“consciousness itself is going to be redefined as we try to understand what we are dealing with here. I don’t think anyone understands what the hell that means”
I can help with that. This topic is discussed in depth in these podcasts:
https://podbay.fm/p/point-of-convergence
https://podbay.fm/p/liminal-phrames
Short version—the “scientific” view of consciousness is that it is a product of human brains.
Scientists talking about consciousness in the brain are like folks taking apart a radio to look for the talking voices inside—a super dumb paradigm.
OK—so what is consciousness then?
The “alien contact” phenomenon suggests that our brains are receivers (hardware) but the consciousness “software” lies elsewhere.
So where is elsewhere?
The “new way of thinking about consciousness” (one of the aliens communications) is that the “software” is an integral part of nature, the universe’s way of viewing itself.
That makes all of us and all the aliens (and whoever else shares “consciousness”) related to each other—”software” cousins of some sort.
Consciousness has its own “rules” we do not understand—the “laws” of physics do not apply—so it can appear to be “magic”.
Love that analogy. Brilliant.
I will check out those podcasts.
I have been studying consciousness for a long time now and would agree with your points.
I still recommend Julian Jaynes "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind" as a wonderful discussion on how to think about the incomprehensible nature of consciousness. We are akin to intestinal bacteria trying to understand the human in whose intestines we live.