Threats to consciousness

Spectacular TED talk by Simon Lewis on the threats to consciousness, and how he was able to recover from coma to pretty damn smart and well functioning human being, and on how others can do the same.

A couple points really stood out:

• Consciousness originally developed in Awash Valley in Ethiopia response to catastrophic climate shifts. An interesting parallel to today. (2:58).
• “Depression is the number one disease on Earth in terms of years lived with the disability. Number two source of disability is depression in the age group of 15 to 44. Our children are becoming depressed at an alarming rate. […] the third leading cause of death among teenagers is suicide.” (5:45)
• “We’re talking about a society that is retreating into depression and disassociation when we are potentially confronting the next great catastrophic climate shift. So what you’d be wondering watching The Human Show is are we going to confront and address the catastrophic climate shift that may be heading our way by growing our consciousness, or are we going to continue to retreat.” (6:30)

Obviously I believe in growing our consciousness, hence this site.

Go watch the talk now. It’s well worth it (iTunes link).