Consciousness Beyond the Body with Marjorie Woollacott

Last week Bernardo said that he considers Marjorie Woollacott the world's academic authority on Near-Death Experiences, so we were lucky to have her step in today when a last-minute problem meant Bernardo was unavailable for this session.

We've postponed the planned dialogue with Bernardo to Tues 3rd of Feb.

Marjorie shared her conclusions from over forty years of research, and we heard reflections from several community members. Whilst this meeting was grounded in Marjorie's scientific and research backgrounds, it was also very touching, with experiences shared that were both personal and profound.

Amongst many topics, we discussed:

• Modelling the layers of reality in idealism
• Distinguishing illusion from reality
• Research on consciousness without neural activity
• 900 accounts of after death communication
• The 'eyeball rolling' threshold

Do alters need bodies? (is there a "soul?")

After decades of study of both neuroscience and nonduality (from Kashmir to Kabballah), Marjorie is of the view that consciousness is primary, and normal awareness filters out most of reality.

This filter can be reduced through meditation, psychedelics and near-death experiences, allowing for more expansive states, telepathy, precognition and an experience of oneness.

The large number of reports also indicates that some kind of individuated perspective continues after bodily death.

On the 3rd of Feb we'll discuss with Bernardo his intuition that there might be a dualistic process happening on the idealist operating system we call reality.

Resources shared by members

The chat is always filled with the wonderful knowledge shared by members of the group.

There is a members' meeting this Sat organised by Fabiana - you can find the details on Telegram or the link below.

From Ron - an example of an anomalous voice out of pure white noise, no radio or microphone involved. Software filtered and slowed down. Closed circuit system.

Jamey shared his article on freedom of the will vs. determinism, and psychotherapy:

If You Could’ve Done Better, You Would Have

We often want to help people with their regrets, by telling them: “ If you could have done any better, you would have . The reason you didn’t, is that you were constrained by your trauma background, your history.” They reply that this is a slippery slope; that if they allow themselves the solace of

Jamey Hecht, PhD, PsyD, LMFTJamey Hecht

Tukdam is said to be a rare meditative state in Tibetan Buddhism where advanced practitioners remain in deep absorption for days or weeks after clinical death, exhibiting lifelike bodies with minimal decomposition, radiant skin, and no odor, seen as a sign of high spiritual attainment

A film was made on the phenomena which can be seen here :

Traversing the 4th dimension

A question was raised about how an alter might experience aspects of our reality without us having any awareness of these entities or out of body perspectives.

I thought this fun video from Carl Sagan could be relevant:

Marjorie Hines Woollacott, PhD

Marjorie Woollacott is a neuroscientist, author, and Emeritus Professor of Human Physiology at the University of Oregon. She is known for her interdisciplinary research in neuroscience, motor control, rehabilitation, meditation, and consciousness studies. She served as chair of the Human Physiology Department at the University of Oregon and currently serving as the Research Director for the International Association for Near-Death Studies and President of the Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences

Time Stamps

0:00:00 Greetings
0:03:36 Marjorie’s background
0:11:30 meditation improves attention
0:14:30 Theories of consciousness & reality
0:16:50 Neuroscience aligning with Nondual Kashmiri Shaivism
0:20:30 Getting back to peak experiences
0:30:00 Agency after death? 
0:35:00 Communication after death - 900 accounts
0:47:00 Limits of models: materialism & idealism
0:53:00 Anomalous vocal phenomena
1:00:00 The moving target of plausibility 
1:01:00 Spiritual initiation & distinguishing illusion from reality
:05:00 Science of consciousness without neural activity
1:09:00 Tukdam - Tibetan meditation after death
1:16:00 Questioning perception after death
1:22:00 The variety of NDEs and experience of love
1:27:00 Esoteric traditions from around the world Kashmir to Kabbalah 
1:34:00 Free Will & Instant change from NDE
1:40:00 Explaining the variations in after death reports
1:45:00 Terminal lucidity - sudden return to awareness before death

Recording 20th Jan