It has been a dozen years since Physics of the Soul was first published and I am happy to say that the theory, data, and conclusions reported in this book remain ever more validated. In short, survival after death and reincarnation are valid scientific concepts.
When you read Physics of the Soul, you will discover that the central theory of survival after death and reincarnation reported in the book crucially depends on a concept called quantum memory. The idea is that part of our memory (call it quantum memory), specifically that of our learning, is nonlocal, which means that this memory resides not locally in the brain but outside of space and time altogether. In this way, this memory can transmigrate across space and time without signals, without transfer of energy. The question of energy is important because antagonists of the idea of survival after death make big hoopla about the fact that the weight of a living body does not change with death.
Also crucial is to understand that survival means nothing much if it is not a part of us that defines us in essence. If you think about it, your history may not be your essence but what you learn in your life. If this concept is too jolting in this materialist age, understand that this is what spiritual traditions have told us for millennia; quantum physics is just validating their contention.
Nonlocality—signalless communication—is a quantum concept. Although experimentally verified, many physicists are skeptical about its validity, especially in the macroscopic domain of reality. Don't worry! I have reported the data in the body of the book; just keep an open mind when you explore the idea.
If it still sounds like too much of a risk to invest in a theory of survival and reincarnation, scientific as it may be, relax. There is much empirical evidence precisely for this quantum model of survival and reincarnation that the book will present and I won't mention here. There is however, one piece of astounding data I will present that I inadvertently left out of the book.
There is direct evidence that suggests that the memory of a learned propensity is nonlocal. In the nineteen sixties, the neurophysiologist Karl Lashley did an experiment in which he was trying to study the location of the learning of a propensity in the brain. So he trained rats to find cheese in a Y-maze and then systematically began to chop off parts of the rat's brain to test if the propensity remained. Strangely, he found that even with fifty percent of its brain removed, a trained rat found its way to the cheese. The only viable conclusion is that the learned memory of a propensity is nonlocal, for which the ancient term is akashic, a Sanskrit word meaning outside of space and time. (Another conclusion that the brain is holographic was popular for a while but is no longer considered viable.)
So go ahead, believe it! The idea that our memory of learning resides outside of space and time, that is, it is nonlocal, is scientific. It is not foolhardy to explore it. There really is much to gain from your exploration. It will change your lifestyle from pessimism-dominance to optimism for one thing. If you are already optimistic, these ideas will give you a sense of personal purpose and meaning that you will find soul-satisfying.
Explore, explore!
There are too many ideas, meanings, and values
To explore in one life, you say.
Never fear. Your death is only a renewal.
The human condition is unique!
You do come back again and again!
Aren't you curious?
What is at the end of your exploration?
For me, developing a theory of survival after death and reincarnation has been a most rewarding journey. As you will read, the journey began with an old lady asking me “What happens when we die?” I did not know then, nor did I believe that we can know. But a Theosophist came into my life and reminded me of traditions that do believe and that in fact, I grew up in one of those traditions. Then a dream came with a challenge, “The Tibetan Book of the Dead is correct, and it is your job to prove it!” And finally, a woman, a graduate student in philosophy to boot, wanted me to counsel her about grieving over her boyfriend's death. This series of synchronicities led me to the discoveries reported here.
As you read the book, you will see that the theory presented here also explains another highly controversial phenomenon—channeling. Channeling is the phenomenon in which people called channelers claim to embody the “soul” of deceased people. Considering that all alternative models of channeling are based on some kind of dualism, the model explored here is the only scientific explanation of these phenomena.
According to this model, only the learned propensities or character of the deceased can be channeled. This is verified by experiments reported in the book. Here I want to add a few comments:
1. Many channelers not only channel entities and perform unusual feats, but they also present ideas and story lines, insisting that these come from the channeled entities. These claims should be viewed with suspicion.
2. What makes channeling possible between a channeler and a channeled entity? Not everyone can channel! I think that some people die with the special intention that their learned propensities be available to the world of humans even while they are discarnate; other people, channelers, are psychics with specially honed intentions for channeling.
3. Can we all learn channeling? I have written in a book called Creative Evolution on how a few people can change the course of human evolution by working on developing positive emotional brain circuits working in a community (much like a tribal entity of the old). The idea is that in a few generations much of humanity will be born with such brain circuits; the transmission will be made via the nonlocal memory of their morphogenetic fields—an idea of Rupert Sheldrake's further developed in this book. I really think that if we use intentions for channeling en masse, the nonlocal propagation of the learned propensities will speed up.
One final comment. I told the story of a young woman coming to me for counseling on grieving. I did not know what to counsel her then. Now I do: Get over your grieving as soon as you can because your grieving is holding up the intentions of the deceased person. Let him go free.
Enjoy the book. This research has changed my life. I hope it will enrich yours.