“While spiritual awakening sets consciousness free from the limitations of the body and the five senses, depending on a body integrated with technology for evolution and heightened perception only serves to further bind our existence and perception to the transient material realm, which is only a small part of our existence, and has a definitive end.” – D Percival

The search for expanded states of consciousness is part of the human experience. With technology developing at a breakneck pace, people are increasingly interested in how to best “hack” their daily life for enhanced productivity, emotional satisfaction, and even physical well being. Transhumanism, or the belief that humans can use technology to evolve past their current limited physical and mental experience of life, presents an interesting question on the subject of consciousness: can technology lead us to higher states of consciousness, or is it just the opposite — a weight dragging us back into the heaviness of the material world?

Proponents of transhumanism say that humans are clearly still in the early stages of our evolution, and the next logical step forward includes using all available technologies to evolve (humans in transition or transhumanism). There’s even the potential for us to become human beings that are so radically different from ordinary folk as to deserve the title “post humans”.

This idea of human transformation is not new — there are traditions stretching back centuries dealing with how to reach the heightened state of consciousness known as enlightenment, how to attain eternal life, and how to live a transcendent existence. Continue reading →