THE EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE PHENOMENATHAT APPEAR IN THE STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Henry M. Vyner, M.D.

Center for Nepal and Asian StudiesTribhuvan University,

Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal

The Healthy Mind InstituteCrestone, CO, USA

Anyone interested in pursuing collaborative research within the paradigm for the science ofthe stream of consciousness presented in this paper should please contact Dr. Vyner athmvmd@mindspring.com. Dr. Vyner is interested in developing the science of the streamof consciousness by establishing a network of people doing research on the stream ofconsciousness and the healthy mind that would include academic psychologists, socialscientists, psychotherapists, meditation teachers, graduate students and so forth. He ishoping that the body of research produced by this network would become the foundationof a new field of scientific inquiry: the science of phenomena that appear in the stream ofconsciousness (SoSoC).

THE EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE PHENOMENA

THAT APPEAR IN THE STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Henry M. Vyner, M.D.

Center for Nepal and Asian StudiesTribhuvan University

Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal

The Healthy Mind InstituteCrestone, CO, USA

It is still taken as axiomatic, within the larger scientific community, that it is not possible to

empirically study the phenomena of consciousness. This paper demonstrates empirically – as

opposed to philosophically – that it is in fact possible to scientifically study one specific group of

these phenomena: the phenomena that appear in the human stream of consciousness. It makes the

case that science can study these phenomena by reporting the findings of an ongoing sixteen year

study in which these phenomena have been systematically observed, described and defined. In

other words, it demonstrates that it is possible to study these phenomena by reporting the results

of a body of research that has actually studied them.

For the last 16 years, the author has been interviewing Tibetan lamas at considerable length about

their experiences of their own mind in meditation for the purposes of: (1) developing a formal

descriptive science of the phenomena that appear in the stream of consciousness (SoC) and (2)

deriving from that descriptive science an empirically valid theory of the nature of the healthy

human mindi,ii,iii,iv. The science that is being generated by this work is a basic and applied science of

the phenomena that appear in the SoC.

Previous papers on this work have made the case that: (1) a valid empirical theory of the nature of

the healthy human mind must be a theory that is derived from a descriptive science of the

phenomena that appear in the SoCv (2) the phenomena that appear in the SoC are the dialectical

phenomena and processes of the mind -- the processes by which the mind knows and controls

itselfvi (3) the dialectical phenomena of the mind are simultaneously objective and subjective

phenomena6 (4) the human mind has two modes of self awarenessvii and (5) a healthy mind is a

mind that possesses the egoless mode of self awarenessvii.

The present paper makes the unequivocal and empirical case that it is possible to empirically study

the phenomena that appear in the stream of consciousness. It makes this case by: (1) presenting a

comprehensive descriptive science of the phenomena and processes that appear in the SoC and (2)

by demonstrating that the philosophy of science that is currently the foundation of the every day

practice of contemporary science will also support the empirical study of the phenomena that

appear in the SoC.

In general, the scientific world holds to the view, in both theory and practice, that it is not

possible to use the scientific method to directly study the phenomena of consciousness viii,ix,x,xi,xii.

Historically, science has taken the position that there are two classic impediments to scientifically

studying these phenomena: (1) they are subjective phenomena and, as such, are not amenable to

scientific study and (2) it is not possible to develop interpersonal verification of observations of

these phenomena.

Nonetheless it is, in fact, a relatively simple matter to empirically study one specific aspect of

consciousness – the phenomena that appear in the stream of consciousness (SoC). This paper is

going to demonstrate that it is possible to empirically study the phenomena that appear in the

stream of consciousness by: (1) presenting a formal descriptive science of these phenomena and

(2) demonstrating that the philosophy of science that currently supports and guides the every day

practice of contemporary science can also be used, without alteration, to guide and support the

empirical study of the phenomena that appear in the stream of consciousness.

EXISTING APPROACHES TO STUDYING CONSCIOUSNESS

Despite the fact that science has not yet found a way to empirically study consciousness that it

deems val id , there cont inues to be a v igorous scient i f ic interest in doing

soxiii,xiv,xv,xvi,xvii,xviii,xix,xx,xxi,xxii,xxiii,xxiv,xxv.

Indeed, there is much to be learned from finding a way to empirically study consciousness.

From the perspective of this paper, the most important reason to take up the scientific study of

consciousness is that there is a large group of vital scientific questions that are best answered

empirically by directly studying the phenomena that appear in the SoC v.

For example, the case has been made that given the nature of the scientific method, the only

way to empirically understand the nature, or defining characteristics, of the healthy human mind is

to study the phenomena that appear in the SoCv.

At the present time, two systematic approaches to empirically studying the phenomena of

consciousness are being actively explored. The first approach is that of finding the neural

correlates of consciousness (NCC) xiv, xv, xvi, xvii, xviii. The second approach is that of seeking to acquire

objective knowledge of the subjective contents and structure of consciousness.

Scientists are, at present, exploring the use of two methods that are designed to obtain

objective knowledge of the contents of consciousness: introspection xix , xx , xx i , xx i i and

phenomenology xxiii, xxiv, xxv.

The present paper is going to introduce a third fundamental approach to empirically studying

consciousness – the science of the phenomena that appear in the stream of consciousness. The

science of the phenomena that appear in the stream of consciousness is the nascent scientific field

that: (1) observes and analyzes the phenomena that appear in the stream of consciousness for the

purpose of (2) understanding the systemic processes of the larger natural system to which those

phenomena belong.

THE SCIENCE OF THE STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Science is the study of observable phenomena for the purpose of understanding the

mechanics of the objective processes that occur in natural systems viii, xii.

All natural phenomena, and that includes the phenomena that appear in the SoC, are

phenomena that participate in the objective processes of a larger natural system. The phenomena

that appear in the SoC are, to be more precise, the phenomena that mediate the processes by

which the larger system that is the mind accomplishes two objective functions: self-awareness and

self control vi, vii.

The science of the stream of consciousness is the field that studies these phenomena for the

explicit purpose of understanding the systemic processes by which the human mind knows and

controls itself.

In contrast, the other approaches to studying consciousness have not yet recognized that the

phenomena that appear in the SoC are phenomena that mediate the processes of a larger natural

systemxii. As a result, they have not followed the norm of scientific practice and studied these

phenomena as a means of understanding the natural systems to which they belong.

The science of the stream of consciousness studies the processes of self-awareness and self

control by: (1) observing and describing the phenomena that mediate these processes – the

phenomena that appear in the SoC (2) observing and describing the causal relationships that exist

between these phenomena and (3) deriving from these observations a body of theory that

describes and analyzes the mechanics of the processes of self awareness and self control. The tool

it uses to observe and study these phenomena is meditation i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii.

The science of the stream of consciousness defines the phenomena that appear in the SoC in

terms of their structural and dynamic form. This is important. It does not define these

phenomena in terms of their content. It is for this reason that the typology of phenomena being

presented in this paper is being called a formal descriptive science.

To give you a preliminary idea of what is meant here by a formally defined phenomenon that

appears in the SoC, here are three quick examples for now: (1) the involuntary stream of

consciousness (2) the dissolution of a single moment of consciousness and (3) the repression of a

thought or emotion. A comprehensive descriptive science of forty-one of these phenomena will

be presented in this paper.

The theory that is being generated by the empirical study of this group of phenomena is

reductionist theory. It is reductionist theory that describes and explains the processes by which the

mind knows and controls itself. This theory describes and explains these processes by: (1)

delineating the component elements of these processes and (2) describing the ways in which these

elements causally interact with one another to create the processes of self-awareness and self

control.

This theory explains the mechanics of the processes of self-awareness and self control by

reducing them to the psychological elements of which they are composed. It does not explain

these processes by reducing them to the material processes of the brain.

Finally, it should be stressed that the data being presented in this paper are but the early

findings of the science of the stream of consciousness. As such, they are provisional findings. This

early work of identifying the phenomena that appear in the SoC is akin to the task of finding and

describing new species in the fields of botany, zoology or physical anthropology. It will take years,

perhaps decades, of further study – of both meditating and non-meditating populations – to

establish a solid foundation for the empirical study of the phenomena that appear in the SoC.

DIALECTICAL PHENOMENA AND PROCESSES OF THE MIND

The theoretical position that the processes that appear in the SoC are the objective processes

by which the mind knows and controls itself is not a speculative position. The empirical study of

the stream of consciousness is demonstrating that the phenomena and processes that appear in the

SoC are the dialectical phenomena and processes of the mind (DPoM) vi.

The dialectical processes of the mind are the psychological processes by which the mind

knows, evaluates and controls itself. These processes are, like the cognitive processes of the mind,

universal psychological processes that appear in the minds of all healthy vi,xxvi,xxvii and

unhealthyxxviii,xxix,xxx,xxxi,xxxii human beings. The dialectical phenomena of the mind are, in turn, the

phenomena that mediate the dialectical processes of the mind.

Once it has been understood that the phenomena that appear in the SoC are the dialectical

phenomena of the mind, it also becomes apparent that they are paradoxical phenomena. They are

paradoxical in the sense that every single phenomenon that appears in the SoC is simultaneously an

objective and subjective phenomenon6.

On the one hand, every thought, emotion and so forth that appears in the SoC is a construct

that contains subjective content that gives meaning to the mind’s experience of both itself and the

world. As constructs created by the mind that attribute meaning to a given person’s world, they are

subjective phenomena.

On the other hand, every single phenomenon that appears in the SoC is also an objective entity.

They are objective in the sense that they are phenomena that participate in and mediate the

dialectical processes of the mind – a group of natural processes that are universally present in all

human minds. As objective phenomena, they are phenomena that can be empirically studied by

science with the scientific method. Herein lies the solution to the first impediment to scientifically

studying these phenomena – subjectivity.

The existence of this paradox also means that there are two kinds of knowledge that a human

being can and does have of the phenomena that appear in his or her stream of consciousness. On

the one hand, there is subjective knowledge of the stream of consciousness – which is knowledge

of the content of one’s thoughts, emotions, inner images and feelings.

On the other hand, there is objective knowledge of the stream of consciousness – which is

empirical knowledge of the natural processes that are the dialectical processes of the mind. The

descriptive science of the SoC that is being presented in this paper is objective knowledge of the

dialectical processes of the mind.

Finally, it should be noted that prior to the publication of the research being reported in this

paper, the scientific literature contained several descriptions of one or another of the dialectical

phenomena of the mind. This would include, for example, studies that described the following

phenomena: (1) stimulus independent thoughtxxxiii,xxxiv – which is equivalent to the phenomenon that

is being called the involuntary stream of consciousness in this paper (2) the “non-sensory

contents” of fringe consciousnessxxxv – which are being called meanings in this paper and (3) the

stream of consciousness itselfxxxvi. For empirical definitions of these three phenomena, please see

Tables I and II in the Results section of this paper.

OBSERVING PHENOMENA THAT APPEAR IN THE SoC

The notion of using meditation as a tool to observe and study the phenomena that appear in

the SoC is not by any means a new one. Buddhist scholars have been using meditation to develop

detailed descriptive phenomenologies of the SoC for over two millennia xxxvii,xxxviii,xxxix. Buddhist

psychology is, to the extent that it is a science, a science of the phenomena that appear in the SoC.

The basic structure of the mind's experience of itself, as one knows it in meditation, is a

situation in which the mental sense, or mind’s eye, watches the appearance and disappearance of

the phenomena that arise within its stream of consciousness xl.

The mental sense knows and is aware of the phenomena that appear in the SoC as sensory

appearances I, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii, xix, xx, xxi, xxii, xxiii, xxiv, xxv, xxxvii, xxxviii, xxxix, xxxx . It knows them in much the same way

that the eye is aware of visual phenomena and the ear is aware of auditory phenomena. This

means that the science of the stream of consciousness, like all scientific disciplines, is a discipline

that observes and studies sensory phenomena.

In the mind’s experience of itself in meditation, the mental sense is an awareness that stands

outside of the SoC. It can, from this position, make observations of the phenomena that appear in

the SoC. It is much the same experience as standing by the side of a river and watching that river

flow.

When the mind knows itself in this way, it actually seems as though two different minds are

present within that experience: (1) the SoC that presents meanings to the mind's awareness as a

temporal sequence of thoughts, feelings and so forth and (2) the awareness, or watcher, that knows

and responds to those meanings.

In the typology of phenomena being presented in this paper, these two minds are being called

the watcher and the stream of consciousness. All of the phenomena described in this paper are

being described as they are known and experienced by the watcher.

The central dynamic of intrapsychic experience is one in which two basic things happen: (1)

the SoC presents meanings to the watcher and then (2) the watcher knows and responds to those

meanings. The SoC presents meanings to the watcher in the form of thoughts, images, feelings

and emotions, and the watcher can and does respond to these meanings in a number of different

ways. For example, the watcher might repress an emotion, hold onto a thought or do absolutely

nothing at all.

Every single response that the watcher makes to a meaning initiates, in turn, a causal sequence

of events that determines what will happen next to that meaning. Different responses initiate

different causal sequences. For example, when the watcher represses an emotion, that emotion will

remain present in awareness as a mood. Or if the watcher attaches, or holds onto, an individual

moment of consciousness, it will have dual, as opposed to non-dual, awareness of that moment of

consciousness. And so forth.

In keeping with this analysis, the dialectical phenomena that appear to the mind’s awareness, or

watcher, can be divided into six basic categories:

(1) The structure of the mind’s experience of itself.

(2) The phenomena that appear as meanings in the stream of consciousness.

(3) The phenomena that appear as responses that the watcher makes to those

meanings.

(4) The causal phenomena: phenomena that appear in the stream of consciousness

as a result of the responses that the watcher makes to a given prior

phenomenon.

(5) The causal sequences: The causal relationships that exist between the watcher

and the stream of consciousness.

(6) The two modes of self-awareness.

METHODS

For the last sixteen years, the author has been interviewing Tibetan lamas about their

experiences of their own minds in meditation for the purposes of:

1. Developing a formal descriptive science of the phenomena and processes that appear in

the SoC, and

2. Deriving from that descriptive science an empirically valid theory of the defining

characteristics of the healthy human mind.

The science of the stream of consciousness sees these interviews as being situations in which

one scientist of the stream of consciousness is interviewing a second scientist in the field for the

purpose of recording two basic things: (1) the second scientist’s observations of the phenomena

and processes that appear in the SoC and (2) the theoretical conclusions that the second scientist

has derived from those observations.

A series of interviews with a given lama begins with the task of asking a lama to describe the

dialectical phenomena of the mind as he or she knows them from their own experiences in

meditation. The point of departure for these questions is the technical language of the Tibetan

mind science in which the lamas have been trained.

The technical terms of their mind science refer to specific phenomena that appear in the SoC,

and in these interviews each lama is asked to experientially, or empirically, describe these

phenomena and the causal relationships they have with one another.

Once these specific phenomena and processes have been delineated, it then becomes possible

to talk about the theoretical implications of their observations. To date, theoretical discussions

have focused on two main issues: (1) the defining dynamics of the healthy human mind and (2)

how to best cultivate a healthy mind.

RESULTS: THE DESCRIPTIVE SCIENCE

The findings being presented in this section are a formal descriptive science of the dialectical

phenomena of the mind as they appear in the SoC. They are being presented in the six tables that

appear after the references. Each table corresponds, sequentially, to the six categories of

phenomena outlined above.

CONCLUSIONS

This descriptive science of the phenomena and causal processes of the SoC, which has

emerged from sixteen years of lama interviews i, ii, iii, iv, is objective knowledge of the phenomena

and processes that appear in the SoC.

These findings demonstrate that it is possible to empirically study the phenomena that appear

in the SoC. It is possible to observe and develop a descriptive science of these phenomena. It is

possible to observe the causal processes in which these phenomena participate. It is possible to

derive from these observations a theory of the mechanisms by which the mind knows and controls

itself vi, vii.

These findings also demonstrate that it is possible for two human beings to compare and verify

their observations of the phenomena that appear in the SoC. In fact, that is what these interviews

are all about.

It has long been held that given that two people can not simultaneously observe the

phenomena that appear in one person’s mind, science can not properly study the phenomena of

consciousness. The idea, of course, is that if it is not possible for two scientists to simultaneously

observe a phenomenon, that interpersonal verification of their observations is not possible.

Nonetheless, interpersonal verification is possible. Interpersonal verification can be achieved

between scientists within the science of the stream of consciousness through dialogue, just as it is

in all of the other scientific disciplines. After all, in the usual course of the practice of science,

scientists do not visit one another's laboratories and watch each other work to achieve the

verification of observations. Interpersonal verification is usually achieved by the replication of

work and through the sharing and comparing of findings.

In this way, the epistemological structure of the science of the stream of consciousness is

analogous, for example, to the epistemological structure of the field of elementary particle physics.

Most of us do not know how to use particle accelerators, or how to interpret the events that occur

in gas diffusion chambers. Nonetheless, we trust the findings of those physicists who are using

these instruments because we know that there is a community of scientists working together in

that field who can and do check the validity of one another's work.

The situation will be much the same in a community of scientists using meditation as a research

tool. It will be the dialogue that occurs between people within the field that will establish the

validity or invalidity of a piece of research.

Descriptive psychologists, like scientists in any other field, will assess the validity of one

another’s findings by replicating research and by discussing their work with one another. They will

share their findings in journals and at conferences, and in that way validity and consensus can and

will be established.

In closing, I would like to reiterate that the most compelling reason to study the SoC is that it

will open the door to empirically studying a number of interesting and important questions about

the dialectical processes of the mind. For example:

What are the defining characteristics of a healthy mind?

(1) What is the best way to cultivate a healthy mind?

(2) Is it possible to prevent mental illness by cultivating a healthy mind?

(3) Is it possible to treat psychiatric illness by restoring the mind to its healthy state – just as we

return the body to its healthy state in somatic medicine?

(4) What is the function of the stream of consciousness?

(5) What are the neurobiological correlates of the phenomena that appear in the stream of

consciousness?

(6) How do the various mind-rituals – e.g. cognitive psychotherapy, hypnosis, meditation or the

Kalahari Kung Fire Dance – change the structural and dynamic properties of the mind5?

(7) Does the pharmacological and/or behavioural treatment of psychiatric symptoms make the

mind a healthier mind?

The perspective of the field of the science of the stream of consciousness is that it will, of

course, take time to convince the larger scientific community that it is possible to empirically study

the phenomena that appear in the SoC. Given the history of science and psychology as we now

receive it, it is easy to understand that this may well be the case.

The best way to go forward with the task of demonstrating that the science of the

stream of consciousness is a valid science is to simply go ahead and do the work. If it is

good and useful scientific work, it will stand. If it is not, the scientific community will reject

it. It is in this spirit that the data in this paper is being been presented.

Table I. The Structure of Mind’s Experience of Itself

Type ofPhenomenon

Description of Phenomenon

Experientialduality

The experience of watching one's mind and having the impression that two differentminds are present within that experience: (a) the stream of consciousness (SoC) and(b) the awareness that knows the SoC.

Stream ofConsciousness

The temporal sequence of meanings – thoughts, images, emotions and feelings – thatappear within the mind. The SoC is the medium by which the mind presentsmeanings to its own awareness in conscious form.

Watcher

The watcher is the awareness that knows the phenomena that appear in its stream ofconsciousness. The watcher experiences itself as being the active agent of the mind.It is the active agent in the sense that it experiences itself as being the entity thatknows and responds to both the world and to the phenomena, or meanings, thatappear in its stream of consciousness.

Table II. Meanings

Type ofPhenomenon

Description of Phenomenon

Meaning

Any construct that the mind creates, in response to its experience, that createsintention. The mind creates both dual and nondual meanings. Only dual meaningsare described in this paper, and that includes the involuntary stream ofconsciousness, individual moments of consciousness and the mind films.

InvoluntaryStream of

Consciousness(ISoC)

A film-like sequence of thoughts and images that tends to be a constant presence inthe egocentric mind's experience of itself. The ISoC is involuntary in the sense thatthe watcher experiences itself as not being in control of either the appearance,disappearance, or content of the ISoC.

Moment ofConsciousness

(MoC)

Any single mental event that appears for an instant in the SoC and thenimmediately dissolves and disappears. Usually there is a cessation of thoughts aftera MoC dissolves. A MoC might be a single thought, image, emotion or feeling. AMoC arises as a response to, and to give meaning to, one specific experience.

Mind Film

A recurring cycle of ISoC thoughts that creates a narrative within the mind. Theegocentric mind has a small repertoire of recurring films, and each film tells onetype of story over and over again. The mind films tend to be active within the mindfor long periods of time, and as a result, they give contextual narrative meaning tolarge swaths of the mind’s experience of both itself and the world. They do notappear for the purpose of giving meaning to one specific experience. When thesefilms are active within the mind, the mind tends to live in the narratives they create.

Voluntary Streamof Consciousness

(VSoC) A stream of thoughts that the watcher experiences as being under its voluntarycontrol. The watcher experiences itself as both creating the VSoC and ascontrolling its appearance, disappearance and content.

Cessation The complete disappearance of the ISoC from the stream of consciousness.

Diminution An observable decrease in the experienced velocity and intensity of the ISoC.

Table III. Responses

Type ofPhenomenon

Description of Phenomenon

Grasping

Any response that the watcher makes to a meaning that causes the watcher to have dualawareness of that meaning. The egocentric watcher can and does make four differenttypes of grasping response to the phenomena that appear in its stream ofconsciousness: judgment, repression, attachment and following.

Judgment

A type of grasping behavior in which the watcher judges a meaning that has appearedin its stream of consciousness. The egocentric watcher gives positive judgments tomeanings that it likes, and these judgments appear in the SoC as positive emotions. Itgives negative judgments to meanings that it does not like, and these judgments appearin the SoC as negative emotions.

Repression A type of grasping behavior in which the watcher tries to prevent itself from becomingaware of and/or expressing either a MoC or a mind-film.

Attachment A type of grasping behavior in which the watcher identifies with and tries to keeppresent in awareness a MoC or mind film.

Following A type of grasping behavior in which the watcher believes and lives in the reality beingportrayed by the thoughts and emotions of an active mind film.

EmptyAwareness

A type of response to the SoC in which the egoless watcher is simply aware of thephenomena that appear in the stream of consciousness and allows them to pursue theirown natural course by neither grasping nor responding to them in any way. In this formof awareness the watcher does not judge, repress, attach or follow the meanings that inits SoC.

IV. The Causal Phenomena

Type ofPhenomenon

Description of Phenomenon

ComplexActivation

An abrupt and vigorous appearance of the ISoC as a mind film. The film appears in tandemwith an emotion that is congruent with the content of the thoughts, or narrative, contained inthat film. Complex activation occurs after, and appears to be caused by, the grasping of a MoCby the watcher.

Intentional Duality

A type of duality that is the experience in which the watcher feels, in a given moment, that itsown intention is different than, and thus in conflict with, the intention of a meaning that ispresent in its SoC. Intentional duality occurs, for example, when the watcher attempts torepress, and thus finds itself in conflict with, a mind film or emotion that it deems undesirable.

Dual Awareness

A mode of awareness in which the watcher experiences itself as being spatially andontologically separate from the meanings that appear in its SoC. When the watcher has dualawareness of a meaning, it projects egocentric constructs onto it, and as a result, it does notknow its content exactly as it is.

Non-dualAwareness

A mode of awareness in which the watcher does not experience itself as being ontologically orspatially separate from the meanings it knows. The watcher experiences non-dual awareness asthe phenomenon of dissolution. For example, when the watcher has nondual awareness of athought, a thought appears and then immediately dissolves and disappears into awareness. Theimport of nondual awareness is that when the watcher has non-dual awareness of a meaning,it does not project any constructs onto that meaning. As a result, it knows the content of thatmeaning exactly as-it-is.

The NondualTransformations

A transformation in which a dual meaning – e.g. a thought or an emotion – is transformed intoeither a nondual meaning or into nondual awareness itself. Nondual transformations occurwhen the watcher has non-dual awareness of a meaning. To date, four different types ofnondual transformation have been recognized and described: dissolution, realization, amusedcompassion and nondual joy. Each transformation produces a different type of nondualphenomenon.

Dissolution A type of nondual transformation in which a meaning simply dissolves and disappears.Whenever a dissolution occurs, there is also a simultaneous and temporary cessation of theSoC. Temporary cessation of the SoC occurs in all four of the nondual transformations.

Realization A nondual transformation in which an insight into the nature of one's self or the worldappears after the dissolution of a meaning occurs.

AmusedCompassion

A nondual transformation in which a feeling of amused compassion arises after a MoC or mind film dissolves. The meaning dissolves, the watcher sees it as having been foolish, and as the meaning dissolves, amusement and compassion arise simultaneously as a response to the content of that meaning.

Nondual Joy A nondual transformation in which a feeling of joy arises in tandem with the cessation ofthoughts and emotions that occurs after the dissolution of a meaning.

Abiding Joy

The presence, within the mind, of a feeling of joy that becomes an ongoing presence withinthe mind. Abiding joy appears within the mind when there is either: (1) a significantdiminution of the ISoC and/or (2) the frequent and ongoing occurrence of moments ofnondual awareness.

Table V: Causal Sequences

I. Meditation causes the diminution and/or cessation of the ISoC:

Meditation -------------> Diminution/Cessation of the ISoC

II. When the watcher attaches a single MoC, complex activation occurs and a mind film appears in theSoC:

Attachment -------------> Appearance of Mind Film

III. When the watcher represses a single MoC, complex activation occurs and a mind film appears in theSoC:

Repression -------------> Appearance of Mind Film

IV. When the mind follows, and thus believes and lives in, the content of a story created by a mind film,that film will remain present in the stream of consciousness:

Following --------> Continued Projection of Mind Film

V. When the watcher has empty and thus nondual awareness of a mind film, it will dissolve and disappear:

Empty Awareness of a Mind Film ------> Cessation of Mind Film

VI. When the watcher grasps a meaning, be it a MoC or a mind-film, it will have dual awareness of thatmeaning:

Grasping -----------> Dual Awareness

VII. When the watcher grasps a MoC, an involuntary stream of thoughts will appear in the SoC:

Grasping of MoC ------- > Appearance of an Involuntary Stream of Thoughts

VIII. When the watcher has empty awareness of a meaning that appears in its SoC, it will havespontaneous non-dual awareness of that meaning:

Empty Awareness ----------> Non-dual Awareness

IX. Non-dual awareness of a either a MoC or a mind film will cause one of the nondual transformationsto occur:

Non-dual Awareness of MoC or Mind Film --------> Nondual Transformation

X. When diminution or cessation of the involuntary stream of consciousness occurs, the watcher becomesaware of having more frequent moments of nondual awareness:

Diminution of ISoC ---------> Increased Frequency of Moments of Non-dual Awareness

XI. When diminution or cessation of the involuntary stream of consciousness occurs, an increase in boththe duration and intensity of abiding joy occurs:

Diminution of ISoC ------> Increased Duration and Intensity of Abiding Joy

XII. A sustained increase in the frequency of the occurrence of moments of nondual awareness over timecauses an increase in the duration and intensity of abiding joy within the mind:

Sustained Occurrence of Nondual Awareness --> Increased Duration and Intensity of

Abiding Joy

Table VI. Modes of Self Awareness

Type ofProcess

Description of Process

SelfAwareness

The mind’s awareness of itself. It occurs when the watcher is aware of the phenomenathat appear in its SoC. The watcher has two fundamentally different ways of knowingand responding to these phenomena, and these are the two modes of self-awareness.

TheEgocentric

Mode of SelfAwareness

The mode of self-awareness in which the watcher consistently attempts to alter thecontent of the meanings that appear in its SoC. It alters these meanings for the purposeof making their content consistent with its conception of itself. The watcher alters thecontent of the meanings that appear in its SoC by: (1) repressing and attaching them andby (2) creating and living in mind films. This causes the egocentric watcher to have dualawareness of the meanings that appear in its SoC, and as a result it: (1) does not knowthe actual content of those meanings and (2) does not abide in the joy and compassionthat are the natural state of the mind 2,6,7.

The EgolessMode of SelfAwareness

The mode of self-awareness in which the watcher leaves the SoC in its natural state. Theegoless watcher does not try to preserve its conception of its self by repressing,attaching or following any of the meanings that appear in its SoC. As a result, it hasnondual awareness of those meanings, and they become, in turn, the wisdom, joy andamused compassion of the nondual egoless mind 2,6,7.

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