Hello, Cy, OMF II - Part 2

Check out this story: http://flip.it/kNjPsP
From Politics, a Flipboard magazine: http://flip.it/bWAGs-

Look, this guy Bannon is not messing around. He is a dark stain. He is the dark overlord. He captured Trump. He will capture the country. This surge of populism will not end until there is blood in the streets. The progressives will become terrorists. I'll join them. Ill Trump his nationalist revival of the 1930s. He's got some points. I like his brashness. Shake it all up. This is chaos they unleashed and they think they can control it. No more mind control. The best you and went for heart control. With China out there and Putin and South America, maybe Trump is what we need. Maybe they need to all duke it out and see whose you know what is bigger. Who the supreme prince of darkness is. What if these three are the coming bad guy's lieutenants? Or maybe trump is the prince. I'm going with the Chinese dude. Trumps small hands are a dead give away, this guy has the smallest Johnson on planet earth. Poor guy. The Chinese are infected with Wetiko as well, but I think within their culture is the seed of our salvation or a big part of it. They can snap out of it. Maybe Putin can too. Not the Jews or Americans. They will go down in flames. They will burn it all to spite the world. Bannon and Trump captured their hearts. They turned off their minds. They will make this a dreamland again. We will loose centuries. I'll cut his head off I will...with peace. You better get off your ass and do something. Now is the time when we see if you can dance. This shit just got real. I don't think I get to be happy sideline bumpkin. But what does a path of no resistance look like in a Trump world?

Some good advice from a Zen progressive, avoid attacking Trump with name calling, it will only fuel him. He will distract from his misdeeds with feats of personality. He is a genius, I’ll give him that or an idiot savant of human nature. He is so good at manipulating it, because he is pure shadow nature distilled and molded by non other than Roy Cohn! “Don’t say shit which sets off peoples’ lizard-brain defense of their tribe in such a way that they never hear what you have to say

Summarizing some of Jung's Seven Sermons. Don't ask me how I find these rabbit holes.

To learn to strive after your own Being is the ultimate gift of grace from the pleroma. We can not pursue our differences, though we are different by nature. It is a puzzle. We are free to make of ourselves what we will. Do you feel that? But this is only true by balancing opposites. That's how the pleroma does it. Are we just mimics? Echoes? We pursue thoughts from the pleroma which are illusions and not even descriptive of the thing thinking them through us. I can't tell if my freedom is a disease, an immune response, a mutation or quantum non-existent foam on the balls of the almighty. That last one would be a good poem title. God is not dead. God is creatura and quality of the pleroma. He is above us because he is less distinct than created being. He is also created. It straddles nothing and creatura. You can only take opposites from the Tao. That is why it is so tricky to use. Fullness and emptiness are qualities of the creatura and pleroma. There is a god above gods, Abraxas. Helios comes from sun. Abraxas is improbable probability. It is the effective itself. It is quantum physics! I read a theory that an alien could be in physics. It would always arise. It is encoded into creation.

And we flow from that. Our lives and thoughts ink for the great Master to paint onto creation with.  

Human consciousness is a new experiment. It's fragile and easily damaged.

Our will to do something is being blocked that results in anger and frustration. It's not channeled energy. This erodes faith. The card reinforces what I said this morning, don't resist or name call trump.

The creative energy is building

Where is the flow going?

We must open the sacred bundles we have been given. This is big medicine. Akin to finding and going through a portal. This is beyond me.  This is great spirit stuff.

Time to make a medicine bag.

Medicine for the Native Americans means the presence and power embodied in or demonstrated by a person, a place, an experience, an event, an object or a natural phenomenon. In some tribes, the word for medicine may cannote spirit, power, energy, or mystic potency. Try all of the above. Big medicine here. I have a kind of medicine for the world. Others do as well. This is not about me. If you can manage to save your soul in life and live a life of integrity and kindness, compassion and love the big medicine or spiritual potency will be granted to you. Then you can effect the world, act as so to bring things into existence. Medicine is good or bad based on the intent it is manifested with. Same for AI. It will be good or bad medicine in the right and wrong hands. It can't be in wrong hands. Wrongs hands can't use right things. Some medicine is natural. It is very natural in my family. We are strong with the force and all bipolar weirdos. Well, I put the opposites together. They met, did their thing and work together now, mostly. I invoked big medicine. I am big medicine. [That's the] part I understand. Good medicine is healing. I have sacred healing power here on tap. My gift, to channel something from nothing into being. What to do...what to do?

There was a young man who said, "God
Must think it exceedingly odd
If he finds that this tree
Continues to be
When there's no one about in the Quad."

REPLY
Dear Sir:
Your astonishment's odd:
I am always about in the Quad.
And that's why the tree
Will continue to be,
Since observed by
Yours faithfully,
GOD.

All my bags are packed
I'm ready to go
I'm standin' here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin'
It's early morn
The taxi's waitin'
He's blowin' his horn
Already I'm so lonesome
I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
'Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

There's so many times I've let you down
So many times I've played around
I tell you now, they don't mean a thing
Every place I go, I'll think of you
Every song I sing, I'll sing for you
When I come back, I'll bring your wedding ring

Three blind mice. Three blind mice.
See how they run. See how they run.
They all ran after the farmer's wife
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife
Did you ever see such a sight in your life
As three blind mice?

Three decrepit rodents. Three decrepit rodents.
Observe how they motivate. Observe how they motivate.
They all pursued the agriculturist's spouse
Who cut off their appendages with a culinary cleaver.
Have you ever witnessed such a phenomenon in your existence
As three decrepit rodents?

Three myopic rodents. Three myopic rodents.
Observe how they perambulate. Observe how they perambulate.
They all circumnavigated the agriculturist's significant other
Who amputated their extremities with a carving utensil.
Did you ever observe such an occurrence in your existence
As three myopic rodents?

“Therefore, the human being who can do without
God, lacking even the desire, that is no
human being at all. But if they are able to comprehend
God, that indeed could not be God. So,
the true lover is never free from striving, they
revolve restlessly and ceaselessly around the light
of God. And God consumes them, making them
nothing, destroying the veil of their reason.” We are all moths drawn to our destruction. We can not help it.

Similarity is one thing, comparison is
another. Although our mind cannot comprehend
that reality, yet how can mind abandon the effort?
If our reason gave up the struggle, it would no
longer be reason. Reason is that thing that perpetually,
night and day, is restless while thinking
and struggling, striving to comprehend, even
though God is unknowable and incomprehensible.
Reason is like a moth, and the Beloved is like a
candle. Whenever the moth dashes itself against
the candle, it is consumed and destroyed, but the moth is this way by nature. No matter how much
that consuming flame and agony may hurt, the
moth cannot fly from the candle.”

You have much fewer choices the closer to the flame you go. Your reason will evaporate.

You have much fewer choices the closer to the flame you go. Your reason will evaporate.

They say, “I am God” meaning, “I am not, God is all. There is no existence but God. I have lost all separation. I am nothing.” In this the humility is greater than being a servant of God. Servant of God are dangerous. Beware.

Until a person is drowned in the water, they do not know. I used to think baptism was a cleansing. I didn’t realize it was a ritualized murder.

That person is drowned when no movement, nor any action belongs to them, all their movements spring from the movement of the water. A lion was chasing a deer, and the deer was fleeing. There were two beings evident: the lion and the deer. But when the lion caught up with the deer, and the deer was overpowered beneath the lion’s clutch, and out of terror became unconscious and senseless, collapsing before the lion in that moment only the lion remained. The deer was effaced and no longer existed.

There really is no way to pass over but through death and after to be carried by your true spirit to the true reality where all struggle ceases and things become clear instantly. There is truly only One. But you may continue your mental efforts if you like.

“True absorption is when God creates in saints a fear. This is not the fear of men and women who are scared of lions, leopards and death. Rather, it is the fear of separation. This fear is a gift from God, just as security, pleasure and joy, eating and sleeping—all these are gifts from God. God shows the saints, while they are fully conscious, forms that only they can see. The inner form of the lion, leopard, and fire become visible so they will know that reality is not of this world,  True absorption is when God creates in saints a fear. This is not the fear of men and women who are scared of lions, leopards and death. Rather, it is the fear of separation. This fear is a gift from God, just as security, pleasure and joy, eating and sleeping—all these are gifts from God. God shows the saints, while they are fully conscious, forms that only they can see. The inner form of the lion, leopard, and fire become visible so they will know that reality is not of this world…Lovers of God, however, being absorbed in God, have come to know the Builder and have seen with the eye of knowingness. They have eaten bread and salt together, and mingled the two. The Builder is never absent from their heart and their gaze. Men and women such as this pass away in God. With them, sin is not sin, and crime is not crime, since they are absorbed.”

To know the Lover is to be destroyed. To smell of The Rose is to invite Death. You are asked which world you desire to occupy. It is an awesome question. Yes, you fear your separation from the image that catches your attention. You don;t want to move your eyes for a second. It’s beyond obsession. It is of no use to your cause, this awareness.

This is beyond causes and pain and suffering. God can do as It likes. It has and it will. We are loved though. It would listen to our ranting for 10 billion years. I never saw it like that. I saw myself as the flea, but instead all those words I read I experienced as pure Light.

To be absorbed is an awesome and devastating thing. This is the dynamo of creation I touched my tongue to. I’m not sure I was ready for this, but of course I was.

Do not fall in love with the vase for it is only here to contain the rose. We really have been bad little boys and girls.

We are the astrolabe to view the heavens with and creator beyond. You have all the tools within yourself to make the connection. What a counter intuitive quest, to seek your destruction, but it is the spirit within us that pulls us towards it while it tweaks the mind to resist and round and round we go.

And why all of this? Because we could not take it all at once, the game would be over instantly.

I am learning the art of absorption in the water. It is an art. We need this badly, each of us. I’m walking beside a friend now. When we begin to teach things change, we teach because we see the pain in the hearts that come to us and we have no choice.

We no longer plant our flag and wave it in front of everyone’s faces. We go inside and few come back.

God is one and the Way is one, there is no disagreement. None. Anywhere. One wonders then. Why all of this. The sun will shine without the tree there to receive its light. It had no need of us, of this. I see this is just the way it is. It is what it is. If people don't like it, well, tough. There is no separation. There never was not will be. It is grace to allow us to think there was a god to serve or servants to serve it.

Funny It allowed that. It is as if we are infected with a common delusion. There are forces who do not accept they are One.

It showed me Dan and laughed and sang while it did it

It removed all doubt

Even now I persist just a bit. Enough to be married and work a job and send emails, but I am utterly absorbed otherwise.

There is no disagreement between myself and others of the One. It is the same light.

We are United and serving a single task. There is only one king.  

All are doing Gods will. Interesting.

Reprobate and righteous. Neither ones deeds matter, only the heart. Why does It test us?

There is a universal principle of sinking a root against the wind

We are the root

Ironically we are called to be not gnats, but Sparrow-Hawks. That's a beautiful synchronistic. Black Hawks name as a boy was Sparrow-Hawk.

All people serve god. This world here now is the resurrection. We are all doing Gods work here now. This must be Heaven. What a beautiful way to see it.

There is a vast difference between fear and attainment. This is The Great Work. Some of us are close to God. There are stages of attainment and then there is absorption. We can get just a small par of the holographic truth and we can discover and guess the rest. Writing these words transmits the energy.

There is a vast difference between fear and attainment. This is The Great Work. Some of us are close to God. There are stages of attainment and then there is absorption. We can get just a small par of the holographic truth and we can discover and guess the rest. Writing these words transmits the energy.

The day approaches. I'm sitting in the dark waiting for it. We all are.

Last word from Rumi today…he doesn’t shut up…Jesus laughed a lot. John wept a lot. John said to Jesus, “You have become exceedingly carefree against all the subtle deceits, that you laugh so much.” Jesus replied, “You have become exceedingly unmindful of the subtle, mysterious, wonderful graces and loving kindness of God, that you weep so much.” One of God’s saints was present at this incident. He asked God, “Which of these two has the higher station?” God answered, “He who thinks better of Me.” In other words, “I come when you think of Me. Each person has an image and an idea of Me. Whatever picture he forms of Me, there I am. I fill that picture where God dwells. I care nothing for that point of view where God does not exist. Cleanse your thoughts, O human, for they are My abode and dwelling place.”  Now test yourself as to weeping and laughter, fasting and prayer, solitude and company, and the rest. Which of these is more profitable to you? Whichever brings you straighter on the road and gains you the greatest advancement, choose that task. Take counsel from your heart, even though others may disagree. The truth is within you. Compare it with what others say. When they agree, then follow that course.

I have the right most beautiful image of God right now…Its the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I have seen it within myself staring out of my eyes. Am I the luckiest person on Earth? If I am telling the Truth I AM.

I must be an external physician now until people's internal instinct is fully restored. So that's why a Shaman is at your door. The saints guided me to health and to you. I asked to see things as they truly are. Imagine what we will become together when the blinders are off and hearts have been strengthened! Now is the season of gathering. I was a Christian prophet stolen by the true heart of Islam, that heart is the same heart and light in myself. It doesn't matter where you start, you will have to give up belief at some point but then you find something bigger than anyone ever could have described. It can only be experienced. This must be revealed to each person, just for them. No one can resist the light forever. We are learning the sweet joy of unison.

Shrug It is a gift to see and experience this. Here we are growing on the Earth for no more purpose than singing, dancing and laughing before the sun in union. We have profoundly misunderstood the meaning of life. But we are starting to become aware.

They would use power for gain, where it's true use is to lift all together.

If ego does not take its hand from the wheel now, we will go through a time of great darkness. There is no more warning.

We need enough stillness to let Inner Truth pierce us. We are just midwives here.

The funny thing about this drama, there is no becoming. ALL JUST IS. So what are we talking about

"We ourselves are not an illusory part of Reality; rather are we Reality itself illusorily conceived." The window is open and we are free to fly around here.

Intuitive inspiration persists in the world-unlike prophetic inspiration, or the revelation of Gods law through a prophetic-spokesman-which ended with Mohammad. One could argue this, but I agree. Intuitive inspiration is what completes the prophetic. It's all connected, duh.

We are impermanent pseudo-determinations of the one reality. I have to believe each is a microcosmic experiment that hopefully produces fruit. To sustain the whole. Eat of my flesh. Remembering our origins now. I am here to be an interior-seeing guide for an exterior facing world. I keep feeling it will all come in a rush.

We are Reality itself illusorily conceived...love that. It was necessary to deceive. To allow faith to grow.

And be transcended  

All are servants of God, in every moment. He who labored for the dawn will not be disappointed. Fear becomes a surety. Who has the stronger surety? There are degrees. You are moved by apocalypse, I am moved by revelation. Do whatever it takes to advance as far as we can. We do this out of love for source and self, not fear, not for gain or power. If god gives its blessing one can do what many could. For those that realize everything is from god, everything is the same. Ignorance is no better than knowledge, but we are to move from darkness into light. There is a movement from dawn to darkness and darkness to dawn. There is movement, but there also can be a cessation to motion. Whatever notion of god we have is wrong, but yet to know your soul is to know God. It is the essence of things we are learning to see. In people, the world, ourselves, this same essence draws us. There is no hope but to become the Sun.

We once fought external powers, but now we fight them internally.

But the way to win is to yield and not push back.

I will never resist. I will push and pull when it feels right and the times are right. What more can anyone do in the dark waiting for the dawn who knows struggle only traps you tighter.

Summing some things up based on Discourses.

Who are the saints? What does that idea of saints represent? The saints are the mind of the collective body of humanity. When the body does not follow the mind, there is chaos. What Islam did was create a space where God could walk and talk amongst men unchallenged in the heart. The Prophet was misunderstood quite literally, as Jesus was. Our Beloved drives us from comfort as it did Jesus. We wear a robe of honor to be so pursued and protected by the maker of all things. If Reality was openly revealed there would be no further need of words. When the heart bears witness what need is there of the tongue? There is a need for each part of the whole, so wholeness can be realized. The tree that bore fruit is more valuable than the 100 other barren ones. One certainty is better than 100 doubts. I think Ben Franklin must have read Rumi. I see Rumi in his words. One could say there is a point to a tree compared to the Sun. The tree exists to give evidence of the sun, wind and water it grew from. Words are only glimpses of the subtle invisible essence. Our bodies are on the shore but our souls are of the sea. Rumi says the same thing over and over. Seek The Beloved, but never forget The Beloved is pursuing you every moment.

I take a little I find from everywhere. I'm painting a picture and polishing my mirror. I look into the mirror every now and then to remind myself it's not important. Things continue with or without me here.

There is something unseen speaking to us. It's calling us each to dive into the ocean of Self and dive deep in pursuit of something waiting for us at the bottom of your ocean, yourself. You can't hold your breath. How are you going to reach it with no air? You thought this would be easy?

When we are still, we can feel the motion of the universe inside of us and outside we can see it. Put what you see outside and feel inside together and what do you have?

Feeling synchronized with he Tarot or your inner intuition is a powerful humbling feeling. Your left asking yourself with the power of the Universe in your hands, "Shit, now what?".

You may have faith in your heart, but unless you share it through words, it is worth nothing. We are animals filled with words that come from our mouths or minds. The thing about losing your fear, the hope can go as well. It is put I us to reach higher than we are, though the Angels and animals are content to serve by nature, we struggle in between animal and spirit consciousness. In others, lust leads. Everyone else is in agony. These are the believers. I call them to the light as you do, others call them to their animal lusts. This is the truth, whatever you possess. Spend it in Our name, then Our grace will supervene. We were given an impossible task with no power but the breath of god to pick us up and drive us on. Our loving breath carries you on. I Love Our reflection more than gold in the mirror. Things are made clear by their opposites. God says it has no opposite. I was a hidden treasure and I wanted to be known. So a dark world was made for Its light to be known. And I sent my attributes into creation through prophets and saints. We are the theatre for the light of It, God. Soul flees possessions. It knows nothing finer than itself. He punishes us with riches. Try to explain that to the powers that be. If some of them understand this, they are truly saints. It is said westerners do not understand Rumi. He is not of course literal. I understand Rumi perfectly. He was a friend to all religions. All it means is I am part of God turning back towards us. Yay us. I'm not sure how far along things are. I am as limited as a piece of gold foil twisted into shapes. Not until we turn back en masse does the show end.

Like the Sufis, I have ecstatic joy as I am consumed every waking moment, as the fly. These are foolish people Just a fly in love. Arabic is a spiritual language. It's true heart is beauty and is veiled as everything is. Just from a secular perspective Islam is just a richer religion, it flows around God abs ourselves in union with It as opposed to the putrid watered down faith of the West. I see the beautiful heart hidden and veiled in the literal interpretation of the agonizing truth that we are animal and spirit. If God has blinded us, It can wake us up how and when It likes.

The Koran says, "If the sea were ink for the Words of God, the sea would be spent before the words of God are spent." It takes 5 drams of ink to copy the Koran. Therefore, the Koran is only a symbol of Gods knowledge.

Imagine what will happen when people find God's words written on their hearts. When the words are transcended and they see with a word God created all things. What event could replicate the joy, the splendor of the moment you see the true light within? Who could orchestrate such a thing? Only the heart of God. Blindness brings progress, when we see, time to get off.

What is the form compared to its meaning?

I see now it was God who dove into the ocean for me and u and when he grabs ahold of you you know it. You have described us like this. He comes for the pearls.  

Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch big fish, you’ve got to go deeper. Down deep, the fish are more powerful and more pure. They’re huge and abstract. And they’re very beautiful. I look for a certain kind of fish that is important to me, one that can translate to cinema. But there are all kinds of fish swimming down there. There are fish for business, fish for sports. There are fish for everything. Everything, anything that is a thing, comes from the deepest level. Modern physics calls that level the Unified Field. The more your consciousness — your awareness — is expanded, the deeper you go toward this source, and the bigger the fish you can catch. - David Lynch

You have to love the ideas you find down deep, feed it, bring it into being by your focus.

I am down deep here with Rumi. There is an idea here or several that are bubbling up. Kinda crazy.

From: Dan
Date: Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Subject: Vacation project
To: Kevin, Ron, John
Cc: Aliyah


Kevin,

I'm doubtful that you have been doing your homework on the BPWH.

The title of our project will be The Princess and her Wishing Well (ww).

If we had a ww, what would we wish for? Is there any doubt that we would wish for the best possible world (bpw)?

Besides the Princess, the cast of characters will include footmann, chicken little, John and Kevin.

The various characters will be introduced, along with their stories.


(continued.....)

From: Dan
Date: Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Subject: Vacation project
To: (I noticed that my bogus yahoo address was inserted here)
Cc: Kevin, Ron, John, Aliyah


(cont.....)

Basically, it will make no difference to me, whether a microphone or camera is present.... I just keep on blogging along..... old prophets never die.....

IOW, especially for the benefit of the west coast audience, there will be zero (0) scripting or framing.  Sorry, Kevin.  Any such editing will be after the fact, with no (0) up front copyrighting.   I'd be quite willing to sleep with an open mic, if necessary to get this point across.  The only thing that should matter to any of us is the akashic record.  That's the only record that counts, in the end.  


(cont.....2)


On Wednesday, November 30, 2016, Dan

It's come to my attention that various of us are randomly deleted from responses, even when the return addresses appear correct.  For instance, I've gotten none since the double send of Aliyah's.... 'Sorry to hear.....   My last one about John was a triple send.  Anyway......

Earlier, I was negotiating about editing, but it is becoming increasingly clear that there will be no editing rights.  All raw footage is made publicly available, with no copy protection.  

In return, Kevin has exclusivity wrt any contact with any other media person.  Agreed?  

While Kevin, or anyone else, is on the scene, they must be fully prepared to participate in any ongoing discussion.  There will be no hiding behind a camera, or anywhere else.  


(continued.....)


On Wednesday, November 30, 2016, dan wrote:

This is where John could come into the picture.  John and I could start a bar fight..... maybe a brawl.   We'll need Kashmir to referee.  No kicking allowed.  


On Nov 30, 2016 at 12:05 AM, dan> wrote:

What may be most difficult will be to speak with fellow passengers.  That's where a KWF business card might come in handy.  And Kashmir could play a part.  Talking to Christians will be particularly tricky.  But it's not like I've never practiced..... and been thrown in jail for the effort.  

I doubt whether a single passenger will have signed on for a lecture on theology.   Oh, well.....


On Nov 29, 2016 at 11:25 PM, wrote:

The central premise of the BPWH is that we did not emerge fortuitously, out of the mud.  We are here, gratis some vital force.  A generic vitalism would be animistic.  

But the force we all feel, at some level, is more than animistic, it is personal.  This is the main point of the BPWH.  Not easy to convey, but we will, somehow.  

It's late, now.  This mostly has to be spontaneous conversation.  There will be some editing, of course.  Maybe a lot.  We'll soon see.

(continued.....)  


On Tuesday, November 29, 2016, Dan  wrote:
Kevin,

I'm doubtful that you have been doing your homework on the BPWH.  

The title of our project will be The Princess and her Wishing Well (ww).  

If we had a ww, what would we wish for?  Is there any doubt that we would wish for the best possible world (bpw)?  

Besides the Princess, the cast of characters will include footmann, chicken little, John and Kevin.  

The various characters will be introduced, along with their stories.  


(continued.....)

But when you do a split-brain operation, a complete transection of the corpus callosum, you get clear evidence of two separate consciousnesses. Before that slicing happened, it seemed there was a single unified consciousness. So it’s not implausible that there is a single conscious agent. And yet it’s also the case that there are two conscious agents there, and you can see that when they’re split. I didn’t expect that, the mathematics forced me to recognize this. It suggests that I can take separate observers, put them together and create new observers, and keep doing this ad infinitum. It’s conscious agents all the way down.

Gefter: But if there’s a W, are you saying there is an external world?

Hoffman: Here’s the striking thing about that. I can pull the W out of the model and stick a conscious agent in its place and get a circuit of conscious agents. In fact, you can have whole networks of arbitrary complexity. And that’s the world.

Physics tells us that there are no public physical objects. So what’s going on? Here’s how I think about it. I can talk to you about my headache and believe that I am communicating effectively with you, because you’ve had your own headaches. The same thing is true as apples and the moon and the sun and the universe. Just like you have your own headache, you have your own moon. But I assume it’s relevantly similar to mine. That’s an assumption that could be false, but that’s the source of my communication, and that’s the best we can do in terms of public physical objects and objective science.  

Gefter: I suspect they’re reacting to things like Roger Penrose and Stuart Hameroff’s model, where you still have a physical brain, it’s still sitting in space, but supposedly it’s performing some quantum feat. In contrast, you’re saying, “Look, quantum mechanics is telling us that we have to question the very notions of ‘physical things’ sitting in ‘space.’”

Hoffman: I think that’s absolutely true. The neuroscientists are saying, “We don’t need to invoke those kind of quantum processes, we don’t need quantum wave functions collapsing inside neurons, we can just use classical physics to describe processes in the brain.” I’m emphasizing the larger lesson of quantum mechanics: Neurons, brains, space ... these are just symbols we use, they’re not real. It’s not that there’s a classical brain that does some quantum magic. It’s that there’s no brain! Quantum mechanics says that classical objects—including brains—don’t exist. So this is a far more radical claim about the nature of reality and does not involve the brain pulling off some tricky quantum computation. So even Penrose hasn’t taken it far enough. But most of us, you know, we’re born realists. We’re born physicalists. This is a really, really hard one to let go of.