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Nicole Straley

515

Bold Points

1x

Finalist

1x

Winner

Education

University of California-Riverside

Bachelor's degree program
2000 - 2013
  • Majors:
    • Psychology, General

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Master's degree program

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

    • Education, Other
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Education

    • Dream career goals:

      Science Teacher

      Future Interests

      Volunteering

      Philanthropy

      Suraj Som Aspiring Educators Scholarship
      Winner
      You cannot enter any world for which you do not possess the language. The language of the universe and human existence is spoken in science, mathematics and spirituality. They represent two aspects of form and one aspect of the formless respectively- the inextricably linked poles of a magnet that are extrinsically different, but intrinsically the same because the existence of one implies the existence of the other. In an effort to understand this intersectionality, for the last two years I have been embarking on an exploration of science from both the third person perspective and the first person singular perspective. Science from the third person perspective allows me to explore the phenomenological world that surrounds me, which is only the world as it appears to be. How the world appears to me and to other living organisms is based broadly (for the sake of this essay's brevity) on how neural networks carry the various inputs and waves to their eventual terminus for a brain's interpretation. There is no doubt that while this vantage point is the standard bearer of modern science and possesses a methodology rooted in objectivity, it is undeniable that it cannot get close enough to reveal the noumena of reality- things as they intrinsically are and not as they appear to be. Third person science always acts at a distance, with a medium or device between the observer and the observed. Moreover, it does not acknowledge the power of the environmental context. When you extract blood from an organism to study it, you remove it from its environment. It is highly likely that the behavior will be fundamentally different than when it was in its original context. The perspective also discounts the presence of the observer altogether, as if they were something alien, separate from the environment and whose perception is not dependent on the existence of objects themselves to begin with. This is where science of the first person is perfectly matched and belies the realms of spirituality. It is only the science from the first person perspective that can access the subject from zero degrees. That is the position, the ground upon which all appearances arise from. As individuals, we can explore the nature of consciousness- the reality THAT we perceive and not WHAT we perceive. Similar themes of examining the center of awareness are widely infused in eastern spiritual practices and images similar to the mandala illustrate this nest of concentric circles about a center. The center representing the first person and the circles representing the system of its regional appearances as third person. Indian sages referred to this empty center as the void and it was shared with Islamic scholars who founded the mathematical concept of zero from it. Modern studies of monks and other contemplative practitioners conducted while they attend to this center have yielded evidence of slowed pulse rates, shallow breathing, sustained concentration, increased sensory acuteness and modified electrical impulses among other extraordinary effects. These studies highlight that clearly seeing what one is centrally makes a great difference to what one is peripherally. This speaks directly to the deep relationship between these three dialects of experience and existence. I have been so moved by these influences that I am changing my life trajectory to explore these elements of life as a career path. I have been accepted into UC Berkeley's Graduate School Division and beginning a lifelong endeavor to teach science. It is my hope to bring more awareness of these kinds of relationships to the students I encounter and help them have a deeper conversation with life and the world.