That’s a headline designed to get my attention. Especially the subtitle:
Reincarnation, meaningful coincidences, and NDEs require a new paradigm.
Bernard D. Beitman M.D. is the author of MEANINGFUL COINCIDENCES and a member of the faculty at the Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS) at the University of Virginia, the only academic parapsychological unit in the United States. I applaud his approach, especially his inclusion of Reincarnation as a topic worthy of further study as we “re-conceptualize human identity.” Beitman stresses the importance to humanity as we confront what worldwildlife.org sees as our 6th mass extinction:
Science needs new paradigms about how reality works to be able to effectively address the many challenges to human, animal, and plant survival.
Scientism, which sees the universe as a logically knowable, predictable, controllable, and undirected process, has become a belief system, much like a religion, rather than continuing the basic intention of science—to systematically ask questions about how anomalies can be understood and used.
Scientism is not wrong. It is limited. The curiosity and openness to anomalies and their relevant data have always been part of the scientific approach to reality and need to be part of the new evolving science. The findings of NDEs, reincarnation, and synchronicity research require us to re-conceptualize human identity. NDEs suggest that people can be conscious when their brains are not functioning. What, then, is consciousness separate from the brain? Children who remember past lives are hinting at the possibility that some aspect of oneself survives bodily death. Meaningful coincidences suggest that we are imbued with untapped abilities while also being guided by currently mysterious forces.
It’s encouraging to read about faculty professionals confronting the belief system of scientism which would dismiss my Past and Future lives work as unworthy of serious consideration. Next door to be pushed open: Species-ism! (More to come on that)