Consciousness, Universe and Purpose of Life - A Letter to Sir Roger Penrose -

**Mysteries to Solve**

- What is Consciousness?

- What is the End and Beginning of the Universe?

- What is the Purpose of Life?

**My Explanations for the Mysteries**

**Consciousness**

Consciousness is the function of developing the meaning space (to be explained later, the broad Platonic world) to enhance the order of the universe and reduce entropy. It stands in opposition to nature (equivalent to the material world) which increases entropy, and it perpetually drives the cycle of the universe. It is a broader concept than the personal "consciousness" of the self, existing in a relationship of equality with nature to constitute the universe, similar to the IN and YOU described in the Eki Kei. Consciousness consists of both the individual consciousness and a universal consciousness. Since it is something that contradicts the second law of increasing entropy and is not recognized in the current world, it occupies a similar position to concepts like dark energy or time reversal, which are considered imaginative by contemporary physicists. Although consciousness is an unavoidable factor in quantum mechanics due to issues like the measurement problem and quantum entanglement, the nature of consciousness remains largely unexplained. This new perspective might seem challenging, but I believe that radical ideas, like the holographic universe theory, are necessary to approach an understanding of consciousness. Other mechanisms that reduce entropy include gravity, the evaporation of black holes, and the collapse of the wave function (in the sense of collapsing multiple possibilities into a single reality), which are closely related. In this context, terms such as "cosmic consciousness," "existence," "gravity," "anti-nature," or "virtual nature" might be more appropriate than the term "consciousness."

**Meaning Space**

Meaning space is composed of coordinates that represent meanings (called meaning points) and lines representing relationships between meaning points (called relationship lines). There is one universal meaning space in the universe (Platonic world) and individual self-meaning spaces physically present in each person's brain, which interact and develop mutually. Since meaning space consists only of information, it has no mass or volume, and therefore no time, space, or gravity. As the universal meaning space develops, order emerges in the universe, and entropy decreases.

**The Self**

The self is a coordinate in meaning space (called a self-point). The self as a whole is represented by the self-point and its associated relationship lines. The self interacts with others and the world, influencing and creating new meaning points and increasing relationship lines. When the self-meaning space in the brain interacts with others' self-meaning spaces, it appears as if interacting between different self-points within a common universal meaning space. Relationship lines increase as meaning points are referenced, but those associated with meaningless points are ignored and disappear if not referenced. Even after death, if useful meaning points continue to be referenced, the influence remains, and relationship lines continue to increase. Therefore, in meaning space, living and deceased self-points cannot be objectively distinguished. Different self-points result in different perspectives and ways of thinking, making it impossible to fully understand others' consciousness. However, one can empathize by approaching others' self-points.

**Free Will**

Free will involves recognizing meaning and creating meaning points by releasing energy from the self-point into meaning space through the collapse of the wave function among all possibilities. The energy flows in the direction that develops meaning space, making it more likely to flow into areas with sparse meaning points, distant regions, or sparse relationship lines. It is not that free will actively desires to do something, but rather that areas where energy should flow to develop self-meaning space are chosen, and fulfilling these is felt as desire. Desire is not actively sought but passively given. Additionally, while energy release from the self-point due to wave function collapse is probabilistic and non-computable, the subsequent path is computable and deterministic. Thus, complete free will does not exist. It is not the self that chooses but rather is chosen.

**History of Humanity**

The history of humanity is genetically preserved in the self-meaning space physically present in one's brain. The experiences of ancestors are etched into brain circuits, and one's own experiences are physically passed on to descendants. Memories from past lives are physically inherited when things arise in consciousness that one does not remember from childhood. In life, interactions with others also pass on one's history to the external self. However, only those aspects beneficial to others are passed on, while useless ones are forgotten.

**The purpose of the self**

The purpose of the self is to develop the universal meaning space. For this reason, the self was created by the universal shared consciousness. The purpose of the universal consciousness is to develop meaning space, and as a means to this end, it develops meaning space in the self and rewards the self with happiness. The self is not seeking fame as a means to happiness. Fame is given to the self in proportion to its contribution to the development of universal meaning space. Thus, in practice, it is not the self pursuing happiness but rather happiness being given to the self that has developed universal meaning space. Developing only one's self-meaning space without external interaction can lead to self-satisfaction, but in a closed world, it does not persist or remain for future generations, leading to temporal self-satisfaction and regret at the end of life.

**End of the Universe**

The end of the universe is a state where everything becomes disjointed, entropy reaches infinity, all black holes explode, all mass becomes zero, gravity ceases, and everything moves at the speed of light, resulting in an eternal monotonous world with no time or space. The absence of spacetime is the same as the meaning world. The eternal monotonous world is the same as the primordial meaning space before order emerged. In this end of the universe = primordial meaning space, consciousness begins to seek order and reduce entropy, leading to the creation of mass, spacetime, and gravity, and thus the beginning of the universe. It can also be said that consciousness became bored with eternal monotony and initiated this process. Thus, the universe transitions from its end to its beginning, and the eternal cycle of time continues.

**Relationship Between Meaning Space and the Material World**

The relationship between meaning space and the material world is analogous to the relationship between the 2D surface without gravity in holographic cosmology and the 3D spacetime. Meaning space and the material world are equivalent. Meaning space, Platonic world, and the 2D surface in holographic cosmology are the same. Meaning space contains only information, with no spacetime or locality. Meaning space is related to the universal meaning space and the self-meaning space in the brain, which connects the brain’s self-meaning space to the material world. Thus, through the brain, the 2D surface without gravity and 3D spacetime are connected.

**Purpose of Life**

The purpose of life is to become a happy person who accepts the world and is grateful for everything, including the ability to be grateful here and now. This involves developing the self-meaning space in the brain and thus being given a sense of happiness. Sharing the self-meaning space that has mastered how to attain happiness with many people, making many people happy, and developing a common meaning space is acknowledged by the universal consciousness. As a human instinct, one may desire to be happy, gain fame, and achieve economic prosperity, but this is a system where feeling happiness is a reward for developing the universal meaning space due to the workings of universal consciousness. Therefore, becoming happy means being appreciated by the meaning space. Happiness is not actively pursued and realized but passively given.

**How to Achieve Happiness**

The way to achieve happiness is to feel the truth, savor the miracle of existence, envelop the world with genuine heart, and be grateful for everything, including the ability to be grateful here and now. Sharing this with many people to make them happy is key. Becoming happy and making many others happy is also a reward for the development of the universal meaning space. Truth is that there is no independent self; everything is one. To embrace the world, one should not forcibly spread genuine heart but simply eliminate the walls of the self. Realizing that everything is one with oneself makes the world lovable, and even unpleasant others can be accepted with resolve. Comparing oneself to the void, or non-existence, rather than to others, makes one’s life’s value infinite. Feeling the miracle of existence brings a sense of happiness.

**Feeling of Happiness**

The feeling of happiness arises when the self-meaning space develops. Eating sushi components separately, such as sashimi, white rice, soy sauce, and vinegar, is only painful, but eating them together gives a sense of happiness due to the structurally strong pathways of taste signals in the brain. Similarly, hearing music by individual instruments is painful, but hearing it together can be moving. Seeing the faces of strangers in town may evoke disgust, while familiar faces evoke warmth. Hearing a new song may feel resistant initially, but becomes liked once familiar, due to the reinforcement of neural circuits through repeated exposure to what the self remembers. To maximize happiness, one should absorb everything in the world into the heart. This does not require remembering everything; simply removing the walls of the self is enough. Also, realizing the development of the self-meaning space by comparing with the void, one becomes aware of the miracle of existence and the infinite value of the self.

© 2024 Makoto Sahashi