This paper was presented at the
National Seminar on
Indian Psychology: Theories and Models
SVYASA, Bangalore,
December 26 - 28, 2007
 

Nonlocal consciousness: what it can do

Sreekala Nair — Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kerala

Consciousness studies, probably due to its self-subsuming nature, was marked as the last phase of human knowledge endeavours. Scientists accused that our inability to get an explanation of consciousness- a precise neuro-biological one - is in past impeded by a series of philosophical confusions. This, they pointed out, is one of those areas of science where scientific progress is blocked by philosophical error. What more, as on now scientists are optimistic that a complete picture of the function of human consciousness will be available latest by the end of present century. But as with nature, the macrocosm, as experienced by the natural scientists, so with human consciousness, the micro phenomenon, the complexities get enhanced as we progress in our understanding, often demanding fresh presuppositions at neat intervals, unfolding their multidimensional features, revealing novel and hitherto unforeseen characteristics. After all philosophy has not been obstructing the science in its endeavour, but rather impressing them about the gravity of the issue at hand.

The presupposition of contemporary scientific culture that; consciousness is located in human brain direly needs revision. At the close of 20thcentury physicists and neuroscientists alike pointed out that the brain of subjective experiences rooted in the quantum attribute of nature called non locality. However, non-locality of consciousness was a subject consciously kept out side academic circles till, say, the end of bygone century. Even today, majority of the so-called academic elite raise their eyebrows when talks on non locality of consciousness is brought on philosophical tables. But in 1960's and early 70's experiments conducted by Cleave Backster confirmed that simple organisms perceive and respond to information non locally as well.  Later experiments in humans conducted by Radin in 1991 reasserted the same in human beings too. Failure to replicate results in well constructed experiments does not, in the case of a subjective entity like consciousness, prove any thing against the thesis. Research has been conducted presently at the University of Washington, Bastyr University and the University of Freiberg which reveal that a visual evoked potential elicited in the brain of one human subject via patterned photo stimulation, can induce a non local transferred potential in the brain of a second human subject without any apparent classical neural or electromagnetic intervention, since both subjects are in Farady chambers.

In the second section the paper attempts to look at the pragmatic phases of non local consciousness. Larry Dossey in his Book "Image not available" provides the scientific and medical proof for the spiritual dimension that works in therapeutic treatment exploding the boundaries of the healing arts, where the non local mind works wonders out side the confines of normal space and linear time.  There are also other writings supporting the feeling that technological medicine is not enough in this era when millions of people are embracing a holistic and spiritual understanding of life.  If brain neither produces nor confines consciousness within it much the same as an iron box neither produces nor limits consciousness within it electricity, as Sri Aurobindo pointed out, we are forever opening up new awareness of consciousness and the possibility to explore the capacity of human consciousness to function outside the individual brain and body. Application of this theory might immensely help in the therapeutic treatment of mentally challenged children.

The non locality of consciousness has its epistemic dimensions also apart from the impact it has on healing arts. Although perception in the three dimensional world requires and utilizes non local information, most humans do not bring this to conscious awareness.  There is massive evidence to suggest that the brain has these latter capabilities at birth.  Suppression by cultural conditioning in childhood and subsequent lack of practice cause the natural ability for intuitive perception to fade away. The civilized man has been habitually exercising only the left brain, the rational functioning, all the time suppressing and silencing the right, the intuitive hemisphere.  It came as a shock for the civilized man that except him all the beast and aborigins of the of the coasts received intuitive information of tsunami.  We may, it is suggested, permit the intuitive faculty once again to play a leading role in our cognitive enterprises by partly quietening the left-brain so that we may receive a whole some picture of reality, not just the rational one.

Email the author, Prof. Sreekala Nair, at sree_kala_nair@yahoo.com