The following is based on my personal ND-OBE, over 40 years of practice of a contemplative discipline, and over 50 years in the study and teaching of physics. Rather than postulate a theory first and subsequently validate it through experimentation, we will initially focus on experimentation to validate mystical claims, and use this to formulate of the theory. It is likely that some of my characterizations will be imprecise, but my experimental results are consistent with the experiences of other students of the same discipline. And fundamentally, since existence beyond time and space is devoid of any relationships or interaction, there cannot be any sense of causal understanding, but only the acceptance of its reality through replication of the experience, not describing it.
Starting with the mystical and religious stories of creation, without consideration of concepts such as sin, we begin with the Eternal Realm. The name “Eternal Realm” is enigmatic, but the assumed state of The Big Bang, prior to expansion, could offer insight how such a realm might exist. A synonym of “Eternal” is “unchanging,” and prior to particle formation, the entire Big-Bang universe is assumed to be sufficiently dense that everything is squeezed out of any individualized existence into some homogeneous, primordial substance. With no particles in existence, and no energy being exchanged, there are no interactions and nothing ever changes, so neither space nor time can be defined. Therefore, prior to particle creation, this state of the Big Bang would be beyond space and time, and is the only convenient example of how something as expansive as a universe might exist without space and time.
A priori, consciousness in an eternal, or static realm, would not be able to make any sense of such a realm if relationships and interactions necessary for development of understanding did not exist. In fact, one of the mystical creation stories states: “God looked over all His creations at that time and found all was not right in the lower worlds, and that man needed something else. That something else was a mind, which could be used as an instrument for perception through which to understand and reason out his experiences.” And from another part of the same mystical teaching, it is stated that “The entire contents of all time and all space, while experienced in a time sequence, actually coexist in an infinite and eternal now. … In short, it appears that events change, but what really happens is that we shift our viewpoint from event to event; the events are stationary and fixed.” This shifting of viewpoint from event to event transforms a collection of static events into a movie reel-like sequence, which creates the impression of the passage of time. And since relativity theory relates that space and time cannot be defined independently, this creates the sense of space as well.
Since nascent consciousness cannot evolve in a realm of eternally static states, the appearance of causality through the simulation of space and time serves to promote a primitive state of understanding of the physical universe. The eventual realization that consciousness survives death and can separate from the body at any time prior to death provides the next evolutionary step in exploration of non-physical existence, eventually leading to complete understanding of the entire universe.
The statement that “The entire contents of all time and all space, while experienced in a time sequence, actually coexist in an infinite and eternal now” provides an interpretation allowing mystical teachings to be understood as being consistent with a fundamental assumption of quantum mechanics, in that all quantum mechanically allowable states exist simultaneously, except that quantum mechanics doesn’t explain why we never experience all allowable states at the same time. What we do experience in the physical realm are always causal sequences of states, and quantum mechanics states this is because all allowable states always collapse into whatever it is we experience, which sounds like magic. In contrast, mystical teachings say it is the mind that limits the perception of consciousness to only causal sequences, which is equivalent to the theory of quantum mechanics actually admitting it has no physical explanation for the causal relationships among the states we observe. Neither explains the situation by itself, but mystical teachings do open a door to a test for the reality of an eternal realm.
Since both consciousness and the mind separate from the body at death, or during OBE events during contemplation, would it be possible to separate consciousness from the mind as well as the body during contemplation? Many believe that consciousness and the mind are the same and cannot be separated, but if such separation could be attained, that would prove them to be fundamentally distinct. Indeed, the most advanced mystical teachings make the claim that the only way to attain the ultimate, universal consciousness, or God Consciousness, is to achieve separation of consciousness from the mind as well as the body. Mystical teachings also claim there are two ways to attain this profound experience. The most obvious approach would be mastery of contemplation. This certainly seems reasonable, but after more than 40 years of daily contemplation, I don’t claim to be close to mastering the practice yet, so one would hope there might be a more rapid means of achieving this state. Indeed, the second option offered by mystical teachings is to achieve this state of consciousness through grace. That is, if a student is deemed worthy, a spiritual master capable of facilitating the realization of God Consciousness could grant this experience at an appropriate time.
So the fundamental goal of mystical teachings requires the separation of consciousness from the mind to reveal the most fundamental state of the entire universe. Although there is significant variation among the many mystical teachings, for our purposes, we will restrict ourselves to those teachings which emphasize the ultimate experience of God Consciousness mentioned above. And all of these teachings are functionally equivalent because God Consciousness is unchanging. That is the nature of an Eternal Realm.
To attempt to describe the experience of acquiring God Consciousness, there are a number of historical and contemporary accounts available from individuals. Such accounts from various mystical teachings can be found online, but the most helpful commentary I have come across regarding the nature of this experience is found in the book Kabbalah—Tradition of Hidden Knowledge, where the author, Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi (Warren Kenton), describes his experience: “A heightened physical awareness changes into a psychological lucidity which then transforms into a profound consciousness of the totality of the universe and the Presence of Divinity. One is in direct contact with all the Worlds at once, and perceives both the complexity and the unity of everything. Although the moment may last just one second, it is always unforgettable.”
Kenton’s description prompts comment. Roughly four decades before I became aware of his book, I had a spontaneous experience during contemplation which fit the major aspects of his description precisely. I find perception of “the complexity and the unity” of everything to be an apt characterization, in that I had the realization that this was an instantaneous, conscious awareness of absolutely everything in the universe. It wasn’t a homogeneous state as I might have supposed from the Big Bang Theory, but it did seem static and somehow appeared to make complete sense. As a result, I characterize one aspect of this experience as the Death of Desire, because at that moment, I had everything. Not in any exclusive sense, as everyone has complete access to this state, but the vast majority are simply not aware of it. But in another sense, the experience created one specific desire, and that was to share the realization with all who are ready for it. So if it seems at all disappointing that one might abruptly run out of universe to explore and things to do, there are an infinite number of others in need of guidance as they struggle with their personal evolution of consciousness. Also, Kenton s comment of the “Presence of Divinity” resonated with my experience, in that I also had the overwhelming realization that I was sharing this universal consciousness in that instant. And it is also of interest to note that more than 20 years after I had this experience, I became aware that two of my friends who also follow the same discipline as I, have had the same experience.
One aspect that complicates any discussion of this experience is that although consciousness is uniquely capable of becoming aware of the entire universe in a single instant, the mind can only go as far as to register that the realization did actually happen and that it made perfect sense in that instant. The mind is an artifact of space and time and is therefore finite, so when consciousness returns to the realms of space and time, the mind regains its influence on consciousness and reduces what was an infinite ocean of awareness to a single drop of water. The memory of the event remains, but the event itself is far beyond words or description and certainly cannot be communicated with any precision. One’s direct, personal experience is the only means of any sort of comprehension.
It is not at all clear what the mind is or how it accomplishes what it does, but there is clear historical and current evidence that beyond the mind, one’s consciousness is capable of experience far beyond anything described by physical science. It is available to us all and evidently comprises everyone’s eventual realization. So as an overview of the progression of the evolution of consciousness, since one cannot achieve any comprehension within the Eternal Realm “in the beginning,” at the inception of consciousness, it is quite logical that one must begin by establishing a primitive understanding, such as the principle of causality within the physical realm. From there, the next step appears to be discovery and implementation of the capability of separation of consciousness from the body, and finally the separation of consciousness from the mind as well. A simple progression in concept, but its completion typically takes an exceptional amount of experience over a significant period of time.
Of course I may be mischaracterizing my experience as God Realization, but the instantaneous realization that I was experiencing everything in existence was overwhelming and consistent with the experience of others. As soon as I manage to experience and maintain this state of consciousness on a continuous basis, I will be delighted to publish the results. However, my experience definitively established that a verbal description can only hint at this reality. In review, learning of the existence of ND-OBEs creates a concept. Next, having either an ND-OBE or an OBE as a result of contemplation transforms the concept into an unforgettable experience in your most vivid and persistent memory. And finally, experiencing the entire universe in an instant leaves one speechless and wondering how the experience can ever be assimilated. However, on a positive note, my friend who
experienced this event twice reported that the second occurrence was not nearly as unsettling as the first.
So what is Real? The point of this story is very much the same as in the original Star Wars movies. You really do have something within you which will allow you to accomplish incredible things. But that was just a movie. However, in many ways, it appears to me that our physical lifetimes can be considered as little more than movies being viewed by our consciousness. Realization through experience is truly the only way to achieve comprehension. And when one finally graduates from these physical lifetimes, one abandons materialism to gain freedom within the universe. Materialism is the illusion. As long as one continues to embrace Materialism, one will not be able to realize the benefits of non-physical existence. And as long as one exclusively embraces time and space, one will not be able to realize the entire universe in Eternity. Until we accomplish this, we are ignoring our greatest gift. If all this is true, other than creating interesting technology, science has been largely focused on busywork. We have been unwittingly restricting ourselves to this lonely little planet stuck in the most primitive aspect of the universe.
