By Amanda Moreno
I have a long-term fascination with the evolution of human consciousness. What better way to understand our current situation that by giving it the context of thousands of years of evolving thoughts and traditions? Nothing exists solely in a microcosm.
Consciousness studies can be difficult to discuss, engage or explore in our present paradigm, however, due largely to claims that they are speculative in nature. And it’s true — it’s hard to categorize experience in any definitive way. But doesn’t science exist to explore speculation? Our failure to acknowledge and explore consciousness limits the general population’s ability to dialogue about these themes, and therefore the ability to imagine and implement possibilities.
The scientific method is great. I’m so glad science exists. What’s more, I’m so glad that people exist who actually want to and are able to study science. They make my job a lot easier — I can just let them do their thing over there while I do my thing over here.
I’ve never been all that interested in ‘empirically’ proving the experience of my psyche. If I awake from a dream feeling anxious, out of breath and emotionally raw, you can’t tell me that the dream ‘didn’t happen’. My proof lies in the response. When an idea hits and is then brought to fruition, I’m not that concerned with whether or not it was a burst of inspiration or a synaptic response — I’m just excited that something came through that has value and use. Again — glad people will study the mechanics behind it, but not willing to dismiss it because current science can’t ‘validate’ the experience.