A Framework for Consciousness and its Interactions with the Physical World

Ashok K. AgrawalaProfessor of Computer ScienceUniversity of Maryland

Realms

Pure ConsciousnessMental + ConsciousnessPhysical + Mental + Consciousness

Primary Building Blocks of Creation

Active ConsciousnessEnergy

PassiveInformation

EnergyPhysical World Entities

Energy Mass EquivalenceForms of EnergyUse of Energy

To carry out any action requires energy of the proper formTo represent information

Forms of Energy

PhysicalMultiple forms

Potential energyKinetic EnergyThermal EnergyElectrical EnergyMagnetic EnergyGravitationStrong and Weak Nuclear

Mass Energy Equivalence

Mental/Etheric

Spiritual

These may have multiple forms also.

Consciousness

Consciousness Element (CE)Requires influx of Consciousness Current (CC) for it to activate

CE may become dormant if there is no CC.Consciousness Current may come from another CE and may also contain some commands/goals/directives etc.Basic Attributes

Awareness and Self-awarenessSelf-actuationIntelligence

Consciousness Attributes

Awareness and Self-awarenessCollection of all information that is accessible When this includes access to its own information that implies self-awareness

Self ActuationAbility to initiate actions

Typically in the form of changing information

IntelligenceAbility to map information to actions

Information

The common form for the term informationUses energy Access by active entitiesForms of Information

PhysicalA representation – does not have meaning or essenceAs arrangement of energy or matterCoordinate AddressableUsing physical form of Energy or MatterPrimary uses – by Physical Entities, through physical means.

Forms of Information

MentalContent AddressableUses Etheric/Pranic/Chi EnergiesAccessible to Mental ElementsDoes not contain meaning or essencePrimary user - Mind

Spiritual LevelUses Spiritual EnergiesMeaning and Essence Smooth Transition among Levels of AbstractionsPrimary user – Consciousness Entity

Physical Entity

Every Physical Entity has Energy or Matter as its physical componentEvery Physical Entity has an associated Consciousness Element All the information about the physical component is stored in higher realm and is accessible to the associated CE.

Basic Structure – Physical EntityThe interaction between the Physical Entity and its associated CE is through information – as the information changes so does the physical entity.A CE attached to a non-living physical entity does not have any intelligence or self-actuation capabilitiesA Physical Entity does not have its own energy generation capability

It interacts with other entities through available energy using the laws of their interaction.

Interaction of Physical Entities

As the Physical Entities interact due to the energies in and around them their information changesThe CE associated with the Physical Entities, which is primarily dealing with the information, changes as the information changesA Physical Entity may change if the CE associated with it changes the information.

Interaction of Physical Entities

All interactions of Physical Entities require external energies which are physical entities alsoAn interaction may trigger another interaction and if suitably arranged a long sequence of interactions may go on

Grouping of Physical Entities

Grouping of Physical Entities

When we group a number of physical entities the CEs associated with each still remain but an additional CE is associated with the group which maintains a link with each CE of the group membersThe Group CE may carry out a coordination function among the CEs of the group

Emergent Properties of Groups

The group CE has to make a CC connectionTo the CE’s of the groupTo external CE for actuation and receiving other directions

Depending on the composition of the group the abilities of the group CE may be more than what can be anticipated from the CE’s of the group members

Emergent PropertiesProvided by the external connection to the group CE

Downward Causation

Living Entity (LE)

A Living Entity typically consists of a large number of PEs A Living Entity has the ability of

Generating its own energy, and Carrying out actions

A Living Entity requires food and may discard waste productsA Living Entity has a CE which is the group CE for all constituent PEsThis CE requires CC connection to some other CE which may be outside the Living Entity

Living Entity – A CellA cell consists of a number of molecules of chemical elementsA cell has the machinery to generate energyIt carries out some actionsThe actions are initiated by the associated CE either directly or through CEs for some of the constituents of the cell

Living Entity – An OrganAn organ consists of a number of cellsThere is a CE for the organ which coordinates the functions of all the cells in the organ. CE for the organ has a CC connection with the CE for the body of which this organ is a partOnce the organ is separated from the body the CC connection may be lost

The organ can survive for a while as long as the “food” is available for itMay not be able to carry out its functions fully as the connection with the Body CE is missing.

Living Entity - Animal

An animal hasMany relatively autonomous partsSensing CapabilitiesAction Capabilities

Voluntary Involuntary

Much more complexSurvival requires quick action

MIND

Body, Mind, and Soul

Body Physical Entity

SoulConsciousness Entity

MindMental Entity

Mental Region

Animal Body is a complex entity requiring a lot of coordinated actions which require suitable control mechanismsThe actions can be

InvoluntaryVoluntary

When some living entities become large and complex and are capable of a lot of actions they require an intermediate level - MIND

Mental Entity (ME)Function in mental realmHave their own CEsMay or may not be associated with a bodyWork with information which is primarily stored about all physical entities of the body and related things in the mental realmCan initiate physical actions by influencing the information of the physical entitiesDerive CC connection from Body CE

MINDHas access to information stored in mental realm

Content AddressableHas local storage of information which is not accessible to any other similar entityHas ability to acquire information through sense organsHas ability to initiate actions through action organsHas some intelligence to translate information into actions based on:

Prior experiencesReactive instincts – survival…

MINDHas a model of the world around in its local storageThis model is learned through sensing, education, experience, etc.Functioning in the world is governed by this model

The model keeps evolving/changing with experienceThe access to information is limited to what is stored and even that gets restrictedHas the ability of some manipulation (processing) of information using learned techniques – thinking

Derives its CC connection from the CE of the Body – SoulSoul – the CE of a body, and the mind have a close connection

Pure Consciousness Realm

This is the realm of Pure Consciousness Each CE is capable of functioning in this realmThe information in this realm is with its meaning and can transition smoothly at various levels of abstraction A CE functioning in this realm may derive CC from the Universal Source (GOD)Soul has access to the pure information at this level

The access is governed by the degree of enlightenment of the soul

Human Being

A Human being has a body, mind and soulFor functioning in the world a human being has to carry out a lot of functions which are primarily governed by the mindEgo, which is a part of the mind, is primarily responsible for self-sustenance of the body, may block or restrict the connection to the soulMind has access to its mental information which it acquired. This may be different from the true information coming from physical realities etc.

Human BeingWhen a human being dies the body to mind and soul connection is brokenThe mind and soul connection still existsA lot of information the mind acquired and retained about its model of the world around is of no use and is discardedThe information which soul needs is retained and is available to the soul for the next birth. If the mind- soul connection is such that nothing is to be retained by the soul after the death, the soul does not have to go through any more births

Side Effects of Interactions

Interactions among entities usually has side effectsThe side effects fall in the domain of KARMA THEORYSide effects are recorded as information

For living beings the record is in the information associated with it

Concluding Remarks

All components of creation are made of consciousness and energyInformation – a virtual entity – plays the key role of “glue” at all levels

Its mechanisms for representation and access in mental and pure consciousness regions are yet to be discovered