<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:18pt"><div>The next monthly meeting of the Society for Venturism will be held (as always on the first Sunday of each month) at The Venturist Headquarters located at the Creekside Lodge in Mayer Arizona at 2pm. All cryonicists and immortalists are welcome. Come a little early if you like.</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;"> </div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">There will be an exciting discussion with a brief introduction by David Pizer and Mike Perry. Then everyone is welcome to join in. The subject of this months discussion will be on if we have a soul and is the soul a physical thing
we call the brain. If that is what a soul is - can we have physical immortality. Please read the brief remarks below to get in the spirit of the discussion. </div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;"> </div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">If you can't attend in person, send your brief remarks and we will read them at the meeting. Contact Mark Plus to find out how to get connected by Skypes and to find out if I spelled it right. :=)</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;"> </div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px;
font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">I BELIEVE WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO AVOID DEATH. THIS IS A VERY EXCITING CONCEPT. PLEASE READ THE BRIEF OVERVIEW BELOW AND BRING YOUR COMMENTS.</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;"> </div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">David</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;"> =============================================</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;"> </div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span
style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri"><strong>Mind = Brain = Soul<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>.............<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and Physical Immortality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David Pizer<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></strong></font></span></div><div><font size="3"></font><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">WHAT IS A SOUL?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div><font size="3"></font><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">Yes, humans have a soul, it is their physical brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We now know that the thing people used to call their soul is the feeling of consciousness, awareness and thoughts within their<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We no longer need the Dualism concept of a non-material soul to explain consciousness and thinking.<o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div><font size="3"></font></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">HOW DID THE CONCEPT OF SOUL COME TO BE?<o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div><font size="3"></font><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">In the past, humans often referred to their conscious mind as their "soul."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They did not understand how a physical thing (their brain) could create the feeling of consciousness, and they felt that consciousness was a non-physical thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore they assumed that consciousness was something that existed apart from their physical brain and/or body.<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes;"> </span>Basically they called their conscious mind "their soul" and they chose to believe that it was something<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>apart from the physical matter of their body or even of this universe. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes they thought this non-material thing they called "soul" was immortal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><font face="Calibri"></font></o:p></span> </div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">I believe
that the specific conscious mind of an individual is entirely the workings of
their specific brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is little
mystery that the configuration of the neurons in the brain and the arrangement
of their synaptic connections cause the brain to "feel" consciousness
and create and sense thoughts within the workings of the brain.<o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">But this new
materialist explanation of our conscious mind does not mean that we cannot have
a potentially <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>immortal mind starting
with the same type of mind that in the past was also called the soul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can still refer to our mind as the soul of
our personhood and that soul might become <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>physically immortal if we take action.<o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">
</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">WHAT IS A
SOUL AND WHAT IS NOT A SOUL.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CAN A
PHYSICAL SOUL BECOME IMMORTAL?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">We start our
explanation of preparing for physical immortality of our soul (also known as our
mind/brain) by more precisely explaining what our mind/brain really is and what
it is not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(From here and through the
rest of this work, I will use the words "mind," "brain" and
"soul" interchangeably as 3 different words for the same thing.)<o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">
</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">Most people
think<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the essential part of their brain
is the specific matter that the brain<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>consists of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What makes each
brain unique is not the specific matter it is made of but the individual
arrangement of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>matter that is unique to
each different person's brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The atoms of each brain are arranged to make
molecules which are arranged to make neurons (brain cells) and their specific synaptic
connections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thinking, sensing and other
mental exercises cause the brain to prepare materials in certain
arrangements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certain arrangements cause
the brain to sense and think in certain ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Information affects arrangement and arrangement affects how information
is interpreted.<o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">
</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">It is while
this unique arrangement of common brain materials is animated <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and while the brain is processing (feeling) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>information from within and without that we
humans experience the feeling of consciousness and awareness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Life experiences contribute to the cause of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>how the neurons and synaptic connections are
arranged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This specific arrangement
causes specific thoughts and memories. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the specific thoughts and memories that
each individual has that makes each<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>specific person who they are. As long as that <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>specific arrangement can be recreated any time
in the future, and then reanimated, that specific conscious mind, (the mind of that
person or that soul) will exist.<o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">
</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">PRESERVING
THE MIND/BRAIN TO EVENTUALLY BE RESURRECTED AND BECOME PHYSICALLY IMMORTAL. <o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">
</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">Today, the
brain can be put into suspended animation using cryopreservation techniques
which <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>somewhat preserve the specific
arrangement of the material that makes up each cryonicist's brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With each cryopreservation and research over
time the cryopreservation process improves and the preservation of the
arrangement of brain materials gets better and better.<o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">
</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">So, in
principle, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a person can become
physically immortal as long as they can preserve the instructions for <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>arranging<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>common atomic material needed to recreate their brain<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>some day in the future when technology allows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">
</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">Today, many
potential forward time travelers are using cryopreservation techniques to
preserve the structure of their brain until scientists of the future can
develop medical engineering techniques to make these brains physically immortal,
resurrect and reanimate them, and provide a new body to physically support the
resurrected brain/mind/soul.<o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">
</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">CONCLUSION.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">So the basic
ideas have not changes in our religious philosophy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The religious *goals* of Venturists are still
the same as other modern and ancient religious goals; to avoid death and to
always try to do what is right.<o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">
</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">Now we
realize that the brain is<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the mind, the
mind is the soul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we preserve the
brain and advanced beings in the future resurrect it and reanimate it – then there
is for that brain/soul the prospect of physical immortality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; background-color: transparent;">
</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 14pt;"><font face="Calibri">So yes, Venturists
might have a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>physically <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>immortal life if they are willing to take some
steps now to preserve the structure of their brain and arrange for it to travel
to the future via a form of cryo-suspended animation. </font></span></div></div></body></html>