So yesterday I had my first meeting with my fellow weirdos in the Consciousness Studies group in the Individualized Master of Arts (IMA) group at Goddard. Turns out there are not that many other folks in my concentration: Belle who is in her last semester and Tasha who might transfer out. There are a few IMA students without concentrations that might transfer in but it still looks to be a rare breed interested in the interdisciplinary study of consciousness. Here at Goddard that includes studies in four areas: Neuroscience, Arts & Humanities, Social, and Transpersonal. While many people have interests in three of those, few are interested in all four.

I’ve started wrestling with my study plan for the semester but still have no idea how much to carve out and which things to focus on first. Since I plan to do a lit review on scientific articles on meditation, I’ve decided that I need to get a handle on functional neuroanatomy this first semester. Without a basic understanding of brain regions, much of the discussion of fMRI data in these papers is flying over my head.

The rest is up for grabs. I might include sensation, perception, and cognition on the science end as well as some work in non-dual philosophical traditions (advaita, zen, taoism). Also plan to include a silent retreat (my third) and a follow-up phenomenological paper on the experience of it.

The week is flying by and there’s a lot to nail down yet. Before I leave Goddard on friday I need to have my semester study plan complete specifying the contents of 5 work packets.

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