The overall experience feels like balancing our five senses, reminiscent of a thief picking a simple lock—each component must be finely tuned to a "sweet spot." But how does our consciousness function and participate in this process?
Consciousness is diffused into our sensory experiences.
Based on the author’s exposition, the general framework can be represented by two flowcharts:
1. External World (Stimulus) → Senses → Consciousness → Mental Clutter
2. External World (Stimulus) → Senses → Consciousness → (Redirected to) → Senses
The first pathway culminates within our inner consciousness, allowing stimuli to accumulate without resolution. In contrast, the second pathway involves consciously redirecting awareness back to the senses, processing stimuli at the perceptual level. Through this collaboration, consciousness becomes more acute and lucid.
However, these diagrams are purely speculative. Does consciousness genuinely attain a relaxed state through coordination with the senses? Is consciousness evenly distributed across sensory modalities, or does it assume an optimal proportion and spatial arrangement, similar to formulating a drug or manipulating a lock?
What justifies the claim that consciousness enhances sensory processing to a state superior to ordinary functioning? Consciousness is not a physical organ. From a non-expert viewpoint, when senses receive external stimuli, brain regions work in concert to interpret their meanings (e.g., sweetness/sourness, heat/cold, fragrance/odor, beauty/ugliness). Concurrently, our self-concept (which, admittedly, I cannot fully elucidate but arises from neural discharges across brain areas) generates numerous thoughts and evaluations based on these interpreted stimuli. The deeper we engage in the analytical tendencies of the self-concept (proliferating thoughts and value judgments), the more we deplete cognitive resources (such as willpower and attention), while also destabilizing decision-making and emotional systems. The second pathway mitigates this by returning stimuli to their source, minimizing additional thought formation and judgment, thereby reducing brain resource expenditure—whether in attention or volitional energy.
Consciousness is diffused into our sensory experiences.
Based on the author’s exposition, the general framework can be represented by two flowcharts:
1. External World (Stimulus) → Senses → Consciousness → Mental Clutter
2. External World (Stimulus) → Senses → Consciousness → (Redirected to) → Senses
The first pathway culminates within our inner consciousness, allowing stimuli to accumulate without resolution. In contrast, the second pathway involves consciously redirecting awareness back to the senses, processing stimuli at the perceptual level. Through this collaboration, consciousness becomes more acute and lucid.
However, these diagrams are purely speculative. Does consciousness genuinely attain a relaxed state through coordination with the senses? Is consciousness evenly distributed across sensory modalities, or does it assume an optimal proportion and spatial arrangement, similar to formulating a drug or manipulating a lock?
What justifies the claim that consciousness enhances sensory processing to a state superior to ordinary functioning? Consciousness is not a physical organ. From a non-expert viewpoint, when senses receive external stimuli, brain regions work in concert to interpret their meanings (e.g., sweetness/sourness, heat/cold, fragrance/odor, beauty/ugliness). Concurrently, our self-concept (which, admittedly, I cannot fully elucidate but arises from neural discharges across brain areas) generates numerous thoughts and evaluations based on these interpreted stimuli. The deeper we engage in the analytical tendencies of the self-concept (proliferating thoughts and value judgments), the more we deplete cognitive resources (such as willpower and attention), while also destabilizing decision-making and emotional systems. The second pathway mitigates this by returning stimuli to their source, minimizing additional thought formation and judgment, thereby reducing brain resource expenditure—whether in attention or volitional energy.