Reality cannot be other than dual in nature. Consciousness continuously retracts itself from that of which it is conscious. This is a duality which also must be reality.
No one can speak of anything of which he is not conscious. One can be conscious of nothing, but nonconsciousness cannot be conscious of even nothing. Nonconsciousness can only be nonconscious of absolutely nothing.
For these reasons, even the materialists, who equate consciousness as a unity with brain activity, must admit that when brain activity ceases within a dead body, then that dead brain becomes nonconscious of an absolute nothingness. Consciousness of nothing requires a living brain. This means that both consciousness and nothing have been made real when consciousness objectifies nothing. This makes consciousness of nothing a dual reality even if consciousness is unified with brain activity.
Even the materialists must admit that he can only be aware of his consciousness of nothing when he is also conscious of this duality. It would be impossible for him to speak of this duality if he were not conscious of it. In other words, consciousness must retract itself from both nothingness and brain activity in order to be conscious of brain activity being conscious of nothing. Then again, if one observes closely, he realizes that if he can be conscious of his consciousness being conscious of his brain activity, then his consciousness has retracted itself to a new position of consciousness. This continuing condition would seem to indicate some connection of consciousness with infinity. This raises the question of how consciousness can have any connection to infinity if consciousness has been restricted to a mere unification with brain activity, especially when brain activity dissolves into absolute nothingness when one dies.
Consciousness can also be described as the power of revelation. This consciousness must adhere to the power of revelation produced by brain activity since this power reveals the reality of brain activity itself. This consciousness also seems to have some connection to infinity. This means that this power of revelation must be a reality separate from brain activity, especially in view of the fact that when one is conscious of one's own consciousness, then one is conscious of this power of revelation itself and not of brain activity. This means that brain activity can only be an instrument by which consciousness becomes an active agent through a body connected to a physical world.
To counter this argument, the materialists might assert that all of this spiritualization of consciousness amounts to mere illusion. They will continue to maintain that, in reality, consciousness adheres to brain activity and that both evaporate into absolute nothingness when the brain dies. However, they cannot deny that they are conscious of this illusion itself.
All of this speculation raises the question: What is an illusion? When one thinks about illusions, one realizes that all illusions always comprise real elements. Pegasus is an illusion, but "wings" and "horses" are real. Mermaids are an illusion, but "fish" and "females" are real. This is true of all forms of illusion including mistaken identity, optical illusions, hallucinations, dreams and even mistakes in arithmetic. This means that to be conscious of an illusion is to be conscious of nothing since all of the elements of the illusion are always real. While illusions always comprise real elements, the illusion itself always equals nothing. As an equality with nothingness, illusions are always useless; but the consciousness of nothing is itself useful since by means of this consciousness of nothing, one can recognize the uselessness of illusions.
Real elements can be combined into useful combinations as well as useless ones. Useful combinations always produce desired results, and therefore, are just as real within themselves as are the real elements that compose them. The world is full of useful and real systems comprising real elements. Thus, another basic definition of reality is that it always comprises something useful.
If the spiritualization of consciousness is an illusion, then this is also a consciousness of nothing which is in-itself a useful and real combination. But this also means that consciousness, as that necessary element of that combination called the duality of reality, can never fail to be useful, and therefore, can never fail to be real. Consciousness can never fail to produce a desired result, even when it is conscious of only nothing. This means that when consciousness is conscious of itself as the power of revelation, then this has to be a true and real combination since consciouness cannot fail to be conscious of the real. This also means that the connection of consciousness with infinity must also be real since consciousness must always exist in a condition of retreat from itself. In other words, the connection of consciousness to infinity is absolutely necessary to the reality of intelligent consciousness. This real connection of consciousness to infinity can only be that which we Christians call the spirit of man.
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