Consciousness is a term that refers to a variety of aspects of the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity; awareness; the ability to experience feelings; wakefulness; having a sense of selfhood; or the executive control system of the mind. Despite the difficulty of definition, many philosophers believe that there is a broadly shared underlying intuition about what consciousness is. As Max Velmans and Susan Schneider wrote in ''The Blackwell Companion to Consciousness'': "Anything that we are aware of at a given moment forms part of our consciousness, making conscious experience at once the most familiar and most mysterious aspect of our lives."

Philosophers since the time of Descartes and Locke have struggled to comprehend the nature of consciousness and pin down its essential properties. Issues of concern in the philosophy of consciousness include whether the concept is fundamentally valid; whether consciousness can ever be explained mechanistically; whether non-human consciousness exists and if so how it can be recognized; how consciousness relates to language; and whether it may ever be possible for computers to achieve a conscious state. Perhaps the thorniest issue is whether consciousness can be understood in a way that does not require a dualistic distinction between mental and physical entities.

At one time consciousness was viewed with skepticism by many scientists, but in recent years it has been an increasingly significant topic of scientific research. In psychology and neuroscience, the focus of most research is on understanding what it means biologically and psychologically for information to be present in consciousness—that is, on determining the neural and psychological correlates of consciousness. The majority of experimental studies use human subjects and assess consciousness by asking subjects for a verbal report of their experiences (e.g., "tell me if you notice anything when I do this"). Issues of interest include phenomena such as subliminal perception, blindsight, denial of impairment, and altered states of consciousness produced by psychoactive drugs or spiritual or meditative techniques.

In medicine, consciousness is assessed by observing a patient's arousal and responsiveness, and can be seen as a continuum of states ranging from full alertness and comprehension, through disorientation, then delirium, then loss of any meaningful communication, and ending with loss of movement in response to painful stimuli. Issues of practical concern include how the presence of consciousness can be assessed in severely ill, comatose, or anesthetized people, and how to treat conditions in which consciousness is impaired or disrupted.

Etymology and early history

The origin of the modern concept of consciousness is often attributed to John Locke's ''Essay Concerning Human Understanding'', published in 1690. Locke defined consciousness as “the perception of what passes in a man’s own mind.” His essay had much influence on the 18th century view of consciousness, and his definition appeared in Samuel Johnson's celebrated Dictionary (1755).

The earliest English language uses of "conscious" and "consciousness" date back, however, to the 1500s. The English word "conscious" originally derived from the Latin ''conscius'' (''con-'' "together" + ''scire'' "to know"), but the Latin word did not have the same meaning as our word — it meant ''knowing with'', in other words ''having joint or common knowledge with another''. There were, however, many occurrences in Latin writings of the phrase ''conscius sibi'', which translates literally as "knowing with oneself", or in other words ''sharing knowledge with oneself about something''. This phrase had the figurative meaning of ''knowing that one knows'', as the modern English word "conscious" does. In its earliest uses in the 1500s, the English word "conscious" retained the meaning of the Latin ''conscius''. For example Thomas Hobbes in ''Leviathan'' wrote: "Where two, or more men, know of one and the same fact, they are said to be Conscious of it one to another." The Latin phrase ''conscius sibi'', whose meaning was more closely related to the current concept of consciousness, was rendered in English as "conscious to oneself" or "conscious unto oneself". For example, Archbishop Ussher wrote in 1613 of "being so conscious unto myself of my great weakness". Locke's definition from 1690 illustrates that a gradual shift in meaning had taken place.

A related word was ''conscientia'', which primarily means moral conscience. In the literal sense, "conscientia" means knowledge-with, that is, shared knowledge. The word first appears in Latin juridical texts by writers such as Cicero. Here, ''conscientia'' is the knowledge that a witness has of the deed of someone else. René Descartes (1596–1650) is generally taken to be the first philosopher to use "conscientia" in a way that does not fit this traditional meaning. Descartes used "conscientia" the way modern speakers would use "conscience." In ''Search after Truth'' he says "conscience or internal testimony" (''conscientia vel interno testimonio'').

In philosophy

The philosophy of mind has given rise to many stances regarding consciousness. Any attempt to impose an organization on them is bound to be somewhat arbitrary. There are, however, two approaches that are probably the most widely used. One is to follow a historical path by associating stances with the philosophers who are most most strongly associated with them, for example Descartes, Locke, Kant, etc. The approach followed in this section, though, is to organize philosophical stances according to the answers they give to a set of basic questions about the nature and status of consciousness.

Is consciousness a valid concept?

A majority of philosophers have felt that the word consciousness names a genuine entity, but some who belong to the physicalist and behaviorist schools have not been convinced. Many scientists have also been skeptical. The most compelling argument for the existence of consciousness is that the vast majority of mankind have an overwhelming intuition that there truly is such a thing. Skeptics argue that this intuition, in spite of its compelling quality, is false, either because the concept of consciousness is intrinsically incoherent, or because our intuitions about it are based in illusions. Gilbert Ryle, for example, argued that traditional understanding of consciousness depends on a Cartesian dualist outlook that improperly distinguishes between mind and body, or between mind and world. He proposed that we speak not of minds, bodies, and the world, but of individuals, or persons, acting in the world. Thus, by speaking of 'consciousness,' we end up misleading ourselves by thinking that there is any sort of thing as consciousness separated from behavioral and linguistic understandings.

Many philosophers and scientists have been unhappy about the difficulty of producing a definition that does not involve circularity or fuzziness. The neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, for example, calls consciousness "the feeling of what happens", and defines it as "an organism's awareness of its own self and its surroundings". These formulations seem intuitively reasonable, but they are difficult to apply to specific situations.

Is it a single thing?

Many philosophers have argued that ''consciousness'' is a unitary concept that is understood intuitively by the majority of people in spite of the difficulty in defining it. Others, though, have argued that the level of disagreement about the meaning of the word indicates that it either means different things to different people, or else is an umbrella term encompassing a variety of distinct meanings with no simple element in common.

Ned Block proposed a distinction between two types of consciousness that he called ''phenomenal'' (P-consciousness) and ''access'' (A-consciousness). P-consciousness, according to Block, is simply raw experience: it is moving, colored forms, sounds, sensations, emotions and feelings with our bodies and responses at the center. These experiences, considered independently of any impact on behavior, are called ''qualia''. A-consciousness, on the other hand, is the phenomenon whereby information in our minds is accessible for verbal report, reasoning, and the control of behavior. So, when we perceive, information about what we perceive is access conscious; when we introspect, information about our thoughts is access conscious; when we remember, information about the past is access conscious, and so on. Although some philosophers, such as Daniel Dennett, have disputed the validity of this distinction, others have broadly accepted it. David Chalmers has argued that A-consciousness can in principle be understood in mechanistic terms, but that understanding P-consciousness is much more challenging: he calls this the ''hard problem of consciousness''. Dennett denies that the concept of qualia is coherent, that P-consciousness is intrinsically different from A-consciousness, and that there is anything especially hard about the "hard problem".

Berit Brogaard has argued that even if there is a single concept of consciousness, it does not have determinate application conditions. So, there are cases in which it is neither the case that a state is conscious nor the case that it is not conscious.

How does it relate to the physical world?

The first influential philosopher to discuss this question specifically was Descartes, and the answer he proposed is known as Cartesian dualism. Descartes proposed that consciousness resides within an immaterial domain he called res cogitans (the realm of thought), in contrast to the domain of material things which he called res extensa (the realm of extension). He suggested that the interaction between these two domains occurs inside the brain, perhaps in a small midline structure called the pineal gland.

Although it is widely accepted that Descartes explained the problem cogently, few later philosophers have been happy with his solution, and his ideas about the pineal gland have especially been ridiculed. Alternative solutions, however, have been very diverse. They can be divided broadly into two categories: dualist solutions that maintain Descartes's rigid distinction between the realm of consciousness and the realm of matter but give different answers for how the two realms relate to each other; and monist solutions that maintain that there is really only one realm of being, of which consciousness and matter are both aspects. Each of these categories itself contains numerous variants. The two main types of dualism are substance dualism (which holds that the mind is formed of a distinct type of substance not governed by the laws of physics) and property dualism (which holds that the laws of physics are universally valid but cannot be used to explain the mind). The three main types of monism are physicalism (which holds that the mind consists of matter organized in a particular way), idealism (which holds that only thought truly exists and matter is merely an illusion), and neutral monism (which holds that both mind and matter are aspects of a distinct essence that is itself identical to neither of them). There are also, however, a large number of idiosyncratic theories that cannot cleanly be assigned to any of these camps.

Since the dawn of Newtonian science with its vision of simple mechanical principles governing the entire universe, some philosophers have been tempted by the idea that consciousness could be explained in purely physical terms. The first influential writer to propose such an idea explicitly was Julien Offray de La Mettrie, in his book Man a Machine (''L'homme machine'').

The most influential modern physical theories of consciousness are based on psychology and neuroscience. Theories proposed by neuroscientists such as Gerald Edelman and António Damásio, and by philosophers such as Daniel Dennett, seek to explain access consciousness and phenomenal consciousness in terms of neural events occurring within the brain. Many other neuroscientists, such as Christof Koch, have explored the neural basis of consciousness without attempting to frame all-encompassing global theories. At the same time, computer scientists working in the field of Artificial Intelligence have pursued the goal of creating digital computer programs that can simulate or embody consciousness.

Several physicists have argued that classical physics is intrinsically incapable of explaining the holistic aspects of consciousness, but that quantum theory provides the missing ingredients. Several theorists have therefore proposed quantum mind (QM) theories of consciousness; the most notable theories falling into this category include the Holonomic brain theory of Karl H. Pribram and David Bohm, and the Orch-OR theory formulated by Stuart Hameroff and Roger Penrose. Some of these QM theories offer descriptions of phenomenal consciousness, as well as QM interpretations of access consciousness. None of the quantum mechanical theories has been confirmed by experiment, and many scientists and philosophers consider the arguments for an important role of quantum phenomena to be unconvincing.

Some theorists hold that phenomenal consciousness in particular creates an explanatory gap. Colin McGinn takes the New Mysterianism position that it can't be solved, and David Chalmers criticizes purely physical accounts of mental experiences based on the idea that philosophical zombies are logically possible and supports property dualism.

How does it relate to language?

In humans, the clearest visible indication of consciousness is the ability to use language. Medical assessments of consciousness rely heavily on an ability to respond to questions and commands, and in scientific studies of consciousness, the usual criterion for awareness is verbal report (that is, subjects are deemed to be aware if they say that they are). Thus there is a strong connection between consciousness and language at a practical level. Philosophers differ, however, on whether language is essential to consciousness or merely the most powerful tool for assessing it.

Descartes believed that language and consciousness are bound tightly together. He thought that many of the behaviors humans share with other animals could be explained by physical processes such as reflexes, but that language could not be: he took the fact that animals lack language to be an indication that they lack access to res cogitans, the realm of thought. Others have reached similar conclusions, though sometimes for different reasons. Julian Jaynes argued in ''The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind'' that for consciousness to arise, language needs to have reached a fairly high level of complexity. Merlin Donald also argued for a critical dependence of consciousness on the ability to use symbols in a sophisticated way.

Those are, however, minority views. If language is essential, then speechless humans (infants, feral children, aphasics, ''etc.'') could not be said to be conscious, a conclusion that the majority of philosophers have resisted. The implication that only humans, and not other animals, are conscious is also widely resisted by theorists such as evolutionary psychologists, as well as by animal rights activists.

Why do people believe that other people are conscious?

Many philosophers consider experience to be the essence of consciousness, and believe that experience can only fully be known from the inside, subjectively. But if consciousness is subjective and not visible from the outside, why do the vast majority of people believe that other people are conscious, but rocks and trees are not? This is the problem of other minds. It is particularly acute for people who believe in the possibility of philosophical zombies, that is, people who think it is possible in principle to have an entity that is physically indistinguishable from a human being and behaves like a human being in every way but nevertheless lacks consciousness.

The most commonly given answer is that we attribute consciousness to other people because we see that they resemble us in appearance and behavior: we reason that if they look like us and act like us, they must be like us in other ways, including having experiences of the sort that we do. There are, however, a variety of problems with that explanation. For one thing, it seems to violate the principle of parsimony, by postulating an invisible entity that is not necessary to explain what we observe. Some philosophers, such as Daniel Dennett in an essay titled ''The Unimaginable Preposterousness of Zombies'', argue that people who give this explanation do not really understand what they are saying. More broadly, philosophers who do not accept the possibility of zombies generally believe that consciousness is reflected in behavior (including verbal behavior), and that we attribute consciousness on the basis of behavior. A more straightforward way of saying this is that we attribute experiences to people because they tell us about their experiences.

Could a machine ever be conscious?

The idea that consciousness is fundamentally mechanical can be traced back at least to La Mettrie's book from 1748, but the possibility of manufactured consciousness was apparently first raised by Samuel Butler in an article signed with the ''nom de plume Cellarius and headed "Darwin among the Machines", which appeared in the Christchurch, New Zealand, newspaper ''The Press'' in 1863.

Though sometimes thought of as a test for consciousness, the Turing test, named after computer scientist Alan Turing who proposed it, was originally presented as an operational replacement for the question "Can machines think?", which Turing regarded as too ambiguous to be meaningful. This test is commonly cited in discussion of artificial intelligence. The test is based on an "Imitation Game" in which a human experimenter converses, via computer keyboards, with two competitors, one human, the other a computer. Because all of the conversation is by keyboard, no cues such as voice, prosody, or appearance will be available to indicate which is human and which is the computer. If the human judge is unable to determine which of the conversants is the computer, the computer is said to have "passed" the test. The Turing test has generated a great deal of philosophical debate. For example, Daniel Dennett and Douglas Hofstadter argue that anything capable of passing the Turing test is necessarily conscious, while David Chalmers, argues that a philosophical zombie could pass the test, yet fail to be conscious.

Scientific approaches

For many decades, consciousness as a research topic was avoided by the majority of mainstream scientists, because of a general feeling that a phenomenon defined in subjective terms could not properly be studied using objective experimental methods. Even so, some research on topics associated with consciousness was conducted under the banner of attention. Starting in the 1980s, an expanding community of neuroscientists and psychologists have associated themselves with a field called ''Consciousness Studies'', giving rise to a stream of experimental work published in journals such as Consciousness and Cognition, and methodological work published in journals such as the Journal of Consciousness Studies, along with regular conferences organized by groups such as the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness.

Broadly speaking, scientific approaches are based on two core concepts. The first identifies the content of consciousness with the experiences that are reported by human subjects; the second makes use of the concept of consciousness that has been developed by neurologists and other medical professionals who deal with patients whose behavior is impaired in a variety of ways. In either case, the ultimate goals are to develop techniques for assessing consciousness objectively in humans as well as other animals, and to understand the neural and psychological mechanisms that underlie it.

Cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience

Modern scientific investigations into consciousness are based on psychological statistical studies and case studies of consciousness states and the deficits caused by surgery, trauma or illness that disrupt the normal functioning of human senses and cognition. Another approach is experimental work on unconscious perception, e.g., the investigation of priming effects using subliminal stimuli. These discoveries suggest that the mind is a complex structure derived from various localized functions that are bound together with a unitary awareness.

Several studies point to common mechanisms in different clinical conditions that lead to loss of consciousness. Persistent vegetative state (PVS) is a condition in which an individual loses the higher cerebral powers of the brain, but maintains sleep-wake cycles with full or partial autonomic functions. Studies comparing PVS with healthy, awake subjects consistently demonstrate an impaired connectivity between the deeper (brainstem and thalamic) and the upper (cortical) areas of the brain. In addition, it is agreed that the general brain activity in the cortex is lower in the PVS state. Some electroneurobiological interpretations of consciousness characterize this loss of consciousness as a loss of the ability to resolve time (similar to playing an old phonographic record at very slow or very rapid speed), along a continuum that starts with inattention, continues on sleep, and arrives to coma and death . It is likely that different components of consciousness can be teased apart with anesthetics, sedatives and hypnotics. These drugs appear to act differently on several brain areas to disrupt, to varying degrees, different components of consciousness. The ability to recall information, for example, may be disrupted by anesthetics acting on the hippocampal cortex. Neurons in this region are particularly sensitive to anesthetics at the time loss of recall occurs. Direct anesthetic actions on hippocampal neurons have been shown to underlie EEG effects that occur in humans and animals during loss of recall.

Brain chemistry affects human consciousness. Sleeping drugs such as midazolam (Dormicum) can bring the brain from the awake condition (conscious) to the sleep (unconscious) condition. Wake-up drugs such as flumazenil reverse this process. Many other drugs (such as alcohol, nicotine, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), heroin, cocaine, LSD, MDMA, caffeine), have a consciousness-changing effect.

Neurophysiological studies in awake, behaving monkeys point to advanced cortical areas in prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes as carriers of neuronal correlates of consciousness. Christof Koch and Francis Crick argue that neuronal mechanisms of consciousness are intricately related to prefrontal cortex — cortical areas involved in higher cognitive function, affect, behavioral control, and planning. Rodolfo Llinas proposes that consciousness results from recurrent thalamo-cortical resonance where the specific thalamocortical systems (content) and the non-specific (centromedial thalamus) thalamocortical systems (context) interact in the gamma band frequency via time coincidence. According to this view the "I" represents a global predictive function required for intentionality. Experimental work of Steven Wise, Mikhail Lebedev and their colleagues supports this view. They demonstrated that activity of prefrontal cortex neurons reflects illusory perceptions of movements of visual stimuli. Nikos Logothetis and colleagues made similar observations on visually responsive neurons in the temporal lobe. These neurons reflect the visual perception in the situation when conflicting visual images are presented to different eyes (i.e., bistable percepts during binocular rivalry). The studies of blindsight — vision without awareness after lesions to parts of the visual system such as the primary visual cortex — performed by Lawrence Weiskrantz and David P. Carey provided important insights on how conscious perception arises in the brain.

The Neuroscience of free will also seems to provide relevant insights to the understanding of consciousness.

Measurement

Experimental research on consciousness presents special difficulties, e.g., when establishing whether an observer is unaware of a critical stimulus. Several techniques exist for dissociating the conscious visibility of stimuli from indirect effects they might have on behavior. For example, the experimental technique of Response Priming allows researchers to find conditions where the conscious visibility of a critical stimulus and the ability of that stimulus to affect a motor response develop in opposite directions, e.g., when motor effects of a stimulus become larger under conditions where its visibility is decreasing.

In medicine, several neurological and brain imaging techniques, such as EEG and fMRI, have proven useful for physical measures of brain activity associated with consciousness. This is particularly true for EEG measures during anesthesia, which can provide an indication of anesthetic depth.

Operational tests

It has been argued that due to the nature of the problem of consciousness, empirical tests are intrinsically impossible. However, several tests have been developed that attempt an operational definition of consciousness and try to determine whether computers and non-human animals can demonstrate through behavior, by passing these tests, that they are conscious.

With the Mirror test, devised by Gordon Gallup in the 1970s, one is interested in whether animals are able to recognize themselves in a mirror. The classic example of the test involves placing a spot of coloring on the skin or fur near the individual's forehead and seeing if they attempt to remove it or at least touch the spot, thus indicating that they recognize that the individual they are seeing in the mirror is themselves. Humans (older than 18 months) and other great apes, bottlenose dolphins, pigeons, elephants and magpies have all been observed to pass this test. The test is usually carried out with an identical 'spot' being placed elsewhere on the head with a non-visible material as a control, to assure the subject is not responding to the touch stimuli of the spot's presence.

Biological function and evolution

Regarding the primary function of conscious processing, a recurring idea in recent theories is that phenomenal states somehow integrate neural activities and information-processing that would otherwise be independent (see review in Baars, 2002). This has been called the ''integration consensus''. However, it remained unspecified which kinds of information are integrated in a conscious manner and which kinds can be integrated without consciousness. Obviously not all kinds of information are capable of being disseminated consciously (e.g., neural activity related to vegetative functions, reflexes, unconscious motor programs, low-level perceptual analyses, etc.) and many kinds can be disseminated and combined with other kinds without consciousness, as in intersensory interactions such as the ventriloquism effect (cf., Morsella, 2005).

Even among writers who consider consciousness to be a definite thing, there is widespread dispute about which animals other than humans can be said to possess it. Thus, any examination of the evolution of consciousness is faced with great difficulties. Nevertheless, some writers have argued that consciousness can be viewed from the standpoint of evolutionary biology as an adaptation in the sense of a trait that increases fitness. In his paper "Evolution of consciousness," John Eccles argued that special anatomical and physical properties of the mammalian cerebral cortex gave rise to consciousness. Bernard Baars proposed that once in place, this recursive circuitry may have provided a basis for the subsequent development of many of the functions that consciousness facilitates in higher organisms.

Other philosophers, however, have suggested that consciousness would not be necessary for any functional advantage in evolutionary processes. It is possible, they argue, for a functionally equivalent non-conscious organism to achieve the same survival advantages as a conscious organism. If evolutionary processes are blind to the difference between function ''F'' being performed by conscious organism ''O'' and non-conscious organism ''O*'', it is unclear what advantage consciousness would provide.

States of consciousness

The three most widely accepted states of consciousness are sleeping, dreaming and waking. In addition to the obvious subjective differences each state has a corresponding pattern of physiological functioning in terms of EEG, biochemical markers, and (in dreaming) rapid eye movements.

There has been some research into physiological changes in yogis and people who practise various techniques of meditation. Recent research with brain waves during meditation has shown a distinct difference between those corresponding to ordinary relaxation and those corresponding to meditation. It is contested, however, whether there is enough evidence to count these as physiologically distinct states of consciousness.

Medical aspects

In medicine, consciousness is measured by neuropsychological assessment. It is of concern to patients, physicians, and ethicists as well as biological scientists and biomedical engineers. Patients may suffer from disorders of consciousness and seek medical treatment. Physicians may perform medical interventions of consciousness such as instructing the patient to sleep, administering general anesthesia, or inducing medical coma. Bioethicists and neuroethicists may be concerned with the ethical implications of consciousness in medical cases of patients such as Karen Ann Quinlan and Terri Schiavo. Furthermore, biological scientists study patients with these disorders while biomedical engineers develop neuroprosthetics for them.

Assessment

There are two commonly used methods for assessing the level of consciousness of a patient, a simple procedure that requires minimal training, and a more complex procedure that requires substantial expertise.

The simple procedure begins by asking whether the patient is able to move and react to physical stimuli. If so, the next question is whether the patient can respond in a meaningful way to questions and commands. If so, the patient is asked for name, current location, and current day and time. A patient who can answer all of these questions correctly is said to be "oriented times three" (sometimes denoted "Ox3" on a medical chart), and is usually considered fully conscious. A patient who can additionally describe the current situation may be referred to as "oriented times four".

The more complex procedure is known as a neurological examination, and is usually carried out by a neurologist in a hospital setting. A formal neurological examination runs through a precisely defined series of tests, beginning with tests for basic sensorimotor reflexes, and culminating with tests for sophisticated use of language. The outcome may be summarized using the Glasgow Coma Scale, which yields a number in the range 3—15, with a score of 3 indicating brain death (the lowest level of consciousness), and 15 indicating full consciousness. The Glasgow Coma Scale has three subscales, measuring the ''best motor response'' (ranging from "no motor response" to "obeys commands"), the ''best eye response'' (ranging from "no eye opening" to "eyes opening spontaneously") and the ''best verbal response'' (ranging from "no verbal response" to "fully oriented"). There is also a simpler pediatric version of the scale, for children too young to be able to use language.

Disorders of consciousness

Medical conditions that inhibit consciousness are considered disorders of consciousness. This category generally includes minimally conscious state and persistent vegetative state, but sometimes also includes the less severe locked-in syndrome and more severe chronic coma. Differential diagnosis of these disorders is an active area of biomedical research. Finally, brain death results in an irreversible disruption of consciousness. While other conditions may cause a moderate deterioration (e.g., dementia and delirium) or transient interruption (e.g., grand mal and petit mal seizures) of consciousness, they are not included in this category.

Disorder !! Description
Locked-in syndrome	The patient has awareness, sleep-wake cycles, and meaningful behavior (viz., eye-movement), but is isolated due to quadriplegia and pseudobulbar palsy.
Minimally conscious state	The patient has intermittent periods of awareness and wakefulness and displays some meaningful behavior.
Persistent vegetative state	The patient has sleep-wake cycles, but lacks awareness and only displays reflexive and non-purposeful behavior.
Chronic coma	The patient lacks awareness and sleep-wake cycles and only displays reflexive behavior.
Brain death	The patient lacks awareness, sleep-wake cycles, and behavior.

Spiritual approaches

''Vedanta''

According to ''Vedanta,'' awareness is not a product of physical processes and can be considered under four aspects. The first is waking consciousness (''jagaritasthana''), the identification with “I” or “me” in relationship with phenomenal experiences with external objects. The second aspect is dream consciousness (''svapna-sthana''), which embodies the same subject/object duality as the waking state. The third aspect of consciousness is deep sleep (''susupti''), which is non-dual as a result of holding in abeyance all feelings, thoughts, and sensations. The final aspect is the consciousness that underlies and transcends the first three aspects (''turiya'') also referred to as a trans-cognitive state (''anubhava'') or a state of self-realization or freedom from body-mind identification (moksha). The state of turiya has been correlated with physiological and bio chemical changes in the body. Gaudiya Vedanta recognizes a fifth aspect of consciousness in which God becomes subordinate to ''bhakti''.

Vijñāna

In Tibetan Buddhism, consciousness (viññāṇa) is included in the five classically defined experiential "aggregates". The aggregates are seen as empty of self-nature; that is, they arise dependent on causes and conditions. The cause for consciousness arising (''viññāa'') is the arising of another aggregate (physical or mental); and, consciousness arising in turn gives rise to one or more of the mental (''nāma'') aggregates. The causation chain identified in the aggregate (''khandha'') model overlaps the conditioning chain in Dependent Origination (''paticcasamuppāda'') model. Consciousness is the third link, between mind body mental formations and name & form in the traditional Twelve Causes (''nidāna'') of Dependent Origination. The six classes of consciousness are: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, intellect-consciousness. The following aspects are traditionally highlighted within Dependent Origination: :* consciousness is conditioned by mental fabrications (''''); :* consciousness and the mind-body (''nāmarūpa'') are interdependent; and, :* consciousness acts as a "life force" by which there is a continuity across rebirths.

See also

Cognitive neuroscience

Cognitive psychology

Neuropsychology

Neuropsychological assessment

Phenomenology

Philosophy of mind

Merkwelt

References

External links

Consciousness Studies at the Open Directory Project

''Anthropology of Consciousness''

''Consciousness and Cognition''

''Consciousness & Emotion''

''Journal of Consciousness Studies''

''Psyche'' (ASSC)

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:Cognitive neuroscience Category:Cognitive psychology Category:Consciousness Category:Neuropsychology Category:Neuropsychological assessment Category:Phenomenology Category:Philosophy of mind Category:Cognition Category:Mental processes

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Coordinates	40°26′30″N80°00′00″N
Name	John Hagelin
Birth date	June 09, 1954
Birth place	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Death date
Resting place coordinates
Residence	Fairfield, Iowa, USA
Known for	Three-time candidate for U.S. President, physicist, and administrator
Education	Ph.D. Harvard University, 1981
Doctoral advisor	Howard Georgi
Alma mater	Dartmouth College, Harvard University
Employer	Maharishi University of Management, US Peace Government
Occupation	Professor
Title	Raja of Invincible America, President of the US Peace Government, and others
Party	Natural Law Party
Spouse	Margaret (1985–1993) divorced Kara Anastasio (2010)
Awards	Kilby, Ig Nobel
Website	http://www.hagelin.org
Footnotes	}}

John Hagelin (born June 9, 1954) is an American particle physicist, three-time candidate of the Natural Law Party for President of the United States (1992, 1996, and 2000), and the director of the Transcendental Meditation movement for the US.

Hagelin was a researcher at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), and is now Professor of Physics and Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy at Maharishi University of Management. He has conducted research into unified field theory and the Maharishi Effect.

Hagelin was appointed Raja of Invincible America by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and is also President of the US Peace Government. He is Executive Director of the International Center for Invincible Defense, Executive Director of the Global Financial Capital of New York, Executive Director of the Center for Leadership Performance, Director of the Board of Advisors for the David Lynch Foundation, Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Maharishi University of Management, and International Director of the Global Union of Scientists for Peace.

Early life and education

John Samuel Hagelin was born June 9, 1954, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During childhood, he played soccer, hockey and the piano. Hagelin won a scholarship to Taft School for boys, where he received a perfect score of 165 on a school-administered IQ test and, according to Neil Dickie of The Iowa Source, "(...) was also a dare-devil". In 1970, while at Taft, he was involved in a motorcycle crash that led to hospitalization and a full body cast. During this time, one of his teachers introduced him to quantum mechanics, and he also learned the Transcendental Meditation technique, both of which had major impacts on his life.

Hagelin later graduated from Taft and attended Dartmouth College on a scholarship. After his freshman year, a continued interest in Transcendental Meditation led him to Vittel, France, where he completed the studies necessary to become a qualified teacher of the Transcendental Meditation technique. While at Dartmouth, he earned an undergraduate degree in physics in three years with highest honors (summa cum laude). He also co-authored and published papers in physics research and won a fellowship to study physics at Harvard. While at Harvard, Hagelin worked under the noted physicists Howard Georgi and Sheldon Glashow, best known for their work in Grand Unification theory (GUT). He received a Master's degree from Harvard in 1976, and a Ph.D. in 1981.

Professional careers

Scientist and academic

By the time Hagelin had received his Ph.D. from Harvard, he had already published "several serious papers" on particle theory. In 1981, Hagelin won a postdoctoral research appointment at CERN (the European Center for Particle Physics) in Switzerland, and in 1983 was recruited by SLAC (the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center), CERN's North American counterpart.

In 1984, Hagelin shifted his appointment from SLAC to Maharishi International University (MIU), where he continued his research in physics, pursued a long-time interest in brain and cognitive science research, and established an accredited doctoral program in theoretical physics. Hagelin's move to MIU in 1984 surprised and puzzled his colleagues. Howard Georgi and John Ellis tried to talk him out of it. But, according to Georgi, Hagelin "continued to do good physics anyway." Nobel Laureate, Sheldon Glashow was quoted in a 1992 article as saying, "His papers are outstanding. We read them before he went to MIU and we read them now." Hagelin remained in contact with colleagues from Harvard, Stanford, and CERN, and continued to collaborate with them. While at MIU, his contributions to the field of theoretical physics were supported by funding from the National Science Foundation.

Hagelin is a Professor of Physics at Maharishi University of Management (formerly MIU). Hagelin is also identified as the Founding President of Maharishi Central University, which was announced in 2007. Central University was under construction in Smith Center, Kansas at the site of a previously-announced Peace Palace until early 2008, when, according to Hagelin, the project was put on hold while the TM organization dealt with the death of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Theoretical physics research

During his time at CERN, SLAC and Maharishi University of Management (MUM), Hagelin worked on supersymmetric extensions of the standard model and grand unification theories. In the years 1979-1996, Hagelin collaborated with many leading figures and published more than 70 papers in the fields of particle physics, electroweak unification, grand unification, supersymmetry, and cosmology, most of them in prestigious scientific journals. Several were described as "core papers" that were among the 20 most cited references in physics in their respective years, according to Current Contents magazine. This includes his work on the "flipped SU(5), heterotic superstring theory" that is considered one of the more successful unified field theories or "theories of everything" and was highlighted in a cover story in ''Discover'' magazine.

Hagelin co-authored a 1983 paper entitled "Weak symmetry breaking by radiative corrections in broken supergravity", which is included in a list of the 103 articles in the physical sciences that were cited the most times during the years 1983 and 1984. A 1984 study titled "Supersymmetric relics from the big bang", had been cited over 500 times as of 2007.

Critics of Hagelin have included physicist Peter Woit and journalist Christopher Andersen. Peter Woit in his book, ''Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory and The Search for Unity In Physical Law'', precedes his critical remarks by acknowledging Hagelin as having published papers in prestigious journals that would eventually be cited in over a hundred other papers. Christopher Anderson wrote in a 1992 news article in ''Nature'' that Hagelin, co-developer of one of the "better-accepted" unified field theories known as the Flipped SU(5) model, "is by all accounts a gifted researcher well known and respected by his colleagues".

Research on consciousness and the unified field

In 1987 and 1989, Hagelin published two papers in the Maharishi University of Management's ''Journal of Modern Science and Vedic Science'' on the relationship between physics and consciousness. These papers discuss the Vedic understanding of consciousness as a field and compares it with theories of the unified field derived by modern physics. Hagelin argues that these two fields have almost identical properties and quantitative structure, and he presents other theoretical and empirical arguments that the two fields are actually one and the same — specifically, that the experience of unity at the basis of the mind achieved during the meditative state is the subjective experience of the very same fundamental unity of existence revealed by unified field theories.

Research on the Maharishi Effect

As evidence for this explanation, Hagelin points to the body of research supporting the positive effects created by Transcendental Meditation and the more advanced TM-Sidhi program (which includes a practice called "Yogic Flying") which are said to have measurable effects on social trend parameters. This phenomenon is called the "Maharishi Effect". Hagelin cites numerous studies of such effects, and in the summer of 1993, he conducted a large scale study of the same type. Approximately 4,000 TM-Sidhi program practitioners gathered in Washington, D.C., where they practiced the TM-Sidhi techniques twice daily in a group for several weeks. Using data obtained from the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department for 1993 and the preceding five years (1988–1992), Hagelin and collaborators followed the changes in crime rates for the area before, during, and after the 6 weeks when the group was gathered in Washington, D.C. In 1999, the study, which controlled for effects of temperature changes and showed a highly statistically significant drop in crime, was published in ''Social Indicators Research''. During the eight weeks of the study, the overall level of violent crime (homicides, rapes, and assaults) decreased by 23%, with rapes declining by 58%. Homicides averaged 10 a week during the study—the same as in the weeks preceding and following the study. For most of the eight weeks of the study the homicide rate declined, but gang fighting resulted in ten murders in a 36 hour period. Robert L. Park, research professor and former chair of the Physics Department at the University of Maryland and well known skeptic of paranormal claims, dismissed the study as a "clinic in data manipulation" and accused Hagelin and his team of scientific misconduct. Maxwell Rainforth, Assistant Professor of Physiology and Health and Statistics at Maharishi University of Management and a coauthor of the Washington, D.C. study, characterized Park's criticisms of the study as "superficial, highly polemical" and "willfully misleading".

Reception of Hagelin's connection of unified field of physics to the Maharishi Effect

Hagelin's interest in the connection between quantum physics and the Maharishi Effect has been discussed by both colleagues and critics. Hagelin was invited to be a plenary speaker at the 2007 Quantum Mind conference in Salzburg, Austria, organized by Stuart Hameroff (University of Arizona) and Gustav Bernroider (University of Salzburg). Hagelin was a featured scientist in the popular movies, ''What the Bleep Do We Know!?'', ''What the Bleep? Down the Rabbit Hole'' (2006) and ''The Secret'', which renewed interest in the quantum mind paradigm. Science writer Simon Singh questioned the credibility and motives of the interviewees in the film, and advised against seeing ''What the Bleep Do We Know!?'' as it would leave viewers misinformed.

Both Woit and Anderson have commented critically on Hagelin's interest in and publications on consciousness research. Woit says identifying a unified field of consciousness with a unified field of superstring theory is wishful thinking. He also asserts that most physicists think Hagelin's views are nonsense. Anderson says Hagelin's investigations into how the extension of grand unified theories of physics to human consciousness could explain the way Transcendental Meditation is said to influence world events "disturbs many researchers" and "infuriates his former collaborators." Dallas Observer political reporter Jonathan Fox wrote that "Once considered a top scientist, Hagelin's former academic peers ostracized him after the candidate attempted to shoehorn Eastern metaphysical musings into the realm of quantum physics." According to Woit, Hagelin began connecting consciousness and the unified field in the late 1970s as a Ph.D. student at Harvard. Hagelin's collaborative work in particle physics continued until 1994. Anderson says that John Ellis, director of CERN, was worried about guilt by association. Anderson quotes Ellis as saying "I was afraid that people might regard [Hagelin's assertions] as rather flaky, and that might rub off on the theory or on us."

Hagelin's linkage of quantum mechanics and unified field theory with consciousness was critiqued by University of Iowa philosophy and sociology professors Evan Fales and Barry Markovsky in the journal ''Social Forces''. They wrote that Hagelin's equating consciousness with the unified field relies on a similarity between quantum mechanical properties of fields and consciousness, and that his arguments rely on ambiguity and obscurity in characterizing these properties. They dismiss Hagelin's parallels between the Vedas and contemporary unified field theories as a reliance on ambiguity and vague analogy supported by constructing arbitrary similarities. David Orme-Johnson and Robert Oates, retired colleagues of Hagelin from MUM, replied to this critique in the ''Journal of Scientific Exploration'' and said, in part, that Fales' and Markovsky's accusation of "vagueness" and "ambiguity" on Hagelin's part are in themselves vague and ambiguous and that there is no standard against which they can be evaluated.

Entrepreneur

In 1990, Hagelin founded Enlightened Audio Designs Corporation (EAD) with electronics engineer Alastair Roxburgh. As President and Director of Research of EAD, Hagelin designed and manufactured high-end digital-to-analog (D-to-A) converters that were critically acclaimed. In 1996, EAD was the first company in the world to develop and commercialize home theater surround-sound processors incorporating multi-channel digital surround-sound technologies, such as Dolby Digital and DTS. In 2001, EAD Corporation was sold to the Oregon-based company Alpha Digital Technologies.

Politician

Natural Law Party

The Natural Law Party (NLP) was founded in 1992 in Fairfield, Iowa by Hagelin and a group of 12 educators, scientists, business leaders, and other professionals who desired a more scientific approach to national administration that would promote field-tested solutions to the nation's problems. The party platform included preventive health care, sustainable agriculture and renewable energy technologies. During his campaigns, Hagelin favored abortion rights without public financing, campaign-finance law reform and improved gun control. He proposed a flat tax and no tax for families earning less than $34,000 a year. Hagelin also campaigned to eradicate PACs and soft money campaign contributions and advocated safety locks on guns. He endorsed school vouchers and efforts to prevent war in the Middle East by reducing "people's tension".

The party chose Hagelin and Michael Tompkins as its presidential and vice-presidential candidates in 1992 and 1996.

Hagelin ran for President again in the 2000 Presidential election, being nominated both by the NLP and by the Perot wing of the Reform Party, which disputed the nomination of Pat Buchanan. Hagelin's running mate in the 2000 election was Nat Goldhaber, an entrepreneur who, like Hagelin and Tompkins, was a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation.

A dispute over the Reform Party's nomination generated "legal action" between the Hagelin and Buchanan campaigns. In September 2000, the Federal Election Commission ruled that Buchanan was the official candidate of the Reform Party, and hence, was eligible to receive federal election funds. As part of the ruling, the Reform Party convention that nominated Hagelin was declared invalid. In spite of the ruling, Hagelin remained on several state ballots as the Reform Party nominee, due to the independent nature of various state affiliates. He also was the national nominee of the Natural Law Party, and in New York was the Independence Party nominee.

During his 2000 campaign, Hagelin appeared on ABC's ''Nightline'' (2000) and ''Politically Incorrect'' (2000), NBC's ''Meet the Press'' (2000), CNN's ''Larry King Live'', PBS's News Hour with Jim Lehrer, ''Inside Politics'', CNBC's ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'', and C-SPAN's ''Washington Journal''.

Hagelin's Presidential electoral results: 1992 - Ballot status in 32 states - 39,212 votes 1996 - Ballot status in 43 states - 113,659 votes 2000 - Ballot status in 39 states - 83,714 votes

In the middle of the 2000 campaign, Hagelin said that having the party's principles reach the "marketplace of ideas" and be co-opted by the Democrats and Republicans would be a victory.

In April 2004, the U.S. Natural Law Party officially disbanded its national organization, although a few state parties may still be active. In the 2004 primary elections, Hagelin and the Natural Law Party endorsed Democratic candidate Dennis Kucinich.

In 2010, Hagelin married Kara Anastasio, the former vice-chair of the Natural Law Party of Ohio.

Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy

Hagelin is the Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy, a think tank at Maharishi University of Management. According to their website, he has met with members of Congress and officials at the Department of State, and the Department of Defense on the issue of terrorism.

Hagelin helped to write a paragraph in Hillary Rodham Clinton's 10,000-page health proposal. He says that it was the only paragraph in the document that concerned health and preventive care.

In 1998, Hagelin gave testimony to the National Institutes of Health, DNA Advisory Committee on germ-line technologies, stating that recombinant DNA technology is inherently risky because of the high probability of unexpected side-effects.

Hagelin moderated a panel on stress at a June 3, 1999 Congressional Prevention Coalition caucus.

US Peace Government and Invincible America

Hagelin established the US Peace Government (USPG) on July 4, 2003, as an affiliate of the Global Country of World Peace. The US Peace Government and the Global Country of World Peace were created to promote evidence-based and sustainable solutions as well as policies of governance that are aligned with Natural Law. As president of the USPG, Hagelin presides over a national assembly of USPG state representatives or governors, who in turn preside over US Peace Government assemblies and capital buildings in their respective states. The USPG announced plans to build a national capital in Washington Township, Smith County, Kansas, near the geographic center of America. The offices for the U.S. Peace Government are located in Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa, and the office of the President was at The Jefferson hotel, Washington, D.C. in 2004.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi appointed Hagelin as the "Raja of Invincible America" on November 19, 2007. Hagelin organized the Invincible America Assembly in Fairfield, Iowa which began in July 2006. The assembly consists of a group of individuals practicing the Transcendental Meditation and the TM-Sidhi techniques in a group, twice daily. Hagelin stated in a press release announcing the project that "for the United States, with a population of just over 300 million, the required number of peace-creating experts is 1,730". According to the Global Good News website "on 28 November 2006, the United States achieved invincibility and is stabilizing the number of Yogic Flyers—rising from 1,600 to 1,730—assembled at the Invincible America Assembly in Fairfield, Iowa". In addition, Hagelin's Institute for Science Technology and Public Policy web site says that the Invincible America Assembly in Iowa "is rising quickly toward its target of 2,500".

In July, 2007, Hagelin predicted that when the number of assembly participants reached 2,500, which he said would happen within a year, America would have a major drop in crime, and see the virtual elimination of all major social and political woes in the United States. Hagelin said that the Assembly was responsible for the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching a record high of 14,022 earlier that month, and predicted that the Dow would top 17,000 within a year.

Awards

In 1992, Hagelin was honored with a Kilby International Award which "recognizes scientists who have made major contributions to society through their applied research in the fields of science and technology". The award was given for his work in particle physics leading to the development of supersymmetric grand unified field theories, for his innovative applications of advanced principles from control systems theory and optimization theory to digital sound reproduction, and for his research on human consciousness. Chris Anderson questioned the value of the award in an article about Hagelin published in ''Nature''.

In 1994, Hagelin received the Ig Nobel Prize for Peace, an annual parody award presented at Harvard University which "honor[s] achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think". The Master of ceremony and award's founder Mark Abrahams called it the world's most "(un)coveted award for achievements that cannot or should not be reproduced" which are given to "honor the world's largely overlooked scientists and other contributors to modern culture, who bring smiles and guffaws to others, whether intentional or not." Hagelin received the prize for his "experimental conclusion that 4,000 trained meditators caused an 18 percent decrease in violent crime in Washington, D.C."

Books

References

Further reading

Hagelin, J.S. ''Manual for a Perfect Government: How to Harness the Laws of Nature to Bring Maximum Success to Governmental Administration''. Maharishi University of Management Press, 1998.

Freedman, David H: The new theory of everything. ''Discover'', 1991, pp 54–61.

Hagelin, J: Is consciousness the unified field? A field theorist's perspective. ''Modern Science and Vedic Science'' 1, 1987, pp 29–87.

Hagelin, JS: Restructuring physics from its foundation in light of Maharishi's Vedic Science. ''Modern Science and Vedic Science'' 3, 1989, pp 3–72.

External links

Official site

MUM Faculty

PBS Bio

Invincible America Assembly daily tally

Political Platform

PBS Interview, 2000

LA Yoga Interview 2006

Category:1954 births Category:Dartmouth College alumni Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Ig Nobel Prize winners Category:Living people Category:Particle physicists Category:Politicians from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:Quantum mysticism Category:Transcendental Meditation practitioners Category:Transcendental Meditation researchers Category:United States presidential candidates, 1992 Category:United States presidential candidates, 1996 Category:United States presidential candidates, 2000 Category:Natural Law Party (United States) politicians

fr:John Hagelin it:John Hagelin pt:John Hagelin ru:Хагелин, Джон sv:John Hagelin

Dr. Bruce Lipton (born October 21, 1944) is an American developmental biologist, who is best known for promoting the idea that genes and DNA can be manipulated by a person's beliefs. He teaches at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic.

Biography & Education

Lipton was born in Mt. Kisco, an affluent town in New York. In 1966 he received a B.A. in Biology from C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University and then his PhD in developmental biology from the University of Virginia in 1971.

Academic Work

In 1973 he taught anatomy as an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin School Of Medicine before coming to St. George's University School of Medicine, where he became a Professor of Anatomy for 3 years. From 1987 to 1992 he was involved in research at Penn State and Stanford University Medical Center. Since 1993 he has been teaching in non-tenure positions at different universities.

His publications consist mainly of research on the development of muscle cells.

Books

2005 ''The Biology of Belief – Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter & Miracles''

2009 ''Spontaneous Evolution: Our Positive Future and a Way to Get There from Here'' (co-authored with Steve Bhaerman.

Other Work

Lipton has appeared on several radio shows as well as ''The Elaine Smitha Show''

In addition to his appearances on radio and television, he has been a speaker at the Institute of Noetic Sciences's 13th international conference, the Spiritual Science Fellowship International Conference, and various other conventions.

He also has appeared in the Kymatica Documentary.

Awards and honors

2009 Goi Peace Award

References

External links

Nature, Nurture, & the Power of Love: Conscious Parenting (part 1 of 2)

Nature, Nurture, & the Power of Love: Conscious Parenting (part 2 of 2)

Bruce Lipton - The New Biology - Where Mind and Matter Meet 1of 2.avi

Bruce Lipton - The New Biology - Where Mind and Matter Meet 2o f2.avi

Genetics, Epigenetics, and Destiny - Interview with Dr. Bruce Lipton

Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:American academics Category:American biologists Category:Developmental biologists Category:Pennsylvania State University faculty Category:Stanford University faculty Category:University of Virginia alumni Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty

es:Bruce Lipton it:Bruce Lipton

Coordinates	40°26′30″N80°00′00″N
name	Deepak Chopra
birth place	New Delhi, India
birth date	October 22, 1946
occupation	physician, public speaker, writer
spouse	Rita Chopra
parents	Dr. (Col) K. L. Chopra, Pushpa Chopra
children	Mallika Chopra and Gotham Chopra
nationality	American (born Indian)
website	deepakchopra.com }}

Deepak Chopra (; born October 22, 1946) is a Indian medical doctor, public speaker, and writer on subjects such as spirituality, Ayurveda and mind-body medicine. Chopra began his career as an endocrinologist and later shifted his focus to alternative medicine. Chopra now runs his own medical center, with a focus on mind-body connections. He is also a lecturer at the Update in Internal Medicine event, sponsored by Harvard Medical School's Department of Continuing Education and the Department of Medicine.

Chopra was a top assistant to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi before launching his own career in the late 1980s by publishing self-help books on New Age spirituality and alternative medicine.

A friend of Michael Jackson for 20 years, Chopra came to widespread public attention in July 2009 when he criticized the "cult of drug-pushing doctors, with their co-dependent relationships with addicted celebrities," saying he hoped Jackson's death, attributed to an overdose of a prescription drug, would be a call to action.

Family history

Chopra was born in New Delhi, India. His father, Krishan Chopra, M.D. (1919–2001) was a prominent Indian cardiologist. He was head of the department of medicine and cardiology at Mool Chand Khairati Ram Hospital, New Delhi, for over 25 years, and a lieutenant in the British army. His paternal grandfather was a sergeant in the British Army, who sought treatment for his heart condition from Ayurveda when it did not improve through medical means.

Chopra's younger brother, Sanjiv, is a Professor of Medicine and Faculty Dean for Continuing Medical Education at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Early life and education

As a young man, Chopra's desire was to become an actor or journalist but he reports that he was inspired by a character in ''Arrowsmith'' by Sinclair Lewis and became a doctor.

Chopra completed his primary education at St. Columba's School in New Delhi and graduated from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). After immigrating to the US in 1968, Chopra began his clinical internship and residency training at Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield, New Jersey. He had residency terms at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts, and at the University of Virginia Hospital.

He earned his license to practice medicine in the state of Massachusetts in 1973 and received a California medical license in 2004. Chopra is board-certified in internal medicine and specialized in endocrinology. He is also a member of the American Medical Association (AMA), a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.

Career

Chopra taught at the Tufts University and Boston University Schools of Medicine. He became Chief of Staff at the New England Memorial Hospital in Stoneham, Massachusetts, later known as Boston Regional Medical Center, before establishing a private practice.

After reading about the Transcendental Meditation technique, Chopra and his wife learned the practice in 1981, and two months later they went on to learn the advanced TM-Sidhi program. Sources also describe a 1981 meeting between Chopra and Ayurvedic physician Brihaspati Dev Triguna in Delhi, India, in which Triguna advised Chopra to learn the TM technique.

In 1985, Chopra met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who invited him to study Ayurveda. In that same year, Chopra left his position at the New England Memorial Hospital and became the founding president of the American Association of Ayurvedic Medicine, and was later named medical director of the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Center for Stress Management and Behavioral Medicine. He was initially the sole stockholder of Maharishi Ayurveda Products International, but divested after three months. He has been called the TM movement's "poster boy" and "its leading Ayurvedic physician". In 1989, the Maharishi awarded him with the title "Dhanvantari (Lord of Immortality), the keeper of perfect health for the world".

In its May 22/29, 1991 issue, the ''Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') published an article coauthored by Chopra: ''Letter from New Delhi: Maharishi Ayur-Veda: Modern Insights Into Ancient Medicine''. ''JAMA'' editors claimed that Chopra and his co-authors had financial interests in "Maharishi Vedic Medicine" products and services. In the August 14, 1991 edition of ''JAMA'', the editors published a financial disclosure correction and followed up on October 2, 1991 with a six-page Medical News and Perspectives exposé. An article discussing this chain of events was authored by Andrew A. Skolnick in the Newsletter of the National Association of Science Writers. A 1992 defamation lawsuit brought against the article's author and the editor of JAMA was dismissed in 1993. Media reports published four years later saying that there had been a monetary settlement of the case were later withdrawn as untrue.

By 1992, Chopra was serving on The National Institutes of Health Ad Hoc Panel on Alternative Medicine. In 1993, Chopra became executive director of the Sharp Institute for Human Potential and Mind–Body Medicine with a $30,000 grant from the Office of Alternative Medicine in the National Institutes to study Ayurvedic medicine. Chopra's institute also maintained affiliation with Sharp Healthcare, in San Diego. That same year Chopra moved with his family to Southern California where he lives with his wife and near his two adult children, Gotham and Mallika.

Chopra left the Transcendental Meditation movement in January 1994. According to his own account, Chopra was accused by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi of attempting to compete with the Maharishi's position as guru. Todd Carroll said Chopra left the TM organization when it “became too stressful” and was a “hindrance to his success”.

In 1995, Chopra was the recipient of the Toastmasters "International Top Five Outstanding Speakers" award. In 1997 Chopra was given the Golden Gavel Award by Toastmasters.

He was presented the Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic awarded by the Pio Manzu International Scientific Committee. In the citation committee chairman and former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev referred to Chopra as ‘one of the most lucid and inspired philosophers of our time’. Esquire Magazine designated him as one of the "top ten motivational speakers in the country".

In 1996, Chopra parted company with the Sharp Institute. That same year, Chopra and neurologist David Simon, M.D., founded the Chopra Center for Wellbeing, which incorporated Ayurveda in its regimen, and was located in La Jolla, California. The University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine and American Medical Association have granted continuing medical education credits for some programs offered to physicians at the Chopra Center. In 2002, Chopra and Simon relocated the Chopra Center to the grounds of La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California,continuing to offer mind-body wellness programs, medical consultations, and instruction in meditation, yoga, and Ayurveda.

Chopra and Simon also revived an ancient mantra-based meditation practice, traveling to India to study the origins of this technique, known as Primordial Sound Meditation. This form of meditation is now taught at the Chopra Center and by certified instructors who receive their training through Chopra Center University.

Since 2000 Chopra has sat as an advisor for the National Ayurvedic Medical Association.

In 2005 Chopra was made a Senior Scientist at The Gallup Organization. He currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Executive Programs at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Chopra has a Sirius XM weekly radio show where he interviews prominent scientists and leaders in the development of human potential on Sirius//XM Stars Radio show Wellness Radio He is also a weekly columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, a regular contributor to the Washington Post's ''On Faith section'' and a prolific contributor to the Huffington Post.

Dr. Chopra is also a monthly contributor for the Times of India Speaking Tree.

In 2006, Chopra launched Virgin Comics LLC with his son Gotham Chopra and entrepreneur Richard Branson. The company's purpose is to "spread peace and awareness through comics and trading cards that display traditional Kabalistic characters and stories". Chopra was awarded the 2006 Ellis Island Medal of Honor by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations.

He was the recipient in 2009 of the Oceana Award. Also in 2009, Chopra established the Chopra Foundation with a mission to advance the cause of mind/body spiritual healing, education, and research through fundraising for selected projects. In 2010 the Chopra Foundation sponsored the first Sages and Scientists Symposium with prominent scientists philosophers and artists from around the world.

In 2010, Chopra received the Cinequest Life of a Maverick Award for his collaborations with filmmakers Shekhar Kapur and his son, Gotham Chopra. The award goes to "inspirational individuals who touch the world of film while their greater lives exemplify the Maverick spirit".

Chopra is heavily featured in UniGlobe Entertainment's cancer docudrama titled ''1 a Minute'' talking about mind, body, spirit and the mystery of life and death. The documentary is directed by actress Namrata Singh Gujral and also features cancer survivors Olivia Newton-John, Diahann Carroll, Melissa Etheridge, Mumtaz (actress) and Jaclyn Smith.

He received the 2010 Humanitarian Starlite Award "for his global force of human empowerment, well-being and for bringing light to the world." Chopra is the recipient of the 2010 GOI Peace Award.

In September 2010, Chopra published a criticism of Stephen Hawking's book ''The Grand Design''.

In February 2011 the Chopra Foundation sponsored the second annual Sages and Scientists Symposium with eminent physicists, geneticists and social scientists from around the world. .

In conjunction with Menas Kafatos, Ph.D and Rudolph E.Tanzi,Ph.D. Chopra published a paper in the Journal of Cosmology Vol. 14 April-May 2011, titled "How Consciousness Becomes the Physical Universe."

In June 2011 Deepak Chopra wrote an op-ed for the American Medical Association Journal of Ethics titled "Medicine’s Great Divide—The View from the Alternative Side"

In the summer of 2011 Deepak Chopra was ranked #1 influencer of all Indians in the world, both resident and non-resident.

Criticism

According to a 2008 article in ''Time'' magazine, Chopra is “a magnet for criticism” primarily from those involved in science and medicine. Some critics say that Chopra creates a false sense of hope in sick individuals which may keep them away from effective medical care. The ''Time'' article summarized Chopra's reception and popularity thus: "Of all the Asian gurus…, Chopra has arguably been the most successful at erasing apparent differences between East and West by packaging Eastern mystique in credible Western garb. …[H]is quest to construct a pleasing and seamless model of the universe tends to jump to easy conclusions and to spackle over problematic gaps and inconsistencies in the ideas he presents — is obvious to all but his most starry-eyed fans. But grousing about such crimes — as many do — does little to explain his enormous popularity. Chopra is as rich as he is today not because he has been dishonest with anyone, but because his basic message — that love, health and happiness are possible, that mystery is real and that the universe is ultimately a friendly and benevolent place where orthodoxies old and new can meet and make peace with one another — is one that he wants to believe in just as sincerely as his readers do."

Chopra was sued for plagiarism by Robert Sapolsky for using a stress endocrine chart without proper attribution, after the publication of Chopra’s book, ''Ageless Body, Timeless Mind''. An out of court settlement resulted in Chopra attributing material that was researched by Sapolsky. Chopra acknowledges that his thought has been inspired by Jiddu Krishnamurti and others.

In 1996, the ''Weekly Standard'' of London published an article which accused Chopra of “plagiarism and soliciting a prostitute”; however, Chopra sued and the paper withdrew its statements and published an apology.

Chopra has been criticized for his frequent references to the relationship of quantum mechanics to healing processes, a connection that has drawn skepticism from some traditional physicists who say it can be considered as contributing to the general confusion in the popular press regarding quantum measurement, decoherence and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. In 1998, Chopra was awarded the satirical Ig Nobel Prize in physics for "his unique interpretation of quantum physics as it applies to life, liberty, and the pursuit of economic happiness". According to the book, ''Skeptics Dictionary'', Chopra's "mind-body claims get even murkier as he tries to connect Ayurveda with quantum physics.” Chopra also participated in the Channel 4 (UK) documentary ''The Enemies of Reason'', where, when interviewed by scientist Richard Dawkins, he admitted that the term "quantum theory" was being used as a metaphor and that it has little to do with the actual quantum theory in physics.

In August 2005, Chopra wrote a series of articles on the creation-evolution controversy and Intelligent design which were criticized by science writer Michael Shermer, founder of The Skeptics Society.

In March 2010, Chopra and Jean Houston debated Sam Harris and Michael Shermer at Caltech on the question "Does God Have a Future?" Shermer and Harris criticized Chopra's use of scientific terminology to expound unrelated spiritual concepts. Harris has said that Chopra is "the very definition of what we mean by pseudoscience".

In April 2010, Hindu American Foundation co-founder Aseem Shukla, on a ''Washington Post''-sponsored blog on faith and religion, criticized Chopra for suggesting that yoga did not have origins in Hinduism but merely is an Indian spiritual tradition which predated Hinduism. Later on, Chopra tried to explain yoga as rooted in "consciousness alone" which is a universal, non-sectarian eternal wisdom of life expounded by Vedic rishis long before historic Hinduism ever arose. He further accused Aseem Shukla of having a "fundamentalist agenda". Dr. Shukla in a rejoinder titled "Dr. Chopra: Honor thy heritage" termed Deepak Chopra as an exponent of the art of "How to Deconstruct, Repackage and Sell Hindu Philosophy Without Calling it Hindu!" and to the allegation of "fundamentalist" he responded by accusing Dr. Chopra of raising the "bogey of communalism" in frustration to divert the argument.

Message

According to ''Business Week'', one of Chopra's main messages is that by ridding oneself of negative emotions and developing intuition by listening to signals from the body, health can be improved. According to Chopra, slowing down or reversing the aging of the mind through his methods can increase one's lifespan up to the age of 120 years. As a result of his writings and lectures in this area, he is thought by some to be "one of the pre-eminent leaders of the mind-body-spirit movement".

Publications

Chopra has written more than 65 books with 18 New York Times bestsellers. His books have been translated into 35 languages and sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. His book, ''Peace Is the Way'' won the Quill Awards and ''The Book of Secrets: Unlocking the Hidden Dimensions of your Life'' received the Nautilus Award. FINS - Wall Street Journal, mentioned his book, “The Soul of Leadership”, as one of five best business books of 2011 to read for your career. Chopra is represented in the United States by the literary agency, Trident Media Group. His first book, ''Creating Health'', is credited with helping to create initial, international recognition for Chopra.

1987 ''Creating Health'' ISBN 0-395-75515-8

1988 ''Return of the Rishi'' ISBN 0-395-57420-X

1989 ''Quantum Healing: Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine'' ISBN 0-553-34869-8

1991 ''Unconditional Life: Mastering the Forces That Shape Personal Reality''

1991 ''Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide'' ISBN 0-517-58421-2

1993 ''Ageless Body, Timeless Mind : The Quantum Alternative to Growing Old'' ISBN 0-517-59257-6

1993 ''Creating Affluence: Wealth Consciousness in the Field of All Possibilities''ISBN 1-880032-42-2

1994 ''The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfilment of Your Dreams''

1995 ''The Way of the Wizard: Twenty Spiritual Lessons in Creating the Life You Want'' ISBN 0-517-70434-X

1995 ''The Return of Merlin: A Novel'' ISBN 0-449-91074-1

1995 ''Journey into Healing'' ISBN 1-4000-8069-X

1995 ''The Path to Love: Spiritual Strategies for Healing''

1996 ''Perfect Weight'' ISBN 0-517-88458-5

1996 ''Restful Sleep'' ISBN 0-517-88457-7

1996 ''Raid on the Inarticulate'' ISBN 1-882971-16-7

1997 ''The Path to Love: Renewing the Power of Spirit in Your Life'' ISBN 0-517-70622-9

1997 ''The Seven Spiritual Laws for Parents: Guiding Your Children to Success and Fulfillment

1997 ''Perfect Digestion'' ISBN 0-609-80076-0

1998 ''Overcoming Addictions'' ISBN 0-609-80195-3

1998 ''The Love Poems of Rumi''ISBN 0-609-60243-8

1998 ''Healing the Heart'' ISBN 0-609-60035-4

1999 ''Everyday Immortality: A Concise Course in Spiritual Transformation'' ISBN 0-609-60484-8

1999 ''On the Shores of Eternity: Poems from Tagore on Immortality and Beyond'' ISBN 0-609-60564-X

1999 ''A Deepak Chopra Companion'' ISBN 0-609-80454-5

1999 ''Daughters of Joy''ISBN 0-451-20935-4

1999 ''Lords of Light: A Novel'' ISBN 0-312-96892-2

2000 ''The Angel is Near: A Novel'' ISBN 0-312-97024-2

2000 ''How to Know God : The Soul's Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries'' ISBN 0-609-60078-8

2001 ''The Deeper Wound: Recovering the Soul from Fear and Suffering, 100 Days of Healing''

2001 ''Grow Younger, Live Longer: 10 Steps to Reverse Aging'' ISBN 0-609-60079-6

2001 ''The Soul in Love: Classic Poems of Ecstasy and Exaltation'' ISBN 0-609-60648-4

2002 ''Manifesting Good Luck Cards: Growth and Enlightenment

2003 ''Golf for Enlightenment: The Seven Lessons for the Game of Life''

2003 ''The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence'' ISBN 0-609-60042-7

2003 ''Synchrodestiny: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence to Create Miracles'' ISBN 1-84413-221-8

2003 ''Manifesting Good Luck: Love and Relationships, 50 Card Deck

2003 ''The Chopra Center Cookbook'' ISBN 0-471-45404-4

2004 ''The Book of Secrets: Unlocking the Hidden Dimensions of Your Life'' ISBN 0-517-70624-5

2004 ''Fire in the Heart: A Spiritual Guide for Teens'' ISBN 0-689-86216-4

2005 ''Peace Is the Way : Bringing War and Violence to an End'' ISBN 0-307-23607-2

2005 ''The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga: A Practical Guide to Healing Body, Mind, and Spirit

2005 ''Magical Beginnings Enchanted lives: A Holistic Guide to Pregnancy'' ISBN 0-517-70220-7

2005 ''Teens Ask Deepak'' ISBN 0-689-86218-0

2006 ''Ask The Kabala: Oracle Cards/Kabala Guidebook'' ISBN 978-1-4019-1039-6

2006 ''Power Freedom and Grace: Living from the Source of Lasting Happiness'' ISBN 978-1-878424-81-5

2006 ''Life After Death: The Burden of Proof'' ISBN 0-307-34578-5

2006 ''Kama Sutra: Including the Seven Spiritual Laws of Love'' ISBN 978-1-85227-385-9

2007 ''Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment'' ISBN 978-0-06-087880-1

2007 ''Boundless Energy: The Complete Mind/Body Program for Overcoming Chronic Fatigue'' ISBN 0-609-80075-2

2007 ''Freedom From Addiction'' ISBN 0-7573-0578-4

2008 ''The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore'' ISBN 978-0-307-33831-0

2008 ''Why Is God Laughing? The Path to Joy and Spiritual Optimism''

2008 ''Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment'' ISBN 978-0-06-144873-7

2009 ''Reinventing The Body, Resurrecting The Soul''

2009 ''The Ultimate Happiness Prescription: 7 Keys to Joy and Enlightenment''

2009 ''Chopra Center Herbal Handbook'' ISBN 0-307-45233-6

2010 ''The Shadow Effect'' ISBN 0-06-196265-1

2010 ''Muhammad: A Story of the Last Prophet'' ISBN 978-0-061-78242-8

2010 ''The Soul of Leadership: Unlocking Your Potential for Greatness'' ISBN 978-0-307-40806-8

2011 ''The Seven Spiritual Laws of Superheroes: Harnessing Our Power to Change the World'' with Gotham Chopra ISBN 978-0062059666

2011 ''The War of the Worldviews'' with Leonard Mlodinow ISBN 978-0-30-788688-0 (October 2011 publication date)

Music CDs/audio books

1986 ''Total Health: The Rediscovery of Ayurveda'' ASIN B-000-K06QY-4

1994 ''Journey Into Healing'' ISBN 0-679-44089-5

1994 ''Power Talk!:The Power of the Human Paradox'' with Anthony Robbins ISBN 1-55927-267-8

1996 ''Crescent Moon: Prose Poems of Rabindranath Tagore'' ISBN 1-878424-20-3

1998 ''Synchrodestiny'' ISBN 1-905953-04-6

1997 ''Transformation of Mind'': Deepak Chopra, Christopher Franke, ASIN: B000003KW4

1998 ''A Gift of Love: Love poems inspired by Rumi'' ASIN B-000-GRQX8-A

2000 ''All About God: A Dialogue Between Neale Donald Walsch and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-735-X

2000 ''Wisdom of the Sufi: A Dialogue Between Hidayat Inayat-Kahn and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-734-1

2000 ''The Spiritual Journey : A Dialogue Between Richard Moss, M.D., and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-739-2

2000 ''Spiritual Insights into the Genius of Leonardo da Vinci: A Dialogue Between Michael J. Gelb, M.D., and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-738-4

2000 ''The Art of Everyday Ecstasy: A Dialogue Between Margot Anand and Deepak Chopra '' ISBN 1-56170-737-6

2000 ''The Conscious Universe'' ISBN 1-56170-744-9

2000 ''Pathways to God: A Dialogue Between Joan Borysenko, Ph.D. and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-736-8

2000 ''Unleash Your Potential'' with Marianne Williamson and Sarah Ban Breathnach ISBN 0-671-77180-9

2000 ''The Path to Enlightenment: Insights into Buddhism / A Dialogue Between Robert Thurman, Ph.D., and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-732-5

2001 ''Healing the Planet: A Dialogue Between Marianne Williamson and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-743-0

2001 ''Self-Coaching Secrets for Success'' ISBN 1-56170-827-5

2001 ''Awakening the Goddesses Within: Deepak Chopra, M.D., Presents Agapi Stassinopoulos'' ISBN 1-56170-837-2

2001 ''Tell Me a Story: A Dialogue Between Lisa Suhay and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-874-7

2001 ''Sacred Sexuality: A Dialogue Between Felice Dunas and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-823-2

2001 ''Relationships As a Bridge to Divine Love : A Dialogue Between Barbara De Angelis, Ph.D., and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-742-2

2001 ''Training the Mind, Healing the Body'' ASIN B-000-BGT8K-6

2001 ''Soul of Healing Meditations – A Simple Approach to Growing Younger'' ASIN B-000-05TZS-K

2001 ''The Higher Self'' ISBN 0-7435-0921-8

2001 ''The New Physics of Healing'' ISBN 1-56455-919-X

2001 ''Science And Soul: The Survival of Consciousness After Death, A Dialogue Between Gary Schwartz and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-822-4

2002 ''The Yoga of Love and Devotion'' with Shree Ma ISBN 1-56170-838-0

2002 ''Integrating The Masculine And Feminine In The Spiritual Traditions Of Judaism and Vedanta: A Dialogue Between Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-824-0

2002 ''Quantum Physics of Quantum Healing: A Dialogue with Amit Goswami, Ph.D., and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-920-4

2002 ''The Evolving Human: A Dialogue Between Jean Houston, Ph.D., and Deepak Chopa'' ISBN 1-56170-916-6

2002 ''Rituals As a Path to the Divine: A Dialogue Between Stephen Huyler, Ph.D., and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-841-0

2002 ''Healing Your Relationships : A Dialogue Between Kenny and Julia Loggins and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-840-2

2002 ''The Soul and Relationship: A Dialogue Between Shakti Gawain and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-56170-917-4

2002 ''Yoga as a Form of Meditation'' with Yogi Amrit Desai ISBN 1-56170-839-9

2002 ''A Gift of Love II: A Musical Valentine to Tagore'' ASIN B-000-06IZP-E

2003 ''Magical Mind, Magical Body'' ISBN 0-7435-3013-6

2003 ''Journey to the Boundless'' ISBN 0-7435-3016-0

2004 ''Chakra Balancing: Body, Mind, and Soul'' ASIN B-000-667GN-W

2004 ''Sacred Verses, Healing Sounds, Volumes I and II: The Bhagavad Gita, Hymns of the Rig Veda'' ISBN 1-878-42478-5

2004 ''The Ultimate Deepak Chopra Collection'' 20 CDs ASIN B-000-BGV45-I

2004 ''Whispers'' with Eckhart Tolle, Jack Canfield and Don Miguel Ruiz ISBN 1-559-61722-5

2005 ''The Power of Intuition'' ISBN 1-401-90622-2

2005 ''Living Beyond Miracles''with Wayne Dyer ISBN 1-878-42479-3

2005 ''The Cosmic Mind and Submanifest Order of Being'' ISBN 1-401-90450-5

2005 ''Living Without Limits'' ISBN 1-878-42496-3

2005 ''An Ancient Magical Prayer'' ISBN 1-401-90447-5

2006 ''Escaping the Prison of the Intellect'' ISBN 1-878-42456-4

2007 ''Creating Your World the Way You Really Want It To Be'' with Wayne Dyer ISBN 1-602-52748-2

2007 ''Meditations for Healing: A Dialogue Between Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D. and Deepak Chopra'' ISBN 1-561-70922-0

2008 ''Whispers of Spirit & Happiness'' with Don Miguel Ruiz ISBN 1-559-61945-7

2008 ''The Soul of Healing Affirmations A-Z Guide to Reprogramming the Software of the Soul'' ASIN B-001-2SAT7-S

2008 ''Grow Younger Live Longer'' Dave Stewart and Deepak Chopra ASIN: B0012GMXFQ

2009 ''The Soul Of Healing Meditations'' ASIN B-000-05TZS-K

2011 ''Stress Free with Deepak Chopra (Meditations) ASIN: B004JU157O

2011 ''The Secret of Healing: Meditations for Transformation and Higher Consciousness'' ASIN: B004K35UWG

Videos

1995 ''Seven Spiritual Laws of Success''

1995 ''The Way of the Wizard''

2003 ''God and Buddha - a dialog''

2004 ''Soul of Healing - Body, Mind, and Soul Vol. 1''

2008 ''The Love Guru''

2010 ''1 a Minute''

Other published work

2008 Introduction to Kim Feinberg's ''A Mother's Legacy'' Chopra co-authored ''Ask the Kabala'' with Mike 'Zappy' Zapolin and Alys Yablon, which is a set of 22 cards, each one representing a story or character from the Old Testament and a life lesson based on that story from a Kabalistic perspective. Chopra co-authored a blog in 2009 with Richard Barrett titled Can Values Save the Economy?

Journal of Cosmology Vol. 14 April-May 2011, "How Consciousness Becomes the Physical Universe." with Menas Kafatos, Ph.D and Rudolph E. Tanzi, Ph.D.

Chopra is a co-author of 2011 Consciousness and the Universe: Quantum Physics, Evolution, Brain & Mind along with Roger Penrose, Stuart Hameroff, Henry Stapp

See also

Alternative medicine

Quantum mysticism

Monistic idealism

Spiritual Naturalism

References

Further reading

External links

Official Site

VYou

The Chopra Center for Wellbeing

Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:Indian emigrants to the United States Category:American writers of Indian descent Category:Indian doctors Category:Indian self-help writers Category:Indian spiritual writers Category:Indian motivational speakers Category:New Age writers Category:People in alternative medicine Category:Recipients of the Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic Category:Spiritualists Category:Transcendental Meditation practitioners Category:Ayurvedacharyas Category:Ig Nobel Prize winners Category:American spiritual writers Category:People from New Delhi

bg:Дийпак Чопра de:Deepak Chopra es:Deepak Chopra fa:دیپاک چوپرا fr:Deepak Chopra ko:디팩 초프라 hi:दीपक चोपड़ा it:Deepak Chopra mr:दीपक चोप्रा nl:Deepak Chopra no:Deepak Chopra pl:Deepak Chopra pt:Deepak Chopra ru:Чопра, Дипак simple:Deepak Chopra fi:Deepak Chopra sv:Deepak Chopra ta:தீபக் சோப்ரா th:ดีพัค โชปรา

Coordinates	40°26′30″N80°00′00″N
Name	Graham Hancock
Birth date	August 02, 1950
Birth place	Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Death date
Resting place coordinates
Nationality	British
Citizenship	British
Known for	Author, ''The Sign and the Seal'', ''Fingerprints of the Gods'', ''The Message of the Sphinx''
Alma mater	Durham University
Occupation	Author
Footnotes	}}

Graham Hancock (born 2 August 1950 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a British writer and journalist. Hancock specialises in unconventional theories involving ancient civilisations, stone monuments or megaliths, altered states of consciousness, ancient myths and astronomical/astrological data from the past. One of the main themes running through many of his books is the possible global connection with a "mother culture" from which he believes all ancient historical civilizations sprang.

Biography

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Hancock's formative years were spent in India, where his father worked as a surgeon. Having returned to the UK, he graduated from Durham University in 1973, receiving a First Class Honours degree in Sociology.

As a journalist, Hancock worked for many British papers, such as ''The Times'', ''The Sunday Times'', ''The Independent'', and ''The Guardian''. He was co-editor of New Internationalist magazine from 1976–1979 and East Africa correspondent of ''The Economist'' from 1981-1983.

Works

His books include ''Lords of Poverty'', ''The Sign and the Seal'', ''Fingerprints of the Gods'', ''Keeper of Genesis'' (released in the US as ''Message of the Sphinx''), ''The Mars Mystery'', ''Heaven's Mirror'' (with wife Santha Faiia), ''Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization'', and ''Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith'' (with co-author Robert Bauval). In 1996 he appeared in The Mysterious Origins of Man. He also wrote and presented the documentaries ''Underworld: Flooded Kingdoms of the Ice Age'' (2002) and ''Quest for the Lost Civilisation'' (1998) shown on Channel 4. In Hancocks's book ''Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith'', co-authored with Robert Bauval, the two put forward "a version of the old Jewish-Masonic plot so beloved by ultra-right-wing conspiracy theorists." They suggest a connection between the pillars of Solomon's Temple and the Twin Towers, and between the Star of David and The Pentagon.

Hancock's most recent non-fiction book, ''Supernatural: Meetings With the Ancient Teachers of Mankind'', was published in the UK in October 2005 and in the US in 2006. In it, Hancock examines paleolithic cave art in the light of David Lewis-Williams' neuropsychological model, exploring its relation to the development of the fully-modern human mind.

His first novel, ''Entangled: The Eater of Souls'', the first in a fantasy series, was published in the UK in April 2010 and in the US in October 2010. The novel makes use of Hancock's prior research interests and as he has noted, "What was there to lose, I asked myself, when my critics already described my factual books as fiction?"

Although his books have sold more than five million copies worldwide and have been translated into twenty-seven languages, his methods and conclusions have found little support among academics.

Often criticised for being a pseudoarchaeologist, Hancock has never claimed that he has formal training in archaeology, or that he is an archeologist. He sees himself as a journalist who asks questions based upon observation and as someone who provides a counterbalance to what he perceives as the "unquestioned" acceptance and support given to orthodox views by the education system, the media, and by society at large.

Orion Correlation Theory

One of the many recurring themes in several of Hancock's works has been an exposition on the "Orion Correlation Theory" (or OCT) , first put forward by Belgian writer Robert Bauval and then further expounded in collaborative works with Hancock, as well as in their separate publications.

BBC ''Horizon'' controversy

BBC 2's ''Horizon'' TV series broadcast a programme, "Atlantis Reborn", on 4 November 1999 that challenged the ideas presented by Hancock. It detailed one of Hancock's claims that the arrangement of an ancient temple complex was designed to mirror astronomical features and attempted to demonstrate that the same thing could be done with perhaps equal justification using famous landmarks in New York. It also ''alleged'' that Hancock had selectively moved or ignored the locations of some of the temples to fit his own theories (see below).

Hancock claimed he was misrepresented by the programme, and he and Robert Bauval made complaints to the Broadcasting Standards Commission against the way ''Horizon'' had portrayed them and their work. Eight points were raised by Hancock, two by Bauval (one of which duplicated a complaint of Hancock's). This included the complaint that:

"''The programme attempted to create the impression that he [Hancock] was an intellectual fraudster who had put forward half baked theories and ideas in bad faith, and that he was incompetent to defend his own arguments."''

The BSC dismissed all but one of the complaints. Overall, the BSC concluded that "the programme makers acted in good faith in their examination of the theories of Mr Hancock and Mr Bauval". The complaint which was upheld was that '"The programme ''unfairly omitted one of their arguments in rebuttal of a speaker who criticised the theory'' of a significant correlation between the Giza pyramids and the belt stars of the constellation Orion (the "correlation theory")"', which the Commission did find to be unfair. That speaker was the astronomer Edwin Krupp. Krupp accused Bauval of somehow fudging the maps of Orion and the Pyramids by placing them "upside down" in order to make the theory work. Krupp's argument hinges on the modern convention that 'north is up and south is down' in map-making. In interviews filmed with Horizon, Hancock and Bauval provided detailed rebuttals to Krupp and argued that the ancient Egyptians had made the Pyramids correlate in the most obvious and intuitive manner with the three stars of Orion's Belt: Lower Egypt is ''North'' and Upper Egypt is ''South''. Krupp's criticism was rejected by two prominent British astronomers, Dr. Percy Seymour of Plymouth University and Dr. Archie Roy, professor Emeritus at Glasgow University. ''Horizon'' subsequently offered to broadcast a revised transmission of the programme which takes into account the larger point which was found in the writers' favour. This went to air under the name ''Horizon: Atlantis Reborn Again'' on 14 December 2000.

Cultural references

In 2009, Roland Emmerich released his blockbuster disaster movie 2012 citing ''Fingerprints of the Gods'' in the credits as an inspiration for the film, stating: "I always wanted to do a biblical flood movie, but I never felt I had the hook. I first read about the Earth's Crust Displacement Theory in Graham Hancock's ''Fingerprints of the Gods''." Also in 2009, author Geoff Stray released his best-selling book "Beyond 2012: Catastrophe or Awakening?" in which he sites Graham Hancock as one of his inspirations and as a guidepost to point others to do their own investigation into the wonder of ancient societies.

Books

Published in the United Kingdom as

See also

Archaeoastronomy

Erich von Däniken

Mythology

Zahi Hawass

References

External links

The Official Graham Hancock Website

Broadcasting Standards Commission – Synopsis of adjudication. Horizon: Atlantis Reborn (November 4, 1999)

Horizon: Atlantis Reborn and the Broadcasting Standards Commission The BBC's response to the Horizon programme debate.

Brass, M., nd, ''An analysis of the quality of Graham Hancock's "science"'', The Antiquity of Man Web Site.

Brass, M., 2002, ''Tracing Graham Hancock's Shifting Cataclysm'', Skeptical Inquirer. vol. 26, no. 4: 45-49.

Carroll, R. T., 2009, ''Atlantis'', The Skeptic’s Dictionary website.

Fagan, N., nd, ''An Answer to Graham Hancock'' and ''Analysis of Hancock's Position Statement on C-14 Dating'', Papers, In the Hall of Ma’at website.

Tonkin, S., nd, ''Some Astronomical Errors of Graham Hancock'', The Astronomical Unit website.

Flemming, N., nd, ''Review of Flooded Kingdoms of the Ice Age'', Papers, In the Hall of Ma’at website.

The Big Idea: Graham Hancock

Category:1950 births Category:Atlantis Category:Living people Category:British non-fiction writers Category:Pseudoarchaeology Category:Pseudohistory Category:Alumni of Durham University Category:2012 theorists

ca:Graham Hancock da:Graham Hancock de:Graham Hancock es:Graham Hancock fr:Graham Hancock it:Graham Hancock ja:グラハム・ハンコック no:Graham Hancock pl:Graham Hancock pt:Graham Hancock ru:Хэнкок, Грэм sk:Graham Hancock sv:Graham Hancock ta:கிரஹாம் ஹான்கோக் zh:葛瑞姆·汉卡克