Interviews with researchers in the field of mindfulness
The Existencial Consciousness Research Insitute has published some fascinating interviews with researchers in the field of mindfulness: Tania Singer, Michael von Bruck, Joachim Galuska & Hendrik Jungaberle.
A Conversation on Physics, Tao-Te-Ching, and Awakening – Shantena Sabbadini
Watch the conversation on physics, tao-te-ching and awakening by Galileo Commission adviser Shantena Sabbadini.
Anesthesiologist talks about NDE – Dr Charbonier
Jean-Jacques Charbonier , born 16 May 1956 in Saint-Gaudens , is a physician anesthesiologist intensivist known for his stories on the professional life after death . He is the author of several books on the subject, regularly hosts conferences and participated in various radio and television. He is an honorary member of the Centre for the Study of near-death experiences (CEEMI) and works with the association.
Two Veridical Near-Death Experiences – S. Arnold & T. Barker
This panel will begin with a brief summary of the 2016 book The Self Does Not Die, which contains over 100 cases of NDEs with veridical perception verified by credible third parties, mostly physicians. Then two NDErs whose cases did not appear in the book will describe their NDEs and aftereffects with particular emphasis on veridical aspects of their experiences.
Woo-Woo Taboos in Science – Dean Radin
In this segment Dean ponders the fact that there is currently no technology that can detect the presence or absence of any kind of consciousness, however the first person accounts observed and written about over 1000 years ago describe some states of consciousness that are now being proven in psi labs.
WHAT IS LIFE? #10 The Unividualist and the Integralist – Tim Freke
I loved meeting Jeff. What an inspiring man! In the second half of our conversation, he gives an utterly beautiful articulation of the Integral vision. - Tim Freke
I See Dead People: Dreams and Visions of the Dying – Chris Kerr
Although medically ignored, these near-universal experiences often provide comfort and meaning as well as insight into the life led and the death anticipated.
Consciousness and Cosmos: Building an Ontological Frameworк
Three necessary conditions for the existence of consciousness are identified: a) a ground of reality, envisaged as a universal field of potentiality encompassing all possible manifestations, whether material or ‘mental’; b) a transitional zone, leading to; c) a manifest world with its fundamental divisions into material, ‘informational’, and quale-endowed aspects. We explore ideas about the nature of these necessary conditions, how they may relate to one another and whether our suggestions have empirical implications.
WHAT IS LIFE? – Tim Freke and Steve Taylor
In this episode of Tim Freke’s podcast “What is life?” Tim sits down with Steve Taylor, an adviser to the Galileo Commission, to contemplate the mystery of life. They touch on a variety of topics on their intellectual journey: how compassion and creativity manifest themselves in daily lives, the nature and dynamism of time, the problem of free will, how consciousness emerges and how it relates to evolutions, what kids can teach you about being present, death and much more… Their discussion is a step in the right direction to, as Tim puts it, ‘bring in a new narrative’ in our cultural and intellectual lives that can build on top of the materialistic worldview and overcome the potentially nihilistic implications of materialism.
SoS Theory as a Basis for an Account of Consciousness – Chris Nunn
Quantizing ‘tensed’ time leads to a proposal for a panprotopsychist theory (SoS theory) which avoids the ‘binding’ and ‘combination’ problems to which most theories of this type succumb when envisaged as providers of a basis for our form of conscious experience. For this reason, SoS theory is regarded as relatively plausible, while it has empirically testable implications for both a potential means of inducing general anaesthesia and for the probable manifestation of brief violations of objective energy conservation.
October 2019 Newsletter
October Newsletter
Mind, consciousness and time: an integrated overview – Chris Nunn
I suggest here that ‘mind’ can usefully be viewed as a process of integrating environmental dynamics with brain dynamics. It is probably expressed in brains in fractal patterns of ionic fluxes, especially calcium ion fluxes. Consciousness may be founded in a neutral monism at the basis of reality. As manifest in us however, it could prove to be a translation, mediated by implications of Heisenberg time/energy uncertainty, of spatio-temporal aspects of ‘mind’ into a tempero-spatial format. Differences between qualia might conceivably have a basis in knot theory. Potentially useful research directions are then briefly described.
Event – The Beshara Lecture 2019: Ecosystems as Love Processes
Two doctrines rule our times: Neo-Darwinism and Neoliberalism, which are deeply connected and together form one overwhelming ideology of inevitable competition and deadly strife. Biological life, however, is never about one winning, but rather an endless celebration of reciprocity.
Diversity and Inclusion: A Living Systems Approach – Katherine Long
Our understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion owes a huge debt to the countless individuals and communities all around the world who have struggled and campaigned and highlighted the profound injustices and disparities within our systems past and present. Yet the challenge remains to consider what else might be transformed through the creation of new paradigms which see diversity and inclusion, not as niche concerns, but as a core, shared set of values essential to our common survival and thrival.
Toward a postmaterialist psychology: Theory, research, and applications
In this article, we review two categories of empirical evidence that support a shift toward a postmaterialist psychology. We argue that the transmission hypothesis of the mind-brain relationship can account for all the evidence presented in this article. We also discuss the emerging postmaterialist paradigm and its potential implications for the evolution of psychology.
Does Science Advance One Funeral at a Time? – Jay Fitzgerald
When a star scientist dies, outsiders often tackle mainstream questions in the field by leveraging new ideas that arise in other domains.
Evolution and the Self-Realising Universe – Tim Freke
Tim Freke shares his new understanding of reality at the 2019 Science and Spirituality Summit.
New Concepts of Matter, Life and Mind – Ervin Laszlo
In light of the current, revolutionary advances in the natural sciences and in the study of consciousness, the concepts of matter, life, and
Was Buddha Just a Nice Guy? – Dean Radin
Did Buddha's teachings survive and thrive because he was more attractive or charismatic than most, or because he was a great teacher and a tireless advocate of the poor? Asking such questions about revered religious icons is asking for trouble, so we may consider a more contemporary figure - the Dalai Lama. Does the Dalai Lama know something that science ignores publicly but is fascinated by privately? This presentation will offer answers to these questions based not on opinion, but on analysis of decades of experimental data collected in dozens of laboratories around the world, and regularly published in scientific journals.
Science is Ready for Consciousness: Federico Faggin
In this fascinating interview Federico Faggin, designer of the first commercial microprocessor and pioneer in the movement to base mathematical theory on consciousness, urges science to embrace consciousness to explain the weirdness of quantum physics, and use it as the instrument of scientific investigation. "There need no longer be a duality between mind and matter," he says. "With consciousness you can reach reality from the inside." He makes a startling suggestion - that matter is the ink with which consciousness writes its own self-knowing.
A (very) Brief History of Certainty – IIya Prigogine
The future is uncertain; this is true for the nature we describe and this is true on the level of our own existence. But this uncertainty is at the very heart of human creativity. Time becomes 'construction' and creativity a way to participate in this construction.
Time, Chaos and the Laws of Physics: A 1995 Dialogue – David Lorimer
One of the overall conclusions of a rich day was that we are not at the end of physics, but rather at the end of predictability and certainty, which means including novelty and creativity. And a science in which creativity and participation in the construction of the world are intrinsic is a science, which overcomes the widespread alienation associated with the traditional scientific outlook. In Prigogine's 'new rationality', probability will no longer be seen as ignorance or science as equivalent to certainty. Time is real and the future is open: we live not simply in an 'open society' but also in an open universe.
Evolution and the Transcendence of Mind – Theodore Roszak
Perhaps, then, with a bit of humility and a sense of humour, computer science can help us learn something about the mind's radically transcendent nature. After all, it is the human mind that invents artificial ones (as much for the fun as for the utility of it) and then has room left over to defy the logic or grow bored with their predictable correctness. That 'room' is the evolutionary margin of life still waiting to be explored. What computers can do represents so many routinised mental functions we can now delegate and slough off as we move forward to new ground. The machines are behind us, not ahead.
Life at the Edge of Science – Book Review
She begins with considerations on the role of anomalies in science, which she regards as crucial to promoting continuous scientific innovation and breakthroughs. Instead of a state of ‘balanced openness’ recommended by the author, the reactions of orthodox scientists to anomalies are frequently hostile and defensive. This in itself is less surprising when one considers the personal costs of stepping out of the mainstream and being branded as a heretic: loss of funding, difficulty in publishing, loss of reputation, obstacles to advancement, critical backlash and even loss of employment.
Gary Schwartz on the Science of the Afterlife
In this interview, Gary Schwartz, an adviser to the Galileo Commission, discusses the most recent evidence of the afterlife. He answers questions including: What are the most convincing arguments for the existence of the afterlife? What are the most gripping experiences he's had, inside or outside of the lab? What changes has he made after he's been convinced of the afterlife? Has he had any spiritual experiences himself?