A common theme in our ancestral mythology appears to describe a time when our experience of being, or our sense of self, was so profoundly different to what our typical sense of self is today, that it is almost impossible to imagine. The story goes that a divine and deeply interconnected self with extraordinary perceptual traits was slowly usurped by a new self. This new self was increasingly disconnected, deluded and perceptually limited, exhibiting progressively more primitive and aggressive traits (essentially the kind of traits we would recognise as part of being human today).
If our mythological history really does contain an accurate account of our origins and our descent into all-encompassing delusion, how could something so unexpected and extraordinary have happened?
One possibility would be the evolution or emergence of a process or ‘mechanism’ that creates a very different kind of neural system with a radically new configuration. For example, a unique kind of neural structure or architecture and an extremely complex neuro-chemical regime that in turn facilitated unique properties and perceptual traits.
So far so good.
Now suppose the new mechanism that results in a radically new neural configuration was potentially unstable and could frequently lead to a reversal of the mechanism and erosion of unique traits.
At first glance, such a scenario would seem rather convenient and extremely unlikely as current thinking is that any such changes would be locked into our DNA and therefore relatively stable.
However, one scenario that is increasingly well-evidenced provides a plausible process and powerful mechanisms with predictable outcomes, including a radically unique and accelerating change in our neural configuration as well as associated neural expansion without any change in our DNA. The very same mechanism is extremely vulnerable to failure and its reversal predictably results in a slowly accelerating loss of unique neural configuration, neural shrinkage and loss of unique perceptual traits.
What follows is an attempt to find a route through the overwhelming mountain of data, from basic biology through to the esoteric end of physics that provides both a map and pinpoints our current location in order that we can make choices about the direction we are taking.
According to the existing data, it appears that we have been chemically and structurally lobotomised to such a degree that we are almost completely blind to the nature and severity of our condition and completely unable to recognise who or what we are, much like a patient with progressive and serious dementia.
Such a catastrophic failure would require a huge interconnected body of evidence particularly from our collective behaviour and the neurological and psychological literature though such a massive failure will likely show itself in pretty much everything we touch.
The same evidence would also have to correlate with ancient myths and traditions. It appears such a body of evidence and correlations do exist however the real challenge is not evidence or lack thereof but the perceptual symptoms such evidence clearly predicts, specifically our extreme difficulty and psychological defence mechanisms when it comes to recognising our own delusion and denial. These symptoms need to be constantly factored in when assessing the evidence.
The route through the basic biology looks pretty solid if somewhat unfamiliar; towards the strange end of physics, the trail is less well marked but has been explored by those with minds considered greater than most.
The Paleoconsciousness page is primarily aimed at fellow consciousness researchers and enthusiasts, it is rather dense to more easily illustrate how some of the key pieces might fit together and provide some context. Context or the underlying reality of interconnectedness is something the neurological evidence tells us we find difficult to perceive in our current limited state (hence the emergence of reductionism).
I recently watched Black Summer, yet another tale of zombie apocalypse. Perhaps our cultures ongoing fascination with all things zombie is a sub-conscious projection of reality where a much more primitive life form has taken over, animating us and directing our meaningless and robotic behaviour and providing us with just enough awareness to convince ourselves that we are highly advanced as we watch ourselves parodied on the products of our high technology.
If nothing else it may help explain why we have turned ourselves into little more than production robots and consumption machines and defend our place on a spectrum or pyramid of existence that ranges from horrific at its base through to the utterly banal at its apex. All the while evidence continues to build that with minimal ‘treatment’ our neural system is still capable of providing us with a glimpse of who or what we really are that is so profound and perceptually expansive our current predicament is revealed for the self-inflicted nightmare it really is.