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The Nervous System

And Higher States of Consciousness

Growth begins each time we choose nourishment over numbness.

– Sie Latier

The nervous system is associated with ahamkara, or ‘sense of Self,’ because the brain is the sole reason we have conscious experiences – one being awareness of Being (Morehead, 2026). The billions of neurons in the brain, along with trillions of synapses, guide sensations, memories and behaviors and allow for us to use our intelligence to accomplish tasks (Kaplan, 2026). The nervous system, through evolution, expands our knowledge until we enliven our total brain functioning, thus discovering the Self, which is a result of fluctuations of thought and action in the oceanic waves of collective consciousness. Personally, I know when my Vata is aggravated, disturbing my mind and altering my sense of Self. This in turn gives rise to a dysregulated nervous system, so it’s vital as a practitioner to ensure the nervous system and thus Vata remain balanced so consciousness may reach higher states with accurate sense of Self.

The thalamus governs awareness because through the thalamo-cortico looping, it takes received input from the environment and distinguishes where it should be routed in the brain (Morehead, 2026). For an experience to actually become an experience, the thalamus must be “turned on,” using its 16 main nuclei, which also correspond to the 16 main topics of Nyaya (Morehead, 2026). The thalamus is correlated with Nyaya in the sense that Nyaya also distinguishes and decides the quality of consciousness. Nyaya can be viewed also as being “turned on,” like a lamp at the door: there are different levels of how an experience is to be interpreted and used based on awareness, memories (past experiences) and knowledge (Morehead, 2026). This knowledge will be important in my practice because I can listen to my clients’ experiences to get a sense of their alertness, their memories, and their knowledge. I can use this to navigate who they are and what the quality of consciousness is. This will guide my recommendations to be better suited for them, individualized for their needs.

Cosmic Consciousness can be described as a light being turned on both outside, externally in outer reality and inside of us, in our inner reality, for the first time (Morehead, 2026). It means there is a sense of Self via transcendence maintained whilst waking, dreaming and sleeping. Though both inner and outer are lit, the inner remains unchanged, but there is awareness that the outer reality is constantly changing around us (Morehead, 2026). What this means on a brain wave level is that there is higher alpha 1 activity, alongside delta, indicating an awareness or witnessing of inner and outer reality combined, settling the thalamus (Morehead, 2026). Every time I have transcended, I feel like I’m floating in both time and space. This feeling feels like it resonates in me for days after; knowing what this experience feels like is vital to explain to others what it’s like, though personal, especially as a consultant recommending Transcendental Meditation via Maharishi AyurVeda.

References

Kaplan, G. (2026). Structure of the Nervous System. [Video]. Maharishi International University. Retrieved from MS in Maharishi AyurVeda and Integrative Medicine.

Morehead, P. (2026). Higher States of Consciousness. [Video]. Maharishi International University. Retrieved from MS in Maharishi AyurVeda and Integrative Medicine.

Morehead, P. (2026). Maharishi AyurVeda: Wholeness of the Nervous System. [Video]. Maharishi International University. Retrieved from MS in Maharishi AyurVeda and Integrative Medicine.

Morehead, P. (2026). Nyaya: Distinguishing and Deciding. [Video]. Maharishi International University. Retrieved from MS in Maharishi AyurVeda and Integrative Medicine.