First Thoughts on Bruce

I have watched the talk "Biology of Perception", and it is confusing. But confusing in a good way. It is a talk that appears to be holding its arms out ready to embrace spirituality. The talk can be downloaded here or here It seems that Bruce has had the insight to see through the central dogma that the genes are in control, but then has a questionable approach to the brain. When I watch my mind starts reaching out to all kinds of possibilities. On a broad level it starts me to think about "what is", what is man? As opposed to the "how to" that I have been working on in the Treatise.

This is interesting because science and religion have always been considered different, for me the two personally don't meet and in society there is an uneasy alliance. This separation of course is a dilemma that in conception ought not to be happening. Starting from Bacon knowledge was divided - knowledge that could be ratified by logical proof and knowledge that required spiritual acceptance. In Bacon's conception both were seen as knowledge, but as time has progressed knowledge that comes from logical proof has been reduced to that of scientific method - primarily hypothesis, experiment, conclusion. For example this would exclude empirical knowledge such as acupuncture whose tried and tested methods have worked for millenia, but the veracity of the rationale for the efficacy of acupuncture cannot be proven because science cannot build machines that measure chi. Other empirical conjectures such as those concerned with meditation are not accepted by science because although it is verifiable by repeated methodologies - empirically, meditation cannot be "proved" , again because it cannot be measured using scientific instruments.

As time has progressed the knowledge that was scythed in two by Bacon's position has now been reduced to a scientific establishment that only accepts knowledge through scientific method and then relegates all other knowledge to "Faith". This is why the two fundamental scientific premises that are referred to in this Mandtaonic exploration are so important. The first one is the one that was happening as I grew up, and came to my awareness as Fritjov Kapra's "Tao of Physics" and Gary Zukav's "Dancing Wu Li Masters". In my 60s schooling I learned that fundamental particles were atoms with protons, neutrons and electrons. But earlier in the 20th century science was exploring the atom, and postulated that inside the atom were smaller partcicles. And then these particles became indistinguishable from energy, the motion within the atoms could not be determined as particular or energetic (wave-form). It is my understanding that such knowledge is now incorporated into the education system as quantum mechanics.

Lipton referred to all this as fundamental particles being energy, I am not sure whether that is accepted by the science establishment. Such energetic considerations are not accepted by the science establishment as chi, and this is something I have difficulty with. When we talk of kinetic energy, this energy of movement is accepted. There is an accepted notion of potential energy - "energy that hasn't happened yet", but such energy that hasn't happened can be used in calculations and scientific method - a postulated requirement of the scientific model. Why couldn't we hypothesise that there is energy all around and that we can tap into it? Such a hypothesis doesn't exist, and for science neither does chi, yet for many established religious systems chi or prana is a fundamental. When considering "what is" I need to re-investigate chi and its connection with energy as defined by science. Vibration?

This is the problem with people like Bruce reaching out, established method does not want to change. Whilst science can accept irrational concepts such as potential energy because it suits the realm of calculation and therefore fits in with the methodology, science does not accept chi - seemingly boundless global energy that can be accessed through energetic exercise such as Tai Chi or Chi Gung. After Chi Gung I feel invigorated but can I measure that energetic level?

In the talk Bruce was envisioning that what he had to say would become established science within 10-15 years. Will it? Science is not now driven by the enquiry for knowledge per se. Knowledge is now governed by those that pay for the research - primarily the 1%. This blatant control of knowledge is most obviously seen in the field of sustainable energy, especially those providing alternative fuels for the car. Whilst their research is of great benefit to the ecology and therefore humanity, it is marginalised by the influence of the oil industry whose profits would be slashed if sustainable power was introduced.

Perhaps the 1% will not try to marginalise Bruce's work, but the conclusions that follow from his dismissal of the central dogma of biology could open the door to healing of cancer and other degenerative diseases through mental signals of health as suggested by transmitting change to protein structures. If such a healing were possible the 1% are not going to be willing to stand by. What has happened to Gerson, macrobiotics, Healing Cancer from the Inside Out, Burzynski, cannabinoids and B17 where cures are suggested without providing BigPharma with profits? These potential cures are marginalised at the expense of those who could benefit - who could live or at very least not die the sad death of chemotherapy as with Farrah Fawcett.

But then is Bruce's position always sound? In this examinations of genes he discusses the assumption of the central dogma. As the brain is the centre of the human isn't the gene the centre of the cell? He then refutes the cellular hypothesis by pointing out that genes can be removed from cells leaving complete functionality whereas brains cannot be removed. Therefore genes cannot be brains.

Where is the brain of a cell?

But can brains be brains? What is the connection between brain and mind? Is it the brain that controls the body or is it the mind acting through the brain? What is mind? And then he starts looking into perception. Does the brain perceive or does the mind perceive? He promotes a complementary speaker, Rob Williams, who is looking at the "Psychology of Change" or here. Perhaps he goes into all this? We will find out.

To my mind academia leaves many of these questions intentionally unanswered. I blame the 1% but I blame the 1% for everything quite rightly. But what am I blaming them for here? Now that is difficult to answer. First science is basically used for profit-making. Therefore directing science into the search for profit through technological and weapons research can without any huge leap be attributed to the 1%. I would also expect the 1% to have encouraged research into particle physics as there has to be the potential for the generation of huge energy. And yet such energy would destroy the oil industry. Apart from BigCancer and BigPharma would science be that concerned about Bruce? But I feel more the 1% sponsor the status quo, because in the status quo the 1% have control, so perhaps I blame them little more than for maintaining the status quo. Mind you when you consider global analyses of war an climate change the status quo at the moment is pretty horrendous.

So apart from the status quo how does one connect spirituality with science? I suspect that is what HHDL's mind and life is aiming for. Meditation, chi, Unity, soul etc. Comparison of scientific method with spiritual understanding as different forms of knowledge - or just poles apart. We can "physically" measure the world we are in, but as we cannot measure that which is not physical the knowledge of that which is not physical cannot be accepted as scientific knowledge. Individually we live with these two forms of knowledge without achieving forms of integration into one knowledge. To me mind has created this schism, can it unify knowledge? "What is?"