A New Look at Consciousness

God. There is no subject more mysterious or contentious than God. In fact, the mere idea of God is so confusing for some that they immediately dismiss the subject as unknowable before quickly moving on. It is for these people this post is written. There are countless volumes written on this subject in every language and from every religion. It is not my intention to explore every argument for or against God. I do, however, want to point out what you already know that can help bring sensibility and logic to a subject steeped so heavily in enigma.

For many years philosophers and scientists insisted that only human beings possessed consciousness. Eventually scientists “discovered” that there were actually other animals, such as dolphins, that possessed high levels of intelligence. Not only are they teachable using Pavlovian techniques, but it turns out they can communicate with one another, have individual character differences, can feel emotions, can use reason to make decisions, and can even teach their young things they have learned; such as use of tools. While this information may not exactly be groundbreaking today, the empathy and intellectual reasoning of higher order animals did in fact cause many scientists to question their own definition of consciousness.

Since those early days of scientific enquiry, the umbrella of consciousness has expanded exponentially. Cutting edge researchers in biology now believe that consciousness may extend all the way to the smallest known unit of life on this planet - cells. One of these researchers, Bruce Lipton PhD, in his article titled Insight into Cellular Consciousness, sums up the idea like this:

The behavior of the cell is controlled by the combined actions of coupled receptors and effector IMPs. Receptors provide “awareness of the environment” and effector proteins convert that awareness into “physical sensation.” By strict definition, a receptor-effector complex represents a fundamental unit of perception. Protein perception units provide the foundation of biological consciousness. Perceptions “control” cell behavior, though in truth, a cell is actually “controlled” by beliefs, since perceptions may not necessarily be accurate.

                                                   

If Lipton and his colleagues are correct, this is a game changer. First, it shows that consciousness, like life itself, is not limited but is nearly ubiquitous on our planet. Secondly, it points to a very profound interconnection between types of consciousness. Imagine all the billions of cells that make up your skin. They eat, they breath, they reproduce, they interact with their environment, and they even go to work; performing the various duties and functions that they were designed to do. Unbeknownst to your skin cells, in a far distant land, there are billions of liver cells doing the same thing. They join together in removing toxins unaware (as far as we know) that they are sustaining life for an entirely different creature – you!

Billions and billions of lifeforms doing their own thing, living their own lives, and somehow a separate and distinct consciousness exists; completely independent of the other lifeforms that make up our own bodies. Here’s the rub. I am not the “collective consciousness” of my skins cells or liver cells. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t begin to tell you what even one of them is thinking. Their consciousness does not negate mine. My consciousness is also not predicated on theirs. If I were to remove my liver, I would still possess a consciousness. If we look at our own bodies as a microcosm for the rest of the world, is it still so strange to believe that we could live within a personal and intelligent God? Even though there are an abundance of different creatures performing different roles in our world, is it not more probable now to consider that there could be a presence that is aware of, and has dominion over, all that takes place within it?

According to the Bible, this is exactly the case. Act 17:28 states that “in Him we live and move and have our being”. The book of Romans goes on to say that the evidence for God can be seen in nature itself:

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Romans 1:20

Ask yourself then this question, is it possible the proof of God’s existence was staring you in the face this whole time?

 

References

Lipton, Bruce PhD. “Insight into Cellular Consciousness.” Bruce H. Lipton, PhD, Mountain of Love Productions, 7 June 2012, https://www.brucelipton.com/resource/article/insight-cellular-consciousness