The challenge of “seeing” consciousness Since consciousness is so all encompassing, it is challenging to see. Like the water surrounding a fish deep in the open ocean, it is hard to gain perspective on its vastness and all pervasive nature. But in order to foster our creative abilities, it is essential that we attempt to […]
Consciousness and Creativity, Part II: The Most Defining Aspect of the Human Organism
Conscious self-awareness is the key to creativity Consciousness, specifically conscious self-awareness, is perhaps the single most exciting aspect of our capacities as human beings. More than any of our other qualities, our conscious self-awareness—our awareness of being aware—adds an entire universe to our experience, granting us a cognitive freedom that was unheard of anywhere in […]
Consciousness and Creativity, Part I: The Dawn of Conscious Self-Awareness
The mysterious origins of conscious self-awareness It’s early morning in a wide, steeped river valley, some several hundred thousand years ago. Before nightfall, someone or something wedged its way into a crevice in a rock outcropping near the summit, instinctively settling there for a bit of warmth and protection, sleeping fitfully during the long, cold […]
Every Tree is a Doorway
The oak tree sits on the hillside, a robust Coast Live Oak thriving in its homeland, its gnarled trunk pushing up from the terraced slope, pushing first towards the west and the Golden Gate, then arching back to the east and the summit of the Berkeley Hills, its four main branches spiraling around themselves like […]