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Exploring the Mystery Inside Our Own Heads

Exploring the Mystery Inside Our Own Heads

Last updated on: June 3, 2026 at 8:17 am by Tom Rapsas

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Exploring the Mystery Inside Our Own Heads 2026-06-03T08:17:04-06:00 Tom Rapsas

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What if the ultimate mystery isn’t out in the universe, but right inside your own head? Image of Michael Pollan created by Gemini.

Did Michael Pollan Solve the Mystery of Consciousness?

What is consciousness? Where does it originate? Does it reside in the brain or somewhere else? Is consciousness exclusive to human beings or do animals and even plants possess it?

These are some of the questions Michael Pollan addresses in his thought-provoking new book A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness. Pollan has done some heavy digging into consciousness and the world that appears each time we open our eyes. It is a tricky subject because as Pollan points out, even the definition of consciousness is open to debate:

For some it is the basic fact of perception…for others it is that we can reflect on ourselves, as in a mirror. Some think of consciousness as a lens through which we perceive the world, while others take the same word to mean the space of interiority in which thinking and feeling seem to happen.

Finding consciousness in your own head.

Stop for a moment and consider your own consciousness, the space between your ears where things appear. The meditation expert and philosopher Sam Harris offers a simple exercise that helps clarify what we mean by consciousness. It can help you observe what’s going on inside your own head.

Start by focusing on your tongue as it rests against the inside of your mouth. Pay close attention to it. As you do this, realize there is another part of you that is hearing sounds. You might hear a bird chirping, a clock ticking, a car driving by your home. Wait a few seconds and thoughts might float by. This vast cloud of awareness is consciousness. It’s what gives us our sense of self.

In studying consciousness, there’s an easy problem—and a hard problem.

In the field known as neuroscience, most researchers agree on the mechanics of consciousness and how the brain works. They understand how memory is stored and by studying brain activity they know how we process sensory input. Most agree that the brain functions as sort of a command center for everything we do. That’s the easy problem, one we pretty much have figured out.

Pollan calls attention to what is known as “the hard problem,” the ultimate “why” of existence. Why do we feel anything at all inside our heads? He notes that while have an immense amount of knowledge on brain function and activity, no microscope or scanner can locate the sense of self we experience as real each waking moment.

We like to think of consciousness as existing somewhere behind our eyes, deep inside our skull. But there’s no known physical address for our consciousness in our gray matter. It’s impossible to pin down where this sense of self, with its wishes and dreams, its urges and anxieties, is located. It is truly the ghost in the machine.

Ultimately, one major problem is that we can only study consciousness through our own consciousness. As we think about thinking, it can’t help but become a subjective analysis, one that’s not based in real science. It may be the reason that by Pollan’s count, there are currently no fewer than 84 theories of consciousness.

In a conversation between Pollan and Harris on the Waking Up app, the two concluded that the “hard problem” will never be solved by a computer or in a lab. It is a deeply human mystery that must be lived and experienced to be understood. They also agree that the mystery will never be solved by the ego, as it is not the ultimate source of our awareness.

Could consciousness be powered by the soul?

One researcher speculates that the soul is the animating force behind consciousness and life itself, the soul being the innermost part of us that feels separate from the body. From this perspective, the brain is not the generator of consciousness, but the receiver of it. Think of it this way: The brain is like a television set. The TV doesn’t create the broadcast signal. It just tunes into the signal and displays it.

Another researcher believes that there are two kinds of consciousness, two ways we experience life. One is happening on autopilot or backstage. The other is active and constantly onstage. I noticed this in myself the other morning while driving. I had merged onto a busy highway. But a mile or so past the merge, I realized I had no recollection of coming onto the highway, whether I had to speed up or slow down to join the flow of traffic. I was driving on autopilot while my active mind was contemplating the day ahead.

Pollan’s search for answers takes him to a Buddhist retreat.

After years of studying the subject, Pollan finds he is no closer to solving the riddle of consciousness. While uncovering answers, his research keeps digging up new questions. It’s then that his research then takes a left turn. Pollan visits with Zen Buddhist priest Joan Halifax who believes in practice over theory, being over doing.

Under the guidance of Halifax, Pollan spends several days in a remote meditation cave. There, he finds that even when the ego is quieted, a vibrant, pristine awareness remains. He experiences what’s called “beginner’s mind,” the power of not knowing. Contemplating his own consciousness, he concludes:

It’s still there, that supremely self-interested voice in my head, that overeager contestant in the game of life, so quick to take umbrage or jump a line. But now that I have a bit more perspective on this character, enough to recognize what he’s up to and (sometimes) dismiss him, I’m tuning into some other internal voice, one that is kinder, more patient, and more generous.

Pollan has embraced the simple miracle of being fully present to the world as it appears. He discovers that when we finally step away from the noise of our own thoughts, we realize that the light of awareness, aka consciousness, has been there all along, just waiting for us to notice it.

Does consciousness survive death? In all likelihood, yes. To learn more, check out the following stories from the Wake Up Call archives:

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