Along with the idea that we live in a hologram and with new scientific theories like String Theory, comes the idea that we exist in multiple dimensions. If you've never tried to do it before, thinking in terms of different dimensions can be difficult, but not impossible. One man, Rob Bryanton, has shown some creative thinking and figured out a way to illustrate how (but by no means do we consider this the way it is) our universe might exists in 11 dimensions and he can do it in under 3 minutes. "Imagining Ten Dimensions in Two Minutes." I recommend however that you take a more paced approach and try his video "Imagining 10 Dimensions - The Movie" which is 1 hour and 45 minutes long to get a general idea on how to think outside the box when it comes to dimensional planes.
Our existence has already been proven to have very similar characteristics to a hologram, meaning our "rock-hard" reality is really just localized wave-functions of energy fields and as we saw in the rubber hand experiment, our "self" is not actually our body; it is our awareness, our perception, an "ownership" of what we think of as the body that creates our sense of self. So if that's the case our consciousness, our sense of "self" should be able to exist outside the "body" all together. It's almost not surprising at this point, but it can in a way. Thomas Metzinger explores this topic and the science in his Ted talk "The Transparent Avatar In Your Brain."
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The most common part of those experiments however, is the brain, or more importantly, the functioning brain, of the patient. So can consciousness exist outside the body and without a functioning brain? Our paradigm shift continues as we approach a topic that has been the center of some of the most heated and dangerous debates in history, a topic which we have coined 'death.' Is it that far a leap from what we've already learned to think of death as a quick release of the "idea" of this reality and perhaps a transition onto another dimension, or plane of existence? How could something like that be proven?
One such way is found within the newest scientific evidence of near-death experiences. The earliest narration of a near-death experience, or "NDE" dates back to the 4th century BC in Plato's The Republic, with a soldier telling of his near-death experience. The study of NDE's only entered the sciences in the 1970's, with Raymond Moody. So let's explore some of that new scientific evidence for, starting with what is termed the "core" experience of an NDE.
- "Being Human: Mental + Representations & Decision-Making" - 1 hour 30 minutes
- "The Ego Tunnel: Prof. Dr. Thomas Metzinger at TEDxRheinMain" - 18 minutes
- "Psychologically induced cooling of a specific body part caused by the illusory ownership of an artificial counterpart"
The most common part of those experiments however, is the brain, or more importantly, the functioning brain, of the patient. So can consciousness exist outside the body and without a functioning brain? Our paradigm shift continues as we approach a topic that has been the center of some of the most heated and dangerous debates in history, a topic which we have coined 'death.' Is it that far a leap from what we've already learned to think of death as a quick release of the "idea" of this reality and perhaps a transition onto another dimension, or plane of existence? How could something like that be proven?
One such way is found within the newest scientific evidence of near-death experiences. The earliest narration of a near-death experience, or "NDE" dates back to the 4th century BC in Plato's The Republic, with a soldier telling of his near-death experience. The study of NDE's only entered the sciences in the 1970's, with Raymond Moody. So let's explore some of that new scientific evidence for, starting with what is termed the "core" experience of an NDE.
"An NDE may include only one or two of these elements, and, in a few cases, all of them. These include: a sense of being outside one’s physical body, sometimes perceiving it from an outside position; a sense of movement through darkness or a tunnel; intense emotions; heightened perceptions; experiencing a great light or darkness; perceiving a spiritual realm, which may include vividly memorable landscapes; encounters with deceased loved ones, spiritual beings and/or religious figures; knowledge of the nature of the universe; a life review; a sense of oneness and interconnectedness; a border of no return; a sense of having knowledge of the future; messages regarding life’s purpose."
http://iands.org/about-ndes/key-nde-facts.html
http://iands.org/about-ndes/key-nde-facts.html
NDE's share a larger similarity, one that is both awe-inspiring and humbling. While not everyone experiences the same NDE, if one at all, the core experience remains the same. Each experience is represented by that person(s), or that society's, deeply held belief(s) and definitions. People in South America for example, don't describe going through a tunnel, but may describe going to/through a cave, or a well. Christians tend to see their God/Jesus, but also those who live in cultures with no god(s) simply describe meeting deceased loved ones or other spiritual beings. Each seems to articulate this core experience through their belief system about the afterlife, using the limiting language of their culture or society. Most would oft describe the experience as "indescribable."
"Considering the studies we have just described, although it does seem that the central features of the NDE phenomenon have been recorded throughout history and across numerous cultures, the actual interpretation of what people claim to have observed, of the experience they claim to have lived through, may reflect personal religious or cultural views. In other words, during a close encounter with death, people from different parts of the world may feel peaceful, see a tunnel, a bright light and a being of light, and have a sensation of detaching from their bodies, but they may identify the being of light according to their own cultural and religious backgrounds. Furthermore the overall interpretation of someone’s experience, as with any experience, depends on their own background. For example, an atheist with a NDE may simply believe they had experienced a hallucination, while someone who believes in Jesus may believe they had met Christ."
http://www.horizonresearch.org/main_page.php?cat_id=66
"Tales of otherworldly experiences have been part of human cultures seemingly forever, but NDEs as such first came to broad public attention in 1975 by way of American psychiatrist and philosopher Raymond Moody’s popular book Life After Life. He presented more than 100 case studies of people who experienced vivid mental experiences close to death or during “clinical death” and were subsequently revived to tell the tale. Their experiences were remarkably similar, and Moody coined the term NDE to refer to this phenomenon. The book was popular and controversial, and scientific investigation of NDEs began soon after its publication with the founding, in 1978, of the International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS)—the first organization in the world devoted to the scientific study of NDEs and their relationship to mind and consciousness."
http://www.salon.com/2012/04/21/near_death_explained/
http://www.horizonresearch.org/main_page.php?cat_id=66
"Tales of otherworldly experiences have been part of human cultures seemingly forever, but NDEs as such first came to broad public attention in 1975 by way of American psychiatrist and philosopher Raymond Moody’s popular book Life After Life. He presented more than 100 case studies of people who experienced vivid mental experiences close to death or during “clinical death” and were subsequently revived to tell the tale. Their experiences were remarkably similar, and Moody coined the term NDE to refer to this phenomenon. The book was popular and controversial, and scientific investigation of NDEs began soon after its publication with the founding, in 1978, of the International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS)—the first organization in the world devoted to the scientific study of NDEs and their relationship to mind and consciousness."
http://www.salon.com/2012/04/21/near_death_explained/
The crux of the matter that some skeptical scientists hold to is the idea that NDE's are simply the brain's "last hoorah" as it dies. But that idea has one fatal flaw in the science they can not account for. While the brain does in fact still show electrical activity in the brain after cardiac arrest, a study on mice proved that, it doesn't explain some other profound things. Such as how people with no brain activity can still have an NDE. The theory of NDE's being caused by the electrical activity in the brain as it dies has some other holes as well, and thus can't be said to be the correct theory for NDE's. Some of the other holes are:
- People have NDEs while brain dead (some, dead for days)
- People see verified events while Out-of-Body
- People born blind can see during a NDE
- Children have NDEs similar to Adults
- Multiple people can share the same NDE
- Hallucinations measure on EEG's, yet people with flat EEG's have had NDE's, so NDE's can not be explained as hallucinations or imagined events
When all these facts are considered together -- the widespread nature of the NDE, the absence of demographic characteristics, the universality of the core experience, the ability of NDEers to see and know things they have no normal sensory means of seeing and knowing, and the occurrence of NDE's in patients who have flat EEGs -- the conclusions seems inescapable: People who have NDEs are not suffering from hallucinations or delusional fantasies, but are actually making visits to an entirely different level of reality. While effectively disproving any religions claim of being the one "Truth," NDE's do solidly establish the core idea of some type of existence after this one and does verify the existence of some other dimension of reality, lending weight to the holograph universe theory. Here's what the largest study ever done on NDE's has to say:
"With lack of evidence for any other theories for NDE, the thus far assumed, but never proven, concept that consciousness and memories are localized in the brain should be discussed. How could a clear consciousness outside one’s body be experienced at the moment that the brain no longer functions during a period of clinical death with flat EEG? Also, in cardiac arrest the EEG usually becomes flat in most cases within about 10 s from onset of syncope. Furthermore, blind people have described vertical perception during out-of-body experiences at the time of this experience. NDE pushes at the limits of medical ideas about the range of human consciousness and the mind-brain relation.
Another theory holds that NDE might be a changing state of consciousness (transcendence), in which identity, cognition, and emotion function independently from the unconscious body, but retain the possibility of non-sensory perception."
http://pimvanlommel.nl/files/publicaties/Lancet%20artikel%20Pim%20van%20Lommel.pdf
Another theory holds that NDE might be a changing state of consciousness (transcendence), in which identity, cognition, and emotion function independently from the unconscious body, but retain the possibility of non-sensory perception."
http://pimvanlommel.nl/files/publicaties/Lancet%20artikel%20Pim%20van%20Lommel.pdf
A lot of major research and statistics from doctors and philosophers who study NDEs for a living, to survivor stories can be found here, at the International Association for Near Death Experiences. There is also the "only peer-reviewed scholarly journal (ISSN 0891-4494) devoted exclusively to the field of near-death studies. It is cross-disciplinary and published quarterly." Or if you'd like to watch a professional documentary on some more scientific investigations I suggest "The Afterlife Investigations: The Scole Experiment." It's 1 1/2 hours long.
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There are also some very interesting things to be said about the science found in Multiple Personality Disorders, or Dissociative Identity Disorder as well. During a shift to another personality, allergies have been known to disappear, heart rate and brain activity changes, eye color can change, accents can be adopted or lost, even responses to medication differ.
"For more than a century clinicians have occasionally reported isolated cases of dramatic biological changes in people with multiple personalities as they switched from one to another. These include the abrupt appearance and disappearance of rashes, welts, scars and other tissue wounds; switches in handwriting and handedness; epilepsy, allergies and color blindness that strike only when a given personality is in control of the body.
"In a recent book, ''The Treatment of Multiple Personality Disorder,'' published by the American Psychiatric Press, Dr. Braun describes several instances in which different personalities in the same body responded differently to a given dose of the same medication. A tranquilizer, for instance, made a childish personality of one patient sleepy and relaxed, but gave adult personalities confusion and racing thoughts. An anti-convulsant prescribed for epilepsy that was given another patient had no effect on the personalities except those under the age of 12.
In another patient, 5 milligrams of diazepam, a tranquilizer, sedated one personality, while 100 milligrams had little effect on another personality."
"The study, which will be published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, found that there were significant changes in visual acuity, in the shape and curvature of the eye and in refraction from personality to personality in the real patients, but hardly any among the others tested.
The opthalmic exam also found some clinical differences apart from the standard tests. One woman had three personalities, aged 5, 17 and 35. When the five-year-old was examined, she had a condition, common in childhood, known as ''lazy eye,'' in which one eye turns in toward the nose. The condition was not present in the 17-year-old or the 35-year-old.
Similar differences were found in other patients. ''One patient had had his left eye injured in a fight, so that it turned out,'' said Dr. Miller. ''But the condition only appeared in one of his personalities. It disappeared in the others, nor was there any evidence of muscle imbalance.''
"The lesson for psychophysiology from multiple personalities is that a given personality has as its biological underpinning a specific pattern of mental and biological states, according to Dr. Frank Putnam, a psychiatrist at the Laboratory of Developmental Psychology at the National Institute of Health. In a sense, Dr. Putnam said, there is a ''biological self'' that corresponds to the psychological self; as the psychological one shifts, so does the biological."
''A given state of consciousness has its biological reality,'' said Dr. Putnam. ''By keeping these states separate and distinct, the patients create biologically separate selves.'' Mechanism of Change
Dr. Putnam, who has done extensive research on patients with multiple personalities, is now focusing his interest on how they switch from one personality to another. During the switch, there is typically a period of seconds or even minutes when heart rate, breath rate and other physiological markers show a disorganization, which is followed by a new pattern typical of the personality that is emerging."
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/28/science/probing-the-enigma-of-multiple-personality.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
"The physical changes that occur in a switch between alters is one of the most baffling aspects of dissociative identity disorder. People assume whole new physical postures and voices and vocabularies. One study conducted in 1986 found that in 37 percent of patients, alters even demonstrated different handedness from the host."
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/dissociative_identity_disorder.aspx#2
"the possibility of somatic changes between identities in DID must be taken seriously."
Bodily Control in Dissociative States: The Case of Dissociative
Identity Disorder
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/dissociative_identity_disorder.aspx#2
"the possibility of somatic changes between identities in DID must be taken seriously."
Bodily Control in Dissociative States: The Case of Dissociative
Identity Disorder
What exactly is going on to the conscious of a person with DID? Is the new personality still them? What in fact happens after our brains stop functioning? I guess only experience will really fill these gaps in understanding for us, but, you never know.
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Additional Reading: