Biology merging with spirtuality

[ROOBIO]

A quick thought came to my head after watching these videos. 

From a biological perspective, our bodies comprise 10 trillion "human" cells and 100 trillion bacterial cells.

When you observe them through a microscope, you notice how survival is still a function on a cellular level. Eg, phagocytosis, a process where white blood cells kill pathogens by engulfing and digesting them with enzymes. Now how are "you" willing that process? It occurs whether or not your ego-mind likes it. You in fact have no control over that and have no control whether your immune system can win the battle! 

Now, these cells work to create an equilibrium in the human body, eg they die when there are too many cells via apoptosis.

These cells are continuously dying and new ones are being reborn. You can see that there is no self that that is control over these processes. They are universal. 

If these cells create the human body, then how can there be a fixed self that exists inside my brain. This body is continuously shredding old biological material and creating new ones via mitosis/meiosis. Determination comes into play here. What is in control right now? What is typing these words?

Also, if who I am is not this cellular explosion that is my body, but the thing aware of this body, then what is the experience of a single cell? 

Read the attached comment. It relates to the phagocyte video. The user distinguishes a difference between his body fighting the pathogen and meanwhile him eating a pizza. Surely the same thing is responsible for the phagocytes killing the bacteria and him eating the pizza? Universal free will if you can call it that. I mean him eating the pizza is also caused by a biological process that occurs in his body. What he truly is the thing that is aware of the body eating the pizza and looking at the phagocytes eating bacteria?

The other comments also are a mindfuck.

What the fuck is going on??? It's like the cells are creating a belief that some cells are separate from themselves.

Edited February 11, 2020 by ROOBIO

[ROOBIO]

Am I confusing scientific literature with spiritual autolysis  ?

[Forestluv]

I like this example in terms of conscious levels, emergent properties and identification.

How many people identify as their phagocytes, gut bacteria or liver cells? Nobody. We just want to keep going. . .  If someone had chronic knee pain and had the opportunity to get two knee replacements that are twice as strong with zero pain, everyone would jump on it. Noone would be attached/identified to their arthritic knee or morn the loss of their arthritic knee. 

As well, all the atoms/molecules in the body turn over. From a physical perspective, my physical body is completely different than it was 10 years ago. None of the atoms / molecules are the same. . . I'm curious when spiritual seekers ask about "physical death" and not "ego death". Physically, they have already "died". None of there physical body is the same as 10 years ago. Yet I never see anyone mourn the loss of their old physical body that has turned over. 

People don't care about the survival of their physical body, they care about the survival of "me". Imagine having the following choice:

1. Your physical body can exist for 200 years in a coma with zero awareness. 

2. Your physical body is replaced with an artificial body (with sensations) and you can exist with all of your awareness and memories for 200 years pain-free.

It's a no-brainer. Everyone would choose option #2.

As well, I like this example in terms of "conscious levels". Everyone can perceive their mind-body such that their biological cells are not aware of "me". Collectively, the trillions of cells in my body give rise to an emergent property of "me", yet none of my cells are aware of "me". This is the highest "level" most people reach due to attachment/identification to "me". . . It would be very difficult for my pancreatic cells to jump up a conscious level and awaken to the "higher" collective consciousness of "me". . . Similarly, it is very difficult for "me" to jump up a conscious level and awaken to the next "higher" collective conscious level of "X". Really hard because it requires letting go of the identification of "me". . . One good exercise. . . The next time you are in a social setting (a movie theatre, sporting event, concert etc), see if you can let go and drift into a collective consciousness. Imagine that each person around you is like a neurotransmitter in a "higher" collective organism. Just like there are neurotransmitters in your brain, all of us people are neurotransmitters to each other in a higher collective entity. . . She is dopamine, he is serotonin etc. . . 

[bejapuskas]

wow this thread increased my awareness, thank you  beautiful

[StarStruck]

You are right that we don't have control over our immune system but I don't think it is self evident we have control over our ego. Most people live on autopilot and they are not even conscious as described in the book Power of Now. Personally I don't even think  highly conscious or enlightened people have free will. The universe might be deterministic and everything is just a chain reaction. Free will might be an illusion.

Edited February 11, 2020 by StarStruck

[Leo Gura]

Clinical trials clearly show that you can increase the rate of fighting and healing cancer with visualization exercises in which you visualize your immune system killing the cancer cells. This is an effective technique that is supported by clinical data. People recover from illness faster when they visualize than when they don't.

So in this sense you do have control of your immune system. Not to mention that you can control what you feed your body which greatly affects your immune system's ability to function.

Of course the notion of "control" here is dualistic and relative. In the absolute sense the Universe controls itself.

[moon777light]

@Leo Gura to add onto this, my pathology professor told us she knew of a person who healed their lymphoma by imagining healing immunity cells  everyday. And that she could tell us more about it but only after work hours because its too risky to speak of such things in a clinical environment

[Leo Gura]

2 hours ago, moon777light said:

its too risky to speak of such things in a clinical environment

Lol

Of course

[Forestluv]

2 hours ago, moon777light said:

its too risky to speak of such things 

Over the years, I’ve gained more confidence to speak of such things in an academic environment. Yet there are things I don’t speak of because the risks are too high of being labeled insane, stigmatized and losing my job. 

Speaking about stuff that was cutting edge decades ago is easy. Speaking about stuff that is currently cutting edge can be uncomfortable. Speaking about stuff that will be cutting edge decades in the future can have an intense negative reaction and consequences. It can be perceived by others as insane, threatening and/or scary. 

For example, psychedelic therapy will revolutionize how we perceive and treat mental illness. I’ve seen / experienced stuff that probably won’t become mainstream for another 30-50 years. And I don’t dare speak about it to my colleagues, students or administrators. Society isn’t ready yet. And I wouldn’t even be able to explain it in today’s modes of communication and conscious state. It would be like trying to explain algebra to a donkey underwater with a kazoo. 

[ROOBIO]

Well, it has to be our mission to make science wholistic again. 

Encompassing all truths.

It is such a beautiful area of study, shame it is heavily regulated.

[Osaid]

@ROOBIO Pretty cool way of spirituality showing itself in biology. Nice find.