What is consciousness anyway? Should it make us more compassionate than we are?

News that the universe we live in may actually be just a simulation “Star Trek” Holodeck style brings into question, well, pretty much everything. It’s certainly an argument for agnosticism. But it’s also fodder for discussing our behavior, and specifically, how we define compassion. And whether or not it even matters.

The New York Times reports that in one possibility, we live in a computer simulation that’s based on the laws of mathematics, “According to this theory, some highly advanced computer programmer of the future has devised this simulation, and we are unknowingly part of it. Thus when we discover a mathematical truth, we are simply discovering aspects of the code that the programmer used.”

If it sounds like all the talk about circular time that’s in HBO’s “True Detective,” that’s kind of the point. “If such simulations are possible in theory,” notes the Times, “in time there will be many more simulated worlds than nonsimulated ones. Statistically speaking, therefore, we are more likely to be living in a simulated world than the real one.” Statistically speaking, of course. And what is the real world, anyway?

So, are we the result of the singularity Ray Kurzweil said we’re heading for? Has it already happened somewhere in the future and we’re being reverse engineered from a computerized point somewhere else in time? Could we be unreal in the most real sense? If we’re just living in a mathematical computer program, should that change how we think and feel?

That brings up the pretty big question about consciousness and compassion. And whether or not we have any obligations to “it” as it’s expressed through all life–and those seemingly inanimate things–here on earth. Because if consciousness is in essence, being manufactured from another point in time, it doesn’t just impact humans. It’s affecting everything on earth right now. One of the Buddhist Four Noble Truths states that all life is suffering. That would seem to be the case regardless of whether or not we’re “real.” Regardless of where we originate from or where we go. To live is to suffer. And that’s cause for compassion.

Christof Koch writes about this, specifically panpsychism, in the article “Is Consciousness Universal?” in Scientific American:

All species—bees, octopuses, ravens, crows, magpies, parrots, tuna, mice, whales, dogs, cats and monkeys—are capable of sophisticated, learned, nonstereotyped behaviors that would be associated with consciousness if a human were to carry out such actions. Precursors of behaviors thought to be unique to people are found in many species. For instance, bees are capable of recognizing specific faces from photographs, can communicate the location and quality of food sources to their sisters via the waggle dance, and can navigate complex mazes with the help of cues they store in short-term memory (for instance, “after arriving at a fork, take the exit marked by the color at the entrance”). Bees can fly several kilometers and return to their hive, a remarkable navigational performance. And a scent blown into the hive can trigger a return to the site where the bees previously encountered this odor. This type of associative memory was famously described by Marcel Proust in “À la Recherche du Temps Perdu.” Other animals can recognize themselves, know when their conspecifics observe them, and can lie and cheat.

But for most humans on earth, the animal kingdom is still seen as something at our disposal. We view consciousness from seated atop an illusory pyramid, when it appears it’s more likely that we’re actually just a blip along a straight line of (infinite) options. We have dominion, presently, because we’re the bully in the ecological schoolyard who thinks lunch money gives us eternal power.

Of course, making the case for unilateral compassion is daunting if reality isn’t what we think it is. If we live only because a mathematical digitized equation says we do, keeping giant whales in captivity or pigs in cramped cages for bacon doesn’t really matter in the big picture.

Except that it does.

“Whether it is a brain, a tree, a rock or an electron,” writes Koch, “Everything that is physical also possesses an interior mental aspect. One is objective—accessible to everybody—and the other phenomenal—accessible only to the subject.”

I defer to the film-making genius (seriously) of Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg in “This is the End” – where making an ethical and compassionate choice instantly elevates you to the eternal party in the sky. It’s just that simple: kindness trumps callousness, regardless of where we end up when we’re through with our human bodies.

But what about lions and sharks and Nile crocodiles, you say. They must kill in violent manners to survive. And what about defending ourselves, even against the ruthless attack of mosquitoes or wasps or fire ants? Certainly killing in the name of survival or self-defense appears to be justified. Even when it’s to prevent a mosquito from biting you on your ass. Still though, a “lack of awareness of the basic unity of organism and environment is a serious and dangerous hallucination,” said philosopher and author Alan Watts. “For in a civilization equipped with immense technological power, the sense of alienation between man and nature leads to the use of technology in a hostile spirit—-to the “conquest” of nature instead of intelligent co-operation with nature.”

We’re becoming desensitized to nature, and therefore, behaving unnaturally. But isn’t that natural, too?

In further explaining panpsychism, Koch writes that any system “that possesses some nonzero amount of integrated information experiences something. Let me repeat: any system that has even one bit of integrated information has a very minute conscious experience.”

To say a rock doesn’t feel isn’t as factual as simply saying that we can’t ever really know if that’s the case because we’re limited. We’re limited by our definitions of consciousness and our perception of reality. Because we can’t know what it’s like to be a rock. Really. The same can be said for the computer I type on. It’s clearly smarter than I am in most every logical way and yet I deem it a tool, a prop that’s unintelligent until I give it direction. (But  judging by how uncooperative it’s been ever since my daughter was born, I could go as far as to suggest that’s not the case, and that it’s even experiencing a bit of sibling rivalry. But I digress.)

Where consciousness begins, so does the quest to understand where it comes from. Perhaps we’re part of the future after it happens. Perhaps we’re all just seemingly separate points of consciousness experiencing every single possible viewpoint. Perhaps we’re the result of the Christian or Jewish or Muslim or Mormon or Hindu or Scientology or—insert your religious preference here—creation story. Perhaps we’re all something simply too impossible to understand.

But there is one truth in all of these scenarios: that we are all part of something. We’re all experiencing some form of consensus reality, and compassion would seem to be the most vital tool in our survival. Because we’re not lions. We’re not sharks. We’re not (apparent) characters in computer games. We’re humans who deeply understand the consequences of our actions. We can choose not to acknowledge the deep suffering a cow or a chicken or a mink experiences for our benefit, but we know it’s still happening. A true sign of consciousness is being aware of things we cannot or choose not to see directly at the present moment. Where we are, or how we got here, don’t matter in this equation–and it certainly doesn’t matter to those creatures we choose to have (or not have) compassion for.

Find Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

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ColumnTantra views life as an ongoing process of creation: an ongoing marriage of consciousness and energy at every level of existence.

 — Barbara Carrellas, author of “Ecstasy is Necessary” and “Urban Tantra: Sacred Sex for the 21^st Century”

If you asked a practitioner about Tantra back in the day, say 5,000 years ago somewhere in India, he might have responded thusly: “The first rule of Tantra is you do not talk about Tantra.” The complex mix of spiritual scholarship, worship, mantras, mudras, technique, ritual and study of divine energy that is Tantra was once steeped in secrecy. Becoming an initiate was not an easy task; think Frodo searching for and finding the ring, THEN joining Fight Club.

In the 20^th century, some Westerners got wind of the concept, turning Tantra into a cheesy mélange of Yanni CDs and creepy men desperate to worship your “yoni” at a retreat in a depressing Marriott ballroom. The worst accouterments of the New Age mixed with people trying to take advantage of you financially and otherwise: time to run for the hills.

Thankfully, that super tacky scenario is not at all what it Tantra is, according to my friend and teacher Barbara Carrellas. She’s made it her duty to make Tantra not just into a coherent concept, but into something we can incorporate into our daily lives, like yoga. It’s practical, it’s good for you, and it’s fun. As Barbara’s new book title, “Ecstasy Is Necessary” intimates, scientific research is beginning to show us how deeply our physiology responds to pleasure and orgasm: it’s not just nice, it’s necessary. That fundamental approach to feeling good with intention and without shame: definitely one I can get behind.

First, let’s dispense with some myths. Here are some false notions that popular culture has propagated about Tantra, culled from “Urban Tantra.”

• Tantra is a religion.
• It’s just for hetero couples.
• There’s no actual sex.
• It takes hours and days to do; if you’re short on time, forget it.
• You have to be a student of Tantra for years to get anything out of it.
• You must have a partner.
• You must have a guru.

If none of those things are true, what IS Tantra? The word itself means “loom” or “weaving” in Sanskrit. Tantra is not always about sex; it’s more generally about energy and consciousness. However, any Tantra practiced in the West is a form of neo-Tantra, and has often been associated with sexual practices. That’s why we think of sex when we think of Tantra, even though our 5,000 year-old friend in India from earlier in the column might have disagreed.

There is no single way to practice Tantra – there are no rules. Barbara says: “The art of living Tantrically is living authentically, consciously, and sensuously.” Tantra helps us expand our consciousness and experience ecstatic states of bliss; it’s a series of tools, methods and practices that enhance self-acceptance, self-love, and create focused awareness. It’s learning how to touch and be touched with alive, electric, conscious energy. It’s about taking the sexual experience far beyond what you’ve ever felt; dropping truly down into the body, being present.

“Breath is our single greatest source of energy and aliveness,” says Barbara, and I wholeheartedly agree. That’s why I think simple breath work is a great place to start if you want to begin checking out all that is Tantra.

If you practice yoga, you already know the power of breath. There are simple, non-erotic exercises in “Urban Tantra” for those who haven’t been initiated into the ways of ujjayi breathing, but we’re going to skip ahead to the juicy stuff here. Bottom line: the more you breathe consciously, the better and more intense your orgasms will be. Try this exercise from “Urban Tantra” when alone and then try it again the next time you get busy:

Heart Breath

Step 1: Yawn widely, opening the back of the throat – let your whole mouth and face stretch out – feel that and stay with it. That’s the feeling you want to have when you’re doing Heart Breath.

Step 2: Let your mouth fall open slightly with a relaxed jaw and face, and the back of your throat open. Breathe in through your mouth gently.

Step 3: Exhale without pushing out the breath – let it out with a sigh: you can say “ahh”.

Step 4: Keep taking in as much air as you can this way, make it effortless, and exhale.

Step 5: Keep Breathing.

A workshop with Barbara is a chill, down-to-earth event with someone that knows what she’s talking about and gives it to you straight. (It only makes it cooler and more comfortable that she’s hilarious and has streaks of hot pink running through her blond hair.) I’ve had lots of teachers – from yoga to writing to painting – and I can say that Barbara is a truly gifted one; she’s generous and present and endlessly knowledgeable.

Got a question for Stefanie? Email  stefanie at ecosalon dot com and she’ll answer it in the next Sexual Healing column.

Keep in touch with Stefanie on Twitter: @ecosexuality

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EcoSalon’s 30 favorite quotes about living in the moment.

Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present. – Jim Rohn

We seem to be going through a period of nostalgia, and everyone seems to think yesterday was better than today. I don’t think it was, and I would advise you not to wait ten years before admitting today was great. If you’re hung up on nostalgia, pretend today is yesterday and just go out and have one hell of a time. – Art Buchwald

With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

People are always asking about the good old days. I say, why don’t you say the good now days? – Robert M. Young

When one door closes another door opens, but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us. – Alexander Graham Bell

Nothing ever gets anywhere. The earth keeps turning round and gets nowhere. The moment is the only thing that counts. – Jean Cocteau

Forever is composed of nows. – Emily Dickinson

History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside. – John F. Kennedy

If you worry about what might be, and wonder what might have been, you will ignore what is. – Author Unknown 

Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present. – Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

Life’s a journey, not a destination. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Why not just live in the moment, especially if it has a good beat? – Goldie Hawn

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon – instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today. – Dale Carnegie

The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time. – Abraham Lincoln

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly. – Buddha

Life is available only in the present moment. If you abandon the present moment you cannot live the moments of your daily life deeply. – Thich Nhat Hanh

The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but thought about it. Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking. Separate them from the situation, which is always neutral. It is as it is. – Eckhart Tolle

History is more or less bunk. It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that’s worth a tinker’s damn is the history we make today. – Henry Ford

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own. – Matthew 6:24, The Bible

It is a mistake to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time. – Sir Winston Churchill

The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present – and I don’t want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future. – Audrey Hepburn

The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. – Abraham Lincoln

The future influences the present just as much as the past. – Friedrich Nietzsche

When I am anxious it is because I am living in the future. When I am depressed it is because I am living in the past. – Author Unknown

In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don’t try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present. – Lao Tzu

I just don’t want to live like I used to. And at some point, I’m going to put a gag order on myself in terms of talking about the past. I’ve got to slam the door and deal with the present and the future. – Charlie Sheen

In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time. – Leonardo da Vinci

Accept – then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. – Eckhart Tolle

It is sadder to find the past again and find it inadequate to the present than it is to have it elude you and remain forever a harmonious conception of memory. – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have. – Dale Carnegie

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