Thank you Tom. This is a truly great piece of work, which I've saved as a Word doc — WebP images and all.
I've reused the Harrod Buhner passages in the Newcreate web page 'Intent: the radio metaphor' (https://newcreate.org/intent-radio-metaphor/), with a link back to this Substack.
I'm wondering if you know about the Japanese concept of Kokoro, which ChatGPT describes in this way: "Kokoro is a Japanese term that encompasses the concepts of heart, mind, and spirit. It reflects an integrated understanding of emotions, thoughts, and consciousness, emphasizing the interconnectedness of these elements in a holistic sense. In essence, "kokoro" represents the inner essence or true nature of a person, blending emotional and intellectual aspects seamlessly."
Where I'm unable to agree is around the topic of stories, which I regard as a product of the brain's left hemisphere: the menu, not the meal. Maybe we could discuss this over a beer or cup of tea if you're ever in the Bristol area with an hour to spare.
Oh wow thanks Jack! And I’d love to have that chat on stories. They have been my primary conceptual gateway to most of these ideas. I’m always around on email for a zoom chat: tomowenmorgan@gmail.com
Delighted to read your response, Tom. I don't do Zoom or Teams (hell, phone calls are hard enough) so I'll drop you an email. Apologies for the HTML in the first version of my comment — now fixed. I must discover how to include italics, bold, quotes etc on this platform. Very best wishes from Keynsham. Keep up the good work.
Another amazing piece. Thank you @Tom Morgan. Tim Ferriss had Craig Foster a couple of weeks ago (https://tim.blog/2024/05/02/craig-foster-of-my-octopus-teacher/), which I think is a great complement to this essay (alternative ways of knowing) and the podcast you suggested with Rupert Sheldrake. There is so much that reductionists like Ray Kurtzweil (and Yuval Harari, and Sam Altman, and Nick Bostrom) will never be able to understand, but feel they have the authority to discuss. Always refreshing to find voices like yours.
Found my way to your writing through Frederik Gieschen & Bhuvan's substack. You have really found some essential elements for these tumultuous times with your mission of waking the consciousness & curiosity.
On this specific piece, central neurally mediated syncope came to mind, in which for example, the eyes see a painful image, the heart interprets it, causing an exaggerated sympathetic activation, relays it to the brain, which then causes vasodilation and the syncope (losing consciousness temporarily).
Please keep sharing your thought-provoking insights. Thank you for your writing !
Any thoughts/research on the effect of heart transplants? Radical Wholeness has a striking story of how a heart transplant recipient helped solve the their donor’s murder with memories that “came from the heart.” From what I can tell, that is an urban myth. But it stands to reason that if our hearts are involved in our perception, swapping one for another would change us.
Ha great question- I went down a rabbit hole on this and the best evidence was on a pretty woo-friendly website. I tweeted about it and one follower got so angry they said they were unfollowing me unless I stuck to finance. So my guess is.. it’s probably true 😂.
Darn. Was hoping there’d be more out there in this. Maybe the effect would only be significant in cultures attuned to their hearts, where transplants don’t happen.
But also I don’t know what I don’t know. I suspect if it were true, like Ian Stevenson’s work on reincarnation, people probably dismiss their personal experiences of it because they don’t believe it to be true.
Brilliant piece as usual Tom. I feel there's an insight connecting these two passages:
'Artificial intelligence doesn’t have a heart. Therefore it cannot determine what’s relevant. You cannot ask it “what should I do with my life?”'
'If we are either blocked from feeling our bodies, or emotionally stunted in our communication, we will struggle to navigate our environment effectively.'
--
The more we block ourselves from feeling and harnessing the information in our bodies, the more we give way to powers such as AI to dominate us. And the more we will take away from our ability to maintain a more complete and multidimensional intelligence.
Myopic belief in head-centric intelligence leads to a self fulfilling prophecy because AI is on a trajectory to outdo us when it comes to brain-like functions, and unsurprisingly, these also seem to be left hemisphere functions. So it looks like we are limiting our own perceptions of what we are capable of, and handing the reigns over on a silver platter.
The need to recognize and revitalize the heart (and the body and emotions) as forms of intelligence is very urgent -- I really think you're onto something. This needs to be institutionalized into the modern understanding of human intelligence and where it comes from.
Great exploration and ideas here buddy. Excited to see you explore these topics in the coming months
Thanks man, you and your work have been so helpful. Think the idea of the pivot to love is huge and misunderstood.
Thank you Tom. This is a truly great piece of work, which I've saved as a Word doc — WebP images and all.
I've reused the Harrod Buhner passages in the Newcreate web page 'Intent: the radio metaphor' (https://newcreate.org/intent-radio-metaphor/), with a link back to this Substack.
I'm wondering if you know about the Japanese concept of Kokoro, which ChatGPT describes in this way: "Kokoro is a Japanese term that encompasses the concepts of heart, mind, and spirit. It reflects an integrated understanding of emotions, thoughts, and consciousness, emphasizing the interconnectedness of these elements in a holistic sense. In essence, "kokoro" represents the inner essence or true nature of a person, blending emotional and intellectual aspects seamlessly."
Where I'm unable to agree is around the topic of stories, which I regard as a product of the brain's left hemisphere: the menu, not the meal. Maybe we could discuss this over a beer or cup of tea if you're ever in the Bristol area with an hour to spare.
Oh wow thanks Jack! And I’d love to have that chat on stories. They have been my primary conceptual gateway to most of these ideas. I’m always around on email for a zoom chat: tomowenmorgan@gmail.com
Delighted to read your response, Tom. I don't do Zoom or Teams (hell, phone calls are hard enough) so I'll drop you an email. Apologies for the HTML in the first version of my comment — now fixed. I must discover how to include italics, bold, quotes etc on this platform. Very best wishes from Keynsham. Keep up the good work.
Another amazing piece. Thank you @Tom Morgan. Tim Ferriss had Craig Foster a couple of weeks ago (https://tim.blog/2024/05/02/craig-foster-of-my-octopus-teacher/), which I think is a great complement to this essay (alternative ways of knowing) and the podcast you suggested with Rupert Sheldrake. There is so much that reductionists like Ray Kurtzweil (and Yuval Harari, and Sam Altman, and Nick Bostrom) will never be able to understand, but feel they have the authority to discuss. Always refreshing to find voices like yours.
We couldn’t agree more mate. The Kurzweil essay was taken from one of my all-time fave essays: https://open.substack.com/pub/theupheaval/p/a-prophecy-of-evil-tolkien-lewis?r=2613wg&utm_medium=ios
This is beautiful thanks Tom.
"Love and do what you want" St Augustine/ Rupert Spira.
Exactly: as my friend Devin Martin says, radical self-indulgence is good for everyone.
Beautiful Tommy!
♥️♥️♥️♥️
Found my way to your writing through Frederik Gieschen & Bhuvan's substack. You have really found some essential elements for these tumultuous times with your mission of waking the consciousness & curiosity.
On this specific piece, central neurally mediated syncope came to mind, in which for example, the eyes see a painful image, the heart interprets it, causing an exaggerated sympathetic activation, relays it to the brain, which then causes vasodilation and the syncope (losing consciousness temporarily).
Please keep sharing your thought-provoking insights. Thank you for your writing !
Thanks so much and it’s really nice to meet you Prashant!
Excellent piece, Tom.
Thank you for taking the time to say.
Heartfelt thanks for this, Tom.
Any thoughts/research on the effect of heart transplants? Radical Wholeness has a striking story of how a heart transplant recipient helped solve the their donor’s murder with memories that “came from the heart.” From what I can tell, that is an urban myth. But it stands to reason that if our hearts are involved in our perception, swapping one for another would change us.
Ha great question- I went down a rabbit hole on this and the best evidence was on a pretty woo-friendly website. I tweeted about it and one follower got so angry they said they were unfollowing me unless I stuck to finance. So my guess is.. it’s probably true 😂.
Darn. Was hoping there’d be more out there in this. Maybe the effect would only be significant in cultures attuned to their hearts, where transplants don’t happen.
But also I don’t know what I don’t know. I suspect if it were true, like Ian Stevenson’s work on reincarnation, people probably dismiss their personal experiences of it because they don’t believe it to be true.
Brilliant piece as usual Tom. I feel there's an insight connecting these two passages:
'Artificial intelligence doesn’t have a heart. Therefore it cannot determine what’s relevant. You cannot ask it “what should I do with my life?”'
'If we are either blocked from feeling our bodies, or emotionally stunted in our communication, we will struggle to navigate our environment effectively.'
--
The more we block ourselves from feeling and harnessing the information in our bodies, the more we give way to powers such as AI to dominate us. And the more we will take away from our ability to maintain a more complete and multidimensional intelligence.
Myopic belief in head-centric intelligence leads to a self fulfilling prophecy because AI is on a trajectory to outdo us when it comes to brain-like functions, and unsurprisingly, these also seem to be left hemisphere functions. So it looks like we are limiting our own perceptions of what we are capable of, and handing the reigns over on a silver platter.
The need to recognize and revitalize the heart (and the body and emotions) as forms of intelligence is very urgent -- I really think you're onto something. This needs to be institutionalized into the modern understanding of human intelligence and where it comes from.