Enlightenment: Exploring the Neural Basis of Pure Consciousness

Abstract

This paper builds on my previous work, “On the Role of Mirror Neurons in the Sense of Self”, which suggested that the two selves referred to in spirituality as the Ego and the Pure Self (or Formless Self) are driven by two mirror neuron systems involved in vocal and facial imitation, respectively. The current paper explores further the ways in which the mirror neuron systems and the Default Mode Network (DMN) shape subjective experience, with a special focus on the experience referred to in spirituality as Enlightenment (or No-Mind). The aim is to demystify this presumably spiritual experience and the feeling of Pure Consciousness often associated with it.