Research
papers
(updated 11/2/12)
The Future of NDE and Consciousness Research: slides presented at 2012
IANDS Conference (Scottsdale, August 2012)
The Future of NDE and Consciousness Research: Using the transcendent content of NDEs to fathom the mysteries of reality
Robert G. Mays, B.Sc., and
Suzanne B. Mays
 NDE
research can make progress by examining the “transcendent” content of
NDEs. Four key anchor points in NDEs convey veridical information: (1)
perceptions of the earthly realm, (2) communications from apparently
deceased persons, (3) presentations during the life review, and (4)
precognitive visions that are later proven correct. The veridical
character of the information and the nearly universal experience of the
hyper-reality of the NDE support the notion that the NDE is a veridical
experience throughout. Thus a systematic investigation of the
transcendent content of NDEs should be a fruitful research direction.
The “hard problem of consciousness” is to explain how neural brain
activity can produce subjective phenomenal experience, such as the
experience of the quality of red. Evidence from the NDE suggests that
the “mind” is an autonomous, non-material energetic entity that is
ordinarily united with the brain but separates from it in the NDE.
Because the “mind” is the seat of consciousness and works with the
brain, the “hard problem” can be solved. The biggest challenge for this
research area is to explain how the non-material mind interacts with
the brain. Progress is being made in this area. A related problem is
more fundamental – what is the ultimate nature of reality? Again the
NDE and NDErs can provide a direction for the “harder problem of
reality”: Which is more fundamental, the physical or the transcendent?
NDErs give a nearly unanimous response: the transcendent realm of the
NDE is fundamental and more real than the physical realm. Three
paranormal phenomena that occur as aftereffects in NDErs are worth
studying to understand the nature of reality: psychokinesis,
precognition and teleportation. The tentative model is: there are two
realms of existence, with the physical supervenient (dependent) on the
transcendent.
Color
slides ( PDF,
1.2 MB, 32 pages). Video of this presentation here (62 min).
NDE Physical Interaction and NDE Aftereffects: slides presented at 2011
IANDS Conference (Durham, September 2011)
A Theory of Physical Interaction in NDE that Explains NDE Aftereffects
Robert G. Mays, B.Sc., and
Suzanne B. Mays
 We
present a theory of consciousness that the human being consists of a
non-material mind united with the brain. This theory is based on
evidence of physical interactions in NDE, which shows (1) how the
non-material mind can interact with neural structures in the cortex,
(2) how the non-material mind can interact with physical processes
during an NDE and (3) how specific NDE aftereffects can be explained,
such as anomalous electromagnetic interactions, physiological
sensitivities and paranormal abilities. We also address how the
non-material mind, as the seat of consciousness of a person, resolves
the “hard problem” of consciousness and how the mind is fundamentally
“localized”, but also possesses “non-local” properties.
Color
slides ( PDF,
1.6 MB, 31 pages). Video of this presentation here (4 parts, 58 min total).
Theory of mind and brain: article (September 2011, revised December 2011).
A theory of mind and brain that
solves the “hard problem” of consciousness
Robert G. Mays, B.Sc., and
Suzanne B. Mays
ABSTRACT:
We propose that the “mind” is an energetic, spatially extended,
nonmaterial entity that is united with the brain and body. The mind is
a separate entity having the character of a structured energy field,
which can interact with physical processes including brain neurons. The
nonmaterial mind is also the seat of conscious experience. The mind
interacts directly with cortical neurons, probably via electrical
interaction, resulting in both subjective phenomenal experience and
causal influence on neurological processes. All cognitive faculties
reside in the mind but ordinarily need the brain's neural activity for
conscious awareness. When brain structures are damaged, mental
faculties dependent on them are partially or totally impaired. The main
evidence for this view are phenomena from near-death experiences and
various neurological phenomena, in particular phantom limbs. This
theory solves the “hard problem” of how phenomenal experience can arise
from physical brain activity: conscious experience depends on a second
entity with physical attributes – the conscious mind – which interacts
with the brain to produce phenomenal experience. Experiences of qualia,
such as redness, are an effect in the mind resulting from electrical
activity in specific regions of the brain. The unity of consciousness
results from the unity of the mind's “field of consciousness”:
phenomenal states are unified in the mind as subject. Causal closure of
the physical is maintained but the domain of “the physical” must
necessarily be expanded. Mind is a fundamental entity, a new dimension
of reality.
(PDF 0.5 MB, 25
pages). Video presentation of this paper here (4 parts, 58 min total).
Mystery of physical interaction:
slides presented at 2010
IANDS Conference (Denver, September 2010)
The mystery of physical
interaction in near-death experience: implications for
understanding consciousness
Robert G. Mays, B.Sc., and
Suzanne B. Mays
 Slide presentation on evidence of physical
interactions during NDE OBE and in phantom limbs and the implications
for how the non-material energetic mind interacts with the brain.
Presented at the 2010
IANDS Conference (Denver, September 2-4, 2010). Color
slides ( PDF,
38 MB, 28 pages) and hand outs (two slides per page, PDF, 32
MB, 14 pages).
Theory
of mind: poster
presented at Toward a Science of Consciousness conference
(Tucson, April
13-17, 2010).
A theory of mind-and-brain that
solves the "hard problem"
Robert G. Mays, B.Sc., and
Suzanne B. Mays
ABSTRACT:
We propose that the
human being consists of (1) an energetic, spatially
extended, non-material “mind” that is united with (2) a material brain
and body. The mind is a “field of consciousness”; it is
non-material
(does not consist of material atoms) but rather is a structured,
energetic region of space that can interact with physical processes, in
particular with neurons, and thus has physical attributes. The mind is
united and co-extensive with the brain and body and interacts directly
with the brain, probably via electrical interactions with cortical and
other dendritic structures.
 The mind
is the seat of conscious experience. All cognitive
faculties
(perception, thinking, feelings, volition, memory and self-awareness)
reside in the non-material mind entity, not in the brain. However, the
mind ordinarily is completely dependent on brain structures and neural
activity for consciousness. Mental events become conscious only when
there is sufficient electrical brain activity. If the electrical
activity is not sufficient, the percept or other mental event remains
subliminal. On the other hand, the mind can initiate electrical brain
activity and thereby serves as the agent that initiates volitional
activity, exerts “mental force”, alters brain neural patterns
plastically, and is the unified phenomenal field resulting in the sense
of the unity of consciousness.
When
brain structures are damaged, mental faculties dependent on them
are partially or totally impaired, due to interference with the
interface between the neurons and the mind. The field of
the mind has
an internal structure which corresponds to the cortical and other
neural structures of the brain. In fact, it is likely that the internal
structure of the mind’s field directly maps to the neural structure
throughout the body. The mind depends on brain neural activity in
particular cortical locations for particular cognitive functions.
In support of
this theory, we provide evidence from near-death
experiences (NDEs), the aftereffects of NDEs and from various
neurological phenomena. In particular, we provide
evidence of
interaction of the non-material mind entity with physical processes, in
NDE and phantom limb phenomena.
 This
theory solves the “hard problem” of how conscious experience can
arise from physical brain activity – conscious experience
depends on a
second entity with physical attributes, the conscious mind, which
interacts with the brain to produce phenomenal experience. Subjective
experiences of qualia are an effect in the mind resulting from neural
electrical activity in specific regions of the brain. A philosophical
zombie duplicate of a person is impossible because a physical duplicate
would necessarily include a conscious mind as well as a physical body
and thus would entail conscious experience. The unity of consciousness
results from the unity of the mind’s “field of consciousness”. The mind
is
the subject in whom phenomenal states are unified.
All
interactions in the mind have two sides: they entail both
phenomenal experience and
a physical causal role. Physical causal
closure is maintained because the mind is a non-material entity with
physical attributes, whose structures can act causally on neural
processes. The domain of what constitutes “the physical” must
necessarily be expanded.
(PDF 1.1 MB, 10
pages).
See also our Introduction
for details of this theory.
NDEs
and consciousness: slides presented at 2009 IANDS Conference
(San Diego, October 2009)
What NDEs tell us about
consciousness
Robert G. Mays, B.Sc., and
Suzanne B. Mays
 Slide
presentation overview of our current
theory of the self-conscious mind, presented at the 2009
IANDS Conference in San Diego, CA, October 16-17. Color
slides ( PDF,
10.7
MB, 19 slides) and hand outs ( PDF, 5 MB,
10 pages).
Published
in the Journal of
Near-Death Studies, 27(1), 5-45 (2008).
The phenomenology of the
self-conscious mind
Robert
G. Mays, B.Sc., and Suzanne B. Mays
ABSTRACT:
The phenomenon of a near-death experiencer’s veridical
perceptions during the out-of-body experience (OBE) strongly suggests
the existence of a self-conscious mind as a ‘‘field of
consciousness,’’ a region of space where a person’s
consciousness exists. In the out-of-body state, the mind appears to be
nonmaterial and completely independent of the physical body.
Ordinarily, though, the self-conscious mind appears as an autonomous
entity united with the brain and body. In this united state, the
self-conscious mind operates through the mediation of the brain. This
view is supported by evidence from neurological phenomena such as
subjective antedating of sensory experiences and mental force. This
evidence suggests that a nonneural agency induces conscious experience
and self-conscious awareness. Phenomena from OBEs, including apparent
subtle interactions with physical processes such as light, sound, and
physical objects, as well as reported interactions with
‘‘in-body’’ persons, support the view that the
self-conscious mind is able to interact in some physical way with the
brain. Neurological phenomena such as Benjamin Libet’s (1985)
delayed awareness of willed action can be reconsidered successfully in
light of this view. Such efforts might also prove useful, for example,
in explaining phantom limb phenomena.
Reprint ( PDF,
250 KB, 41 pages)
Phantom limb research: poster
presented at the Toward a Science of Consciousness conference
(Tucson,
Arizona, April 8-12, 2008).
Phantom
limb
"touch" suggests that a "mind-limb" extends beyond
the physical body
Robert
G. Mays and Suzanne B. Mays
ABSTRACT: A
phantom limb is the vivid subjective experience of
the presence of a limb that is absent congenitally or through
amputation.
The phenomenon of phantom limb "touch" has not been reported to our
knowledge. We have completed exploratory experiments with subject M.G.,
a
56-year-old, college educated woman with congenital unilateral
adactylia
(missing five
fingers of the left hand). In many respects, M.G. experiences her
phantom
fingers in the same way as other phantom limb subjects. However, she
also reports
physical sensations in her finger buds, palm and arm (tingling, warmth,
pressure) when her phantom fingers are "touched" by an object or by
her right hand. When "touched" on the head by M.G., other people
report feeling warmth and pressure, and seeing inner visual images
(e.g., a
dark circle with a white ring of light) which are reminiscent of visual
sensations evoked by electrical brain stimulation,
 In earlier
work (Mays and Mays, 2008), we postulated
that the self-conscious mind (SCM) is an autonomous "field of
consciousness" which ordinarily is united with and operates through the
mediation of the brain, but which separates from the body in the
near-death
experience (NDE). This view is supported by evidence from NDEs and from
various
neurological phenomena. NDE phenomena include apparent subtle
interactions with
physical processes (light, sound, surfaces), including interactions
with "in-body"
persons, suggesting that the non-material SCM is
able to interact in
some physical way with brain neurons.
Since the
SCM in this view is
a spatially extended field, coextensive with the physical body, then in
the
absence of a physical limb, a part of the SCM will still project beyond
the
stump as a kind of "mind-limb" which is experienced as a phantom
limb. The spatial region of the phantom/mind-limb then should exhibit
some of
the properties of the SCM "body" in the NDE out-of-body experience,
such as subtle interactions when a physical object enters the spatial
region of
the phantom, possibly causing physical sensations in the body,
and subtle
interactions of the phantom limb with another person's physical body,
which
could be felt by the other person.
In our experiments with M.G.,
we found preliminary evidence supporting both of these properties. M.G. reports physical
sensations in her
finger buds, in her left palm, along the left arm and in a specific
spot in her
upper left arm, when her phantom fingers are "touched", and presents
objective physiological reactions (increased skin color, twitching of
the
finger buds). Other people reported subtle but definite physiological
sensations (warmth, pressure in the head and sinuses, unusual inner
visual
images) when "touched" on the face or back of the head by
M.G.’s
phantom fingers. The visual images include shadows, light, dark circle
with
white ring, gradually progressing oblique white lines forming a
sword-like
shape, gradually forming channel rising from abdomen up and ending with
bright
white light in the head, and arcs of colored light rising up with
changing
colors.
In
this
paper, we present the
detailed phenomenology of phantom limb "touch" and address alternate
explanations.
(PDF
3.3MB, 12 pages).
Original
paper: submitted for
consideration to the Journal
of Near-Death Studies on
October 22, 2006. The recommendation was to reduce the paper
considerably and revise the neurologically based arguments, which we
have done. The original paper is now
out of date.
The
phenomenology of the independent self-conscious mind (original
draft, PDF
530K, 47 pages)
Robert
G. Mays, B.Sc., and Suzanne B. Mays
ABSTRACT: The out-of-body
phase of the near-death
experience, where the locus of awareness is no longer in the body,
provides
details of the phenomenon of the independent self-conscious mind. With
these
details, one can isolate the attributes and faculties of the
self-conscious
mind from those of the brain. The phenomenology of the out-of-body
experience
thus acts as a Rosetta stone in deciphering mind-body phenomena. This
view is
very similar to the dualist interactionist model of Popper and Eccles
(1977)
but with several differences. Counterintuitive mind-body phenomena such
as
antedating and apparent delays in awareness of voluntary actions can be
reassessed, showing that the non-material mind is accessible to
scientific
study. The objection that the operation of a non-material
self-conscious mind
within the brain violates the current laws of physics is probably
correct: the
independent self-conscious mind constitutes a new dimension of reality
and
current physical laws need to be extended, as they have been in the
past, to
encompass the new phenomena. The laws of mind and the mind’s
relationship to
the physical dimension of reality need to be investigated
scientifically. The
proper way to do this is to investigate the phenomena of mind and body
in
detail. Consideration of the independent self-conscious mind in
mind-body
phenomena should give useful insights into a number of ordinary mental
phenomena such as memory processes, and into solutions to problems such
as
effective strategies for treatment of autistic spectrum disorders or
for
rehabilitation from stroke.
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