A magna cum lade graduate of Princeton University and former investment banking analyst, Mark Gober, had his worldview turned upside down in late 2016 when he was exposed to world-changing scientific experiments from a diverse set of disciplines, ranging from psychic phenomena to near-death experiences (NDEs), to quantum physics. In the first half, he described how science is finding that consciousness may not be located in the brain. "Consciousness," he stated, "is primary, existing beyond space and time. So instead of saying we start with matter and end up with consciousness, consciousness comes first."
He believes some of the most compelling evidence that consciousness lies outside of the brain comes from NDEs. What's described, he said, is a very lucid, enriched type of consciousness, and instances where "people accurately report what happened during the time their brain was either not very functional or it was completely off like in cardiac arrest"-- often seen from an out-of-body perspective. He also addressed scientific studies that have yielded positive results in such areas as telepathy and mediumship, and the notion that we're all interconnected and part of one greater identity.
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Ron Kolek is the founder and lead investigator of the New England Ghost Project. With a degree in Environmental Science, he was the ultimate skeptic. However, a near-death experience changed all that. Maureen Wood is a fifth-generation psychic/trance-medium. Together they discussed their investigations of ghostly phenomena and the unexplained. Wood described a case where a woman experienced bizarre poltergeist-type phenomena such as a fire starting in her oven. In one case she and Kolek investigated, a house said to be haunted by the spirit of a young girl, was trashed as though someone had taken a bat to it. But Wood told the residents, including a tough character named 'Moose,' that rather than a girl she sensed the energy of an angry male spirit. They later learned that one of the residents had just been released from jail for murdering his best friend.
The most common type of sighting, said Kolek, is what he calls a "messenger" ghost. "It's someone who has just passed away, and they either come back to see how you're doing," or to let loved ones know that they're doing OK. Kolek reported having seen a number of apparitions, though generally not during his investigations. Once while he was conducting a haunted lighthouse tour, he clearly saw a woman outside the group, and he paused his lecture to wait for her. But after a few minutes, it was discovered that there was no one there. On another occasion, while sitting in the lighthouse keeper's residence, he looked toward the kitchen, and saw a dog, but it made no sound whatsoever. It turned out what he saw matched the description of a deceased dog that was the pet of previous lighthouse keepers.
News segment guests: Tim Ball, John M. Curtis, Lauren Weinstein