A Burst of Conscious Light

A Burst of Conscious Light
Author: Andrew Silverman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2020-02-11
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1620559641

Provides evidence that human consciousness can never be reproduced and exposes the perils of artificial intelligence • Explains how consciousness transcends the brain and body through quantum theory and accounts of consciousness in the clinically dead • Shares scientific evidence of how the image on the Shroud of Turin was produced and connects these findings to evidence concerning near-death experiences • Reveals how consciousness cannot be reproduced by a machine and how attempts to do so threaten what makes us human Stephen Hawking once said that the unanticipated consequences of artificial intelligence will be the greatest threat to humanity’s survival. In this book, Dr. Andrew Silverman reveals why the powerful consciousness of the human mind could never be manufactured and so cannot be reproduced with technology. Integrating extensive scientific research from three seemingly unrelated fields of study--quantum mechanics, near-death experiences, and the Shroud of Turin--Silverman reveals the pitfalls and perils of artificial intelligence and addresses the fundamentally flawed thinking that underlies it. Drawing on his work as one of the leading experts on the Shroud of Turin as well as research by scientists from NASA and Los Alamos, he shows how the image on the Shroud could only have been produced by a flash of light as intense as a nuclear explosion--a burst of light that occurred after the body was in the tomb. Sharing medical evidence of consciousness in people declared clinically dead, the author shows how the light of consciousness evidenced by the Shroud is also a consistent feature of most near-death experiences. Exploring the non-local nature of consciousness--how it transcends the physical brain and body, Silverman explains why the human mind cannot be reduced to a computer and examines what separates sentient beings from machines. He shows how getting caught up in the push for artificial intelligence and the technological quest for immortality--through the attempt to “download” our minds onto computers--will only lead us to devalue and erase what makes us unique and irreplaceable in this cold, dark universe: our humanity.

A Burst of Light

A Burst of Light
Author: Audre Lorde
Publisher: Courier Dover Publications
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2017-09-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0486818993

Moving, incisive, and enduringly relevant writings by the African-American poet and feminist include her thoughts on the radical implications of self-care and living with cancer as well as essays on racism, lesbian culture, and political activism.

Philosophy, Theology, and Hegel's Berlin Philosophy of Religion, 1821-1827

Philosophy, Theology, and Hegel's Berlin Philosophy of Religion, 1821-1827
Author: Philip M. Merklinger
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 1993-08-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780791414927

This book examines Hegel’s contribution to the debate about the relationship between philosophy and theology, reason and faith. The author locates the debate within the philosophy of religion, displaying that there is a need for philosophy to enter into dialogue with, and to reflect upon, the contents of theology. Utilizing the recently published critical editions of Hegel’s Berlin Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion, the author substantiates this insight by tracing dialectically the development of Hegel’s notion of the philosophy of religion through the 1821, 1824, and 1827 lecture-series on religion. Not only does the author demonstrate that philosophy needs to incorporate theology in its thinking, but he also establishes that such incorporation means that the philosophy of religion will be a continuously developing mode of reflection. Indeed, the author notes this developing philosophy of religion can, for Hegel, only take place through dialectical interaction with the leading theologies and theologians of one’s time. The book shows that this inner development of the philosophy of religion is also the inner development of the Spirit itself.

The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain

The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain
Author: Kevin Nelson
Publisher: Penguin Group
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2012-02-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0452297583

"Bold, provocative, and highly readable." -V. S. Ramachandran, M.D., author of Phantoms in the Brain What are near-death experiences, out-of-body sensations, and spiritual ecstasy? And what do they have in common? Perhaps no one is more qualified to answer these questions than renowned neurobiologist Dr. Kevin Nelson. Drawing on his more than three decades of groundbreaking research into the "borderlands of consciousness," Dr. Nelson offers an unprecedented journey into the site of spiritual experience: the brain. Filled with amazing firsthand accounts as varied as a patient seeing the devil battling with his guardian angel to a man watching the universe synchronize around a pinball machine, The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain is an eloquent examination of our brains' spiritual "hardwiring" that will enthrall believers and skeptics alike.

The Basic Humor Process

The Basic Humor Process
Author: Robert L. Latta
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2011-09-08
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3110806134

The River of Consciousness

The River of Consciousness
Author: Oliver Sacks
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2017-10-24
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0385352573

From the bestselling author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, a collection of essays that displays Oliver Sacks's passionate engagement with the most compelling ideas of human endeavor: evolution, creativity, memory, time, consciousness, and experience. "Curious, avid and thrillingly fluent." —The New York Times Book Review In the pieces that comprise The River of Consciousness, Dr. Sacks takes on evolution, botany, chemistry, medicine, neuroscience, and the arts, and calls upon his great scientific and creative heroes--above all, Darwin, Freud, and William James. For Sacks, these thinkers were constant companions from an early age. The questions they explored--the meaning of evolution, the roots of creativity, and the nature of consciousness--lie at the heart of science and of this book. The River of Consciousness demonstrates Sacks's unparalleled ability to make unexpected connections, his sheer joy in knowledge, and his unceasing, timeless endeavor to understand what makes us human.

The Christ Is Not a Person

The Christ Is Not a Person
Author: J. C. Tefft
Publisher: iUniverse
Total Pages: 497
Release: 2009-02
Genre: Bible
ISBN: 0595511333

Why are we born? For what purpose are we here? The longer we remain unaware of what is taking place within us of what drives us and what can liberate us from the bonds of egocentric behavior the longer we allow what the Buddha called the sorrow of life to hold sway. The sorrow of life is the sum and consequence of our total identification with the world that is created by self. The word Consciousness means something more than what the mind of self thinks, imagines, or conceives. Awareness in Pure Consciousness is an awareness that is other than self and beyond thought. Contrary to traditional thinking, the so-called unseen, unknown world is nothing more than Consciousness of which we are unaware. Unawareness in Consciousness has been evolving into Awareness in Consciousness since before time began. The author of this work comprehensively sets forth a meaning of ancient scripture that likely has not been advanced to you before. He demystifies ancient legends and myths so the essential truth of ancient teachings shines through. Using ancient scripture as a guide, he insightfully explores a growing conscious awareness that has been emerging within mankind over the last few thousand years. A must read for anyone looking to discover the deeper meaning of ancient scripture beyond a literal interpretation of the words.

Psychiatry and the Spirit World

Psychiatry and the Spirit World
Author: Alan Sanderson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2022-12-20
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1644115778

A psychiatrist’s comprehensive examination of evidence for the survival of consciousness after death • Explains the author’s practice of psychiatric spirit release, centered on the spiritual and psychic aspects of emotional disturbance • Offers profound accounts of the survival of the spirit after death, from ancient times to the present day, including near-death experiences, out-of-body experiences, reincarnation, and dreams • Examines evidence for mediumship, clairvoyance, telepathy, and the psychic aspects of heart transplants After a twenty-year break from practice, Alan Sanderson returned to clinical psychiatry at age fifty-nine and soon realized that many of his patients were plagued by troublesome earthbound spirits, some of whom had been attached across lifetimes to multiple incarnations as well as multiple hosts. By talking with these attached spirits and persuading them to leave their hosts, Dr. Sanderson found remarkable success in the treatment of his patients. Now, more than 30 years later, Dr. Sanderson shares his extensive research on the afterlife, the survival of consciousness after physical death, and paranormal phenomena related to the spirit world. He explains his practice of psychiatric spirit release, centered on the spiritual and psychic aspects of emotional disturbance, and shares case studies complete with full accounts of treatment sessions. He offers first-hand accounts of the survival of the spirit after death, from ancient times to the present day, and explores end-of-life experiences, including what is witnessed by the living people in the room, as well as profound accounts of near-death experiences, out-of-body experiences, and reincarnation. He examines evidence for mediumship, clairvoyance, telepathy, and the psychic aspects of heart transplants. He also details cases of remote healing, further proving the existence of connections beyond the material world. Presenting a wealth of evidence, as well as suggestions for new treatment possibilities for mental health problems, Dr. Sanderson offers a comprehensive examination of spirit existence and the survival of consciousness after death.

Is Science Compatible with Free Will?

Is Science Compatible with Free Will?
Author: Antoine Suarez
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 477
Release: 2012-12-22
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1461452120

Anyone who claims the right ‘to choose how to live their life’ excludes any purely deterministic description of their brain in terms of genes, chemicals or environmental influences. For example, when an author of a text expresses his thoughts, he assumes that, in typing the text, he governs the firing of the neurons in his brain and the movement of his fingers through the exercise of his own free will: what he writes is not completely pre-determined at the beginning of the universe. Yet in the field of neuroscience today, determinism dominates. There is a conflict between the daily life conviction that a human being has free will, and deterministic neuroscience. When faced with this conflict two alternative positions are possible: Either human freedom is an illusion, or deterministic neuroscience is not the last word on the brain and will eventually be superseded by a neuroscience that admits processes not completely determined by the past. This book investigates whether it is possible to have a science in which there is room for human freedom. The book generally concludes that the world and the brain are governed to some extent by non-material agencies, and limited consciousness does not abolish free will and responsibility. The authors present perspectives coming from different disciplines (Neuroscience, Quantumphysics and Philosophy) and range from those focusing on the scientific background, to those highlighting rather more a philosophical analysis. However, all chapters share a common characteristic: they take current scientific observations and data as a basis from which to draw philosophical implications. It is these features that make this volume unique, an exceptional interdisciplinary approach combining scientific strength and philosophical profundity. We are convinced that it will strongly stimulate the debate and contribute to new insights in the mind-brain relationship. ​