Draft:Natural Eternal Consciousness

The theory of a natural eternal consciousness (NEC), or NEC theory for short, was postulated by Bryon K. Ehlmann by his 2020 journal article “The Theory of a Natural Eternal Consciousness: The Psychological Basis for a Natural Afterlife.”[1] Its explanation and the case for its scientific validity were enhanced by his 2022 article “The Theory of a Natural Eternal Consciousness: Addendum.” [2] The theory generalized and, in so doing, boosted support for the theory of a natural afterlife, which Ehlmann had postulated in a 2016 journal article, “The Theory of a Natural Afterlife: A Newfound, Real Possibility for What Awaits Us at Death.” [3]

The NEC theory and natural afterlife it facilitates are the subjects of Ehlmann’s 2022 book A Natural Afterlife Discovered: The Newfound, Psychological Reality That Awaits Us at Death. [4] The book presents the substance of his journal articles in a unified, less formal manner. In addition, it recounts the evolution of the NEC theory, discusses the inherent difficulty in accepting it due to its elusive essence and challenge to orthodoxy, and speculates on its significance to philosophy and religion, as well as its potential benefits for humanity.

Essentially, the NEC theory claims that one will be unaware that their last lifetime experience is over, given that death is imperceptible. Moreover, one is left believing timelessly and eternally that this last experience will continue. The theory is supported by psychology—specifically, observations on human experiences and the cognitive science principles related to time and conscious perception that explain them. [5 6 7] It describes a psychological reality about death and an afterlife, a mind-body dualistic immortality of a unique type and essence.

Overview

Statement

The NEC theory can be stated as follows:

When one dies, unless a supernatural afterlife occurs, from their perspective, they will be timelessly, though imperceptibly so, and eternally, though deceptively so, paused in the last discrete conscious moment of their final experience. This last moment (followed by the timelessness of death) is one’s natural eternal consciousness (NEC) and may be perceived as a natural afterlife.

Explanation

One’s self-awareness of their final lifetime experience—an awake (perhaps hallucinatory) one, a dream, or a near-death experience (NDE)—and their unawareness of the moment of death implies they will never lose their sense of self within the context of this experience. Instead, from their perspective, the experience will continue. Given that one’s NEC is imperceptibly timeless and deceptively eternal, it is an end-of-life illusion of immortality. However, to them, it is as real as a rainbow.

Others will know one’s last experience is over, but they will not. Moreover, they will forever anticipate that it will continue. Consciousness is not turned “Off” with death. It is simply “Paused”—paused on one’s final discrete (i.e., never changing) conscious moment, the present one of many past streaming conscious moments that solely form one’s consciousness. [6 7] It is paused because, with death, there will not be another conscious moment to replace the final conscious moment as the present moment in one’s self-awareness. Moreover, as with all conscious moments, one will be expecting more consistent ones to follow, at least in the next second.

Thought experiments are used to both support the NEC theory and help better grasp it. When do you know a dream is over? Answer: Only when you wake up. But suppose you never do. How will you ever know the dream is over? Before answering, know that one is only aware a dream is over when their first awake conscious moment replaces their last dream conscious moment as the present moment. Also, note that one often wakes up with the same feelings or emotions they had in the last dream moment (e.g., frustration) and is immediately surprised (sometimes relieved) that it was only a dream. Answer to the last question: You never will.

For those having undergone general anesthesia, when do you know you are not awake on the operating table with a mask over your nose and mouth? Answer: When you wake up in the recovery room. But suppose you never do? What will ever make you believe you are not on that operating table? Answer: Nothing, except if you have a dream or NDE before death.

Now, imagine that your last lifetime experience is an NDE wherein you believe you are in heaven, like many NDE survivors have reported. But suppose you do not survive. What will ever make you believe you are not in heaven? Answer: Nothing, because no conscious moment will ever provide a new present moment to change your awareness. So, you will always timelessly believe you are in heaven, anticipating more glorious moments to come. This anticipation comes from the fact that each conscious moment carries within it an expectation of more consistent moments to follow (at least in the next second). This expectation is why one is immediately surprised when they wake up from a dream.

According to the NEC theory, the NDE-based NEC described above is undoubtedly a natural afterlife, as it is perceived as an afterlife—in this case, a heaven. The cause of the NDE—neurological, physiological, or transcendent—is irrelevant. Merriam-Webster defines “afterlife” as “an existence after death.” Given this minimal definition and that one’s sense of self (i.e., their existence) is always preserved in the NEC, any NEC could be considered a natural afterlife. However, dying with the sole thought of soon being dead might be questionable as an afterlife.

To facilitate the deduction of the NEC theory and his argument for its scientific validity, Ehlmann developed a lifetime-in-eternity model of consciousness. [1 2] Reflecting his computer science background, he utilizes diagrams and formal notations commonly used to represent computer systems and languages. Here, the system is the human mind, and the model represents all psychological timeless states (e.g., dreamless sleep) and all conscious moments within all time-perceiving states that occur within a human life, set within the context of time eternal.

Possibilities

Based on the NEC theory, a pleasant natural afterlife for a theist can range from feelings of peace and contentment, looking forward to being with God in heaven (as on one’s deathbed), to being in a heaven of ultimate eternal joy in the presence of God. These possibilities could be the same for an atheist, except that God would not be in the picture in the first possibility, yet may or may not be in the second.

One’s NEC may be unpleasant, even hellish. Dreams can be nightmares, and recent studies involving NDE survivors estimate that between 11% and 22% of NDEs can be distressing. [15 ] However, these studies include people whose NDE may have prematurely terminated because of their survival. Its character may have changed if it had continued until death.

A final thought experiment raises another possibility for one’s NEC. Consider the ordinary, dull, and emotionless moment that you often have just before falling asleep with your eyes closed and your only thought being that of expecting to fall asleep. You see nothing, hear nothing, smell nothing, taste nothing, and may physically and consciously feel nothing. Your final awake moment, which could be your NEC, is not nothingness because one is aware of self, but near-nothingness.

The NEC theory does not rule out the possibility that the NEC could be overridden at or sometime after death by some supernatural afterlife. Its first conscious moment would simply replace one’s final lifetime moment.

Human Vs. Computer Consciousness

To aid in the understanding and acceptance of the NEC theory, Ehlmann often compares human consciousness to “computer consciousness.”

Unlike humans, computers (including smart devices), even with AI, lack self-awareness.[8] They have experiences—e.g., researching and answering a question about teenage suicides. However, they have no concept of self, no inner being, no soul. That is, they have no awareness of or belief in what they, as self, are experiencing and thus have no aroused feelings or emotions—e.g., like pain, love, or any sadness at discovering stories of tragic loss of life. Turn them off and recycle them; they will have no NEC.

When a computer or smart device “dies” (i.e., loses power), one will see a black screen. The computer is unaware of this darkness. When a human dies, there will not be any such darkness (and no “The End”). Even if there were, no subsequent conscious moment would ever cause it to vanish from a human’s self-awareness. That is, unless a supernatural consciousness would arise.

Philosophical Considerations

Logically, Ehlmann argues that a natural afterlife can be a heaven of ultimate eternal joy. For if and when events in a heavenly NDE have resulted in extreme joy, with death, nothing more will happen to make it any less joyful. Although the natural afterlife can provide immortality, its timeless essence (meaning there is no time for decisions) resolves the philosophical problem of free will, which in an eternally perfect world can result in evil, but the lack of which can result in boredom. [4, p. 195]

Regarding immortality, three main views exist within the Western philosophical tradition. [11]

The materialist view is that mind and body are coexistent so that when the body dies, the brain and thus the mind go with it. It rejects the existence of a soul or spiritual self that can survive outside the body.

The dualist view of immortality, also called the Platonic view, is that the mind (psyche, self, or soul) is separate from the body and that when the body dies, the soul lives on. Death is seen as the liberation of our spiritual being, our essential part, from our short-term bodies.

The holistic view is that the soul is not liberated from the body at death, but that a new, glorified version of the body emerges at some point. Here, the person is seen as holistic in that the soul is the spiritual manifestation of a material body.

In his book [9 pp. 78-84], Ehlmann explains how the NEC relates to these immortality views. Essentially, the NEC theory confirms the dualist view, but not in the way one might expect. Moreover, it offers some solace to adherents of the other two views.

In the NEC, the separation of soul and body is eternal, but only from the psychological perspective of the dying person. It’s not eternal from the material perspective of the living. Thus, some adherents of the materialist view (at least until they die) may find refuge in claiming it is not really immortality.

From a material perspective, the separation of soul and body is timeless in the NEC, as it is a static moment in the mind of a person who is dying but not yet deceased, followed by the timelessness that comes with death. However, from the psychological perspective, the separation is not timeless because the dying person is unknowingly paused in their last moment, expecting another to follow.

Most likely, advocates of all three immortality views have assumed immortality to be time-perceiving and never imagined it to be relativistic—i.e., imperceptibly timeless and deceptively eternal, psychologically, but merely timeless and momentary, materialistically.

For adherents of the holistic view of immortality, the possibility that the NEC could be overridden at or sometime after death by some supernatural afterlife means that the NEC can serve as an intermediate state for the soul before it eventually unites with a resurrected, glorified body.

Impact

In his book [4] and in a 2024 conference presentation titled Death’s Newfound Reality: Transforming Humankind for a Better World [9], Ehlmann discusses the beneficial impact he believes the NEC theory could have on humanity. This impact would stem from the theory’s two major revelations.

First, death does not result in a before-life-like non-existence. Instead, one's consciousness, including one's sense of self, is simply paused. Given this, growing awareness of the NEC theory should reduce tragic suicides and mass shootings. For one can no longer expect that, via death, they will rid themselves of self. They will still exist in the context of their suicidal experience—or perhaps within an unpleasant dream or NDE, the content of which they cannot control. [12 13 14]

Second, a scientifically supported and logically consistent heaven is possible. It results from an NEC based on a dream or, more likely, an NDE. However, what or who (a God?) will determine the nature of one’s NEC is a mystery, which raises the possibility of some form of afterlife accountability. Such a possibility would give individuals an incentive to strive to behave better and treat others well, which, in the end, may prove beneficial. Such an incentive should make the world a better place. [16]

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References

1.     Ehlmann B. K. (2020). "The Theory of a Natural Eternal Consciousness: The Psychological Basis for a Natural Afterlife". Journal of Mind and Behavior. 41(1) 53–80. https://jmb-online.com/pdf/03/JMB-41-1-2020-004.pdf

2.     Ehlmann B. K. (2016). "The Theory of a Natural Afterlife: A Newfound, Real Possibility for What Awaits Us at Death”. Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research, 7(11): 931–950. http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/618/632

3.     Ehlmann B. K. (2022). "The Theory of a Natural Eternal Consciousness: Addendum". Journal of Mind and Behavior". 43(3): 185–204. https://jmb-online.com/pdf/03/JMB-43-3-2022-002.pdf

4.     Ehlmann, Bryon (2022). A Natural Afterlife Discovered: The Newfound, Psychological Reality That Awaits Us at Death. K. Alvin Marie Publishing. ISBN 979-8-218-11762-7. pp. 94–96

5.    Le Poidevin, R. (2015). The experience and perception of time. Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, E. N. Zalta (Ed.). https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/time-experience/

6.     Elliott, M. A. & Giersch, A. (2016). What happens in a moment. Frontiers in Psychology, 6(1905). https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01905/full

7.    Herzog, M., Kammer, T., and Scharnowski, F. (2016, June 7). Time slices: What is the duration of a percept? PLOS BIOLOGY, 14(6), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002433

8.    Will We Ever Have Conscious Machines?

Front. Comput. Neurosci., 21 December 2020

Volume 14 - 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fncom.2020.556544

Patrick Krauss, Andreas Maier

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/computational-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fncom.2020.556544/full

9.     Ehlmann B. K. (2024, August 28–September 1). Death’s Newfound Reality: Transforming Humankind for a Better World [Conference presentation]. International Association of Near-Death Studies (IANDS), Phoenix, Arizona, United States.

Presentation Slides: http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.27217.34406

Presentation Video: https://conference.iands.org/2024-conf-vod/

10. Ehlmann, A Natural Afterlife Discovered, 2022: pp. 196-198

11. Immortality. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy   https://iep.utm.edu/immortal/

12. Beard C. (2023, April 6). “Religious Identity May Impact Suicide Risk - Religion, Fear of Death, and Suicide: Untangling a Complicated Relationship”. Psychology Today.

13. Dun L. (2019, August 11). “How Suicide Prevention Can Help Stop Mass Killers Before They Start Shooting.” NBC NEWS.

14. Koerth M. (2022, June 6). “Suicide Prevention Could Prevent Mass Shootings”. FiveThirtyEight: abc NEWS.

15.  Greyson B. (2023). “The darker side of near-death experiences.” Journal of Scientific Exploration.

https://doi.org/10.31275/20232843

16.  Purzycki, B., Apicella, C., Atkinson, Q. D., Cohen, E., McNamara, R. A., Willard, A. K., Xygalatas, D., Norenzayan, A., & Henrich, J. (2016). Moralistic gods, supernatural punishment and the expansion of human sociality. Nature, 530 (February 10, 2016), 327–330. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16980

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