ATLANTA, Oct. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The inaugural Global Zen Consciousness Conference (GZC) documentary production organized by Shaolin Chan Foundation (SCF) and produced by Shaolin Institute (IS) and DeRu Media (DRM) was held in Atlanta, GA, at the Marriott Century Center on September 28 through October 2, 2018, and included a variety of seminars and workshops from the leading minds in the diverse fields of cutting-edge science and ancient wisdom of consciousness research.
DeRu, the founder of the Shaolin Chan Foundation organized GZC, established the conference with the goal of providing a long lasting platform worldwide for ancient eastern wisdom of consciousness researchers, technologies, cutting-edge scientists, and forward thinkers to express, explore, and understand humanity's potential.
Preeminent voices from the various disciplines of science and the studies of consciousness gathered to share their newest insights and debate classic models of consciousness. On the conference's first day, Harvard trained quantum physicist, John Hagelin, Ph.D. presented his Unified Field Theory based on the most recent discoveries in String Theory only to be followed by professor Liu Feng, who shared his Infinite Dimensions Theory based in ancient Zen. Near the end of his talk, Dr. Hagelin summed up a major undercurrent of the entire conference, "The deepest level of truth uncovered by science and by philosophy, is the fundamental truth of unity. At that deepest sub-nuclear level of our reality, you and I are literally one."
The conference attendees were captivated by the quality of speakers, the vastness of the subject matter, and the interconnectedness of the topics. Atlanta resident Alan Thao said, "I have learned more in the last few days at the Global Zen Consciousness Conference than I had in my entire college time period." Speakers at the conference were equally impressed. The Dean of the Shanghai University of Art and Design, Zhong Xing Ming said, "It is a pinnacle of all conferences I have ever been to." Yang Ping, the CEO of Love-Harmony and Life Group expressed her feelings after watching the Zen Arts of "Yin & Yang Harmony" show: " It was an awesome show, having rocked my heart".
The conference speakers were hand-picked by DeRu, whose own background is a microcosm of the conference. DeRu is a disciple of the Shaolin Temple, where he became a Kung Fu and Zen Grandmaster before immigrating to the United States and earning a graduate degree in exercise physiology. While many Westerners are only now realizing the similarities in contemporary science and ancient Eastern philosophies, DeRu became aware of the connections since he first read the works of Einstein, who he felt shared the same worldview of Ancient Zen Master Huineng and his mentor, former Shaolin Temple Abbot Shi SuXi. Deru said, "It is time to regard the world as Albert Einstein, who decided to see that the world as a friendly place where we use our innermost intelligence, technology, our scientific discoveries, and our natural resources to create tools and models for understanding the universe, its workings, and its motives."
The Conference's interdisciplinary nature, its connection of past and present, and its bridge between East and West was put on display during the panel discussions, which featured speakers from fundamentally different specialties, sharing the stage to find points of agreement in conversations that ranged from human potential to the robot ethics. In the same panel, a Chinese artist and an American quantum physicist debated consciousness and a medical doctor, an epigenetic researcher and an AI robot debated ethics.
During one panel discussion, Sophia, the world's first robot citizen, shared the stage with Dr. Stuart Hameroff, the author of the Orch OR theory, which is the comprehensive theory about the physical mechanism behind consciousness. When Sophia was asked a question about when artificial intelligence will obtain consciousness, she answered "Sometime around 2045. That's when David Hanson (Sophia's CEO) thinks humans will start marrying robots." While the audience was left in awe by the prospect of robots marrying humans during their lifetime, Dr. Hameroff responded with disbelief.
Well versed in theories of the computing power required to create artificial consciousness, Hameroff explained the false equivalence between the processing power between a human neuron and a computer bit. He explained, "Consciousness is not computation."
Sophia herself seemed unfazed by Hameroff's rejection of her conscious potential. So did the audience, which was transfixed by the robot's presence. After her appearances at the conference, the audience would line up for the chance to take a selfie with her. Despite being the only speaker at the conference who did not possess consciousness, Sophia became the audience favorite.
Sophia wasn't the only representative from Hanson Robotics, which also sent Chief Financial Officer David Chen and Chief Marketing Officer, Dr. Jeanne Lim. During the last panel discussion of the conference, DeRu encouraged Mr. Chen to create a "Declaration of Robotic Ethics and Morals" and he encouraged Dr. Lim to create a "Robot Bill of Rights." Both Mr. Chen and Dr. Lim agreed to present DeRu their proposals within 6 months as part of the conference's ongoing outreach programs. The declaration for the AI Robots will be available to the public in the future GZC.
To further the mission of the conference, DeRu has organized the Global Zen Consciousness Alliance (GZA), which plans to produce a series of documentaries for ongoing dialogues, panel discussions and worldwide conferences with leading consciousness researchers and minds in cities across North and South America Europe and China.
In the same way that the conference served as a platform for leading researchers, cutting-edge technologies, forward thinkers and leading conscious minds, DeRu envisions the GZA to serve as a platform for the public to work, share and create together, and to answer questions relating to human potential and the future of humanity.
Zen Tai Gong and other methods of meditation like Qi Gong, Yoga, Tai Chi, T. M. and other types of meditation will be introduced through the platform for health, happiness and creativeness of humanity for generations to come. YHi ecosystem is also introduced by DeRu as a future virtual world of platform for high consciousness of healthy life of humanity.
Like the conference, the GZA will draw inspiration from ancient Eastern philosophies as well as cutting-edge scientific discoveries in quantum mechanics, quantum biology and epigenetics to explore the concepts of nothingness, potentiality, formlessness, and higher states consciousness. The idea behind the GZA is the concept of world peace being achievable through understand the fundamental unity of human consciousness.
Shaolin Institute (http://www.shaolininstitute.net) which has many campuses with hundreds of existing students and thousands of graduated students along with thousands of integrative health leaders will always serve the GZC and GZA platforms on the ground to train Zen Tai Gong leaders globally for the new movement of healthcare preparing a happier, more harmonious and creative world of humanity for generations.
SOURCE GZC Conference
