ions - kn

The biennial Science of Consciousness Conference in Tucson, Arizona is a convocation of academics and researchers hosted by University of Arizona’s Center for Consciousness Studies. This venerable conference is known for its support of a rigorous scientific and interdisciplinary approach to the study of consciousness. It includes not only plenary speakers and panels, but also exhibits, demos, and other experientials. IONS scientists Arnaud Delorme, Julia Mossbridge, and Dean Radin were all in attendance and presented this year.

IONS intern Adrian David Nelson met up with Gabriel Guerrer, a physicist and former researcher at CERN, during the Foundations of Mind conference in Berkeley. Gabriel recently visited IONS, preparing a replication of experiments at IONS exploring quantum measurement and consciousness. During their interview Gabriel shared his fascinating journey from particle physics to exploring the mystery of consciousness.

“The elements of sport that I have just described are present in other transformative practices, but in the context of sports they evoke a greater range of physical abilities than are produced by any other family of disciplines. In the service of integral practices, they can, I believe, evoke a still greater range of capacities.” – Michael Murphy from Future of the Body

What led Dacher Keltner, renowned UC Berkeley psychology professor and director of the university’s Greater Good Science Center, to focus on the little-studied emotion of awe?

IONS' mediumship experiment, Prediction of Mortality Based on Facial Characteristics, was published in the May edition of Frontiers journal. The article highlights our recent experiment with 12 mediums, who were asked to detect deceased individuals in photographs while their brainwaves were recorded. The results show some brainwaves associated with correct detection, and the study supports the hypothesis that facial photographs contain as-yet unidentified information predicting mortality.

Based on the lifelong interest of Luís Portela, the CEO of the BIAL pharmaceutical company, the BIAL Foundation finances frontier research. While it also funds mainstream research, it is one of the only foundations in the world to consistently request proposals in unusual phenomena and parapsychology.

The Harvard Business Review reports that since 2008, the number of articles that mention the word “authenticity” in the headlines or lead paragraph has tripled. Can something that has become a buzzword actually be “authentic,” and what would that look like? IONS researcher, Julia Mossbridge, explores this and more with her presentation,”The Power of Authenticity: How Aliveness can Shift the Valley toward Engagement, Creativity, and Flow,” at the Consciousness Hacking House in Silicon Valley.

Those familiar with IONS know what we do:

At a recent conference, I mentioned my interest in studying channeling and mediumship to my fellow scientists. An awkward silence fell across the group before one colleague turned to me and said, “You understand that telling people you want to study channeling is pretty much a career wrecker, right?” I paused to consider the question, and then replied, “Yes, I know that. But honestly, I can no longer NOT ask the questions.”

As one of “100 photographs that changed the world” and “great images of the 20th century,” Earthrise was shot on Christmas Eve, 1968, when William Anders, Frank Borman, and James Lovell aboard Apollo 8 emerged from behind the moon to behold a sight of extraordinary beauty and meaning.