(continued)

The first gulags were established by Lenin in 1918. Many disenchanted former communists fled Russia in 1921 along with my Uncle Bill. The Palmer Raids in the US in 1920 resulted in the deportation of many leftists who had not been born in the US. Among them was Emma Goldman. She went starry eyed with hopes for the Revolution. She found out what it really was and managed to get out. She wrote My Disillusionment in Russia. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page and Co., 1923.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Goldman tells about her.

The evidence of the tyranny that was the Soviet Union was available in its early years, but many chose to believe the evidence was capitalist propaganda. Hope is the triumph of dreams over reality. I regard neither faith nor hope as a virtue but charity may be good.

I have lost touch with them, but a few years ago there were three anarchist groups in Brisbane – the Catholic anarchists centred around the Dorothy Day House, the Humanist anarchists centred around Emma’s bookshop and the remains of the old wobblies (IWW) who had a store in the West End.

I wrote for anarchist publications and broadcast news and commentary on 4zzz when it was an anarchist station. I used to sing an occasional song and was asked to do one for Easter. I wrote the following and sang it to the tune of the old jazz standard:

The Imitation of Christ

Six feet two,
Eyes of blue,
Jesus Christ, he was a Jew.
Has anybody seen my Lord

Speared in the abdomen
By a Roman.
Blood gushing out.

Rose from the dead
So it is said
People believe without a doubt

Jesus died.
Still a Jew.
Still a Jew so why aren’t you?
Has anybody seen my Lord

Somewhere in a world of youtube is a clip of me singing the above.

The only contact I have from those days is an old Irish Catholic anarchist in Connecticut who has visited me in Australia and who I see when I go to the US.

Dear david f,

I hope you don't mind returning to our topic away from the anarchists.

>>I don’t know how one could determine that all non-human animals lack consciousness. I think some non-human animals I have known have consciousness<<

I think it all depends on what one regards as consciousness, what awareness, what sentience. True, in everyday language they are almost synonymous.

As for awareness, Wikipedia says: “Awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects, or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. …In biological psychology, awareness is defined as a human's or an animal's perception and cognitive reaction to a condition or event.”

So according to this, consciousness is awareness PLUS understanding, how ever this additional quality is defined.

As for consciousness, Wikipedia states: “it has been defined as: sentience, awareness, subjectivity, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind. Despite the difficulty in definition, many philosophers believe that there is a broadly shared underlying intuition about what consciousness is. … Issues of concern in the philosophy of consciousness include whether the concept is fundamentally valid; whether consciousness can ever be explained mechanistically; whether non-human consciousness exists and if so how it can be recognized; how consciousness relates to language; whether consciousness can be understood in a way that does not require a dualistic distinction between mental and physical states or properties; and whether it may ever be possible for computers or robots to be conscious.”

In other words, consciousness is a much more complicated concept than awareness.

In my previous post I have offered one brief characterization of the difference, the other is the “PLUS understanding” from above. And as mentioned in the article, Penrose sees awareness as the “passive aspect” of consciousness, the active being free will.

(ctd)

(ctd)

>>The difference between software and hardware is an arbitrary one and a matter of cost. Hardware can be designed to do anything that software can do<<

I think one can still speak of software, even when it is wired into the hardware (as part of the ROM) as it was, I suppose, also with the early personal computers (although your example with the floating decimal point goes in the opposite direction).

My oversimplified metaphor is that our biological system is the “hardware” on which “life” runs like the MAC OS (or Windows) is running on my computer, and consciousness is the extra (e.g. Word processor) that actually allows me to write down my thoughts. Without that extra (WP) the computer with the OS would only be potentially able to do that, like a non-human animal is only POTENTIALLY able to understand what is it that it is aware of, i.e. posses consciousness.

Both “softwares” - life allowing for awareness AND the additional factor that turns awareness into consciousness - could be wired into my “biological system” OR be represented by an “emergent” quality.

to reply george..going..off davids hint
<<..many species..[that]..flourished..through cooperation.>>

ego’s “existence”..depends on..the..various perception's..We..appear..to be subject to.*.
to..the effect..of making our..decision/validations..of unconscious/automatic..by rote..by habit..autonomous-act.

That..this confusion..[separation]..comes from..the unconscious..beliefs..
about..just/what..we want?..to be real...or..seek..to be realized.

http://www.pathwaysoflight.org/acim_lessons/insights/lesson_138

mind..is split..into..at least.. three.;.levels
that..of the..super-conscious,..conscious..and subconscious mind...
Consciousness..is the form..of awareness..as opposed by ...un-consciousness

the sub-conscious..is the emotive..[fear/hate]..
the remembrance..[as opposed to..the memory]..that recalls..the way..to the means..
to repeat..or avoid..previous..fruits..of action..[of mean..by means]

[doing..this..*last time..made my hunger end]
[doing that..hurt me..that/thing..is..
that/looks like..i am hungry[etc]
the mundane..[sensual]

then..there is the..awareness..[visualization]
noticing..change..[miracle]..on top of that..is revelation..[audible visualizations..[revelatory imaginary]

http://www.lucid-mind-center.com/what-is-consciousness.html

"Consciousness is..the receptive mechanism,..
receiving messages from above..or below;..[from inside..and without]..from the Holy Spirit..or the beast or ego..[id]

Consciousness..has levels..
and awareness..can shift quite dramatically,..but..it cannot transcend..the perceptual realm's

"Revelation..unites you..directly with God.
Miracles unite..you directly with..your brother.
Neither emanates..from consciousness,..but both are experienced there.

Consciousness is..the state..that induces action,
though it..does not..inspire it."
http://www.miracleshome.org/supplements/consciousnessacim_255.htm

The/truth..of who we are..is obscured by..our thoughts
about who.;.we think we are,..based on others..[reactions..to perceptions of us..and our..[projection..of ego's perceptions..of ourselves,

http://abcacim.org/blog/

When..a miracle..is performed..one literally changes the/course of both..space and time,as if..the malady never occurred,..IT.never existed;..one only believed..[believed/perceived]..it did..[errant-ly]..for..a short period..*in time.

Allopathic..and holistic practitioners..alike typically/deal consciously..guided..by the super-conscious..with
the external.manipulation of matter..to heal matter.

Some..practitioners manipulate..sub-conscious..via the acupunctural, chakra,..and astral energies...to heal matter...A Course in Miracles teaches..one to heal matter..and ultimately..transcend matter altogether..by literally becoming..at-one with the..infinite field of causal..energy itself.

[supreme..otherness conscious]
[goodly-otherness devotion]..[or god..for short]

All three/levels..of healing
physical,/astral,/and proto-causal..are nevertheless..useful and vital,..and can/be employed..in unison..to treat illness/illusion..even delusion

as like/tongues..of fire;)

This is..much more/than just..mind over matter...

super-conscious/Mind..*knows_not*..of fear,..nor..what means sickness,poverty,unhappiness,or death;..for it..is the source..of all love,..logic..good/health,..abundance,..community/peace,..light..and life.

http://www.holisticunited.com/blog/a-course-in-miracles-healing/

Thus,..from our..interior self-awareness..we/can..become conscious/of..our more..exterior/self-awareness...of other.

Self-witnessing..has various-forms..such/as..self-examination,/self-observation,/self-perception,/self-assessment,..and so on...*All these..forms/of..interior-behavior..can/be..practiced..for spiritual growth..and..material-development.

Self-witnessing..is/a..process that-leads/to..deeper self-awareness of..our rote..habits/of..thinking..and feeling or..striving...to meet_need

The..purpose/of self-awareness..is to reveal..to our..conscious..those habits..of character that/we..ought to modify ..correct..or reform

http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/instructor/gloss/selfw.html

When..he/is..in such communication..revelatory good..flows into him with..much greater satisfaction..and blessedness..[miracle]..than he gives,..and this..flows..continually..with..ever higher abundant-increase...availed..to other.

But..as/soon as..a lesser conscious-thought enters,
that*..he will communicate..to..his own..awareness..to/the intent..that he may..maintain that..influx...of satisfaction and blessedness..into himself,..of himself..the influx is dissipated
http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-ENG/loy11.htm

Fear.;.of internal-possession..is/a..perverted expression
of/the..subconscious-fear..of/an..irresistible-attraction...It is/a symbolic-statement..of an..in-verted..decision..NOT/to enter..into,..or possess,..the_Kingdom..of self.

In..physical/terms,..which..*awareness..emphasizes
because..of/the..inherent/error..of Soul..[conceptual]..avoidance,
REAL_physical..creation/is..thus..avoided,.and fantasy/gratification..is substituted.)

the..acceptance..of/this..illusion..of_totally..unavoidable-truth..is only..a matter/of..time...But/you..should consider..whether/you..WANT to/wait,..because..you..*CAN return..even_now,..if you/so..choose.

Possession..is/a concept..which-has/been..subject-to
numerous_distortions,..[of/creative-mind]..some..of
which..we/will..-list..below:

1.It..(possession)..can/be..associated-with/the..body_only.

2.From..a..rather similar..misperceptualised/reference..point's,..
possession can..also/be..associated..with things...

This_is..essentially..a shift from..1),..
and..is..usually due/to..an/underlying_fear/of..associating possession..with*..the physical../people.

Both..1)..and..2)..are_likely/to..become-compulsive..for/several reasons,..including:

a.They..represent..an_attempt/to..escape_from..the..real/possession-drive,..which..cannot/be satisfied..this way.

b.They..set up..substitute_goals/want..artificial_need,..which/are..usually...reasonably*..easy..to provide/provoke.invoke..or attain.

c.They..APPEAR_to/be..relatively..less..harmless,..and
thus..SEEM_to..allay..self-induced/produced..fear.

and..this..induces a..false/feeling..of-confidence..in/the solution,/based on..reliability..NOT validity...

It..is also..fairly easy/to..find
a..partner..who SHARES..the illusion.*

Thus,..we_have..any number/of..relationships..which
are_actually..ESTABLISHED..on/the_basis of..1),..and..others/which
HOLD..TOGETHER..primarily..because/of..the joint/interests..in 2).

Gemerally.. two/types..of emotional/disturbances..result:
a.The..tendency to/maintain..the illusion..that only/the physical.is real...This produces..spiritual_repression/..depression.

b.The..tendency..to invest/the..physical..with non-physical properties...This is..essentially/magic,.and tends/more..toward anxiety-proneness.

c.The tendency..to vacillate..from one/to..the other,
which produces.a corresponding..vacillation/between..depression AND anxiety...Both result-in..self imposed starvation...spiritual/karma

3.Another type/of distortion..is seen-in
the fear of..or desire..for..“spirit”/possession.

The term..“spirit”..is profoundly debased..in this context,
but..it DOES..entail a recognition..that the body/is not enough,..and investing it..with magic..rite..or rote..will not work.

This recognition..ACCEPTS the.fact..that neither 1) nor 2) is sufficient,..but,..precisely..BECAUSE it does not..limit fear so narrowly,..it is more*..likely to produce..greater fear..in its own right

“Religion”..in a distorted/sense,..is also more likely..to occur..in this kind of error,..because the idea..of a “spirit”..is introduced, though fallaciously,..while*..it is excluded..from 1) and 2).

Witchcraft..is thus..particularly apt/to..be associated with 3), because..of the much..greater investment..in magic.

It..should be/noted..that
1)..involves..only the body,
and..2)..involves an attempt to
associate things..with human attributes.

Three,..on the/other hand..is/a..more serious level..of confusion, because..it endows..*the Spirit..with EVIL attributes.[faulsy]

This/accounts..both for the/religious zeal..of its proponents,
and..the aversion..(or fear avoidancemethodology)..of its..opponents.

Both..error/attitudes..stem from..the same..false belief.
This..is NOT..what the Bible/means..by..“possessed of/the Holy_Spirit.”

It..is interesting/to note..that even those..*who DID understand that
could..nevertheless..EXPRESS their/understanding..inappropriately.

The concept/of..“speaking in many tongues”..was originally
an injunction..to communicate..to/everyone..in his own language,..or at..his own level...It..hardly meant..to speak..in a way..that/*NOBODY..can understand.

This..strange error/occurs..when people
DO understand..the need..for Universal communication,..*but have
contaminated..it..with possession fallacies...

The fear..engendered by this miss-perception..leads to..a conflicted state..in which communication..IS attempted,..but the fear..is allayed by..making..the communication incomprehensible.

It..could also/be said..that the fear..induced selfishness,..or regression,..because..incomprehensible communication..is hardly a worthy_offering..from one..Son of God to..another.

Errors. Emma Goldman was deported in 1919 not 1920 and it was not a consequence of the Palmer Raids as I wrote in my post.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Goldman

Goldman was a committed war resister, believing that wars were fought by the state on behalf of capitalists. She was particularly opposed to the draft, viewing it as one of the worst of the state's forms of coercion, and was one of the founders of the No-Conscription League—for which she was ultimately arrested (1917), imprisoned and deported (1919).

Dear George,

My first impulse is to rush to a book to find out what those working in the field have done in the areas of consciousness and awareness. However, if I did that you would not hear anything from me on that subject for a long while.

In a computer there is a clear dichotomy between hardware and software. In humans and other animals I don’t think there is such a clear dichotomy. In a computer hardware stays hardware, and software stays software. The hardware that is our physical brain gets modified by its experiences. Neural pathways form and deactivate according to our life experiences. Our mental functioning is influenced by our physical condition. We should be wary in making analogies between our brain and a computer.

I would rather write about awareness than consciousness as I have a clearer concept of awareness. Awareness seems to me operation on other than instinct. It is the ability to separate the individual from the universal.

However, I really don’t feel like keeping this up.

“Is being a scientist compatible with believing in God?” is the title of your article. I am satisfied that they are compatible. Since I started writing another two posts to the thread came from oug. They made me feel like stopping my posts to this thread so I will. Maybe we can communicate on another thread.