Ian Stevenson, the consciousness researcher who reported thousands of cases of children who claimed to remember previous lives, observed, “It has been wisely said that the question of a life after death is the most important question that a scientist – or anyone – can ask.” He further stated, “I believe it is better to learn what is probable about important matters than to be certain about trivial ones.” Research into human survival of bodily death has involved approaches such as near-death and out-of-body experiences, mediumistic investigations, children who report previous lives, evidence of global consciousness, and apparently nonlocal manifestations of consciousness such as telepathy, clairvoyance, psychokinesis and precog- nition. In this presentation, physician Larry Dossey will explore the possibility of survival by examining the inadequacy of a materialist approach to consciousness, which forbids the possibility of survival of mind. He will show that a nonlocal model of consciousness implies infinitude in space (omnipresence) and time (eternality and immortality) for some aspect of who we are; and that, if unbounded in space and time, consciousness must in some sense be unitary and collective – the ancient vision of the Universal or One Mind. An omnipres- ent, eternal, and unitary aspect of consciousness resembles the concept of the soul in many spiritual traditions throughout human history. Generally considered a religious and faith- based idea, it is ironic that empirical science is producing evidence that is favorable toward such a view. Thus, the concept of soul is decidedly not obsolete, but may be more grounded than ever. Dr. Dossey will also discuss the ethical implications of a unitary, collective aspect of consciousness for the many global challenges that currently confront humanity.
Dr. Larry Dossey is an internal medicine physician, former Chief of Staff of Medical City Dallas Hospital, and former co-chairman of the Panel on Mind/Body Interventions, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health. He is executive editor of the peer-previewed journal Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing. He is the author of twelve books on the role of consciousness and spirituality in health, which have been translated into languages around the world. His most recent book is ONE MIND: How Our Individual Mind Is Part of a Greater Consciousness and Why It Matters. He lectures around the world.
