As a species, humans are exceptionally skilled at talking themselves out of things. We tell ourselves that experiences having the greatest intensity cannot be real because others have said they are impossible; we deny the results of scientific experiments because the results do not align with the expectations of popular theories – despite the fact that disproving (and hence improving) current theories is the entire point of science. People who have had Near Death Experiences (NDEs) assure us that our “normal” waking understanding of the universe is, at best, woefully incomplete if not completely wrong. Scientific experiments have produced data that are inconsistent with a materialism worldview, that say that time and space are consequences of cognition, not the other way around. In this talk we will review this evidence and explore its implications. We will talk about how to conceive of a reality in which time and space are cognitive tools of narrative, and what this means for us in living our lives and reenvisioning what is meant by our own mortality.
NDEs are powerful, transformative experiences. In fact, if everyone had one, it is easy to imagine the world quickly transitioning away from its current materialism focus towards a far healthier and happier understanding that we are parts of an interconnected whole. Alas, the ethics of giving near-death experiences to everyone is questionable at best (despite an understandable desire to do so for those most in need of such a transformation), and so we must seek other approaches. In this presentation, I will share ways in which we can leverage knowledge of NDEs in complement with other evidence to pursue this transformative effect.
The key takeaways of the talk will be; the importance of sharing awareness of NDEs, particularly in ways that allow people to accept the information comfortably; the presence of scientific evidence that provide additional evidence for a non-materialist worldview; and how to use these awarenesses to cultivate habits and behaviors in our own lives that will both lead to greater happiness and (hopefully) motivate others to follow in our footsteps.
Dr. Jeffrey Dunne is the President of the International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL), a charitable research organization established in the late 1990’s to build upon the foundation established by the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) Laboratory. In addition to his role with ICRL, Jeff is a researcher and Chief Scientist at the Johns Hopkins University in a variety of fields ranging from acoustics and cybersecurity to data science and artificial intelligence. Dr. Dunne runs retreats on consciousness, mindfulness, and language, and is also an award-winning author and playwright with nearly two hundred plays that have been performed over four continents. In his 2023 novel, “Nexus“, Jeff unites three decades of scientific experience with four decades of pursuits in philosophy and metaphysics to weave a story that introduces the scientific principle of syntropy and its importance in finding balance at every scale – personal, societal, and global. Jeff’s driving passion is to help transform our world such that materialism gives way to the recognition of the crucial role that consciousness plays in the formation of reality.
Website: https://icrl.org
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffdunne/
https://www.facebook.com/icrlabs
Books: https://www.amazon.com/Nexus-Jeff-Dunne/dp/1936033410
