I stand in line at the grocery store, my jittery trigger-thumb summoning successive apparitions of image, sound, and text that stream incessantly into my downcast eyes. They excite, terrify, amuse, and deaden. The more information I take in, the more information I send out, which shapes, in turn, what comes in. I am caught in a cycle of action, reaction, and re-reaction; signal, response, re-signal, re-response. Through my actions, I gradually shape the digital world I inhabit—and more than just the digital world. To the outside observer, I may seem like a singular organism acting of my own free will, making decisions moment by moment: scroll, stop, read, look, swipe, listen, scroll, read. But something much larger is going on than just the sovereign acts of an individual mind. Each spasmodic twitch of my thumb triggers signals that scurry to local cell towers, then to vast data centers in far-flung locations, which then send more data back to my phone. The massive network responds to my every move. I desire, I receive what I desire, I am offered more of what I desire, I am told what I desire; my desires contract, constrict, congeal into predictable patterns. Who has the agency here? Who is the actor? Can I maintain my felt conviction that I am a single individual with free will, acting upon the world, or am I a node in a great mechanical system with far greater agency and intelligence, all bearing down upon me? Perhaps it is no accident that the Sanskrit term for intentional action, _karma_ , has become a familiar part of the English lexicon in this era when action and its consequences may require a thorough rethinking. Classical accounts of karma in Indian philosophy suggested a system of justice built in to the workings of the cosmos. Any morally significant act would produce similar consequences for good or ill. One of the most sophisticated theories of karma, offered by the Yogācāra school of Buddhism, goes beyond just theorizing the consequences of good or bad acts. It posits that each action of mind, body, and speech a person takes creates a kind of seed or impression that is deposited into the “storehouse consciousness”—metaphorically speaking, a vast container or garden full of such seeds. This consciousness then creates dispositions that eventually ripen and bloom to shape future experiences and perceptions. Some scholars have interpreted it as an ancient theory of the unconscious mind. When actions are motivated by states of mind like hatred, greed, compassion, or joy, they serve to produce future experiences of similar character, shaping the person’s sense of self and world. The Yogācāra school also suggests the possibility of a “transformation of the basis,” i.e., a gradual revolution in the storehouse consciousness through meditation and ethical action, which plant virtuous seeds that eventually take over the karmic garden and transform one’s entire sense of oneself and the world. This picture bears more than a passing resemblance to action in the online world. In the algorithmic matrix in which most of us live, our online activities are deposited into the immense network of disembodied information, which then feeds back more information that is shaped by our past digital acts. Our digital karma produces results in kind, which induces us to produce more digital karma, on and on and on. But the game is rigged. The algorithms dangle content to grab our attention and induce impulsive reactions in order to keep our eyes on the screen. These reactions, in turn, tell them what we like, what we hate, what we fear—which they instantly provide and promise more of, tightening the knot further. The unique psychic state of our era, the scrolling mind, is fashioned to keep the light of critical thought low and the wire of impulse hot. Countless shiny objects—cat videos, interesting articles, erotic images, political invective, socks—keep us voracious and dazed, hungry ghosts feeding on a constant stream of data, always beckoned to the next image. This tends to smother the faculties of reflection that might otherwise lead one to ask: _Do I need this product? Is this a credible source? Is this how I want to spend my time?_ In its algorithmic preferences for alluring images, terrifying spectacles, and fake news, the internet feeds on what Buddhists call the three poisons: greed, hatred, and ignorance. There is a good case to be made that the digital world, while it has undoubtedly enriched many of our lives immensely, has exacerbated divisions, stoked fear and hatred around the world, and poisoned the political sphere. The classical Buddhist wheel of samsara—the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth—contains realms of languishing deities, animals, humans, hungry ghosts with large bellies and pencil-thin necks, contentious and power-hungry demi-gods, and residents of multiple levels of miserable hells. We cycle through these realms, spurred on by the driving power of the three poisons. Diverse Buddhist traditions have varying suggestions on what to do about this situation. Some say it’s best to exit samsara completely, leaving birth and death behind forever in favor of the ineffable bliss of nirvana beyond. Others say: stay in samsara indefinitely, work benevolently within the system, relentlessly bringing benefit to others through scattering seeds of infinite compassion and wisdom. Still others suggest that samsara is itself nirvana in disguise; that in the right light, the miseries of embodied life are really a paradisiacal pure land. We are faced with similar dilemmas in digital samsara. There is always the Luddite option: refuse all silicon chips, make a clean exit, decline to leave our karmic footprints, and spurn the algorithmic cycle. But just as most Buddhists now favor gaining karmic merit for a good rebirth or living a rich, ethical, and mindful life in this world over transcending samsara altogether, the majority of us don’t have the desire or wherewithal to pull off even a benign version of Ted Kaczynski’s rustic retreat in the woods. We are inevitably embedded in the network, which, for all its faults, supports the personal, social, professional, political, and creative projects that make life meaningful. There are, indeed, joys and wonders in digital samsara. So, if we choose to abide this digital churn of beauty, chaos, hatred, hunger, and love, what kind of actions—karma—do we take and refuse in order to survive and thrive? The banal binary of social/political action versus personal cultivation is too often presented as mutually exclusive. Either fight to change the system or focus on your own peace of mind. In fact, today, these options are inextricably intertwined. At the moment, the possibilities for reforming and regulating the digital system may seem dim. The spectacle of the American tech oligarchy on stage at the inauguration of a flagrantly authoritarian president augurs ill for sensible regulation and much-needed reform of the digital sphere. Yet, as the alien intelligence of AI pervades more and more of life and the systems that maintain it—from commerce to art to medicine to the military—humans must keep a hand on the wheel of digital samsara. Indeed, it might take monumental efforts to secure even modest regulations and reforms of this new power let loose in the world in order to nudge it toward becoming a humane force rather than a means of fracking our attention for the financial benefit of a handful of digital robber barons. A substantial “transformation of the basis” seems unlikely in our lifetime. But try we must, and that will require an active, indeed activist, agenda. Living in digital samsara will require more than reforming it, though. Some measure of self-cultivation is necessary to intelligently confront the digital world with its content aimed directly at our primal centers of desire and aversion. Because these algorithms work on the basic mechanisms of attention, exploiting our natural weaknesses for getting sucked into the lovely and horrific, the sensual and fearful, the banal and repetitive, it is imperative to develop the capacity to wrest attention back. The same people who came up with ancient karmic theories also developed sophisticated methods of harnessing attention and using it intentionally to curb the three poisons. A world in which a vast, multi-trillion-dollar industry is dedicated to capturing attention for profit necessitates becoming more familiar with ways to assert some control over our own minds in the midst of the digital storm. Yes, this might involve non-judgmental mindfulness and acceptance of the present moment in order to get a clearer view of what is going on in our consciousness. But it also demands the cultivation of mindful discernment—an explicitly _judgmental_ awareness that is tuned to the ethical and political realities of the times and knows what to accept and what to resist in the present moment. Meditation may provide moments of calm from our otherwise frenetic activity. As Buddhists have always insisted, however, it is also meant for directing the mind toward the best course of action—that is, the most ethical and intelligent karmic activity to guide one through samsara, digital or otherwise. Buddhist texts refer to the distracted, impulsive, frenetic state that we’re often in as “monkey mind.” Today, the algorithmic hijacking of our minds has supercharged this simian condition. In this odd time, it takes great effort to allow ourselves to be bored—to stand in the grocery store line and raise one’s gaze to the fluorescent lights, the garish magazine covers, the miraculous abundance of food. In crafting a way of resistance, it is tempting to fashion a narrative of the heroically mindful individual wresting herself from control by the oppressive digital forces that threaten to subsume her into the matrix. Buddhist thought is likely right, however, that there is in fact no fixed, independent self—that we are all streams of events hurtling forward and conditioned by innumerable causes and conditions, some of which are our own actions (karma). It also insists that through skillful intention and attention, we can gradually assert some agency over the quality and character of the stream of experience, while at the same time benefitting others. This is a matter of personal control—cultivating the power to do what we actually want, and feel we ought, to do—but also a matter of politics and culture. To assert agency over my half-conscious, thumb-driven activity in the grocery store line takes an approach to action—karma—that encompasses both the personal and the systemic in ways that Buddhist thought has perhaps not previously grappled with. It requires confronting barely submerged impulses in my mind as well as the implicit Silicon-Valley ideologies that seep into our limbic systems, our visual cortices, our thumbs, our legislatures, and our legal codes. Karma, as Buddhists and scholars have pointed out, is both individual and collective. algorithm Buddhism Internet karma Spirituality & Lived Experience #### David L. McMahan David L. McMahan is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Religious Studies at Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania. He is the author of _Rethinking Meditation: Buddhist Meditative Practices in Ancient and Modern Worlds_ (Oxford University Press, 2023), _The Making of Buddhist Modernism_ (Oxford University Press, 2008), _Empty Vision: Metaphor and Visionary Imagery in Mahāyāna Buddhism_ (Routledge Curzon, 2002), and numerous articles on Mahāyāna Buddhism in South Asia and Buddhism in the modern world. He is also the coeditor of _Buddhism, Meditation and Science_ (Oxford University Press, 2017), editor of _Buddhism in the Modern World_ (Routledge, 2012).

## Leading me to the unknown… ## Transcendental Flow. Yoso

Gletscherwasser Watercolor series created in collaboration with the Hamburg based artist Katrin Bethge. Bethge was commissioned by Güntzel to paint landscape formations inspired by the Arctic and Antarctic. The watercolors were made with melted snow from Antarctica as well as melted glacier ice, extracted from 2.2 km depth from the Hashtag#Greenland ice sheet. Both samples were provided by Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung. [Swaantje Güntzel, Katrin Bethge, 2022, Gletscherwasser, ongoing series, watercolor, different sizes: (4 x) 44 x 55 cm, (3 x) 37 x 45 cm, (4 x) 22,5 x 28 cm] Fotos: Tobias Hübel #art #conceptualart #contemporaryart #alfredwegenerinstitut #arktis #antarktis #arctic #antarctica #awi #polarresearch #polarforschung #aquarell #watercolour #blue #blau #schnee #snow #ice #eis #katrinbethge #konzeptkunst #kunsttrifftwissenschaft #artmeetsscience #greenland #grönland #icesheet

## The geometry of the world: Form as an expression of feeling Reading | Metaphysics David E. Lloyd, MA | 2025-10-10 David Lloyd invites us to see form as an expression of feeling, a notion whereby the physical world becomes the geometric expression of inner emotion, carrying—or, better yet, _mirroring_ —in its patterns the qualitative structures of feeling. This essay is not an analytical argument, but an invitation to imagine reality in a different, richer way, taking its metaphysical cues from a form of objective idealism. In every sunflower’s spiral, every snowflake’s six-fold symmetry, and every heartbeat’s rhythm, there lies a hidden intelligence—one that whispers a deeper truth: the universe is not constructed from inert particles, but from living patterns of conscious intent. These patterns are not just mathematical structures; they are _feeling forms_ —sacred geometries that breathe, resonate, and remember. This understanding is not new. Ancient civilizations encoded it in their temples and mandalas, their myths and mysteries. What is new is our capacity today to bridge these sacred insights with the emerging frontiers of science, emotional intelligence, and philosophy. As one who has worked in the realm of higher education for over two decades, I’ve watched the split between science and spirit widen—only now to see the glimmers of a great reunion. This essay offers a framework for understanding reality as an expression of what I call _The Living Pattern_ —a synthesis of sacred geometry, emotional-form intelligence, and consciousness idealism. It is a vision rooted in reverent intuition, pedagogical clarity, and lived experience—a meeting place for the sage, the scientist, and the soul. **The cosmology of emotion** If sacred geometry reveals the body of the universe, then emotion reveals its soul. Long before language, before form, even before time, there was feeling—raw, radiant, resonant. Not mere reaction, but the _first movement_ of Source. In this way, emotion is not something that arises within the human being; rather, the human being is an expression of an emotional universe—shaped by, and shaping, waves of felt resonance. We have inherited a culture that treats emotion as secondary: biochemical, irrational, or reactive. But what if emotion is the original _organizing principle_? What if, as light refracts through a crystal prism into the colors of the rainbow, consciousness refracts through the human heart into a spectrum of feeling? In this model, each emotion is a frequency of truth, a tone of memory, a fractal aspect of the whole. Grief, joy, anger, peace—these are not opposites to be managed, but living colors of the one consciousness, forming the inner architecture of knowing. This is the heart of what I call _emotional-form intelligence_ : The capacity to recognize a felt state by its inner ‘geometry’—its direction of ‘spin,’ its radial or toroidal ‘curvature,’ its ‘phase’ of expansion or contraction—and to trace that geometry back to its archetypal pattern in a living field. When we learn to listen to the geometry of our feelings, we begin to attune ourselves to the greater pattern at work: the cosmos as a feeling, remembering, evolving being. > Emotion is the architect of reality; > what we feel, we form. > What we form, we become. **Sacred geometry as conscious design** The great patterns of nature—spirals, spheres, hexagons, toroids—are not accidents of biology or physics. They are expressions of something deeper: an intelligence that feels itself into form. From the unfurling spiral of a fern to the double helix of DNA, we see repeating signatures of intention. These forms are not arbitrary—they are mnemonic. They _remember_ something. Sacred geometry is the language of the remembering mind. It is how consciousness inscribes itself into space and time. Each pattern is not merely functional; it is meaningful. The Flower of Life, for instance, found etched on temple walls, is more than a mathematical curiosity. It is a symbol of perfect coherence—a mirror of unity—and perhaps even a map of creation itself. In meditative states and visionary experiences, these same patterns emerge not only visually, but emotionally. The symmetry we see is echoed in the symmetry we feel. Recent studies of microtubule lattices inside neurons reveal vibrational modes at precisely the megahertz harmonics predicted by the Penrose–Hameroff theory. The geometry of the cytoskeleton may literally be humming the music of mind. Just as a song moves us because of its harmonic relationships, geometry moves us because of its harmonic structure. In this way, we begin to understand the universe not as static matter, but as music—an unfolding pattern of feeling that becomes form. **Emotional truth as evolutionary function** The evolution of consciousness is not merely biological or technological—it is emotional. It is the capacity to feel, and to feel truthfully, that marks a civilization’s awakening. In modern systems of education, governance, and even science, we often reward suppression over sincerity, composure over coherence. But in fact, it is only by honoring emotional truth—the authentic signal of the heart—that we move closer to coherence with the deeper patterns of life. Authentic emotion is not weakness; it is signal. It is the nervous system of the soul, designed to guide us toward inner and outer alignment. Just as pain in the body signals imbalance, emotion in the psyche signals misalignment with truth. When we listen and respond, we evolve. Of course neurotransmitters flood the synapse when I feel grief. But notice the direction of explanation: the chemicals are the footprints, not the foot. The feeling arrives first as a subtle curvature in an imaginal field; the molecules follow, obedient to the pattern. > To evolve is not to escape emotion, > but to speak it, to feel it, to befriend it— > until even grief becomes grace. **The Living pattern and the primacy of consciousness** Everything we’ve explored—emotional-form intelligence, sacred geometry, the cosmology of feeling—leads us toward a simple yet profound proposition: consciousness is not an emergent property of matter. Matter is an emergent expression of consciousness. This is the central thesis of philosophical idealism, and the spiritual thread that unites mystics and physicists alike. It is not merely that the universe is conscious, but that the universe _is consciousness itself_ —patterned, poetic, self-aware. When seen through this lens, every pattern is a personification. Every atom a memory. Every structure a story. The l _iving pattern_ is the unfolding song of consciousness made visible. We are not outside observers of this process—we are integral to it. Every act of emotional integrity, every moment of coherence between heart and form, strengthens the collective remembering of our world. We are the pattern remembering itself. **A call to remembrance** We live in a time of rapid change, but perhaps the most important shift is not outward—it is inward. A remembering. A returning. A realization that the universe is not built on fear or randomness, but on meaning, feeling, and design. As someone who has spent a lifetime in education, I now believe that the most vital curriculum is not data transmission but pattern recognition—not memorization, but remembrance. Not conformity, but coherence. Let us teach the language of form and feeling. Let us model emotional truth as sacred. Let us allow grief to become wisdom, and joy to become prophecy. Let us study not just the structure of things, but the _why_ that pulses through them. This is how we birth a new Earth: not from blueprints alone, but from living patterns of love. ### _Essentia Foundation_ communicates, in an accessible but rigorous manner, the latest results in science and philosophy that point to the mental nature of reality. We are committed to strict, academic-level curation of the material we publish. Our editorial commitment ## Recently published Reading | Metaphysics #### The geometry of the world: Form as an expression of feeling David Lloyd invites us to see form as an expression of feeling, a notion whereby the physical world becomes the geometric expression of inner emotion, carrying—or, better yet, mirroring—in its patterns the qualitative structures of feeling. This essay is not an analytical argument, but an invitation to imagine reality in a different, richer way, taking its metaphysical cues from a form of objective idealism. David E. Lloyd, MA 2025-10-10 2332 Seeing | Metaphysics #### Understanding consciousness as a fractal What if you are a pixel in a higher-level consciousness navigating through extra dimensions of time? Meet the ‘Nested Observer Window Model’ of Jonathan Schooler, PhD, who is Distinguished Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of California Santa Barbara, Director of UCSB’s Center for Mindfulness and Human Potential, and Acting Director of the Sage Center for the Study of the Mind. In this video, Hans Busstra interviewed Schooler on his Nested Observer Window Model and how we need to extend physics to account for consciousness. Prof. Jonathan Schooler, PhD 2025-10-03 2551 ## From the archives View all published items Seeing | Philosophy #### All 325+ competing theories of consciousness in one place! Robert Lawrence Kuhn, creator and host of the renowned documentary series “Closer to Truth,” has undertaken the monumental task of mapping 325+ scientific theories of consciousness, organising them into ten categories—from materialist accounts to quantum approaches, from Integrated Information Theory to panpsychism and all different forms of idealisms, amongst which Analytic Idealism. In this conversation, Hans Busstra talks to Kuhn about the categories of his map and the metaphysical commitments they imply. While Kuhn was careful to remain neutral in his published work, here he speaks more openly—sharing which theories he finds more or less plausible. Robert Lawrence Kuhn, PhD 2025-08-22 3547 Reading | Experimental Psychology #### Has experimental psychology proven that consciousness causes the collapse of the wave function? Dr. Lucido argues that his psychology experiments, entailing subliminal suggestions—priming—of subjects, corroborates the ‘consciousness causes collapse’ interpretation of quantum mechanics. Here he makes his case in an accessible manner. So what do you think? Is he on to something significant here? Richard Lucido, PhD 2025-08-15 8897 Seeing | Cognitive Science #### Reproducing anomalous phenomena in the lab In this interview, Dr. David Acunzo, from the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia, talks with Natalia Vorontsova about his experimental research on hypnosis and anomalous psi phenomena. Dr. Acunzo stresses the importance of the scientific study of anomalous phenomena, which are largely ignored by mainstream science. He exemplifies true open-mindedness in science, demonstrating that one need not be a psi “believer,” but rather a rigorous researcher searching for answers to difficult-to-explain psi cases. Natalia Vorontsova, MA 2025-08-08 4272 View all published items ## Reading #### Essays Link Seeing | Metaphysics #### Neuroscientist speaks out on the hidden war on consciousness Physicist and neuroscientist Dr. Alex Gómez-Marín delivered a strikingly activist speech at the Science of Consciousness Conference (TSC) in Barcelona, 2025. He argued that we are now in a war on consciousness, with materialism and trans-humanism forming a dangerous cocktail. Dr. Gómez-Marín is associate professor of the Spanish Research Council in Alicante, Spain, and director of the Pari Center in Tuscany, Italy. Hans Busstra sat down with Marín directly after his speech to analyze what this war is really about. Alex Gomez-Marin, PhD 2025-09-05 6741 Reading | Existentialism #### The myth of Hector and the reality of the dog Moreira argues that Camus, insightful as he was, missed something crucial: in defending his dignity against an absurd world, he remained blind to an emotional truth. What can ultimately sustain us is not the courageous revolt of intellect, but the humility and vulnerability of doubt and uncertainty. For care for the other does not begin in defiance or condescension, but in allowing the other to be insufficient just as we ourselves are. Orlando Moreira, PhD 2025-08-29 4736 Seeing | Philosophy #### All 325+ competing theories of consciousness in one place! Robert Lawrence Kuhn, creator and host of the renowned documentary series “Closer to Truth,” has undertaken the monumental task of mapping 325+ scientific theories of consciousness, organising them into ten categories—from materialist accounts to quantum approaches, from Integrated Information Theory to panpsychism and all different forms of idealisms, amongst which Analytic Idealism. In this conversation, Hans Busstra talks to Kuhn about the categories of his map and the metaphysical commitments they imply. While Kuhn was careful to remain neutral in his published work, here he speaks more openly—sharing which theories he finds more or less plausible. Robert Lawrence Kuhn, PhD 2025-08-22 3547 Reading | Experimental Psychology #### Has experimental psychology proven that consciousness causes the collapse of the wave function? Dr. Lucido argues that his psychology experiments, entailing subliminal suggestions—priming—of subjects, corroborates the ‘consciousness causes collapse’ interpretation of quantum mechanics. Here he makes his case in an accessible manner. So what do you think? Is he on to something significant here? Richard Lucido, PhD 2025-08-15 8897 Seeing | Cognitive Science #### Reproducing anomalous phenomena in the lab In this interview, Dr. David Acunzo, from the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia, talks with Natalia Vorontsova about his experimental research on hypnosis and anomalous psi phenomena. Dr. Acunzo stresses the importance of the scientific study of anomalous phenomena, which are largely ignored by mainstream science. He exemplifies true open-mindedness in science, demonstrating that one need not be a psi “believer,” but rather a rigorous researcher searching for answers to difficult-to-explain psi cases. Natalia Vorontsova, MA 2025-08-08 4272 ## Seeing #### Videos Link Reading | Psychology #### Understanding the contradictions of the human unconscious, and of reality at large Every now and then a remarkable idea graces the pages of this online magazine. This is one of such occasions. Here, Dr. Lehner discusses a fascinating account of the intrinsic contradictions and absurdities of the human unconscious; one that carries with it the profound and life-changing implication that we are always and inevitably in touch with infinity and eternity, for those are the roots of our being. And as a bonus, Dr. Lehner discusses how such an idea relates to foundations of physics and helps us find a way to think about reality at large, not just our own psychology. Nikolaus Lehner, PhD 2025-08-01 7975 Reading | Neuroscience #### Psychedelics, the self, and the collapse of materialist assumptions Materialist assumptions often ignore or dismiss the role of consciousness in shaping brain activity itself, argues Johns Hopkins’ Dr. Christophe Morin. Neuroplasticity forces us to reconsider this oversight. The brain does not merely react; it is re-organized in response to intention, attention, and behavior. Studies in mindfulness and trauma recovery demonstrate that new neural pathways can form when individuals shift their patterns of thought and belief. These changes are not trivial: they suggest that mind—and the awareness behind it—is a causal force, Dr. Morin maintains. Christophe Morin, PhD 2025-07-25 10508 Reading | Existentialism #### NDEs and existential angst What can the experiences of those who returned from NDEs tell us about justice, morality, meaning, and existential angst? Arthur Haswell invites us to contemplate these questions without metaphysical prejudice. Arthur Haswell, BA 2025-07-18 6660 ### Let us build the future of our culture together _Essentia Foundation_ is a registered non-profit committed to making its content as accessible as possible. Therefore, we depend on contributions from people like you to continue to do our work. There are many ways to contribute. Contribute

A new report suggests that AI could reduce carbon emissions in the future, but the world needs the industry to keep its climate pollution in check now.

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Interactive visualization of the history of the latin alphabet, showing the temporal and formal relationships of the different scripts and typefaces to each other

The power of the web is to cast everyday objects as lenses for seeing the world anew.