Science and the Continuity of Consciousness beyond the Brain The Immortal Mind (Paperback) - Common

by Ervin Laszlo

Scientific evidence for the continual presence of consciousness with or without connection to a living organism Examines findings on the survival of consciousness beyond life, including near-death experiences, after-death communication, and reincarnation Explains how this correlates precisely with cutting-edge physics theories on superstrings, information fields, and energy matrices Reveals how consciousness manifests in living beings to continue its evolution Evidence now points to consciousness existing beyond the brain, such as when the brain is temporarily incapacitated, as well as to the survival of consciousness after death. Conventional science prefers to dismiss these findings because they cannot be accommodated by a materialist view of reality. Spirituality and religion embrace the continuity of consciousness and ascribe it to a nonmaterial spirit or soul that is immortal. As such, spirituality/religion and science continually find conflict in their views. But what if there truly is no conflict? Based on a new scientific paradigm in sync with experience-based spirituality, Ervin Laszlo and Anthony Peake explore how consciousness is continually present in the cosmos and can exist without connection to a living organism. They examine the rapidly growing body of scientific evidence supporting the continuity of consciousness, including near-death experiences, after-death communication, reincarnation, and neurosensory information received in altered states. They explain how the persistence of consciousness beyond the demise of the body means that, in essence, we are not mortal--we continue to exist even when our physical existence has come to an end. This correlates precisely with cutting-edge physics, which posits that things in our plane of time and space are not intrinsically real but are manifestations of a hidden dimension where they exist in the form of superstrings, information fields, and energy matrices. With proof that consciousness is basic to the cosmos and immortal in its deeper, nonmanifest realm, Laszlo and Peake reveal the purpose of consciousness is to manifest in living beings in order to continuously evolve.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Psychology, Metaphysics, Spirituality

Unknown Binding

First published October 9, 2014

About the author

Ervin Laszlo is a systems philosopher, integral theorist, and classical pianist. Twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, he has authored more than 70 books, which have been translated into nineteen languages, and has published in excess of four hundred articles and research papers, including six volumes of piano recordings.

Dr. Laszlo is generally recognized as the founder of systems philosophy and general evolution theory, and serves as the founder-director of the General Evolution Research Group and as past president of the International Society for the Systems Sciences. He is also the recipient of the highest degree in philosophy and human sciences from the Sorbonne, the University of Paris, as well as of the coveted Artist Diploma of the Franz Liszt Academy of Budapest. Additional prizes and awards include four honorary doctorates.

His appointments have included research grants at Yale and Princeton Universities, professorships for philosophy, systems sciences, and future sciences at the Universities of Houston, Portland State, and Indiana, as well as Northwestern University and the State University of New York. His career also included guest professorships at various universities in Europe and the Far East. In addition, he worked as program director for the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). In 1999 he was was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Canadian International Institute of Advanced Studies in Systems Research and Cybernetics.

For many years he has served as president of the Club of Budapest, which he founded. He is an advisor to the UNESCO Director General, ambassador of the International Delphic Council, member of both the International Academy of Science, World Academy of Arts and Science, and the International Academy of Philosophy.

Reviews

[WiseB · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book should not be viewed as having sufficient science explanation or support for the consciousness of a brain. The best it can claim is to give many examples/evidences (6 chapters out of 10, 75% of the total pages) from various people recalling their "experience" based on "near death", "apparition", "past life recollection", "medium communication with passed away" and "reincarnation" encounter.

The 17 pages of the book that try to put some "science" perspective for consciousness has a lot of flaws to me ... especially when it begins by saying the use of the term "Akasha" as a paradigm can give a science-based conecpt that consciousness is the basic element ... and a deep dimension. It then trys to relate such dimension to String Theory, quantum physics and cosmo physics, which to me are just using misleading words instead of real science.

The only take away I have after reading the book is there are quite of lot to be explore and understand about consciousness (provided one believes in the examples), but definitely not what this book trys to convey from a science perspective.

[Clivemichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating narrative, numerous case studies and a compelling premise.
"Consciousness is a cosmic phenomenon merely transmitted and elaborated by the brain."

[Susan Aldridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

One borrowed from my husband's spirituality library! The author has impressive credentials - twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and the founder and president of The Club of Budapest, an international think tank, and also a systems scientist, integral theorist and classical pianist! The book is about the cosmic and immortal nature of consciousness. The first part covers experiences - near-death experiences, after-death communication, instrumental transcommunication (picking up voices of deceased people via radio transmission - an especially fascinating chapter) and reincarnation. Parts 2 and 3 are heavier going in that they cover the underlying science and make a coherent whole of the book. Thought-provoking and very-well written, to be recommended to anyone who wants to start to explore this fascinating topic!

[Michael LaDue · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is just baffling. The author will systematically present a somewhat interesting tidbit or phenomenon from neuroscience, and then randomly conclude that we have an immortal soul, without doing the philosophical work to connect the two. It is the most egregious example of confirmation bias I think I've ever read.

[JP · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final declaration was that the conscious is immortal
An amusing book about
Near Death Experience
Life after death
Reincarnation
Topic are discussed with lot of study and examples
Final chapter about conscious immortality was a final touch
Superb!!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wildly cool book. Definitely worth the read. Transformed my preexisting understanding of the universe and beyond.

[Graham Bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

It challenges the way you see life.

[Grete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating.

[John J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Answers "The Big Question"

The Big Question is whether human consciousness survives the death of the body. This book provides robust evidence that the answer is yes. There are three parts to this conclusion. Part I explores evidence supporting the "supernatural" phenomena of near-death experience, apparitions of deceased individuals, medium transcommunication, instrument transcommunication, past life recollection, and reincarnation. Part II examines the possible scientific bases of these phenomena, relying heavily on quantum entangle, cosmic holography, and the idea that information comprises the fundamental "substance" of the universe, and that space, time, matter, and energy are secondary and illusionary aspects of reality. Part III offers an explanation of the phenomena explored in Part I: That every one of them are different manifestations of the same reality; i.e., that there is only one consciousness and our separate consciousness are part of an indivisible whole. Moreover, these individual consciousness do not come from our physical brains, as material reductionism insists, but are merely manifested through our brains. Furthermore, our experiences, thoughts and emotions are indelibly encoded in the ashkaric record and can be retrieved and relived through other living brains.

I find the basic premise of this book to be quite believable. It touches on the groundbreaking work by Hameroff and Penrose into the nature of consciousness, cutting-edge experiments involving quantum entanglement, and a lifetime of research and field work by Dr. Ian Stevenson on reincarnation. The book also references strong anecdotal evidence for near-death experiences such as the very well-documented case of Pamela Reynolds.

"The Immortal Mind" also explores many of the world's belief systems, including ancient Greek, Hindu, Buddhist, and others in order to glean some additional insight into The Big Question.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, which I completed in two days and four sittings. I highly recommend it for a general audience as well as for those having a scientific background like myself.

https://sites.google.com/site/amateur...

[Leta ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7 ★

Wow. This was informative. Not a particularly intriguing book, but a very informative one. Most of the conclusions in the book I already came to by myself but it was great to finally read my thoughts explained with scientific facts & evidence. If you read this, you are bound to become more woke. Especially if you aren't yet on your spiritual journey.

The minute I saw the book in the library I knew I have to read it & that it's exactly for someone like me. I was right. This book confirmed a lot of my theories & provided a lot of sources of information & evidence.

Now let's get critical haha. The information isn't presented in the most interesting way. There are a lot of years, names, statistics. It's a scientific book so those are necessary, but that made my reading experience not so enjoyable. That was boring for me to read. This type of info is excessive if you ask me. Additionally, there are a lot of complicated scientific explanations. I think it should be more comprehensive so everyone can understand the point the author makes.

Another draw back: in the first part of the book there are stories, which are alike because the point is the same. That makes the ending predictable & I find it hard & annoying to read all of them although they are actually worth a read. It's just the way the stories are written that I don't like. But the book is original. I've never read something like that. I like the way the author discussed the topic.

I'm a spiritual person, who is interested in the occult & etc. so this book, despite the mediocre writing style, was actually very good for me. It helped me in multiple ways. The information in it is very important. I reckon everyone should know these things. So if you are into the below listed genres the read it!

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Philosophy, Metaphysics, Spirituality
Trigger warning: death, murder
Content ★★★★
Writing style ★★★★
Presentation ★★★★★
Enjoyment ★★★

[Robin Houghton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible book that combines either verified or well argued evidence with scientific theories, some of which are very, very recent and as up-to date as you could wish for, to show the possibility of the immortality of consciousness in a clear and understandable way.
Whilst I am familiar with the various fields of evidence discussed, most of the case studies presented were new to me, and I have read a lot about these fields. Scientifically it becomes highly technical at times, but these areas are re-explained in simpler terms to further clarify the points being made in laymans terms.
Personally, this has been a revelation to read and has resolved many of my deeper questions I have been looking for answers to for many years. Though my thinking was on the right lines in most cases, it was clouded by side issues. This book has directed my thinking in a very logical manner, answered my main questions and explained and answered the others I was struggling with.
There is a comprehensive index in the back as well a list of reference sources and books of related interest.
This is a book I will be referring back to and rereading parts to reinforce my understanding.
It has been a lot to take in and I am sure it is going to shake up my belief system over the next few weeks and give me even more to ponder.

[Paul Kjoss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Measured, Non-Sensational and Methodical

If you are looking for a down-to-earth read about the out-of-this-world subject of life after death, near death experiences, reincarnation and how these subjects seem to meld with current scientific discoveries and theories, this is an excellent book to start with.

The author approaches each subject one at a time, clearly presenting and building his argument as the book progresses.

The second half of the book deals with some pretty high-level physics, and you may want to take a bit of time to Google some of the science he discusses to help understand it if it seems a bit daunting. It is worth the effort, as the picture the author paints in bringing all the subject matter together is very compelling.

A main takeaway for me from this book is that anyone who thinks that ‘talking with the dead’, life after death, reincarnation and all those kind of subjects are nonsense, fakery or fanciful - well, how are you going to deal with the arguably even more bizarre world of quantum physics that our scientists are discovering more and more of every day. Once you delve into all that, you’ll probably find its a lot easier to just decide to believe in ghosts...

To paraphrase a famous quotation- “If quantum mechanics doesn’t shock you, you don’t understand quantum mechanics”

[Virgínia Mareco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devorei/I devoured it

Eu li este livro em português, «A Mente Imortal, A ciência e a continuidade da consciência além do cérebro», Editora «Sinais de Fogo», coleção «Outro Olhar». Talvez se a comunidade, à luz de novas descobertas fidedignas, cresse que é imortal, as mentalidades e a postura na vida sofressem uma mudança para melhor, de encontro a valores de união, caridade, desmaterialização, e, assim, alcançássemos um mundo melhor.

I read this book in Portuguese, «A Mente Imortal, A ciência e a continuidade da consciência além do cérebro», «Sinais de Fogo» Publisher, «Outro Olhar» collection. Perhaps if the community, in light of new credible findings, believed that she is immortal, the mentality and attitude in life suffered a change for the better, in favor of values of unity, charity, dematerialization, and thus reached a better world .

[Kenneth Bachmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of an extension on his prior works, this book focused largely on anecdotal descriptions of near death experiences, accounts of interventions of mediums, and accounts of reincarnation events. A couple of chapters dealt with the science of consciousness beyond the brain, but in the end this book emphasized the teachings of mystics, ancient greeks, and more recent accounts of NDEs to affirm the idea that consciousness persists beyond living brains. The science could have been enormously bolstered if he had devoted a chapter to Donald D. Hoffman, but the latter did not even get an honorable mention. That was extremely disappointing.

[Michael Hammond Jr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very boring in my opinion. There was not that much scientific evidence in my opinion. It was good in telling stories of possible contact with the afterlife, but at the beginning. Then it just started sounding like ghost adventure stuff. Like oh this could possibly be this person from the afterlife. In my opinion this book was a let down mid-way through the book.

[Bob Ladle · Rating 4 out of 5]

this lends proof to the idea we exist in a holographic data field. while not incontrovertible the science backs the model presented here.