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The Unfinished Hypothesis ATransC Survival Hypothesis: Comparing Personality-Body Models by Tom Butler Abstract The Survival Hypothesis is often cited as a possible explanation for observed paranormal phenomena. The hypothesis is seldom defined further than to say that people are a physical body with an etheric personality which survives beyond physical death and is able to communicate information from the etheric to the physical. The Association TransCommunication has been evolving this hypothesis as various forms of trans-etheric communication become better understood. This essay is part of a series written to develop this hypothesis based on that refined understanding. A set of commonly reported phenomena are considered with the question, “If personality is separate from the physical body, then where is it and what is its relationship with the body?” Possible relationships are modeled and tested against these phenomena using point of view as a reference. The tentative conclusion is that a personality with a point of view firmly situated in the etheric, and entangled with the physical body in an avatar-like relationship seems to best satisfy observed phenomena. Input from other researchers is called for to better understand this model.
Introduction Are we more than our body? Does a part of us exist independent of our body? When our body “dies,” does a part of us continue elsewhere? If so, what part of us continues, where does it survive and how? It is not enough to say that we survive death. Saying that alone signals a faith-based belief, while in fact, there is growing empirical evidence that establishes the fact of survival and helps describe what that means. In parapsychology, explanations for how a person might be able to access information beyond normal sensing usually include fraud, clever guessing, super-psi and the “survival hypothesis.” In most essays, the author focuses more on philosophical arguments about evidence and seldom addresses how such explanations might be practically implemented; if it is fraud, how is it done; if it is survived personality, why does that answer the evidence and how? The Association TransCommunication Survival Hypothesis was written to facilitate the discussion of transcommunication. It is based on an energy view of these phenomena, rather than a philosophical one. The first test of the hypothesis is whether it can address how survival might be possible. To answer that, the nature of survival must be addressed, and of course, the answer to that depends on the functional relationship between the physical body and what survives. This essay is intended to begin a dialogue that might lead to a more sensible model of survival. Terms Biofield: Life-based energy sometimes referred to as “human energy fields.” Since all life appears to involve such energy, “biofield” is more inclusive. This is treated as a form of energy that is not physical and may be more etheric in nature. Biofield might be considered a mechanism for the sense of connectedness many people report in meditation. It is considered here as a transition energy between etheric and physical. Energetic: In metaphysical cosmologies, an object of reality is said to be “energetic” in agreement with an aspect of reality (etheric space, so to speak). Information about the nature of etheric energy is speculative, but observations suggest that objects composed of energy of similar nature are more able to associate. As an example, an entity might say that it is able to communicate with a particular person because that person has a similar “vibration.” Entanglement: This is a reference to a principle of quantum physics, which is sometimes used in psychical research to describe the relationship between a practitioner, information or a sitter which is either present or distant. “Connectedness” or “biofield” is used in this essay for that meaning. Here, we us “entanglement” to indicate the relationship of a personality with its body. This is a form of energetic entanglement which enables the etheric intention to manifest as a physical influence. In this case, “entanglement” represents the characteristic of transforming etheric intention to physical action. Etheric: Mainstream thought assumes that there is only physical reality. However, to discuss alternative models, it is necessary to hypothesize the existence of a nonphysical aspect of reality. This is referred to here as the “etheric,” and is thought to be conceptual in nature with a fundamentally different form of energy that is a precursor to the energy found in the physical. It is sometimes referred to as “the etheric” or “etheric space.” Non local: One need not be where the information is to access it; everywhere equally accessible. Personality: Point of view; essence of who we really are. This is what we encounter as communicating entities and as we think of our “etheric friends.” It does not presuppose that this entity has a “body” of some kind, as it may be more like a nexus of points of view in a biofield. In virtually all of the ongoing trans-etheric communication, the communicator eventually indicates that it is part of a group–either a group of cooperating personalities or a personality representing a group consciousness. Psi functioning: Sensing and influencing the biofield. This includes such human abilities as telepathy, ESP, telekinesis and clairvoyance. Commonly referred to as “psychic,” but also includes energy healing and probably mediumship. Super-Psi Hypothesis: Ability to access information with other than the five senses. It does not allow for survival of personality but does require that the energy organized by information remains indefinitely and is nonlocal—everywhere accessible via psi functioning. Survival Hypothesis: A theory proposing the nature of postmortem survival of personality in etheric “space.” Personality-Body Relationships Where are we when we look into this world through our body’s eyes? Commonly held views are proposed here and evaluated for how well each agrees with what how selected phenomena are experienced. Please note that one seems to best answer the current evidence, but not all of the evidence is in. The box in the icons used to symbolize these relationships represents the physical world while outside of the box is the greater reality (etheric space). The man represents the physical body and the sunburst represents personality. The eye stands for point of view.
If this relationship is correct, then it must be asked how the two aspects are related. That is, is the personality stuck “inside” the physical body until the body dies, is it outside like some kind of a puppet master able to go elsewhere at any time or is it something between these extremes. Following, are four views that might address the relationship between the body and personality
Since the personality is so closely associated with the body, communication between the personality and other personalities in the etheric was thought to depend on the ability of the entangled personality to dissociate from the body well enough to become temporarily energetically in agreement with the communicating entities. In this context, that is the definition of mental mediumship.
The important distinction in this view is that personality fully identifies with both environments. In this mode, it is able to cause a trans-etheric influence via entanglement with the body, but also maintain a point of view that is local and nonlocal, thus accounting for the layered consciousness that so befuddles us all. Experienced Phenomena While this is an energy-based model, the energy is not like electricity or radio signals. It is a focus on whatever the energy is that objects of reality are created from, the biofield and the change of energy associated with the physical-etheric interface. With rare exceptions, this energy is not able to be measured directly, making it necessary to describe it in terms of how we sense reality. The proposed models described above will be rated in the accompanying table as to how well they account for the different ways we sense this energy. From the table:
There are sure to be more phenomena to be considered and some of these may need to be discarded. The objective here is to begin the process of evaluating personality-body models. The Table Please take some time to examine the table. Each parameter is explained above. The real issue is how the experienced phenomena (vertical axis) should be related to the proposed personality models (horizontal axis). Read the table left-to-right so that, if we are our body, which of the characteristics can be possible? If the existence of a biofield but no etheric aspect of realty is allowed, then which are possible? If the etheric is also allowed, then which point of view best answers the evidence? The right half of the table is based on the question, if etheric space exists, then were is the point of view for the real us? You will notice that all of the characteristics are marked for the “Avatar” point of view When evaluating the different relationships between personality and body based on the experienced phenomena, consider what you might be aware of in each situation. For instance, if you are operating the body as you might a radio controlled aircraft, then you would probably have situational awareness, including the five senses, but you might not sense the influence of instinctive reactions, such as the sudden urge to kill for food. How to rate these are all judgment calls because there are few empirical studies to guide us. A fundamental concept is that intentionality is a function of personality. If personality primarily exists in the etheric, then the expression of intention to influence subtle energy such as the biofield is necessarily a trans-etheric influence. “X” placement has been determined, based on what personality would be aware of and have influence on. Discussion The Survival Hypothesis is traditionally described in terms of the personality existing in the physical because of the protection of the physical body. That is, the body is said to act as a physical host for the etheric personality, and without the body the personality would not be able to live in, experience or influence the physical aspect of reality. When the host “died,” the etheric personality could no longer remain in the physical and thus was free to return to its more natural environment; the body was like a space suit, as described in this essay. It is also traditional to describe the relationship between a person (personality) and personalities in the etheric as “We are here and they are there.” Current research is showing that biofield energy is influenced by intentionality and this can be detected as an increased order in random processes. In Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC), the increased order is better described as an emergent intended order. With a layered consciousness, where we place our attention is important as to how we are able to express intention. “Willing” a result is generally futile but intending a result from a state of deep meditation is more often effective. An important concept is that, while time and distance are a factor on this side of the veil, all physical time is “now” and all physical distance is “here” for an etheric entity. If this is true, then a physical person with an etheric personality would experience the nonlocality of information and connectedness of humanity when the point of view is in the etheric. When operating from a deep, meditative state, we are likely working from the perspective of our etheric personality; that is our point of view. This further suggests that influence of subtle energy in the physical is a trans-etheric influence and not a physical-to-physical influence. The model that seems to best describe this is the avatar relationship. In that, our personality is solidly in the etheric, but is in a communion-like relationship with the physical body. We probably lack the vocabulary to describe this relationship, but the important point to look at is that changing our worldview to think of ourselves as etheric beings might very well change the way we experience the physical. In the Avatar view, our loved ones are not “always with us,” but instead, “we are always with them.” A commonly reported characteristic of our etheric communicators is that they are either part of a group personality or representing a group of personalities. The indication is that all of us are actually one in the sense that we are part of a common field of awareness and that our point of view is what establishes us as a personality that is uniquely “who we are.” If this is true, then communication with a loved one or accessing particular information may depend more on our ability to widen our point of view or perhaps even deliberately merge our personality with our greater Self for the purpose of communication. This would also be true of instrumental forms of communication. If this hypothesis is correct, then the real task is learning how to incorporate that deep meditative state, clear visualization and focused intention into our daily lives. It is unrealistic to try to live life while always in a deep trance. One training aid can be found in the Hemi-Sync offered by the Monroe Institute. Any organization offering binaural-beat entrainment for meditation can help to train the mind to more often live in a focused attention state of mind that can be beneficial in developing more mindful living.
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atransc2010-unfinished_hypothesis-body.jpg){kind=spacer}
There
is only body: It is reasonably safe to speculate that our physical
body has evolved on this planet, and like other animals, it has evolved
instincts intended to assure survival as a species. It has a hindbrain
which assures the proper functioning of the body and manages its
survival instincts. In this way, the body is a conscious life form and
probably experiences a form of transition at death. This survival is
believed to be of a different order than the survival of personality.atransc2010-unfinished_hypothesis-personality_body.jpg){kind=spacer}
Personality
and body are one: This is the mainstream view in which the mind is
believed to be the product of the brain. The mind exists entirely within
the brain and all functions of mind can be attributed to processes
within the brain.atransc2010-unfinished_hypothesis-subtle_energy.jpg){kind=spacer}
Personality
and body are one and subtle energy exists: This is the same as “Mind
and body are one” with the acceptance that it allows for the existence
of a subtle energy (biofield) which permeates all of existence. Each
person is thought to be connected by this energy, and through psi
functioning, aware of different parts of this energy.atransc2010-unfinished_hypothesis-separate_personality.jpg){kind=spacer}
Personality
and body are independent: This view requires that there is an aspect
of reality that is not physical, which is referred to here as the
etheric aspect or the greater reality. This view suggests that the
physical body evolved in the physical and hosts the etheric personality
which evolved in the greater reality.atransc2010-unfinished_hypothesis-etheric_view.jpg){kind=spacer}
Etheric
Point of view: This is a beginning point for considering the
relationship between body and personality. As the counterpoint to “There
is only body,” this would be more like what we would expect to find with
a transitioned or discarnate personality. This view is included for
completeness and comparison.atransc2010-unfinished_hypothesis-space_suite.jpg){kind=spacer}
Body
as protective “suit” for personality: This is the most commonly used
model for the Survival Hypothesis. The view is that personality becomes
energetically entangled with the body at the time the body is released
from the mother’s aura. Entanglement is necessary because it permits the
personality to express an etheric influence in the physical, and as
such, physical people are the conduit for all trans-etheric influences.atransc2010-unfinished_hypothesis-drone.jpg){kind=spacer}
Body
as drone directed by personality: In this view, the “drone” is
self-directed by its hindbrain, but motivated by personality which
remains in the etheric with limited entanglement. An important question
about the biofield is how influence is propagated: physical-to-physical
or physical-to-etheric-to-physical. The evidence seems to indicate the
latter as the “rule,” which poses a problem for the idea of entanglement
as viewed in the body as a protective suit for personality.atransc2010-unfinished_hypothesis-avatar.jpg){kind=spacer}
Body
as avatar for personality: In Hinduism, “Avatar” is based on
Sanskrit for “descent” and is used to describe a deliberate descent of a
deity into the physical world. In the West, this is interpreted as
“incarnation.” The term is used here to indicate a relationship between
an etheric personality and a physical body in which the personality is
“as if” it is in the body, but remains in the etheric. While the
personality retains awareness of its etheric presence as a point of
view, it also maintains an awareness of its physical presence and point
of view.atransc2010-unfinished_hypothesis-table.jpg){kind=spacer}
