Where Does Consciousness Originate?
Where Does Consciousness Originate?
Most neuroscientists would agree that consciousness emerges from the physical brain, and that when the brain dies, consciousness ceases to exist. Dr. Peter Fenwick, a highly regarded British neuropsychiatrist who has studied the brain and consciousness for 50 years, says this view is incorrect. Although he initially did not believe in phenomena associated with Near Death Experiences (NDEs), Fenwick now believes that consciousness continues after death and exists independently of the brain — belonging to the universe, a property of the universe, just like gravity.
The Brain Does Not Create Consciousness
Fenwick believes the brain filters and steps down what it receives from consciousness. The brain does not create consciousness — like a funnel, it narrows the vast element of consciousness so some portion of it can be managed within the limitations of the physical brain. Think of the eye, which filters and interprets only a small sliver of the electromagnetic spectrum. Similarly, the brain takes in only a tiny part of the cosmos’ intrinsic consciousness, filters it, and makes some available to each individual. When the brain dies, the phenomenon of consciousness still exists.
Consciousness Can Trick Us
According to Fenwick, our consciousness tricks us into perceiving a false duality of self and other when in fact there is only unity. We are not separate from other aspects of the universe but an integral and inextricable part of them. When we die, we transcend the human experience of consciousness and its illusion of duality, merging with the universe’s entire and unified property of consciousness.
What Are the Stakes?
If consciousness is generated outside the brain, then some piece of us survives death — call it soul or spirit. Death is not a total annihilation but a release into something much larger than the individual self, what many NDE experiencers have described as “going home.” This understanding can bring great peace to those who fear death.
Author: Emma Bragdon, PhD, Executive Director of IMHU.org.
References: Fenwick, P. & Fenwick, E. (2008). The Art of Dying. Bloomsbury: London.