JUST WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE?

We are more than our current physical bodies and circumstances!

Exploring Past Life Stories, The Power of Our Thoughts, and What Happens When We Die

by Shari Harris

www.shari-harris.com

Consciousness Beyond the Brain

Greetings!

My August, 2022, newsletter focused on Near-Death Experiences and included experiences of Dr. Raymond Moody, Dr. Eban Alexander, and Jeffrey Olsen, whose works impart the message that our consciousness remains intact even after our brain ceases to function.  The implication is that consciousness is not produced by the brain. In this issue, I continue the discussion of consciousness.

The theory that the brain creates consciousness is still assumed to be established science by many scientists and the medical community, although according to the authors included in this issue, more researchers are now beginning to understand that there is much yet to learn in this area. Among those studying consciousness today are three pioneers in the field whom I highlight in this issue.

Edgar Mitchell was an astronaut, a Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 14, and the sixth person to walk on the moon.  He writes about a life-changing spiritual awareness he experienced on that return trip which was the impetus for founding the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) in 1973. Since then, IONS has been at the forefront of the scientific investigation of consciousness and its role in our lives and the physical world. www.noetic.org

Dr. Eben Alexander, whose near-death experience was featured in the August issue,  wrote Living in a Mindful Universe: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Heart of Consciousness. In it, he shares the "next phase of his journey to comprehend the true nature of consciousness. His challenge parallels a revolutionary shift now underway within modern scientific understanding of the nature of reality." www.ebenalexander.com

Dr. Chris Walton, PhD, is a Doctor of Integrative Medicine and a Performance Psychologist who specializes in personal change and peak performance. Walton is the author of The Gamma Mindset, in which he asserts that "[t]he mainstream assumption is that consciousnesses comes from the brain. That somehow the activity of the brain gives us consciousness and allows us to be self aware. However this view has been superseded now and the new science is very clear that consciousness does not arise from the brain...." www.gammamindset.com

Each of these pioneers describes, in his own way in his own field, his view that consciousness exists beyond the brain. As Walton states it, "Your brain doesn't create consciousness, it receives it."

I am sharing my excitement in the study of consciousness because, to me, the fact that scientists and others are realizing that our consciousness does not depend on our brain function lends credence to the continuation of life and our continuing self awareness after our bodies die. 

I hope you enjoy this brief summary of studies in consciousness. Perhaps it will spark in you an interest to read further about the topic or at least an awareness that many scientists are finding confirmation that our consciousness continues after death.

Be well and enjoy your amazing life! We can choose joy!

Sending my love,

Shari

Just Who Do We Think We Are?

Edgar Mitchell Says...

"Suddenly, from behind the rim of the moon, in long, slow-motion moments of immense majesty, there emerges a sparkling blue and white jewel, a light, delicate, sky-blue sphere laced with slowly swirling veils of white, rising gradually like a small pearl in a thick sea of black mystery. It takes more than a moment to fully realize this is Earth...home. My view of our planet was a glimpse of divinity."

"When I went to the moon, I was a pragmatic test pilot. But when I saw the planet Earth floating in the vastness of space, the presence of divinity became almost palpable and I knew that life in the universe was not just an accident. I experienced an ecstacy of unity. I not only saw the connectedness, I felt it and experienced it sentiently. The restraints and boundaries of flesh and bone fell away."

"I knew "for sure - that there was a purposefulness of flow, of energy, of time, of space in the cosmos - that it was beyond man's rational ability to understand....  I suddenly experienced the universe as intelligent, loving, harmonious.”

― Edgar Mitchell  

https://noetic.org/

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Edgar Dean Mitchell was a United States Navy officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, ufologist and NASA astronaut. He was a member of the support crew for Apollo 9, and a backup pilot for Apollo 10. His sole spaceflight was as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 14, the third lunar landing mission, launched January 31, 1971.

50 years ago, Mitchell became the sixth person to walk on the moon. On the Apollo 14 mission, his purpose was to conduct research on the lunar surface. "As his mission came to an end, however, an entirely new purpose emerged—one that would define his life for decades to come and contribute to the awakening of the planet."

Mitchell was deeply affected by his experience on the moon-landing mission, especially by a profound epiphany that occurred during the ride back to earth. He clearly saw the "fundamental presence of consciousness throughout the universe" while gazing out the window of the command module.

He came back to found the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), which to this day carries out his mission to explore the profound mystery of consciousness itself.  Since 1973, IONS has been at the forefront of the scientific investigation, conducting research on frontier topics in consciousness and its impact in our lives and the physical world.

Today, IONS has the world’s largest team of multidisciplinary scientists studying consciousness, each of whom are experts in their domains. They have published over 300 peer-reviewed papers and have presented research findings at hundreds of conferences internationally.

https://noetic.org/blog/remembering-astronaut-edgar-mitchell

Paraphrased from http://noetic.org

Just Who Do We Think We Are?

Dr. Eben Alexander Says...

"Remember that many of the assumptions and beliefs hosted by our world are falsely limiting. You are more than just your thoughts, more than just your ego, much more than just your physical body and brain."

"After reviewing my medical records, it was clear to me that our notions of the brain’s role in creating consciousness were false. In fact, it’s the other way around: consciousness is a fundamental property of the universe, and the brain merely serves as a filter for consciousness, our very awareness."

"Since this realization, I have discovered over a hundred scientists around the world pursuing research that fully supports this scientific concept."

www.ebenalexander.com

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Eben Alexander, MD, was an academic neurosurgeon for over 25 years. He is the author of the New York Times #1 bestsellers Proof of Heaven and The Map of Heaven. His third book, co-authored with Karen Newell, Living in a Mindful Universe, was released in October 2017. 

In November, 2008, Dr. Alexander fell into a coma and was put on a ventilator due to a rare bacterial meningo-encephalitis, from which doctors feared he would not recover because his brain showed no activity. After a week in coma, he surprised his doctors by awakening. He had temporarily forgotten details of his current life but had vivid memories of a "fantastic odyssey into another realm – more real than this earthly one!"

Dr. Alexander recorded the memories of his experiences during the coma before reading accounts of other near-death experiences, which eventually astonished him by how similar they were to his own.

"His experience clearly revealed that we are conscious in spite of our brain – that, in fact, consciousness is at the root of all existence."

Alexander writes that "academic study of near-death experience cases by scientists around the world provides implications for the nature of consciousness and may provide proof of the existence of the human soul. The tip of the spear in demonstrating mind and consciousness independent of the physical brain remains firmly in the realm of near-death experiences and related studies."

Paraphrased and quoted from

www.ebenalexander.com

Just Who Do We Think We Are?

Dr. Chris Walton Says...

"The mainstream assumption is that consciousnesses comes from the brain. That somehow the activity of the brain gives us consciousness and allows us to be self aware. However this view has been superseded now and the new science is very clear."

"Consciousness does not arise from the brain, it is something different, it is that non-physical part of us, a flow of energy and information that connects us to each other and the living world."

_______________________________

Dr. Chris Walton, PhD, is a Doctor of Integrative Medicine and a Performance Psychologist who Specializes in Personal Change and Peak Performance.

Walton is the Best-Selling author of The Gamma Mindset – Create World Champion Self-Belief in 5 Minutes Per Day and Peak Performance in 60 Seconds – The 4 Essentials to Maximize Your Energy, Resilience and Performance.

"When you wake up in the morning and become conscious of who you are, you witness the most mysterious phenomena in the world; Human Consciousness. No-one knows what makes a human being conscious, it is a complete mystery. The old paradigm says thought and really everything non-tangible about us that makes us the unique individuals that we are—is caused by the brain. BUT…

Frontier science is revealing the extent to which the mind must be thought of as an energy and information field that interpenetrates every cell of the body and spreads out beyond the body to connect to the entire cosmos and everything in it."

"So when it comes down to our individual human consciousness, we see that the brain is more like a satellite dish receiving information from the field of consciousness...which then directs the brain of what signals to send into the body."

Dr. Chris Walton, PhD

https://www.gammamindset.com/why-it-works/

https://www.gammamindset.com/brain-doesnt-create-consciousness

"The main thrust of modern scientific studies of consciousness is revealing that we are spiritual beings living in a spiritual universe."

Dr. Eben Alexander

http://www.ebenalexander.com

What if consciousness is not an emergent property of the brain? Observational and empirical challenges to materialistic models

September 7, 2022

Arnaud Delorme, PhD, Cédric Cannard, Dean Radin, PhD, Helané Wahbeh, ND, MCR

What is Consciousness?

The term “consciousness” means different things to different audiences. From a lay perspective, the fact of consciousness (here meaning awareness) is so self-evident that the only question that may arise is why anyone would consider consciousness to be mysterious in the first place, akin to asking a fish, “What is water?” From a scientific perspective, the unsolved mystery is how consciousness emerges from brain activity. How does a three-pound lump of tissue inside the skull give rise to a mind that is self-aware and enjoys subjective experience?

A Word on the Law of Attraction by Louise Dunn

We have the power to manifest our dreams and reach for the blessed more.

In a very real sense the desires of our heart are memories of God awakening as specific things and experiences we want to attract. And the awesome truth is that we have the power to manifest our dreams at any point in our life. 

The quickest way to the future we desire

is through grateful contentment in the now.

How to enter the Zone of Grateful Contentment:

Before you begin, find a place where you can quietly sit undisturbed for a few minutes. 5 to 10 minutes is ideal.

• With eyes closed if you can, think of one thing you want to attract or manifest in your life at this time.
• Hold the thought, image, and feeling of this desire already fulfilled for a moment and then just let it go.
• Breathe and relax into the place of quiet calm within your mind. 
• Mentally say the phrase, "I am grateful for..." and fill in the blank. Do this several times, allowing a sense of true gratefulness to keep expanding in your heart.
• Notice how deep contentment begins to spread throughout your whole being - body, mind, heart, and soul. Rest in the spaciousness and peace of grateful contentment as long as you want.

You are now in the highly charged frequency of creation. There is nothing more for you to do and you can return to your usual activities at will.  

Louise Dunn, Indianapolis, IN

[email protected]

www.louisedunn.com

My Message

I have three primary topics about which I collect authors' thoughts and which I love to share with others who are interested. I feel that the world will be more loving and inclusive when these ideas are better understood, and individuals will have more clarity about who they are and why they are here. My focus is on Reincarnation, The Law of Attraction, and The Afterlife which are expressed in my statement of belief:

Just Who Do We Think We Are?

Shari Says...

I believe we are eternal spiritual beings who are currently

living one of our many lives on Earth and who are the co-creators

of our experiences through our thoughts and beliefs.

Shari Harris

About Future Crunch: "We are a team of science communicators based in Melbourne, Australia. We curate stories of good news, mind-blowing science, human progress, and we support small charities using science and technology to make the world a better place. More than 40,000 people subscribe to our free, fortnightly email newsletter." (https://futurecrun.ch/). There is also an in-depth subscription newsletter.

I LOVE TO SEND YOU MORE GOOD NEWS!

Good things are happening in the world that we may not have heard about! Shari

Just a few good news items from the October 21, 2022, issue:



"Earlier this week global leaders confirmed $2.6 billion in funding for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The funds will support efforts to overcome the final hurdles to polio eradication, vaccinate 370 million children annually over the next five years, and continue surveillance across 50 countries. “No place is safe until polio has been eradicated everywhere." WHO

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"The past quarter century has witnessed an unprecedented decline in US child poverty. In 1993, more than one in four children lived in families living below the poverty threshold. 26 years later, that number has fallen to roughly one in 10. The magnitude of this decline - 59% - is unequalled in the history of poverty reduction efforts in the United States." Child Trends

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"Slovenia's parliament has passed an amendment allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt after a constitutional court ruling earlier this year made it the first country in Eastern Europe to do so. "With these changes, we are recognizing the rights of same-sex couples that they should have had for a long time." Euro News

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"EV battery manufacturing in the United States is about to go nuts. Six gigafactories, worth around $5 billion, were announced between 2018 and 2020. Since the start of 2021, more than 15 new facilities or expansions have been announced, reflecting a potential investment of more than $40 billion. Enough building for you, Marc Andreessen?" Dallas Fed

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Previous Issues of

"Just Who Do We Think We Are?"

are available on

Shari's website under the "My Two Cents" tab.

1-30-22: Just who Do We Think We Are? Vol. 3 #1/Gregg Braden: The Science of Self Empowerment

2-28-22: Just Who Do We Think We Are? Vol. 3 #2/Do We Plan Our Lives Before Birth?

4-17-22: Just Who Do We Think We Are? Vol. 3 #3/What is Channeling?

6-14-22: Just Who Do We Think We Are? Vol.3 #4/ Are Civil War Reenactors Remembering a Past Life?

7-31-22: Just Who Do We Think We Are? Vol. 3 #5/Lee Mitchell/Past Life Regression

8-22-22: Just Who Do We Think We Are? Vol. 3 #6/What Do NDEs Teach Us About Death?

9-26-22: Just Who Do We Think We Are? Vol. 3 #7/Reincarnation from Antietam to Ground Zero/Jeffrey Keen