The neocortex, also called the neopallium and isocortex, is the part of the mammalian brain involved in higher-order brain functions such as sensory perception, cognition, generation of motor commands,[1] spatial reasoning and language.[2]

The neocortex is further subdivided into the true isocortex and the proisocortex.[3]

In the human brain, the neocortex is the largest part of the cerebral cortex which is the outer layer of the cerebrum, with the allocortex making up the rest. The neocortex is made up of six layers, labelled from the outermost inwards, I to VI. Of all the mammals studied to date (including humans), a species of oceanic dolphin known as the long-finned pilot whale has been found to have the most neocortical neurons.[4]

Neocortex is Latin for "new bark" or "new rind". Neopallium means "new mantle" and isocortex means "equal rind".

The neocortex is the most developed in its organisation and number of layers, of the cerebral tissues.[5] The neocortex consists of the grey matter, or neuronal cell bodies and unmyelinated fibers, surrounding the deeper white matter (myelinated axons) in the cerebrum. This is a very thin layer though, about 24mm thick.[6] There are two types of cortex in the neocortex, the proisocortex and the true isocortex. The pro-isocortex is a transitional area between the true isocortex, and the periallocortex (part of the allocortex). It is found in the cingulate cortex (part of the limbic system), in Brodmann's areas 24, 25, 30 and 32, the insula and the parahippocampal gyrus.

The neocortex is smooth in rodents and other small mammals, whereas in primates and other larger mammals it has deep grooves (sulci) and ridges (gyri). These folds allow the surface area of the neocortex to be greatly increased. All human brains have the same overall pattern of main gyri and sulci, although they differ in detail from one person to another.[clarification needed] The mechanism by which the gyri form during embryogenesis is not entirely clear, and there are several competing hypotheses that explain gyrification, such as axonal tension,[7] cortical buckling,[8] or differences in cellular proliferation rates in different areas of the cortex.[9]

The neocortex contains both excitatory (~80%) and inhibitory (~20%) neurons, named for their effect on other neurons.[10] The structure of the neocortex is relatively uniform (hence the alternative names "iso-" and "homotypic" cortex), consisting of six horizontal layers segregated principally by cell type and neuronal connections.[11] However, there are many exceptions to this uniformity; for example, layer IV is small or missing in primary motor cortex. There is some canonical circuitry within the cortex; for example, pyramidal neurons in the upper layers II and III project their axons to other areas of neocortex, while those in the deeper layers V and VI often project out of the cortex, e.g. to the thalamus, brainstem, and spinal cord. Neurons in layer IV receive the majority of the synaptic connections from outside the cortex (mostly from thalamus), and themselves make short-range, local connections to other cortical layers.[10] Thus, layer IV is the main recipient of incoming sensory information and distributes it to the other layers for further processing.

The neocortex is often described as being arranged in vertical structures called cortical columns, patches of neocortex with a diameter of roughly 0.5mm (and a depth of 2mm, i.e., spanning all six layers). These columns are often thought of as the basic repeating functional units of the neocortex, but their many definitions, in terms of anatomy, size, or function, are generally not consistent with each other, leading to a lack of consensus regarding their structure or function or even whether it makes sense to try to understand neocortex in terms of columns.[12]

The neocortex is derived embryonically from the dorsal telencephalon, which is the rostral part of the forebrain. The neocortex is divided, into regions demarcated by the cranial sutures in the skull above, into frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes, which perform different functions. For example, the occipital lobe contains the primary visual cortex, and the temporal lobe contains the primary auditory cortex. Further subdivisions or areas of neocortex are responsible for more specific cognitive processes. In humans, the frontal lobe contains areas devoted to abilities that are enhanced in or unique to our species, such as complex language processing localized to the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (Broca's area).[10] In humans and other primates, social and emotional processing is localized to the orbitofrontal cortex. (See Cerebral cortex and Cerebrum.)

The neocortex has also been shown to play an influential role in sleep, memory and learning processes. Semantic memories appear to be stored in the neocortex, specifically the anterolateral temporal lobe of the neocortex.[13] It is also involved in instrumental conditioning; responsible for transmitting sensory information and information about plans for movement to the basal ganglia.[13] The firing rate of neurons in the neocortex also has an effect on slow-wave sleep. When the neurons are at rest and are hyperpolarizing, a period of inhibition occurs during a slow oscillation, called the down state. When the neurons of the neocortex are in the excitatory depolarizing phase and are firing briefly at a high rate, a period of excitation occurs during a slow oscillation, called the up state.[13]

There is still much to learn about the roles the neocortex has in the neurological processes exemplified in human behavior. To further understand the vital role the neocortex plays in human cognition, IBMs computational model of the human brain was created that simulated the electrochemistry of the neocortex. The super computer, the Blue Brain Project, was created to improve understanding of the processes of perception, learning and memory and gain further knowledge about mental health disorders.[14]

Lesions that develop in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, interrupt the transfer of information from the sensory neocortex to the prefrontal neocortex. This disruption of sensory information contributes to the progressive symptoms seen in neurodegenerative disorders such as changes in personality, decline in cognitive abilities, and dementia.[15] Damage to the neocortex of the anterolateral temporal lobe results in semantic dementia, which is the loss of memory of factual information (semantic memories). These symptoms can also be replicated by transcranial magnetic stimulation of this area. If damage is sustained to this area, patients do not develop anterograde amnesia and are able to recall episodic information.[16]

The neocortex is the newest part of the cerebral cortex to evolve (prefix neo meaning new); the other part of the cerebral cortex is the allocortex. The cellular organization of the allocortex is different from the six-layered neocortex. In humans, 90% of the cerebral cortex and 76% of the entire brain is neocortex.[10][17]

For a species to develop a larger neocortex, the brain must too evolve in size so that it is large enough to support the region. Body size, basal metabolic rate and life history are factors affecting brain evolution and the coevolution of neocortex size and group size.[18] The neocortex increased in size in response to pressures for greater cooperation and competition in early ancestors. With the size increase, there was greater voluntary inhibitory control of social behaviors resulting in increased social harmony.[19]

The six-layer cortex appears to be a distinguishing feature of mammals; it has been found in the brains of all mammals, but not in any other animals.[2] There is some debate,[20][21] however, as to the cross-species nomenclature for neocortex. In avians, for instance, there are clear examples of cognitive processes that are thought to be neocortical in nature, despite the lack of the distinctive six-layer neocortical structure.[22] In a similar manner, reptiles, such as turtles, have primary sensory cortices. A consistent, alternative name has yet to be agreed upon.

The neocortex ratio of a species is the ratio of the size of the neocortex to the rest of the brain. A high neocortex ratio is thought to correlate with a number of social variables such as group size and the complexity of social mating behaviors.[23] (See Dunbar's number) Humans have a large neocortex as a percentage of total brain matter when compared with other mammals. For example, there is only a 30:1 ratio of neocortical gray matter to the size of the medulla in the brainstem of chimpanzees, while the ratio is 60:1 in humans.[24]

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Jerry Fodor died last week at the age of 82 here are obituaries from theNYT and Daily Nous. I think he had three qualities that make a good philosopher. He really wanted the truth (not everyone is that bothered about it); he was up for a fight about it (in argumentative terms); and he had the gift of expressing his ideas clearly. Georges Rey, in the Daily Nous piece, professes surprise over Fodors unaccountable habit of choosing simple everyday examples rather than prestigious but obscure academic ones: but even Rey shows his appreciation of a vivid comparison by quoting Dennetts lively simile of Fodor as trampoline.

Good writing in philosophy is not just a presentational matter, I think; to express yourself clearly and memorably you have to have ideas that are clear and cogent in the first place; a confused or laborious exposition raises the suspicion that youre not really that sure what youre talking about yourself.

Not that well-expressed ideas are always true ones, and in fact I dont think Fodorism, stimulating as it is, is ever likely to be accepted as correct. The bold hypothesis of a language of thought, sometimes called mentalese, in which all our thinking is done, never really looked attractive to most. Personally it strikes me as an unnecessary deferral; something in the brain has to explain language, and saying its another language just puts the job off. In fairness, empirical evidence might show that things are like that, though I dont see it happening at present. Fodor himself linked the idea with a belief in a comprehensive inborn conceptual apparatus; we never learn new concepts, just activate ones that were already there. The idea of inborn understanding has a respectable pedigree, but if Plato couldnt sell it, Fodor was probably never going to pull it off either.

As I say, these are largely empirical matters and someone fresh to the discussion might wonder why discussion was ever thought to be an adequate method; arent these issues for science? Or at least, shouldnt the armchair guys shut up for a bit until the neurologists can give them a few more pointers? You might well think the same about Fodors other celebrated book, The Modularity of Mind. Isnt a day with a scanner going to tell you more about that than a month of psychological argumentation?

But the truth is that research cant proceed in a vacuum; without hypotheses to invalidate or a framework of concepts to test and apply, it becomes mere data collection. The concepts and perspectives that Fodor supplied are as stimulating as ever and re-reading his books will still challenge and sharpen anyones thinking.

Perhaps my favourite was his riposte to Stephen Pinker,The Mind Doesnt Work That Way. So Ive been down into the cobwebbed cellars of Conscious Entities and retrieved one of the lost posts, one I wrote in 2005, which describes it. (I used to put red lines in things in those days for reasons that now elude me).

Here it is

(30 January 2005)

Jerry Fodors 2001 book The Mind Doesnt Work That Way makes a cogent and witty deflationary case. In some ways, its the best summary of the current state of affairs Ive read; which means, alas, that it is almost entirely negative. Fodors constant position is that the Computational Theory of Mind (CTM) is the only remotely plausible theory we have and remotely plausible theories are better than no theories at all. But although he continues to emphasise that this is a reason for investigating the representational system which CTM implies, he now feels the times, and the bouncy optimism of Steven Pinker and Henry Plotkin in particular, call for a little Eeyoreish accentuation of the negative. Sure, CTM is the best theory we have, but that doesnt mean its actually much good. Surely no-one ought to think its the complete explanation of all cognitive processes least of all the mysteries of consciousness! It isnt just computation that has been over-estimated, either there are also limits to how far you can go with modularism too though again, its a view with which Fodor himself is particularly associated.

The starting point for both Fodor and those he parts company with, is the idea that logical deduction probably gets done by the brain in essentially the same way as it is done on paper by a logician or in electronic digits by a computer, namely by the formal manipulation of syntactically structured representations, or to put it slightly less polysyllabically, by moving symbols around according to rules. Its fairly plausible that this is true at least for some cognitive processes, but there is a wide scope for argument about whether this ability is the latest and most superficial abstract achievement of the brain, or something that plays an essential role in the engine room of thought.

Dont you think, to digress for a moment, that formal logic is consistently over-rated in these discussions? It enjoys tremendous intellectual prestige: associated for centuries with the near-holy name of Aristotle, its reputation as the ultimate crystallisation of rationality has been renewed in modern times by its close association with computers yet its powers are actually feeble. Arithmetic is invoked regularly in everyday life, but no-one ever resorted to syllogisms or predicate calculus to help them make practical decisions. I think the truth is that logic is only one example of a much wider reasoning capacity which stems from our ability to recognise a variety of continuities and identities in the world, including causal ones.

Up to a point, Fodor might go along with this. The problem with formal logical operations, he says, is that they are concerned exclusively with local properties: if youve got the logical formula, you dont need to look elsewhere to determine its validity (in fact, you mustnt). But thats not the way much of cognition works: frequently the context is indispensable to judgements about beliefs. He quotes the example of judgements about simplicity: the same thought which complicates one theory simplifies another and you therefore cant decide whether hypothesis A is a complicating factor without considering facts external to the hypothesis: in fact, the wider global context. We need the faculty of global or abductive reasoning to get us out of the problem, but thats exactly what formal logic doesnt supply. Were back, in another form, with the problem of relevance, or in practical terms, the old demon of the frame problem; how can a computer (or how do human beings) consider just the relevant facts without considering all the irrelevant ones first if only to determine their relevance?

One strategy for dealing with this problem (other than ignoring it) is to hope that we can leave logic to do what logic does best, and supplement it with appropriate heuristic approaches: instead of deducing the answer well use efficient methods of searching around for it. The snag, says Fodor, is that you need to apply the appropriate heuristic approach, and deciding which it is requires the same grasp of relevance, the same abduction, which we were lacking in the first place.

Another promising-looking strategy would be a connectionist, neural network approach. After all, our problem comes from the need to reason globally, holistically if you like, and that is is often said to be a characteristic virtue of neural networks. But Fodors contempt for connectionism knows few bounds; networks, he says, cant even deliver the classical logic that we had to begin with. In a network the properties of a node are determined entirely by its position within the network: it follows that nodes cannot retain symbolic identity and be recombined in different patterns, a basic requirement of the symbols in formal logic. Classical logic may not be able to answer the global question, but connectionism, in Fodors eyes, doesnt get as far as being able to ask it.

It looks to me as if one avenue of escape is left open here: it seems to be Fodors assumption that only single nodes of a network are available to do symbolic duty, but might it not be the case that particular patterns of connection and activation could play that role? You cant, by definition, have the same node in two different places: but you could have the same pattern realised in two different parts of a network. However, I think there might be other reasons to doubt whether connectionism is the answer. Perhaps, specifically, networks are just too holistic: we need to be able to bring in contextual factors to solve our problems, but only the right ones. Treating everything as relevant is just as bad as not recognising contextual factors at all.

Be that as it may, Fodor still has one further strategy to consider, of course modularity. Instead of trying to develop an all-purpose cognitive machine which can deal with anything the world might throw at it, we might set up restricted modules which only deal with restricted domains. The module only gets fed certain kinds of thing to reason about: contextual issues become manageable because the context is restricted to the small domain, which can be exhaustively searched if necessary. Fodor, as he says, is an advocate of modules for certain cognitive purposes, but not massive modularity, the idea that all, or nearly all, mental functions can be constructed out of modules. For one thing, what mechanism can you use to decide what a given module should be fed with? For some sensory functions, it may be relatively easy: you can just hard-wire various inputs from the eyes to your initial visual processing module; but for higher-level cognition something has to decide whether a given input representation is one of the right kind of inputs for module M1 or M2. Such a function cannot itself operate within a restricted domain (unless it too has an earlier function deciding what to feed to it, in which case an infinite regress looms); it has to deal with the global array of possible inputs: but in that case, as before, classical logic will not avail and once again we need the abductive reasoning which we havent got.

In short, By all the signs, the cognitive mind is up to its ghostly ears in abduction. And we do not know how abduction works.

Im afraid that seems to be true.

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Conscious Entities

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It seems like a very abstract idea to think of being awake as something completely different than being conscious, but they actually are two very separate functions.

Just opening our eyes when it is time to get up each day gives us the impression we are mindful of what we see and how we feel, even if we may need a cup of morning coffee first to feel that way.

Then at night as we lay down to try to sleep, we may momentarily feel ourselves begin to lose our conscious state and we equate this with not being awake anymore. So, is there really any difference between the two?

When trying to define the idea of wakefulness and consciousness, the problem of subjectivity when it comes to things that each of us experiences and how we experience themarises.

If we were to look up the meaning of consciousness in any dictionary, the word included in its meaning that sets it apart from wakefulness is quality. So, consciousness can be said to have an added element of this within the scope of our experiences.

You can say that to be conscious is to function in a state of being enveloped in the content of life that surrounds you and makes you more than just awake but aware as well.

One of the most well-known experts in the study of the idea of consciousness is William James. He puts forth the idea that any state of our consciousness must have an element of analysis to it in order for it to be defined in those terms.

So, he believed that a conscious state was one that was a series of perceptions coupled with our thoughts and emotional responses to what we are experiencing and how we can control it and monitor it all at the same time.

So, as we monitor our surroundings, we are focusing our attention on specific things and using our critical thinking skills such as identifying a problem, assessing how to solve it, and then making a decision about how we will act on it.

This can only happen if it is coupled with an element of conscious control of our thoughts and ways in which we react to things around us.

This differs from just being awake, which is more of a scientific functioning of our brain. Being awake can simply mean that you are taking in some form of stimulus from the environment that you find yourself in or even your own internal thoughts.

According to Medical Daily, this is why there is some question about whether individuals who are considered unconscious while they are in a coma state can still take in external stimuli and actually are in some form of wakefulness but cannot physically respond to it.

For many years, individuals have performed experiments on themselves to try to understand consciousness and wakefulness. You can also try to do this on your own to give you a better understanding of the two concepts.

Pick an evening that you are able to go to bed fairly early but are also able to fall asleepquickly and wake up early enough in the morning that it will not be light out yet.

Make sure that before you go to bed, you close your blinds so that when you awaken the room will be completely dark.

Then, as you awaken in the morning, make sure to make a mental point of remembering the exact second that you felt conscious. Make up a triggerphrase like up now or even the word conscious and say it as you make this mental note.

Ask yourself in that moment: Am I completely aware of my surroundings or am I still a bit hazy from sleeping? If the answer is that you feel like you are completely awake, then the odds are, you awakened earlier but your brain was not conscious for a period of minutes until that moment you said the trigger word.

If your answer is that you still feel hazy, then you have probably experienced being awake and conscious all at the same time just as you said your trigger word.

If you experiment with this a half a dozen times, you will likely begin to feel that consciousness and wakefulness are happening simultaneously,and gradually your awake state will seem to occur before you actually became conscious.

This proves that, to be conscious, there must be an element of content (the trigger word in this case) added to the state of being awake. Think of waking up to the alarm on your phone; you hear it, and simultaneously are forced to be conscious by the sheer act of reaching and shutting it off.

If you try this, report your findings. I will keep a log of everyones results and report them in a blog in the near future.

You can also consider a brain supplement, which is not necessarily a bad thing to try, especially if you are tired constantly and dont seem to be able to find the time to practice some physical and mental exercises that will help you fully engage instead of just being awake.

Maybe you find that your job is so boring that by the middle of the day you cant help but begin to disengage in the activities you are performing and you are starting to feel like your co-workers are noticing.

Are there things you can do to combat restless nights that put you in a state of wakefulness in the middle of the night and conscious of every sound and every minute ticking away on the clock, only to go through a day of torturing yourself with trying to stay awake? Yes.

This is no way to function on a daily basis. There are a few things you can do to try and alleviate the problem.

Weve previously written on how to stay completely conscious and engaged at work.

Try any of those tips, or consider anover-the-counter supplement that will help you to not only stay awake and focused but remain conscious of your surroundings and effective in your activity.

Either way, you are taking the necessary steps toward achievinga way of life that allows you to be consciously involved in your most important moments.

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With the ancient science of Numerology you can find out accurate and revealing information just from your name and birth date.

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Awake vs. Conscious: How They Differ & Why it Matters ...

A Process of Metamorphosis to Realize Our Full Potential SelfThe purpose of the 52 Codes is to awaken us to the guidanceof our own Universal Self, the highest frequency of our being,so we can integrate these higher frequencies within ourselvesto become Whole Beings, Universal Humans ready for theevolutionary event or birth the actual emergence andgreater fulfillment of ourselves as members of a planetarycocreative society. ~ Barbara Marx Hubbard January, 2011

The key is to yearn with all the passion of your being for your own evolution, beyond the separated state. You must put this purpose first. This does not mean that there is nothing else in your life or that you become a hermit in isolation from others. No! It means you keep your attention on the highest frequency of your being and, to whatever degree possible, bring your Whole Being into harmony with that frequency. The purpose is to be able to live your daily life in such a way that you both lift yourself and others. You become a beneficent presence. Your own experiential evolution is the energy that evolves others and flows through your work with the fire of the force of life itself. The same force that brought atom-to-atom and cell-to-cell is now integrating you and radiating out to others.

Be compassionate with yourself. You are taking a monumental leap here and are evolving our species! This is neither a self- help course nor an effort to be better at what you already do. This is self-induced conscious evolution toward a new human and a new humanity, for which there is no full model yet. Through this process, you are modeling the Whole Being within your own imaginal realm and with two or more sharing this purpose with you.

This is not a linear process. Just like a toddler, you may return to the infantile state in a moment of pain or reactivity. Remember, we are all very young as Universal Humans. Yet, gradually, you will feel the metamorphosis taking place. When you look back on your former state of being, you will notice that there have been phase changes that are definitive and irreversible.

As you evolve beyond the human-creature, you naturally let go of your worldly self image and your need to have position and status in the existing world.

The existing world does not give status to you as a young Universal Human just learning how to be your Full Potential Self.

However, when the world community encounters a great being like Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, Lao Tse, Confucius or Gandhi they will transform whole cultures in their name.

Eventually, Universal Humans will cocreate a Universal Humanity, a culture in which all people are free to do their best and be their own Universal Self-incarnate.

Evolution creates greater consciousness and freedom through more complex and harmonious order. You are evolving toward higher consciousness and greater freedom in a world that is increasingly becoming more complex. Your flashes of freedom are actually awareness of your coming state of being as a new norm.

Surrender your illusion of separation and join whole-heartedly with the creative intent as it expresses itself personally through your yearning to cocreate and participate in the evolution of self and the world.

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Initiation through 52 Codes of Conscious Evolution

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In Buddhism one of the Three Characteristics is No-Self (the other two are impermanence and suffering which are closely associated with this). This refers to the illusion of reality having a permanent and separate self.

There is this notion that there is a permanent I or me, which is a separate entity that can be found. The obvious assumption of we are our body sounds good until we look at it and say this is my body, which implies at that moment that whatever owns the body wasnt the body. The observer and the observed; duality denies our body being what we are. It is also in a state of impermanence, and at a sensate level it is made up of energy flickering at a similar rate to reality.

Perhaps thoughts are the I. They may seem more like the true me than the body does. But they come and go and are changing constantly too, as well as the majority of them not being under our control at all. They too arent something solid enough to assume they are the I. The ego is a process of identification with reality (physical and mental phenomena), not a thing in and of itself; it is like a bad habit. Not being a thing, it cannot be destroyed as some people say, but by understanding our bare experience, our mind, the process of identification can stop.

There is also something frequently called the watcher or observer, which is observing all of these phenomena. Strangely, the watcher cant be found either, as it seems to sometimes be our eyes, sometimes not; sometimes its images in our head; sometimes it seems to be our body and sometimes its watching the body. It seems odd that this watcher to which all of this is being perceived by, which seems separate from reality and which seems in control of us is constantly changing and completely unfindable.

One of the biggest clues in solving this mystery is that if we are observing it, then by definition it isnt us. Reality is made up entirely of sensations, and to begin to unravel this mystery is to begin to awaken. Reality with a sense of a separate watcher is a delusion. So who or what is it that awakens?

In short, its all of this transience that awakens! Heres an explanation, keep in mind this is an attempt at summarising something quite complicated.

No-Self teachings directly counter the sense that there is a separate watcher, and that this watcher is us that is in control, observing reality or subject to the tribulations of the world. These teachings stop the process of mentally creating the illusion of a separate self from sensations that are inherently non-dual and utterly transient.

There are physical phenomena (everything we perceive with our senses) and mental phenomena (thoughts, feelings, emotions). These are just phenomena, and all phenomena arent a permanent, separate self as they are completely impermanent and are intimately interdependent. These phenomena arise and pass as we venture through reality, i.e. the sound of a bird singing comes into existence and then dissipates.

There is also awareness of these phenomena, but awareness is not a thing or localised in a particular place, so to even say there is awareness is already a large problem, as it implies separateness and existence of it where none can be found. Awareness is permanent and unchanging, and it is said that all things arise from it, and all things return to it. It could be called God, Nirvana, The Tao, Allah, the present moment, the Buddha nature or just awareness.

While phenomena are in flux from their arising to their passing, there is awareness of them. Thus, awareness is not these phenomena, as it is not a thing, nor is it separate from these objects, as there would be no experience if this were so.

True-Self teachings point out that we actually are all these phenomena, rather than them being seen as observed. As phenomena are observed, they cant possibly be the observer. Thus, the observer, which is awareness, cannot possibly be a phenomenon and thus is not localised and therefore doesnt exist. Duality implies something on both sides: an observer and an observed. However, there is no phenomenal observer, so duality doesnt hold up under careful investigation. When the illusion of duality permanently collapses in awakening, in direct experience, all that is left is these phenomena, which is the True Self.

Theres a great little Buddhist poem by Kalu Rinpoche that sums all this up:

We live in illusion and the appearance of things.

There is a reality, we are that reality.

When you understand this, you will see you are nothing.

And, being nothing, you are everything.

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One Buddha Teaching That Will Tell ... - Collective Evolution

Conscious evolution refers to the ability of the human species to choose what the species Homo sapiens becomes in the future, based on recent advancements in science, medicine, technology, psychology, sociology, and spirituality. Most leading thinkers in this area have focused on the conscious evolution of how we think, live, organize ourselves, work together, and address issues, rather than to biological evolution.

The idea of conscious evolution is not a specific theory, but it has loose connections to integral theory, Spiral Dynamics, and noosphere thought. It is also sometimes connected to the theory of the global brain or collective consciousness. One of the earliest uses of the phrase "conscious evolution" may be that of Mary Parker Follett in 1918: "Conscious evolution means giving less and less place to herd instinct and more to the group imperative. We are emerging from our gregarious condition and are now to enter on the rational way of living by scanning our relations to one another, instead of bluntly feeling them, and so adjusting them that unimpeded progress on this higher plane is secured." (The New State, p. 91)

Writers and thinkers on conscious evolution include Erich Jantsch, Teilhard de Chardin, Jonas Salk, Ervin Laszlo, Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, Bela H. Banathy, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Andrew Cohen, and others. Tobias Tripler made some important contributions in his widely appraised treatise "Common Sense and other Things Mankind has not yet achieved", Fnord, 1991.

Conscious evolution suggests that now that humanity is conscious of its history and of how things evolve (evolutionary consciousness), and given the rapid pace of change in society and culture, humanity can (and should) choose advancement through co-operation, co-creation and sustainable practices over self-destruction through separateness. competition, and ecological devastation.

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Conscious evolution - Wikipedia

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Think about a time when you did something or reacted to something and later realized that you might have been wrong or became upset at something because you didnt quite understand it. This is something we have all been through at various points in our lives. For some of us we can catchourselvesbefore this happens again in the future, and for others it continues to happen over and over almost as if we are not aware it. The reason it may repeat is because we often want to attach ourselves to certain belief systems because we may have been brought up with them or like what they represent. It is true that belief systems can be limiting and can often cause segregation, judgment, suffering and conflict. While it may not always seem to be the case, think of what happens the moment we decide to put all of our trust into a single system of belief, do we limit ourselves? Our ego enjoys creating an identity with these beliefs and in that identity, we give it power.

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The Importance of Conscious Awareness Collective Evolution

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Valerie Burke, MSN, Green Med InfoWaking Times

Imagine you could harness, at will, the mind-body connection responsible for the heightened mental states giving rise to creative genius, inspiration, bliss, mystical experiences, and possibly even enlightenment?

You may have noticed how sciences such as biology, physics, medicine, and even theology increasingly overlap, with energy and consciousness at the center. Energy medicine is revolutionizing our approach to health, as science gives us ever-increasing evidence for the inseparability of mind and body.

But what is this thing called energy? You may accept that it existseven welcome assistance by various energy healers from disciplines such as acupuncture, Qigong, EFT, Jin Shin Jyutsu and others. But do you understand exactly what theyre doing or how it works? If someone asked you to describe this energy, you might struggle to come up with a definition.Its not easy to wrap our heads around things we cannot see, hear or touch, and its even more challenging for scientists to quantify it.

An ancient concept called Kundalini provides us with a framework for understanding this nebulous idea, and Kundalini Yoga gives us a way to work with it. This article is Part 1 in a two-part series about Kundalini as an intelligent life force, and Kundalini Yoga as the practice that can help it awaken.

One of the first results of research on Kundalini, in my view, would be to show that the human brain is already evolving towards a higher predetermined state of consciousness, a state that has been the crowning vision of the mystics and prophets. Gopi Krishna

Kundalini Yoga is the most comprehensive of yoga traditions. The primary objective is to awaken the full potential in each of us. Kundalini Yoga helps us to cultivate inner stillness so we can truly listen, expand our awareness and achieve excellence in all that we do.

Kundalini literally means the curl of the lock of hair of the beloved, alluding to the flow of energy and consciousness that exists within each of us, enabling us to merge with the Universal Self.

Kundalini Yoga blends meditation and ancient mantras with physical exercises (asanas), hand positions (mudras), breathing techniques (pranayama), and sound (naad). All of these are merged into carefully choreographed exercises called kriyas that open up energy flow in the body, channeling it in a way that begins stripping away the veils of consciousness. This type of yoga balances and purifies all of the systems of the body, while at the same time calming and sharpening the mind.

Kundalini Yoga should not be taken lightly. One teacher describes it as an express train that shakes us up and wakes us up. The significance of this cannot be appreciated without some understanding of the nature of Kundalini.

Energy is like the wind, invisible but with visible effects such as waves on a pond stirred by a breeze. Chinese Proverb

Prana is the Sanskrit word for life force, the intelligent energy that permeates all living thingsand in fact everything in the cosmos. Just like we cannot see protons and electrons, we cannot see prana, although some can feel it shifting and moving through their bodies.

The human body has a mechanism by which an enhanced flow of prana reaches the brain via the nerves in and around the spinal column, and this mechanism is called Kundalini. Kundalini can be thought of as an intelligent live force channeling prana around the bodys intricate network of energy highways.

The chakras are part of this energy system and are described as energy centers, or transducers, that exchange prana between the physical body and the environment. Each of the seven major chakras is said to mediate a different level of consciousness with the outer world.

Kundalini is described in the Upanishads, dating back to the fifth century B.C., although the oral tradition dates back even further.

Kundalini is known in many cultures, including Tibetan, Indian, Sumerian, Chinese, Irish, Aztec, and Greek.

Kundalini can open the doors of perception to vast realms of consciousness and is at the heart of all spiritual experiences. It also explains the wisdom of the sages. It can be enhanced to improve health, awaken creativity, and achieve inspiration. The primary goal of Kundalini Yoga is to awaken (or activate) Kundalini, meaning increase the amount of prana flowing to your brain. Under the right conditions, this enhanced prana can lead to higher states of consciousness such as genius, psychic abilities and mystical experiencesand at its highest level, enlightenment (Shaktipat).

Many believe Kundalini is key in preparing the human species for evolution. The father of Kundalini research Gopi Krishna is quoted to have said:

Kundalini is a manifestation of a cosmic evolutionary energy that is biologically based in the human body and capable of transforming the nervous system and brain so they can support expanded levels of consciousness.

The goal of Kundalini Yoga is to awaken Kundalini and help you learn how to modulate it, i.e., turn it up or down at will. If Kundalini awakens too quickly, such as through very intensive meditation or yoga practice, an individual may experience spontaneous Kundalini episodes, which can be emotionally challenging and even manifest as what might be mistakenly diagnosed as mental illness. This results from heightened brain and nervous system sensitivity. If you begin a Kundalini Yoga practice, its important to proceed slowly, being mindful of any uncomfortable feelings or mental states that may arise.

Many physical symptoms and illnesses are manifestations of disrupted energy flow in the body. When done correctly, Kundalini Yoga is powerful medicine capable of producing widespread healing of both physical and emotional issues.

In Part 2 of this series, we will explore the evidence for Kundalini Yogas health benefits, looking first at how disordersPTSD, addictions, dementia and many otherscan be viewed as disruptions in Kundalini. We will also examine what the latest neuroscience and brain imaging technology reveal about how meditation, mysticism, and spirituality fundamentally change the brain. These discoveries are so profound that they have given birth to an entirely new branch of science called neurotheology.

Valerie Burke, MSN is a Clinical EFT practitioner and freelance health writer in Olympia, Washington, with backgrounds in both allopathic and integrative medicine and a Masters Degree in Nursing Science. Her areas of interest include nutrition and energy psychology, and integrating principles of holistic health to create balance in mind, body a spirit. Valerie is the author ofIs the Paleo Diet Right for You? You can learn more about her at http://www.valerieburke.net.

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If Consciousness is a Door, Kundalini Yoga is the Key was last modified: June 18th, 2016 by WakingTimes

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If Consciousness is a Door, Kundalini Yoga is the Key