There is a very unique phenomenon,

which remains, even today,

inexplicable by science and philosophy.

Furthermore, this phenomenon is so common,

that only few even notice

that it is exceptional and cannot be explained.

This phenomenon is called:

"experience"

Suppose we look at a rose,

and we experience the color red.

But, what is red?

Some may say: "what's the problem?"

Red is in fact light,

an electromagnetic wave

in the range of visible light frequencies,

with a frequency of about 450 tera-hertz.

But, is it so?

According to the prevailing scientific theory today,

an electromagnetic wave is actually

an electric field and a magnetic field

moving together through space,

while the strength of the fields

oscillates at a certain frequency.

You may have seen this illustration before:

An electromagnetic wave doesn't look like that -

this is only a graphic illustration

of the strength of the force fields

of a single beam.

The three-dimensional structure

of the scattering of electromagnetic waves

is more similar to this:

Only that in this manner

it is harder to illustrate the two force fields

and the relation between them.

Ultimately, light is just fields

exerting magnetic and electric force.

By the way, the reason we don't

see the light exerting force

on magnets or electrical charges

is because the field is changing

the direction of the force it exerts

so rapidly

that it practically cancels itself

for objects on a large scale.

However,

it certainly exerts force

on objects at the molecular or atomic level.

But,

since light is essentially

just forces of attraction and repulsion,

where is the Red?

And why is it that,

if we slightly change the frequency of the wave,

as in this example,

it causes us to experience blue,

which is a completely different experience from red.

At this point

there would be those who would say:

"The blue and red are not in the electromagnetic wave,

but in the brain.

The electromagnetic wave is simply the trigger

that activates,

through the mechanism of vision,

the experience of blue or red in our brain."

OK.

So we have made some progress.

We agreed that experience

is not a quality of the external world -

rather, it resides inside the brain.

So let's look for the experience

in the brain....

In order to do so,

let us look at a simplified computer:

It has a camera,

a processing mechanism,

a memory and a screen.

The electromagnetic wave hits the camera.

The camera sends analog electrical signals

to the processing mechanism.

It transforms these signals to a digital code

which is then stored in the memory.

Later,

the processing mechanism

retrieves the code from memory,

converts it into electrical signals

that reach the screen

and are converted back into electromagnetic waves.

Can we say that the computer

is experiencing red?

Probably not.

In this system there are: electromagnetic waves,

electric signals,

digital codes, stored in a magnetic or other medium,

but, nowhere can we find an experience of red.

What about the brain?

The brain is not much different

from the computer,

(except it has no monitor)

The light, hitting the eye,

turns into electrical signals,

which are sent to the brain.

There they are converted

into other electrical signals

or to chemical signals

that are actually various molecules of protein

used for transferring the information

in the neural process.

So, what do we have here?

Electromagnetic waves,

electrical signals,

molecules,

brain cells and structures -

that are essentially

also molecules of various substances.

This is a machine that runs on physical laws.

So, where is the experience of red?

Where is the experience of blue?

Where is the taste, the pain, the love?

I hope you understand what I'm talking about.

There is nothing in the known physical world

that can explain the existence of experience.

This is a very subtle distinction,

so I want to give another example

that might further clarify it.

When you take a picture

and save it to the computer's memory,

where is the picture?

In the computer's memory, right?

Not true.

There is no image in the memory of the computer.

In the memory of the computer

there is a binary code,

which is a long number consisting of the digits

0 and 1.

For example:

All the files on the computer are stored in this way,

whether they are images, music, text etc.

So, how can you claim -

that this number is an image?

It can equally be a text or music.

Indeed, this number is neither an image,

a text or music.

It is just a code.

Codes,

and virtually all information

are meaningful only in the presence

of a decoding mechanism -

a mechanism that has

the ability and knowledge

to take the information

and turn it into something else

- in this case, a picture.

Without a decoding mechanism,

this number is meaningless.

Similarly, everything in the brain

- its cells, its chemicals

or the electrical impulses in the nerves

- is just the interaction of forces

and physical structures.

These contain no experience.

They may serve as a code that triggers experiences,

but, where is the decoding mechanism?

Now we have reached consciousness.

Consciousness is the thing,

that makes the experience possible.

If you like, you can say

it is the decoding mechanism

of the brain.

Moreover, consciousness is the experiencer itself.

It is quite clear that there cannot be an experience

without someone experiencing it.

However,

the experiencer and the experience

are not the same.

As I said in the video "who am I",

the word consciousness is often used

to refer the mind or intelligence.

I use it with a specific meaning:

The capacity to experience…

to be aware of….

We can imagine consciousness as a blank screen.

On the screen we can project films

using a projector.

The projector is the brain.

The films are experiences:

cold, hot,

love, pain,

knowing how to make an apple pie

and so on.

They are what I call: the MIND

or the PSYCHE.

Where is the viewer?

The viewer is actually the screen itself.

The screen enables the existence of these films

and it experiences them,

but it is not the films.

Let us look at some features of consciousness

which can be found out by self observation

and logical thinking:

1) You cannot observe your consciousness

and the reason is

that consciousness itself is the observer.

It cannot observe itself

just as we cannot see our eyes.

We can only observe the thoughts,

the emotions and the sensations we have,

and conclude by that

what consciousness is.

It can be said that the consciousness:

needs the mind in order to know itself.

2) Consciousness is constant and unchanging:

No matter how many films

we project onto the screen,

the screen will not change

and will remain essentially blank.

This means

that no matter what we experience in our life,

our consciousness is NOT affected by it.

You may say:

"but if I go through a traumatic experience,...

...I continue to experience it...

...all my life".

This is true,

but it isn't your consciousness that has changed,

but rather, your memory,

that is, the mind.

This means

that the projector gets stuck on a tragic film

and continues to project it

onto the screen of consciousness

for a lifetime,

but the screen itself is still blank,

that is: content-less.

By the way,

remember the condition for the existence of the "I",

in the video "who am I"?

The "I" has to be constant everywhere I am.

And since consciousness is always with us,

and it never changes,

it meets this condition.

Wait a minute…

but if consciousness doesn't change,

then why are there people talking about

states of consciousness

or the evolution of consciousness?

In fact,

according to the definition I use,

these are states of mind

and evolution of the mind

which enables consciousness to experience

a more subtle perception of reality.

3) Consciousness is nothing that can become everything:

Question:

When does it happen to us

that there are no films on the screen?

Answer:

When we lose consciousness

- like during deep sleep.

It is not that consciousness is gone,

but rather, that -

there is no experience projected onto it

and therefore it doesn't experience anything.

Therefore, we can say

that, in its essence,

consciousness is nothing.

A void.

Another question:

what films can be played on the screen?

Answer:

Any possible films.

This means that consciousness can experience

every possible experience.

Therefore, we can say

that it can, potentially, become anything.

And indeed it can,

because there is NOTHING in our reality

that is not an experience...

- but,

I'll explain this statement another time.

4) The human mind limits the experiences of consciousness:

As we know

we can classify the human experiences

into three main categories:

Sensations - coming from the five senses,

Emotions - such as love, jealousy, anger, etc.

and Thoughts.