For roughly 2500 years there have been two competing theories that propose vastly different versions of our universe. The Doctrine of Materialism holds that all that is real and exists is composed purely of physical matter, and that phenomena such as mental states and processes are produced purely through brain activity. In contrast, various forms of mysticism represent a spiritual approach which generally describe the universe as both physical matter, which is in a state of continuous change, and non-physical, eternal manifestation such as consciousness.
A majority of the scientific community continues to follow the Doctrine of Materialism, and for nearly 200 years non-materialistic theories have often been denigrated as pseudoscience. No one doubts the existence of consciousness, but the prevailing presumption has been that consciousness exists only as an activity of the brain. So if it were ever to be proven that consciousness could exist and function independent of the brain, the Doctrine of Materialism would be disproven, and all of science would require a dramatic revision.
The premier threat to this doctrine began to materialize when psychiatrist Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross undertook her research of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) in the 1960s. Kübler-Ross studied more than 20,000 cases of individuals with NDEs, and since many of those were accompanied by strikingly similar Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs), this naturally promoted conjecture for evidence of an afterlife, or immortal consciousness. However, the scientific community lost no time in defending the dogma of materialism by dismissing such experiences as mere hallucinations due to oxygen deprivation of the brain during the process of dying. However, Kübler-Ross had a strong sense that the many commonalities reported for OBEs increased the likelihood that this was not hallucinatory, but quite real, and she further strengthened her conjecture by restricting her case studies to subjects who had been completely blind for at least 10 years prior to their OBEs. Since roughly 1% of the population has severe visual impairment, and approximately 10% of those are completely blind, this likely restricted her dataset to just double digits, but only a single case of a corroborated visual account of surroundings with no physical means of processing vision would be sufficient to prove that a non-physical process produced real results.
Although Kübler-Ross never published these results due to destruction of her research by arson, she did report in her book On Life After Death that, for the completely blind subjects, “Those who had an out-of-body experience and came back can tell you in detail what colors and jewelry you were wearing if you were present. Furthermore, they can tell you the color and pattern of your sweater, or of your tie, and so on.” Although this evidence couldn’t be refuted, it was largely ignored by the scientific community, because then, as now, the embrace of scientific materialism was strong and pervasive.
In 1997 the psychologist Dr. Kenneth Ring followed up on her research, publishing his Study of Apparent Eyeless Vision of 31 blind subjects, with some individuals instantly gaining crystal-clear vision during ND-OBE events, corroborating Kübler-Ross’ results. And once again, the scientific community found no reason to abandon its belief in materialism.
Fast forward to 2014, when Dr. Sam Parnia, the lead author of a study begun in 2008 of over 2,000 patients from 15 hospitals in the U.K., U.S., and Austria, reported on one ND-OBE case that “… was validated and timed using auditory stimuli during cardiac arrest. Dr Parnia concluded: ‘This is significant, since it has often been assumed that experiences in relation to death are likely hallucinations or illusions, occurring either before the heart stops or after the heart has been successfully restarted, but not an experience corresponding with ‘real’ events when the heart isn’t beating. In this case, consciousness and awareness appeared to occur during a three-minute period when there was no heartbeat. This is paradoxical, since the brain typically ceases functioning within 20-30 seconds of the heart stopping and doesn’t resume again until the heart has been restarted. Furthermore, the detailed recollections of visual awareness in this case were consistent with verified events.’” And as expressed by Dr. Pim van Lommel, a Dutch cardiologist, “ … it has indeed been scientifically proven that during NDE in cardiac arrest, enhanced consciousness was experienced independently of brain function. Without a body we can still have conscious experiences.”
This is it! If this evidence is accepted, then Materialism is disproven. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and Kenneth Ring proved that a conscious, non-physical process can produce real results, but Parnia’s and van Lommel’s research go further to prove that consciousness can function whether the brain is functional or not. In separation from the physical body, consciousness becomes independent of the physical body and survives death.
I had my own NDE when I was 18 years old and there are some observations I did not include in the presentation of my experience, as I didn’t consider them relevant until I recently came across Dr. Parnia’s research. Just after receiving the injection of anesthetic which caused my NDE, but before having the tingling sensation creep up my legs, I began to feel faint and I asked the doctor if I could lie down. I didn’t realize until much later that feeling faint was probably the first symptom of my cardiac arrest. At this point, I must have begun to look rather pale, as the doctor asked the nurse to check my pulse. She walked over and checked for my pulse in one wrist, and then the other, then turned to the doctor and said, “He doesn’t have one.” This struck me as bizarre and hilarious at the same instant, because besides feeling faint, I thought I was fine. It was then a tingling began creeping up my legs, followed by convulsions of sight and sound and the certain realization that I was dying. All of this could easily have occurred within the nominal 20-30 seconds between cessation of heartbeat and subsequent loss of brain function mentioned by Parnia, and at that point, sight and hearing ended abruptly. It seems quite obvious now that was likely the moment when my brain ceased processing, while the mind and consciousness remained continuously functional. Sight and sound from a point near the ceiling resumed shortly after this, but not as a function of my physical eyes and ears.
Whether it is the blind instantly attaining crystal-clear vision independent of physical means, or a cardiac arrest patient accurately reporting visual events during a period when that patient was documented to have no brain activity, non-physical phenomena have been proven to generate real outcomes, disproving the doctrine of materialism. When the brain ceases to function, consciousness remains functional. The reality of non-physical phenomena has been proven. Once one accepts this logic, the realm of reality becomes infinitely greater than the physical universe.
What does it mean? Evidently there are other realms of space and time with different manifestations of “physics” than we are used to. One of the ramifications of the death of Materialism is that if we are to have any hope of understanding the totality of the universe, we must now explore its non-physical aspects as well. And since mystical studies have long taught that consciousness can be intentionally separated from the body without dying, such separation becomes our only obvious option for an advanced form of exploration, as there are no other means to instantly traverse astronomical distances, much less explore any non-physical realm. Although consciousness continually evolves through experiences while localized within a physical body, remaining tethered to the body greatly limits the scope of exploration. It is simply counterproductive to persist in restricting our experience to the kindergarten-like confines of our bodies once we have realized that our capabilities can be infinitely expanded through the separation of consciousness.
Many physicists will be loath to admit they have ignored this most profound aspect of reality for about 50 years. However, in light of existing proof, it is simply illogical to deny the reality of ND-OBEs when at least 5 million people in the U.S. have experienced them. Those are far more data points than required for statistical significance. What we need is not so much the long-sought theory of everything, but rather the point of everything. Acquiring complete freedom of consciousness throughout the entire universe and understanding our relationship to everything in it, is far more consequential than postulating what might lie of the other side of a black hole. The point is we need to explore realms of the universe left largely unexplored until now.
One factor which often delays proper assimilation of a conscious, Out-of-Body Experience, is that one’s reaction to their first such experience is predictably so dramatic and euphoric that it often leads to the conclusion that no experience could possibly be greater than what just happened, promoting the belief that one must have had a glimpse of heaven or the like. However, having one’s first OBE is better understood as just the beginning of one’s journeys rather than the end. According to many mystical teachings, not only are there unlimited possibilities for exploration in the realm just beyond the physical, there are also additional realms beyond that, likewise offering further exploration. Fortunately, guidance from those who have completed the entire journey has always been available, and provides the only practical means of expediting this vast exploration in any reasonable amount of time.
Mystical teachings relate that this process of exploration continues until the individual achieves the separation of consciousness from the mind as well as all of the bodies within the realms of time and space. This most profound mystical attainment will be the focus of the next segment where mystical teachings will be integrated with mainstream theoretical physics in order to realize the fundamental rationale of existence. It is fortunate that it is exceptionally straightforward to incorporate non-physical phenomena with mainstream quantum mechanics to produce a theoretical framework which characterizes the entire universe. The history of mystical teachings provides just such a framework for analysis.
Part 2: The Mystical Explanation of Quantum Mechanics
Starting with the mystical and religious stories of creation, without consideration of the likes of sin or metaphor, we begin with the Eternal Realm. The name “Eternal Realm” is enigmatic, but the state of The Big Bang, prior to expansion, could offer insight how such a thing might exist. A synonym of “Eternal” is “unchanging,” and prior to particle formation, the entire Big-Bang universe is supposedly so compressed that everything is squeezed out of an individualized existence into some homogeneous, primordial goo. 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 could exist without space and time.
The newly existent consciousness of the first residents of the creation story likely wouldn’t be able to evolve in an eternal, or static realm, where the relationships and interactions necessary for development of understanding do 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-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 begin its evolution in a realm of eternal static events, 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 leading to the 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” is suggestive that mystical teachings are in agreement 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 always experience are only causal sequences of states, and quantum mechanics states this is because all allowable states always collapse into whatever it is we experience, which sounds somewhat like magic. In contrast, mystical teachings say it is the mind that restricts 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 states that are observed. Neither explains the situation by itself, but the position of mystical teachings does open the door to suggest the following test for the reality of such 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, some mystical teachings make the claim that the only way to attain the ultimate 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 might be mastery of contemplation. This certainly seems reasonable, but after more than 40 years of daily contemplation, I don’t seem 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 any time.
So the challenge now is to examine mystical teachings in the hope of finding results from the experiment of separation of consciousness from the mind which reveal the relationship between space-time physics and the characteristics of an Eternal Realm. Although there are several accounts from a number of mystical teachings scattered through history, for our purposes, we will restrict ourselves to those teachings which speak to the ultimate experience of God Consciousness mentioned above. As explained by Swami Vivekananda, who was instrumental in bringing the Indian mystical teaching of Advaita Vedanta to the western world in the late 1800s, “… these mystics in every religion speak the same tongue and teach the same truth. This is the real science of religion. As mathematics in every part of the world does not differ, so the mystics do not differ.” All such teachings agree that separation of consciousness from the mind results in elimination of all space-time restrictions from conscious perception. Mystical schools offering such teachings have appeared throughout history depending largely upon the degree of tolerance of society at the time. And each of these teachings are equivalent because God Consciousness is unchanging. That is the nature of an Eternal Realm. One difference among the teachings available today is whether they maintain a living master who can provide conscious, individual guidance within contemplation. There is a wide variety of meditative practices currently available, and although there is nothing wrong with a study of calming one’s mind or attempting communication with others who are deceased, the attainment of God Consciousness can only be facilitated by one who has established this degree of awareness on a continuous basis. There is nothing new in the mystical teachings of God Consciousness other than an update of the language to better relate to the current state of science. The scientific proof that consciousness exists independent of the brain and body is relatively new and requires science to revise its historical understanding of what comprises our universe.
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 perhaps 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, describes the 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.”
Halevi’s description prompts comment. Roughly four decades before I became aware of Halevi’s 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 a conscious awareness of absolutely everything in the universe. As a result, I characterize one result 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 also 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 eventually 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 own evolution of consciousness. Also, Halevi’s comment of the “Presence of Divinity” resonated with my experience, in that I also had the overwhelming realization that I was sharing some sort of universal consciousness in that instant. And it is of interest that more than 20 years after my personal experience, I became aware that two of my friends who are also students of the same discipline I follow, 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 takes control of consciousness and restricts 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 understanding.
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, the consciousness of each of us is capable of experience far beyond anything described by physical science. It is available to us all and appears to be 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 at the inception of consciousness, it is quite logical that one would begin by establishing a simpler understanding, such as the principle of causality within the physical realm. From there, the next step appears to be discovery and implementation of the 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 great deal of time.
So what is Real? The point of this story is very much the same as in Star Wars. You really do have something within you which will allow you to accomplish incredible things. But Star Wars was just a movie. However, in many ways, our lifetimes are little more than movies being viewed by our consciousness. Realization through experience is truly the only way to achieve understanding. And when one finally graduates from these 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 likely of very little true value to the universe.
