Gödel’s Incompleteness, Mandela Effects, and Reality Residue

There is a remarkable connection between Gödel, reality shifts, and Mandela Effects, and it’s something I happened to run across recently while re-reading one of my all-time favorite books, Axiogenesis, by philosopher Nicholas Rescher. The passage I read was the very last section of the book on the last two pages, “Gödel’s Conspiracy Theory,” having to do with Gödel having come to believe that important documents and writings were being intentionally hidden and withheld.

Kurt Gödel was a good friend of Albert Einstein, who frequently took daily walks with him to discuss Gödel’s ideas about math and science. Gödel is famous for his discovery of a third category in logic beyond “right” and “wrong” that is more in keeping with quantum mechanics: “undecidable.” Gödel’s genius was to prove that undecidable sentences exist within every meaningful mathematical system, and this is the basis for his famous incompleteness theorem. Einstein was not Gödel’s only fan; the philosopher Karl Popper compared Gödel’s proof to an ‘earthquake,’ and John von Neumann commented, “Logic will never be the same again.”

Gödel was called the ‘greatest logician since Aristotle, and ‘a Mozart of mathematics,’ and each of his theorems has established a new branch of mathematical logic. Gödel chose to focus primarily on mathematical topics that were also philosophically relevant, starting with the foundation of mathematics. Gödel introduced the notion that extensive systems sometimes have logical inconsistencies when he arrived at a mathematics conference in September 1930 and said, “Given the consistency of classical mathematics, one can even give examples of sentences, which, although correct in content, are unprovable in the formal system of classical mathematics.” 

This statement may seem benign and innocuous, but it was anything but. While attendees of that conference made no official response at that time, Gödel was really saying that there exist mathematical statements that are correct, yet which are unprovable. And these sentences can even be specified in concrete terms. As paradoxical as it sounds, Gödel offered mathematical proof of unprovability, pointing out how there exists a kind of ‘quasi-paradoxical self-negation,’ as John von Neumann called it, referring to the way a formal-logic system emerges out of itself to make statements about itself.

Gödel’s Paranoia

Gödel suffered from paranoia, and experienced severe mental crisis which led him to being admitted to a sanatorium to help him overcome suicidal tendencies. Awareness of Gödel’s paranoia led his favorite professor, Philip Furtwangler, to wonder, “is his illness a consequence of the evidence of unprovability, or is his illness a necessary condition for dealing with such questions?”

Gödel had an obsessive fear of being poisoned, and only ate food prepared for him by his wife, Adele. When Adele was hospitalized for six months and unable to prepare his meals in 1977, Gödel wasted away and died.

Despite such paranoia and obsessions, when it came to the world of ideas, concepts, proofs, and foundational principles in math and science, Gödel’s thinking was exceptionally focused and clear. Which makes the mystery of the missing documentation particularly fascinating.

Mystery of Missing Documentation

Gödel’s own hero was Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, whose works he studied intensely in his spare time. Gödel believed some of Leibniz’s important writings had not only failed to be published, but had been destroyed in manuscript. Gödel felt he had seen evidence indicating that Leibniz had developed anticipations of game theory, the paradoxes of set theory (“cloaked in the language of concepts, but exactly the same”), Helmholtz’s resonance theory of hearing, and the conservation of energy law–yet he was unable to find that evidence, despite numerous threads appearing to lead in those directions.

Gödel’s friend Oscar Morgenstern at Princeton University has called Gödel’s beliefs about such things “fantasies.” When Gödel attempted to show Morgenstern where he’d seen references to all these things in the various writings of Leibniz, in some cases neither the cited pages nor elsewhere was any writing on these topics by Leibniz to be found. In other cases, the writing stopped just before the cited passages, or the volumes containing those passages were never published. Gödel believed the reason for all these omissions to be that he was “systematically sabotaged by his editors.”

Alternative to Conspiracy: Real-Life Incompleteness

When I first read about Gödel’s concern with regard to missing Leibniz papers and writings, and especially when I heard that he’d noted there had been specific places where such writings ought to be, yet weren’t, I immediately recognized a familiar pattern that I often see when reality shifts, and the official history no longer matches what I know to be true. When I notice writings that have changed or gone missing, I realize there is a possibility that there may have been a reality shift in which things appear, disappear, transform or transport.

After 20 years of studying this phenomenon, I’ve noticed that one of the best ways to experience more reality shifts in one’s life is to pay more attention to such things. It seems completely logical to me that another way to experience more such things is to be aware of the intrinsicic incompleteness in the universe. It makes sense to me that knowing that some things can never be proved, and that there will always be indeterminancy at the root of even our “hardest” most fact-based math and science might just be enough to invite these experiences into one’s life.

You can watch the companion video to this blog post at:

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Cynthia Sue Larson is the best-selling author of six books, including Quantum Jumps. Cynthia has a degree in Physics from UC Berkeley, and discusses consciousness and quantum physics on numerous shows including the History Channel, Coast to Coast AM, the BBC and One World with Deepak Chopra and on the Living the Quantum Dream show she hosts. You can subscribe to Cynthia’s free monthly ezine at: http://www.RealityShifters.com

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Explanation for Mandela Effect and Reality Shifts

While the term “Mandela Effect” is relatively new, having been first coined in 2010 by blogger Fiona Broome, the phenomena it describes has been around much longer. Author PMH Atwater was the first to call this phenomenon by the name “reality shifts” in a chapter by that same title in her book, Future Memory. My book, Reality Shifts: When Consciousness Changes the Physical World, was first published in 1999, and provides scientific insights into what might be going on when people observe differences between what they remember and what current historical evidence at that time suggest.

Thanks to the advent of the internet and social media making it newly possible (since the late 1990’s) to share notes about this relatively off-beat phenomenon, people first began sharing their surprise at noticing differences between their memories and facts starting in the late 1990’s–as well as differences between their memories and memories of others. The RealityShifters ezine begun in October 1999 has now documented hundreds of such first-hand reports from people on every continent and many countries over the past 20 years.

What does it mean to shift reality / jump timelines?

What’s really going on when we notice a discrepancy between something we thought we knew for sure and what the current reality ‘has always been’? What we know can be summarized as our sense of self awareness holds the key:

Quantum phenomena occurs at all levels of reality–not just ‘in the quantum realm.’ Such phenomena involves instantaneous changes of state, and includes seemingly improbable things as: so-called ‘spooky action at a distance’ and instantaneous exchanges of information through quantum entanglement, quantum teleportation, and superposition of states. Quantum phenomena require an Observer, and the measurements obtained by an Observer has everything to do with what choices the Observer makes. Observers can influence past events, also, so choices made now can change what has previously occurred. It becomes clear that quantum physics delivers us with all we need to experience reality shifts when we are both the Actors in and the Observers of our lives. As we expand our awareness of self to be more than just Actors experiencing physical events, but also Observers of our actions, thoughts and feelings–we can expect to witness more than one record of historical events. 

A non-scientist layperson might presume that if we’re talking about quantum physics effects occurring on the macroscopic (large) scale, then scientists ought to be able to agree on how this might occur and what role consciousness plays–yet there is not yet any such agreement. Instead, we have a number of interpretations of quantum physics, which include several variations of “many worlds” or multiverse theories, holographic interpretations, and the Copenhagen ‘classical’ collapse interpretation–and an equal lack of convergence of agreeement as to what consciousness is.

Regardless which quantum interpretation most appeals to you, within a context of acknowledging there must be a way to bring together classical physics with quantum physics in a “Theory of Everything,” and agreeing that such a theory must include consciousness in the form of an observer is central to starting to understand a scientific explanation for the Mandela Effect–and thus, an Observer’s recognition of their independent consciousness is sufficient and necessary for their subsequent experiences that can feel as if they’ve jumped from one ‘reality’ or ‘timeline’ to others. An Observer’s awareness of having jumped between realities or timelines is a paradox, in the sense that all possible realities co-exist in some form, yet we typically only remember one–or in some cases two or more.

There are still mysteries to be more fully explored, but at the heart of it lies a reassessment of our fundamental assumptions about who we are, and how reality operates. We find clues in these areas when we view the differences between the way we typically believe we live in a “classical physics” world, yet we are seeing ever-increasing evidence that suggests primacy of quantum physics. And some of the greatest insights can come from taking a closer look at ways that Quantum physics differs from Classical. The differences between classical physics and quantum physics that are essential to recognize here include:

(1) Quantum physics requires an Observer outside of the system being perceived; Classical physics does not. This may seem unimportant, yet who “I” am as an Observer is of central significance in the reality I subsequently observe. For those of us noticing we are both Actors in and Observers of our lives, we gain the ability to expand our sense of self, and we lay the groundwork for becoming capable of witnessing more than one set of historical events. As Dean Radin describes in his book, Supernormal, individuals who master levels of awareness of self are aware of developing reality-shifting, quantum jumping abilities.

(2) Quantum physics utilizes a concept of ‘quanta’ in which events occur in discontinuous, ‘stair step’ fashion; Classical physics events occur on a smooth continuum. While western education has long described all branches of science as following classical, continuous paths, fresh insights are arriving that incorporate Quantum jumps in the new fields of: Quantum Biology, Quantum Chemistry, Quantum Astronomy, and more. Nature appears to be especially adept and adroit at utilizing quantum retrocausality in such a way that produces exceptionally high levels of efficiencies in such natural processes as photosynthesis–which has been proven to be an example of quantum phenomena occurring in a warm, wet, messy and macroscopic (larger-than-Planck-scale) environment.

(3) Quantum physics has disproven Classical physics assumptions of: Material realism (only what can be measured matters); Non-local events can be assumed to never occur (quantum entanglement ensures non-local events regularly occur); and that “Objective measureements” can be made, and the role of Observers can be ignored (quantum physics requires an Observer).

You Are the Operating Observer (Not just a Puppet)

The main reason we are capable of recognizing that we can experience more than one possible history of events is that who we are consists of levels of Operating Observer awareness. We can thus ‘take a measurement’ in the form of checking on facts that we already know, and occasionally be surprised that what we remember having actually experienced is different than what we see evidence for currently in the physical reality we exist within as Observing Beings.

Quantum jumping involves recognizing that you can be the Operating Observer behind the Observing Being–that you can activate and energize the part of you that is the energizing force animating and directing your life. You might think of this as being analogous to operating a puppet, and knowing that you are the animating force that inspires the puppet to take actions and talk. Such an awareness is a spiritual awareness, in the sense that you begin to practice spiritual practices of viewing your true self as the one who chooses all your daily practices in life. You are the one who chooses whether you become loving, compassionate, kind, and fearless–or weighed down by fears, worries, doubts, grudges, or anger. Such development has more in common with joining a spiritual group and devoting years of daily practice than it does to following a cooking recipe–in the sense that you will be learning how to direct yourself through awareness of being a larger being–of being the one capable of interacting directly with other Operating Observers in the universe.

 

 

You can watch the companion video to this blog post at:

 

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Cynthia Sue Larson is the best-selling author of six books, including Quantum Jumps. Cynthia has a degree in Physics from UC Berkeley, and discusses consciousness and quantum physics on numerous shows including the History Channel, Coast to Coast AM, the BBC and One World with Deepak Chopra and on the Living the Quantum Dream show she hosts. You can subscribe to Cynthia’s free monthly ezine at: http://www.RealityShifters.com

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Review of top Mandela Effects of 2017

I’m grateful for the ever-increasing awareness that people have of reality shifts and Mandela Effects, with many noteworthy shifts coming to my awareness this past year.

Some of these include:

Kidneys have moved up from where many of us remember they used to be in the lower back, as they remembered, but rather higher up, closer to the lower ribcage. Those least likely to report this physiological change don’t include a geographically clustered group this time, but rather doctors, nurses, and medical professionals. Intriguingly, kidney punches are still called kidney punches in martial arts, but now don’t hit anywhere near the actual kidneys–thus the report of kidneys now being in a new physical location in the body finds some ‘reality residue’ support in the term ‘kidney punch.’ The so-called “kidney punch” in martial arts no longer makes any physical sense, since the target is now where the kidneys used to be, and not where they are currently situated. You can compare these two things for yourself quite easily to get the quickest sense of why so many people (such as myself) are so amazed by this particular shift.

 

Objects in the Mirror ARE closer than they appear is now the message we see on vehicular side view mirrors, rather than what many of us remember, “Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear.” There was a kind of understated humor to that wording, that made the scene in the movie Jurassic Park so much more subtle and funnier for me, back when the movie used to have the wording the way all the side-view mirrors at the time used to be.

 

Abraham Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln survived to adulthood, and fathered children. I’d only previously ever heard of President Lincoln’s son, Todd, who died tragically in childhood–but now he has a son who had children and grandchildren. I see that the official history about Abraham Lincoln now shows that he and Mary Todd Lincoln had four sons, with only one living to adulthood and having children.

 

First terrorist attack in the USA? 1916 Statue of Liberty While you might have guessed the first terrorist attack in the United States of America happened at Pearl Harbor, historical documentation now exists showing the Black Tom explosion on 30 July 1916 was the first such incident. German agents attacked a munitions supply dump on Black Tom Island, a 25-acre promontory jutting out from Jersey City in 1916, causing a huge explosion that killed seven people and damaged the Statue of Liberty. The explosion registered an estimated 5.5 on the Richter scale, and resulted in the permanent closing off of the torch on the Statue of Liberty ever since.

 

Great Wall of India is the second biggest wall in the world, yet most of us have never heard of it. And for some reason, the origins and history of this giant wall in the heart of Madhya Pradesh still remain a mystery. The wall is constructed from large, evenly sized local stones that interlock without mortar. Apparently in this current reality, this rather gigantic wall has been well known a long time–so long, in fact, that there are more questions than answers about who built it, when, and why.

 

No north polar cap shown on maps and globes, nor can any polar ice mass be seen on any maps, including Google Earth. The date on the globe pictured here is 1979. I remember seeing cartoons of Santa’s workshop up at the north pole with a red and white specially marked pole that said, “North Pole” up in the snowy north polar ice cap. But here we have such an old-looking globe, sans north pole ice.

 

Bruce Springsteen’s back pocket has a red cap now, not the red bandanna so many people seem to recall on the cover of his album, “Born in the USA.” I remember when the album came out back in the 1980s that Springsteen’s back pocket sported his iconic red bandana–not a red cap, which looks all wrong.

 

Jesus was hung in a tree, not on a cross (Acts 5:30), changing the entire crucifixion story.

 

World population is now 7.6 billion. I remember seeing the world population was around 6 billion in the 1980s, headed for 7 billion in the 1990s, always with anticipated exponential growth. Yet now, the official historical records still show that familiar exponential curve, yet the current January 2018 world population figure is 7.6 billion.

Infrared image of WTC on 9/11

WTC buildings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 were all demolished in 9/11 (not just 1, 2 and 7), with the damage to building 6 occurring inexplicably and spectacularly–yet I do not recall having previously heard about destruction of that 8-story building. Now WTC building number six apparently experienced a massive implosion with a crater at its basement in its center, with damage going to the lowest sublevels, with the basement of WTC building six now having exploded at the exact moment the South Tower was hit.

 

What used to be HIPPA is now HIPAA: Many Americans remember the “Health Information Patient Privacy Act” (HIPPA), yet apparently this never existed. Instead, we’ve long had the United States’ Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

You can watch the companion video to this blog post at:

 

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Cynthia Sue Larson is the best-selling author of six books, including Quantum Jumps. Cynthia has a degree in Physics from UC Berkeley, and discusses consciousness and quantum physics on numerous shows including the History Channel, Coast to Coast AM, the BBC and One World with Deepak Chopra and on the Living the Quantum Dream show she hosts. You can subscribe to Cynthia’s free monthly ezine at: http://www.RealityShifters.com

RealityShifters®

False Memories and Mandela Effects

When people hear about Mandela Effects, in which groups of individuals report remembering events differently from recorded historical records, some suggest as a possible explanation that Mandela Effect reporters are possibly experiencing false memories. The implication of Mandela Effects being “false” is made based on the assumption that whatever events are recorded are defined automatically as being “true,” so therefore people must be mistaken in thinking that they remember specific things that are different from recorded historical facts. No mention is typically made that a presumption to call Mandela Effects “false” memories assumes a bias in favor of a classical physics view of reality–which is a view of reality that has started to look somewhat shakier recently.

The connection between “false memory” and “Mandela Effect” have become so strong in recent articles and in a large number of mainstream media posts that the current definition for “false memory” on Wikipedia currently includes mention of the “Mandela Effect” on its “False Memory” Wikipedia page, with this excerpted passage provided as an example:

In 2010 this phenomenon of collective false memory was dubbed the “Mandela Effect” by self-described “paranormal consultant” Fiona Broome, in reference to a false memory she reports, of the death of South African leader Nelson Mandela in the 1980s (rather than in 2013 when he actually died), which she claims is shared by “perhaps thousands” of other people.^[1] Broome has speculated about alternate realities as an explanation, but most commentators suggest that these are instead examples of false memories shaped by similar factors affecting multiple people,^{[2][3][26][4][29][5][6]} such as social reinforcement of incorrect memories,^[7][8] or false news reports and misleading photographs influencing the formation of memories based on them.^[9][8]

The association between “false memory” and “Mandela Effect” is thus presented as “false memory” now being expanded beyond original usage to presume the same types of causes for false memories (ie: Construction hypothesis for malleability of memory, or Skeleton theory).

For those of us who have experienced shifts in reality, either with others or alone, and either intended (quantum jumps) or unintended (reality shifts and Mandela Effects), we can gain additional information with regard to better understanding what is going on.

Mandela Effects affecting large groups of people generally represent unexpected, unintended shifts that highlight differences between the historically recorded events that “actually happened” and what these groups of people expect to see when viewing historical records.

Our problem-solving ability relies upon our awareness of distinctions between what “actually” happened and what we “expect,” so by observing more about both of these areas, we can learn more about what is going on with Mandela Effects. We can observe details through observation that, for example, we might see groups of people with similar “Mandela Effects” grouped geographically for something like remembering Nelson Mandela’s death–but other times, we might observe groupings of observers are not based on geography, but instead some other factor.

For example, with regard to people remembering when they first heard of Nelson Mandela having died, there is a tendency for South Africans’ memories to coincide with official historical recorded accounts, whereas people living outside of South Africa are more likely to have seen earlier reports of his death. This is not to say that everyone living outside South Africa will remember Nelson Mandela dying prior to 2013, but rather that very few, if any, South Africans will report this particular Mandela Effect (the very one that the “Mandela Effect” is named after).

In contrast with this local area Mandela Effect, a more recent type of reality shift, such as the one in which many people noticed that the official historical location for kidneys is no longer in the lower back, as they remembered, but rather higher up, closer to the lower ribcage. Those least likely to report this physiological change don’t include a geographically clustered group this time, but rather doctors, nurses, and medical professionals.

Intriguingly, kidney punches are still called kidney punches in martial arts, but now don’t hit anywhere near the actual kidneys–thus the report of kidneys now being in a new physical location in the body finds some ‘reality residue’ support in the term ‘kidney punch.’ The so-called “kidney punch” in martial arts no longer makes any physical sense, since the target is now where the kidneys used to be, and not where they are currently situated. You can compare these two things for yourself quite easily to get the quickest sense of why so many people (such as myself) are so amazed by this particular shift.

Here’s the Google description of the moving-on-up new-and-improved kidney location:

“The kidneys are bean-shaped organs (about 11 cm x 7 cm x 3 cm) that are located against the back muscles in the upper abdominal area. They sit opposite each other on both the left and right side of the body; the right kidney, however, sits a little lower than the left to accommodate the size of the liver.”

You can then look up “Kidney punch” and see:

“A kidney punch is a punch that occurs usually when the fighters clinch. It is a hit that goes into the lower back, to the kidney area. It is illegal because of its high danger level to health.”

Which is to say that kidney punches used to be potentially lethal. I’ve practiced martial arts for 20 years, and I remember hearing that such strikes would occasionally result in the recipient urinating blood–a very bad sign of kidney damage–which, thanks to the relocation of kidneys, is apparently a danger no more.

Memory–particularly subconscious memory–is sometimes compared with a “black box,” because memory processes are not obvious, and we can mostly only guess at they operate. Various theories thus arise, with some of the newest theories incorporating concepts from quantum physics, such as is described in Jerome Busemeyer and Peter Bruza’s excellent book, “Quantum Models of Cognition and Decision.”

When considering a possible quantum explanation for the Mandela Effect, we can thus consider the way that certain groupings of people divided in different ways (sometimes geographically grouped, sometimes grouped based on occupation) sometimes recall different histories than any current historical factual evidence can be found for–aside from artist’s recollections indicating some such history exists.

While critics may point out that such an explanation seems convoluted, the presence of macroscopic quantum jumps actually provides an operational mechanism for such things as the placebo effect, and is more practically aligned with any true physical “theory of everything” thanks to incorporating quantum phenemona (such as macro scale quantum jumps).

You can watch the companion video to this blog post at:

 

 

1. “Nelson Mandela Died in Prison? – Mandela Effect”. Mandela Effect. 2010-09-09. .

2.  “Collective False Memories: What’s Behind the ‘Mandela Effect’?”. The Crux. 2017-02-16. .

3.  “21 Mandela Effect Examples List To Get You Thinking”. BuzzFyre. 2017-02-16. .

4. “Does this picture look a bit off to you?”. NewsComAu. .

5.  “NZ and the ‘Mandela Effect’: Meet the folks who remember New Zealand being in a different place”. Stuff. .

6.  “On a Grandma’s House and the Unknowability of the Past”. Pacific Standard. 2017-02-09. .

7.  Brown, Adam D.; Kouri, Nicole; Hirst, William (2012-07-23). “Memory’s Malleability: Its Role in Shaping Collective Memory and Social Identity”. Frontiers in Psychology. 3. ISSN 1664-1078. PMC 3402138 . PMID 22837750. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00257.

8. ^ ^a b “Can groups of people “remember” something that didn’t happen?”. Hopes&Fears. .

9.  “CogBlog – A Cognitive Psychology Blog » False Memories in the News: Are Pictures Worth MORE Than 1,000 Words?”. web.colby.edu. .

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Cynthia Sue Larson is the best-selling author of six books, including Quantum Jumps. Cynthia has a degree in Physics from UC Berkeley, and discusses consciousness and quantum physics on numerous shows including the History Channel, Coast to Coast AM, the BBC and One World with Deepak Chopra and on the Living the Quantum Dream show she hosts. You can subscribe to Cynthia’s free monthly ezine at: http://www.RealityShifters.com

RealityShifters®

Foundations of Mind V conference: The New AI Scare?

The Foundations of Mind V (FOM5)”The New AI Scare?” conference was hosted by the California Institute for Integral Studies (CIIS) by the CIIS Center for Consciousness Studies in San Francisco on Nov 3-4, 2017. It featured presentations by: Henry Stapp, Fred Alan Wolf, Seán Ó Nualláin, Cynthia Sue Larson, Stanley Klein, and Beverly Rubik. This fifth Foundations of Mind conference was scheduled to coincide with and celebrate the release of Henry Stapp’s new book, “Quantum Theory and Free Will.”

People registered through Foundations of Mind (FOM) participate in an ongoing series of conversational threads in areas related to consciousness, quantum interpretations, neuroscience, and higher education.

Aamod Shanker

Quantum Mind

Aamod Shanker presented ideas from traditions of eastern mysticism, particularly those describing vibrations (spanda) from Kashmiri Shaivism, and yogic ideologies of Patanjali, together with principles from wave/quantum mechanics, electromagnetics and principles of symmetries, structure and logic. There was a great deal of spirited conversation about this topic, with discussion about there being many words for consciousness in the east.

Kiril Popov

Reality, Truth, and Computation at the Boundary

Kiril Popov talked about the importance of boundary conditions, and design principles for the mind. There is a requirement that intelligent beings predict things before they happen, which requires memory. Boundary interfaces provide a kind of building block, with access to fields becoming possible via boundary conditions.

Brian Swimme

Mind and World 
Session chair Brian Swimme discussed cosmogenetic consciousness, and what that entails. He encouraged conference participants to experience a visceral sense of wonder with respect to speciation events that some scholars speculate are based on not just genetic mutations, but conscious intention and activity as well. When viewing evolutionary developments through this lens, we can thus recognize important distinctions between evolution of the bison and the horse, which evolved very differently from a common genetic ancestor–by attending to different streams of attention and intention. We can hypothesize that what gets brought forth through evolution is what it’s all about.

Menas Kafatos

Menas Kafatos Commentary on Quantum Theory and Free Will

Menas Kafatos presented a summary of important points from the orthodox interpretation of quantum mechanics as described in numerous publications by Henry P. Stapp and summarized in his new book, “Quantum Theory and Free Will: How Mental Intentions Translate into Bodily Actions.” Nature has values, including life–so we might ask how our values express themselves in a physical universe. Our universe is quantum on every level, although it appears classical, and the observer role is central in quantum physics.

Henry P. Stapp and Seán Ó Nualláin

Syamala Hari on Voluntary Action, Conscious Will and Readiness Potential

Syamala Hari discussed neural correlates of consciousness, neural models, and ways to interpret quantum mechanics in such a way that intention does activation.

 

Henry Stapp and Cynthia Sue Larson

If Artificial Intelligence Asks Questions, Will Nature Answer?

Cynthia Sue Larson considered how Henry Stapp’s orthodox interpretation of quantum mechanics suggests that when a question is asked, Nature answers–and then pursued this line of thinking to contemplate what happens if Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) asks a question. The impact of such a dialogue between AGI and Nature were explored, with consideration of humanity’s optimal role.

Stan Klein

Stan Klein on New Approaches to the Measurement Problem

Stan Klein provided an introductory overview of Quantum Electro Dynamics as necessary foundational groundwork prior to reviewing the importance of recognizing the selection problem in quantum physics. When we consider a moveable cut, we may well ask, “Who is the observer?”

Tania Re

Tania Re discussed research findings from the field of ethnogenic healing, with support from quantum physics indicating there is growing evidence to recommend consideration of psychotropic substances for therapeutic use.

Seán Ó Nualláin

Reterritorialization and Mental Health

Foundations of Mind founder Seán Ó Nualláin described the issues facing Ireland based on the background presented in his book, “Ireland, A Colony Once Again.” Since the 1990s, there has been a disturbing trends including encroachment of state, increasing suicide rates of the Irish populace, and a kind of illegal status quo–resulting in a Good Friday agreement that brought peace, and also a result that Ireland became a state with no land.

Phillip Shinnick

Phillip Shinnick discusses nature’s influence and mind training in QiGong

Phillip Shinnick described some of the research he has done to address difficulties in inorganic and organic measurement of QiGong energy. Mind and Qi appear to be separate, and Qi does not need mind activity to ‘do its own thing.’ Man cannot govern Dao Yin (nature), but rather nature is involved, and teaches us. Practicing QiGong produces measureable energetic effects, and changes the way we observe reality.

Wolfgang Baer

Wolfgang Baer

Wolfgang Baer presented a talk about “why I’m not afraid of A.I.,” introducing his Cognitive Action Theory where activity is at the center, and action does the activity–rather than emphasizing roles of ‘observers’ and ‘things.’ From this perspective, we feel we are together when we are moving together, and experience is explained by process. From this view, each of us is an event that contains time. We thus live in a world of interacting action cycles–a multiverse of persons.

Vipul Arora

Vipul Arora

Vipul Arora described how observations are essential building blocks of the world. We can quantify experiences in time according to predictable relationships in kinematics. We notice primary properties, or aspects of experience, which are different from emergent properties, and in so doing, we might well ask whether we can distinguish between different sources (tungsten, mercury, sodium lamps). Speech recognition started with higher emergent properties, but those results are limited and moving toward lower emergent properties. We see that limitations of detectors can undermine the importance of primary properties.

Fred Alan Wolf

Fred Alan Wolf

Fred Alan Wolf discussed self-referential consciousness, quantum mechanics, and Gödel numbers to demonstrate that minds can do what automatons cannot do, by transcending rules. There is something about ‘Gödelization’ that shows it is an unalgorithmic procedure, with measurements that are inherently unalgorithmic. Put in other words, we can’t consistently mathematize quantum wave function collapse.

 

Stan McDaniel

Stan McDaniel

Stan McDaniel talked about the philosophy of continuity, time, and opposition of the dominant paradigm consisting of mechanistic reductionism, physical time, and neoDarwinism. Stan pointed out that memory is used for two things: remembering, and bits of data stored somewhere. This leads us to consider whether a computer can look at it’s own memory, whereas humans are involved in a state of functional reciprocity with nature and the world.

Beverly Rubik and Harry Jabs

Beverly Rubik & Harry Jabs

Beverly Rubik talked about ways Artificial Intelligence can automate obtaining human health information from bio-well finger scans, and then potentially also provide specific balancing frequencies that have been shown effective in reducing stress and improving health. Harry Jabs described ways that A.I. might emulate humans, though robots lack emotions and also will lack a human biofield.

Karla Galdamez

Karla Galdamez

Karla Galdamez described her study of intention at a distance as a source of information transfer and wave function collapse in a recent experiment. This particular experiment involved a Zen meditator in an electromagnetically shielded room, and a remote helper, connected via internet. 

 

 

 

Additional photos and news announcements from the Foundations of Mind IV conference can be viewed at the Foundations of Mind facebook page.

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Cynthia Sue Larson is the best-selling author of six books, including Quantum Jumps. Cynthia has a degree in Physics from UC Berkeley, and discusses consciousness and quantum physics as the host of her radio show Living the Quantum Dream, and as a guest on numerous shows including: the History Channel, Coast to Coast AM, the BBC, Gaia TV, and One World with Deepak Chopra. You can subscribe to Cynthia’s free monthly ezine at: http://www.RealityShifters.com

RealityShifters®

Where is the Mandela Effect Taking Us?

For everyone aware of the Mandela Effect and reality shifts, it’s clear that experiencers are greatly outnumbered by those who’ve yet to consciously recognize such phenomena. The two surveys that I’ve conducted interviewing hundreds of people in 2000 and again in 2013 indicate that despite some small increases of reported experiences of some types of reality shifts, the percentages of experiencers are roughly similar. Keeping in mind that these two surveys were conducted just 13 years apart, the small increases of some types of reality shifts can conceivably indicate bigger shifts yet to come. Which brings us to ask the question, “Where is the Mandela Effect taking us?”

While we may not know for sure where humanity is headed as some of us come to recognize we are traveling between what seems to be parallel possible worlds–so movie dialogue, product logos, celebrity deaths and much, much more are observed by us to change from time to time–this certainly seems to be a good time to ask ourselves where we’d most like to go.

One thing becomes more certain even as facts and histories become less so, and that is a recognition of human consciousness being capable of moving between physical realities. Thanks to the internet and our ability to quickly communicate with others, we are now finding large numbers of people who may also recall alternate histories to what apparently now ‘has always been this way,’ so we can ask ourselves why, for example, so many of us recall the young blonde character, “Dolly” having braces on her teeth in her scene with “Jaws” from the James Bond movie “Moonraker.” There is no logical reason why so many people would simultaneously be so strongly convinced that there used to be a very logical reason why Dolly and Jaws looked so happy together–they each boasted a mouthful of metal teeth!

Once we begin to notice Mandela Effects in which we can compare notes and observe changes to human anatomy, geography, passages in books we’ve memorized by heart, and more–we also start noticing changes in our personal lives where we might not be able to compare notes with anyone else.

Yet once our eyes have been opened to the fact that we seem to be observing changes in physical reality, we also begin to ask why such changes occur. And this line of questioning can bring us to a place of playing with shifting realities more consciously–with quantum jumping from one reality to the next. We thus can become aware that our beliefs have tremendous power and influence over what physically happens in our lives, and we notice how the placebo effect has doubled in the past 30 years, and people who have some kind of faith tend to experience the most profound placebo benefits–feeling better when having taken some kind of “sham” treatment with no known medical efficacy.

Alexander Lvovsky

If it turns out to be true that there is no boundary line demarcating the end of the classical physics world and the beginning of the ‘quantum realm’ as some scientists such as Alexander Lvovsky are recently contemplating, we begin to see what the Mandela Effect and reality shifts and quantum jumps are telling us, and where they may be taking us, too.

We begin to imagine there’s continuity from the realm of the very smallest subatomic particles and quantum wave functions that behave more like energy than matter–all the way to the realm of the immensely, gigantically enormously huge star systems, galaxies, and constellations. Relativity may then apply both to spaceship travelers and quantum measurements and ‘quantum phenomena’–such as teleportation, tunneling, entanglement, and superposition of states–such that we can reach a point of expecting histories to change from time to time as consciousness (individual and/or larger group levels) makes various levels of leaps.

The Mandela Effect offers to take humanity out of our current tendencies toward presumption of material realism and classical True-False logic into the realm of quantum logic, where facts are entangled and sometimes seemingly unrelated things move together coherently, like birds of a flock moving in perfect synchrony. Quantum logic invites us to consider how something can be: True, True-and-False, Not-True-Not-False, or False. Mandela Effects, reality shifts and quantum jumps show us that just because we think something is a certain way doesn’t mean it will stay that way, or that others will believe that they have experienced it that way. We’ll thus begin to formulate an explanation for why scientists are currently having such trouble replicating their experiments. We’ll begin to transform our legal systems as historians, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists and biologists come to recognize alternate histories as being a natural part of human existence. Medical professionals will adopt a view of spontaneous remission being a naturally occurring process, and doctors will therefore encourage people to adopt ‘healthy beliefs’ and states of mind that facilitate quantum jumps as one of the fundamental foundations of healing. Our views of unbiased observers and impartial judges will be completely changed, as we appreciate how information can travel anywhere instantaneously, and how everyone and everything is interconnected.

The ultimate destination for humanity may be unknown, in terms of just how radically we may eventually be capable of evolving ourselves and our environment as we master our mind-body-spirit connection with the physical world. Yet we can be relatively certain that as long as we keep asking questions such as, “How good can it get?!”, we likely have a wonderful future to look forward to!

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Cynthia Sue Larson is the best-selling author of six books, including Quantum Jumps. Cynthia has a degree in Physics from UC Berkeley, and discusses consciousness and quantum physics on numerous shows including the History Channel, Coast to Coast AM, the BBC and One World with Deepak Chopra and on the Living the Quantum Dream show she hosts. You can subscribe to Cynthia’s free monthly ezine at: http://www.RealityShifters.com

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Many Possible Realities and Mandela Effect

When I first began studying the field of quantum jumping, reality shifts, and the Mandela Effect back in the 1990s, I was noticing things appearing, disappearing, transforming, and transporting–and the only thing that matched the kind of bizarre stuff I was seeing was to consider the radical viewpoint that maybe quantum behavior doesn’t just happen in the so called “quantum realm.” I’ve been presenting the viewpoint in my books Reality Shifts and Quantum Jumps that maybe there is no ‘quantum realm.’ Maybe everything is essentially quantum, and we usually just don’t notice it.

While it may seem bizarre to imagine that you and I and everyone and everything exists in what can be described as a ‘superposition of states,’ a growing number of physicists believes that this is precisely what is going on. So, rather than there just being one ‘true reality’ at any given moment, we can imagine that each moment consists of an infinite range of possibilities, with many possible me’s and many possible you’s.

This idea of existing in a superposition of states with many possible variations of ourselves and everyone and everything else around us is precisely the idea behind why placebos have become so remarkably effective in recent years. Many scientists have noted with wonderment that efficacy of placebos–which can be like a saline solution, sugar pill, or ‘sham’ surgery–has doubled over the past few decades. Many people can even feel the benefit from telling themselves, for example, that they got a good night’s sleep, even if in truth it was one of the most interrupted nights of sleep they’ve ever had, and astonishingly they will respond on cognitive and motor skill tests just as well as if they really did get a good night’s sleep.

The Placebo Effect thus shows us how we can access the realm of alternative possible realities, by doing what American psychologist William James suggested, and acting as if we’re in the reality we require. So you can, for example, simply tell yourself that you’ve had a good night’s sleep, and connect with the reality in which that was in fact true. And you can feel well-rested, just as if you actually did get one of your best night’s of sleep ever.

Scientific evidence for the existence of such things as ‘placebo sleep’ and ‘placebo exercise’ have been proven true in recent years, in studies such as Placebo Sleep Affects Cognitive Functioning. A study of hotel housekeepers who were informed that doing their regular work activities was good exercise found that those workers scored higher on health indicators than a group of similar workers who had not been told they were getting on-the-job work-outs.

What’s being found to be consistently proven true is that any time people are informed by someone they respect that some kind of “treatment” is going to work, it probably will. I include summaries of numerous such studies in my book, Quantum Jumps, along with laboratory-proven simple things you can do to feel reduced pain, greater intellectual ability, improved willpower, and better relationships.

You can see the video summary of this blog post at: https://youtu.be/AVIZM–qQQg

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Cynthia Sue Larson is the best-selling author of six books, including Quantum Jumps. Cynthia has a degree in Physics from UC Berkeley, and discusses consciousness and quantum physics on numerous shows including the History Channel, Coast to Coast AM, the BBC and One World with Deepak Chopra and on the Living the Quantum Dream show she hosts. You can subscribe to Cynthia’s free monthly ezine at: http://www.RealityShifters.com

RealityShifters®

Foundations of Mind IV conference: Quantum Mechanics Meets Neuroscience

The Foundations of Mind IV (FOM4)”Quantum Mechanics Meets Neuroscience” conference was hosted by the California Institute for Integral Studies (CIIS) by the CIIS Center for Consciousness Studies in San Francisco on January 27, 2017. It featured presentations by: John Hagelin, Stuart Hameroff, Ruth Kastner, Henry Stapp, Russell Targ, Jack Sarfatti, George Weissmann, Elizabeth Rauscher, Leslie Allan Combs, Fred Alan Wolf, Shelli Joye, Seán Ó Nualláin, Cynthia Sue Larson, Stanley Klein, and Chris Cochran. This fourth Foundations of Mind conference was scheduled to coincide with what would have been Walter Freeman III’s 90th birthday.

People registered through Foundations of Mind (FOM) have joined in numerous conversational threads in areas related to the quantum paradigm, consciousness, quantum interpretations, neuroscience, and higher education.

Seán Ó Nualláin

Neurodynamics

Foundations of Mind founder Seán Ó Nualláin began the conference by talking about the history of Foundations of Mind, starting with a humble initial budget of $55 a few years ago. In just a few years time, Foundations of Mind has grown to an organization that has created over a hundred peer-reviewed papers–with 79 papers published in just the past three years–all the while providing researchers full rights. The tremendous success of Foundations of Mind is obvious when witnessing the exponential increase in online views and downloads of it’s published research papers, with over 28 million views of all papers published through Cosmos and History in 2015 alone.

Ó Nualláin shared insights and breakthroughs associated with Walter Freeman III’s work that will likely continue for many years to come. Ó Nualláin elucidated the differences between Pribram and Freeman’s work from his unique perspective of having had the opportunity to work closely with both of them. Ó Nualláin explained how Pribram’s holonomic approach arises from consideration of the “microscopic” level–such as individual neurons–while Freeman’s research focused on mass action at the “mesoscopic” level. Ó Nualláin emphasized Freeman’s point that a critical mistake neurologists often make is in supplanting ‘neural fields’ with ‘neuron doctrine,’ as he called for a return to neural field research. Ó Nualláin emphasized that there are important clues to discerning between consciousness and awakeness that can be found in gamma synchrony, with characteristically brief (about 3 seconds at most) synchronous states attained through meditation that requires less energy than other mental states. 

Shelli Joye

Tuning the Mind 
Shelli Joye presented a talk about how quantum field theory can be applied to the electromagnetic field, resulting in quantum electrodynamics. A hypothesis of consciousness residing in the frequency domain is congruent with David Bohm’s implicate order, which appears to provide support for experiences of mystics and psychonauts.

Chris Cochran

Wolfgang Pauli’s Background Physics

Chris Cochran talked about conversations between physicist Wolfgang Pauli and psychologist Carl Jung mostly centered on the topic of Pauli’s dream interpretations. The notion of background physics was presented as a method of psychoanalytic interpretation applied to foundations of quantum mechanics–comprising a practice of self knowledge that emerges in relation to knowledge of quantum mechanics. One of the more interesting conclusions from this rather unique quantum interpretation is that Pauli took complementarity to express the impossibility of final determination of the categories of ‘physical’ and ‘psychic,’ resulting in a conclusion of it being an impossibility for there to be mere ‘physical’ grounding for science. Cochran reminded us of Carl Jung’s suggestion to note that “Only from his wholeness can man create a model of the whole.”

Stuart Hameroff, Jack Sarfatti, and Cynthia Sue Larson

Consciousness in the Universe

Stuart Hameroff presented the “Orch OR” theory that he and physicist Roger Penrose devised to provide a physical explanation for where consciousness might be found to reside. Hameroff began his talk by describing how most modern science is based on an ‘integrate and fire’ neural model that has led to brain mapping, which so far has not been very fruitful. When Penrose suggested the idea that microtubules might be capable of processing information along the lines of a kind of biological quantum computer, we gained an idea for how human memory might work. Hameroff noted that consciousness is definitely not a computation, stating that Penrose used Gödel’s theorem to show conscious understanding is non-computational. Penrose points out that ‘self-collapse’ is consciousness, and we can imagine our conscious minds as something akin to an orchestra warming up.

John Hagelin

Search for Consciousness

John Hagelin presented a summary of recent theories and evidence refuting the
“objective” or “OR” component of “Orch OR.” Hagelin asserted that the OR portion of Orch-OR needs a closer look, since once it is considered in light of recent developments in theoretical quantum physics, the OR portion doesn’t stand up. Hagelin was quick to point out that this does not mean that quantum mechanics does not play a role in consciousness. He continued that he feels the absence of any mechanism suggests that there might not be any wave function collapse; instead we may have the emergence of a multiplicity of parallel viewpoints via decoherence within a single wave function, all operating within a single universal consciousness.

Lively Discussions

A lively panel discussion with Stuart Hameroff, Stan Klein, Henry Stapp and John Hagelin followed the morning sessions, with Ruth Kastner stating that the matter of the collapse of the wave function needs to be addressed, and advising against “shoving the collapse under a different piece of furniture in the room.”

Russell Targ

Nonlocal Remote Perception

Russell Targ talked about the long and successful history of the remote viewing program that he managed for many years at SRI, and showed a movie clip from the forthcoming documentary film, Third Eye Spies. Targ discussed some of the more remarkable discoveries from nonlocal remote perception (aka “remote viewing”) such as he oversaw at SRI in the 1970s. Targ emphasized that “remote viewing is so easy that even a scientist can do it.”  Targ’s ability to provide prompts to those learning to do remote viewing for the first time proved especially fruitful, such as asking a viewer to “show me the surprising images that come into your mind.”

Stan Klein

Testing Psychic Phenomena

Stan Klein presented his talk on, “Using Psychic Phenomena to Test Walter Freeman’s Devotion to Connecting Neuropil to Hard Problems.” Stan made a call for more and better experiments investigating findings in psychic phenomena in the future.

How Hippies Can Save the 2nd Quantum Revolution

Cynthia Sue Larson introduced the afternoon sessions devoted to presentations by Ruth Kastner, Elizabeth Rauscher, George Weissmann, Fred Alan Wolf, Henry Stapp, and Jack Sarfatti.

 

Cynthia Sue Larson and Ruth Kastner

Science Hasn’t Disproven Free Will

Ruth Kastner presented a different perspective on the topic of free will than the currently prevailing view amongst most quantum physicists–that there is no such thing as personal choice; it’s all probabilities. Kastner contends that we do have free will, as she guided us through an exploration of considering oneself as a ‘quantum system’ in a ready state. It’s clear when envisioning this scenario that each person is enormously complex while existing in an open (rather than closed) state. Choices are not really quantum observables, and each choice option is not represented by an eigenvalue. It is thus physically inaccurate, for example, to call a choice made by Hitler a “quantum defined observable.” Kastner reminded us of a quote by Freeman Dyson, “… mind is already inherent in every electron, and the processes of human consciousness differ only in degree but not in kind from the processes of choice between quantum states which we call ‘chance’ when they are made by electrons.”

Elizabeth Rauscher

Paradigm Shift Number II Ready to Happen

Elizabeth Rauscher talked about how she and George Weissmann initially formed the Fundamental Fysiks Group at UC Berkeley in 1975 to delve deeper into the mysteries of quantum physics beyond the “shut up and calculate” point of view. Quantum concepts were explored with talks by David Bohm and some Nobel prize recipients. Rauscher discussed the idea of quantum reality, showing how EPR fits in with Bell’s Theorem, and what happens as our previously accepted notions of reality fail. Rauscher explained how there is a notion of approximate reality associated with the quantum realm, sandwiched between improbabilities, in a narrow slice of physical ‘exact reality.’ Rauscher provided an overview of subjective versus objective aspects of reality, and the value of precognition in bringing information from the future back to the past, as described in more detail in her books and papers.

George Weissmann and Elizabeth Rauscher

The Quantum Paradigm

George Weissmann discussed the nature of paradigms, and the way presuppositions are implicit unconscious assumptions that often have a dangerous way of sneaking into our theories unquestioned–going mostly unnoticed and ignored. Weissmann stressed that it is absolutely critical in these times to become paradigm-aware. One fundamental assumption to examine more closely is that of objectivity: that there exist such things as objects. When we challenge assumptions, it’s not the same thing as negating it, but rather challenging can be understood to be a process of questioning. In the case of objectivity, we can then keep track of subject and object with every distinction being made. Classical physics is always about ‘external things,’ while quantum is not about external things. Quantum theory is a process, and the arena is in the mind… which leads us to wonder, “Which mind?” We thus begin to gain a sense of relational quantum theory that is personal and not idealistic (mind VS matter), since experience consists of both subject and object. Dreams can thus provide us with a good metaphor for the quantum paradigm, with an implicit sense of One Mind cosmology, in which the quantum paradigm can qualitatively explain and predict.

Fred Alan Wolf

Ontology, Epistemology, Consciousness, and Closed Timelike Curves

Fred Alan Wolf discussed some ideas behind quantum computers having to do with viewing the universe as a multiverse along the lines of what David Deutsch suggests, with closed timelike curves in the multiverse, and wormholes connecting universes in the multiverse. Such a conceptualization of the multiverse transcends linear dynamics, so everything can be considered as being part of parallel universes, where previous time travel paradoxes no longer wreak the kind of havoc we’ve come to expect. Both the “knowledge paradox” and “grandfather paradox” can be resolved through chronological-respecting qubits and consistent time-looping qubits. What comes out of one wormhole thus goes into another world, with entanglement being preserved overall throughout the multiverse.

Henry Stapp

Backward-in-Time Effect in Orthodox Forward-in-Time Relativistic Quantum Field Theory

Henry Stapp pointed out that the present exists “now” and this representation of reality is represented by density matrix. Density matrix is ontological, and represents potentialities with statistical weights, evolving smoothly through time. When considering experiments such as Daryl Bem’s “feeling the future” precognitive experiments, an upsurge of conductance occurs before the stimulus is applied–which seems to provide evidence for backward-in-time causation. When considering such experiments, we must understand orthodox von Neumann quantum theory in a way that is not normally considered. We thus need to better understand ‘actual past’ versus ‘historical past’ so we understand and appreciate that history does not create us.

 

Jack Sarfatti

 

Recent Advances in Post-Quantum Physics: The Third Revolution

Jack Sarfatti advocated considering an earlier Bohmian pilot wave view of quantum physics, utilizing John Bell’s “be-ables” in conjunction with the work of Sutherland. Quantum information waves can thus be considered to actually be mental waves, so there is an ontological physical field that manifests as quantum potential, Q, as “will” or “volition.” Mental waves do not have qualia unless the matter they act on reacts directly to them. There is thus a kind of post-quantum action-reaction that has much in common with the wormholes and closed timelike curves presented by Fred Alan Wolf. As soon as you have wormholes, you have consciousness, operating in a block universe. Both future and past are located on the horizon.

Informal Conference Conversations

Melanie O’Reilly with Corca Baiscin

Conference attendees got a chance to mingle with others during breaks, at lunch, and after the conference. An evening musical performance by Corca Baiscin (pronouced Kurka Boshkin) featured vocalist Melanie O’Reilly’s beautiful Celtic jazz. “Kurka Boshkin/Corca Baiscin” combines Irish traditional music with a Celtic-Americana contemporary twist, interwoven with jazz improvisation. Corca Baiscin is the name of the ancient territory now known as County Clare on the west coast of Ireland; you can hear a sample of Corca Baiscin playing “The Tamlin” in this video clip: https://youtu.be/6QycRVt8Xf8 and Melanie O’Reilly sing “The Diamond Rocks” here: https://youtu.be/mVRqR_pjVs0

 

Some presenters and attendees continued to enjoy a meal and post-conference conversation at a nearby restaurant.

Additional photos and news announcements from the Foundations of Mind IV conference can be viewed at the Foundations of Mind facebook page.

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Cynthia Sue Larson is the best-selling author of six books, including Quantum Jumps. Cynthia has a degree in Physics from UC Berkeley, and discusses consciousness and quantum physics as the host of her radio show Living the Quantum Dream, and as a guest on numerous shows including: the History Channel, Coast to Coast AM, the BBC, Gaia TV, and One World with Deepak Chopra. You can subscribe to Cynthia’s free monthly ezine at: http://www.RealityShifters.com

RealityShifters®

Neurotechnology, AI and Enhanced Human Intelligence

David Eagleman and Cynthia Sue Larson

I attended an invigorating open discussion, “The Future of Neurotechnology: Human Intelligence + Artificial Intelligence,” led by neuroscientist David Eagleman and entrepreneur Bryan Johnson at my alma mater, UC Berkeley. The purpose of this talk was to discuss possible directions as we go forward to incorporate advances in neuroscience with those of Artificial Intelligence (AI), with awareness that there will be some degree of synergy between development of advances in human cognitive enhancement and AI.

Eagleman and Johnson agree that it’s not a matter of IF but WHEN neurotechnology will become reality in our lives. Neuro-tech may not yet be a common household word just yet, but it is definitely well on the way. And in fact, now that most of us hold in our hands devices that allow us to access the internet, we already are starting to get a glimpse of how this merging of technology into the way we make choices, communicate, and remember important people and events in our life will feel.

At this time when venture capitalists are understandably wary about investing in businesses with unproven track records that are operating on the “bleeding edge,” Bryan Johnson explained he invested one hundred million dollars of his own personal money in his company, Kernel, a human intelligence (HI) company to develop the world’s first neuroprosthesis for cognition. Working together with Ted Berger at USC, Johnson is exploring how new technologies might help us improve memory through neuromodulation. Johnson and his team seek to answer the question, “What if we could read and write neural memory in the hippocampus?”

In 2013, Kernel’s NeuroPace proved itself to be a commercial success in quelling epileptic seizures. Future advancements may rely upon such new technologies as neural dust and nanobots.

What does all this have to do with you? In much the same way that transportation is being revolutionized with the coming of robot cars and self-driving vehicles, neurotechnology is poised to transform Human Intelligence (HI) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), while reducing disease, dysfunction and degradation–and enhancing human cognitive functioning.

Neurotechnology Ethical Considerations

Bryan Johnson noted that several people were raising questions and voicing concerns about ethical considerations of human cognitive enhancement–so he asked for a show of hands to indicate how many people felt ethics should be given high priority with regard to neurotechnological advances. Many people (including me) raised our hands, confirming Bryan Johnson’s hunch.

Johnson took note of this, and pointed out that however each of us might feel about the ethical questions involving applying neurotechnology with such things as neural dust–designed to non-invasively enter a human’s peripheral nervous system and sit on the surface of the neurocortex–there will be countries in the world, such as China, that welcome such experimental research with open arms.

The subject of the singularity came up, as one gentleman shared the observation that based on simulations of what happens when AI develops, it appears to be extremely clear that we will need some kind of human enhancement in order to give humans a fighting chance. A variety of simulations of how AI will interact with humanity show that unless everything goes just exactly right, human survival after the creation, expansion, development, and dominance of AI is not a sure thing. We would thus do well to help ensure a more level playing field between humans and AI by boosting Human Intelligence with neurotechnology.

Participants in the discussion voiced the opinion that convergence between machine learning and human cognitive enhancement will be helpful now. One woman in the audience expressed her profound heartfelt desire that wisdom be prioritized in neurotechnological advances as being one of the most important priorities to keep in mind.

Envisioning New Neurotechnical Horizons

With regard to envisioning where neurotechnology may go in the next few decades, Johnson and Eagleman spoke mostly in generalities, rather than specifics. Intelligent neural dust, such as that developed at UC Berkeley’s Brain Machine Interface Systems Laboratory involving sensors about the size of a grain of sand, is a form of implantable technology that can be placed in nerves or muscles to treat disorders such as epilepsy, to stimulate the immune system, and to reduce inflammation. Powered by and working with ultrasound, the tiny neural dust can go super-deep inside a body to take measurements and assist in stimulating nerves and muscles. Another new arrival in the new field of electroceuticals will be nanobots, which will be even smaller than neural dust, and can automate tasks such as performing delicate surgical procedures, delivering exact drug dosages, and diagnosing disease; this past year, swarms of nanobots demonstrated promise in precisely targeting and treating cancer.

Job requirements may change once human intelligence and cognitive functioning is neurotechnologically enhanced. We expect that some of our technical professionals receive additional training to become doctors and lawyers–and it’s conceivable that in the not-too-distant future, some professionals may also be expected to undergo neurotechnological enhancement as part of the requirements for the job.

A young man wearing a T-shirt emblazoned “Qualia Research Institute” asked, “What do we do if we find out we are at the local maxima of human cognitive efficiency? How might we be able to tweak it?” to which Johnson and Eagleman pointed out that we should be able to increase our communication input/output rate to a level that is far faster than the slow verbal speech method currently being used during this discussion–since we can all think far more quickly than we can talk.

Fully aware of the irony, I took hand-written notes during this presentation and discussion, and wrote the draft of this article by hand with a pen on paper–clearly NOT the fastest way to do things! Yet, I’ve seen research showing advantages of taking notes by hand, rather than typing things on keyboards. I’ve found my ability to remember and more completely utilize information gets a huge boost when I work from hand-written notes. So while I agree with the inevitability of human enhancement with neurotechnology, I also envision a future in which “old ways” of knowing, communicating, and interacting with others continues to take place, and might even help us ensure that during the coming ascendance of AI, human intelligence ensures its place, too.

Free Will and the Power to Forget

After the talk, I enjoyed a personal chat with David Eagleman. During their discussion, Eagleman and Johnson had been emphasizing the value of enhancing human intelligence with better memory–and I had a sense that while memory enhancement sounds like a great idea, there are likely some really good natural reasons that we humans so often forget. I pointed out the value of forgetting–in that forgetting can enable us to make quantum jumps to more optimal realities–and this is likely a big factor in the effectiveness of placebo effect healing.

I talked with Eagleman about how he and Johnson had discussed finding ways for neurotechnology to enhance cognitive functioning by reading and writing information to the hippocampus–pointing out that we’ll likely see the that the hippocampus will grow when written to.

I voiced my support for putting human intelligence in the Open AI project, to minimize and prevent attempts to control AI and HI by one or a few governments or corporations.

We ended our conversation discussing ‘free will,’ which David reminded me he does not believe in, per se, as he describes in his book, Incognito. I suggested he consider the work of Thomas Metzinger and Max Velmans with consideration of first person and third person levels of representational self-modeling and levels of awareness. It’s clear that systems that are missing a few lines of code that constantly remind them they are representational models bear more than passing similarity to humans.

I’m inspired to see that David Eagleman’s Laboratory for Perception and Action at Stanford University seeks to understand how the brain constructs perception, how different brains do so differently, and how this matters for society–with special focus in four specific areas of: time perception, sensory substitution, synesthesia, and neurolaw. After giving some thought to neurotechnology, it’s clear to see the growing significance of the emerging interdisciplinary field of neurolaw.

Join the Conversation

My personal bias involves a preference to explore strengthening my awareness of what consciousness is and how it operates, working with natural human abilities that have historically been neglected, ignored or forgotten as technology has advanced. Some of my bias may be due to my being what is called an “exceptional human experiencer,” since I am a near-death experiencer, I am a meditator, I am a lucid dreamer, I have had a kundalini awakening experience, and I was ‘born aware’ (meaning I remembered being conscious prior to being born). Exceptional human experiences can provide people with access to heightened abilities to do some of the things we might also hope to enhance through neurotechnology–and I see a study of neurotechnology as potentially providing us with greater insights into optimizing our natural human abilities.

I’d love to hear your comments, thoughts and feelings about the future of neurotechnology. This is a controversial topic, that I hope you will contemplate and talk to people about it, thus helping set the direction for how humanity continues to evolve with technology. Some people are understandably skeptical or concerned about neurotechnology, while others are excited about the possibilities, and others yet don’t yet have strong feelings one way or the other. My gut feeling is that AI is coming, as is human cognitive enhancement. Humanity will do well to envision how we see ourselves in the future, and what we consider optimal in terms of working with neurotechnology in the future. I tend to agree with Eagleman and Johnson that it’s not a matter of if, but when, this technology will arrive. And those of us like myself who still don’t yet have cell phones can be hold-outs for a while (or in my case now, decades), yet all of us will eventually be affected in some way by these technologies.

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Cynthia Sue Larson is the best-selling author of six books, including Quantum Jumps. Cynthia has a degree in Physics from UC Berkeley, and discusses consciousness and quantum physics on numerous shows including the History Channel, Coast to Coast AM, the BBC and One World with Deepak Chopra and on the Living the Quantum Dream show she hosts. You can subscribe to Cynthia’s free monthly ezine at: http://www.RealityShifters.com

RealityShifters®

Mandela Effect VS Manifestation

I’ve been asked recently whether there is a difference between the Mandela effect and manifestation–and if there is a difference, what that might be.

The short answer is: Yes, there is a difference, and it has a lot to do with conscious intent. A trending monicker for reality shifts is “Mandela Effect,” in which many people may notice changes that seemingly have nothing to do with anything anyone was consciously wishing for, whereas in the case of “instant manifestation” and quantum jumps, we’re focused on a specific intention.

Mandela Effects and Reality Shifts

Mandela Effects and reality shifts often seem random and unexpected, surprising us with such things as: unexpected movie dialogue in a familiar scene, changes in writing in books we thought we knew by heart, and the occasional deceased celebrity being noticed unexpectedly alive again. In contrast, manifestation and quantum jumps typically occur after we focus on a specific desired outcome, such as locating a coveted parking spot, or suddenly feeling as if we’ve had enough rest after a short night’s sleep of tossing and turning.

Manifestation and Quantum Jumps

In the realm of manifestation, I’ve reported on hundreds of experiences involving such things as: improved health, broken-down or out-of-gas cars that start, and radically improved finances and relationships. In addition to these, many of the quantum jumps shared on the realityshifters website and in my book, “Quantum Jumps” include case studies of people teleporting through dangerous situations, such as safely past oncoming vehicles or falling steel beams they seemingly have no way to avoid. One useful example of how to enjoy benefits from ‘faking it until you make it’ and jumping to what feels like a parallel reality is believing you’ve slept well, even if you haven’t. Researchers at Colorado College conducted a study demonstrating the positive effects of such placebo sleep–which is one of dozens of similar laboratory-tested, simple things you can do to quickly become smarter, stronger, more confident, in better relationships, and feeling less pain that I share in my book, Quantum Jumps.

Overlap and  Commonalities

There appears to be a spectrum of continuity between the seemingly random surprises of Mandela Effects/reality shifts and consciously intended manifestation/quantum jumps, with a bit of overlap in the middle. I’ve experienced being part of a small group of people who start off experiencing seemingly random reality shifts / Mandela Effects, and end up witnessing what would more accurately be called quantum jumps / manifestation. These areas of overlap can be recognized when something is observed to “flip-flop” back and forth a few times before finally settling down at some point. During such flip-flops, we get a chance to consider our intentions.

As disconcerting as this experience can seem at the time, I am immensely grateful when such “flip-flops” occur, since they provide me with validation that I am, indeed, experiencing genuine shifts in reality, and not merely some kind of ‘memory glitch,’ as some classical scientists and reporters assert. Furthermore, I am grateful to have what I feel to be an opportunity to make a choice between which reality I’d truly most enjoy to experience, based on which one I’m more emotionally and energetically attached to (with whatever strong feelings I may have). I do realize this is a bit like being shown two possible desserts on a tray by a waiter in a restaurant–and the one I get is the one I am most entangled with. That is the moment all my spiritual “inner work” pays off, so hopefully I don’t end up with something I’m still “working through.”

And if I’m sufficiently relaxed, energized and detached, I’ve noticed that it seems that what gets settled on tends to be what I might ever-so-slightly prefer, so it seems to me almost as if I’m being asked by the Universe “Do you like this?” “Or how about this?” “Which one do you like better?” “Want to check it again–how about this?” “Or this?” 🙂

In the cases where no such flip-flopping occurs, the transition to a new reality can seem seamless and smooth, as if it was simply a natural progression and nothing out of the ordinary at all. I feel this is why so many people are blissfully unaware of the number of shifts they actually experience each day–simply because these shifts don’t often seem exceptional, but rather are just part of the way we each experience daily life.

Significance of Numbers of Experiencers

There are those who say there is another difference between Mandela Effects and manifestation other than conscious intent, stating that Mandela effects impact many people, whereas manifestation is experienced by one person at a time.While this might seem true at first glance, my research shows that’s an inaccurate oversimplification. What I’ve learned from 18 years of studying reality shifts and conducting two separate surveys in April 2000 and 2013 is that while reality shifts and Mandela Effects are often witnessed by many people, sometimes there are just a few people recognizing a particular alternate history, and sometime only one. Similarly, reports of manifestation and quantum jumps typically involve a single experiencer–though there are times when groups of people witness instantaneous shifts in reality that are greatly appreciated and had been hoped for and intended.

A Time of Global Awakening

At this time when increasing reports of Mandela Effects and reality shifts being observed, we seem to be experiencing a time of global awakening in which we are gaining a glimpse of how collective consciousness operates. Within collective consciousness, our thoughts and feelings are capable of influencing world events, and influencing the past as well as the present and future. While at first these shifts may appear random, they can provide us with awareness of how we can collectively invite positive experiences of how good things can get for everyone.

Mandela Effects / reality shifts represent a call to action for all of us to acknowledge that rather than focusing primarily on ego-satisfaction and ego-goals, we’ve arrived at a point when humanity as a whole is beginning to climb the steps of stages of psychosocial development, something akin to what psychologist Erik Erikson proposed for individuals. Humanity is currently in a phase something like infancy, in which we are dealing with matters of Trust VS Distrust when it comes to knowing if we can share goals and thoughts and intentions with others. This is just the first step, and it’s essential that we come to a good state of awareness of how to do this in large groups of people we barely know (or perhaps don’t really know at all) before we can proceed to the next step of development to something like Autonomy VS Shame and Doubt (similar to the so-called “terrible twos” that toddlers go through when they often delight in saying “No!” to everything).

For the best experiences of reality shifts and quantum jumps, I recommend remembering to keep asking, “How good can it get?”

You can watch the companion video to this blog post at: https://youtu.be/3kfUJP_PMvI

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Cynthia Sue Larson is the best-selling author of six books, including Quantum Jumps. Cynthia has a degree in Physics from UC Berkeley, and discusses consciousness and quantum physics on numerous shows including the History Channel, Coast to Coast AM, the BBC and One World with Deepak Chopra and on the Living the Quantum Dream show she hosts. You can subscribe to Cynthia’s free monthly ezine at: http://www.RealityShifters.com

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