ing the basic metaphysical assumptions of Cartesian-Newtonian thinking, scientists like Heinz von Foerster (von Foerster 1965), Rupert Sheldrake (Sheldrake 1981), and Ervin Laszlo (1994) seriously explore such possibilities as “memory without a material substrate”, “morphogenetic fields”, and the record of all events from the history of the universe in the subquantum “psi-field”. Traditional academic science describes human beings as highly developed animals and biological thinking machines. Experienced and studied in the everyday state of consciousness, we appear to be Newtonian objects made of atoms, molecules, cells, tissues, and organs. However, transpersonal experiences in clearly show that each of us can also manifest the properties of a field of consciousness that transcends space, time, and linear causality. The complete new formula, remotely reminiscent of the wave-particle paradox in modern physics, thus describes humans as paradoxical beings who have two complementary aspects: they can show properties of Newtonian objects and also those of infinite fields of consciousness. The appropriateness of each of these descriptions depends on the state of consciousness in which these observations are made. Physical death then seems to terminate one half of this definition, while the other comes into full expression. 3 Experiences and observations specifically related to the understanding of death and survival of consciousness 3.1 Phenomena on the threshold of death Researchers have reported a variety of interesting phenomena occurring at the time of death. Here belong, for example numerous visions of people who just had died that are reported by their relatives, friends, and acquaintances. It has been found that such visions show statistically significant correlation with distantly occurring deaths of the appearing persons within a twelve-hour period (Sidgwick 1889). There also exist reports of unexplained physical events occurring at the time of death, such as watches stopping and starting, bells ringing, paintings or photographs falling of the wall, and others, that seem to announce a person’s death (Bozzano 1948). Individuals approaching death often experience encounters with their dead relatives who seem to welcome them to the next world. These deathbed visions are very authentic and convincing; they are often followed by a state of euphoria and seem to ease the transition. A number of cases have been reported, in which a dying individual has a vision of a person about whose death he or she did not know; these have been referred to as “peak in Darien” cases. Of particular interest are near-death experiences (NDEs) that occur in about one-third of the people who encounter various forms of life-threatening situations, such as car Spirituality Studies 1 (2) Fall 2015 13 (11)
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