Consciousness after IV sedation

[Staples]

Hey friends,

I had my wisdom teeth out this morning. I was told by my doctor it was going to be a long and complicated procedure, and on the rougher side for recovery. I am doing fine now, just gotta get through a week of recovery.

So, they gave me an IV drip which is the deepest level of sedation that's commonly used. 

I thought I would learn a thing or two about mind and how awareness forms but that was not the case. It was exactly like falling asleep, like a power nap. I couldn't even tell you what the falling asleep felt like, it was an instant lights out for me. Maybe 5 minutes prior to waking, I started dreaming as awareness powered back on, though I can't remember what was going through my head. Waking up was pretty much instant, from dream sleep to present and aware in a snap.

That whole time, I wasn't there, and yet the biological machine kept on ticking. This reminds me there is so much going on that is automatic and unconscious in our bodies, maybe 99% of things you are doing are completely unconscious. Even just walking around while being sober is pretty unconscious, your legs just do the work.

Anyone have a different experience with deep sedation? Very curious to see how my experience compares.

Edited July 26 by Staples

[Leo Gura]

Yeah, it's just like sleep.

[Ropuch7]

When I was 10, I had a surgery with narcosis. It was like you describe it. But I do remember the feeling of losing my consciousness a minute after administration. It was like falling asleep in acceleration.

[Paradoxed]

I have heard of folks watching themselves from above the operating table, and told the nurses exactly what tools they were using post surgery 

How are you feeling without your wisdom teeth?

Edited July 26 by Paradoxed

[Staples]

2 hours ago, Paradoxed said:

I have heard of folks watching themselves from above the operating table, and told the nurses exactly what tools they were using post surgery 

How are you feeling without your wisdom teeth?

Spooky, not sure what to make of that. 

Feeling okay, about 12 hours post op. Pain is a 3/10, pretty manageable for now. It's quite uncomfortable, the stiches are very tight. My face is still numb on one side which I am told is normal. They did warn me nerve damage is rare but possible, so there's a little anxiety around that still. I think tomorrow will be the toughest day then gradually back to normal.

[An young being]

It's wise to consider that memory may not be a part of consciousness. 

8 hours ago, Staples said:

That whole time, I wasn't there, and yet the biological machine kept on ticking. This reminds me there is so much going on that is automatic and unconscious in our bodies, maybe 99% of things you are doing are completely unconscious. Even just walking around while being sober is pretty unconscious, your legs just do the work.

Yes, you can still be wise, you don't need wisdom teeth for that!

[Staples]

19 minutes ago, An young being said:

It's wise to consider that memory may not be a part of consciousness. 

Yes, you can still be wise, you don't need wisdom teeth for that!

It wasn't even just memory that wasn't there. Experience wasn't even there. And yet "I" was, I suppose? That's what is crazy looking back on it. 

As Peter Ralston might say, you are still "being who you are", or 'consciousness' without experience. That's amazing.

I am not even my experience; experience is some phenomena that takes place inside of what I actually am.

Or am I interpreting that all wrong? Perhaps losing wisdom teeth actually has made me less wise.

Edited July 26 by Staples

[An young being]

4 minutes ago, Staples said:

It wasn't even just memory that wasn't there. Experience wasn't even there. And yet "I" was, I suppose? That's what is crazy looking back on it. 

As Peter Ralston might say, you are still "being who you are", or 'consciousness' without experience. That's amazing.

I am not even my experience; experience is only phenomena that takes place inside of what I actually am.

How do you know if you had any experience if you don't remember it?

 

[Staples]

8 minutes ago, An young being said:

How do you know if you had any experience if you don't remember it?

I don't. But then that could mean I may have lived countless lives before this one and have forgotten them, and that's too much for my dumb human brain to grasp right now.

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to remember it, does it make a sound? 

Edited July 26 by Staples

[Staples]

Upon further contemplation, I could have also just 'imagined' the whole experience and no external reality exists. So yeah, those nurses ceased to exist then re-appeared after I was done imagining being sedated. 

At least that's what is true using only my experience as reference.

[An young being]

6 minutes ago, Staples said:

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to remember it, does it make a sound? 

If you died and no one is around to remember it, does it mean your life's meaningless?

7 minutes ago, Staples said:

that's too much for my dumb human brain to grasp right now.

That's a blessing! You aren't dumb though, you should get dumber so that you can experience life to its fullest!

[An young being]

You don't have to believe that you were conscious and forgot it. You just have to not believe that you weren't conscious at all. I don't know.

[Breakingthewall]

Notice the fact that regardless of the content that is developing, the reality, the consciousness that enlighten this moment, is continuous. completely forget the content, and focus on the fact of consciousness. That's what you are, the content is content, what is always here is the light of existence. When you see this fact, you can realize that it has not limits. 

[Lyubov]

Well this calmed my nerves a bit. I have to get mine out and I think it may be a bit complicated. So I may have this and it doesn’t sound too uncomfortable.

[Staples]

4 hours ago, Breakingthewall said:

what is always here is the light of existence. When you see this fact, you can realize that it has not limits.

Brushing up against true no-experience has been very odd. I am really not sure if 'the light of existence' exists when there's no experience going on. 

But, of course it has to be there... Else experience would never have returned to me. 

--

@Lyubov Yep you will be fine. Pick a good surgeon and follow their instructions like the law and you'll be decently comfortable throughout the whole thing. 

All those horror stories you hear are coming from people who did not listen to instructions, or people who cheaped out and got a bad surgeon to do the job.

[Ishanga]

On 7/26/2024 at 1:27 AM, Staples said:

Hey friends,

I had my wisdom teeth out this morning. I was told by my doctor it was going to be a long and complicated procedure, and on the rougher side for recovery. I am doing fine now, just gotta get through a week of recovery.

So, they gave me an IV drip which is the deepest level of sedation that's commonly used. 

I thought I would learn a thing or two about mind and how awareness forms but that was not the case. It was exactly like falling asleep, like a power nap. I couldn't even tell you what the falling asleep felt like, it was an instant lights out for me. Maybe 5 minutes prior to waking, I started dreaming as awareness powered back on, though I can't remember what was going through my head. Waking up was pretty much instant, from dream sleep to present and aware in a snap.

That whole time, I wasn't there, and yet the biological machine kept on ticking. This reminds me there is so much going on that is automatic and unconscious in our bodies, maybe 99% of things you are doing are completely unconscious. Even just walking around while being sober is pretty unconscious, your legs just do the work.

Anyone have a different experience with deep sedation? Very curious to see how my experience compares.

I think You brought a few good points! First, You brought the idea that we are mostly not Conscious or Aware of what is going on within our own bodies, I think You are completely Correct in this Assessment, most of Us are not Aware of what is going on every moment within Our Bodies, Minds, Emotions and Energies, so what does that mean?

Sadhguru points this out allot, it means that we are mostly living by Accident or Compulsively, not on Purpose or Consciously, so there is a big difference or gap here, what is the difference btwn living Compulsively vs. Consciously? I think when You live Compulsively, You have no Free Will, no ability to Respond to Life, when You live Consciously You do, so what is the difference on this level? With Free Will You determine Your Experience in Life, You determine Your Destiny! Without Free Will Your subject to Fate...

Second You brought Up this idea of being Unconscious/Unaware or Asleep but everything is still functioning, Your Body is breathing, Heart is pumping, Body is doing what it can to keep You alive, but Your unaware of it and in deep sleep, this happens to Us all the time when going to Sleep at night, but what is this that is keeping us alive? Is it not some sort of program or system set up that is monitoring what is happening within our Bodies? Is it a reality that our Bodies are complex biological systems of sorts? If this is true whatever is monitoring it and adjusting the chemistry and biology to keep us alive when in Deep Sleep, it must be an intelligence of sorts, true or false? If that is True, then what is this Intelligence and am I Aware of it and intouch with it Consciously?

And what would happen if I was intouch with it Consciously, how would that affect my Life? I think this Intelligence is the same Intelligence that is Mother Nature or Source or God, of whatever it is You want to call it, but its working on a basic level when in the context of keeping our Bodies going when in Deep Sleep or Unconscious, it works at a more advanced level when dealing with other phenomenon here on planet Earth and in the Cosmos...

This intelligence I think is so sophisticated and that we are the only living things that are able to be Conscious and Experience it as it is, this imo is partly what it means to be Enlightened!

Edited July 28 by Ishanga