Saturday, September 19.
7-9 pm.
With Thomas D. Abraham.
$15 General Public / $10 Caritas Members.
Are we spiritual beings or biological machines? As we sit on the precipice of an AI revolution, and with rapid advances in neuroimaging and brain research (including the Brain Initiative), this question has become more of an ideological standoff than a philosophical musing. According to our current prevailing mechanisticmodel, the entire spectrum of human experience has biological underpinnings. Consciousness is an emergent property of brain activity and our brains have evolved via selection. This perspective is certainly well supported by evidence… however, is our model really evidence-based or have we been evidence-selective in drawing these conclusions? Anomalies such as precognition, near death and veridical out-of-body experiences etc., bring these underlying assumptions into question. We should ask ourselves if we are really closer to solving this puzzle, or are we just intelligent monkeys constructing our own mental prisons.
In his talk, Thomas will discuss a consciousness-centric evolutionary theory which goes beyond the widely accepted Darwinian approach and enters the realm of personal transformation. Unlike materialist models concerning physical evolution at the species level, this theory considers the individual’s evolutionary process across multiple lifetimes and towards greater complexity and spiritual maturity. We will also examine each of the chakras; not only as energetic centers of the body with physiological correspondences, but as representative of phases in our personal evolutionary history.
Thomas D. Abraham is a PhD student of Cognitive Neuroscience at the City University of New York where he currently studies motivation, reward, and learning in academic contexts. His previous research has investigated the efficacy of an embodiment visualization technique as a means to reduce the subjective experience of physical pain. Mr. Abraham is also a volunteer and researcher with the International Academy of Consciousness(IAC) www.iacworld.org; a research and education based non-profit organization that offers classes and workshops on out-of-body experiences, psychic development, and ethics. Thomas has recently relocated back to Colorado where he is continuing his research at the University of Denver. He is an organizer for the Denver Near Death Experience Meetup group (http://www.meetup.com/Denver-NDE/) and has been coordinating local events for the IAC.