CONSCIOUSNESS

4. Physical and Biological Sciences 163
upon the nature of the phenomenal environment (both internal and external), by the level the
self identifies with, and by the depth of the consciousness. The depth of consciousness is the
deepest level the self is practically capable of identifying with. The levels, depth and degree
of embodiment of consciousness are all quantified in measurable ways. These concepts are
then used to present a mechanism for transcendence that tracks the changes consciousness
undergoes through contemplative practices (both locally in the course of a single contemplative
session, and over many years of steady practice). Some of these changes correspond to
well-understood phenomena in cognitive psychology, whereas others suggest what may be
considered unusual or anomalous properties of consciousness. In particular, we show that the
model predicts consciousness is capable of undergoing a transformation from the experience
of duality to the experience of non-duality. That is, the experience of non-duality may emerge
in the mind of the practitioner if certain necessary conditions are met. This experience corresponds
subjectively to the state of samadhi in yoga, the state of absorption wherein object
and subject become undistinguishable. According to the model presented here, the category
of states collectively called samadhi, have externally measurable properties (e.g. using fMRI),
and constitutes transcendence of the mode of consciousness characterized by duality. The
final section of the paper considers the implications the model has for a quantum theory of
consciousness. Specifically, we ask (1) whether non-ordinary states of consciousness such as
samadhi constitute states of entanglement between what is considered the subject of awareness
and what is considered the object of awareness, and (2) can the measurable properties
of the brain that correspond with non-ordinary states of consciousness such as samadhi be
characterized by large scale quantum coherence in the brain. P4
235 Topology of the Mereological Infinite: Modeling Human Resonance as Social
Networks Jeannine Davies, PhD(c), Zachary Jones (Saybrook
University, Vancouver, B.C. Canada)
This paper presents resonance as a measure within systems that structure the evolution
of consciousness. Rather than providing a merely informal measure, resonance quantifies
axiomatic formulae so that the part-whole relations within a designed system accord to the
ontological structure of conscious experience. The use of these formalisms derives a mereological
model with application to real life. Mereology, the theory of part-whole relations,
gives foundation to ontological modeling, and offers a bridge between essential Buddhist
principles, contemporary science, and disparate cultural languages. In particular, we will introduce
a software model with real benefits to the study of learning, inquiry on the nature of
mind, and as a means toward the acceleration of collective intelligence and higher human
potentials. Mereology maps coherence across processes of change, acting as the blueprint in a
‘fluid architecture.’ That which is old and decaying and that which is new and emerging flow
to and from and in and through a ‘thing’, yet its nature remains intact in so far as memory and
meaning forms an ontological coherence. Thus exists the tide of evolution. In these mixing
waters, the composition of properties, or a single moment, quantize as the site of resonance.
This site acts as a channel for mereological connection between areas of the broader ontological
terrain that were previously without conscious association. The principle of resonance lies
within a heightened feeling of significance, often intuitive, that phenomenologically occurs
within experience. A word or phrase, a person’s voice, a stanza of music, a movement, may
evoke the sensation of resonance. It is that electrifying and often mysterious moment of connection
that accompanies elevated psychological or somatic arousal. Anyone who takes notes
has a common experience with resonance. One may feel provoked to quote verbatim, circle
or underline something. Within a person’s expressions, regardless of written, spoken or other
medium of communication, lies the composition that forms the structure for their potential
insight and transformation. Our software seeks to model this specific structure through the
feeling of resonance that occurs within intersubjective space - that dimension of realization
that arises in confluence with another, even when one is not aware of the other, or is physically
or otherwise absent. Though functional in the virtual space of mind, mereological modeling
most often finds use by academics and philosophers. Yet people have practiced this model
since pre-history through forms such as mystical practices, meditation, dowsing, leadership