In Search of Immortality
11/26/2021 - The Bigelow contest, officially known as the BICS contest, is the
first contest of its kind to explore if there is evidence for consciousness
outside of the body. Over 1,000 people from around the world participated in
this contest. Just over two hundred essays were allowed to proceed to
convince the judges that "Yes" consciousness can, and does, exist
separately from the body - even after death. Many questions were explored,
such as: What is consciousness?; What evidence is convincing? How do we
know? A distinguished panel of judges evaluated the BICS essays and
constituted one of the most stringent and scholarly peer-reviews
conceivable. Dr. Pim van Lommel, one of the leading researchers in the world
on Consciousness, and Dr. Jeff Long, founder of NDERF and media
personality, brought home significant prizes. Dr. van Lommel was awarded
the number 2 prize and Dr. Long was in the runner-up group. (Click the links
above to read these papers) For the NDE community, this is one of the
highest public affirmations of the validity of NDE, as well as other types of
paranormal experiences that are actually "normal." A hearty congratulations
for these life-time achievement awards in moving humanity forwards!
(see BICS essay contest: https://www.bigelowinstitute.org/index.php/essay-
contest/).
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excerpt
THE CONTINUITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
A concept based on scientific research on near-death experiences during
cardiac arrest
Abstract
Pim van Lommel, MD
Department of Cardiology, Rijnstate Hospital, Arnhem, The Netherlands
"In this article the concept of the continuity of consciousness will be
described, based mainly on recent scientific research on near-death
experiences (NDE), but also on other experiences of enhanced
consciousness. Since the publication of several prospective studies on NDE
in survivors of cardiac arrest, with strikingly similar results and conclusions,
the phenomenon of the NDE can no longer be scientifically ignored. The NDE
seems to be an authentic experience which cannot be simply reduced to
imagination, fear of death, hallucination, psychosis, the use of drugs, or
oxygen deficiency. According to these prospective studies, the current
materialistic view of the relationship between consciousness and the brain as
held by most physicians, philosophers, and psychologists is too restricted for
a proper understanding of this phenomenon. There are now good reasons to
assume that our consciousness does not always coincide with the
functioning of our brain: enhanced or nonlocal consciousness can
sometimes be experienced separately from the body. The general conclusion
of scientific research on NDE is indeed that our enhanced consciousness
does not reside in our brain and is not limited to our brain. Our consciousness
seems to be nonlocal, and our brain facilitates rather than produces the
experience of that consciousness. It is evident that these findings are
important for our concepts of life and death, because of the almost
unavoidable conclusion that at the time of physical death consciousness will
continue to be experienced in another realm, one that encompasses past,
present, and future. Death is only the end of our physicality. Without a body
we can still have conscious experiences, we are still conscious beings. In this
article examples will be given of experiences of nonlocal consciousness
beyond the brain, for instance during a period when the brain is either non-
functioning or malfunctioning. Other experiences of nonlocal consciousness
will also be mentioned, including contact with the consciousness of
deceased relatives during special states of consciousness, or the effect of
consciousness on the brain as witnessed in neuroplasticity. The primacy of
consciousness will also be discussed. All these findings make the concept of
the continuity of consciousness highly probable. Based on these ideas it
seems obvious that death, like birth, may be a mere passing from one state
of consciousness into another.
Keywords: near-death experience, cardiac arrest, mind-brain relationship,
nonlocal consciousness, continuity of consciousness, primacy of
consciousness.
Introduction... "
CONTINUES
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