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Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Speakers on Friday the 19 October.
09.00 am: MAKING SPACE AND TIME FOR MIND
Bernard Carr
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Abstract
Science is traditionally concerned with the outer material world, which is assumed to correspond to some form of objective reality,
rather than the inner mental world (memories, dreams, psychic and mystical experiences), which is assumed to be purely subjective.
Its domain is experiment rather than experience. However, this dichotomy is at variance with recent indications from science itself
that consciousness is a fundamental rather than incidental feature of the universe. Nor does it sit easily with the findings of psychical
research, which suggest that the mental world has some attributes of externality, while the material world has some attributes of internality.
Experiences of the transpersonal kind also indicate that the mental world may contain higher levels of reality which go beyond the physical.
This suggests that one needs a new scientific paradigm which incorporates mentality in some radically new way. Since many psychic phenomena
involve a direct interaction between mind and the physical world, this paradigm is likely to require some sort of extension of physics.
A crucial clue as to its nature may be that both the material and mental worlds involve some form of space, so the description ’outer space’
and ’inner space’ might be used in this context. In the words of Paul Brunton, �we must learn to mentalise space and spatialise mind�.
Both worlds also involve the experience of time, although the relationship between mental time and physical time is not fully understood.
It is suggested that these spaces can be integrated into a communal space which has more than the usual three dimensions of space and one
dimension of time, an idea which is linked with recent developments in physics. More precisely, one needs a hierarchy of spaces, associated
with the full range of mental experiences from normal to paranormal to mystical. This �Universal Structure�, as it is termed, might be regarded
as a higher-dimensional information space and it may provide the basis for a ’Grand Unified Theory’ of matter and mind, analogous to the
physicists’ ’Grand Unified Theory’ of matter, which amalgamates matter and mind at a very fundamental level.
Bernard Carr is Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy at Queen Mary, University of London.
He was President of the Society for Psychical Research in the period 2000-2004 and he
is now the chairman of the Scientific and Medical Network.
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10.00 am: THE IMPACT OF THE NEWLY EMERGING SCIENCE UPON SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION
William H. Kautz
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Abstract
Recent discoveries in basic physics, biology and parapsychology are forcing major shifts in the way science will have to be
carried out in future decades,
if it is to continue to serve society as manˈs primary source of knowledge and understanding, and the recognized arbiter of
the validity of new knowledge from any source. As scientific explorers we are already being compelled to revise our perspective,
methodology and criteria of validity so as to accommodate these changes. This means that we will have to modify, circumvent or
discard entirely some of the root metaphysical assumptions on which science is based. A revised approach must somehow allow the
inclusion of subjective experience, non-replicability, top-down explanations (the opposite of reductionism), recognition of manˈs
non-dual nature and intuitive ways for gaining new knowledge. I describe the current limitations of science which must be
transcended, then sort out which of science's underlying assumptions may be retained, which must be dropped and which might be
modified to meet the emerging need. Other ways of knowing beside traditional scientific means will be described and assessed.
We may them sketch out what the revised science will look like from this fresh perspective.
William Kautz had involvement in various research fields as Staff Scientist at SRI International (Stanford Research Institute).
He was then Founder and Director of the Center
for Applied Intuition in San Francisco. He is the author of seven books and fifty articles in science and intuition.
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10.30 am: COULD SPIRITUAL REALISM MAP A SCIENTIFICALLY PLAUSIBLE ONTOLOGY?
David Rousseau
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Abstract
Current scientific research reveals that spirituality facilitates health, quality of life and social welfare1.
However, the sciences reject that spiritual beliefs could map onto a validating ontological foundation.
Spiritual persons regard life as intrinsically meaningful, involving some absolute values, ultimate goals, real choices and free actions2
(�Spiritual Realism�). In contrast, the dominant scientific views entail that values and meanings merely map social conventions
(Constructivism), that apparent free will and agency do not map anything beyond random or stochastic processes (Physicalism),
and that the phenomenal world does not map a mind-independent reality (the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics,
a form of Idealism). I will argue that Constructivism, Physicalism and Quantum Idealism are mutually reinforcing perspectives,
bounding science�s �reality map� to set up an indefeasible presumption against the �metaphysical drift� of the evidences that appear
to support Spiritual Realism3-6. In this light I argue for the significance, to spirituality studies, of the recent discovery that
Quantum Idealism is flawed and that Quantum Mechanics should be interpreted realistically7-9. I argue that it is now scientifically
credible to approach evidences appearing to favour Spiritual Realism from a perspective of critical realism, and this might produce a
scientific ontology that supports Spiritual Realism.
David Rousseau is affiliated with the School of Theology, Religious Studies and Islamic Studies, University of Wales Trinity Saint David,
and the Centre for Axionetics Research, Surrey, UK
References
1. Koenig, H., King, D., & Carson, V. B. (2012). Handbook of Religion and Health (2nd ed.). OUP USA.
2. Emmons, R. A. (1999). The Psychology of Ultimate Concerns: Motivation and Spirituality in Personality. Guilford Press.
3. Bartal, I. B.-A., Decety, J., & Mason, P. (2011). Empathy and Pro-Social Behavior in Rats. Science, 334(6061), 1427�1430.
4. Hamlin, J. K., Wynn, K., & Bloom, P. (2007). Social evaluation by preverbal infants. Nature, 450(7169), 557�559.
5. Pyysi�inen, I., & Hauser, M. (2010). The origins of religion: evolved adaptation or by-product? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 14(3), 104�109.
6. Davis, C. F. (1989). The Evidential Force of Religious Experience. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
7. Christian, J. (2007). Disproof of Bell�s Theorem by Clifford Algebra Valued Local Variables. arXiv:quant-ph/0703179v3.
8. Christian, J. (2011a). Restoring Local Causality and Objective Reality to the Entangled Photons. arXiv:1106.0748v5 [quant-ph].
9. Christian, J. (2011b). Refutation of Some Arguments Against my Disproof of Bell�s Theorem. arXiv:1110.5876.
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11.30 am: THE NEUROPHYSICS OF MIND AND CONSCIOUSNESS - A THEORETICAL MODEL OF EMERGENCE,
EVOLUTION, PSI AND SURVIVAL
Jim Beichler
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Abstract
New research indicates that the "living force" can be equated to the overall matter/energy pattern of an organism,
while mind and consciousness are the electric and magnetic counterparts of the matter/energy pattern. In fact, all l
iving organisms are complex material/energy patterns (comprising the structural and biochemical body) supplemented by
extremely complex electric (electromagnetic scalar potential) field patterns and magnetic (electromagnetic vector potential)
field patterns, constituting mind and consciousness. The brain alone should no longer be considered the home of mind and
consciousness in the body. It only seems so because of the dense concentration of neurons in the brain. A strict study of
the magnetic vector potential field patterns associated with neurons and neural nets demonstrates how thoughts and streams
of thought originate in the brain and are stored magnetically at and within the points in space-time occupied by the brain and body.
Microtubules, which act as bio-magnetic induction coils, form electromagnetic transceivers in conjunction with axon wall
capacitors within neurons. They are the primary structural bio-unit used for building, storing and retrieving memories in the mind.
Mind and consciousness could thus be considered a four-dimensional electric-magnetic potential field holographic body that maintains
a semi-independent existence and survives death.
Professor Beichler has been teaching Physics, Mathematics, History and Philosophy of Science and European History as well as
other related subjects at the university and college level for more than three decades.
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12.00 pm: "HERE AND NOW" - A TIME-MIND-SPACE-MATTER CONTINUUM?
Andrew Silverman
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Abstract
We are all arguably ’here and now’. It is my contention that if we understand ’here and now’ we will better understand Mind and the material Universe as well as the connection between the two.
Schrödinger1 pointed out that "Mind is always NOW" (my emphasis). I will discuss how he derived from this the argument that mind is eternal and that at the fundamental level all Mind is One.
Professor Roger Penrose2 has suggested that we will understand Consciousness better once we have arrived at a unification between Quantum Theory and Relativity.
Professor Lee Smolin3 has pointed out that the Laws of Physics as currently understood don't imply in themselves either the existence of the ’Now’ or what we experience as the ’flow’ of time.
He also cautioned3 against the logical flaws inherent in seeing space and time as a ’given’- as simply the ’when and where’ of substance and events.
I suggest that in considering the relationship between these four concepts we would do well to acknowledge an ’elephant in the room’.
If there is such a thing as freedom of will then this could perhaps be a clue to the nature and properties of all four.
Andrew Silverman is a medical doctor with research interests in the nature of free will and the relationship between mind and matter.
References
[1] Erwin Schrödinger: "What is Life?" Cambridge University Press 1944
[2] Roger Penrose: "The Emperor�s New Mind" Oxford University Press 1989
[3] Lee Smolin: "The Trouble with Physics" Penguin 2007
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02.00 pm: WEAVING THE GARMENT OF COSMOS: AN INQUIRY INTO THE NATURE OF MATTER �
A CONFLUENCE OF SCIENTIFIC AND OCCULT PERSPECTIVES
Edi Bilimoria
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Abstract
The subject matter of this presentation will be woven around two seminal affirmations that seem to allude to a reconciliation
between the perennial wisdom and modern science into the nature of Matter: first, the philosophical scientist Goethe, who affirmed,
’Thus at the roaring loom of Time I ply, And weave for God the garment thou see’st Him by’; then the scientific philosopher
Einstein who pronounced, ’We may therefore regard matter as being constituted by the regions of space in which the field is
extremely intense. There is no place in this new kind of physics both for the field and matter for the field is the only reality’.
We attempt to demonstrate two things. Firstly, that the ancient sages used remarkable metaphysical reasoning to prove that all
matter could be reduced to a complex of forces, and that modern physics is increasingly (but covertly) acknowledging this
�aggregation of forces� nature of matter. Secondly, that ’mmatter’ is a generalized term encompassing the infinite grades of
subtlety from the most etherealized, or spiritualized, down to the grossest physical material; so that physical matter is not
a separate concept, but rather the bottom rung of the principle of matter as understood by Occult Science, namely, its lowest,
or physicalized expression.
Educated at the universities of London, Sussex and Oxford, Edi Bilimoria works as a Consultant Engineer. He is a lifelong student,
lecturer and author of the perennial philosophy and also a classical pianist. Edi currently serves on the SMN Board in the Education Domain.
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02.30 pm: THE DEPARTED AMONG THE LIVING.
AN INVESTIGATIVE STUDY OF ENCOUNTERS WITH THOSE WHO HAVE DIED
Erlendur Haraldsson Ph.D
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Abstract
Accounts of appearances of those who have died are not only found in the literature of the Icelandic sagas and in the plays of
Shakespeare but also in modern large-sample representative surveys. The European Values Survey that was conducted in most countries
of Western Europe in the 1980s indicates that 25% of the population of Western Europe had �felt as though they were really in touch
with someone who had died�. In the USA, Iceland and Italy this figure was even higher and in some countries it was considerably lower.
What is it that people experience and interpret as an encounter with someone who has died, or being "really in touch with someone
who has died"? How are the deceased perceived or felt? Who are the dead thus encountered? Are they relatives and loved ones or
unknown ghostly figures? Under what circumstances do such experiences occur? In darkness or daylight, when fully awake and going
about ones daily business, or when resting or in bed? Are those who report these experiences a specific group of people and common
folks?
In 450 in-depth interviews with persons who reported such experiences we attempted to get answers to these and many more questions.
Analyses of the data revealed interesting patterns and characteristics. I will give a as detailed a presentation of the
various findings as time permits.
Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, University of Iceland
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03.00 pm: BUILDING ALIEN WORLDS - THE NEUROPHARMACOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY IMPLICATIONS OF THE DMT FLASH
Andrew Gallimore
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Abstract
Arguably the most remarkable property of the human brain is its ability to construct the world that appears to consciousness.
The brain is capable of building worlds during waking life, but also in the complete absence of extrinsic sensory data, entirely
from intrinsic thalamocortical activity, as during dreaming. DMT, an extraordinary psychedelic, perturbs brain chemistry such that
indescribably bizarre and apparently alien worlds are built. This property of DMT continues to defy explanation. However, by
regarding this unique molecule as equivalent to serotonin, an endogenous neuromodulator with a long-standing relationship with
the brain, DMT�s effects may be explained. Serotonin has evolved to hold the brain�s thalamocortical system in a state in which
the consensus world is built. When serotonin is replaced by DMT, the thalamocortical system shifts into an equivalent state, but
one in which an apparently alien world is built. This suggests that DMT may be an ancestral neuromodulator, at one time secreted
endogenously in psychedelic concentrations � a function apparently now lost. However, DMT maintains a number of unique
pharmacological characteristics and a peculiar affinity with the human brain that supports this hypothesis. Thus, the modern
practice of ingesting pure DMT may be the reconstitution of an ancestral function.
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04.00 pm: QUIRKS OF THE QUANTUM MIND
Robert Jahn and Brenda Dunne
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Abstract
Unlike efforts to define consciousness as a product of quantum mechanics, we propose a more radical thesis: namely, that quantum mechanics,
like any other model of human experience, is both a reflection and product of the human mind as it seeks to comprehend and explain its
observations and experiences of the physical world. Indeed, any scheme of conceptual organization developed to represent reality must
necessarily reflect the processes of consciousness as well as those of its environment. In this spirit, we have appropriated the concepts
and formalisms of elementary quantum mechanics, via metaphor, to represent the consciousness/ environment interaction. To articulate this
metaphor, certain mathematical aspects of the quantum mechanical formalism, such as the coordinate system, the quantum numbers, and even the
metric itself, are associated with various impressionistic descriptors of consciousness, such as its intensity, perspective, approach/avoidance
attitude, balance between cognitive and emotional activity, and passive/active disposition. For example, consciousness may be described in
terms of a quantum mechanical wave function, and its environment, including its own physical corpus, by appropriate potential profiles.
Schrödinger wave mechanics can then yield eigenfunctions and eigenvalues that may be associated with the subjective experiences of a given
consciousness in a given situation.
International Consciousness Research Laboratories, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
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