Harvard neuroscientist Dr. Eben Alexander argues that there are no scientific or neurological explanations for his experience of the “afterlife.” He said that science shows that the brain does not create consciousness & that there is reason to believe our consciousness continues after death. He reveals what happened when he ‘Died.’
In 2008, Dr. Alexander with over 25 years of experience, fell into a coma caused by a severe strain of E. coli bacteria. His condition was so serious that doctors gave him less than a 10% chance of survival, and even if he did recover, they expected he would need lifelong care in a nursing home. However, he made a full recovery and described an extraordinary near-death experience (NDE) that occurred while his brain was completely inactive. He shared this experience in his book, Proof of Heaven, a bestseller.
Before his NDE, Dr. Alexander had heard similar stories from patients but dismissed them as hallucinations. He admitted that he never seriously considered them, thinking they had no scientific basis. In Proof of Heaven, he acknowledges that he was wrong and criticizes those who ignore evidence of consciousness beyond the physical brain, calling them “willfully ignorant.”
Since his experience, Dr. Alexander has shifted his focus to exploring the nature of consciousness. He questions whether the brain creates consciousness or if it is simply a filter for a spiritual reality. In his book Living in a Mindful Universe, he delves deeper into the science behind consciousness and explores mysteries like where memories are stored and what we can learn from the “other side.”
He said: Conventional science can be called reductive materialism, or physicalism—basically, that only the physical world exists. This means that thoughts, emotions, perceptions, and memories are merely epiphenomena of the physical workings of the brain, and thus have no real existence in their own right. Thus, according to materialism, consciousness is no more than the confusing result of the chemical reactions and electrical fluxes in the substance of the brain. Major consequences of this view are that our existence is birth-to-death, and nothing more, and that free will itself is a complete illusion. If conscious awareness is nothing more than chemical reactions, there is no place for “free will” to play a role.
“The brain is more a prison from which our conscious awareness is liberated at the time of bodily death, enabling a robust afterlife that also involves reincarnation.”
My new view, and one that is emerging in neuroscience and philosophy of mind, is the exact opposite: that soul/spirit is what exists, and projects all of apparent physical reality from within itself. The brain is more a prison from which our conscious awareness is liberated at the time of bodily death, enabling a robust afterlife that also involves reincarnation. Our choices matter tremendously, and thus free will is a crucial component of evolving reality. (Source)
Dr. Alexander asserts that despite our extensive knowledge of the brain’s workings, it is not the producer of consciousness. This notion is supported by various clinical examples, including terminal lucidity, acquired savant syndrome, and hallucinogenic substance studies.
Terminal lucidity, for instance, refers to the phenomenon where elderly patients with dementia exhibit increased reflectiveness and communication skills around the time of death. This is remarkable, as it suggests that consciousness can emerge independently of the brain’s deteriorating condition. Similarly, acquired savant syndrome occurs when individuals with brain damage or disorders, such as autism, display extraordinary mental abilities, like superhuman memory or calculation skills. These cases challenge the idea that the brain is the sole generator of consciousness.
Furthermore, studies using functional MRI (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) have investigated the effects of hallucinogenic substances like psilocybin, DMT, and LSD on brain activity. Surprisingly, these studies reveal that the most profound conscious experiences are associated with reduced brain activity, not increased. This finding is consistent with Dr. Alexander’s personal experience during a coma in 2008, where he experienced an explosion of vivid, ultra-real conscious awareness despite severe damage to his neocortex.
Dr. Alexander emphasizes that the “hard problem of consciousness” cannot be solved by physicalism alone, which is the idea that consciousness arises solely from physical processes in the brain. He argues that we need to investigate beyond the physical brain to understand consciousness. This perspective is shared by Dr. Wilder Penfield, a prominent neurosurgeon, who concluded in his 1975 book “Mystery of the Mind” that the brain does not explain the mind, consciousness, free will, or memory storage.
“We need to accept that full explanation of mind and consciousness must involve investigation beyond just the physical substance of the brain.”
Brain is not the creator of consciousness
Dr. Eben Alexander discusses a scientific revolution regarding the mind-brain relationship, leading to a shift in our worldview.
He argues that the brain is not the creator of consciousness but rather a filter or reducing valve that allows primordial consciousness to emerge. He believes that consciousness generates the entire universe and is fundamental, citing evidence from non-local consciousness, reincarnation, and quantum physics.
Dr. Alexander suggests that our experiences are not directly related to the external world but are instead models created within our minds. He emphasizes the importance of the conscious observer in quantum physics, stating that consciousness determines outcomes, not mechanistic chemical reactions or physical laws.
Brain is not the creator of consciousness
Dr. Eben Alexander discusses a scientific revolution regarding the mind-brain relationship, leading to a shift in our worldview.
He argues that the brain is not the creator of consciousness but rather a filter or reducing valve that… pic.twitter.com/gpGkabJ7uE
— Vicky Verma (@Unexplained2020) September 8, 2024
He asserts that this understanding does not destroy existing knowledge but rather opens doors to a broader understanding, suggesting that the brain allows certain conscious states to exist. Dr. Alexander concludes that we are conscious in spite of our brains and that our conscious awareness expands significantly when our physical bodies die.
Dr. Eben Alexander explains that the chasm between materialist science and those who believe in the survival of the soul or consciousness beyond the brain stems from the scientific revolution that began 400 years ago. At that time, scientists like Galileo and Newton focused on defining physical laws, avoiding discussions of mind and consciousness to avoid persecution. This led to a centuries-long emphasis on physicalism, where the physical world was seen as the basis of reality, and human awareness was viewed as a subcategory of the physical.
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However, Dr. Alexander argues that this approach failed to recognize the importance of subjective reality and the mind’s role in perceiving and generating reality. Quantum physics, he notes, has shown that consciousness plays a primary role in initiating emerging reality, but many physicists struggle to accept this due to the long-held notion that the world can be explained through physical matter alone. Some physicists are even advised to “shut up and calculate” and ignore the counterintuitive properties of the subatomic world.
“The problem is they failed to realize that subjective reality is the only thing any human being can possibly know to exist.”
Dr. Alexander believes that materialism is an easy but limited approach to understanding reality, failing to explain conscious awareness and human experiences. He advocates for a grander worldview, metaphysical idealism, which posits that consciousness is fundamental in the universe and that the physical world emerges from consciousness. This perspective, he suggests, can bridge the chasm between materialist science and those who believe in the survival of consciousness beyond the brain.
Dr. Alexander: “Filter theory makes the most sense to me—that the physical brain serves as a filter, only allowing in limited states of conscious awareness. The brain certainly manages many functions of the human body and gives us our linguistic capabilities and ability to analyze and solve problems.
But these seemingly superior traits (as compared to other species) often serve to limit us from the full spectrum of what is possible. The production model of physicalism (that is, that the physical brain creates consciousness out of the purely physical matter of the brain) is the least reasonable of the options to explain consciousness, and fails miserably at providing any explanatory potential.”
The worldview of idealism (that our consciousness creates all of unfolding reality) opens the door to the extraordinary potential each and every one of us has to influence our lives. We are all a part of this consciousness and it’s incumbent on each of us to uncover the truth of who we truly are.
“The veil is part of the ‘programmed forgetting,’ an intentional loss of memories from past lives and between lives that gives us ‘skin in the game.’”
Dr. Eben Alexander said his exploration of binaural beat sound technology, a form of brain entrainment, to recreate the neocortical inactivation he experienced during his coma. He wanted to reconnect with the spiritual realms and beings he encountered during his near-death experience (NDE) without coming close to death.
Dr. Alexander found binaural beats to be crucial in his spiritual journey, allowing him to reconnect with the realms and forces of love he experienced during his NDE. He specifically mentions the tones developed by Kevin Kossi and Karen Newell of Sacred Acoustics as being powerful tools for his exploration. (Source)
In addition to binaural beats, Dr. Alexander has also explored past life regressions but prefers self-generated investigations using Sacred Acoustics audio recordings to explore his consciousness. He has successfully revisited the spiritual realms he encountered during his coma and continues to develop his connection with his higher soul.
In essence, Dr. Alexander is using sound technology and meditation to explore his consciousness, reconnect with spiritual realms, and deepen his understanding of his higher self.
He said, “I believe that fundamentally the universe exists so that sentient beings can learn and teach in this “soul school,” the sum result of which is the evolution of consciousness itself. Such learning necessitates that we not be privy to all that is known by our higher soul. However, we reconnect with the spiritual realm after bodily death, in the process of a life review; encounters with the souls of those in our soul group; and re-immersion into that ocean of unconditional love represented by God and similar concepts by those who have had such rich, spiritually transformative experiences. We can also access our higher soul through prolonged and extensive programs of “going within,” or meditation practiced throughout our lives.”
