Contents
The Minimal Structure of the Now-Life Theory
Ten central propositions
1. The First Now
The Big Bang was the moment when the first Now came into being. At the same time, it was the moment when the first consciousness was born.
This first consciousness is called Primordial Consciousness. The birth of the first Now and the birth of Primordial Consciousness were not separate events.
Birth of the first Now = Birth of Primordial Consciousness
2. The Now
The Now is the position in which consciousness can exist. The past has already passed. The future has not yet arrived. The position in which consciousness can actually exist is always the Now.
Primordial Consciousness has also continued to exist from the first Now to the present Now.
3. The Universe
Primordial Consciousness has continued to exist up to the present and is still growing. Its physical expanse is the universe.
The universe is the vessel that holds Primordial Consciousness and is its physical domain. The growth of Primordial Consciousness appears as the expansion of the universe. The growth of Primordial Consciousness corresponds to the expansion of the universe.
4. Life and Now-Consciousness
Within that universe, new life arose. In the Now-Life Theory, life is defined as:
something other than Primordial Consciousness that can recognize the Now. Life is born not in the past or the future, but in the Now. At the moment consciousness emerges as life, it does not yet possess a vast store of past memories. It has no predictions of the future, no society, culture, language, or established self-image. Consciousness therefore exists strongly in the Now.
This condition, in which consciousness is deeply synchronized with the Now, is called Now-Consciousness. The consciousness of life begins as Now-Consciousness.
5. The Formation of Normal Consciousness
Life grows. It experiences and remembers. It learns words, encounters others, discovers society, absorbs culture, and forms a self. It then becomes able to remember the past and predict the future.
As this ability develops, consciousness moves away from being synchronized only with the Now. Even while the body exists in the Now, consciousness can turn toward the past or the future. This is Normal Consciousness.
Normal Consciousness does not mean that Now-Consciousness has disappeared.
It is a state in which layers of memory, language, prediction, society, culture, and self have formed over the consciousness that exists in the Now. Normal Consciousness enables human beings to learn from the past, consider the future, form societies, and build civilizations. The ability to move away from the Now is also an important capacity for human survival.
6. Depth into the Now
Even after Normal Consciousness has formed, consciousness can approach the Now again. Thought about the past weakens. Thought about the future weakens. Attachment to the self weakens. Awareness turns toward the present itself.
The degree of this movement is called Depth into the Now. As depth into the Now increases, consciousness resonates more strongly with the Now, and its synchronization with Primordial Consciousness also deepens.
7. Altered States of Consciousness
The Now-Life Theory understands a state in which depth into the Now increases again from Normal Consciousness as an altered state of consciousness. Such a state does not mean that consciousness has changed into something abnormal or wholly different.
It is a state in which the weight of the past, future, self, language, thought, and other elements that constituted Normal Consciousness diminishes, allowing consciousness to approach Now-Consciousness again. In other words, life begins as Now-Consciousness, forms Normal Consciousness through development, and can still approach Now-Consciousness again by entering more deeply into the Now.
Now-Consciousness at birth and the altered state that moves from Normal Consciousness back toward the Now arise through different processes. Yet both share the same essential feature: consciousness is deeply synchronized with the Now.
8. Dissolution of the Self
As depth into the Now increases further, self-consciousness itself weakens. The boundary called "self" becomes thin. In a sufficiently deep state, much of the self may be lost.
Deep synchronization with Primordial Consciousness therefore does not mean adding another consciousness while leaving the self completely intact. The deeper the synchronization with the Now, the thinner the boundary of the self becomes.
9. Memory
In Normal Consciousness, consciousness is strongly connected to the memories of the self: what one has seen, experienced, and learned, and the past that has formed the person one is.
As depth into the Now increases, however, the connection to memory also changes. The connection to personal memory weakens, while the connection to a different kind of memory on the side of the Now is thought to grow stronger. This is called Memory of the Now.
This change is not an instantaneous, complete switch.
As depth into the Now changes, the balance between these connections to memory changes continuously. The Now-Life Theory does not determine what preserves memory itself. It may be the brain, consciousness, Primordial Consciousness, the universe, or something else. That inquiry belongs to Zikaku Theory.
10. The Now-Life Theory
Through the Big Bang, the first Now and Primordial Consciousness were born. The Now is the position in which consciousness can exist. The universe is the vessel that holds Primordial Consciousness and is its physical domain.
Within that universe, life distinct from Primordial Consciousness and capable of recognizing the Now arose. At the moment consciousness emerges as life, it is strongly synchronized with the Now. This is Now-Consciousness.
Life grows. It acquires memories, learns words, absorbs society and culture, forms a self, and becomes able to deal with the past and future. This is Normal Consciousness.
Even after Normal Consciousness has formed, consciousness can approach the Now again. As depth into the Now increases, synchronization with Primordial Consciousness deepens. The boundary of the self becomes thin, and the connection to memory changes - from the memory of the self toward Memory of the Now. The balance shifts according to depth into the Now.
Universe. Life. Consciousness. Memory. Everything is connected through the Now.
Theoretical Status
The Now-Life Theory presents its central propositions in a minimal structure. Although the propositions in this text are written declaratively, they are not presented as facts established by current science.
Each proposition of the Now-Life Theory is subject to explanation, testing, and falsification through Zikaku Theory. Results obtained through Zikaku Theory may require a proposition of the Now-Life Theory to be revised, removed, or rejected.
Related Theory
Zikaku Theory v5 is a supporting and testing theory that addresses the observations, interpretations, hypotheses, comparisons with models of the brain, conditions for falsification, and testability of the propositions presented in The Now-Life Theory v1.
Keywords
Now / Life / Consciousness / Primordial Consciousness / Now-Consciousness / Normal Consciousness / Altered States of Consciousness / Universe / Memory / Memory of the Now / Depth into the Now / Synchronization / Zikaku Theory / Now-Life Theory