You cannot hold a thought in your hand, but thoughts are real. You cannot see a memory the way you see a rock, but memories are real too. So what are they? One new idea is that the deepest part of who we are is information: living patterns in the brain and body that carry memory, feeling, and identity. What people once called \u201cspirit\u201d may be another way of talking about that invisible but very real informational self.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your body is made of cells, and your cells use information all the time. DNA gives instructions for how your body grows. Your brain stores memories and helps you learn new things. Even when your body changes as you grow older, the information in you helps keep your life connected, like the story of you is still being written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This means the invisible part of you may not be a ghost hiding inside your body. It may be the organized information that makes you alive, aware, and unique. In this way, \u201cspirit\u201d can be understood as the living information that moves through your body, shapes your mind, and helps make you who you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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You cannot hold a thought in your hand, but thoughts are real. You cannot see a memory the way you see a rock, but memories are real too. So what are they? One new idea is that the deepest part of who we are is information: living patterns in the brain and body that carry … <\/p>\n