New Evidence for Out-of-Body Experiences & Perennial Wisdom | Neuroscientist Marjorie Woollacott PhD

In this wide-ranging interview with Natalia Vorontsova, Professor Marjorie Woollacott draws remarkable parallels between 9th-10th century Kashmiri Shaivism and modern idealism, pointing to the fundamental and irreducible nature of consciousness. Moreover, her study of near-death experiences empirically supports this very hypothesis of the existence of a fundamental consciousness without neurons and beyond our five senses. This is an open conversation about life, death, and who we really are as 'points of consciousness.' Human-generated captions for English and auto-translation for your language can be enabled. 00:00:00 Interview intro 00:02:15 Marjorie's life-changing experience: shift in research focus, and metaphysics 00:09:20 The beauty of integrating intellect and intuition 00:13:09 What is consciousness: Kashmiri Shaivism & modern idealism of B. Kastrup & F. Faggin 00:19:54 Parallels and differences: Kashmiri Shaivism, Advaita Vedanta, modern idealism 00:25:58 How does it contrast with materialism? 00:27:47 Consciousness beyond the 5 senses: new research on children with autism 00:30:04 New understanding of consciousness: a remarkable NDE case & AHA moments 00:41:27 Why do so few people remember their NDE? 00:48:02 NDE cases and the power of transformation 00:51:03 How and where to study consciousness? Meditator vs. scientist. 00:55:35 How Nobel Prize-winning discoveries have often been made 00:56:21 Why to advance post-materialist paradigm in science? 01:00:42 C.G. Jung, our belief system and the future of humanity 01:02:46 A shift towards expanding consciousness 01:05:08 Recommended books and reference sources 01:06:42 Terminal lucidity & end-of-life experiences 01:08:15 What happens after death? Religions and perennial beliefs. Reference literature and online resources: https://marjoriewoollacott.com/ https://www.aapsglobal.com/ https://spiritual-awakenings.net/the-book/ Books: Motor Control: Translating Research into Clinical Practice, by A. Shumway-Cook, M.H. Woollacott Infinite Awareness: The Awakening of a Scientific Mind, by M.H. Woollacott Spiritual Awakenings, ed. M.H. Woollacott, D.Lorimer Irreducible: Consciousness, Life, Computers, and Human Nature, by F. Faggin Return to Life: Extraordinary Cases of Children Who Remember Past Lives, by Jim B. Tucker Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation, by Ian Stevenson Papers: Williams, B, Woollacott, MH. Conceptual cognitions and awakening: Insights from non-dual Saivism and neuroscience. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 53: 119-139, 2021. Woollacott M, Peyton B. Verified account of near-death experience in a physician who survived cardiac arrest. Explore (NY). 2020 Mar 19: S1550-8307(20)30111-7. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2020.03.005. Online ahead of print.PMID: 32245708. Schwartz GE, Woollacott M, Schwartz SA, Baruss I, Beauregard M, Dossey L, Kafatos M, Miller L, Mossbridge J, Radin D, Tart C. The Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences: Integrating Consciousness into Mainstream Science. Explore (NY). 2018 Mar – Apr;14(2):111-113. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2017.12.006. Woollacott M, Roe CA, Cooper CE, Lorimer D, Elsaesser E. Perceptual phenomena associated with spontaneous experiences of after-death communication: Analysis of visual, tactile, auditory and olfactory sensations. Explore (NY). 2021 Feb 23:S1550-8307(21)00042-2. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2021.02.006. Copyright © 2024-2025 by Essentia Foundation. All rights reserved.