Write-Place

 Mind, Brain, Soul - Who we really are ... Most of us prefer to think that we possess something which is greater than the sum of our neurons; something which animates us and makes us the human individual we are. But much of what used to be classed as mind turns out to be brain and some part of all that must surely be the soul.  If we question who we are in these terms, we soon discover that we are not only our minds, but something else - and maybe everything else - at the same time. And is the soul one entity or are we all separate souls ? One of my favourite topics for questioning and discussion is memory, and how we define and recall our memories and many much greater 'minds' than mine have, over millenia, investigated and debated these issues.  A memory, at the cellular level, is a particular pattern of cellular changes on particular spots in our heads. A mood, however is a compound of neuro transmitters and if there's too much acetylcholine and not enough serotonin, t...

I have just received an email from someone (who is clearly in very “deep thinking mode”) asking my views on heaven. He questions the scenario of him being married in this life to a number of different women who all die before him and then when he himself dies, he meets them all at the entrance to the after life. Would chaos ensue, he wonders, or would it just be a very difficult situation where he would have to introduce everyone to everyone else ? Perhaps it would not be difficult at all and they all could “live” happily ever after, together. Would this be heaven ? After all – he loved each one of them at the time he was married to them, so to be with them all must surely be paradise. Or not. It’s not an easy question. In fact, as it’s the classic basic question humans would like answering, that is – what happens when we die ? – it seems that it is an impossible question. But maybe it is our own interpretation of what we expect to happen that defines our heaven or otherwise. Some peop...