The mind beyond the brain

This talk was given at the advaya event Consciousness: Re-Defining Our Parameters with Rupert Sheldrake and David Luke.

Most scientists assume that the mind is located inside the head. But there are good reasons for thinking that this view is much too limited. People can influence others at a distance just by looking at them, even if they look from behind and if all sensory clues are eliminated. People’s intentions can also be detected telepathically by animals from miles away, and some people can tell who is calling them before they pick up the phone. Our minds seem to extend stretch out beyond our brains through attention and intention. And they are also open to more-than-human forms of consciousness, both through spontaneous mystical experiences and through spiritual practices.

Contributors

Dr Rupert Sheldrake

Dr Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist and author of more than 100 technical papers and twelve books, including Science and Spiritual Practices. A former Research Fellow of the Royal Society, he studied natural sciences at Cambridge University, where he took a Ph.D. in biochemistry, and philosophy at Harvard University, where he was a Frank Knox Fellow. He was a fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and director of studies in cell biology. From 2005-2010 he was director of the Perrott-Warrick Project, funded by Trinity College, Cambridge, for research on unexplained human and animal abilities. He is currently a fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, near San Francisco, and also of Schumacher College, in Devon

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