Julia Mossbridge: Subconscious Perception of ‘Unpredictable’ Events

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The conscious mind orders perceptual events in time, and this order helps to create meaning. “I sing to elephants that dream about me,” differs in meaning from “I dream about elephants that sing to me,” solely because of the order in which we experience the same perceptual elements.

As William James lucidly described, the subconscious mind is less ordered than the conscious mind. However, what could seem like a fault turns out to be a gift. For example, a recent meta-analysis examining more than 40 physiological reports from the past three decades showed that the physiological counterparts of the subconscious (heart rate, blood pressure, skin conductance, etc.) seem to predict future events that are not consciously considered to be predictable (Mossbridge, Tressoldi, and Utts 2012). Thus, the “disordered” subconscious seems to be able to sample from the perceptual stream in a more complete way than the “ordered” conscious mind. These results support the idea that subconscious perception is, in some important ways, more fully informed than conscious perception. After describing the meta-analysis and some of my recent related physiological results, I will speculate about the mechanisms underlying predictive anticipatory activity and my sense of where this phenomenon will take us in the next decade.

Indigenous Kuikuro People’s ‘Dark Earth’

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Indigenous people may have created the Amazon’s ‘dark earth’ on purpose

#118 Mythic Dharma

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A discussion on the story of the Buddha’s awakening and the dharma through a mythic lens.

Remembering Mark Dyczkowski

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It is with deep sadness we have learned of the passing Dr. Mark Dyczkowski, one of the world’s foremost scholars on Tantra and Kashmiri Trika Shaivism.

River of Words

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Write something!

Sacred Activism: Awakening the Spirit of Change

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The alchemy of spirituality and activism —born from the understanding that true change starts from within and radiates outward

The Two Birds Within You

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This timeless tale, inspired by the Mundaka Upanishad and Shvetashvatara Upanishad, offers profound insights into the nature of our existence.

#117 Minds Under Siege

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Exploring the complex intersection of collective trauma, political power in Israel/Palestine

If In Search of Bliss

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Haitian-born poet Jerrice J

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