Alex M. Vikoulov's Blog, page 4

Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind (2021) | Conclusion & Credits

by Elizabeth Titovskaya
​“Consciousness is what appears to be universal information processing, and thus fundamental within this experiential matrix provided necessary free will agency exists at all emergent levels.” ―Alex Vikoulov
​

Based on  The Cybernetic Theory of Mind  eBook series (2022) by Alex M. Vikoulov as well as his magnum opus The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind’s Evolution (2020), comes a recently-released documentary  Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind .  ​
​This film, hosted by the author of the books from which the narrative is derived, is now available for viewing on demand on Vimeo, Plex, Tubi, Xumo, Social Club TV and other global networks with its worldwide premiere aired on June 8, 2021. IMDb-accredited film, rated TV-PG. This is a futurist's take on the nature of consciousness and reverse engineering of our thinking in order to implement it in cybernetics and advanced AI systems.

Here's Conclusion & Credits of the documentary > Video: Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind (2021) | Conclusion & Credits - Ecstadelic Media (cc)
​This 40-min. documentary features five parts: 
​
I. What is Consciousness? (accessible via playlist on our YouTube channel);
II. Consciousness & Information (accessible on our YouTube channel);
III. Consciousness & Time (see it on our YouTube channel);
IV. Universal Consciousness (see it on our YouTube channel);
V. Towards the Cybernetic Theory of Mind (see it on our YouTube channel);
​Conclusion & Credits (watch it on YouTube - link above)
​*Subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive content. All five parts of the documentary are now available on our YouTube channel (see Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind playlist):
https://www.youtube.com/c/EcstadelicMedia​

​Or, watch the documentary in its entirety on TUBI (free w/ads):
https://tubitv.com/movies/613341/consciousness-evolution-of-the-mind

IMDb-accredited film, rated TV-PG
Director: Alex Vikoulov
Narrator: Forrest Hansen
​Copyright © 2021 Ecstadelic Media Group, Burlingame, California, USA

**Watch the official teaser trailer here: 
https://youtu.be/-ydTVg2l6GM​

*** The Cybernetic Theory of Mind  eBook series (2022) by Alex M. Vikoulov (5-book set) is available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R2K7ZK2
​*** The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind's Evolution  (2020) by Alex M. Vikoulov is available as Kindle eBook, paperback, hardcover, and Audible audiobook on Amazon: 
https://www.amazon.com/Syntellect-Hypothesis-Paradigms-Minds-Evolution/dp/1733426140

***Join  Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind  public forum for news and discussions (Facebook public group of 7K+ members):  
https://www.facebook.com/groups/consciousness.evolution.mind​
​
Tags: science of consciousness, Cybernetic Theory of Mind, theories of consciousness, Computational Biology, conscious observer, conscious mind, Experiential Realism, Pantheism, artificial superintelligence, Universal Mind, Metaverse, physics of information, Digital Physics, quantum neural network, cinematic documentary, Universal Consciousness, virtual worlds, Omega Point, Homo sapiens, human mind, global mind, Cybernetic Singularity, stream of consciousness, evolving mind, quantum mechanics, multiverse, parallel universes, quantum consciousness, laws of nature, holographic universe, holographic principle, fractal geometry, metaphysics, ecstadelic media, god, philosophy, spirituality, engineering, information processing, nervous system, subjectivity, psychology, identity, biology, species, quantum field, information integration, system of beliefs, epigenetics, genetic, conscious awareness, limbic system, neocortex, cognition, artificial intelligence, AI, VR, network, neuron, seat of consciousness, internet, reality, computing, biological evolution, information theory, John Wheeler, Claude Shannon, it from bit, qubits, quantum gravity, physics, cybernetics, self, dimensions, physicalism, idealism, wave function, digital ontology, mathematics, virtuality, time, physics of time, arrow of time, D Theory, time flow, many worlds, computation, matrix, code, universe, spacetime, dreams, quantum theory, retrocausality, computer science, humanity, neurophilosophy, technological singularity, immortality, connectivity explosion, synthetic mind, superintelligence, carbon chauvinism, complexity, ontology, superorganism, emergence, overmind, software, hardware, singularity, cell, cogito ergo sum, mind body, hard problem of consciousness, Eastern philosophy, modern physics, quantum entanglement, digital reality, determinism, non-determinism, free will, quantum algorithm, neuroscience, physics of consciousness, Mind Children, consciousness thesis, Consciousness, Evolution of the Mind, consciousness studies, neural code, phenomenology, experiential reality, qualia, human brain, biological wetware, information is modus operandi of consciousness, quantum physics, biochemistry, non-local consciousness, Unified Field, QM interpretations, fundamental laws of Nature, evolutionary cybernetics, Syntellect Hypothesis

*Image Credit: Ecstadelic Media, Shutterstock
​
About the Filmmaker:
Alex Vikoulov is a Russian-American futurist, evolutionary cyberneticist and philosopher of mind, CEO/Editor-in-Chief of Ecstadelic Media Group, filmmaker, author of "The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind's Evolution," "The Origins of Us: Evolutionary Emergence and The Omega Point Cosmology," "The Physics of Time: D-Theory of Time & Temporal Mechanics," "The Intelligence Supernova: Essays on Cybernetic Transhumanism, The Simulation Singularity & The Syntellect Emergence," "Theology of Digital Physics: Phenomenal Consciousness, The Cosmic Self & The Pantheistic Interpretation of Our Holographic Reality," "NOOGENESIS: Computational Biology," "TECHNOCULTURE: The Rise of Man," "The Cybernetic Singularity: The Syntellect Emergence," "THEOGENESIS: Transdimensional Propagation & Universal Expansion," "The Omega Singularity: Universal Mind & The Fractal Multiverse." Self-described neo-transcendentalist, cybertheosopher, transhumanist singularitarian. Lives and works in California's Silicon Valley. More Bio...

Filmmaker Website:  www.alexvikoulov.com
​
e-mail: alexvikoulov@ecstadelic.net
​

Gaia-Based Theosophy: Conception and Birth of the Living Earth

by Alex Vikoulov | Foreword to GaeaGenesis: Conception and Birth of the Living Earth by Oberon Zell "The Earth has entered a radically new era, understood by scientists as the Anthropocene: a time when humanity reckons with massive geologic and biospheric forces we, as anthropos, have set in motion. The agency of Nature and the reality of humanity as a collective geologic force is becoming understood differently, even within the Western paradigm. It is a new world our children will inherit, for if humanity is to survive, we must come into new realizations of our place within the planetary life-support systems. To lay a path for future generations through the evolutionary steps that humanity must now take to learn to live in balance with the planet, science must come to balance with Spirit." ―Oberon Zell, GaeaGenesis
​

In the early 1970s, celebrated philosopher and mystic Oberon Zell was the first to propose the radical idea that the biosphere of Earth was a single living superorganism. His initial article on the subject electrified the emerging modern movement of Earth-based spirituality, generating volumes of correspondence, lecture tours, and further articles in various journals and books.

The excitement was the result of a simple yet profound idea. Imagine for a moment that Earth is alive. Not just teeming with living things, but a living, vital organism encompassing the whole of the planet. This is how Oberon Zell imagines it in GaeaGenesis, but it is more than imagination or mere metaphor. GaeaGenesis is the first work to fully integrate the mythological, spiritual, biological, and social history of what has become known as the Gaea Thesis. It builds upon this history by exploring the profound implications of the thesis, which is as significant to our understanding of the world and our place in it as the heliocentric theory of the solar system and Darwin’s theory of evolution once were.
GaeaGenesis culminates five decades of work developing Zell’s thesis, building on his own original ideas as well as those of renowned scientists, philosophers and spiritualists who preceded him. The works of mythologist Joseph Campbell are referenced, as are the studies of psychologist Carl Jung, whose concept of a “Collective Unconscious” ushered in a new understanding of a human-based Global Mind. In addition, GaeaGenesis draws upon the work of Nobel Prize-winner Al Gore to illustrate the emerging realization that climate change affects a vast web of interdependent ecosystems.  

The present book was also influenced by the Syntellect Hypothesis, my own seminal treatise as a futurist, evolutionary cyberneticist and philosopher of mind. In line with the Gaea Thesis, the Syntellect Hypothesis refers to a phase transition of a complex intelligent system to self-awareness of a living, conscious superorganism when intellectual synergy of its components reaches threshold complexity to become one supermind. This metamorphosis is associated with emergence of higher-order self-awareness and dimensionality of a new consciousness structure. As a bio-species merging with its advanced technology, human-machine civilization is now on the verge of the Syntellect Emergence, becoming one Global Mind. 

In September, 2021, Oberon Zell contacted me after he had come across some of my works and pointed out to me that he saw a lot of similarities between our philosophies. That was quite a pleasant surprise and synchronicity because I remember reading his paper a few years back, as well as citing him in my own magnum opuses: The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind’s Evolution (2020) and The Cybernetic Theory of Mind (2022). The timing of our interactions also almost magically coincided with one of my latest releases of THEOGENESIS: Transdimensional Propagation & Universal Expansion (2021).   

Recent years have seen a flurry of scientific and philosophical studies reach a broad audience on some of the ideas addressed in GaeaGenesis, but nothing that views the subject from all sides: scientific, spiritual, historical, ecological, philosophical and mythic. Oberon Zell accomplishes this with GaeaGenesis. As an influential thinker on Earth-based spirituality and originator of the Gaea Thesis, he is uniquely qualified to present to us such a comprehensive work. Previously, his writings have helped foster a growing awareness of Earth as living Mother, paving the way for such popular expressions of this concept as the iconic movie “Avatar.”  

Foundationally, GaeaGenesis builds upon the author’s work “TheaGenesis: The Birth of the Goddess,” which originally appeared in Green Egg magazine in June of 1971. The present book takes the idea beyond the metaphorical realm postulated by James Lovelock in his “Gaia Hypothesis,” and posits that the entire evolution of life on Earth is literally the embryology of a single vast living being—one replicating continuum of DNA and protoplasm. This distinction has significant implications for the subject of this book: The proposition that Mother Earth is a living, sentient being with a “soul” that humans can perceive if they are aware enough to sense it. In essence, the living beings that populate the Earth are “cells” that function within a greater superorganism.

GaeaGenesis is organized into five major sections. The first presents the history of the idea that the Earth is a great living being, from Hesiod’s “Theogony,” through Plato and the medieval alchemical concept of the “Anima Mundi,” to various scientific papers from the 19th and early 20th centuries and the recent work of James Lovelock and others. Namely, in contrast with Lovelock’s “Gaia Hypothesis” examining the Gaian biosphere from the outside in, Zell looks at our living planet from the inside out — noting the continuity of DNA and protoplasm from an original “seed” into a unified tree of life. 

The second section includes reprints, contextual narratives, and contemporary commentary of the original series of “TheaGenesis” articles written by Oberon Zell and first published in Green Egg magazine from 1971 through 1972. The remaining sections explore the implications of the Gaea Thesis for gaining a new and deeper understanding of the origins of complex life on Earth; significant turning points in geological and human history; and the future role of humanity in spreading the “seeds” of Gaea to other worlds—in our solar system and beyond. Central to the final section is a vision for the Awakening of Gaea through the emergence of planetary consciousness.

Appendices include a chronology of the key elements of the Gaea Thesis as expressed through history, as well as a full bibliography. The book is illustrated throughout with appropriate charts and diagrams by the author, as well as visionary imagery depicting Gaea as envisioned by various artists through the ages to this day.

Written in a clear and precise language with its contents being epistemically accurate and ontologically more than plausible, this splendid book is exceptionally easy to read as well as comprehend the novel concepts contained in it. Not only will it immensely contribute to your spiritual growth, this read could surely open other venues for your self-development once you discover what’s behind our everyday reality.

-Alex Vikoulov
​
​P.S. This is Foreword by Alex M. Vikoulov to GaeaGenesis: Conception and Birth of the Living Earth by Oberon Zell. Published on Earth Day, this amazing new book is now available as paperback on Amazon: 
​ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Y9PYBN7​

Publisher: Black Moon Publishing; Release Date: April 21, 2022; Print Length: 436 pages; Format: Paperback; ISBN: 9798985320442.

For inquires and requests of review copies, please contact the author at: oberon@mcn.org 

Author Website:  www. oberonzell.com ​ Tags: Anthropocene, theosophy, Oberon Zell, GaeaGenesis, superorganism, theory of evolution, Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung, Collective Unconscious, Global Mind, Al Gore, Syntellect Hypothesis, phase transition, supermind, consciousness structure, Syntellect Emergence, Cybernetic Theory of Mind, Theogenesis, Gaia Hypothesis, James Lovelock, planetary consciousness, spiritual growth, self-development

*Images: Shutterstock, Black Moon Publishing

About the Author:
Alex Vikoulov is a Russian-American futurist, evolutionary cyberneticist and philosopher of mind, CEO/Editor-in-Chief of Ecstadelic Media Group, filmmaker, author of "The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind's Evolution," "The Origins of Us: Evolutionary Emergence and The Omega Point Cosmology," "The Physics of Time: D-Theory of Time & Temporal Mechanics," "The Intelligence Supernova: Essays on Cybernetic Transhumanism, The Simulation Singularity & The Syntellect Emergence," "Theology of Digital Physics: Phenomenal Consciousness, The Cosmic Self & The Pantheistic Interpretation of Our Holographic Reality," "NOOGENESIS: Computational Biology," "TECHNOCULTURE: The Rise of Man," "The Cybernetic Singularity: The Syntellect Emergence," "THEOGENESIS: Transdimensional Propagation & Universal Expansion," "The Omega Singularity: Universal Mind & The Fractal Multiverse." Self-described neo-transcendentalist, cybertheosopher, transhumanist singularitarian. Lives and works in California's Silicon Valley. More Bio...

Author Website:  www.alexvikoulov.com
​
e-mail: alexvikoulov@ecstadelic.net

Towards The Cybernetic Theory of Mind | Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind, Part V

by Elizabeth Titovskaya “Most of the complexity of a human neuron is devoted to maintaining its life-support functions, not its information-processing capabilities. Ultimately, we will be able to port our mental processes to a more suitable computational substrate. Then our minds won’t have to stay so small.” ―Ray Kurzweil

​
Local consciousness, or our phenomenal mind, is emergent, whereas non-local consciousness, or universal mind, is immanent. Material worlds come and go, but fundamental consciousness is ever-present, argues evolutionary cyberneticist and philosopher of mind Alex M. Vikoulov who is currently developing the Cybernetic Theory of Mind, his theory of everything. From a new science of consciousness to philosophy of mind, from evolutionary cybernetics to computational physics, from physics of time and information to quantum cosmology, this novel explanatory theory for deeper understanding of reality is combined into one elegant theory of everything.
Based on The Cybernetic Theory of Mind eBook series (2022) by Alex M. Vikoulov as well as his magnum opus The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind’s Evolution (2020), comes a recently-released documentary  Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind . 

​This film, hosted by the author of the book from which the narrative is derived, is now available for viewing on demand on Vimeo, Plex, Tubi, Xumo, Social Club TV and other global networks with its worldwide premiere aired on June 8, 2021. IMDb-accredited film, rated TV-PG. This is a futurist's take on the nature of consciousness and reverse engineering of our thinking in order to implement it in cybernetics and advanced AI systems.

What mechanism may link quantum physics to phenomenology? What properties are inherently associated with consciousness? What is Experiential Realism? How can we successfully approach the Hard Problem of Consciousness, or perhaps, circumvent it? What is the Quantum Algorithm of Consciousness? Are free-willing conscious AIs even possible? These are some of the questions addressed in this Part V of the documentary.

Here's Part V: Towards The Cybernetic Theory of Mind >  Video: Towards The Cybernetic Theory of Mind, Part V of Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind Documentary - Ecstadelic Media (cc)
​This 40-min. documentary features five parts: 
​
I. What is Consciousness? (accessible via playlist on our YouTube channel);
II. Consciousness & Information (accessible via playlist on our YouTube channel);
III. Consciousness & Time (accessible via playlist on our YouTube channel);
IV. Universal Consciousness (accessible via playlist on our YouTube channel);
V. Towards the Cybernetic Theory of Mind (Watch it on YouTube - link above);
​Conclusion (to be released on YouTube in late 2022) *Subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch the next and final installment of this new documentary (Conclusion). This concluding part of the film will be released on YouTube in late 2022. Parts I through V are now available on our YouTube channel (look for Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind playlist):
https://www.youtube.com/c/EcstadelicMedia​

​Or, watch the documentary in its entirety on Vimeo on demand right now ($0.99/rent; $1.99/buy): 
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/339083  

Or, watch it on TUBI -- free (with ads):
https://tubitv.com/movies/613341/consciousness-evolution-of-the-mind

IMDb-accredited film, rated TV-PG
Director: Alex Vikoulov
Narrator: Forrest Hansen
​Copyright © 2021 Ecstadelic Media Group, Burlingame, California, USA

**Watch the official teaser trailer here: 
https://youtu.be/-ydTVg2l6GM​

*** The Cybernetic Theory of Mind eBook series (2022) by Alex M. Vikoulov (5-book set) is available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R2K7ZK2
​*** The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind's Evolution  (2020) by Alex M. Vikoulov is available as eBook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook on Amazon: 
https://www.amazon.com/Syntellect-Hypothesis-Paradigms-Minds-Evolution/dp/1733426140

***Join  Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind  public forum for news and discussions (Facebook public group of 7K+ members):  
https://www.facebook.com/groups/consciousness.evolution.mind​
​
Tags: science of consciousness, Cybernetic Theory of Mind, theories of consciousness, Computational Biology, conscious observer, conscious mind, Experiential Realism, Pantheism, artificial superintelligence, Universal Mind, Metaverse, physics of information, Digital Physics, quantum neural network, cinematic documentary, Universal Consciousness, virtual worlds, Omega Point, Homo sapiens, human mind, global mind, Cybernetic Singularity, stream of consciousness, evolving mind, quantum mechanics, multiverse, parallel universes, quantum consciousness, laws of nature, holographic universe, holographic principle, fractal geometry, metaphysics, ecstadelic media, god, philosophy, spirituality, engineering, information processing, nervous system, subjectivity, psychology, identity, biology, species, quantum field, information integration, system of beliefs, epigenetics, genetic, conscious awareness, limbic system, neocortex, cognition, artificial intelligence, AI, VR, network, neuron, seat of consciousness, internet, reality, computing, biological evolution, information theory, John Wheeler, Claude Shannon, it from bit, qubits, quantum gravity, physics, cybernetics, self, dimensions, physicalism, idealism, wave function, digital ontology, mathematics, virtuality, time, physics of time, arrow of time, D Theory, time flow, many worlds, computation, matrix, code, universe, spacetime, dreams, quantum theory, retrocausality, computer science, humanity, neurophilosophy, technological singularity, immortality, connectivity explosion, synthetic mind, superintelligence, carbon chauvinism, complexity, ontology, superorganism, emergence, overmind, software, hardware, singularity, cell, cogito ergo sum, mind body, hard problem of consciousness, Eastern philosophy, modern physics, quantum entanglement, digital reality, determinism, non-determinism, free will, quantum algorithm, neuroscience, physics of consciousness, Mind Children, consciousness thesis, Consciousness, Evolution of the Mind, consciousness studies, neural code, phenomenology, experiential reality, qualia, human brain, biological wetware, information is modus operandi of consciousness, quantum physics, biochemistry, non-local consciousness, Unified Field, QM interpretations, fundamental laws of Nature, evolutionary cybernetics, Syntellect Hypothesis

*Image Credit: Ecstadelic Media, Shutterstock
​
About the Filmmaker:
Alex Vikoulov is a Russian-American futurist, evolutionary cyberneticist and philosopher of mind, CEO/Editor-in-Chief of Ecstadelic Media Group, filmmaker, media commentator, author of "The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind's Evolution," "The Origins of Us: Evolutionary Emergence and The Omega Point Cosmology," "The Physics of Time: D-Theory of Time & Temporal Mechanics," "The Intelligence Supernova: Essays on Cybernetic Transhumanism, The Simulation Singularity & The Syntellect Emergence," "Theology of Digital Physics: Phenomenal Consciousness, The Cosmic Self & The Pantheistic Interpretation of Our Holographic Reality," "NOOGENESIS: Computational Biology," "TECHNOCULTURE: The Rise of Man," "The Cybernetic Singularity: The Syntellect Emergence," "THEOGENESIS: Transdimensional Propagation & Universal Expansion," "The Omega Singularity: Universal Mind & The Fractal Multiverse." Self-described neo-transcendentalist, cybertheosopher, transhumanist singularitarian. Lives and works in California's Silicon Valley. More Bio...

Filmmaker Website:  www.alexvikoulov.com
​
e-mail: alexvikoulov@ecstadelic.net
​

TheoGenesis Awakening | Review of The Syntellect Hypothesis

by Oberon Zell 
​"Evolution of consciousness is indeed a spiritual process as well as it is a never-ending process of rational discovery."  ―Alex Vikoulov

Following is the review of The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind's Evolution (2020) by Alex M. Vikoulov


This is a brilliant and complex book with a vast scope, and consequently a challenge to review in a few paragraphs. It’s an entire graduate University course in 525 dense pages! I found myself taking copious notes and copying many paragraphs I may wish to quote in my own books on these topics. Indeed, I discovered herein quotations from my own writings of over 50 years ago! ​The author presents here his epochal thesis regarding the inevitable next, future, and ultimate stages of human evolution. Drawing upon the implications of “the Gaia Thesis” — that the entire biosphere of Earth constitutes a single vast living organism evolving embryologically from a single original cell — Vikoulov applies the “Alpha Point” and “Omega Point” paradigm of Teilhard de Chardin at multiple levels, from the individual to the planetary to the Cosmic: “On a long billions-of-years evolutionary journey from the first primordial prokaryote to a Solaris-like planetary mind, we’re merely years away from this cardinal metamorphosis.”

Russian émigré Alex Vikoulov describes himself as “a futurist, evolutionary cyberneticist, philosopher of mind, neo-transcendentalist, transhumanist singularitarian, cybertheosopher, author and filmmaker.” ​Quoting myriads of philosophers, researchers, psychonauts, futurists, visionaries and quantum physicists in many passages of his book, Vikoulov explains the thesis and title of this book as follows: “The Syntellect Hypothesis … refers to a phase transition of a complex system to self-awareness of a living, conscious superorganism when intellectual synergy of its components reaches threshold complexity to become one supermind… As a bio-species merging with its advanced technology, human-machine civilization is now on the verge of the Syntellect Emergence, becoming one Global Mind.” (pp. 214-215)

Projecting the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented virtual reality  into an inevitable “Cybernetic Singularity” involving a fusion of the human brains with intelligent quantum-computing machines, Vikoulov envisions an immanent future “Singularity” in which we may access a global “Internet Noosphere” of collective consciousness — a planetary “TheoGenesis Awakening” into Godhood. Our experiential existence will be within a “Matrix” of our own creation — as many leading thinkers propose it already is. Immortality will be achieved via downloading (or uploading) our personal consciousnesses into the "Cloud:” “By mid-century, we are supposed to achieve superlongevity, and consequently, cybernetic immortality.” (pp. 32-33)

The Five Paradigms of the Mind’s Evolution of the book’s subtitle are explored in the following five Parts, each virtually a book in itself:NOOGENESIS: Computational Biology;TECHNOCULTURE: The Rise of Man;The Cybernetic Singularity: The Syntellect Emergence;THEOGENESIS: Transdimensional Propagation and Universal Expansion;Universal Mind and Multiversal Propagation.
In conclusion, Vikoulov states: “I would summarize my views, as follows: Consciousness is non-local, quantum computational by nature. There’s only one Universal Consciousness, we individualize our conscious awareness through the filter of our nervous system our 'local' mind, our very inner subjectivity, but consciousness itself, the self in a greater sense, our 'core' self is universal, and knowing it through experience has been called enlightenment, illumination, awakening, or transcendence, through the ages.” (p. 277)

-Oberon Zell

*Recently posted as a public review with the 5-star rating on Amazon. Buy Now!  eBook | Paperback | Hardcover | Audiobook | 
Autographed Collectible
**READ MORE: Overview of The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind's Evolution by Alex M. Vikoulov

Tags: Theogenesis, Syntellect Hypothesis, Alex Vikoulov, Teilhard de Chardin, futurism, evolutionary cybernetics, philosophy of mind, neo-transcendentalism, transhumanism, singularity, human evolution, Gaia Thesis, Omega Point, planetary mind, Syntellect Emergence, Global Mind, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, Cybernetic Singularity, quantum computing, Noosphere, collective consciousness, cybernetic immortality, Noogenesis, Computational Biology, Technoculture, Universal Mind, Universal Consciousness, transcendence

*Image Credits: Ecstadelic Media, Shutterstock
​ About the Author: 
Oberon Zell is the Founder and Primate of the Church of All Worlds, and a Priest of Gaea—Mother Earth. In 1967 he was the first to apply the term “Pagan” to the newly-emerging Nature Religions of the ‘60s. He founded the first legally-incorporated Pagan church in 1962, and he’s published Green Egg magazine since 1968. In 1970, he had a profound Vision of the Living Earth — the earliest published version of “The Gaea Thesis.” And he has served in “Her Majesty’s Sacred Service” ever since. He is the author of a dozen books on metaphysical subjects, and is Founder and Headmaster of the online Grey School of Wizardry. As an artist, his best-known work is his sculptural representation of Mother Earth as “The Millennial Gaia."

Author Website:  www. oberonzell.com

e-mail: oberon@mcn.org ​

2022: The Gateway Year to Transcension

by Alex Vikoulov [image error] "The only journey is the one within." ―Rainer Maria Rike
​

As part of my New Year's message to family, friends and followers, I made a short video recording right from my smartphone on New Year's eve on Union Square in San Francisco that you can watch on YouTube (link below).

Video: 2022: The Gateway Year to Transcension - Ecstadelic Media Group (cc) ​Just like in my video, I'd like to use this opportunity here to wish you a magical, prosperous and successful 2022! 

Now, 2021 made us "fluent" in cryptos, blockchains, NFTs, Web 3 and Metaverse. As we make our transition from mobile to immersive computing, this new year may be called "The Gateway Year to Transcension." As you might know, the ‘Transcension Hypothesis’ was formulated by futurist John M. Smart who proposes that evolutionary processes guide all sufficiently advanced civilizations increasingly into “inner space,” the domain of ultra-small scales of space, time, energy and matter (STEM), computationally optimal substrate of accelerating complexity, and to a black-hole-like eventuality. Since all advanced civilizations invariably leave their cradle universe for virtual worlds, i.e., dimensionality of their own design, censored from our observation, this answers the Fermi Paradox – why we don't see the signs of alien intelligence in the cosmos.

We're now witnessing the initial stages of the Technological Singularity, when we merge with our advanced tech and our minds are set to eventually "migrate" to the Metaverse. Why? We are firmly on a miniaturization exponential trend. We are making things smaller and nanotechnology is evolving very fast. Once we start to upload our minds to the Cloud and achieve cybernetic immortality, we'll enter the Cyberhuman Era where our future selves will be more digital than physical. Physicality would then mean changing cybernetic bodies that can be assembled and disassembled at will – multiple bodies that could be even microscopic in size. “There’s plenty of room at the bottom” was the famous phrase by the physicist Richard Feynman in reference to the ability to manipulate matter at nanoscale and beyond.

Imagine if your brain processing power could approach electronic information processing, which is about a million times faster than that of an ordinary human brain. In that environment, according to the Transcension Hypothesis, we’ll need to match our subjective timescales with the rest of our ever more compactified “pocket universe” (to the point of reaching black-hole conditions), and the physical world will become fully “reprogrammable.” The physical world at our today's macroscopic scale will be somewhat left behind – it would look almost static for our accelerated mentation. As cyberhumans, we’ll use virtual spacetime continuums as a new habitat for our minds and the physical universe would be used mostly for converting the “dumb” matter into computronium. 

This truly historical juncture is perhaps comparable to the moment in our deep past when we, as sea creatures, crawled out from the ocean for the first time.

-Alex Vikoulov

P.S. To get more clarification, I'd suggest a couple of my recent articles on immersive computing, the Simulation Singularity, and the Transcension Hypothesis:

READ MORE:  Nearing the Simulation Singularity: What Would Immersive Computing Mean to the Human Mentality?
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Infomorph Commonality: Our Post-Singularity Future
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*Join our public forum for news and discussions — Metaverse: Cybernetic Web 3.0 — FB group (9K+ members):  https://www.facebook.com/groups/SyntellectEmergence [image error]
​Tags: Gateway Year to Transcension, cryptos, blockchains, NFTs, Web 3, Metaverse, immersive computing, Transcension Hypothesis, John M. Smart, Rainer Maria Rike, Richard Feynman, inner space, accelerating complexity, virtual worlds, Technological Singularity, nanotechnology, cybernetic immortality, Cyberhuman Era, cybernetic bodies, Fermi Paradox, nanoscale, human brain, accelerated mentation, cyberhumans, infomorphs, virtual spacetime continuums, computronium

*Image Credit: Ecstadelic Media, Shutterstock
​
About the Author:
Alex Vikoulov is a Russian-American futurist, evolutionary cyberneticist and philosopher of mind; CEO/Editor-in-Chief of Ecstadelic Media Group, filmmaker, author of "The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind's Evolution," "The Origins of Us: Evolutionary Emergence and The Omega Point Cosmology," "The Physics of Time: D-Theory of Time & Temporal Mechanics," "The Intelligence Supernova: Essays on Cybernetic Transhumanism, The Simulation Singularity & The Syntellect Emergence," "Theology of Digital Physics: Phenomenal Consciousness, The Cosmic Self & The Pantheistic Interpretation of Our Holographic Reality," "NOOGENESIS: Computational Biology," "TECHNOCULTURE: The Rise of Man," "The Cybernetic Singularity: The Syntellect Emergence," "THEOGENESIS: Transdimensional Propagation & Universal Expansion," "The Omega Singularity: Universal Mind & The Fractal Multiverse." Self-described neo-transcendentalist, cybertheosophist, transhumanist singularitarian. Lives and works in California's Silicon Valley. More Bio...

Author Website:  www.alexvikoulov.com
​
e-mail: alexvikoulov@ecstadelic.net
​

Universal Consciousness | A New Documentary Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind, Part IV

by Elizabeth Titovskaya [image error] "Vedanta teaches that consciousness is singular, all happenings are played out in one universal consciousness and there is no multiplicity of selves.” ―Erwin Schrödinger
​

Universal consciousness is the sole ontological primitive and we are fragments of it. Today, many intellectuals rightly suspect that the material world is an illusion: There's only one universal substance – consciousness and only one medium – information. Thus, consciousness and information are the two sides of the same ontological coin. Consciousness is all that is: A phenomenal "local" mind is cybernetically emergent, and at the same time, "non-local" consciousness is transcendentally immanent. In other words, Universal Consciousness is absolute, your mind is relative. Our experiential reality is projected onto the multidimensional matrix-like “screen” of perception for our evolving minds. By preference, you can see yourself as a low-dimensional avatar of the greater cosmic self, or a God incarnate if you prefer, which can be encapsulated by a simple phrase: “Your life is a personal story of Godhead.”
Based on the Cybernetic Theory of Mind by evolutionary cyberneticist Alex Vikoulov that he defends in his magnum opus  The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind’s Evolution , comes a newly-released documentary  Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind . 

​This film, hosted by the author of the book from which the narrative is derived, is now available for viewing on demand on Vimeo, Plex, Tubi, Xumo, Social Club TV and other global networks with its worldwide premiere aired on June 8, 2021. IMDb-accredited film, rated TV-PG. This is a futurist's take on the nature of consciousness and reverse engineering of our thinking in order to implement it in cybernetics and advanced AI systems.

What is Universal Consciousness? What is the difference between local and non-local consciousness? Is consciousness necessarily biology-based? Can we philosophically reconcile science and theology in search of the ultimate truth? Are we on the verge of impending meta-system transition as a planetary species? These are some of the questions addressed in this Part IV of the documentary.

Here's Part IV: Universal Consciousness >  Video: Universal Consciousness, Part IV of Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind - Ecstadelic Media (cc)
​ This 40-min. documentary features five parts: 
​
I. What is Consciousness? (accessible via playlist on our YouTube channel);
II. Consciousness & Information (accessible via playlist on our YouTube channel);
III. Consciousness & Time (accessible via playlist on our YouTube channel);
IV. Universal Consciousness (Watch it on YouTube - link above);
V. Towards the Cybernetic Theory of Mind (to be released on YouTube);
​Conclusion (to be released on YouTube in 2022) *Subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch the next installment of this new documentary' (PART_V: Towards The Cybernetic Theory of Mind). The remaining parts of the film will be released on YouTube in 2022. Parts I through IV are now available on our YouTube channel (look for Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind playlist):
https://www.youtube.com/c/EcstadelicMedia​

​Or, watch the documentary in its entirety on Vimeo on demand right now ($0.99/rent; $1.99/buy): 
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/339083  

Or, watch it on TUBI -- free (with ads):
https://tubitv.com/movies/613341/consciousness-evolution-of-the-mind

IMDb-accredited film, rated TV-PG
Director: Alex Vikoulov
Narrator: Forrest Hansen
​Copyright © 2021 Ecstadelic Media Group, Burlingame, California, USA

**Watch the official teaser trailer here: 
https://youtu.be/-ydTVg2l6GM​

*** The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind's Evolution  (2020) by Alex M. Vikoulov is available as eBook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook on Amazon: 
https://www.amazon.com/Syntellect-Hypothesis-Paradigms-Minds-Evolution/dp/1733426140

***Join  Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind  public forum for news and discussions (Facebook public group of 6K+ members):  
https://www.facebook.com/groups/consciousness.evolution.mind​
​
Tags: science of consciousness, Cybernetic Theory of Mind, theories of consciousness, Computational Biology, conscious observer, conscious mind, Experiential Realism, Pantheism, artificial superintelligence, Universal Mind, Metaverse, physics of information, Digital Physics, quantum neural network, cinematic documentary, Universal Consciousness, virtual worlds, Omega Point, Homo sapiens, human mind, global mind, Cybernetic Singularity, stream of consciousness, evolving mind, quantum mechanics, multiverse, parallel universes, quantum consciousness, laws of nature, holographic universe, holographic principle, fractal geometry, metaphysics, ecstadelic media, god, philosophy, spirituality, engineering, information processing, nervous system, subjectivity, psychology, identity, biology, species, quantum field, information integration, system of beliefs, epigenetics, genetic, conscious awareness, limbic system, neocortex, cognition, artificial intelligence, AI, VR, network, neuron, seat of consciousness, internet, reality, computing, biological evolution, information theory, John Wheeler, Claude Shannon, it from bit, qubits, quantum gravity, physics, cybernetics, self, dimensions, physicalism, idealism, wave function, digital ontology, mathematics, virtuality, time, physics of time, arrow of time, D Theory, time flow, many worlds, computation, matrix, code, universe, spacetime, dreams, quantum theory, retrocausality, computer science, humanity, neurophilosophy, technological singularity, immortality, connectivity explosion, synthetic mind, superintelligence, carbon chauvinism, complexity, ontology, superorganism, emergence, overmind, software, hardware, singularity, cell, cogito ergo sum, mind body, hard problem of consciousness, Eastern philosophy, modern physics, quantum entanglement, digital reality, determinism, non-determinism, free will, quantum algorithm, neuroscience, physics of consciousness, Mind Children, consciousness thesis, Consciousness, Evolution of the Mind, consciousness studies, neural code, phenomenology, experiential reality, qualia, human brain, biological wetware, information is modus operandi of consciousness, quantum physics, biochemistry, non-local consciousness, Unified Field, QM interpretations, fundamental laws of Nature, evolutionary cybernetics, Syntellect Hypothesis

*Image Credit: Ecstadelic Media, Shutterstock
​
About the Filmmaker:
Alex Vikoulov is a Russian-American futurist, evolutionary cyberneticist and philosopher of mind, CEO/Editor-in-Chief of Ecstadelic Media Group, filmmaker, media commentator, author of "The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind's Evolution," "The Origins of Us: Evolutionary Emergence and The Omega Point Cosmology," "The Physics of Time: D-Theory of Time & Temporal Mechanics," "The Intelligence Supernova: Essays on Cybernetic Transhumanism, The Simulation Singularity & The Syntellect Emergence," "Theology of Digital Physics: Phenomenal Consciousness, The Cosmic Self & The Pantheistic Interpretation of Our Holographic Reality," "NOOGENESIS: Computational Biology," "TECHNOCULTURE: The Rise of Man," "The Cybernetic Singularity: The Syntellect Emergence," "THEOGENESIS: Transdimensional Propagation & Universal Expansion," "The Omega Singularity: Universal Mind & The Fractal Multiverse." Self-described neo-transcendentalist, digital theologian, transhumanist singularitarian. Lives and works in California's Silicon Valley. More Bio...

Filmmaker Website:  www.alexvikoulov.com
​
e-mail: alexvikoulov@ecstadelic.net
​

Consciousness & Time | A New Documentary Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind, Part III

by Elizabeth Titovskaya "Where there is no consciousness, there is no time.” ―Wayne Gerard Trotman
​

The only experiential time is NOW. Our phenomenal minds spring into existence at increments of conscious instants. The sequence of these Nows constitutes our "stream" of consciousness. D-Theory of Time, or Digital Presentism, is predicated on reversible quantum computing at large and gives us a coherent theoretical framework on the nature of time. In the absence of observers, the arrow of time doesn’t exist -- there’s no cosmic flow of time. Instead, each conscious observer is a digital pattern flowing within a multidimensional matrix.
Based on the Cybernetic Theory of Mind by evolutionary cyberneticist Alex Vikoulov that he defends in his magnum opus  The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind’s Evolution , comes a newly-released documentary  Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind . 

​This film, hosted by the author of the book from which the narrative is derived, is now available for viewing on demand on Vimeo, Plex, Tubi, Xumo, Social Club TV and other global networks with its worldwide premiere aired on June 8, 2021. This is a futurist's take on the nature of consciousness and reverse engineering of our thinking in order to implement it in cybernetics and advanced AI systems.

Is time fundamental or emergent? How does time exist, if at all? How can we update the current epistemic status of temporal ontology? How does time relate to human consciousness? What is Time? These are some of the questions addressed in this Part III of the documentary.

Here's Part III: Consciousness & Time >  Video: Consciousness & Time, Part III of Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind - Ecstadelic Media (cc)
​
This 40-min. documentary features five parts: 
​
I. What is Consciousness? (accessible via playlist on our YouTube channel);
II. Consciousness & Information (accessible via playlist on our YouTube channel);
III. Consciousness & Time (Watch it on YouTube - link above);
IV. Universal Consciousness;
V. Towards the Cybernetic Theory of Mind. *Subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch the next installment of this new documentary' (PART_IV: Universal Consciousness). The film is to be released on YouTube in five separate parts throughout the rest of 2021. Parts I and II are available on our YouTube channel (look for Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind playlist):
https://www.youtube.com/c/EcstadelicMedia​

​Or, watch the documentary in its entirety on Vimeo on demand right now ($0.99/rent; $1.99/buy): 
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/339083  

**Watch the official teaser trailer here: 
https://youtu.be/-ydTVg2l6GM​

***The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind's Evolution (2020) by Alex M. Vikoulov is available as eBook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook on Amazon: 
https://www.amazon.com/Syntellect-Hypothesis-Paradigms-Minds-Evolution/dp/1733426140

***Join Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind public forum for news and discussions (Facebook group of 6K+ members):  
https://www.facebook.com/groups/consciousness.evolution.mind​
​
Tags: science of consciousness, Cybernetic Theory of Mind, theories of consciousness, Computational Biology, conscious observer, conscious mind, Experiential Realism, Pantheism, artificial superintelligence, Universal Mind, Metaverse, physics of information, Digital Physics, quantum neural network, cinematic documentary, Universal Consciousness, virtual worlds, Omega Point, Homo sapiens, human mind, global mind, Cybernetic Singularity, stream of consciousness, evolving mind, quantum mechanics, multiverse, parallel universes, quantum consciousness, laws of nature, holographic universe, holographic principle, fractal geometry, metaphysics, ecstadelic media, god, philosophy, spirituality, engineering, information processing, nervous system, subjectivity, psychology, identity, biology, species, quantum field, information integration, system of beliefs, epigenetics, genetic, conscious awareness, limbic system, neocortex, cognition, artificial intelligence, AI, VR, network, neuron, seat of consciousness, internet, reality, computing, biological evolution, information theory, John Wheeler, Claude Shannon, it from bit, qubits, quantum gravity, physics, cybernetics, self, dimensions, physicalism, idealism, wave function, digital ontology, mathematics, virtuality, time, physics of time, arrow of time, D Theory, time flow, many worlds, computation, matrix, code, universe, spacetime, dreams, quantum theory, retrocausality, computer science, humanity, neurophilosophy, technological singularity, immortality, connectivity explosion, synthetic mind, superintelligence, carbon chauvinism, complexity, ontology, superorganism, emergence, overmind, software, hardware, singularity, cell, cogito ergo sum, mind body, hard problem of consciousness, Eastern philosophy, modern physics, quantum entanglement, digital reality, determinism, non-determinism, free will, quantum algorithm, neuroscience, physics of consciousness, Mind Children, consciousness thesis, Consciousness, Evolution of the Mind, consciousness studies, neural code, phenomenology, experiential reality, qualia, human brain, biological wetware, information is modus operandi of consciousness, quantum physics, biochemistry, non-local consciousness, Unified Field, QM interpretations, fundamental laws of Nature, evolutionary cybernetics, Syntellect Hypothesis

*Image Credit: Ecstadelic Media, Shutterstock
​
About the Filmmaker:
Alex Vikoulov is a Russian-American futurist, evolutionary cyberneticist and philosopher of mind, CEO/Editor-in-Chief of Ecstadelic Media Group, filmmaker, media commentator, author of "The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind's Evolution," "The Origins of Us: Evolutionary Emergence and The Omega Point Cosmology," "The Physics of Time: D-Theory of Time & Temporal Mechanics," "The Intelligence Supernova: Essays on Cybernetic Transhumanism, The Simulation Singularity & The Syntellect Emergence," "Theology of Digital Physics: Phenomenal Consciousness, The Cosmic Self & The Pantheistic Interpretation of Our Holographic Reality," "NOOGENESIS: Computational Biology," "TECHNOCULTURE: The Rise of Man," "The Cybernetic Singularity: The Syntellect Emergence," "THEOGENESIS: Transdimensional Propagation & Universal Expansion." Self-described neo-transcendentalist, digital theologian, transhumanist singularitarian. Lives in Burlingame, California (San Francisco Bay Area). More Bio...

Author Website:  www.alexvikoulov.com
​
e-mail: alexvikoulov@ecstadelic.net
​

TheaGenesis: Awakening of the Living Earth

by Oberon Zell "Spiritually inclined rationalists may view this ongoing evolutionary process as one of 'Theogenesis'… On a long billions-of-years evolutionary journey from the first primordial prokaryote to a Solaris-like planetary mind, we’re merely years away from this cardinal metamorphosis."  --Alex Vikoulov, Theology of Digital Physics (2019)

THE EARTH MOTHER IN HUMAN CULTURES
     
“Of Earth I sing, eldest of all and Mother of the Gods...”
    
So begins the Homeric Hymn to Gaea, the Earth Mother. Gaea is the name given by the ancient Greeks to the primordial planetary goddess worshipped by humanity since the dawn of the Stone Age. The original form of Her name, Ge (Γε), is the root of the names of the Earth sciences, geology, geophysics and geography, as well as geode, geometry, geomancy, etc.
     
Even small children intuitively know Mother Earth or Mother Nature. She is the oldest and most universal religious archetype in all of human experience. Images and figurines of Her date back to the Cro-Magnon Aurignacian peoples of over 30,000 years ago, and are found across the Eurasian continent from Spain to Siberia.         
    
In Hesiod's Theogony, Gaea was created by Light and by Love from the primal cosmic Chaos. Her first offspring was Uranus, the Heavens. Pierced by the arrows of Eros, Gaea gave birth to all the plants, animals, Titans, Gods and Goddesses, and of course the human race. So Gaea is the Mother of us all, according to Greek mythology. 

Gaea figures in many ancient myths and legends. Even after She had been supplanted as the primary divinity by the invading Olympian Gods, the Greeks continued to honor Her with barley and honey cakes placed at sacred openings in Her surface. Rocks and stones were called “the bones of Gaea.” The Greeks gave the name Gaea to both their recognition of the planetary Being as well as their identification for the same Great Mother Goddess whom the Cretans called Rhea and the Lydians Cybele. She is Prithivi to the Hindus, Yoruba of Nigeria call Her Asaya, Australian aboriginal peoples know Her as Kunapipi, and in Peru She is Pachamama. Other peoples have known Her as Terra, Nu Kwa, Hertha, Mami Aruru, Papa, Ala, Nerthus, Unchi-Maka, Coatlique...

Lakota Elder Frank Waters describes the attitude of the Native Americans: “To Indians the Earth is not inanimate. It is a living entity, the mother of all life, our Mother Earth. All Her children, everything in nature, is alive: the living stone, the great breathing mountains, trees and plants, as well as birds and animals and man. All are united in one harmonious whole.” 

In the last half century, a new and awe-inspiring image of the Earth Mother has come to us. Photos taken from space in the 1960s awakened people the world over to our Earth as a whole entity. Awareness of this planetary integrity has caused the name of Gaea to re-emerge into our modern life in the form of “The Gaea Thesis,” which states in short that our entire planet is a single vast living organism, composed of the sum of all the living organisms on it. Natural science has turned once again to the name the Ancient Greeks gave to Mother Earth. 

SPIRITUALITY AND SCIENCE COME TOGETHER  

On Sept. 6, 1970, I had a transformative mystical experience that altered profoundly the course of my life and work. While a few hours went by on the clock, I experienced the entire history and consciousness of the living Earth. I journeyed back down the river of DNA to the first cell that ever was—dividing and redividing until I felt my own presence, through the DNA molecule, in all life and the presence of all life within me. The wisdom of Gaea flooded through me, and I felt irrevocably blessed and bonded to Her. Since then I have devoted myself to the best expressions of Her being and needs: one biosphere, one organism, one Being. 

​That revelatory epiphany, the most deeply spiritual of my life, also had its basis in science. Since it is generally accepted by biologists, and demonstrable from comparative analyses of DNA, that all life on Earth has derived from a single original cell, it was clear that the aggregate of Earth’s lifeforms perforce constitutes a single vast creature. And further, that this creature—this Being—may be precisely identified with the entity referred to since ancient times as “Mother Earth.”

My paper detailing this thesis, titled “TheaGenesis: The Birth of the Goddess” was subsequently published in 1971 as a lead article in Green Egg, vanguard journal of the (then) newly-emerging Neo-Pagan religious movement. The introduction of “TheaGenesis” as a thealogical premise electrified the movement, generating volumes of correspondence, interviews, lecture tours, and further articles and references in various journals and books. 
    
Then, in 1972, James Lovelock, an atmospheric biochemist residing in Cornwall, published a Letter to the Editors titled “Gaia as Seen Through the Atmosphere” in the journal Atmospheric Environment. This was Lovelock’s first published reference to the notion, and the first use of the name “Gaia” as a scientific reference to Earth’s planetary biosphere. In later writings, Lovelock came to refer to this concept as “The Gaia Hypothesis.”

Lovelock’s “Gaia Hypothesis” was looking at Gaia from the outside in, as he perceived the atmosphere as an artifact produced by a living system, the way a snail produces its shell. 

My own “Gaea Thesis,” however, looks at our living planet from the inside out—noting the continuity of DNA and protoplasm since the dawn of life, and equating the subsequent diversification of all living creatures since then with the development of a person from an original zygote. Evolution as the embryology of a planetary biosphere: “Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.”
 
THE GAEA THESIS —SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE   

In order to understand the nature of Gaea, we must first understand our own origins. Each of us began our individual life as a single fertilized cell—a zygote. In the process of its many mitotic divisions and multiplications, that cell kept dividing up and redistributing the same protoplasm and DNA. The protoplasm which now courses through all of the several trillion cells of your body is the very same substance of that original zygote. For when a cell reproduces, the mother cell does not remain intact, but actually becomes the two new daughter cells. And this is why, no matter how many times a cell fissions in the process of embryological development, all the daughter cells collectively continue to comprise but one single organism. 
    
Nearly four billion years ago, life on Earth began with a single living cell containing a replicating molecule of DNA. From that point on, that original cell, the first to develop the awesome capacity for reproduction, divided and redivided and subdivided its protoplasm to fill the oceans with life. And since the Cambrian Explosion, half a billion years ago, complex organisms have proliferated and evolved into the myriad plants and animals, including ourselves, that now inhabit and comprise this beautiful planet. 
    
As Dr. Leslie Orgel of the Salk Institute, La Jolla, Cal., states: “If life had arisen and evolved spontaneously here, it seems at least possible that many different forms of life would be competing with each other. But in fact we know that all living things have evolved from a single cell which inhabited Earth about three or four billion years ago—and there don’t seem to be any traces of any extinct competitors which arose in different ways...”
    
But no matter how many times a cell fissions in the process of embryological development, all the daughter cells collectively continue to comprise but one single organism. Thus the entire biosphere of Earth comprises the body of a single vast living being—Mother Earth Herself: Gaea.
    
John Seed, a founder of the Rainforest Information Center, says: “...the Gaia idea is not an hypothesis, but just the truth in front of everybody’s face: the Earth is a single living organism and all the pieces of Earth like ourselves are cells in the living body of the Earth and they are the life support systems.”

A MESSAGE OF HOPE FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM
    
We are becoming overwhelmed by the escalating environmental crises all around us. The ozone layer is being destroyed; an industrial greenhouse effect is dramatically altering our climate; and the destruction of the rainforests and the pollution of the seas are causing worldwide droughts, fires and famine. Humanity has become a cancer. 

The problems are so vast, and the politics of greed and corruption are so complex that it will truly take a miracle to mitigate and reverse such global destruction. The only thing that can save us is a total transformation of consciousness. Nothing short of a worldwide realization of our planetary unity will move us to a new way of living, to sustain and heal our Mother, the Earth.        
    
Mythologist Joseph Campbell says: “The only myth that’s going to be worth thinking about in the immediate future is one that’s talking about the planet … and everybody on it.”

From the moment that the people of Earth achieved the ability to view the image of our planet spinning in all Her radiant blue-and-white splendor through the black velvet night, many of us have felt an almost physical urge towards Unity. We inevitably begin to think of ourselves as one planet, one infinitely diverse, responsive, and sustainable organism. 
     
After four billion years of evolution, it is the moment that we see Gaea mighty yet vulnerable against the starry heavens that calls to us, that touches our human hearts. Something is developing, hatching, unfolding. We are becoming part of a self-aware Mind capable of contemplating its own existence. 

Gaea developed increasingly complex eyes to contemplate Her own image. And now, having seen Herself through Her satellite eyes, She is awakening to consciousness. What is struggling to be born is a truly planetary—Gaean—perspective that invites people of all traditions in our divided world to know themselves as children of the same Mother—Gaea Herself; Mother Earth. 

THE AWAKENING

Just as each of us awakened into consciousness as an infant, so too is Gaea Herself poised on the threshold of a planetary Awakening—the evolution of consciousness into the next quantum leap. In Eastern traditions this is called Enlightenment. It is a full awakening of the spirit, in which one experiences with every fiber of one’s being the full connection with all other Beings, throughout Time and Space. We call this Apotheosis—literally, deification, or “becoming divine.”

I believe that the two-handed coordination required for playing music and operating modern computer consoles and games is stimulating not only a re-awakening of the subconscious right cerebral hemispheres of humanity, but a full synchronization of both forms of mentality into a new ambidextrous consciousness that will be able to sustain the awakened mind of Gaea. And as with the awakening of consciousness in our own minds, as the billions of neurons in our brains linked up synergistically, just so shall we all participate in the Awakening of Gaea Herself—and our full Apotheasis. 

French Jesuit priest, scientist, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher and teacher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) envisioned just such an awakening of planetary consciousness as the “Omega Point”—the ultimate fulfillment of the entire purpose of creation and evolution. This would be the point in time when the individual consciousnesses of all living beings on Earth coalesce into a single collective consciousness—what he called the Noosphere. Chardin wrote: 

“We are faced with a harmonized collectivity of consciousnesses to a sort of superconciousness. The Earth is not only becoming covered by myriads of grains of thought, but becoming enclosed in a single thinking envelope, a single unanimous reflection.” Video: The Omega Point Cosmology - Ecstadelic Media (cc)
It has been imagined that this planetary Awakening might come about as a kind of universal telepathy. But I think the emergence and rapid evolution of the Internet is already providing the seeds of a technological medium of global consciousness through which this Awakening will inevitably manifest. Indeed, COVID-19 and Climate Change may be serving as catalysts compelling us to adopt the new technology of virtual conferencing, and thus impelling the world towards an electronic planetary Awakening as envisioned nearly a century ago by visionary inventor and prophet Nicola Tesla.

“When wireless is perfectly applied the whole Earth will be converted into a huge brain, which in fact it is, all things being particles of a real and rhythmic whole. We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance. Not only this, but through television and telephony we shall see and hear one another as perfectly as though we were face to face, despite intervening distances of thousands of miles; and the instruments through which we shall be able to do his will be amazingly simple compared with our present telephone. A man will be able to carry one in his vest pocket.” (~Nicola Tesla, Collier’s magazine, 1926)

“The phenomenon, known as the Syntellect Emergence, is already seen on the horizon, when Digital Gaia, the global neural network of billions of hyperconnected humans, ultraintelligent machines, and trillions of sensors around the planet, ‘wakes up’ as a living, conscious superorganism. It is when, essentially, we transcend to the higher Gaian Mind...” (~Alex Vikoulov, CEO, Editor-in-Chief, Ecstadelic Media Group)

The Great Mother is Awakening. Her body is of substance as material as our own. We tread upon Her breast and are formed of Her flesh. Once again, Her name is being spoken outside academic circles and Her children are beginning to remember and appreciate Her. The Earth is a living being with the feminine power to bring forth life and sustain and nourish it; and as such She inspires awe, love and the desire in us to protect and cherish Her.

THE GAIASPORA

We stand at a great crossroads in evolution; the most critical in the entire history of terrestrial life. The very technology which presently threatens all life on this planet could alternately power starships to carry our descendants throughout the galaxy. Perhaps humans have evolved to be the spores or gametes of Gaea. Reproduction is, after all, the most essential function of all living systems, and this can apply no less to a living planet. 

I predict that in the next 60-year Renaissance, in the 2080s, we will see the beginnings of the great Gaiaspora of humanity out into the stars. Diaspora means “scattering,” or “dispersion”—particularly of a people with a common origin, such as the Jews after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE. But the root of the word, speirein, means “to sow,” as in the planting of seeds. Establishing space colonies, terraforming barren worlds--“flying Mother Nature’s silver seeds to a new home…” as Neil Young sang—may be the most important purpose for the evolution of a technological species.

And one day seedlings of Gaea will be planting new roots in distant soil beyond the farthest star…

-Oberon Zell


Editor's Note: Few weeks ago, Oberon Zell contacted me after he had come across some of my works and pointed out to me that he saw a lot of similarities between our philosophies. That was quite a pleasant surprise and synchronicity because I remember reading his paper a few years ago, and now the timing of our interactions coincided with my latest release of THEOGENESIS: Transdimensional Propagation & Universal Expansion [by Alex M. Vikoulov]. 

Tags: theagenesis, theogenesis, Gaia, Gaia hypothesis, Gaia theory, Gaea, Gaea thesis, Gaian mind, Gaiaspora, theology, spirituality, geosciences, Omega Point, noosphere, Alex Vikoulov, James Lovelock, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Leslie Orgel, Joseph Campbell, Nicola Tesla, Neil Young, Syntellect emergence, digital Gaia, planetary consciousness

*Image Credits: Shutterstock

About the Author: 
Oberon Zell is the Founder and Primate of the Church of All Worlds, and a Priest of Gaea—Mother Earth. In 1967 he was the first to apply the term “Pagan” to the newly-emerging Nature Religions of the ‘60s. He founded the first legally-incorporated Pagan church in 1962, and he’s published Green Egg magazine since 1968. In 1970, he had a profound Vision of the Living Earth—the earliest published version of “The Gaea Thesis.” And he has served in “Her Majesty’s Sacred Service” ever since. He is the author of a dozen books on metaphysical subjects, and is Founder and Headmaster of the online Grey School of Wizardry. As an artist, his best-known work is his sculptural representation of Mother Earth as “The Millennial Gaia."

Author Website:  www. oberonzell.com

e-mail: oberon@mcn.org ​
​​

The Aberrant Phenomena: Technology Non-Adopters

by Shauna Lee Lange "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." ―Franklin D. Roosevelt


I had been thinking about Wade Watts in Ready Player One and how he approached the OASIS metaverse as a rogue or singular player. Watts was adamant in the beginning of his journey for Halliday's Easter Egg in saying he did not "clan," meaning he played alone and followed his own path. It wasn't until Watts encountered IOI's pervasive control that he realized the strength of multiple minds and joined with friends in their united quest.
​
In Ready Player Two, author Ernest Cline takes this theme a bit further with the character of Samantha who will not use the first operational ONI (OASIS Neural Interface) headset to access the metaverse, partially due to the possibility of death by Synoptic Overload Syndrome when the device is used for more than 12 hours at a time. Samantha's stance is so strongly felt, that the romantic relationship between her and Watts (who embraced the ONI) is severed.
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These ideas, peculiarities, and quirks in Internet technology adoption, have also brought me to consider those who may atypically decline Internet participation in the modern digital age, especially for religious reasons. According to the Amish, progress is not assumed to mean something better. Averse to any technology which weakens the family structure, it is common, for example, for telephones to be allowed for voice communication, but not in the home. In some Amish orders, technology is seen as a temptation that causes vanity, creates inequality, and leads the individual away from the community. Hard for us to understand, in some ways these choices may prove to help the group (and others like it) sidestep the future Internet ruin; we simply do not know.

Choice, however, in the immediate technological age, is largely a privilege. One must fully understand that Internet usage is a choice to join the collective, to mind meld, to improve and develop the human brain. Estimates are 25% of the population is not provided the right technology infrastructure to succeed in a digital world. In a time where it is also estimated that 90% of the data in the world has been created in the last two years alone, we also have projections of increases of up to 40% annually from here forward. The Pew Research Center's 2021 study saw 7% of the U.S. adults saying they do not use the Internet at all. Nearly 33 million Americans are living without the Internet on a daily basis. That's a tremendous number of people devoid functionalities.

In digital divide activism, the absence of the Internet is seen as a matter of human rights and international law. In fact, the United Nations ties Internet technologies and availability to sustainment goals, especially for underdeveloped nations. Fly back to America, there are more than a dozen or so famous celebrities who have ZERO interest in computers, social media, or the Internet, and they include reported names like Clooney, Pitt, Jolie, Ryder, Walken and Buffett to name a few. They are the technologically disenchanted, disengaged, and disparate compared to tech savvy advocates and full-on immersives. On the other hand, maybe they simply don't NEED the Internet at all.
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These phenomena, non-adoption of technology, represent outliers and anomalies in the consciousness of the human race as we attempt to morph from the as-is to the to-be state. It is an 'Aberrant Phenomena' of oddities, varieties, and distortions in the matrix, if you will. The Aberrant Phenomena of technology non-adopters is a conduction disturbance similar to those found throughout nature. A synapse that won't quite fire, or a neural pathway that doesn't quite connect, or an independent cell that just wants to go its own way. Left untethered, unwired, the Aberrants are kinks, mutations, disparities, abnormalities, and exceptions. Then again, maybe they just hold a different value system.
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It is one thing to willfully choose a path of independence when one will not engage. It is quite another when one is forced into the abyss because they cannot clear the obstacles. I recall the early days of the Internet, where some of the greatest concerns were of assimilation and enculturation. We saw a huge upward leap for adoption of simple, basic things like working a dial-up modem. Back in the day, we worried about something we termed "Internet Literacy," which then meant the ability to navigate terms like WWW, URL, IP addresses, or links.

Internet literacy today has itself morphed into critical factions including financial literacy, technological literacy, and gaming or development literacy. And for those who cannot, we know their illiteracy in the Aberrant Phenomena can be categorized by six major and common causalities. Age is the leading factor, followed by education level and household income. Community type, location, and sadly, the truisms of ethnicity challenges bring up the rear. These are the gateways some must pass through to even approach the Internet oracle today, gateways the greater majority of first-world nation inhabitants don't even have to think about. It is a complex digital divide that stands to create a new class division of peoples across the globe, a frightening and alarming division of knowledge and access.

The Aberrant Phenomena has the distinct, identifiable outcropping of financial, spiritual, educational, emotional, mental, and physical marginalization... yet paradoxically, it has the potential for preservation. What happens for example, when the grid goes down? When the online addictions are uncontrollable? When we abandon our physical bodies in lieu of avatars? The Aberrants may win. Yes, they'll be slower and yes, likely without critical resources, but their survival will not become evolutionarily extinct as Darwinian theory suggests. The Aberrants will retain the cultural norms, values, and moral compasses of the present day (however faulty they may be). And we should all remember that there just may come a day when we long for the past - when we crave it - when we Wish. We. Could. Just. Go. Back. To. The. Way. It. Used. To. Be.

A surprising development of this rapid-fire Internet and metaverse advancement and the rush for the future may just be that the Aberrants surprise us by growing in number. Maybe the non-adoptors will have political leanings, or feel they are making a statement of freedom. Maybe their world will be one where there is electronic independence, or there will be those that simply want to reclaim their time away from the screens, or put some meaning to privacy. Or those who have been burned by bad crypto deals, goggles that never work, or fear the machine/human interface.

Think about all those Star Trek television episodes, or the Star Wars movie series where the advanced population suddenly happens upon the small clan of renegade soldiers, living in the desert. Mix the one of the two on a Saturday night over a glass of prickly pear juice over by that pretty cactus grove, and nine months later a brand new type of Rowlings' muggle is born. Aberrants will be the new one-percenters, the new forbidden partner, and they may birth those who may choose or are forced to fence walk the lands between super assertive technology driven lives and never-even-seen-a-mobile-phone. The Aberrant Phenomena is comprised of a brand new group of immigrants without a land, without a home, without a guide. They're out there as their own special entity and there must be made room for them, too. Room to say no, no metaverse for us or our children.

-Shauna Lee Lange
​ Tags: metaverse, Aberrant Phenomena, digital divide, Franklin Roosevelt, Wade Watts, Ready Player One, neural interface, Star Trek, Star Wars, Amish, technology non-adopters

*Image: Shauna Lee Lange (circa 2017), Country, watercolor and ink on paper, 24"​ x 16"​

About the Author:
Shauna Lee Lange is a California-based Metaverse News Network (MNN) CEO, metaverse futurist, NFT strategist and big systems thinker who interprets the growth of the Internet sector in order to help others understand implications and opportunities. Founder of the LinkedIn group NFT Art, Artists, she is gathering over 28K global art & tech pros together for networking and information sharing. Lange regularly consults with businesses and institutions on issues involving NFTs, cryptocurrencies, art, gaming and metaverse strategies. 

e-mail: shaunaleelange@gmail.com
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Consciousness & Information | A New Documentary Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind, Part II

by Elizabeth Titovskaya  "Information is a difference that makes a difference.” ―Gregory Bateson
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Information is "modus operandi" of consciousness. Consciousness chooses one facet out of the multifaceted quantum possibility wave and converts possibility into the actuality of that chosen facet. Phenomenal mind springs into existence at increments of conscious instants. This is mind-based computing of your experiential branch in this quantum multiverse.  Based on the Cybernetic Theory of Mind by evolutionary cyberneticist Alex Vikoulov that he defends in his magnum opus  The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind’s Evolution , comes a new documentary ―  Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind .
​This film, hosted by the author of the book from which the narrative is derived, is now available for viewing on demand on Vimeo, Plex, Tubi, Social Club TV and other global networks with its worldwide premiere aired on June 8, 2021. This is a futurist's take on the nature of consciousness and reverse engineering of our thinking in order to implement it in cybernetics and AI systems.

To use the metaphor of our Information Age, consciousness to humans is as Cloud to computers. Just like your smartphone, your brain is a 'bio'-logical computing device of your mind, an interface for physical reality. Our minds are connected into the greater mind-network, as computers in the Cloud. Viewed in this way, consciousness is 'non-local' Cloud, our brain-mind systems are receivers, processors and transmitters of information within that Cloud.

Besides our genetic code, we are currently trying to get to the core of our own other, perhaps by far more important, programming language, our neural code. We have always perceived ourselves as human beings which is, of course, very practical, but somewhat fragmentary, to say the least. Artificial superintelligence, by contrast, could have complete access to their own source code ― a level of self-awareness presently beyond human capability. Topological quantum computing is probably one of the most promising fields of the future which would greatly boost machine learning that already incorporates elements of cognitive, evolutionary and neuromorphic computing. 

What were the most significant factors in evolution of the human mind? What's the connection between quantum physics and consciousness? What role does quantum information play in our self-reflective consciousness? What is non-local consciousness? Do our minds create reality? These are some of the most salient questions addressed in this Part II of the documentary.

Here's Part II: Consciousness & Information > ​ Video: Consciousness & Information, Part II of Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind - Ecstadelic Media (cc)
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This 40-min. cinematic documentary features five parts: 
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I. What is Consciousness? (accessible via playlist on our YouTube channel);
II. Consciousness & Information (Watch it on YouTube right now, link above);
III. Consciousness & Time;
IV. Universal Consciousness;
V. Towards the Cybernetic Theory of Mind. *Subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch the next installment of this documentary' (Part III: Consciousness & Time). The film is to be released on YouTube in separate parts throughout the rest of 2021. Part I is available on our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/EcstadelicMedia​

​Or, watch the documentary in its entirety on Vimeo on demand right now ($0.99/rent; $1.99/buy): 
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/339083  

**Watch the official teaser trailer here: 
https://youtu.be/-ydTVg2l6GM​

***The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind's Evolution (2020) by Alex M. Vikoulov is available as eBook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook on Amazon: 
https://www.amazon.com/Syntellect-Hypothesis-Paradigms-Minds-Evolution/dp/1733426140

***Join Consciousness: Evolution of the Mind public forum for news and discussions (Facebook group of 6K+ members):  
https://www.facebook.com/groups/consciousness.evolution.mind​
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Tags: science of consciousness, Cybernetic Theory of Mind, theories of consciousness, Computational Biology, conscious observer, conscious mind, Experiential Realism, Pantheism, artificial superintelligence, Universal Mind, Metaverse, physics of information, Digital Physics, quantum neural network, cinematic documentary, Universal Consciousness, virtual worlds, Omega Point, Homo sapiens, human mind, global mind, Cybernetic Singularity, stream of consciousness, evolving mind, quantum mechanics, multiverse, parallel universes, quantum consciousness, laws of nature, holographic universe, holographic principle, fractal geometry, metaphysics, ecstadelic media, god, philosophy, spirituality, engineering, information processing, nervous system, subjectivity, psychology, identity, biology, species, quantum field, information integration, system of beliefs, epigenetics, genetic, conscious awareness, limbic system, neocortex, cognition, artificial intelligence, AI, VR, network, neuron, seat of consciousness, internet, reality, computing, biological evolution, information theory, John Wheeler, Claude Shannon, it from bit, qubits, quantum gravity, physics, cybernetics, self, dimensions, physicalism, idealism, wave function, digital ontology, mathematics, virtuality, time, physics of time, arrow of time, D Theory, time flow, many worlds, computation, matrix, code, universe, spacetime, dreams, quantum theory, retrocausality, computer science, humanity, neurophilosophy, technological singularity, immortality, connectivity explosion, synthetic mind, superintelligence, carbon chauvinism, complexity, ontology, superorganism, emergence, overmind, software, hardware, singularity, cell, cogito ergo sum, mind body, hard problem of consciousness, Eastern philosophy, modern physics, quantum entanglement, digital reality, determinism, non-determinism, free will, quantum algorithm, neuroscience, physics of consciousness, Mind Children, consciousness thesis, Consciousness, Evolution of the Mind, consciousness studies, neural code, phenomenology, experiential reality, qualia, human brain, biological wetware, information is modus operandi of consciousness, quantum physics, biochemistry, non-local consciousness, Unified Field, QM interpretations, fundamental laws of Nature, evolutionary cybernetics, Syntellect Hypothesis

*Image Credit: Ecstadelic Media, Shutterstock
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About the Filmmaker:
Alex Vikoulov is a Russian-American futurist, evolutionary cyberneticist and philosopher of mind, CEO/Editor-in-Chief of Ecstadelic Media Group, filmmaker, media commentator, author of "The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind's Evolution," "The Origins of Us: Evolutionary Emergence and The Omega Point Cosmology," "The Physics of Time: D-Theory of Time & Temporal Mechanics," "The Intelligence Supernova: Essays on Cybernetic Transhumanism, The Simulation Singularity & The Syntellect Emergence," "Theology of Digital Physics: Phenomenal Consciousness, The Cosmic Self & The Pantheistic Interpretation of Our Holographic Reality," "NOOGENESIS: Computational Biology," "TECHNOCULTURE: The Rise of Man," "The Cybernetic Singularity: The Syntellect Emergence," "THEOGENESIS: Transdimensional Propagation & Universal Expansion." Self-described neo-transcendentalist, digital theologian, transhumanist singularitarian. Lives in Burlingame, California (San Francisco Bay Area). More Bio...

Author Website:  www.alexvikoulov.com
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e-mail: alexvikoulov@ecstadelic.net
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