Consciousness has baffled mankind for a long time. There are many philosophies and speculations that try to explain it but none have yet been verified with empirical evidence. What is becoming evident, however, is that consciousness is a function of the brain. In other words, it is created by the matter which constitutes our brain and is not, as many have speculated, a function of supposedly supernatural forces external to the natural brain.
There are many psychedelic drugs such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and dimethyltryptamine (DMT) which influence one’s thoughts and beliefs. Experiments with these drugs have shown that they can change one’s beliefs and ideas permanently.
Last April, the Imperial College in London launched the Centre for Psychedelic Research to study the effect of mind-altering substances. It published a report in the journal Scientific Reports. The Centre outfitted 13 volunteers with brain activity caps and injected DMT into them. There was a notable increase in theta waves which occur when one dreams. Researcher Christopher Timmerman stated: “It’s like day-dreaming, only far more vivid and immersive, it is like dreaming with your eyes open.” Robert Carhart-Harris, head of the Centre, said “the knowledge that the drug appears to produce something akin to waking sleep could help unravel the mystery of consciousness.”
Thus, the conjecture is that consciousness is getting closer to being elucidated in the foreseeable future and that the notion of consciousness is a brain function, needing a living material brain, is becoming clearer. Awareness and your identity depend on your consciousness and your memories, which are all functions of your brain. When the brain dies, the awareness dies, as we observe in Alzheimer patients. Without awareness, the afterlife is a moot point.
There are many psychedelic drugs such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and dimethyltryptamine (DMT) which influence one’s thoughts and beliefs. Experiments with these drugs have shown that they can change one’s beliefs and ideas permanently.
Last April, the Imperial College in London launched the Centre for Psychedelic Research to study the effect of mind-altering substances. It published a report in the journal Scientific Reports. The Centre outfitted 13 volunteers with brain activity caps and injected DMT into them. There was a notable increase in theta waves which occur when one dreams. Researcher Christopher Timmerman stated: “It’s like day-dreaming, only far more vivid and immersive, it is like dreaming with your eyes open.” Robert Carhart-Harris, head of the Centre, said “the knowledge that the drug appears to produce something akin to waking sleep could help unravel the mystery of consciousness.”
Thus, the conjecture is that consciousness is getting closer to being elucidated in the foreseeable future and that the notion of consciousness is a brain function, needing a living material brain, is becoming clearer. Awareness and your identity depend on your consciousness and your memories, which are all functions of your brain. When the brain dies, the awareness dies, as we observe in Alzheimer patients. Without awareness, the afterlife is a moot point.
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