STUART HAMEROFF M.D., for those of you who saw the film What The Bleep Do We Know, was the scientist sitting in the beautiful Arizona backdrop explaining the nature of consciousness and shooting a great basketball shot to make his point. Dr. Hameroff will also be joining us at the last of the series of What The Bleep Do We Know Prophets Conferences, also taking place in the beautiful Arizona setting of the Scottsdale Plaza Resort during the weekend of October 14-16.
During the weekend Dr. Hameroff and other scientists and visionaries from the film, along with the filmmaker William Arntz and film star Marlee Matlin will come together with participants for focusing of insight into the functioning of the human mind and the problems we create for ourselves. There will be exploration into how negative states develop in the mind and body, and how these negative states can be replaced by positive states, and how these positive states can be cultivated without limit.
You are invited to tap into your true potential and power by taking your place at this remarkable and life affirming gathering.
Information: www.greatmystery.org/scottsdale.html
Surfing the Edge of the Universe
with Stuart Hameroff M.D.
Stuart Hameroff M.D. is Professor of Anesthesiology and Psychology, and Director of the Center for Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He spends most days providing anesthesia for patients in the surgical operating rooms at University of Arizona Medical Center.
Dr. Hameroff:
"As I said in the credit clip at the end of "Bleep", every day as I give the drugs that put my patients off to sleep I wonder where it is they go. Or more importantly, why are they 'here' in the first place? Why are they-why are WE-conscious? Consciousness remains a profound mystery. It touches not only science and medicine, but the nature of reality, our place in the universe. There can be no sense of spirituality or serenity without consciousness occurs".
Dr. Hameroff attempts to bridge the gap between medical science and the essence of existence, of being subtly connected to what he calls the "Funda-Mental" level of the universe.
He says:
"Consciousness is far more than the brain acting like a computer. Evidence from various directions suggests non-local interactions-spooky action-at-a-distance as Einstein called it-among people, and a connection to the most basic level of reality. The best way to understand this is through quantum physics which describes how the universe actually is, at least at small scales. The problem is 'how small is small?' Where is the boundary, the edge between the quantum world and our everyday world?
In the quantum world there are deep interconnections and multitudes of possibilities. Time doesn't exist. In some sense our unconscious dream world is a lot like the quantum world. In fact, dreams may actually occur in the quantum world. Its not a different dimension, just the other side of our everyday reality.
But our everyday reality is different. Consciousness has something to do with that. Some say the conscious observer chooses our reality. That may be true but it doesn't explain what the conscious observer actually is."
Dr. Hameroff is known for his collaboration with the eminent British physicist Sir Roger Penrose whose ideas and books "The emperor's new mind", "Shadows of the mind" and "The road to reality" have shaken up science.
Hameroff:
"Penrose suggested that Plato's world of pure forms, mathematical truth, ethical and aesthetic values actually exist in the quantum world, in the most basic level of the universe. That level is described through string theory, quantum gravity and so forth but is far, far too tiny to be measured. It is what makes up empty space, the fabric of nothingness. It's tiny, but vast; wherever we go, there it is! We can't see it, but according to Roger, we can feel it. He suggested that conscious thought connects to, and is influenced by, these Platonic values.
To me, that sounds like 'following the way of the Tao', 'Divine Guidance' or 'surrendering to your Higher Power'. Roger avoids such comparisons but I think it's fair to speculate along those lines.
Roger didn't have a good biological way of making the connection between the brain and the 'funda-mental' level, but I had been working on the idea of small scale computation in structures inside neurons called microtubules which seemed perfect for the job. He and I teamed up 11 years ago and put forth a theory of consciousness based on this connection. It's been rather controversial but still going strong. Time and experiments will tell, but I am fairly certain something like that must be going on.
The basic idea is that consciousness is, in itself, a transition between the quantum and everyday classical worlds. So it isn't so much that the conscious observer causes a 'collapse of the wave function', as it's called. Rather, consciousness IS a collapse-a particular type of self-collapse. Consciousness is a process on the edge between the quantum world and our everyday world. I get this funny image in my head of someone-me, I guess, but anyone -surfing on the edge, like a wave breaking between the two realms."
"See you in Scottsdale!"
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WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW!? SCOTTSDALE PROPHETS CONFERENCE
OCTOBER 14-16
"Once in a while a film comes out that can change the world, and this is one of those films," says a fan of What the Bleep Do We Know!?, an effects filled docudrama which is stunning viewers everywhere with its inventive combining of science and spirituality. Another viewer said, "I started crying in the middle of this movie because it was the first time in my life I had proof that there were lots of people who believe like I do."
Starring Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser God), What The Bleep's story line is a simple tale of personal transformation-from self-hatred to self-acceptance-with some unusual characters offering the protagonist profound insights along the way.
These unusual characters include some of today's leading scientists and visionaries, who along with the filmmaker Will Arntz and film star Matlin, will be coming together at the beautiful Scottsdale Plaza Resort Hotel during the weekend of October 14-16 to assist those attending to tap into their true potential and power.
During the weekend there will be focused insight into the functioning of the human mind and the problems we create for ourselves. There will be exploration into how negative states develop in the mind and body, and how these negative states can be replaced by positive states, and how these positive states can be cultivated without limit.
POST-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS ON OCTOBER 17 WITH FRED ALAN WOLF AND RHONDA BRITTEN
One-day passes and individual presentation tickets are now available. Full information, including special discounts and group rates, is available at www.greatmystery.org/scottsdale.html or by calling 888-777-5981.
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CONFERENCE SPONSORS
Institute of Noetic Sciences, Sounds True, The Ark Books, Arizona Good Life News
What Is Enlightenment? Magazine, Marilyn McGuire & Associates, Mystic Pop Magazine,
Dragonfly Village, New Dimensions Radio, Hollyhock Retreat Center