Connecting the Dots: The New Paradigm Shift

Introduction

Most scientists today consider the world a collection of subatomic particles governed by the nuclear, gravitational, and electromagnetic forces of Einstein’s Unified Field Theory. But if that is all there is to physical reality, then no easy or rational way remains to explain the phenomenon of the PE, and the associated issue of how consciousness emerges from a physical brain. The center of this debate is whether YOU are your brain, and the PE may actually provide significant evidence to help resolve this burning question which humankind yearns to know. 

Materialistic scientists who contend that consciousness is nothing more than neuro-chemistry can never explain how feelings of awe and universal connectedness arise from the spiritual and mystical experiences reported by millions worldwide.  And if the explanation lies solely within the brain, a jellylike mass of fat and protein comprising some 100 billion nerve cells, the answer surely won’t be discovered any time soon. Conversely, if consciousness is nonlocal, and somehow extends beyond the body to perceive things not accessible to our sense organs – as experimental research suggests – then consciousness must be something qualitatively different than the brain.

Within the Western materialist framework, unexplained personal PE triggers in the form of NDE, OBE, communication with the deceased and Supreme Beings, entangled minds and ESP, and interactions with UAP and NHEs, are dismissed as an underlying neurological and/or psychological pathology that manifest as memory disturbance, sleep disorders, wishful thinking, or misinterpretations of natural events. These experiences, therefore, are not considered true perceptions of the conscious mind, soul, spirit, or “self.” Yet many of these same skeptical scientists, who denounce and dismiss the PE as neurological or psychological disorder, routinely attend church to pray to a disembodied Supreme Being for guidance, healing, and forgiveness. This is the ultimate paradox. That is, how can someone believe in and interact with an unseen and scientifically unproven Deity on Sunday, and then denounce and dismiss one’s PE on Monday? This contradiction, generated by biased viewpoints fostered by psycho-religious and cultural factors, greatly impedes our objective understanding of the true nature of reality, and the diverse range of PE triggers revered throughout history to the present day. 

Moreover, science has consistently misunderstood, misrepresented, and largely ignored the spiritual dimension, the supernatural or paranormal, and the PE. They consider it suspect and in opposition with scientific principles, especially since spirituality has been so closely tied to unproven religious teachings. This seems unwise, but at some level, it is understandable. After all, a scientist is committed to physical laws, not faith, bias, and speculation that cannot be proven with scientific logic and empirical evidence. Consequently, it is virtually impossible for either the scientific or spiritual perspective to prevail over the other through logic or force of argument since these beliefs are based on faith, not compelling evidence.

The apparent endless gap between science and consciousness begs for some kind of overarching bridge to connect and integrate modern scientific principles with those that emerge in studies on consciousness, the brain, parapsychology, the social and natural sciences, and the PE. After all, a fundamental goal of physical science has been to explore and explain deeper levels of reality associated with atoms and molecules, often using strange and counterintuitive explanations like Quantum Theory. By the same token, mathematicians have attempted to develop equations to describe ever more abstract levels of consciousness. And since mathematics has described so well the physical laws of nature, from the macroscopic (cosmology) to the microscopic (quantum field theories), scientists are now following suit by seeking to explain consciousness as a by-product of brain processes using principles drawn from Quantum Theory. This is seen in the form of nonlocal information, as well as the String Theory, and the Unified Field Theory. But despite these recent efforts, a wide and seemingly impenetrable gap between science and spirituality remains. And this is unfortunate for many reasons. 

Despite the extraordinary advances in science and technology over the last three centuries, the subjective experience, especially the essence of consciousness and nonlocal communication (ESP), has been largely neglected by mainstream science. However, their now exists hundreds of peer reviewed scientific publications showing that parapsychological experiments support the concept of ESP. And despite the skeptics, who continue to either disregard or refute the validity of ESP, there is clear documentation that some aspects of psychic phenomena are real. Research in parapsychology, for instance, has provided us with keen insight about human potential. We now understand that focused intention can promote information transfer and reception (telepathy and clairvoyance) and alter physical systems and matter (psychokinesis), but we haven’t yet mastered the rules sufficiently to significantly influence such nonlocal effects. The small effects measured, however, clearly demonstrate that intention can indeed influence reality. Still, larger effect sizes must await a clearer description of the rules by which conscious intention interacts with matter, energy, and information to unfold and actualize the structure of physical reality. In fact, highly respected and well recognized scientists are now emphasizing the importance of what is still commonly overlooked in the mainstream scientific community – the fact that physical matter is not the only reality. 

Connecting the Dots  

In light of the information presented in this book, there are a few interrelated critical points or “connecting dots” presented in this chapter that should be strongly considered if we are to better understand the nature of the diverse range of profound personal and extraordinary experiences of the PE and its associated triggers, and reality itself. This objective is essential since the PE alters one’s viewpoints on the meaning of life and the nature of reality in those who experience it from that moment forward. Consequently, the major “takeaway” or “connecting dot” is this: There will come a time when an existing energy, which dwells beyond our known laws of nature, will be discovered to confirm that “consciousness” is a distinct unseen force independent of brain function.  And this discovery will serve as the missing link that will co-exist with the other known physical forces that comprise Einstein’s Unified Field Theory. That is, what may be considered by current scientific mainstream standards today as “anomalous” or “paranormal,” may actually be related to and explainable by concepts inherent within the hologram, biofield, and torsion energy, and/or other yet to be realized unseen forces. One related issue of significance is whether or not we can extrapolate from the enigmatic properties of microscopic subatomic particles – the stuff we are made of – to phenomena experienced in our macroscopic world. This possibility deserves far greater attention by mainstream science, especially since experimental results mentioned prior indicate that a subtle unseen force (the biofield) may actually link the mind and brain of individuals with each other and with the world at large. 

But if eminent theoretical physicist who originated quantum theory Max Planck is correct in his statement that: “Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature…because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are part of nature and therefore part of the mystery that we are trying to solve,” – I could be seriously mistaken. Planck’s perspective raises an interesting paradox. That is, how do humans who have consciousness explain consciousness when human consciousness itself represents, “the mystery that we are trying to solve.” I know, I had to synthesize Plank’s irony again too. But the point is this; how can we solve unexplained aspects of altered perceptions associated with the PE and its triggers when we ourselves are part of that mystery? Our brain and consciousness, each a poorly understood entity, are the only resources available to solve an enigma analogous to the mysterious nature of life itself. After all, what is life? Well, maybe my dear friend Frank DePasquale nailed it in his comment that: “Life is not knowing what the hell it’s all about.”⁵⁵ Can you see why I love discussing anomalous characteristics of life, reality, and consciousness with this humane and kind-hearted truth seeker? 

Given this ironic context, my most plausible “connecting dot” attributes the PE and associated phenomena to a yet to be discovered physical energy. This energy, which may be so small that it does not interact with matter, may be mediated as a field effect from each of us. But similar to the elementary particle theory (protons, neutrinos, etc.), there is no widely accepted and uniform agreement that such an energy with the required characteristics exist. It is not clear, in other words, how each of the PE triggers enables one to interact with and utilize this energy. For this reason alone, we are dealing with several interacting phenomena; the PE itself and the trigger that gives rise to it. This is indeed one of humankind’s most sensational and significant enigmas to resolve.  

Collectively, the anecdotal and experimental evidence addressed prior should serve as the initial foundation for researchers to build upon to empirically demonstrate and measure a currently unknown aspect of energy called “consciousness.” And this foundation leads to another “connecting dot” – there is an unknown aspect of reality that has a pronounced effect on the lives of millions of individuals who interact with it. And to understand the nature of our reality requires us to explore the role of consciousness and its interaction with physical systems. If mainstream science analyzes this evidence using a systematic and multidisciplinary approach, some “outside the box” thinkers may also recognize with fierce determination as I do, that this area of study deserves far greater attention from the scientific community than the “drop in the bucket” currently allocated. It fact, a critical “connecting dot,” is that the theories and associated supporting evidence in this book should serve as the basis for a call to action of a new paradigm shift. 

The New Paradigm Shift  

Overview: Long ago, our best science told us the Earth is flat and everything in the night sky circles the Earth, including the Sun. Fast forward a few centuries later, today’s best science now says the world presented to us by our perceptions is not true reality. In other words, what is a first-person conscious reality? This is the so-called “hard problem” of consciousness and the questions about the nature of reality reside somewhere within neuroscience and the brain, and yet to be discovered and agreed upon scientific theories. Science today knows the shape of the Earth and elliptical orbits but still has no clue how your brain facilitates the first-person conscious experience. Who and what am “I”? This is the essential issue of our times. All else is secondary and evolves from the answer to this question. Consequently, a new paradigm is needed to explain the many important unresolved issues that beg to be answered from a scientific, societal, and personal level.  After all, we still know very little about aspects of anomalous experiences like the PE and nonlocality, and the true nature of this and other possible alternate realities. 

Paradigm Shift: A paradigm is a theory of reality. Some well-known examples of major paradigm shifts are the Darwinian theory of evolution, the Copernican revolution in astronomy, and the relativity and quantum theories in physics. And now, a new paradigm shift is needed. It is needed because there are acknowledged anomalies that do not fit into the current scientific paradigm. These anomalies, addressed throughout this book under the overarching nature of the PE, are rejected entirely, debunked, or ignored. And those who do either reject entirely or debunk the PE and its triggers, do so without a clear understanding of the comprehensive anecdotal and experimental evidence. And the few who take the time and effort to carefully interpret this evidence generally fail to accept its validity, especially since our traditional scientific framework doesn’t include unexplained anomalies such as ESP and interactions with alternate realities and NHEs via an OBE and NDE, the UAP, psychoactive drugs, and meditation, etc. The long-established materialist paradigm dismiss the anecdotal reports of millions who contend with fierce determination to have pierced the veil of another extraordinarily real world that dramatically changes their perspectives on life and who and what they are. But science has no clue what this is all about because it is not consistent with established and agreed upon traditional laws and principles of our physical universe.  To traditional science, therefore, the PE can’t be a real physical experience. Thus they consider the PEr to be either delusional, or to have misinterpreted a dream for a real event, or confabulated their experience for some secondary gain. But here’s the crux of this paradox. The PE appears to be non-physical in nature. And because it is non-physical, established scientific laws based on the physical are inconsistent with the PE. For this reason, a new paradigm with agreed upon laws and principles that incorporate the non-physical aspects of reality must be developed. And it is not only essential for traditional materialist science to evolve into a new paradigm – it is mandatory!  

For these reasons, science is impeded by long established powerful taboos that inhibit unbiased thinking. Consequently, several theoretical and conceptual issues shift to further develop and test may serve as the preliminary foundation and rationale for this new paradigm shift as follows:

1. Consciousness is interrelated with the brain in space and time and cannot be explained only by mechanical laws of science. The brain filters out a supremely expanded consciousness. 
2. Contemporary theoretical physics is dominated by superstring and M theories, with ten and eleven dimensions respectively. 
3. Many cosmologists have adopted the multiverse theory. This theory asserts there are trillions of universes besides our own and reality may be the physics of the virtual.                                                            
4. The essence of materialism that matter is the only reality is wrong. In consciousness studies, materialism is being challenged by Panpsychism – all self-organizing material systems have a mental and physical aspect. Quantum physics shows that the fundamental units of nature, including photons and electrons, are temporal as well as spatial.  
5. Many scientists are shifting away from Realism to Idealism – the belief that what a human being sees is based wholly on her or his beliefs about what does or does not exist to be seen in the first place.
6. Extrasensory perception (telepathy, precognition, psychokinesis) is valid and nonlocality is a normal feature of human performance.  Numerous experimental studies have been replicated by independent researchers showing that focused intention can facilitate the transference and reception of information despite time and space – nonlocality. Paranormal activity should be considered normal not abnormal. 
7. The evidence to support the UAP is overwhelmingly convincing and sufficient enough to accept its validity. More specifically, millions of people worldwide, and throughout time, have and are continuing to interact with the UAP. The fundamental issue of concern is the essence of what governs and regulates its behavior. And if the UAP is intelligently controlled by NHEs, which seems to be the case, then what is their objective? 
8. The similarity of anecdotal accounts from healthy well-balanced individuals of interactions with alternate realities and associated NHEs suggest that people are somehow experiencing a non-physical reality considered to be “realer than real.” 

The Peak Experience and the Mind-Brain Connection

Overview: Essential to the development of a new scientific paradigm is the quest to better understand the mind-brain connection and the essence of “YOU.”. After all, more is unknown than is known about matter and the relationship between the mind and brain. Your mind is the new frontier of science and future generations will advance our understanding of the mind. And quantum theory may prove essential to this evolution because classical physics downgrades consciousness to the role of physical events explained only by mechanical laws of physics. Believe it or not, they got the whole enchilada wrong, and it is time to right the ship. 

The mind-brain connection is becoming recognized as the most important objective of science. Co-discoverer of the structure of the DNA molecule Francis Crick, and neuroscientist Christoph Koch, for example, considered that, “the overwhelming question in neurobiology today is the relationship between the mind and the brain.”¹ But how does the set of processes we call mind emerge from the brain?  These processes are not well understood because the traditional laws of science significantly impede our understanding of the mind-brain relationship and the PE, especially since they are based mainly on scientific principles that consider you just a mechanical biological system. Well, I don’t know about you, but this perspective conflicts with my deep intuitive sense of who and what I am. It diminishes my inner voice of reason that I are not just a three pound mass of 100 billion neurons between my ears. In contrast to classical physics, however, quantum theory incorporates humans in a critical way. This shift, though slow in nature and appeal, is sufficient to allow quantum theory to provide a causal explanation of how consciousness acts on the brain and physical systems. You saw the results of this from several neuro-psychological and scientific based experiments addressed in this book. And it is ultimately up to you to determine their potential implications since answers from the scientific community will evolve long after your last breath, if at all. 

This process of discovery proceeds at a snail’s pace, especially since neuroscientists ignore the progress in quantum physics, and physicists focus exclusively on non-biological phenomena. And someday, the person who successfully integrates principles from each discipline will contend for the Nobel Prize. Neuroscientists, for instance, contend that quantum physics is not critical to the aspects of brain function and consciousness. Instead, the answer must exist in the discipline they are most familiar with and studied most of their life – neural activity.  Neuroscientists can’t admit that the mind-body problem might reside in a discipline they know little about. That acknowledgement is self-defeating and ego shattering. Consequently, they continue to follow one well-known path taken many times before which, if followed, will not get them lost. Confidence can certainly be misleading and biasing. They are certain the answer to the mind-body problem can be found in the properties of neural activity in the form of frequency of neuron firing and connection strengths at synapses. But this analysis is outdated Newtonian physics, where time is absolute and objects exist absolutely. For this reason, neuroscientists can’t find the elusive answers and continue to go back to the drawing board to try to make progress. They don’t acknowledge or adapt the theories of quantum physics to the level of the brain to help complement and refine their insights and research focus. They are stuck like glue to the apple landing on Newton’s head and remain centuries behind the curve. And in doing so, neuroscience will never solve the “hard problem” of consciousness. Neuroscientists need to shift their philosophy of mind from the old workings of Realism and embrace the concept of Instrumentalism.

Over the past four centuries, Western scientific inquiry has operated firmly within the boundaries of Realism – everything our basic senses experience is all there is to existence, and anything else is imagination, hallucination or delusion. To scientific realists, therefore, what you experience is what you get in the form of reality. Nothing else exists. However, both neuroscience and modern physics are actually beginning to disprove scientific realism by demonstrating it to be an optical delusion of consciousness. And many scientists are beginning to embrace Instrumentalism. That is, reality is based entirely on beliefs about what does or does not exist to be seen. In other words, the reality you think you see when having a morning coffee is actually an imaginary construct of your mind.² 

Instrumentalism was advanced by philosopher John Dewey who considered concepts and theories as just useful instruments in explaining and predicting phenomena. This theory lies in stark contrast to Scientific Realism – the world described by science is the real world, independent of what we might think it is.³ To Instrumentalists, the value of concepts and theories is not measured by whether they are true or false, or if they correctly depict reality. Instead, the truth and value of an idea is determined by its success in the active solution of a problem, as determined by human experience. In other words, practical consequences constitute the essential criterion in determining meaning, truth or value.⁴ 

The Mind-Brain Filter: William James, considered the father of psychology, may have been right when he made a bold proposal about the brain over one hundred years ago. The process James described so many years ago is the filter theory, and he said that what the brain filters out is a supremely expanded consciousness. James proposed that the brain acts as a partial barrier and gives us only the surface of what is possible for us to perceive – the brain filters our access to a vast consciousness which extends beyond the limits of neural activity. We are just now realizing what James had considered long ago – that these experiences occur when the brain is inactive or minimally active. The brain’s amazing capacity to filter sensory information is critical to forming coherent perceptions of the world.¹⁶   But how can this be accomplished? Possibly the new paradigm shift will help achieve this fundamental goal and answers to this “hard problem of consciousness.”

Critical to this “hard problem” is the research by neuroscientist Candace Pert with the brain’s electro-chemicals – neurotransmitters and hormones. Her findings have forced scientific realists to confront the fact that a human being’s ability to be an objective observer of reality seems to work much better in theory than in fact.⁵ Pert discovered, for example, that when we think different thoughts, your brain generates neural activity that stimulate the expression of visual images which correspond to those thoughts. This enables subsequent mental, emotional and physical actions and reactions to take place. Consequently, this electrochemical process facilitates a better understanding of how you interpret and react to situations.​ 

The two sides of your brain, for example, filter information differently through attentional pathways. The left controls information important for language abilities and goal-directed actions. The right controls a broader visual-spatial attention that enables you to interpret new experiences of awareness.⁶  An example of this filtering process was described by neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor in her book, My Stroke of Insight, where she described changes in her attention following a stroke to the left side of her brain.⁷ Following her stroke, she found it very difficult to interpret what someone was saying. But once she allowed herself to rest in the experience of her right brain, she was only aware of the present moment. She described her experience in the following statements: “In this altered state of being, my mind was no longer preoccupied with the billions of details that my brain routinely used to define and conduct my life…. As my consciousness slipped into a state of peaceful grace, I felt ethereal.” “I have “gained access to the experience of deep peace in the consciousness of my right mind when the language and orientation association areas of the left hemisphere of my brain became nonfunctional.”⁸ The greatest benefit she received from the experience was an understanding that a “deep internal peace is accessible to anyone at any time.” 

Is it possible that the experience of expanded consciousness, like the PE and deep meditation, occurs when the normal filtering mechanisms of the brain are reduced? This question must be asked since the PE seems analogous to Taylor’s experience resulting from the left hemisphere damage due to her stroke. According to Taylor, for example, “if I had to choose one word to describe the feeling I feel at the core of my right mind, I would have to say joy. My right mind is thrilled to be alive! I experience a feeling of awe when I consider that I am simultaneously capable of being at one with the universe, while having an individual identity whereby I move into the world and manifest positive change. This joy is simply being inhibited by more anxious and/or fearful circuitry of the left mind.”⁹ 

Based on the research by Pert and the personal accounts by Taylor, it seems that the left hemisphere impedes your natural capability of expanding consciousness by getting in the way. After all, it was built to interact in just a 3D world, not a spiritual one. In other words, if YOU are not your brain, you may be able to perceive a wider aspect of reality beyond the physical 3D world of your morning coffee.  And current research supports Taylor’s experience – the left side of the brain may selectively filter and, thus, limit access to this broader awareness. And since this experience is similar to that reported by many meditators, it is reasonable to assume that reducing the activity of attentional areas in the brain’s left hemisphere diminishes the brain’s filtering influences to allow one to experience an expanded consciousness. In fact, her anecdotal account seems to correspond with studies that attempt to find the so-called “God spot” area of the brain responsible for spirituality. Recall from prior discussion, for instance, that the left inferior region of the parietal lobe, which processes sensation, spatial orientation, and language, may be the brain’s “God spot.” And Taylor’s account may reflect this experimental finding. In fact, it may also account for many phenomena like the PE and its triggers, terminal lucidity, death bed visions and Peak in Darien cases, and after death communication, among others noted prior. The core issue is to determine if the brain’s reduced activity allows YOU to become less dependent on the brain, whereby an altered and expanded consciousness becomes accessible. Alternatively, this reduced activity may create a neurological state that somehow enables this type of altered state of consciousness. 

More specifically, cases of patients with long-term dementia and other severe neurological disorders who exhibit a brief return to mental clarity and full memory shortly before death is significant for understanding the mind-brain connection. In fact, the phenomenon of ‘terminal lucidity’ is attracting renewed interest on the part of scientific researchers, particularly in the context of NDEs.¹⁰  Patients with severely destroyed brains (such as in terminal stages of Alzheimer’s disease, tumors or strokes) who become fully lucid shortly before death may serve as an appropriate experimental model to assess the possibility that consciousness is not entirely generated by the brain, but that the brain functions as a kind of filter or transmitter organ.^{11, 12} This makes no sense to neuroscientists who are at a complete loss to explain how a severely diseased brain in an individual who was non-verbal and not receptive to others for many months and even years, can suddenly appear alert, converse with others, and then die moments later. This is more than a surprise to family members who experience terminal lucidity in a loved one. In fact, it is a blessing. It is also not uncommon for terminal lucidity to be accompanied by deep spiritual experiences or deathbed-visions. Such features link terminal lucidity to a number of other end-of-life experiences and also NDEs, especially since these types of experiences in near-death states regularly contain paranormal aspects. There is, in fact, the potential to facilitate further study into subliminal layers of the human psyche and provide evidence for post-mortem survival by studying terminal lucidity.¹³ 

Research also shows that meditation practice can expand the way we perceive the world. Long-term meditation training, for instance, increases right hemisphere activity and expands one’s awareness to greater and more joyful aspects of reality. Another brain area that is highly activated in meditators and that actually grows larger with meditative practice is the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). The ACC is also active during hypnosis and energy healing and enables a more expanded consciousness to modulate the activity of the brain and body.¹⁴   It seems, therefore, that by reducing the dominance of the left hemisphere and modulating the activity in the ACC, the brain’s impeding filter is eliminated to allow one to experience true consciousness. This might even explain the mystical experiences and “paranormal” phenomena reported during the PE and its associated triggers. Consequently, there may actually be an expanded level of consciousness accessible to our awareness. The issue at hand for subsequent research is to figure out a way to remove the brain’s apparent inherent ability to prevent our awareness of this expanded level of consciousness.

Taylor’s description is also consistent with computerized tomography imaging of the brains in meditators. For example, when meditators report the exact moment they attained their meditative climax or felt united with the universe, there is a corresponding decrease in the left hemisphere’s language and orientation centers. This region helps you identify your personal physical boundaries and when this area is inhibited or receives decreased input from your sensory system, you lose sight of where you begin and end relative to space around you. According to Taylor, when the left hemisphere language and orientation areas are silenced, consciousness shifts from feeling “like a solid,” to a perception of “feeling fluid – at one with the universe.”¹⁵ The key takeaway from this evidence is that the PE and its corresponding sense of unity with reality may be allowed for by a change in brain hemisphere activity. This makes sense since the PE occurs in NDEs when the brain is severely depressed and compromised, in those who have altered states of consciousness from psychoactive agents like DMT, during sleep transition states, and in those who silence their brain through meditation. The PE, therefore, may represent a mind-brain event that is indeed real. The critical question remains, however, as to whether the brain is capable of providing us with a greater sense of awareness of reality. And your brain’s right hemisphere may provide the answer towards achieving eternal peace. 

One way you can initiate the process to accomplish this goal is by quieting the mind through meditation training. A meditating quiet mind inhibits your internal analytical left brain ego-centered dialogue. This increases your awareness. While achieving pure awareness or a state of non-local consciousness is possible, it is not an easy task. It is something that should be taught early on in life and cultivated throughout one’s life to help improve one’s mental and physical well-being. But what is actually occurring in terms of accessing this aspect of nonlocal consciousness where thoughts subside and an energetic awareness of love and joy, and a sense of unity with others and the world emerge?  By simply quieting your mind beneficial changes occur over time in the form of thicker regions in key areas of the brain, and enhanced neural circuitry. 

Experienced meditators can achieve a so-called “non-dual state of awareness” – a state of consciousness where you can truly experience the actuality of what is here and now. It allows you to diminish or eliminate, at least for a period of time, your mind’s clutter of to-do lists – the stresses and worries, fears and desires, and memories and random thoughts. When your internal thoughts and the external world subside, the brain’s electrical activity actually reduces and facilitates a sense of oneness and unity – a type of PE. Deep meditation states, a flat line EEG during a NDE, terminal lucidity, sleep states, and psychoactive agents create this neurophysiological event and its associated altered state of nonlocal consciousness.  People in this state perceive things they otherwise would not perceive – an unseen force. 

Unseen Forces

Overview: When Newton felt that apple land on his head he assumed that human beings were separate from that apple, the Universe was four-dimensional, and only emptiness existed between particles, people, planets, and solar systems. Newton and his followers believed that everything was intelligently designed, and that the human eye interpreted all that existed. His theories became physical laws and these laws served as the primary materialist viewpoint that humans could only be observers and not active agents for universal change. And with this footing, scientists have created mathematical processes from Newton’s gravitational theories to Einstein’s E = mc². And these equations are still used for validating or disproving scientific hypotheses.¹⁸ The problem here is that these equations, while purposeful for numerous reasons, are limiting in their application to prove all theories, especially those that pertain to anecdotal evidence in the form of the PE among other associated extraordinary personal experiences that can’t not be measured or validated using traditional materialistic equations and Newtonian principles. Times have changed and new principles are needed to prove hypotheses that pertain to aspects of consciousness and extraordinary subjective experiences. 

Einstein believed that if a model to explain why all the energy and matter in the Universe should behave in a predictable and orderly way could be proven, it would mean that an objective reality exists beyond human perception and consciousness. After all, such must be the case since no two human beings perceive or process reality the exact same way. This means that you are not wired in an objective fashion. You are wired, in part, by your experiences, like the PE. But hard-core materialistic scientists believe that the closest anyone comes to existing in a reality beyond the brain corresponds directly to hormones created upon interaction with neurotransmitters in the brain. To them, what you see is what you get. Only when this interaction occurs can the brain tell the sensory organs like eyes and ears what to see and hear. And only when that sight or sound takes place, can anyone experience anything at all. While math and biology can explain certain 4-dimensional processes, the materialist perspective cannot provide the answers to the complexity of consciousness. For this reason, new methods are required to objectively verify aspects of consciousness that do not conform to traditional principles. 

To the materialist, any notion of an alternate realm is a fictitious representation of a chaotic brain with a loose screw or two. Physicist David Bohm, however, attempted to bridge science and consciousness in his proposed theory of the “implicate order” – the glue that holds everything in the universe together that your eyes see as 4-dimensional, physical space-time.¹⁹ Implicate order patterns are programmed to generate orderly forms and sequences of events that filter down from the energy-frequency level (or the 95 percent) to the mass matter (or the 5 percent) level. Bohm’s experimentation allows for a concrete foundation for the interwoven fabric of consciousness and reality as two distinct, yet interdependent entities within our universe: The physical and the non-physical person.²⁰

Time is fluid and things are constantly changing. Sometimes we wish for time to stop just to catch one’s breath to keep up with these changes and make sense of it all. And this applies to just what we are able to see, let alone that which we can’t see. Before 2000, for instance, astrophysicists were adamant that they understood the contents of the universe very well. But then in 2009, scientists at the National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University shattered this understanding when evidence for dark energy was discovered. These measurements of the cosmic microwave background – an unseen force of a faintly glowing relic of the hot, dense, young universe – provided support for the standard cosmological model. This result confirmed that dark matter and dark energy make up 95 percent of everything in existence, while ordinary matter makes up just 5 percent. The remaining 95 percent of light energy-frequency in the universe is not visible to the eye – it is literally obscure. People are only able to see approximately 5 percent of the entire light-based color spectrum. Nevertheless, it is incredibly real and consequential. Consequently, there is a heck of a lot more in existence that you don’t see than you do.²¹ But what about the internal little, wet mini-receiver of your reality – the brain? This question leads to another “connecting dot” – one day a wiring diagram will describe the brain in “mathematical, physical, neurochemical, and electrical terms” with all the precision of a “differential equation.”²² 

Biophotons and Torsion Energy: Our daily existence in this world may be momentarily interrupted by the transcendent experience of an unseen world which parallels that which we normally feel on a daily basis. While this may seem bizarre in nature, keep in mind that many widely accepted scientific discoveries initially sounded incomprehensible in theory.  These original “far-out” notions were often dismissed since they defied logic when proposed. For example, the Earth is not the center of the universe, Albert Einstein, told us that time slows down at high speeds, and quantum mechanics (QM) tells us that, pairs of particles can be linked, even if they’re on different sides of the room or opposite sides of the universe, and that alternate dimensions co-exist with our own. And thanks to ESP experiments, there now exists dramatic evidence that we are connected through space and time at the level of consciousness – nonlocality. There is, in other words, compelling reasons for science to take many aspects of what is now considered “paranormal,” like the PE, much more seriously than is currently the case. Thus another “connecting dot” is that today’s “paranormal” is tomorrow’s “normal.” 

Like many historic examples in science and medicine, theories once considered implausible become accepted through research and practice. One of Albert Einstein’s most significant discoveries, for instance, was not just the equivalence of matter and energy and the relationship between light and time, but that space itself is an energy field and everything in it arose from the energy of this field. Taking this concept to the next level, an unseen force like the “biofield” could very well be the next significant discovery. And torsion energy may be the most important aspect of the biofield that facilitates anomalous events associated with consciousness – a real force that needs to be “integrated in modern physics.” This energy may even be responsible for the human Aura, Qigong (which kills cancer cells), and ESP, among many other paranormal phenomena of today.²³ 

Unknown aspects of our external physical and internal physical world abound. Phenomena not explainable by known laws in the physical universe requires “something” beyond the four fundamental energies of the Unified Field Theory. And this “something” may very well be the potential source of the reported non-physical perceptual characteristics of anomalous events that may trigger the PE – a biofield that is governed and regulated by torsion energy.²⁴ And the next step is to understand the implications of an unseen force – ultra-weak photon emissions like biophotons – a constituent of the metabolic process of any living system. In fact, researchers are now attempting to develop models of biological regulation of biophotons from the cellular level up to the formation of consciousness using detectors based on photomultiplier techniques. Preliminary results using this technique, for example, have shown that states of DNA influence biophoton emissions, reactions to stress increase emissions, and meditation decreases emissions. Consequently, another “connecting dot” is that as biophotons gain acceptance and become the focus of continued study, numerous medical and scientific applications may eventually be developed to provide a reliable basis for examining a more profound understanding of biology and consciousness.^{25, 26} 

The concept of the biofield, ESP, and the PE, may provide for a paradigm mediated by unseen forces and processes of a yet to be discovered energy field that once applied in a practical way, may have profound implications on both a personal and societal level. The physiological role for photons of light produced by living matter of biophotons and its potential impact on human beings is what makes the biofield an imperative concern for understanding the “subtle connections” between us. It is evident, for example, that biophoton regulation acts as a carrier field of electromagnetic interactions that interferes nonlocally in a spatial and temporal pattern. This activity provides for a variety of informational processes in living systems that is in stark contrast to traditional materialistic principles. And this regulation is actually allowed for by physical laws of quantum coherence. That is, all objects have wave-like properties.²⁷ We saw many examples of nonlocality in the form of ESP experiments and the PE and its triggers in our prior discussion. And another example is found in a new discovery of the behavior of hydrogen atoms. 

Hydrogen atoms can recognize one another’s histories, and if the histories are similar, then they can copy each other’s properties. According to physicist Lee Smolin, “There’s no need for the two atoms to be close to each other for one to copy the other’s properties; they just both have to exist somewhere in the universe.”²⁸ This finding is significant because it raises important questions fundamental to the concept of nonlocality. In other words, how is a “similar” history recognized and how do they “copy” properties? Are atoms psychic? This mechanism of action, like all nonlocal events such as ESP and the PE, remains to be discovered. And the mechanism of its action may lie beyond you – in nature itself. In other words, an unknown aspect of nature may have inherent intelligence that is actually compatible with your own. In other words, we may not be interacting with just physical systems but, rather, “with an intelligence that is responsive to the meanings that we attach to it.”²⁹ 

This concept raises another “connecting dot” – that is, if torsion energy is indeed a carrier wave for consciousness and serves as a non-local interrelated force linking minds in real-time, this force may be the key component or the so-called “missing link” that facilitates phenomena to access information from anywhere in the universe. In other words, if torsion waves act as the mechanism for “connected minds,” then telepathic communication between people separated by vast distances may actually be explained.³⁰ In fact, torsion energy may be responsible for facilitating quantum processes occurring in individual atoms between people, objects, and even in unseen parallel dimensions that are recognized and allowed for by the String Theory. 

Quantum Mechanics and The String Theory: The revolutionary science of QM has challenged scientific materialist principles and perspectives of the physical laws of the universe. This new realm of potentialities and possibilities allowed for by the String or Matrix theory within QM, referred to as the “theory of everything,” is a relatively new science of unusual concepts like superstrings, extra- dimensions, and parallel universes. In fact, the scientific community actually acknowledges the existence of “Strings” (the smallest constituents of pure energy – matter and force – interacting in our universe) and are hopeful that it will someday explain one of the biggest mysteries of the universe, namely the relationship between gravity and QM. 

But I mention the String Theory not to possibly confuse you even more than you may already be, but rather to emphasize an important point within the context of the PE. That is, there is credible physics behind the String Theory which actually allows for the possible existence of alternate realms beyond the subjective reality we perceive in our everyday waking consciousness. Science has even used the String theory to analyze black holes – a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light cannot escape. In fact, science acknowledges that the universe we live in could be just one of an infinite number of universes making up a “multiverse.” In other words, there could be more to the universe than the three dimensions we are familiar with but are hidden from us in some way, perhaps because they’re warped – they exist in our time and space but at a slightly different frequency or phase. Thus, other dimensions could be right in front of our face but we can’t see them. But even if they’re invisible, they still affect what we actually observe in the universe. After all, there are lots of things we cannot see with the naked eye like dark energy, and acoustic and electromagnetic energy, that are based in reality. In fact, many complex and exquisite mathematically derived theories have independently revealed that the existence of hidden universes is more likely than not – it could exist parallel to our universe. Consequently, there may very well be a much deeper and complex reality out there than can ever be imagined. 

Now sit back and contemplate how this concept may relate to the PE and its triggers. Recall, for instance, that people describe their PE as an interaction with another dimension or universe. The physical body remains here but they somehow perceive an unseen realm vastly different than our 3-D reality where no time and space is sensed and where all information can be retrieved. Since science adopts the validity of the String Theory, and that people who report their PE to be as real as this book in your hand, is it conceivable that the String Theory may allow for one to access another parallel time and space via a PE? This causal relationship between the String Theory and the PE cannot be completely dismissed. In fact, accepted scientific theory may actually allow for access of one’s consciousness into an alternate realm. And the PE may even provide the means by which subjective experience can be applied to QM to either prove or disprove theories that address the possible existence of parallel universes. 

Such implications have enormous potential to better understand the essence of the spirit, soul, or “I.” In fact, similar QM principles may also be applied to explain how one’s conscious intention is capable of affecting physical systems, as previously addressed, i.e., altering random event generators, collapsing the quantum wave function, and other people’s brain activity (telesomatic EEG events). Scientific based theories, therefore, which seem to justify non-local intuitive perception (ESP, telepathy and precognition) serve as a necessary pre-requisite condition to explain the relationship between theories in QM and the PE triggers. Consequently, QM may help bridge the existing psycho-spiritual gap between the social and hard sciences. More specifically, the PE, which incorporates the sensation of “instantaneous knowledge,” and a “timeless moment” with its accompanying flash of illumination, suggest there may actually be two realities in human experience; one visible and experienced by our senses, and one that is not – an unseen force. And this unseen force may be allowed for by QM and measured in the form of a torsion wave – the biofield. 

Modern Day Mystics and the Quantum Hologram: The mystics of the past proclaimed that we are all part of the universe and each one of us contains the whole universe. And now, physicists, or shall we say, modern day mystic scientists like Einstein, Schroedinger, Eddington, Bohr and Heisenberg have discovered that the physical world cannot be broken down into building blocks of solid matter existing in a particular time and space. The atom itself, which exists as both a vibration and a particle – a fine line between existence and nonexistence – suggests that matter, energy, time and space are all one reality; a reality referred to as the quantum field or the Quantum Hologram Theory (QHT). In fact, physicists have demonstrated the validity of this theory and are now applying it to study black holes. Consequently, the QHT must be considered a critical “connecting dot,” especially since it tells us that our physical world is an illusion created by our sensory systems. And experimental evidence suggests this may be true.  After all, the observable physical realm exists on a vast ocean of energy called the zero-point energy field or the quantum vacuum field from which virtual particles emerge and disappear, mediating all electromagnetic forces. 

Related to this matter is that quantum physicists consider that everything and everyone in all universes may be a hologram. And if this is indeed true, then each minute part of the universe is both connected to the whole and contains the whole; changing a fragment of it changes the whole. Our body, therefore, may be composed not only of cells and atoms, but also of interrelating energy fields similar to a hologram. Consequently, what we regard as “reality” may not consist of distinct things and boundaries but may, instead, actually be a quantum hologram. And if this is indeed “true reality,” as many contend it to be, then this holographic universe may be the reality of an alternate dimension described by PErs. After all, your brain defines how much reality is let in – it’s a filter. And for some, it may even filter too much or too little and give rise to altered states of consciousness and psychological disorders. 

Reality is like a rainbow or like the electromagnetic spectrum. Each organism has evolved so as to be able to detect the electromagnetic energy that will be most useful for its survival. Each has its own window on reality. Humans, for instance, can perceive the part of the color spectrum between infrared and ultraviolet. But bees can’t see red at all. Scientific theorist Ervin Laszlo described this phenomena as a “holistic, interconnected matrix” (the zero-point-field or the quantum vacuum),^{31, 32} which eminent physicist David Bohm referred to as the “implicate order of being.”³³ One of Bohm’s most significant ideas is that physical reality of our everyday lives is an illusion – a holographic image. Underlying it is a holographically organized primary level of reality that creates your physical world.³⁴ And this may explain why reality becomes nonlocal at the subatomic level. 

Shamanic accounts, OBEs/NDEs, and interactions with the UAP and NHEs, with their descriptions of strange beings and ventures into alternate realties and other worlds, seem to closely correspond with QM theories of similar dimensions of reality embedded within or parallel with our own. The scientific community, however, does not uniformly agree that such experiences are valid in a “real” sense since they obviously can’t be “proven” using traditional scientific methodologies. Given the similar reported physical features and psychological after-effects associated with the PE triggers, however, indirect evidence to support an interdimensional basis for the PE cannot be conclusively ruled out. After all, QM proves that matter is actually energy and not tangible matter and does not even exist with certainty; it has a tendency to exist. Thus according to QM, our so-called reality is an illusion because an illusion that is seen cannot really exist. Then, what is true reality? Well, I don’t have a definitive answer other than that “YOU” (“I,” spirit, or soul) may be particles of energy capable of free will and intention which make us conscious beings. True reality, therefore, may simply be a type of non-3-dimensional conscious energy that exists apart from your physical brain. YOU interact with the brain but the brain and associated sensory systems are not capable of perceiving a non-3 dimension reality. After all, since the brain evolved in a 3-dimensional physical reality, it is designed to process and interpret only energy that exists in this physical reality. In other words, the brain is only compatible with your physical reality – not the assumed alternate non-physical reality of the PE triggers.   

The critical “takeaway” from these concepts is that the QHT may actually explain the unusual perceptual characteristics described by those who have had a PE and its’ triggers. Certain features of the PE, for example, appear to be have quantum-like holographic properties that correspond with some of the basic principles from quantum theory. This includes: 1) Non-locality, coherence, and instantaneous information exchange in a timeless and placeless dimension; and 2) Experiments which demonstrate that “telepathy” is not affected by distance (outside space), and “precognition” which provides information of future events (outside time). 

By extrapolation of such evidence, therefore, a case can be made for the existence of an aspect of consciousness or “You” which may remain unaffected by death and to continue to function in some undefined realm of existence beyond our 3-D space-time continuum. Although this suggestion is a bold leap, especially since this concept is impossible to validate at the present time using traditional scientific methods, supportive evidence may be found in my book entitled: Life after Death: An Analysis of the Evidence.³⁵ Within this context, it is important to consider that research on the OBE and NDE cannot give us the irrefutable scientific proof of the continuity of our consciousness upon death. After all, this conclusion is premature since people who had a NDE did not die. What they all had was a severely compromised barely functional brain that left them knocking on death’s door. 

Although the OBE and NDE evidence suggests the possibility that death may represent a transitional phase from one state of consciousness to another – from this 3-dimensional reality to an alternate holographic reality – the notion that consciousness can be experienced independently of brain function should remain tenuous until stronger supporting evidence emerges, if ever. And if proven valid, as suggested by the QHT, the implications will no doubt have a profound effect, not only on a deeply personal philosophical and spiritual level, but will also greatly modify the scientific paradigm in western medicine, and have practical implications in ethical problems such as the care for comatose or dying patients, euthanasia, and abortion, among others, including the PE. 

Further, the perplexing aspect of the NDE and OBE, concommitent with the experimental results in QM and parapsychology (ESP and consciousness), suggest that consciousness may be separate from our physical body and/or capable of affecting events remote from our body. More specifically, if sensory information processing is in fact “nonlocal” it may explain the reported altered perception, life review, and images often described as a dimension without time and space associated with the NDE. These reported similarities suggest a common underlying cause to all NDEs. In other words, the cause could be either physiological – a common brain event in a particular brain region, or non-physiological – the separation of consciousness as a distinct energy of awareness from the physical body. 

Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

Overview: There are more stars in the visible Universe than all the grains of sand on all the beaches on our pale blue dot in space. The Universe is designed for life, and the fact that you are reading this here and now should be visibly convincing that life thrives throughout the infinite universe. The question is not whether life exists beyond Earth, but rather whether or not non-human life forms are interacting with humans. And my answer to this question leads to this “connecting dot”; non-human life forms have been interacting with humankind. The evidence has been verified beyond any reasonable doubt. In fact, I even wrote a book on the subject, entitled: The UFO Phenomenon: Should I believe?³⁶  

As an example of synchronicity, while writing this section on the UAP today, the findings of a recent study of a mysterious interstellar object published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters was announced on all major news networks. Two researchers from Harvard University, Shmuel Bialy and Abraham Loeb, theorized that this object, named Oumuamua, is really an “alien spacecraft, and “may be a fully operational probe sent intentionally to Earth’s vicinity by an alien civilization.” Moreover, the researchers suggested that, “one possibility is that ‘Oumuamua is a light-sail, floating in interstellar space as a debris from an advanced technological equipment,” which could account for its strange shape and unusual characteristics. Further analysis of this UAP is underway to further define its possible nature and characteristics.

This coincidental major UAP news provides objective evidence of a possible non-human advanced technology and intelligence. And what may be the most significant aspect of this discovery and analysis of Oumuamua, is that it wakes people up to the possibility that UAPs are visiting our planet. We already know, however, that the UAP has triggered a PE in many who interact with it. The personal first-hand accounts are too numerous, and rich in context and verification, to completely ignore. The UAP and their occupants are here, but from where? That is, are they from another physical place in the Universe or are they slipping into our reality from an alternate co-existing dimension? Maybe Oumuamua will provide a clue. 

One clue may be found by the similarities between modern accounts of interaction with NHEs and the alien abduction phenomenon with ancient narratives described in various contexts throughout history.  Even eminent astronomer Carl Sagan theorized that such stories of contact are common throughout history and share remarkable similarities with the “alien abduction experience.”³⁷ And Sagan was right. In fact, this concern was reinforced from the recent study results using a large population database (N = 3,526) which addressed the physical and psychological effects of the UAP experience on those who interact with it. In this study, which I co-authored in a 2018 publication in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, entitled: A Study on Reported Contact with Non-Human Intelligence Associated with Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, my colleagues and I concluded that, “contact and interaction in the form of sensing, visualizing, and/or communicating with NHE occurs frequently but only occasionally in connection with a UAP sighting.”³⁸ 

This research granted me the unique opportunity to critically review and analyze first-hand accounts in thousands of individuals who claimed to have interacted with NHEs – both with and without the presence of the UAP.  And surprisingly, the results indicated that the vast majority of those who reported to have interacted with a NHE, claimed that their contact experience was: “largely non-physical and can occur via telepathy, during an OBE, being floated into a “matrix-like” reality, as well as through physical interaction on board a craft.”³⁹ For this reason, there appears to be many different anomalous aspects of the UAP which incorporate the components of consciousness and holographic-like perceptions of a PE. The consciousness attribute, for instance, was represented in this study as follows: 1) Sixty-seven percent reported that their “consciousness separated from their body” at the time of their contact experience, and 2) Seventy percent believed to have felt a “sense of expanded consciousness” in the presence of NHEs.⁴⁰ Alterations in perception, emotion, and viewpoints were also a common outcome of the UAP-NHE interaction – similar to that documented in other studies associated with different types of PEs (NDE, OBE, and psychoactive drugs, etc.) noted prior. In other words, despite the differences among PE triggers, they all seem to give rise to a similar non-provable experience that can only be validated by the experiencer. And taking their word for it just doesn’t cut it in our scientific materialistic paradigm. So, how can their experiences be proven? 

Consciousness and the Evolution of UAP: There’s an undeniable link between consciousness and the UAP. In other words, “affairs here on earth have consistently colored our perceptions of what is going on over our heads.”⁴¹ In other words, historical examples illustrate that many of the characteristics of the UAP are associated with an aspect of consciousness. This phenomenon, for instance, combines modern mythology, literary narrative, popular culture, and human psychology. It also seems likely that this explanatory approach can be generalized and applied to the so-called paranormal.⁴² More specifically, there exists convincing evidence of telepathy or telekinesis or other psychic ability as part of a UAP experience, but whether or not actual telepathy or psychic abilities are fully substantiated is a debatable issue. That is, are UAP experiencers interpreting their perceptions and telepathic communication as true reality? And, if so, how can this be appropriately measured, analyzed, validated and proven? It can’t. At least not with current scientific principles and experimental approaches and analysis, especially since the UAP is beyond odd and simply does not conform to our 3-D reality as we know it. Science is way behind the curve on this issue. 

Many features of a UAP sighting and subsequent alien abduction accounts include “missing time,” and memories being ‘recovered’ through dreams and hypnotic regression. Consciousness, therefore, may be the key to unlocking this mystery. One very curious and important aspect of UAP descriptions, for example, is how its appearance has changed as aviation technology evolved over time. That is, as times change, so does the UAP and their associated NHEs. The so-called UAP “aliens,” for example, change over time. They assume different forms from hairy dwarves to giant insects, to today’s small “greys” with oversized heads and eyes.  

One key hint to the nature of the UAP is that both perception and memory affect the observer’s pre-existing beliefs and expectations. And they use their personal experiences and knowledge of world events to make sense of the UAP.⁴³ In the late 1800, for example, giant airships similar to “blimps” of the time served as their UAP. Also, the airships themselves conformed to 19th century fiction and their cultural antecedents with flapping wings and bulbous fuselages, rather than the form real aircraft eventually took. The airship fever of the late 1800s, for instance, contained many of the features of the modern UFO story, including credible witnesses, media hype driving sightings, contact and even abduction, and alleged physical evidence. Then during World War II, combat pilots reported strange objects called “foo fighters” who followed them so closely as to seem almost magnetized to their craft. In the 1940s and 1950s the UAP represented the science fiction of the time. The contactees of the 1950’s described contacts with glowing humans from Venus, Moonmen, and Martians. Sightings of drone-like objects drew concern from military and intelligence officials about possible security threats, especially since the UAP was often seen around nuclear installations around the world.^{44, 45}  

Eventually the little grey alien became the modern myth of the time with the Betty and Barney Hill alleged abduction in 1966. The image of the little greys resonated with human consciousness and became solidified as the standard alien icon. Once certain details become a standard part of the mythology, they are often then retrofitted into older stories. The famous Roswell Incident, for example, existed for almost thirty years, from 1947 until the 1970s, without any mention of alien bodies. It was only after the little greys emerged that testimony arose of witnesses seeing similar aliens in Roswell in 1947. Consciousness, therefore, may be the key to the UAP.⁴⁶

Conclusion: The consistency of reported PEs may be critical for understanding a unique aspect of human perception and altered states of consciousness.  The PE appears to correspond with some of the basic principles from QM, such as non-locality, coherence or interconnectedness, knowledge of existence in another dimension without a body, the perception of time as if the past, present and future exist simultaneously and instantaneously, and the instantaneous information exchange in a timeless and placeless dimension. This concept may be indirectly supported by the results in this paper and from the broad discipline of PEs of subjective reports that “time and space no longer existed,” and that it is possible to “see everything at once” and “through any obstacle and in every detail as a holographic view.”

Critical to better understanding the complex aspects of the apparent physical and non-physical characteristics of the UAP, and their associated impact on human behavior, research with those who interact with this phenomena should be conducted using different approaches unique to several fields of study (psychology, physics, sociology, and biology, etc.). Critical to this endeavor is to test hypotheses on the role that altered perceptions, consciousness, and changes in viewpoints and values play in those who experience a PE. This is essential towards explaining a poorly understood and complex phenomena – the UAP and consciousness. But there exists one major limitation in the form of a confounding variable that impedes this successful analysis – current scientific principles, methodology, analysis, and the criteria to for “proof” or validation of the UAP and the PE. 

Consciousness and the Peak Experience 

Overview: The many paradoxical aspects of the PE and its triggers leads to the most important “connecting dot” of all. And that is, consciousness may actually represent the key unifying characteristic that explains the PE and each distinct altered state of consciousness that facilitates it (NDE, OBE, psychoactive drugs, meditation, the UAP, and interactions with NHEs, etc.).  This rationale may actually be analogous to the fundamental question, “What is the meaning of life? And my answer is that the meaning of life is the meaning YOU give to life. It is solely dictated by aspects of free-will and intentions governed by your conscious energies. And as far as the answer to the question – what is consciousness? – My gut feeling tells me that YOU need the brain and the brain needs YOU. But once the hard drive crashes and the screen fades to black, YOU won’t need this three pound interpreter of 3-D physical reality anymore.  It’ll then be time for YOU to move on to who knows where. 

Consciousness and the PE: How did conscious experience and the subjective sense of “I” arise from lifeless matter? The same unanswerable question also applies to the diverse range of phenomena referred to as “anomalous” or “paranormal” events. Can these experiences, considered realer than real by those who experience them, all be reduced to neuro-electrical brain events as material reductionist scientists maintain? Those who contend it does also ascribe to the belief that consciousness and the PE are delusions created by the brain. And if this is true, then humans cannot have a transcendent experience that puts them in contact with a reality beyond themselves because there is no such reality. Or should I believe there is?  If consciousness is indeed a fundamental physical law like our known principles of space, time, and gravity, it may actually represent a universal construct that facilitates free-will, abstract thought, intuition, and one’s sense of “self.” After all, the subjective perspective of “self” suggests that we are only truly conscious when our “self” is realized.

There is indeed a relationship among the subjective characteristics of PE triggers like NDEs, OBEs, psychoactive drugs, and mystical experiences, with symptoms of certain neurological (temporal lobe epilepsy, dementia, and sleep disorders) and psychiatric (schizophrenia, dissociative) disorders.

And by studying the neurological and cognitive aspects that contribute to such experiences, psychological models of how stable behavioral attributes emerge from sensory processing may contribute towards a better understanding of human consciousness. But while most scientists acknowledge that consciousness exists, they consider it a philosophical issue best left to philosophers to explain or that we should focus research on other aspects of brain function because the neurological substrate mediating consciousness is unlikely to be identified. This common stance is unfortunate, especially since the role that the brain plays in mediating the PE and its triggers may serve to the better understand the relationship between brain function and consciousness. Apparently, Newtonian mindsets still predominate despite the fact that sufficient evidence exists in the form of ESP and nonlocality that cannot be explained by current outdated scientific principles. Since these principles are based purely on objective and measureable aspects of physical reality, they cannot be appropriately applied to study aspects of non-physical phenomena like ESP and the PE. This inconsistency begs for a new paradigm shift. As mentioned prior, new principles must be developed and appropriately applied to study consciousness and the PE, among other existing phenomena science considers paranormal. And once developed, the paranormal will be considered normal. Just wait and see. But that wait may not accommodate your body’s lifespan. So, in the meantime, just take my word for it, or at the very least, think about it while drinking your 3-D morning brew.    

Historically, an awakening out of one’s self and into the transcendent has been the end of the path in many ancient traditions. And it is virtually impossible to know how to interpret the reported experiences throughout the historic literature by visionaries and mystics who claim to have interacted with NHEs. Is it possible that in certain circumstances our consciousness can be purposely hijacked by NHEs to experience an alternate realm in the form of a PE? And does the brain impede an expanded awareness of this reality? It may just be that PErs are the modern day version of shamans and visionaries of the past.

It appears we may be seeing evidence of the same phenomenon that manifests itself through our mind. And those who interrelate with this phenomenon via different contact modalities, whether it is in the form of a UAP, apparition, the “grey” alien, angels, or demons, experience an alternate reality from which it may arise. The intelligence behind this phenomenon can interact within our reality and one’s psyche. This evidence is depicted throughout the literature from religious texts, to folklore, to modern day accounts of the supernatural. And the intelligence behind it may have an elusive objective that makes little sense to us now. 

Experiencing the transcendent realm is like an escape from reality. It is as if there is a sudden transition from the everyday experience one identifies with into the realization that they are everything that is – the mountains, sky, earth, rocks and every being within it. But is it the natural evolution of consciousness? This is the paradox of the PE. Is the PE an illusory event created by a misinterpretation of reality caused by a sleep disorder, a neurological abnormality, or a psychotic-based hallucination? Or is the PE a manifestation of a true reality that somehow incorporates vivid encounters of the deceased at one’s bedside; Supreme Being and NHEs in a heavenly realm; the perception of the environment and one’s self from a location outside their body; and the altered perceptions and indescribable feelings of the intensity of love felt while in another reality?

The PE has the potential to trigger a transcendent experience that dramatically alters one’s viewpoints and values – the PE is a life changing event; a spiritual awakening – a path to true freedom and reality and a realization that life and “I” are the same thing. The PEr senses a dramatic shift in who and what they are for the first time. They feel overwhelming bliss, spaciousness and expansion, and realize they are not their mind, ego, emotions, and body. They speak of a beautiful “oneness” with all of life and a truth of what they are – not a self-centered ego who desires to control but rather to act with the highest wisdom for the highest good. But why do PE triggers wake them up and shift their perspectives out of their ego into something new and unlimited? To them, their PE created a new beginning. The question is whether this “new beginning” is true reality – something we must all strive to attain as part of spiritual evolution. To become more humane in all respects – toward others and YOU. 

Such changes are not surprising. After all, how you would react if you experienced what PErs describe as an interconnectedness with the consciousness of other persons and of deceased relatives; instantaneous and simultaneous (non-locality) review of your life in a dimension without our conventional body; to perceive altered aspects of time and space, where all past, present and future events exist; and to have clear consciousness with memories from early childhood, with self-identity, with cognition, and with emotion, and the perception of being out and above your body, etc.? This transcendent-like awakening has not been sufficiently analyzed by science but must be of paramount importance to science to better understand the nature of the PE and its potentially profound implications to the experiencer and world at large. This commitment, in turn, must motivate others to study the PE in great empirical detail. And, if that scrutiny displays aspects that are inconsistent with established scientific principles, then science must be challenged to refine observational techniques and theories to better understand non-physical-like phenomena. One major problem, however, is that major granting agencies are reluctant to fund this topic area of research. After all, it doesn’t “fit” into prevailing traditional scientific principles and associated areas of research topic endeavors. Consequently, even motivated academics are reluctant to study this topic, especially since they know the chances of receiving funding would be a less than winning at the slot machines. Thus, they bury their head in the sand, remain in the closet, and just read books on topics like this instead of pursuing research on one of the most critical issues of our time. 

Part of the reason for this lack of actionable interest is that the PE and associated phenomena have not been verified – there is no proof. In addition, the information reportedly obtained from NHEs has “never been relevant information or information unknown to humankind.”⁴⁷ However, it has been documented that these experiences have an “important ‘spiritual’ part, as if these entities were half physical and half psychic. In fact, “even one’s own experiences seem to develop on a confused border between two opposing universes (the physical or the material and the psychic or spiritual).”⁴⁸ The question, therefore, is not only whether NHEs are real beings, but also why all the reported interactions with NHEs in the form of “descriptions of the entities, in the messages, or the actions undertaken by the entities,” have “illogical or absurd components?”⁴⁹ One can’t help wonder if these illogical or absurd components contain an important clue as to their nature and purpose. And if you bought this book to find the answers to these questions, let me be the first to apologize because your guess is as good as mine. 

Research Directions

Ideally, an initial major goal for researchers should be to establish agreed upon theories to be tested by scholars among different scientific disciplines, and supported by independent studies to verify behavioral outcomes in PErs. Unfortunately, however, this imperative objective is impeded by the following study limitations: 1) intangible personal accounts serve as the primary source of the PE evidence, 2) established scientific principles cannot explain the phenomena – it lacks a widely accepted theory to test, and 3) research cannot be performed and replicated upon demand or be controlled for in a laboratory setting – a pre versus post behavioral analysis cannot be accomplished since the PE is not predictable in occurrence – it occurs spontaneously and cannot be induced in an individual under controlled experimental conditions. 

Despite this lack of validation, the similarity of reported psycho-spiritual outcomes engendered by CEs warrant the need to further study aspects of these results within the physical, behavioral, and social sciences. The difficulty for researchers in this arena, however, is that one can’t control for when such transformational experiences specifically occur. This makes studying them directly nearly impossible.  In spite of this, it is clear that such behavioral transformative outcomes may result from either the reported PE, a psychological aberration, or possibly something else which cannot be conceptualized at the present time. Consequently, the PE catalyst, which appears to alter aspects of consciousness and personal attitudes and viewpoints, is very difficult, if not impossible, to research (e.g., psychological and physiological) since the PE and associated symptoms spontaneously emerge. Since it is a unique research challenge to conduct this analysis in those during a time when one is having an OBE, NDE, and interacting with a UAP and NHEs, we must rely on newly developed and creatively applied technology and methods to assess individuals reporting different types of PEs. Once accomplished, if ever, the potential findings and associated implications will be of profound importance in unraveling the etiology of the PE and, by default, the possible nature of consciousness itself.

The research limitations associated with the study of the PE begs for a behavioral analysis both within and across PErs of different cultural, ethnic, and demographic backgrounds to determine possible psycho-cultural influences of the PE itself.  Despite such research limitations, however, it is convincingly clear that the PE manifests in profound ways with lasting behavioral transformations in those who experience them. But the PE is not amenable. It simply doesn’t fit with the principles and methods of traditional Western science, and for that reason alone, the PE has been largely ignored by the scientific community. And even if it wasn’t “ignored,” Newtonian physics, which has served us well, is becoming outdated and is limited in application to studying non-3D phenomena in the form of consciousness and the PE. For these reasons, among others noted prior, the lack of sufficient and well-controlled physiological, psychological, and cultural research evidence impedes our ability to develop agreed upon conclusions that can be made with confidence, despite those who contend to have done so.

A fundamental concern underlying further research is the issue of what type of evidence represents “proof” of an actual PE. This concern is a significant “connecting dot.” The development of criteria and associated methodology to evaluate such “proof” may facilitate a greater understanding of the elusive mind-brain relationship; that is, whether or not consciousness is a direct outcome of brain function, or is instead, an interrelated but distinct aspect of energy that exists apart from the brain. Moreover, the nature of consciousness itself may be better understood through the comparative analysis of both physiological real-time brain activity and psychological assessments when an individual is experiencing an altered state of consciousness induced by a PE trigger. By doing so, despite the difficulty conducting this analysis, the altered state of consciousness produced by a PE in those diagnosed as psychologically “normal” may be differentiated from those states of consciousness consistent with various psychological conditions. This is critical if we are to accurately diagnose those individuals whose symptoms result from various psychopathological (schizotypy, psychosis, and delusional disorder) and neurological based disorders that can cause an altered states of consciousness (non-PE) from those whose have a true PE.  Consequently, if both physiological and psychological assessments rule out any underlying abnormality that may give rise to it, the validity of the PE in the “normal” population may then be justified as non-pathological or a “true PE” 

The concept of an “altered state of consciousness” emphasize the need for continued research to determine if the PE and its triggers actually cause one to “see a different world” or instead, to “see the world differently” in a non-spatial/non-temporal context. Further investigations of the perceived characteristics of the PE, which include spiritual insights and encounters with an unseen, non-physical realm, may contribute towards a better understanding of both the many phenomena that appear to facilitate the PE; the feeling of separation of consciousness from the physical self; and the associated similarity of psycho-spiritual transformations incurred by the PE in the form of changes in personal and philosophical viewpoints. Consequently, to better understand the nature of the PE, it is necessary to determine the similarities and differences of changes in perceptual and psycho-spiritual attributes incurred by each distinct PE trigger among those who experience them. By doing so, the contributing factor(s) which facilitate different types of PEs may broaden our understanding of the nature and validity of the PE and consciousness itself. 

If science would focus more research attention towards the mysteries of the PE and consciousness, we would be in a better position to address critical questions, such as, can the PE and unconscious impulses, desires, and feelings be willfully raised to the level of the conscious self, and, if so, would the realizations of the mechanisms involved lead to authentic self-knowledge and self-actualization,? And, if the unconscious is a source of intuitive and creative inspiration, how might a more expansive understanding of consciousness help one to improve their psychological and spiritual well-being?

Furthermore, there exists a critical need to extrapolate from laws of theoretical physics that relate microscopic quantum processes of the subatomic world to the macroscopic scale of the human brain and behavior. The persuasive evidence that a form of energy associated with consciousness and mental intention may be capable of both affecting events and receiving information remote from our body, combined with the compelling parallels drawn between aspects of human behavior/consciousness and the mathematical terms describing quantum processes, are significant interrelated issues that most researchers often neglect. These features directly pertain to the perceptions that everything in the universe is interconnected and that normal time and space is dramatically altered. More specifically, if sensory information processing is in fact nonlocal, it may explain the reported altered perception and images often described as a dimension without time and space associated with an NDE, OBE, and the UAP-NHE contact experience. 

In fact, non-local perception or ESP is real and has been conclusively demonstrated in our prior discussion. Science must first acknowledge this and to then develop a new paradigm to guide research to attempt to interpret and rationalize it. The elusive underlying processes of how ESP and synchronicity are represented and explained requires research on the means by which information is shared between the unconscious and conscious mind, and its relationship to time. That is: 1) how does a conscious decision to receive information about a future event influence one’s ability to accurately perceive that information (synchronicity), and 2) how does information travel from one place or mind to another place or mind, and how the element of time interacts with such information transference (ESP). The mechanism which governs and regulates how the mind and time are interrelated should be of particular importance to researchers among many disciplines (physicists, psychologists, and neuroscientists, etc.), especially since the PEr often reports altered perceptions of time and space, where all past, present, and future events exist in a time-less and space-less reality. After all, it is one thing to demonstrate that many forms of ESP and synchronicity are valid, but it is quite another thing to determine the ways in which it manifests in the individual’s consciousness and behavior in the ways that it does. Unfortunately, research to explain how interactions between people and their environment, that seem to transcend the known physical laws of nature, endures as a small fringe field with only a handful of scientists actively pursuing research in this arena. This major research limitation begs for the development and application of comprehensive multidisciplinary research efforts in future studies.  

The reported consistency of encounters with an unseen realm cannot be either irrefutably dismissed or accepted as a pure brain-based pathological aberration or a psychological manifestation. For this reason, there is a need to integrate consciousness more thoroughly into the framework of science than is presently the case. More specifically, the apparent transformative power of PEs on one’s attitudes and values should be a major focus of future study to help resolve fundamental questions such as: 1) Does the altered state of consciousness facilitated by the PE present evidence about additional states of consciousness beyond the central three; waking, dreaming and deep sleep, and 2) Does the “self” exist at all, and if so, what is the role of the “self” in transcendent experiences, like the PE and its triggers? The primary question to this all is simply this – Are YOU the brain?

Closing Remarks

It is a daunting challenge to develop a coherent all-encompassing explanation of the PE. In our still infant evolutionary cycle, we are merely scratching the surface wearing bear skins, using stone knives, and repeatedly grumping to make sense of it all. But in time, a few yet to born futuristic thinkers with non-existent egos and brilliant minds, will apply newly developed principles and creatively applied methods to realize the answer. But since we will likely not witness this moment of discovery any time soon, it is essential to maintain an open and unbiased perspective of the conclusions made by those who proclaim to know what this phenomena is all about. For this reason, to those who believe they have the irrefutable answer to what governs and regulates the triggers that facilitate the PE, let me emphasize in no uncertain terms that their steadfast conclusion is highly premature, tenuous at best, and that their egotism is showing.    

Anomalous experiences facilitate curiosity. And this same level of curiosity served as the required pre-requisite condition and state of mind necessary for solving the nature of mysterious streaking bright objects, small flickering dots, and the changing shadows of that large bright circle we see in the clear night sky. The PE is analogous to these ancestral mysteries and parallels many of today’s mysteries, such as, how the pyramids and other great ancient structures were built. And since we cannot determine how they were built, many believe “space aliens” often referred to as “ancient astronauts,” must have been responsible for their construction. The argument, in other words, is that if you cannot disprove a claim it must be true also applies to defining the nature of the PE.  For instance, since you can’t prove that Santa Claus does not exist or that UAPs are not governed by alien beings, does it mean Santa exists and aliens have visited earth? Achieving a confident unbiased perspective when trying to decide if the PE is actually real in nature is not an easy task. That is, if you believe that you: 1) are not the brain and persist after death to be reunited with deceased loved ones; 2) have experienced an alternate realm of existence apart from your body; 3) interacted with NHEs in this or another reality; 4) know first-hand what Heaven is like; and/or 5) communicated with deceased friends and relatives – it will be difficult to accurately interpret evidence that either supports or refutes your position, and may actually perceive opposing viewpoints to be weak in principle and resist revising your belief.  But these experiences are not uncommon. In fact, they should be considered normal and not “paranormal” or abnormal. And largely ignoring them, as mainstream science continues to do, greatly impedes our understanding of a unique human experience of which the PE and its triggers are a significant part to many millions yearning for an answer. 

Without the bias for superiority, proponents of science must realistically appreciate and enhance the contributions and complementary aspects of spirituality and the PE. But science is missing the boat since Newtonian laws don’t apply – they are inconsistent with the nature of the PE. This is unfortunate since focused research on the PE has the potential to yield important insights into the nature of reality, the mind-brain relationship, and how our brain facilitates conscious events and the sense that “I am aware of being aware.” 

My scientific based education and research endeavors have caused this trained analytical and overly curious truth seeker to attempt, with fierce curiosity, to find answers to these puzzling aspects of reality and the human experience that only future generations will realize. After all, despite our modern day scientific principles and discoveries, we are still barely out of the primordial soup from which we evolved. Our knowledge of reality is still in its infancy, and we have a long journey ahead to fully understanding the true nature and potential of us and the world around us. At this stage in our evolutionary cycle, however, the collective PE evidence clearly indicates that “something” significant is occurring in varying ways that cannot be adequately explained using today’s scientific principles. And this “something” should be considered a much more important endeavor by mainstream science than is now the case.^{50, 51} 

The lack of acceptable research protocol applied in the study of the PE has contributed to our inability to adequately define, with sufficient confidence, the nature and origin of many unexplained personal events. Part of this difficulty is trying to apply the scientific method to spontaneous intangible PEs which cannot be controlled for in a laboratory setting or any other setting for that matter. And for this reason, in part, this limitation leaves mainstream science skeptical about the validity of the PE. But skeptical analysis serves as a necessary component to the scientific process. After all, skepticism is incorporated in the scientific method, which integrates the observation of a phenomenon, the development of a hypothesis about the phenomenon, experimentation designed to demonstrate the truth (or not) of the hypothesis, and a conclusion that supports or amends the hypothesis. This traditional approach, however, cannot be adequately applied in the study of the PE, at least not yet. Consequently, when the general scientific community hears extraordinary claims of one observing their body from above, experiencing a heavenly realm and communicating with NHEs, and feelings of unity with the world without time or space, they know it cannot be adequately studied, let alone, proven. And so, it is ignored.

But it is presumptuous to firmly conclude that all “realer than real” personal descriptions of PE triggers are nothing more than symptoms resulting from either a dysfunctional brain, misperceptions during a sleep state, and/or a psychological disorder, rather than the existence of a co-existing alternate reality. It is important to remember that history is filled with unrealistic ideas which eventually became fact. At this stage in our embryonic technological development, there exists a staggering amount of yet to be discovered scientific laws and principles, and the related technologies controlled by them. After all, it took only 66 years from the time Wilbur and Orville flew at Kitty Hawk to when Neil and Buzz walked on the moon.  What will the next 66 years, let alone a few more centuries and generations reveal?⁵² The same foresight and wisdom, cultivated and integrated using both traditional and newly discovered scientific principles, will eventually lend itself towards understanding modern accounts of the “unexplained.”  And who knows, the answers may actually be provided once the hard drive crashes and the screen fades to black upon your demise.⁵³ 

John Lennon nailed it when he sang “Love is the Answer,” and just maybe “Death” itself will also provide the “answer” to the greatest mystery of all. And if all the answers that future generations will come to realize were announced on major news channels this evening, humanity will be shocked at its core – the residue of changes in personal, philosophical, and religious/spiritual ways seem too dramatic and complex to just even contemplate. But given our current limited understanding of the universe, and that roundish thing above your shoulders, we are not yet in the position, either scientifically or psychologically, to logically explain nor emotionally handle the potential incomprehensible implications of PE on both a personal and societal level. The magnitude of emotion you felt on September 11^th, 2001, or when you looked in the eyes of your newborn child for the first time, may very well pale in comparison to the magnitude of reverence felt when the answers to the many complex issues addressed in this book are proven without a shadow of doubt. It is indeed a very slow and evolving process that must be integrated in a stepwise fashion to integrate successfully – personally, spiritually, and culturally.

Conclusion

The limited research performed to date leaves open many questions concerning the nature and associated reason why some people have a PE. I can’t help but wonder, for instance, if a PE actually represents the evolution of our species toward the next stage of higher consciousness by unlocking dormant human potentials? This highly speculative and unanswerable question must be asked since studies are showing that PEs transform people from their pre-PE personalities into more loving and compassionate individuals – a symptomatic behavioral outcome inconsistent with psychotic disorders. And so, whatever the cause may be, keep it coming! In fact, it should be bottled and added to the world’s drinking water.

The question, “what is consciousness?” and the popular statement that “consciousness creates reality” raise numerous questions. Does this mean we as individuals can shape and create whatever reality we’d like for ourselves? Does it mean we can manifest a certain lifestyle, and attract certain experiences? And, if so, how do we do it?  Although science is unable to answer these questions with certainty, we do know that there is a relationship between consciousness and our physical material world and that it must have some degree of significance yet to be fully realized. And although the PE seems implausible by any stretch of the imagination, we are now gaining scientific evidence in the form of anecdotal (subjective) and physiological (objective) evidence to support ESP, telepathy, and precognition. And combined with scientific theories, the pieces of the PE puzzle suggest that we now possess sufficient preliminary evidence to tentatively support the validity of this phenomenon. But while it is important to keep in mind that the surface towards explaining the PE is just being scratched, the pieces are connecting in the right direction for those who believe the PE is real. At the very least, theories in QM strongly hint this may indeed be the case.

The existence of non-local perception or ESP must be acknowledged by mainstream science. But science is unwilling to do so since the phenomena violates established physical laws. Despite this biased limitation, however, it is still difficult to accept how science continues to completely ignore the overwhelming body of evidence to support ESP.  This includes meta-analyses of ESP results using statistical approaches from more than 200 studies conducted by different researchers with more than 6,000 participants, and replicated numerous times by independent investigators. This convincing outcome, which is not marginal nor impossible to replicate, provides more than sufficient evidence to suggest that the human mind may have undiscovered properties and capabilities – that is, perceptual abilities extend beyond the space and time constraints of sensory organs. It appears quite clear, therefore, that the overall results of experimentation are indicative of an anomalous process of information transfer. Despite this fact, the investigation of psychic phenomena has not produced a useful, reliable finding, or experimental evidence that, at least to most hard-core materialist scientists, is convincing. People with dispositions that are attracted to science naturally tend to debunk such phenomena. Skepticism is appropriate but debunking is appalling. It prevents scientific progress towards understanding the essence of such phenomena and represents a personal assault against those who experience a PE. 

Unfortunately, this persuasive evidence has failed to motivate science to take non-physical phenomena research to the next level of significant discovery along with its associated significant implications. The evolution of mind is simply impeded by too many closed-minded, inside the box egotistical thinkers. Thus, science, and the world at large, is in dire need of more “outside the box” scholars bold enough to buck the conventional trend of academia and established concrete scientific principles. And once successful, if ever, we may then realize the emphatic conclusion of renowned scientist Nikolas Tesla, who stated: “The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence.”⁵⁴ 

You may have experienced a sense of frustration by your inability to form conclusive answers to life’s many perplexing questions, such as: am “I” my brain; what is consciousness; is there life after death, and are spiritual, mystical, and extraordinary experiences valid? Seeking answers to these and other questions raised by the PE may have crossed your mind at least once in your life and are a normal part of human existence – a personal characteristic that may actually be programmed by your innate tendencies. But despite these elusive questions, there exists only few answers to the PE phenomenon. That is, the PE occurs often, it is real to those who experience it, and it cannot be explained by established scientific principles. In recent times, however, many well respected scientists are informing us that the brain may actually behave as a hologram and that reality may be holographic in nature. And what is especially intriguing and hard to ignore is that fact that the holographic concept appears consistent with many subjective characteristics of the PE.

Interestingly, one of the most significant implications of the PE and its associated symptom of nonlocal perception, is that it may represent the ideal behavioral model to determine if an aspect of consciousness actually exists beyond the brain. But this notion will remain just a passing thought until science accepts the fact that sufficient evidence suggests this is a distinct possibility. That is, YOU may not be just a brain. And, if proven true, once apart from the brain, YOU may be free from its limiting influence. In fact, YOU may be capable of experiencing alternate realms of existence as conscious “eternal aspects of waves.” And since evidence to support this yet to be realized assumption may very well be available in the form of the PE, it is imperative for science to recognize the possible connection between existing theories, experimental evidence in non-physical phenomena, and the subjective nature and personal impact of the PE on those who experience it. There is indeed a connection. And this connection may very well provide an answer but only if the specific pieces to the PE puzzle are addressed with fierce determination by unbiased “outside the box” truth-seeking minds.  

Many generations after your body is among the 150,000 people who die each day, sufficient principles applied in a creative way will eventually provide humankind with answers to many unresolved significant questions to the meaning and purpose of life and reality. But at this time, when we are only just beginning to understand the quantum world, the infinite cosmos, and the 100 billion neurons inside your skull, I can only offer a few “connecting dots,” that may, in some small but meaningful way, wake us up to the significance of it all. And this realization alone may help pave the direction and focus of attention for others to explain one of life’s most perplexing experiences that leaves one yearning, with fierce resolve, for an answer.  But don’t waste your time waiting for science to find answers to the many questions in this book. Science will likely never find the answers to consciousness, the PE, or human existence any time soon. The answers are likely within “YOU.”  And if YOU happen to have the answers, YOU know where to find me. 

References

1. F. Crick, and C. Koch, “The Hidden Mind,” Scientific American 2002, http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/ theproblem.pdf. 2. The Human Radio, “Wholeness and the implicate order,” November 28, 2016, https://www.thehumanradio.org/ blog/wholeness-and-the-implicate-order. 3. B. Doctrine, “The Basics of Philosophy,” https://www. philosophybasics.com/branch_instrumentalism.html. 4. B. Doctrine, The Basics of Philosophy. 5. M. Woollacott, Infinite Awareness: The Awakening of a Scientific Mind (New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2015). 6. M. Woollacott, Infinite Awareness: The Awakening of a Scientific Mind. 7. J. Taylor, My Stroke of Insight (New York: Penguin Publishing, 2006). 8. J. Taylor, My Stroke of Insight. 9. J. Taylor, My Stroke of Insight. 10. PSI Encyclopedia, “Terminal Lucidity,” https://psiencyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/terminal-lucidity. 11. M. Nahm, “Terminal lucidity in people with mental illness and other mental disability: An overview and implications for possible explanatory models,” Journal of Near-Death Studies 28, (2009): 87-106. 12. M. Nahm, “Reflections on the context of near-death experiences,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 25, (2011): 453478.

13. M. Nahm, et al., “Terminal lucidity: A review and a case collection,” Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics 55, (2012): 138-142.  14. M. Woollacott, Infinite Awareness: The Awakening of a Scientific Mind. 15. J. Taylor, My Stroke of Insight. 16. M. Woollacott, Infinite Awareness: The Awakening of a Scientific Mind. 17. M. Planck, “Science Quotes by Max Planck,” https:// todayinsci.com/P/Planck_Max/PlanckMax-Quotations. htm. 18. The Human Radio, Wholeness and the implicate order. 19. D. Bohm, The Undivided Universe (New York, NY: Routledge 1993). 20. D. Bohm, The Undivided Universe. 21. Science Daily, “Dark Matter And Dark Energy Make Up 95 Percent Of Universe, Detailed Measurements Reveal,” November 3, 2009, https://www.sciencedaily.com/ releases/2009/11/091102121644.htm. 22. Omni Magazine, “Candace Pert on Molecules of Emotion,” October 12, 2017, http://omnimagazine.com/interviewcandace-pert-molecules-emotion/. 23. C. Swanson, The Synchronized Universe: New Science of the Paranormal (New York, N.Y: Poseidia Press, 2003). 24. C. Swanson, The Synchronized Universe: New Science of the Paranormal. 25. Quanta Magazine, “Quantum Phenomena of Biological Systems as Documented by Biophotonics,” http:// quantmag.ppole.ru/Articles/Quo_Vadis_Quantum_ Mechanics.pdf#.   

26. F. Popp, and Y. Yan, “Delayed luminescence of biological systems in terms of coherent states,” Phys. Letters 293, (2002): 93. 27. F. Popp, “Principles of complementary medicine in terms of a suggested scientific basis,” Indian Journal of Experimental Biology 46, (2008): 378-383. 28. L. Smolin, Time reborn: From the crisis in physics to the future of the universe (Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2013). 29. I. Barušs, “Meaning Fields: Meaning Beyond the Human as a Resolution of Boundary Problems Introduced by Nonlocality,” Edge Science 35, (2018). 30. C. Swanson, The Synchronized Universe: New Science of the Paranormal. 31. E. Laszlo, The Connectivity Hypothesis. Foundations of an Integral Science of Quantum, Cosmos, Life, and Consciousness (Albany, New York: SUNY Press, 2003). 32. E. Laszlo, Science and the Akashic Field. An integral theory of everything (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions International, 2004). 33. D. Bohm, Wholeness and the implicate order (Boston, MA: Routledge, 1980).  34. The Human Radio, Wholeness and the implicate order. 35. R. Davis, Life after Death: An Analysis of the Evidence (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2017). 36. R. Davis, The UFO Phenomena: Should I Believe? (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2015).  37. W. Broad, “Even in death Carl sagan’s influence is still cosmic,” New York Times, December 2012, https://www. nytimes.com/1998/12/01/science/even-in-death-carlsagan-s-influence-is-still-cosmic.html.

38. R. Hernandez, R. Davis, R. Scalpone, and R. Schild, “A Study on Reported Unidentified Aerial Phenomena and Associated Contact with Non-Human Intelligence,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 32, (2018): 298–348.   39. R. Hernandez, R. Davis, R. Scalpone, and R. Schild, “A Study on Reported Unidentified Aerial Phenomena and Associated Contact with Non-Human Intelligence. 40. R. Hernandez, R. Davis, R. Scalpone, and R. Schild, “A Study on Reported Unidentified Aerial Phenomena and Associated Contact with Non-Human Intelligence. 41. G. Eghigian, “How UFO reports change with technology,” Zócalo Public Square smithsonian.com, February 1, 2018 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-uforeports-change-with-technology-times-180968011/#7pFF pOjfyHgZG8C4.99. 42. S. Novella, “UFOs: The Psychocultural Hypothesis,” October 2000, https://theness.com/index.php/ufos-thepsychocultural-hypothesis/. 43. C. French, “Close encounters of the psychological kind,” The Psychologist, October 2015, https://thepsychologist. bps.org.uk/volume-28/october-2015/close-encounterspsychological-kind. 44. G. Eghigian, “How UFO reports change with technology. 45. C. French, “Close encounters of the psychological kind. 46. C. French, “Close encounters of the psychological kind.  47. J. Caravaca, “The Distortion Theory,” 2018, http:// caravaca102.blogspot.com/. 48. J. Caravaca, “The Distortion Theory. 49. J. Caravaca, “The Distortion Theory.                                                                                                                            

50. R. Davis, Life after Death: An Analysis of the Evidence. 51. R. Davis, The UFO Phenomena: Should I Believe? 52. R. Davis, The UFO Phenomena: Should I Believe?  53. R. Davis, Life after Death: An Analysis of the Evidence. 54. P. Tressoldi, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence: the case of non-local perception, a classical and Bayesian review of evidences,” Frontiers in Psychology June 2011, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/139502-theday-science-begins-to-study-non-physical-phenomena-itwill. 55. F. DePasquale, personal communication.