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What is Deus Ex Machina?
The original meaning of Deus Ex Machina is the god in the machine, or god of the machine. It refers to the machine, or crane, used to lower an actor playing a god onto the stage in a Greek drama.
The god often appeared out of the blue and provided a resolution to the dramatic crises that were the subject of the play, though not always…
Deus Ex Machina as divine intervention
Over time, deus ex machina came to mean “unexpected salvation,” which could be the result of divine intervention or at least a solution that appears out of nowhere to solve a problem.
In this article we are redefining deus ex machina, the god in our machine, as consciousness.
The content of this article is written from personal experience and to that extent I am qualified to say what I say, but I am not trained in science or mathematics nor am I fluent in metaphysical discourse.
The sole purpose of this article is, first, to offer a personal and experiential perspective on consciousness, and second, to offer some potential ways to explore, live, and develop your connection and relationship with consciousness.
Finding awareness through inquiry or experience?
What are the most appropriate tools to understand consciousness?
1. Understanding based on thought about consciousness.
Inquiry-based knowledge about consciousness: using reason and logic, scientific method, that is, systems of knowledge acquisition that use observation, experimentation, and reproduction to describe and explain natural phenomena.
2. Experience-based understanding of consciousness.
Knowledge based on the experience of consciousness: using the noetic understanding of the Greek noÄ“sis/ noÄ“tikos, which means inner wisdom, direct knowledge, intuition or implicit understanding…
“…states of understanding of the depths of truth unplumbed by the discursive intellect. They are illuminations, revelations, full of meaning and importance, all inarticulate though they remain; and as a rule they carry with them a curious sense of authority… .” [William James, philosopher]
Comments:
The traditional scientific and metaphysical approach to understanding consciousness is through Method One, it is based on thought and uses the intellect, rationality and logic, etc.
But what if consciousness cannot be fully known or understood using the faculties involved in the scientific method?
thought experiment:
Imagine if you were invited to attend a concert by a world-famous artist in a genre you are not familiar with: we suggest a performance of the ballet “Swan Lake” by the (Russian) Royal Bolshoi Ballet company performing at the Royal Opera House, in Covent Garden, London.
For the purposes of this experiment, he is deprived of all his senses except touch. You cannot hear anything, see nothing, smell nothing, all you have is the sense of touch.
I meet you after the event and ask you to describe the experience…
What are you going to tell me..?
Consider the following:
# Conscious thought is limited.
Human intelligence has serious limitations
# Our educated obsession with words causes us to confuse being informed with having experience of.
We confuse the world as it is with the world as it is thought and described.
We are like a person who eats the menu instead of the food.
# The double bind of language and articulation.
For all that we gain by being able to verbalize and articulate a direct experience, we lose an equal, if not greater, amount of the full meaning of that experience by the very process of articulation.
This lost meaning is exacerbated as the words we use to describe something are always heard or read within a context, a framework, a belief, and a language.
# The erroneous view that thought can encapsulate reality or truth.
Dogmas – religious, political and scientific, all beliefs – arise from the mistaken belief that only thought can encapsulate reality or truth.
# If we shift our focus to the meaning behind or beyond the words:
The meaning that transcends words.
The meaning that can only be fully grasped by experiencing it… then everything changes and divisions and barriers evaporate as we move beyond belief.
What if Method Two is the only way we can access the knowledge of consciousness? What if we can only know consciousness by experiencing it?
Concluding Remarks on Finding Awareness:
# Science and experience are not mutually exclusive.
# Rationality and scientific method – can be applied to the experience of consciousness.
# Is there Method Three, a way to combine both methods in a sequence that is most appropriate for the situation under investigation?
In the same way that the social sciences use qualitative research methods as well as the quantitative methods of “hard science,” can there be a mode of consciousness research using noetic insights based on experience?
Thus, a “multi-modality” methodology could be applied to consciousness research in this sequence:
- Noetic intuitions based on the experience of consciousness.
- Qualitative research on these perceptions and experiences.
- Quantitative research on aspects of qualitative findings, where this method can be applied.
Taking this step further, does this “multimodality” approach to consciousness offer us, as non-specialists, a practical and balanced approach to expanding our experience and understanding of consciousness?
Building a relationship with consciousness
As a way forward, I propose the following guidelines:
- You accept that the true nature of consciousness is unprovable both in terms of objective reality “out there” and subjective reality “inside you.”
- Accept that we will never get a definitive idea of the truth about consciousness and reality, so if you can accept this, then approach this in an experimental frame of mind.
- Take the middle path and try to maintain a balanced approach between rationality and spirituality in understanding and engaging with consciousness.
- By middle ground, I mean not getting drawn into extreme positions about hard science/reductionist perspectives on the one hand and “new age”/magical thinking perspectives on the other.
- Use your beliefs lightly, see them as guidelines and broad terms of reference to be reviewed and updated when your life experience suggests this is necessary, instead of regarding your beliefs as immutable certainties that you must defend at all costs.
- Move forward in a spirit of inquiry, adventure, and learning, taking note of your experiences mindfully and not rushing to judgment and jumping to conclusions.
- Share and discuss your experiences with others, ask questions, listen and learn, and extend this process to include the widest possible reading about other people’s experiences both past and present.
- Pay attention to people’s experiences in traditions and belief systems that are different or alien to your own. For example, you may not believe in God, you may not pray, but pay attention to the amazing life stories of people within the Christian belief system who have walked very close to consciousness and have seen and done amazing things. The same applies equally to other belief systems.
- Pay attention to the experience of people without a particular belief tradition who may have difficulty articulating their experiences because they do not have the language, the models of understanding and the framework to be able to express themselves clearly.
- Take an experiential approach and clearly test and observe your experiences with consciousness.
How do you relate to consciousness?
First you have to want.
How do you start?
Through the heart not the head.
The gateway to engaging with consciousness is not through the conscious mind, it does not involve your ego. It all starts with some form of inner drive. This is felt in your heart, not in your head.
I have personally found that regular meditation practice and continued mindfulness practice have created the space to allow this to happen. For some people, there is a sudden startling flash of insight like that experienced and shared by Dr. Edgar Wallace, the astronaut and founder of the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
For others of us, this is a more gradual and developing awareness.
I’ve written in some detail about my personal entry point into all of this, when I really started taking consciousness seriously in: Deus Ex Machina