In chapter 12 Hunt discusses the kingdom of god within:
“jesus emphasized that the kingdom of god does not come with outward observance, but rather, ‘the kingdom of god is within you’ (luke 17:21). that directs us to the mind, the area where god wants to work. the changes that he brings in our life are secret and inward, but these changes are likely to bear outward fruit. the outward fruit is only a visible symbol inner change.”
it is my prayer that the offerings i have made in my books and blogs have clarified how the holy spirit interacts within us, by the process of dualist interaction between the immaterial mind of god/holy spirit and the immaterial mind/”heart” of man. in examining the synaptic processes within the brain we stand to gain an understanding that (1) the mind of god interacts with us in our time and (2) that god has given us evidence of this bidirectional interaction.
I am posting several excerpts from a wonderful book by T. W. Hunt entitled the mind of christ: the transforming power of thinking his thoughts. I highly recommend this book. If you have been reading my books and blogs I believe you will find these excerpts relevant to the process of dualist interaction I have addressed in my over 23 years of research.
I begin with the following from chapter one:'
“the mind has always been more important to god than our outward actions. in the old testament, the emphasis was on the heart. at times, the bible uses the word heart where we would use the word mind, as in the injunction, ‘apply your heart to discipline’ (Prov. 23: 12). in the new testament, jesus used the word heart in the same sense: ‘and jesus knowing their thoughts said, ‘why are you thinking evil in your hearts?’ . . . . ‘the lord looks at the heart’ (I sam 16:7). in the more restricted emphasis of the new testament, we can say ‘the lord looks at the mind.’”
my research has been focused on the investigation of interaction between the mind of god/jesus christ and the mind of man via the neural synaptic networks of god’s created brain. it is my hope that one has derived a deeper understanding of both the reality of this interaction in our time and its created process through my books and blog posts.
A 5/18/23 article has been presented by William a. haseltine entitled “you can now control a wheelchair with your brain waves alone.” the research work he discussed “used a sensorimotor rhythm-based brain-machine interface to drive an intelligent robotic wheelchair and tested the robotic wheelchairs on three patients who were effectively paralyzed from the neck down. a sensorimotor rhythm brain-machine interface is based on the electrical signals that are emitted from the brain when people think [bold type added in each case, here and below] about moving parts of their bodies. in this study, when the patients thought about moving both hands, the wheelchair would turn left. if they thought about moving both of their feet, the wheelchair would turn right. to move forwards, the participants would have to think of both commands at the same time. . . . during their training, patients were seated in a customized wheelchair and were asked to think about moving their hands or their feet. if their brain sensorimotor signals were properly decoded, these thoughts would cause a steering wheel in front of them to rotate to the left or to the right.”
i must add a word of caution. the researchers were at risk of attributing the thinking and all the monitored thoughts to the brain itself, discounting the role of the immaterial mind. Mortimer adler is quoted in my books as stating, and i paraphrase, that we need our brains to think, but we do not think with our brains! no, we think with our immaterial cognitive minds which generate wave forms which interact with the synaptic networks where they are linguistically encoded and transmitted through neural synaptic networks via spike trains of action potentials. in my books and blogs, i have discussed in detail the “how” of this process as it is presently understood.
in my books and many blog posts i have ENDEAVORED TO provide evidence for duALIST INTERACTION BETWEEN THE IMMATERIal mind and the material components of the brain’s synaptic networks. I trust that the ACCUMULATED evidence presented has been compelling. as i have stated along the way it is my PRIME objective to provide evidence for PERSONAL interaction between the mind of god and the mind and soul of man. god desires a personal communion with the crown of his creation, mankind, and it occurs in our time. not only can we pray TO GOD, BUT WE CAN ALSO LITERALLY HEAR FROM HIM IN SEVERAL WAYS. I HAVE PRESENTED EVIDENCE TO SHOW HOW, AT LEAST IN PART, THIS COMMUNION HAPPENS TO GROW OUR FAITH IN HIS GOSPEL AND IN THE LIVING JESUS CHRIST. AS HE PROMISED HIS DISCIPLES BEFORE HIS CRUCIFIXION JESUS SENT HIS HOLY SPIRIT UPON HIS RESURRECTION TO INDWELL ONCE AGAIN THOSE IN REPENTANCE, AN INDWELLING CONSISTING OF HIS PERSONAL COUNSEL AND HELP.
I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED MY RESEARCH OBJECTIVE AND WILL CONTINUE MY RESEARCH IN THE DAYS TO COME. AS I FIND ADDITIONAL COMPELLING DATA FOR THE IMMATERIAL MIND’S INTERACTION WITH THE MATERIAL BRAIN WITH EXPLANATIONS FOR THE PROCESS I WILL CONTINUE TO POST BLOGS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ONGOING INTEREST AND SUPPORT.
timothy proix and coauthors published an article entitled “Imagined speech can be decoded from low-and cross-frequency intracranial eeg features” in nature communications, 2022. as is stated in the previous blog post, i include this article since it addresses imagined speech for use in brain-computer interfaces [BCI]. the authors state that “decoding imagined speech has met limited success, mainly because the associated neural signals are weak and variable compared to overt speech, hence difficult to decode by learning algorithms. . . . [the authors have found that] low-frequency power and cross-frequency dynamics contain key information for imagined speech decoding.”
the authors found that “the most effective approach so far to advance toward a real ‘imagined speech’ decoding system is based on electrocorticographic signals [as discussed in my previously posted blog]. . . . imagined speech is essentially an attenuated version of overt speech with a well-specified articulatory plan (much like imagined and actual finger movements share the similar spatial organization of neural activity. . . . neural activity at lower frequencies could be used to decode imagined speech with equivalent or even higher performance than overt speech.”
it is exciting that BCI technology is advancing to the point where patients with significant loss of speech capacity can once again communicate utilizing imagined speech. we are learning that the immaterial cognitive mind has the capacity to generate wave forms that act on synaptic networks to generate electrocorticographic impulses transmitted according to algorithms to receptor devices and decoded to enable a patient’s desired activities. this is dualist interaction in action!
Oxley et al have published an article in the j neurointervent surg, 2021; 13:102-108 that describes the “first-in-human experience of a minimally invasive, fully implanted, wireless, ambulatory motor neuroprosthesis using an endovascular stent-electrode array to transmit electrocardicography signals from the motor cortex for multiple command control of digital devices in two patients with flaccid upper limb paralysis.” command control was initiated by thoughts, as pointed out in the previous blog post. I include reference to this article for readers interested in the details of the device and its use in these patients. the authors do not address how the thought processes interact with the synaptic networks of the motor cortex to generate electrocardicographic signals to activate the program. my next blog will reference an article that addresses that process with imagined speech. these two articles provide more support for dualist interaction between the immaterial cognitive mind and the material components of the brain’s synaptic networks. Understanding the process gives hope to paralyzed people to perform activities of daily living.
andrew trounson of the university of melbourne wrote an article, “translating thought into action.” this article describes the stentrode which is implanted into a cerebral vein that reads brain signals, allowing patients with profound motor neuron disease and paralysis “to operate computers and phones with their minds.” the stentrode “is composed of a tiny scaffold that expands within a blood vessel to hold it in place; 16 tiny sensors are then mounted on it to pick up brain activity.” the use of this device in patients has allowed the operation of a personal computer “using only two or three thought commands. . . . what makes it so promising is that its placement in a cerebral blood vessel means that it is close enough to the brain to record neural activity effectively without being implanted in the brain. . . . the stentrode is biocompatible and becomes incorporated in the wALL OF THE BLOOD VESSEL AND ISN’T IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE BRAIN, MEANING IT CAN KEEP OPERATING PERMANENTLY. . . . YOU THINK ABOUT THE COMMAND OR ACTION YOU ARE TRYING TO PERFORM. . . . CONTROL IS DONE USING THOUGHTS.”
IN MY NEXT POST I WILL ELABORATE ON THIS DEVICE AND ITS USE WITH EXCERPTS FROM AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN A PEER REVIEW JOURNAL. mY OBJECTIVE IN CITING THESE WORKS IS TO SHOW HOW THE IMMATERIAL MIND HAS THE CAPACITY TO GENERATE WAVE FORMS THAT INTERACT WITH THE SYNAPTIC NETWORKS OF THE BRAIN IN DUALIST INTERACTION. WE MUST REMEMBER THAT THESE PROCESSES WERE CREATED BY GOD SO THAT PERSONAL COMMUNION IS POSSIBLE BETWEEN HUMANS AND WITH GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT. OUR GOD IS A RELATIONAL, PERSONAL GOD WHO DESIRES TO COMMUNE WITH US.
in my next blog posts i will address again how it is becoming increasingly apparent that the immaterial human mind generates waves, or wave forms, that reflect the content of thoughts, interacting with neurally encoded specified information in spike trains of action potentials to accomplish desired actions. jeffrey winters is the author of an article entitled “communicating by brain waves,” last reviewed june 9, 2016. in posts that follow i will cite additional articles that consider this topic.
“neurologists call patients who are totally paralyzed ‘locked-in,’ and diagnoses of lou gehrig’s disease or a brain-stem stroke are among the most feared of all neurological disorders. . . . such a life is thought to be unbearable.
“but a german neuroscientist has found a way to give voice to 11 patients around the world with a device that converts mental activity into computer commands. . . . niels birbaumer, ph.d., of the university of tubingen calls his machine a thought translation device, or ttd. it is attuned to a low-frequency brain wave called the slow cortical potential, which people can produce at will. by controlling their thoughts, patients can answer yes-or-no questions, spell out sentences or even surf the internet.”
“no one . . . had communicated via brain waves in a real-world environment. . . . a slow cortical potential is a type of electrical activity in the cortex, the outer part of the brain. . . . SCp’s [slow cortical potentials] are produced when the brain is engaged in a spectrum of mental activities. . . . building a communications device for a person with a severe paralysis meant tapping directly into [cognitive] mental function.”
as this topic is addressed consider also how the immaterial mind of god through his indwelling holy spirit may well interact with the synaptic networks of our material brains in similar, or like, fashion. it is a dualist interaction by which the holy spirit communes with us in our time.
In my books and blogs and in many blog posts the term “image of god” is used, often concerning the cognitive capacities of the mind of human beings. in the book testable faith: a reasons to believe anthology, a chapter is entitled “The case for the image of god.” I am including an excerpt from that chapter that clarifies what this term means:
“. . . two new testament passages (colossians 3:10 and ephesians 4:24) shed light on [what the image of god means]. . . in these passages, paul encourages the christians at colossae and ephesus to allow the holy spirit to transform them into the image of their creator. these passages imply that god’s image includes our capacity for knowledge, understanding, love, holiness, and righteousness. in other words, according to paul, the image of god refers to attributes we possess as humans. . . . we would argue that to serve as god’s representatives on earth and to enter into a relationship with our master required that we possess attributes that resemble god’s, at least in some measure. another way to put it: because we resemble god - at least in part - we can be granted the responsibility to function as his vice regents on earth and we have the privilege to uniquely enter into a special type of relationship with god. . . . we identify four characteristics that give parameters to the concept of god’s image.
human beings possess a moral component. we inherently understand right and wrong and have a strong, innate sense of justice.
humans are spiritual beings who recognize a reality beyond this universe and physical life. we intuitively acknowledge the existence of god and have a propensity for worship and prayer. we desire to connect to the transcendent.
human beings relate to god, to ourselves, to other people, and to other creatures. there is a relational aspect to god’s image.
humanity’s mental capacity reflects God’s image. human beings possess the ability to reason and think logically. we engage in symbolic thought. we express ourselves with complex, abstract language. we are aware of the past, present, and future, and we display advanced creativity through art, music, literature, science, and technical inventions.