Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience (38 page)

All of these carefully executed and replicated empirical studies confirm the nonlocal properties of consciousness and point to a nonlocal entanglement in biological and macroscopic systems such as the brain. Neither the classical physics model of science nor contemporary biological theories can account for this correlation of biological systems. Whether or not quantum theory is capable of doing so is a question I will try to answer in the next few sections.

The Interface Between Nonlocal Consciousness and the Brain

The human brain is an extremely complex and in many respects mysterious organ with physiological, chemical, and biological properties. But because consciousness is not physiological, chemical, or biological, the brain is much harder to analyze. Mathematician and physicist Roger Penrose has argued that on theoretical grounds consciousness cannot be produced by the brain.
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He has also demonstrated that computers will never be able to fully replicate or produce consciousness.

I believe that while quantum physics cannot explain the origins of our consciousness, nonlocal consciousness does have a lot of common ground with widely accepted concepts from quantum physics. In my opinion, quantum physics can help us understand the transition from consciousness in nonlocal space to embodied waking consciousness in our physical, visible world. The aforementioned nonlocal entanglement of consciousness in biological and macroscopic systems, which has been demonstrated by the instantaneous information transfer between the brains of two separated subjects resulting in identical EEG and fMRI patterns, can be considered as an initial contribution to explain the transition from aspects of nonlocal consciousness to the brain.

Theories Addressing the Transition from Nonlocal Consciousness to the Physical Brain

The following sections feature technical descriptions of three different interface or place-of-resonance models that may be able to explain the transition from nonlocal consciousness to the physical brain.

All three are complementary models in which subjective conscious experiences and their corresponding objective, physical brain activities are two fundamentally different manifestations of the same underlying nonlocal reality that cannot be reduced to one another. It is important to realize that, in keeping with current interpretations of quantum physics, all three models see the electromagnetic fields of the brain not as the cause but as the effect or consequence of consciousness. The three theories on the interface or place of resonance are, respectively, the link between nonlocal consciousness and (virtual) photons; the influence of nonlocal consciousness on the brain via the quantum Zeno effect; and the nonlocal information transfer from consciousness via quantum spin correlation. All three models require future elaboration by the scientific community. It is possible to skip these technical sections and finish this chapter with the conclusion.

How the exact transition (“place of resonance”) from nonlocal space to the physical world comes about is not known. In fact, the process will probably never be fully knowable or verifiable. The potential role of DMT in establishing or disrupting this transition or interface will be equally difficult to prove.
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This means that we will probably never have any experimental evidence for the actual transition or interface between consciousness and the brain. Quantum physics allows for several theoretical possibilities, which are all speculative to a certain degree—fundamentally difficult to prove or disprove. In the previous chapter I discussed a few quantum-mechanical concepts for the transition from consciousness to the brain. Of the following three theories, my personal preference goes to the third, although I believe that all three models are a genuine possibility and in some way complement one another. In the near future, these three models will have to be researched and developed in greater detail.

The Link Between Consciousness and (Virtual) Photons

Consciousness is nonlocal, that is, everywhere in nonlocal space and intrinsically entangled with all potential information stored in wave functions. Consciousness triggers collapse of the wave function and is thus the source of embodied waking consciousness. There is a theoretical possibility that consciousness in nonlocal space is linked to—or serves as the basis for—the electromagnetic field connected to the nervous system and the brain. In that case consciousness would be hitchhiking, as it were, on the electromagnetic field that probably originates, like consciousness, in nonlocal space. As we saw earlier, neurobiologist Herms Romijn developed this hypothesis, which is based on coherent systems.
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In physics, coherence is used as a measure of the possible interference of waves. Two waves are coherent when they are capable of forming an interference pattern and storing information. On the basis of the principle of coherent systems created through self-organization, Romijn posits that the constantly changing electric and magnetic fields of the neuronal networks can be seen as a biological quantum-coherence phenomenon. It creates the conditions for complementary systems. This would make the electromagnetic fields, which Romijn believes may be based on “virtual” photons, meaning seemingly or possibly real photons, the carriers or the product of nonlocal consciousness.
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There is general agreement about the (extremely short) existence of virtual particles, being in a constant process of creation and annihilation. By viewing the electromagnetic fields as a biological quantum phenomenon, Romijn avoids the criticism that the brain is a macroscopic, warm system that naturally causes decoherence (the leak of information) and therefore rules out quantum processes. Given the nonperiodic (unpredictable) nature of consciousness, he proposes a complementary theory with a hitchhiking consciousness capable of translating the physical periodicity (regular recurrence) of dead matter into the nonperiodic processes of living matter in nonlocal space.

The process shows a certain analogy with the double-slit experiment, in which as soon as the intensity of the light dwindles from a massive bombardment to the transmission of individual photons there is a shift from an electromagnetic wave to a probability wave. In the case of a single photon, no electromagnetic wave can be measured, but the (immeasurable) probability wave is used to statistically predict where the photon will hit the photographic plate. Perhaps we could apply this to the brain, with brain activity measured through the registration of the electromagnetic field (EEG). In the event of a cardiac arrest this electromagnetic activity will slow to individual pulses with extremely low electromagnetic energy so that these minimal energy packets (pulses) come to resemble individual photons. These minimal energy packets must then be described with the probability waves from quantum physics instead of the electromagnetic waves from classical physics. When the electromagnetic activity can no longer be measured, it does not mean that there are no more probability waves. In fact, this is where the probability wave becomes a useful descriptor. In theory, the complete loss of brain function is still accompanied by (immeasurable) probability waves. Any potential influence on the minimal processes occurring in the brain at that moment cannot be ruled out (the neurons’ pilot-light state). NDE studies suggest that during the loss of all measurable brain function people continue to experience nonlocal consciousness; this nonlocal consciousness is theoretically based on probability waves.

The Influence of Consciousness via
the Quantum Zeno Effect

We turn now to the position of quantum physicist Henry Stapp. As mentioned in the previous chapter, he calls quantum theories “psychophysical” laws, and with this he explains the causal effect of consciousness on neural processes. In this model consciousness can exert an influence only on neural processes and not on physical reality. If we make a series of successive observations in a quantum system, the effect of the observation appears to freeze, the constantly changing system appears to slow to a halt, and this is known as the quantum Zeno effect.
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Stapp compares this quantum effect with the mind’s effect on the brain: constant attention to an idea or concept produces a permanent change in brain function. He believes that the empirical fact of neuroplasticity could be an indicator of the brain’s quantum function. The crux of Stapp’s approach is that his quantum description of the brain is essentially holistic: it describes overall brain function rather than a model of the brain based on computer science. Using the principle of the quantum Zeno effect, Stapp, like Romijn, avoids the criticism that the brain is a macroscopic, warm system that rules out quantum processes. From the studies cited we know that quantum processes really do take place in the brain. But like Romijn’s theory, Stapp’s fails to explain why certain consciousness processes activate certain brain centers.

Information Transfer via Quantum
Spin Correlation in the Brain

Nonlocal information transfer could happen via nuclear spin resonance, which is also known as quantum spin correlation or quantum spin coherence. To recap, a spin is a fundamental property of nature, akin to electric charge or mass. All the smallest particles, such as protons, neutrons, and electrons, have a spin that is either positive or negative and that is always a multiple of one-half. Individual, unpaired particles have a spin of
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/2. This unpaired nuclear spin plays an important role in MRI. A positive and a negative spin together make the visible manifestation of the spin disappear. In a magnetic field a particle with spin can absorb a photon or a wave function with a particular frequency (as noted before, information is encoded as differences in frequencies). The nuclei of all molecules in all of our body’s cells, including neurons and neurons’ cell membranes, consist of a number of positively charged protons and uncharged neutrons, collectively known as nucleons, usually with a neutralized spin. Like all molecules in our body, the same applies to the DNA in each cell.

In information transfer via quantum spin correlation (nuclear spin resonance), overall brain function should be likened to a quantum hologram and the brain to a parallel-linked quantum processing unit capable of decoding information that enters nonlocally. Nuclear spin resonance is the principle underlying magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), for which, as for a quantum hologram, there is evidence of nonlocal information exchange on the basis of the coherence of the phase relationship of wave functions.
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For an MRI the hydrogen nuclei in the water and the fats of the neurons must align themselves with the magnetic field on the basis of quantum-mechanical laws, with the protons of the hydrogen nuclei aligning themselves parallel or antiparallel to the inducing magnetic field. The nuclear spin resonance of MRI is induced by a magnetic field that is approximately 100,000 times more powerful than the Earth’s magnetic field, but this is not to say that a far less powerful field cannot have the same effect on a smaller scale. This is suggested by some recent studies, which will be quoted later. Alain Aspect’s experiment, which provided definitive proof of nonlocal entanglement, also drew on magnetic influence and measurement of the spin direction of a “first” particle, instantaneously (faster than the speed of light) revealing the spin direction of the “second,” the remote particle.

The reciprocal information transfer between nonlocal consciousness in nonlocal space and the brain (the interface) could also rest on quantum spin coherence, which is established under the influence of (virtual) photons. The sole explanation for this information transfer is the fact that the brain is capable of performing a Fourier transform. A Fourier transform is a mathematical operation used to convert a linear system (time) into wave functions or frequencies and vice versa. This analysis or transformation is frequently applied to harmony in music, the forecast of tides (high and low tide), digital signal processing, and systems analysis. In quantum mechanics the Fourier transform also applies to Schrödinger’s probability waves. We have proof of the brain being capable of performing a Fourier transform because this Fourier transform also forms the basis for the effect of nuclear spin resonance during an MRI brain scan. But what is the effect of a Fourier transform in the brain? It may be compared to a musician with perfect pitch who hears a tone and knows which note (frequency) is being played. A reverse Fourier transform may be compared to a musician who, when reading sheet music, can tell from a note (frequency) which pitch it has or what the note sounds like. The musician can do this only because his or her brain is capable of performing this transformation. The same principle informs the imaging process of an MRI scan.

I have a strong preference for the third model of (reciprocal) information transfer between nonlocal consciousness and the brain via quantum spin coherence, with a possible role for (virtual) photons. My preference is informed by the many recent publications that appear to prove this form of information transfer. A recent article in
Nature
provided evidence of quantum coherence in photo synthesis in living systems, whereby solar energy (photons) was converted into chemical energy by wavelike energy transfer through quantum coherence of coherent electronic oscillations in both the donor and acceptor molecules.
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This link between electronic and molecular oscillating states is a result of resonance triggered by the superposition of interference patterns of wave functions of energy (photons). In other words, what we are seeing here is nonlocal energy transfer in living systems on the basis of the quantum coherence of photons, which is akin to the process of nonlocal information transfer in the brain through (virtual?) photons.