UVA DOPS Faculty Panel: Mind Beyond Brain-Emerging Evidence for Life After Life

Hear from the scientists tackling the most important scientific question of all –What is mind and does it survive bodily death?

This event will feature the groundbreaking research taking place at the University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS). The UVA DOPS research  faculty will present the prolific scope of the division’s over 50 years of documented studies related to consciousness and the possibility of its survival.

The organizers are inviting UVA alumni, medical professionals, tech innovators, educators, philanthropists, fundraising professionals, and many others to gather for this ticketed symposium. Come with an open mind and leave with a new perspective.

This is a ticketed event.

Tickets are $100 per person-this price includes lunch.       Register here

The program will include:

• Children’s Past-Life Memories:
  JIM B. TUCKER, M.D., Director of the UVA Division of Perceptual Studies(DOPS), Bonner-Lowry Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences. DOPS researchers have studied over 2,500 cases from around the world of children who report memories of a previous life, some with details that are startlingly accurate. Many of the children show behaviors that appear connected to the past life, and some even have birthmarks that match wounds the previous person suffered. Several compelling American cases will be presented.
• Near-Death Experiences:
  BRUCE GREYSON, M.D., Chester F. Carlson Professor Emeritus of
  Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences. Near-death experiences (NDEs) share certain common features and after-effects; several suggest that consciousness may be able to function independent of the brain, and some NDEs contain evidence suggesting continued consciousness after bodily death. The presentation will include the accounts of several NDEs that illustrate these features.
• Further Horizons of Survival Research;
  MARIETA PEHLIVANOVA, PH.D., Senior Research Specialist. DOPS is actively looking for meaningful patterns within the two large collections of cases just presented (reported past-life memories in childhood and near-death experiences). Dr. Pehlivanova will present some new work with these cases, including intriguing findings with individuals who report past-life memories of being the opposite sex and near-death experiencers’ reduced fear of death.
• Contemplative Practices, Consciousness, and Extraordinary Experiences:
  J. KIM PENBERTHY, PH.D., ABPP, Chester F. Carlson Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences. Contemplative practices, including meditation, mindfulness, and yogic practices, can alter consciousness in positive ways, psychologically and physiologically. These practices are also associated with siddhis, or “supercognitive abilities” including expanded states of consciousness, mystical experiences, and abilities such as clairvoyance, precognition, and other psi phenomena. This presentation will include research findings on these siddhi experiences and will present an outline for future research and its potential impact.
• Psi and Survival in Context: The Big Picture:
  EDWARD F. KELLY, PH.D., Professor, Division of Perceptual Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences. Mainstream materialist science portrays mind and consciousness as being generated by the brain. If that picture were correct, postmortem survival would not be possible. Dr. Kelly will describe how the accumulating evidence for psi, survival, and other phenomena not explainable in physicalist terms is forcing a revision of our most fundamental ideas about the nature of reality.

 

• Q & A and Panel Discussion
  At the close of all presentations, the panel will engage in a Q & A. Audience members will have the opportunity to pose questions directly to these world renowned researchers.

 

• Candlelight Yoga (Optional)
  Upon the 3:00 p.m. conclusion of the event program, we’ll offer a 30 minute complimentary gentle yoga class for attendees in need of a stretch. Rachael Plaine, owner of Berkshire Yoga Dance & Fitness, will lead an easy-to-follow beginner-friendly yoga routine in a candlelit adjacent room.