can say is that it gets in and it was very comforting and that’s what I tell the medical community and families.”
The Science
The Hot Potato of Consciousness The confl ict between traditional reductive science and the lessons and experience of Dr. Alexander’s NDE led him to what he considers the most profound mystery in all of human knowledge. “The world of neuroscience,” he states, “is just coming to realize that they have a real hot potato here in the form of consciousness.” Dr. Alexander’s exploration of consciousness led him to the study of mysticism and conclusions about what consciousness is Not and about what consciousness Is. According to Dr. Alexander, consciousness is Not: “Linguistic brain” or “voice of reason”, Individualized ego, Intelligence (especially of the “artifi cial” type), Just a “human” quality, Simple neuroscientifi c view of sensory modalities and integration. And consciousness Is: Rich inner world of awareness of self, existing,
Knowing, Intuition, Accessible through meditation, centering prayer, etc. In his own words:
“What I really want to get at that rich inner world of self and existing ... During NDEs, the mystical bypasses all the limitations of the human brain and gets us to a place where we have real creativity ... What I’ve wrestled with is how in the world to reconcile the concept of disembodied consciousness with my scientifi c world view.” Before his NDE, Dr. Alexander was stuck in the classic model of neuronal networks. He states that he was locked into “thinking that everything about the brain and soul can be derived by knowing enough about the kind of electromagnetic interactions ten billion neurons, each with ten thousand connections in incredible complexity in this three pound ball of gelatinous mass.”
Partial answer: Quantum Physics According to Dr. Alexander, experiments in Quantum Physics are paving the way to a broader, nonreductionistic view of consciousness. The quantum
experiments are showing us, he states, not only that consciousness plays a crucial role in creating reality, but that consciousness actually creates that reality.
Beyond Quantum: Disembodies Consciousness
But the quantum experiments are missing a point, according to Dr. Alexander, a point that is being brought to the front of what needs to be considered by near-death experiences. NDEs have caused him to look at the hot potato of consciousness in a slightly different fashion. In his words: “Brain and mind models based in the physical realm, even those based in quantum mechanics ... They’re really failing to acknowledge many of the lessons coming out of NDEs. Quantum physics I do not think is at the root of explaining consciousness. I think that the results of the experiments are a symptom of the fundamental role that consciousness plays in forming reality. We really have to get beyond physicalism.”
Based on his own NDE and his exploration of other NDEs, Dr.
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34 T e Monthly Aspectarian - March 2012
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