Introduction
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Introduction When Hippocrates (c. –c. bc) was consulted by the philosopher Demokritos, Hippocrates diagnosed him as “too healthy.” Demokritos had a disposition that he com- monly called “cheerfulness” or “confidence.” He enjoyed life and had learned to control his consciousness. Once again, we’ve started considering consciousness in ways that go beyond the clinical approach. It has been widely believed hundreds of years that humans, and all living things, possess something that might be called spiritual, and that we are not limited to the purely physical, trapped within our bodies. Thanks to technology and extensive research, we are now starting to explore life on the non-local and microscopic levels. We are made up of trillion cells, all communicating with each other via chemical and electrical systems, we are truly masterpieces, and consciousness seems a miracle. The purpose of this work is not to clarify what consciousness is, but it is to push consciousness toward a new paradigm in science. One of Einstein’s partners in discussion was the physicist from the University of London, David Bohm. Another of Bohm’s discussion partners Karl Pribram, a neuro- physiologist at Stanford University. Bohm and Pribram’s theories, considered together, provide a profound new way of looking at the world: Our brains mathematically construct objective reality by interpreting frequencies that are ultimately projections from another dimension, a deeper order of existence that is beyond space and time; the brain is a holo- gram enfolded in a holographic universe. Researchers in Japan have now provided math- ematical evidence that the holographic principle might be true and the holographic paradigm is real. This work is pushing toward a new paradigm, a perspective also espoused by Stephan A. Schwartz. He mentions that million people have reported a near death experience (NDE), but the number is much larger because many people do not immediately report experiences. A story from Pim van Lommel, heard by myself and Stephen A. Schwartz, illustrates the dynamic in play: At an academic conference on NDEs a few years ago a respected cardiologist stood up and said, “I’ve worked as a cardiologist for years now, and I’ve never come across such absurd stories in my practice. I think this is complete nonsense; I don’t believe a word of it.” Whereupon another man stood up and said, “I’m one of your patients. A couple of years ago I survived a cardiac arrest and had an NDE, and you would be the last person I’d ever tell.” In Einstein’s four-dimensional spacetime space and time are relative, but measurements Introduction in spacetime are absolute, the same for all observers. So spacetime is an objective reality and seemingly ontological, more basic than space and time. The past events, the now and all future events exist at once in spacetime. But on a macroscopic level the exclusion of intentional beings is easy. Jan Pilotti’s essay further explores time and space. The last essay in the first part, by the Swedish author Göte Andersson, is “The Psi- Track and Other Unexplained Energy Fields.” It is a marvelous essay that won the Imich Project Prize in . All living creatures seem to have these unknown energies, indicating that there is a holistic principle in nature. Part II is about the small things from the universe that we can’t see with the eye. Intelligent life should not be able to appear anywhere in merely billion years. As we are here, however, there has to be some mechanism that makes intelligent life possible, unless we are created and developed in a supernatural way. Allan Emrén’s essay offers a scientific, and different, story of the creation. John K. Grandy’s essay has three notable parts to it. The first is the history and background of the theory of DNA consciousness and how this term emerged. The second part objectifies DNA as a degree of consciousness. This is done on three dynamic levels that have been verified scientifically. The third part is a scientific outline of how DNA gives rise to human consciousness, provides a continuum of this biological process of consciousness, and takes part in the erosion of the cognitive processes later in life. These are referred to as the three neurogenetic phases of human consciousness. Collectively, these three parts of the essay help validate the transition of DNA consciousness from a theoretical proposal to a science. In every living being and organism there is an entire world as amazing as the one we see around us. In our body there are trillion cells, and DNA that extends , kilometers. The base pairs in our DNA are held together by hydrogen. Maybe the hydro- gen bonds in DNA’s base pairs constitute our immune system and our consciousness! There is water in the cells, and between them, and while large molecules have to go through membrane proteins to enter the cells, small molecules like HO and O can pass through the cell membrane without difficulty. In the spaces between the brain cells at the end of every neuron are synapses, the basic unit of a brain cell, where chemical charges build up. In the same space dendrites—tiny filaments of nerve endings commu- nicate with other neurons, sending out and receiving their own electrical wave impulses. This, together with the quantum hologram and non-local consciousness, provides an explanation and an exciting developmental phase in the illusion in which we live, as Ingrid Fredriksson writes. Consciousness appears to exist in everything that has DNA. Menas C. Kafatos, Hyejung Lee and Keun-Hang Susan Yang talk about the non- local universe. Their essay explains that quantum theory opened the door to consciousness but did not provide a solution, except hints of what the next steps might be. The issue of consciousness presents a clear embarrassment to modern science. Part III begins with “What Is Love? The Physical Cosmology of Spiritual Union” by Richard C. Amoroso. Now that the physical basis of consciousness or the cosmological nature of the mind- body interaction has been discovered, it is possible to describe the scientific basis of love. What is the soul, what is life, what is intelligence, and especially what is love, and why does it take a whole cosmology to adequately describe it? These are some of the questions that noetic science can begin to answer. It would take a whole Introduction volume to completely describe the physical cosmology of love, thus in this essay the author gives only a brief description as a way of introducing what is to come. Consciousness has no accepted or recognized specific scientific definitions. Yet there are constantly many trials by philosophers, scientists and other workers to define and disclose the mystery and genesis of consciousness and its cause and effect—not only upon our existence as human beings, but also its effect upon the universe, and the question of whether it is fundamental to universal existence as a whole. Consciousness is a subjective awareness of self- being and surroundings. As a defi- nition, though, this is lacking, as we need a testable theory that is biological, physical and coherent to explain consciousness. Amna Al Faki and Ingrid Fredriksson write about intelligence of the heart together with intelligence of the brain, which offers a feasible approach to explaining the biological phenomenon of consciousness. In Eastern philosophy the brain, especially the fore brain, is also considered a cognitive organ so a new approach and new definition based upon the brain and heart will explain consciousness. As a society we are stressing ourselves out for the purpose of having more and more things and more and more information. This is merely the physical- material part of life. Consciousness is a matter of the spiritual- existential part. Both are equally important. In yogism and Buddhism, one goes beyond thinking to direct realization and experience in the field of introspective observation. Consciousness is able to receive information there about the significance of the bliss of love and wisdom for fellow humans. Alf E. Sjöberg discusses these subjects in his essay. What is consciousness? If it is more than the firing of an assemblage of neurons in our brain how does it relate to mindfulness? What is the link between mindfulness, well- being and the global commons? These questions are asked in the penultimate essay by Janet McIntyre- Mills. The last essay is about the philosophy, principles and applications of systematic training of self- hypnosis, called Integrated Mental Training (IMT), utilized and studied by the author of the essay, Lars- Eric Uneståhl. This page intentionally left blank Part I. Physics, Spacetime and Near Death Experiences Six Protocols, Neuroscience and Near Death An Emerging Paradigm Incorporating Nonlocal Consciousness Stephan A. Schwartz It has been more than six decades since Gilbert Ryle, Waynflete Professor of Meta- physical Philosophy at Oxford, coined the phrase “The Ghost in the Machine,” in his book The Concept of the Mind, as a way of criticizing what he saw as Descartes’ absurd mind- body dualism. Since then the nature of consciousness has been largely explored only from the assumption that it was an as yet not understood neurophysiological process entirely resident in the organism. Its inherent physicality became an ironbound axiom. However, a growing body of experimental research now challenges this and a fundamental transition is underway in science. Still a minority position, it is nonetheless the trend direction in a wide range of disciplines, from medicine to biology to physics. Whole new sub- disciplines have emerged driven by the results of this research since Ryle’s dismissive words. This work is pushing toward a new paradigm, one that is neither dualist nor monist, but rather one that postulates consciousness as the fundamental basis of reality.