                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                   CHAPTER III
                                        
                                        
                                  CONSCIOUSNESS
                                        
          
          
          This  is  an  important chapter because it  deals  with  the
          quality  that  makes  us what we are  as  individuals.   Our
          consciousness.  The sense of being 'I' that we all  possess.
          Of  course, we are all aware of being 'conscious' but we may
          not be aware of what consciousness constitutes!
          
          As  to what really does constitute consciousness, well, down
          through  the years some very perceptive people have given  a
          lot  of  thought  to  that question  and,  inevitably,  they
          produced  a  very  large quantity of paper supporting  their
          views.  It was ever thus.
          
          Don't worry.  We aren't going to get into the subject in any
          great depth because in the first place I am sure you will be
          able  to  grasp  the  contents of this  chapter  without  an
          extensive background in the subject.  You can always read up
          on it at your local library later if you wish to do so.
          
          Among the various aspects  of  consciousness that have  been
          listed  by  researchers is, first of all, our  subconscious.
          Next is our normal every day consciousness (the mental state
          you should be in while reading this book!).  Then, different
          researchers  have  allocated to  each  of  us  a  number  of
          different states of consciousness such as the Id,  the  Ego,
          Super   Ego.  Super-conscious,  Deep  Mind  and   a   Racial
          Consciousness.  It's getting pretty crowded in there!
          
          Don't worry about all these aspects of consciousness.   Most
          of  them are of no particular interest to us and as a matter
          of  fact they are mostly different names for the same thing.
          So, for the purposes of this chapter we are going to take  a
          pretty  pragmatic position on what our consciousness  really
          is.  We have to do this in order to supply ourselves with  a
          working platform for the immortality concept.
          
          Assume  then  that your consciousness consists of  only  two
          different  aspects.  The conscious mind and the subconscious
          mind.  I believe we can all agree that our mind possesses at
          least these two dimensions.
          
          The  conscious  mind,  which is our normal  everyday  waking
          consciousness,  is  analytical,  rational,   reasoning   and
          logical.  It is what allows us to function normally on a day-
          to-day basis in the here-and-now in which we reside.  It  is
          the  conscious  mind that enables us to  interact  with  the
          society of which we are both a part and a product of.
          
          The   subconscious  mind  is  entirely  different,  although
          thoroughly  complementary.  It is the  rear-echelon  support
          system  for the conscious mind.  As such it does not possess
          any of the qualities and capabilities of the conscious mind.
          Rather, it supports and complements them.
          
          It  is  the  seat  of  the emotions and  the  storehouse  of
          information.   It  is  intuitive rather  than  logical.   It
          controls the vital functions.  It monitors and controls your
          heart  beat  and the circulation of the blood. It  regulates
          your   digestion,  assimilation  and  elimination  of  waste
          products.   It  transforms  your food  intake  into  tissue,
          muscle,  blood and bone.  It never sleeps and it  is  always
          available.
          
          In  spite  of these rather obvious differences in  function,
          there is at all times a constant interplay , an exchange  of
          knowledge  plus constant communication between the conscious
          and  the  subconscious.  Obviously,  in  a  well  integrated
          personality, there absolutely has to be, even if we  do  not
          fully  comprehend  the extent of such communication  or  the
          complexity of the subconscious itself.
          
          As  I previously stated, the subconscious is a storehouse of
          information,  but it is a lot more than just  a  storehouse.
          It  constitutes a means for gathering information,  storage,
          retrieval and dissemination of such information.  A sort  of
          biological supercomputer.
          
          Your  computer  stores external input onto a  disk  or  hard
          drive,  from  which  it is possible to  retrieve  that  same
          information at a later date. You do the same thing with your
          subconscious mind. The biggest difference between you and  a
          regular  computer is that the regular computer is not  aware
          and your subconscious very definitely is!
          
          The  following  is  an example of the subconscious/conscious
          cooperative mechanism in action.
          
          Your  initial exposure to an unknown substance or  situation
          may  very  well be fraught with danger to you as an  entity.
          Your  logical,  conscious mind very carefully  examines  the
          substance/situation.
          
          In  cooperation  with the subconscious, the experiences  and
          accumulated knowledge of a lifetime are brought to bear upon
          the substance/situation/
          
          Next,  an analysis is made based upon the safety -  value  -
          taste - tactile sensation - result - action taken - response
          - action required - inherent danger of, and a thousand other
          variables.   The substance/situation is then dealt  with  in
          the    best   possible   manner   as   indicated   by    the
          conscious/subconscious minds working in conjunction.
          
          If  the  substance/situation is lethal and the  analysis  is
          wrong, then the entity or organism (which could be you or I)
          can  come  to a pretty abrupt end.  Incorrectly  deducing  a
          possible  life  threatening  substance/situation   is   very
          definitely a no-no in terms of the continued survival of the
          entity or organism.
          
          We   will   assume   that   in  this   instance   that   the
          substance/situation is checked, analysed and examined in all
          its  aspects  and  the  analysis is  proven  correct.   Once
          accomplished,  the conscious mind advises the  sub-conscious
          that  this has been done and that any further deduction made
          which  is  based  upon the examination  of  this  particular
          substance/situation may be accepted as a truth.
          
          In  its turn, the subconscious accepts the evaluation of the
          conscious  mind without question and files all the  relevant
          information way as a 'TRUTH' for future retrieval.  Had  the
          conscious  mind advised the subconscious that this  was  not
          the  case,  then  the information would  be  filed  under  a
          'FALSE' tag.
          
          In    any    future    situation   involving    a    similar
          substance/situation,  even  if  the   conscious   mind   had
          forgotten   the  outcome  of  the  original  instance,   the
          subconscious would ensure that the conscious mind  would  be
          made aware of the initial outcome.  This interchange between
          the  two aspects of consciousness takes place at high  speed
          and we are for the most part unaware of the interplay.
          
          To  summarize, the conscious mind makes the initial decision
          that a fact is either 'TRUE' or 'FALSE' before allowing  the
          information to be filtered into the subconscious.  Once such
          a conscious decision is relayed to the subconscious and been
          accepted, the subconscious will act upon it (insofar as  the
          subconscious is capable of acting) according to  its  'TRUE'
          or  'FALSE' classification.  Such action may be immediate or
          at some unspecified future date.
          
          I  should point out that the subconscious does not appear to
          have  the  same concept of time as does the conscious  mind.
          Immediately  might mean the same thing to  both  aspects  of
          consciousness, however, I believe that a statement  such  as
          'At  some future time,'  might imply a different time  delay
          to  both.  The subconscious is quite literal.  You  have  to
          watch that!
          
          Anyway,   this   particular  role  of  the  conscious   mind
          (allocating  a 'TRUE or 'FALSE' classification  to  incoming
          stimuli) has been known for a long time.  It has been  named
          the Guardian, the Censor or the Critical Faculty and one  or
          two  other  names.  For our purposes we shall stick  to  one
          name, the Censor.
          
          The need for such a Censor is obvious.  Even today, life  is
          not  especially kind to our species.  It was even less  kind
          in  the  earlier  stages of our evolution as  human  beings.
          Without  such  a  protective mechanism we would  never  have
          evolved past being something else's next meal!
          
          So, what each and everyone of us possesses is a nice, tight,
          automatically functioning mental mechanism.  It governs  the
          incoming  information, grades and verifies  it  against  the
          standards of a lifetimes experience allocates it a 'TRUE' or
          'FALSE' status and then files it away for future use.   Fine
          and dandy.
          
          What,  then, do you suppose  would happen if this  mechanism
          were to be bypassed.  Purposely, deliberately and after  due
          consideration?
          
          Information  would  still  be  processed,  but  without  the
          cooperation  of  the conscious mind, it  would  be  randomly
          filed and should the situation remain like this, i.e.,  only
          half  of the mechanism (the subconscious) functioning,  then
          the organism would probably cease to exist fairly suddenly!
          
          If  the conscious mind were to be bypassed and replaced with
          an  exterior authority capable of making decisions  in  much
          the  same  manner as the conscious mind, then  any  decision
          made by this authority would be accepted by the subconscious
          as  'TRUE'  or  'FALSE' as indicated to it by  the  exterior
          authority!
          
          What's  the point of all this?  Well, the point is  that  if
          certain  information  can  be routed  to  the  sub-conscious
          classified  as  'TRUTH', and yet such  information  was  not
          filtered  through  the  conscious mind,  it  will  still  be
          accepted as 'TRUTH' by the subconscious and acted upon!
          
          The subconscious mind has the capability of controlling many
          of  the  functions  of  our bodies, right  on  down  to  the
          molecular  level!  Now you stop right here and  think  about
          this,  particularly  in relation to the  cellular  and  sub-
          cellular components of our bodies!
          
          It  means  that cellular and sub-cellular component  can  be
          manipulated by the subconscious.  Something already  governs
          cellular   component  behavior,  now  we  can  control   the
          governor!   Even the genes responsible for the aging  effect
          can be controlled.
          
          What undreamed of potential lies here!
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
