Super Brain (40 page)

The brain restores God to being a fact. Once the argument that “brain comes first” falls flat, the only thing left is mind that sustains itself, mind that has always existed and pervades the cosmos. If this seems too hard to swallow, think back to medieval navigators who had learned to use lodestones, naturally magnetized pieces of the mineral magnetite. Suspended from a string, a lodestone will point north, functioning as a primitive compass. If you told a medieval
navigator that magnetism existed everywhere, not just in a single stone, would he have believed you?

Today we walk around assuming that each of us has a mind, holding on to a prized piece of consciousness the way sailors once held on to lodestones. But the truth is that we participate in one mind, which hasn’t lost its infinite status by existing in the small packages of individual human beings.

We are so attached to our own thoughts and desires that we easily say “my mind.” But consciousness could be a field like electro-magnetism, extending throughout the universe. Electrical signals permeate the brain, but we don’t say “my electricity,” and it’s dubious that we should say “my mind.” The pioneering quantum physicist Erwin Schrödinger made a flat statement about this on several occasions. Here are three:

“To divide or multiply consciousness is something meaningless.”

“In truth there is only one mind.”

“Consciousness is a singular that has no plural.”

If that sounds metaphysical, it helps to remind ourselves that there is only one space and one time in the cosmos, even though we chop them up into small slices for everyday convenience.

One day science will catch up with all of these issues. The encounter is inescapable because it has already happened. The rock has fallen into the pond, and no one knows how far the ripples are spreading. Max Planck, who is credited with starting the quantum revolution more than a century ago, said something wonderful and mysterious: “The universe knew that we were coming.” The mind field is at least as old as the universe, whereas the human brain is a product of evolution. Where will it evolve next? No one knows, but I plump for a giant leap so that we accept two words from ancient Sanskrit:
Aham Brahmasmi
, “I am the universe.” This looks like a leap backward in time, but the Vedic seers spoke from a higher level of awareness. The passage of time doesn’t cause “Who am I?” to become
an outdated question. It would be astonishing if the everyday modern person caught up with ancient wisdom, but why not?

The brains of the Buddha, Jesus, and the rishis, or enlightened sages of India, reached a level that has inspired us for centuries, but as a biological creation, their brains were no different from that of any healthy adult today. The Buddha’s brain followed where his mind led, which is why all the great spiritual teachers declared that anyone could make the same journey that they did. It’s only a matter of setting your foot on the path and paying attention to the subtle signals picked up by your brain. Since it is attuned to the quantum level, your brain can receive anything that creation has to offer. In that sense, the great saints, sages, and seers weren’t more favored by God than you and I are; they were braver about following a trail of clues that led them to the very source of their awareness.

If enlightened sages had been conversant in science-speak, they might have said, “The universe is an undivided wholeness in flowing movement.” Instead, that sentence comes from the far-seeing English physicist David Bohm. It’s the equivalent of “You can never step in a river in the same place twice.” Thus do mystical conundrums reemerge as scientific hypotheses.

I’m an optimist, and I hope to see the validation of consciousness reach full scientific acceptance in the coming decade. The barriers that keep us earthbound are of our own making. They include the barrier that divides the world “in here” from the world “out there.” Another barrier isolates the human mind as a unique product in the universe, which is otherwise devoid of intelligence—or so the prevailing theories of cosmology assert. In pockets of speculative thinking, however, a growing number of cosmologists have found the courage to look in a different direction, toward a universe teeming with intelligence, creativity, and self-awareness. Such a universe would indeed know that we were coming.

This book has touched upon many difficult concepts. There is
one, however, that all the others depend on: reality making is every person’s task. There is no real look to the world, no anchor we can drop once and for all. Reality keeps evolving (thank goodness), and the biggest clue to this lies inside your brain. One reality after another is packed into it. The reality of the reptilian brain is still in there, but it has been incorporated through evolution into higher realities, each one matched by a new physical structure.

The brain mirrors the reality that each person is making at this very moment. Your mind is the rider; your brain is the horse. Anyone who has ridden horses knows that they can balk, fight the bridle, become frightened, stop to munch grass by the wayside, or bolt for home. The rider hangs on, yet most of the time he is in command. We all relate to our brains by hanging on during the episodes when hardwired imprints, impulses, drives, and habits are in control. No horse has ever bolted as wildly as a brain gone awry. The physical basis for drug addiction, schizophrenia, and many other disorders cannot be denied.

Most of the time, however, mind is in the saddle. Conscious control is ours and always has been. There is no limit to what we can inspire the brain to achieve. It would be ironic if anyone turned away from super brain for being too unbelievable, because if you could only see your untapped potential, you would realize that you already own a super brain.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Deepak Chopra

This book required the support of people who have become like an extended family, one that is always helpful, cordial, and never fights at Thanksgiving. At the Chopra Center my life is handled by Carolyn, Felicia, and Tori far better than I could handle it on my own. The same care is given to my writing by Julia Pastore, Tina Constable, and Tara Gilbride. My loving thanks go to all of you, and to my family at home, constant as ever.

It took more than two decades for me to consider working with a collaborator, and now that this phase has begun, let me acknowledge that Rudy has been the best of collaborators, an eye-opening example of an accomplished scientist who has a spiritual vision of life’s possibilities.

Rudolph E. Tanzi

My contributions to this book would not have been possible without the endless support, advice, and inspiration of my loving wife, Dora, and the love of our beautiful daughter, Lyla. Throughout my life, I have been very fortunate to have my family always emphasize the importance of love and maintaining balance in one’s mental and spiritual development. Thanks also to Julia Pastore, Tina Constable, and Tara Gilbride for sharing our passion and vision in making this book possible.

And, finally, I would like to thank Deepak for being the perfect collaborator and for becoming a dear friend and brother while writing this book together. Deepak’s unique and wonderful outlook on the spiritual and scientific sides of the world, along with his impeccable ability to express it, has made writing this book a true joy.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Deepak Chopra, M.D.
, is the author of more than sixty-five books, including numerous
New York Times
best sellers. He is a Senior Scientist at the Gallup organization. His medical training is in internal medicine and endocrinology, and he is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, Adjunct Professor of Executive Programs at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and Distinguished Executive Scholar at the Columbia Business School, Columbia University. Since 1997 he has participated annually as a lecturer at the Update in Internal Medicine event sponsored by Harvard Medical School, Department of Continuing Education, and the Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Deepakchopra.com

Rudolph E. Tanzi, Ph.D.
, is the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Neurology at Harvard University, and Director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Dr. Tanzi has been investigating the genetics of neurological disease since the 1980s, when he participated in the first study using genetic markers to find a disease gene (Huntington’s disease). Dr. Tanzi isolated the first Alzheimer’s disease gene and discovered several others; he now heads the Alzheimer’s Genome Project. He is currently developing promising new therapies
for Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Tanzi serves on dozens of editorial and scientific advisory boards, and chairs the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund Research Consortium. He has received numerous awards, including the two highest awards for Alzheimer’s disease research: the Metropolitan Life Award and the Potamkin Prize. Dr. Tanzi was included on the list of the “Harvard 100 Most Influential Alumni” and was chosen by the Geoffrey Beene Foundation as a “Rock Star of Science.” He serves on national and federal committees to address the impact of Alzheimer’s disease in the United States. Dr. Tanzi has coauthored more than four hundred scientific research articles and book chapters. He also coauthored the book
Decoding Darkness: The Search for the Genetic Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease
.