Consciousness

I'm beginning to think that, once again, technology promises us what we already have. I used to be opposed to the Singularity because nature is so much better than better living through chemistry. However, apparently one of the predictions Kurzweil makes is that technology will infinitely expand our minds, bringing us beyond our current level of intelligence, and wake up the "dumb" universe, giving everything intelligence and consciousness.

There's nothing to object to there. More intelligence is not a bad thing; no good can come from staying in the dark intentionally. There are no unsolvable problems, only lower levels of intelligence. Intelligence is great. But I think this all may be already accessible. The Lucid Dreamer goes on an on about how problems and situations that dumbfounded people in their daily lives were easy to solve in the dream world. Astral projectionists and lucid dreamers, as well as people who are skilled at meditating, speak of a "third eye" which actually corresponds to the pineal gland in the brain, and of going beyond their physical bodies to explore the mysteries of the universe and other dimensions, unimaginable in this realm.

Modern-day "shamans" and proponents of the drug DMT say that by using DMT, which also occurs naturally in our metabolic system, you can tap into nature's consciousness. If the universe has a consciousness and we're all a part of it, that's pretty cool. If we can access naturally these greater intelligences, the negative side of the Singularity doesn't seem worth it.