Consciousness and the Brain, Part Six: Spiritual Implications, with Stuart Hameroff


Stuart Hameroff, MD, is a professor of anesthesiology and psychology at the Banner University Medical Center of the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is also co-founder and director of the Center for Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona. He is author of Ultimate Computing: Biomolecular Consciousness and Nanotechnology. Since 1994, he has organized the “Toward a Science of Consciousness” conferences at the University of Arizona and elsewhere. Working with Sir Roger Penrose, he is the co-author of the “Orch OR” theory of consciousness.

Here he reviews research findings in parapsychology related to phenomena such as out of body experiences, telepathy, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, near-death experiences, survival of consciousness after death, and reincarnation. He notes that mainstream academic researchers often treat these subjects disparagingly. He argues that such a dismissive attitude is both arrogant and foolish. He maintains that the Orch OR theory of consciousness is consistent with the existence of spiritual and paranormal phenomena. He concludes by pointing out that the theory has withstood criticisms for over twenty years. It has also generated various research hypothesis that have been confirmed. He describes some practical applications that may result from the theory, in terms of developing treatments for Alzheimers disease.

New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He teaches parapsychology for ministers in training with the Centers for Spiritual Living through the Holmes Institute. He has served as vice-president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, and is the recipient of its Pathfinder Award for outstanding contributions to the field of human consciousness. He is also past-president of the non-profit Intuition Network, an organization dedicated to creating a world in which all people are encouraged to cultivate and apply their inner, intuitive abilities.

(Recorded on August 5, 2015)