The collective data suggested that consciousness is not localized to, or dependent upon, the brain. And further, it suggested that consciousness is primary in the universe—it is more fundamental than physical matter and exists beyond space and time.

Ineffability: NDEs are difficult to put into words. One NDEr states: “I regret that words can’t do my experience justice. I must admit that human language is woefully inadequate for conveying the full extent, the depth, and the other dimension I’ve seen. In fact, no pen can describe what I went through.”23 It is therefore difficult for someone who

But what do physicists mean by “observing”? It seems like a vague term. Does someone need to look with one’s eyes in order to convert wave-like behavior into particle-like behavior? Or does the wave function collapse occur because the observer uses an electronic measuring device, and that device somehow impacts the experiment?

“it is at this point that the consciousness enters the theory unavoidably and unalterably.”

The definition of consciousness depends on who you ask. For the purposes of this book, consciousness refers to the mind, one’s sense of awareness, and inner experience; it is the sense of experiencing life.

they are observed and like waves when they are not observed.

Consciousness is a topic typically not widely emphasized in the realm of physics. It’s normally explored by neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers. Physicists aren’t trained to think about it. It’s outside their domain of expertise.

If consciousness is indeed more fundamental than matter, as Planck, Jeans, Schiller, and others suggest, then the “paranormal”—“anomalies” in science, such as psychic abilities and the mind’s survival of bodily death—become expected. They are only paranormal or anomalous if we assume that consciousness comes from the brain. They make no sense in

“materialism”—the notion that physical material, known as “matter,” is fundamental in the universe. In other words, matter is the basis of all reality. Everything is comprised of matter, and everything can be reduced to matter.