain areas of human experience and quantum theories!

But, I propose, let us be precise in these matters. Quantum mechanics is a hardcore science, its findings have been objectively and independently tested and re-tested any number of times (i.e. double-slit, delayed choice, and quantum eraser experiments, etc.).

Quantum mechanics is an objective science, based on the laws that govern the nature of particle-wave duality, superposition collapse, quantum entanglement, Heisenberg uncertainty principle, etc. It really does not get much more objective and impersonal than this.

Spirituality, on the other hand, is purely subjective. All inner psychological experiences, personal (trauma and shadow work, defense mechanisms, emotional intelligence, authenticity, etc.) or transpersonal (god forms work, invocation, intuitive perception, transcendental insights, evocation, etc.), are completely subjective and can be interpreted in myriad ways.

Yes, certain notions from Eastern religions or Western mysticism can indeed be conceptually or symbolically linked to the findings of modern quantum mechanics, but that is all. 

I really love the challenge of possible integration of various scientific (and other) disciplines, but I always remain cautious about the superficial notions of integration of objectivity and subjectivity. They really stand quite apart. 

The notion of real and complete, meaning, not merely conceptual or interpretive, integration of objective science and subjective spiritual insights is a stretch, to say the least, in my opinion. 

Philosophically speaking, there are similarities, of course, which are really fascinating, but philosophy does not equate to objective science.

In every day life terms, the (new age) spiritualists have quickly seized the opportunity, and now we can attend the weekend workshops where we might learn to create our own reality, based on the quantum theory notions that consciousness creates the results in the quantum mechanics lab. 

In reality, things do not work that way, I am afraid.

The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics clearly states that there is indeed the so-called wave function collapse which is influenced by an observer.

But again, I propose, let us be precise here:
the role of consciousness in the said quantum mechanics interpretation is not really crucial. It is the measuring equipment that determines the outcome of the experiment, not consciousness. A scientist in a lab in Denmark could set up a scheduled double-slit or delayed choice experiment and had the computer email him the results to Bali, where his consciousness is preoccupied with enjoying the sunset. No consciousness needed in the lab.

My point is that while certain notions of quantum mechanics in general and the Copenhagen interpretation, in particular, are indeed fascinating and stimulating for a vivid human imagination, I propose that a clear line be drawn between objective science and other disciplines.

What do you think?

 

*******

 

One of my favorite Professors that share their wealth of knowledge at the former Teaching Company (later on named The Great Courses and now Wondrium), Steven Gimbel, Ph.D., explains this important subject at length:

“…This language and the accompanying mental picture are problematic. The usual way of talking about the standard model makes us think of the subatomic world as being composed of uncuttable particles, the classical atoms. But recall that this is coming out of quantum mechanics. We can think of particles because we’re talking about quantized elements. But elements of what?

Here is where we return to De Broglie. Recall that according to him, we need to see not just light but matter as both wave and particle. Waves require a medium: all elements in the standard model are understood by physicists as excited states of the requisite field which can overlap and exchange energy. Changes are the result of the fluctuations in the field.

Quantum field theory does away with what we usually think of as the most basic aspect of metaphysics: substance; thingness is no longer fundamental but subsumed under a more basic underlying entity, the field.
The field is real, and all we think to be individual things are just transitive aspects of the dynamic field.

It is no accident that this picture beares a resemblance of aspects of Eastern thought, particularly what is found in the Hindu Upanishads: the world of things, the plurality on this view is illusory, Brahman the underlying, unchanging reality that is underneath and throughout the universe is all there is.

Now, the claim here is NOT as was made in several popular works of the 1980s that quantum mechanics varifies the Hindu or Buddhist worldview, but it is certainly true that many of the founding figures in the history of quantum mechanics, Heisenberg, Bhor, Schrodinger were studying these works during the years when they were also engaged in the most important quantum discoveries.

Their physical theories were reactions to the physical problems using the conceptual and mathematical tools of their trade, but science, as it is produced, is not isolated from other parts of the intellectual or lived lives of those who created it.

That we have a group of people reconstructing the basis of our physical understanding and at the same time they are looking at the alternative philosophical pictures of reality, is certainly worth noting.

To remove the idea of thingness from the center of our worldview can be seen as an attack on the most basic foundations of the Western view of reality which begins with the idea of the observing subject, the self, and the world of objects which are observed. This shift to a metaphysic based on all present field is a move that was not lost on many beyond the world of physics.”

Steven Gimbel, Ph.D., featured in “Redefining Reality: The Intellectual Implications of Modern Science”, Wondrium streaming videos >>

John Rowan, in loving memory

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The text below was first posted on my personal Integral Life Blog on the 17th of October 2019. I can still clearly remember that day. I was going to give a short workshop at our school in the evening, but memories about experiences I had with the late Dr. John Rowan started to surface in the early afternoon and I could no longer avoid the fact that he was gone. Tears flew almost the whole day – but why was I crying? Don’t I believe that there never is an end?

“I have been meaning to write this for some time now. Dr. John Rowan has had a huge impact on my life, so much so that I am still integrating certain insights into my life. He passed on in May 2018, and I feel it is time for me to let him go.

So, here we go:

A humble man, a great man, an academic, an enlightened being, a mystic, a Kali Ma devotee, my mentor at Rushmore University, and a man that brought a massive amount of clarity, wisdom, and sobriety into my professional as well as private life.

Always alert, aware, funny, and ready to surprise with a joke, gesture, or deep insight.

He dedicated ten years to the Authentic, Subtle, Causal, and Nondual stages of the Wilber map, respectively. Forty years! I cannot even begin to imagine how much perseverance and determination one must possess to walk down this road of slow but thorough personal and spiritual development.

No doubt he would have laughed at such meaningless labels, but in my opinion, he was one of the pratyekabuddhas (a solitary Buddha), a follower of the Sutrayana path (as opposed to the faster tantric path that also leads to the Non-dual).

At the TCT® Academy (ATCT, our three-year private school for humanistic and transpersonal consultants) we enjoyed his loving presence for six years, learning from his vast academic and empirical knowledge. During those visits I benefited immensely from his audience; I drove him around, ate with him, and translated his words at the ATCT seminars.

It was he who introduced me to the Wilber map in general and the Non-dual in particular during my Ph.D. studies at Rushmore (and later on in person as well), changing my perception, and pretty much everything else, completely…
…right after he thoroughly dismantled my ego-fueled academic papers and inspired me to begin to write from my heart.

In person, we have always had more or less meaningful talks about the Wilber map, mystical and magical experiences, humanistic and transpersonal psychotherapy, and life in general.

He was able to shift levels of awareness with the greatest of ease. Being or living at the Authentic level by choice, he could switch to the Causal or even to the Non-dual level at a moment’s notice.

He embraced personal and transpersonal levels with equal grace. No denial of personal and mundane things and no adoration of spiritual things.

His presence was calm and yet strong, simple yet clear.
He was one of a few people (if not the only one) who really, really understood me… and neither wanted nor needed anything from me.

And he was so graceful in person! I can still recall a situation when I took him to dinner in Ljubljana. It was an early evening, and it was already dark. I didn’t really know how to get to the place and I just drove around, trying to find the way. It must have been obvious I didn’t have the slightest clue where we were. Dr. Rowan, however, just sat there in my car and silently tolerated my aimless driving.
After 20 minutes or so he looked at me, smiled, and said: “You don’t live here, do you?”
LOL

I particularly remember another event: one rainy Sunday morning I went to his hotel in Ljubljana to take him to our seminar at ATCT. He was waiting for me, meditating (he did not approve of being late!).

When I entered his room, he stood up and looked at me with clear, beaming eyes. I could sense lightness and clarity around him and in the room.

I asked how his morning was, and he smiled and said that he just had his breakfast.

I came closer to him, looked into his eyes, put my left hand gently on his right shoulder, and said, smiling and with respect: “Now the Buddha is not hungry anymore.” And the Living Buddha, in all his modesty, lowered his eyes.
<tears>
I miss him so much!

I was told that when the citadel shattered, he was at peace, transitioning out of his 93-year-old body gracefully, depriving Great Britain and indeed the whole world of the rare Living Presence of an Arhat.

His legacy still lives on in his 20 books, numerous recorded interviews, and lucid poetry.

As far as this individual here is concerned, Dr. John Rowan’s spirit lives on in my integral approach to life and psychotherapy, in my (more or less unsuccessful) attempt to embrace the personal with equal vigour as the transpersonal…

…his spirit thrives on in our school, ATCT, and in the lasting gratitude for his immense contribution to me, my students at ATCT, my loved ones, and my family…

…so long, my dear John Rowan, thank you for your silent lucidity and see you around.

– Edmond C..”

Welcome to ICS Blog!

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Dear visitors, potential students, colleagues, graduate students, and friends,
welcome to our new website and ICS Blog, dedicated to Integral Consciousness Studies.

Here, you will find blog posts, links, book reviews, video clips, professional articles, interviews, academic papers, etc. – all on the subject of exploration of consciousness and related scientific studies.

The Integral Consciousness Studies field is quite broad and rather interdisciplinary in nature; therefore, on the ICS Blog, you will find relevant information from various scientific disciplines and other connected areas, such as cognitive psychology, quantum mechanics, neurobiology, humanistic psychology, spirituality, meditation practices, cognitive neuroscience, transpersonal psychology, psychotherapy, nonviolent communication, epigenetics, philosophy, etc.

You are welcome to participate!

– Edmond C.