It's all in your mind. A conversation about consciousness.

Most of us go through our lives in what might be considered a conscious state. Tonight we will be discussing the nature and the limits and limitations of that consciousness.

1. Where do you think consciousness resides?
2. What do you think happens when you lose consciousness?
3. Is there a point at which someone who lacks consciousness should no longer be considered alive? Where would that point be and why?
4. Is there a difference between “you” and your conscious mind?
5. Can consciousness be altered? What about people who have used mind-altering drugs or had a mind-altering experience or brain damage due to trauma. Does that change their consciousness?
6. Is consciousness an evolutionary mistake? Has it just caused us to draw apart from one another and away from a potential “universal enlightenment”?
7. Our consciousness changes (or ends) each time we sleep and we awake with a new phoenix-like consciousness from its ashes. Discuss!
8. Let’s say that reality is a fabrication, and that your consciousness is manufactured by the Matrix, and that somehow you have realized this to be the case. Would you take the the Blue pill and go on with your life or would you take the Red pill and see how deep the rabbit hole goes? Why?
9. “I don't believe that consciousness is generated by the brain. I believe that the brain is more of a receiver of consciousness.” (Graham Hancock) Discuss!
10. Do your thoughts have mass? Is that an argument for consciousness residing in the brain? Or is “thinking” different from “consciousness”?
11. What constitutes consciousness? Can animals other than humans be conscious? How about plants? How about insects? How about inanimate objects?
12. Can you be conscious and not alive?
13. Does your consciousness survive you after death? If so, how?
14. Do you think that we “gain” consciousness over time? Are adults more conscious than children?
15. Is there such a thing as “shared” consciousness?
16. Is ESP (extra-sensory perception) just a form of heightened consciousness?
17. In an age where more and more of our lives are lived in virtual spaces, and where we rely on "intelligent" computers and, increasingly, robots, will there come a point where these devices become conscious? What would it change if computers and robots were conscious? And how would we determine that they had gained consciousness?
18. Do you believe that your "unconscious mind" is real? Why or why not?
19. Why do you think that we dream?
20. What, if anything, is the difference between your "conscious self" and your "unconscious self"?
-=BONUS QUESTIONS=-
21. Do you think that courage is a conscious thing? How about evil? Why or why not?
22. What do you think "lucid dreaming" is? Why?
23. Can we change our consciousness by choice? If so, how and why? If not, why not?
I hope that you will join us for this discussion.
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Given the success of this format we are going to be continuing to gather via Zoom. We will be allowing up to 30 participants for this meeting and, after a brief introduction, we will be splitting off into virtual "tables" of six.
As long as you have RSVP'd before 5:30PM on the day of the event you should receive an email from Robert prior to 6:30PM giving you the Zoom meetup credentials.
*** PLEASE NOTE ***
If you are a member of Table Conversations and you didn't receive an email announcing THIS Table Conversations meetup then you likely won't receive the email with the Zoom information on the evening of the event. Please confirm that your Meetup.com profile is configured correctly by carefully following the step-by-step instructions in this link: https://www.meetup.com/tableconversations/events/270360456/
Otherwise, since I don't control Meetup's mail system, if you are not receiving notifications please contact Meetup.com for assistance.
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* Room opens at 6:45PM (often earlier) for socialization
* Discussion starts at 7:15 and finishes at 8:45ish
* Keep talking until dawn!