Solitude, Silence, and Forms of Consciousness: An Intrapersonal Look at Spirituality

• In Event: Sustaining and Transforming the Communication Discipline: Examining the Relationship of Spirituality and Communication

Abstract

This theoretical essay attempts to define spirituality from a brain studies perspective. In holonomic brain studies there are three possible forms of consciousness: objective; narrative; and, transcendental. Objective consciousness concerns linearities, order, structure, sequentialities, linguistics, time-keeping etc.; Narrative consciousness concerns para-linearities, aesthetics, daydreaming, meta-phoria, etc. Transcendental consciousness concerns silence as nonlinearities, kinds of synchronicities, and a sense of timelessness, etc. It is argued that these synchronous brain states seem to involve deep silence as spirituality.

Author

• Thomas Bruneau, Radford University