Paranormal Experiences Come From Another Dimension, Claims Scientist

Higher Dimensional Models: Making Space and Time for Psi

Bernard Carr

Since psi involves an interaction between consciousness and the physical world, any
theory for it requires some sort of extension of physics. This is not implausible since
physics regularly undergoes paradigm shifts and there is some indication from
physics itself that consciousness is a fundamental rather than incidental feature of the
world. However, the new paradigm will require one to reassess the traditional divide
between matter and mind. This talk will discuss the hyperspatial model of psi. This
involves a higher dimensional “reality structure” and is reminiscent of ideas already
invoked by modern physics. It relates to the traditional signaling and quantum models
of psi but goes beyond them. The starting assumption is that many psychic
experiences (eg. telepathy, clairvoyance, apparitions, OBEs, NDEs) seem to require
the existence of some form of communal space. This is not the same as physical
space but a higher-dimensional space of which physical space and ordinary
perceptual space (including memories and dreams) are just a lower-dimensional
projections. This space is termed the “Universal Structure” and can be viewed as a
sort of extended reality - an information space which goes beyond physical space but
subtly interacts with it. The crucial step is the identification of the Universal Structure
with the higher-dimensional space invoked by modern physics. In particular, the
physical world is regarded as 4-dimensional “brane” in a higher-dimensional “bulk”.
This identification allows an amalgamated description of physical, psychical and
even some mystical phenomena, these forming a natural continuum. The extra
dimensions of the Universal Structure comprise a hierarchy of times, with closed
timelike curves being associated with the minimum timescale of consciousness or
“specious present”. Psi is then interpreted as a variation in the specious present (an
increase for ESP and a decrease for PK) and there could be levels of consciousness
for which the specious present is much longer or shorter than usual.

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Bridging the Worlds of Matter, Mind, and Spirit

Bernard Carr

When I was a fifteen-year-old schoolboy at Harrow—a well-known English public school—I misbehaved and as a punishment was “roomed” for a week, which meant that, apart from lessons, I was confined to my room. Having nothing else to do, I read three books which determined the subsequent course of my life. The first, The ABC of Relativity by Bertrand Russell, was about Einstein’s theory of relativity and got me interested in physics and the nature of space and time. The second, An Experiment with Time by J.W. Dunne, was about his precognitive dreams and got me interested in psychical research. The third, The Third Eye by Lobsang Rampa, allegedly by a Tibetan lama who had taken over the body of a plumber from Devonshire, England, was about various psychic and mystical experiences associated with his life as a monk; this book got me interested in Buddhism and religious experience. It is strange that my misbehavior had such beneficial consequences!

I suggest that one also needs a higher-dimensional space to describe mental and psychic experiences. For example, ordinary dreams take place in a space which can appear just as real as physical space and in a lucid dream it can be hard to tell the difference. Some paranormal experiences—such as an OBE or NDE—also involve some sort of space, which is not the same as physical space but bears some relationship to it. Accounts of apparitions are usually dismissed by skeptics as hallucinations, but there are also collective apparitions, which are seen by more than one person at the same time, or the traditional ghost, which is seen by different people at different times. These apparitions don’t seem to be in normal physical space, because they cannot be photographed, but they appear to be localized. Many mystical and psychedelic experiences also involve some form of space, and sometimes this is explicitly described as higher-dimensional.

Higher Dimensional Models: Making Space and Time for Psi

Bernard Carr


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Bridging the Worlds of Matter, Mind, and Spirit

Bernard Carr

Consciousness and higher spatial dimensions

Do higher spatial dimensions hold the key to solving the hard problem of consciousness?

Peter Sjöstedt-H 

The inquiry into the relation between ‘mind’ and ‘matter’ too often stops at the status of profound mystery because those very terms are poorly understood. What is understood is that the solution to the mystery requires revolutionary thought, since present concepts do not provide sufficient scope through which to see the end of this cosmic riddle. We should therefore extend our vision and experiment with ocular instruments beyond those found in the traditional philosopher’s observatory. To gain a greater gaze into this outer space we will analyse space itself – in its relation to sentience – fracturing it into three varieties and raising it beyond three dimensions. The mind-matter mystery beckons us to explore the relations between space, matter, and mind. What follows is a playful trip of radical speculation through hyperspace.

1. Mind, Matter, and Spac

2. The Varieties of Space

3.The Dimensions of Space and Sentience

Dr. Jacob Jolij brings advanced physics and philosophy of mind together, to discuss higher dimensions of consciousness.

I found this talk very interesting, and am yet to absorb it all.

One point that struck me particularly was that he pointed out that an 'emergent' property more or less requires a consciousness for the emergence process to work. That seems to me to make the idea that consciousness is an emergent property of the brain - or indeed of anything - totally nonsensical!

I just wish his book were available in English!

David

A further thought about Jacob Jolij's talk, is that if indeed consciousness contributes one or more dimensions over and above the 3D (or maybe 4D) space of physics, then how are we to see electromagnetic waves? There is another thread in which we discuss whether consciousness and electromagnetic phenomena are related, and a wave that extends into what JJ calls qualia space might indeed be the link between electromagnetic phenomena and some psychic phenomena.

David

This is an excellent (and easy to understand) interview with Bernard Carr about extra dimensions in physics and psi.

https://www.newthinkingallowed.org/hyper...nard-carr/

David

Our brains do not produce consciousness, they 'filter' it and consciousness is related to the higher dimensions in string theory. In this thought provoking conversation, distinguished Professor of mathematics and astronomy Bernard Carr explains his theory of consciousness and psi-phenomena.

00:00 Introduction
05:02 How did you get involved with parapsychology?
09:41 Bernard on trying to weigh a soul...
13:50 Is psychical research science?
16:03 The Enfield poltergeist claim
25:59 Are Psi phenomena real?
26:58 On the importance of true skepticism
28:55 Where are we in studying these phenomena scientifically?
34:44 Is having a scientific background a hindrance or a help when it comes to studying these phenomena?
38:55 In what sense are most scientists not 'believing' the phenomena?
43:54 On a post materialist science
44:38 How does your notion of time relate to psi phenomena?
53:16 What is the relationship between time and consciousness?
1:01:10 Is time real?
1:04:20 What is the specious presence?
1:06:38 You might argue planet earth is conscious
1:09:16 On the experience of time when falling
1:11:56 When the specious present seems to expand
1:15:51 How does the concept of the specious present explain certain psychic phenomena?
1:19:11 Natalia on the slowing down of time when falling off a mountain
1:23:17 Bernard on the movies Inception and Interstellar
1:24:44 Is time just a dial on our dashboard of perception?
1:27:25 When you either experience an eternal now or an eternal always...
1:28:00 On experiencing the transcendence of space and time
1:30:07 How do you interact with the world when you are in a different specious present?
1:32:53 How athletes are successful due to a specious present that is slowed down
1:33:58 What if our specious present is expanding?
1:37:02 Bernards view on the fine tuning problem
1:41:11 On the multiverse
1:42:47 Is there something before the Big Bang?
1:47:34 Hawking's theory about the origin of time
1:50:59 There must be a genesis of the universe right?
1:52:06 God and the Big Bang
1:54:44 What is consciousness to you?
1:57:12 Are there actually 'laws' of physics?
2:01:32 Is a final theory possible?
2:05:08 How to fit consciousness per definition the first person experience into science which is about the third person experience?
2:11:16 How to make a new physics that accommodates consciousness testable?

That's a very interesting interview with Bernard Carr - and a reminder to myself that I have a PDF copy of one of the books he mentions as an early influence, "An Experiment with Time" by J.W. Dunne which seems really interesting but I've not read past the first few pages so far.

I liked Carr's clarifications around the use of the term 'sceptic', (at about 27 mins):

So I think that's really the true skeptical approach to these phenomena is to keep your mind open and to just try and get a balanced view. So the people who believe 100% or believe 0% or disbelieve 100%, I think that's a very unhealthy attitude. I think you have to be open and somewhere in between... But yet critical and skeptical. Critical skepticism. As opposed to the skeptics who are just completely closed-minded.

Unfortunately, the word skeptic now is used in a different sense. The word skeptic has been taken over by the people who are sometimes called counter-advocates; they think it's all nonsense. But, so when you say someone's a skeptic that says they don't believe any of the phenomena.

The real word skeptic merely means you're critical, you study the phenomena but you don't make up your mind completely, you have a critical view. And in that sense I'm a skeptic and I think everyone should be a skeptic.

I watched about half of it... but it was rather vague... and old style individual-centric

Saul-Paul Sirag reviews the history of our understanding of higher dimensions, from early ideas of the "fourth dimension" to the early 20th century dimensional theory that proved to be successful in unifying electromagnetism and gravity. This search for unification has lead to continued exploration of higher dimensional space. Saul-Paul Sirag is a theoretical physicist who has developed a model utilizing hyperspace to unify Einstein's theory of general relativity with quantum mechanics.