The Survival of Consciousness

The Survival of Consciousness.

By Else Byskov, M.A. & B.A., author.

It is now close to three decades since Raymond Moody’s groundbreaking book “Life After Life” was published, and during the years since its publication serious research into the phenomenon of the near-death experience (NDE) has taken place. The research has described the many aspects of the NDE and has established it as a real phenomenon, which can no longer be written off as hallucinations, hypoxia, an overdose of medication or the result of a stimulation of the temporal lobes. Furthermore the research has studied the many life-changing effects of the NDE, its effects on relationships and its potential for helping the dying through the gates of death. But we still do not have any clear idea of how to explain how we can be alive outside our physical body. And as long as we cannot define what survives in scientific terms it is difficult to silence the skeptics.
There is an old saying, which states, “When the pupil is ready, the teacher will appear”, and it seems that help in determining what is actually going on during a NDE has been offered to us from a quite unexpected quarter. I think that none of the NDE researchers had expected to receive a helping hand from a Danish mystic, but nevertheless the work of the Danish mystic Martinus (1890-1981) (1) offers a logical and scientific explanation to what survives and what happens during a NDE.
When we look at a living body and a corpse it is obvious that the physical ingredients in the two are identical. Both the living body and the corpse have skin, brain, heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, blood etc. When physically there is no difference between a living body and a corpse, then it becomes clear that whatever it is that makes the body come alive cannot be physical. This means that we should be looking for a non-physical “substance” to account for what constitutes the dissimilarity between a living body and a corpse. Does such a non-physical “substance” exist? Indeed it does, and we have known of its existence for more than a hundred years. We know that energy exists and that it is not something, which we can see or hold in our hand. But still we know that energy exists, because it is measurable and because we can be sure about its existence through its effects.
According to Martinus a living being has a double analysis. It is a physical being, but it is primarily an electrical being. Because it is first and foremost an electrical being it is also more than its physical body. Today there is probably nobody who will deny that the human body is surrounded by a field of energy. This field of energy is not restricted to the boundaries of the body, but it transgresses the body and surrounds it as what has become known as the aura. The aura consists of different energies, which organize themselves in a field around the body. Martinus denominates these energies as ray-formed matter. It is irrefutable that the energy field around a living being exists and as it is not “nothing”, but “something” which can both be photographed and measured it can be referred to as a type of matter. Energy is not “nothing” in spite of being both invisible and intangible, and as its existence is irrefutable, we may go as far as saying that it is a type of matter. It is a massless type of matter, but still it is matter because it is not “nothing”, but “something”, and this “something” is both useful, measurable and manipulable.
Martinus says that the states of matter (solid, liquid and gaseous) cannot be reduced to three, but that a fourth state of matter, the ray-formed state, consisting of energy, must be added to our list of states of matter. Furthermore Martinus says that the ray-formed state is the first and primary state, because all matter in the universe consists first and foremost of energy. This has been confirmed by Einstein in his famous equation: E=MC2. Energy equals matter times the square of C, C being the speed of light. The energy in any particle of matter is equal to its mass multiplied by the square of the velocity of light. What this equation tells us is that matter is nothing but a form of energy. The mass of a particle is actually energy. This means that physical matter is a result of a condensation of energy and that energy is what everything physical consists of at the end of the day. According to Martinus energy or ray-formed matter is the upper tier of matter, the “substance” of which everything else consists in its final analysis.
The aura or energy field surrounding the human body can be photographed using a technique, which is a refinement of the invention of the Russian scientist Semyon Kirlian.
Kirlian photo of aura

The energy field is an electrical reality, it is not non-existent and there is nothing mysterious or strange about it. It is there even though we cannot see it, but as it can be visualized through the above-mentioned technique, and as it is measurable it is futile to claim that it is not there. The human energy field consists of ray-formed matter and this type of matter has been classified according to its wavelength in what the science of physics has termed the electromagnetic spectrum. In the electromagnetic spectrum we find long and short radio waves, microwaves, infrared waves, ultraviolet waves, x-rays and gamma rays. The human energy field has been classified according to its wavelength as belonging to the infra-red section of the electromagnetic spectrum.
So far, so good. We have established that our body is surrounded by a field of energy, but what does that mean? What is it and what importance does it have? Actually its importance is huge. We have already seen that energy is the primary type of matter, but furthermore energy has an all-important characteristic: it contains information. This is pointed out by Martinus, and it can be confirmed by science through the work of for instance Jacques Benveniste and Karl Pribram, who both affirm the fundamental information-carrying characteristic of energy.
So our body is surrounded by a field of energy, which contains information. This can be substantiated by the following observations. We now know that our thoughts are measurable. When we place electrodes on the head we can measure thought activity. When a thought is measurable it is because it is of an electrical nature. If a thought were not of an electrical nature it would not be measurable with the instruments used. This means that a thought is an electrical impulse. An electrical impulse is a string of energy or ray-formed matter containing information. As the energy field is a conglomeration of strings of energy this means that the energy field surrounding the body is a conglomeration of thoughts. It is this field of thoughts that constitutes our consciousness. The energy field is identical to our consciousness.
This again means that our consciousness is not seated in the brain, but in the energy field. Energy has an almost infinite capacity for storage of information and it is in this “storage room” surrounding our body that our consciousness is seated. So our consciousness is distributed throughout the energy field that surrounds the body. This may seem controversial but it has been confirmed by various researchers such as Wilder Penfield, Karl Lashley and Karl Pribram whose research has shown that neither memories nor consciousness can be pinpointed to any specific position in the brain. Martinus says that the brain functions like a kind of receiver for the electrical impulses of the field. But the impulses or thoughts do not originate in the brain, the impulses only enter the physical body through specific entrance points in the brain cortex.
Energy contains information but at the same time it contains force. We all know that there is force in energy and it is this force that we make use of in all our electrical appliances. So the characteristic of energy is double: it contains information and it contains force. This means that a thought both carries information and force at the same time. According to Martinus the energy in our thoughts is the same as our life force. The energy field is a field of thoughts and thus it is the seat of our consciousness, but at the same time it constitutes our life force. The human energy field is both the seat of our consciousness and the seat of our life force.
In a body that is alive the energy field is in operation in and around the body. But energy is not something that we can hold in our hand and it does not originate in nor is it anchored in the physical body. We know that energy can exist independently of physical matter and indeed that a field of energy can exist without any type of anchoring in physical matter. This means that the human energy field can be in existence even when it is not hooked up to a physical body.
When we die the energy field does not cease to exist. At the moment of death the energy field is severed from the physical body, but the energy does not cease to exist in exactly the same way as the energy that lights up our lamp does not cease to exist when we turn off the lamp. The energy field, which gives both consciousness and life force to the body, does not originate in the body and it continues to exist even though the body dies. Indeed it is when the energy field is withdrawn from the body that death occurs. It is when the energy field is severed from the body that the flat line appears on the electrocardiograph indicating that there is no longer an electrical current present to make the body function.
But as the energy field contains not only consciousness with all the information that is relevant to the individual (its memories, personality traits, talents, dispositions and habits, fears and phobias, tastes and tendencies, level of morality, emotions, level of intelligence and sense of self) but furthermore the very force that makes the body come alive, it is logical that the field does not wane or collapse just because the body dies. The field is life force. We know from the first law of thermodynamics that energy cannot be created, nor destroyed, so we have no reason to suppose that the energy field will dissolve when the physical body dies. As the energy field contains our consciousness with all the information about the person we call “I”, and furthermore contains its life force, this “I” survives the death of the body. This means that the core of who we are is the energy field, it is our essential self, our “I”, and this “I” will feel just the same after the severance from the physical body and just as alive as when it was inside the body because the “I” consists of something that is not physical. This is, of course, just as the near-death experiences say.
The physical body is “only” an instrument for the self or “I” which it uses for its manifestation on the physical plane as long as this instrument is serviceable. When the instrument is no longer serviceable, the “I” will release itself from the body, but as the “I” consists of something, which is not physical, the “I” is beyond the reach of physical injury. If we define the energy field with the “I” in religious terms and say that it is identical to the soul we are standing on firm scientific ground when we say that the soul survives the death of the body, indeed we can confirm the eternal nature of the soul when we know that energy cannot be created nor destroyed.
The human energy field is an electrical reality and like all other electrical phenomena it vibrates on a specific wavelength, defined by its particular combination of energies. It is a well-known fact that like wavelengths attract each other. The consequence of the workings of this fundamental physical law (the law of attraction and repulsion) in relation to the human energy field is double. Firstly it means that we will, while we are still in the physical body, automatically be attracted to other individuals whose energy field vibrates on a wavelength similar to our own. We all know this and we feel that there are some people with whom we are on wavelength and others with whom we are not, but this has mostly been considered as nothing but a saying. However, this can be substantiated as a result of the law stating that like wavelengths attract each other. Secondly the wavelength on which our energy field or thought matter vibrates will be decisive the moment it is severed from the physical body, because due to the fact that like wavelengths attract each other, our energy field or “I” will automatically be attracted to a wavelength in “empty space” similar to its own.
We now know that “empty space” is not empty at all, but full of energy or ray-formed matter. This energy is the same as thought or consciousness matter and once our “I” is no longer anchored in the physical body it will automatically be attracted to a wavelength in “empty space” similar to its own. This automatic attraction or transfer of our energy field to a similar wavelength can very well be what the near-death experiencers feel as a rapid passing through a tunnel to a destination of light. And because there are many different wavelengths in “empty space” and as these consist of thought matter there are also many different destinations there. These destinations can be conceived of as “realms” of ray-formed matter, they are made up of the thought matter of all those individuals that are on the same wavelength and they will be experienced as an outer, visible reality by the being that no longer has a physical body. As there are many different wavelengths, there are both heavenly and not so heavenly (“hellish”) destinations and whether we go to one or the other is defined by the contents of our own thought matter. The kind, loving and altruistic being will be attracted to a different wavelength than the angry, hateful and egoistic being due to the law of attraction and repulsion.
It has been stated that the energy field is the same as our consciousness and that it is the seat of the soul, containing both life force and all the information about the individual we call “I”. According to Martinus this information has been accumulated over a whole series of former lives and he points out that neither who we are, what we are doing here and the shape of our fate can be understood in the perspective of a single life on earth. We are eternal beings on a never-ending journey through physical and spiritual realms. The core of our being, our individual “I” is the same from life to life, but for each life we live on the physical plane we add new talents and abilities, we refine our moral, we develop our intelligence and intuition, we gradually outlive our animal tendencies, but we are basically and fundamentally the same “I” from life to life. Reincarnation is an absolutely fundamental process and all life forms from atoms, molecules, cells, plants, animals and humans reincarnate.
This has, of course, huge implications for our understanding of the process of embryo genesis. The information present in the energy field of the “I” is absolutely essential to embryo genesis. The egg and the sperm cell cannot do the job of creating a new human being alone. The Human Genome Project has shown that the genes alone do not hold the key to understanding life. Not only is the gene pool of humans 99% identical to that of mice, but a gene is a recipe for a protein, and everything that we are cannot be explained on the basis of protein structures. There are non-gene regions of the genome, regulatory elements, which orchestrate cell differentiation and gene expression and these elements have not yet been explained. These regulatory elements are, according to Martinus, the huge accumulation of information embedded in the energy field of the being about to reincarnate. The field holds the plan for the creation of a new body and without this plan no new baby could come into existence.
Martinus explains that during the height of intercourse, the orgasm, the intercourse partners emanate a strong energy of a highly spiritual nature. This strong energy attracts the discarnate being that is “ripe” for reincarnation and due to the law of attraction and repulsion the discarnate being will be attracted to parents with an energy combination similar to its own. Once fertilization has taken place it is the information embedded in the energy field of the incoming soul that will be the decisive factor in the creation of the new baby. The sperm and the egg cell only initiate the process, but the information in the energy field of the being now about to reincarnate is essential to the process of cell differentiation, to gene selection and expression. The energy field constitutes the dynamic that orchestrates and regulates the process of creation and leads the single cell of the zygote to become a fully finished child consisting of 6000 billions cells.
The new baby will be created almost completely in favor of the discarnate being now in the process of reincarnation, and as the energy field holds all the talents and characteristics that the being has developed and refined in former lives, it is the energy field that delivers not only the characteristic personality traits of the “I”, but also the consciousness of the new baby. If things did not take place in this way, how can we explain the presence of a consciousness in a new baby, not to mention its specific personality and the talents that it does not share with its parents?
The importance of the information embedded in the energy field is not only expressed during the process of embryo genesis, but indeed all through life. We know that the average life span of a cell is approximately three months. We also know that 10.000.000 cells die in our body every second and are replaced by new. Recent research has pointed out that also our brain cells are renewed all through life. When our whole body is in a constant process of renewal this means that the body I have today and the body I had a year ago do not have a single cell in common. Not a single cell! But where then, is the constant of my being when all the physical matter of my body is continuously renewed? How can I still be the same person when the physical matter of which my body consists is constantly renewed? The answer is simple. The constant is not in the physical body, but in the energy field, which constitutes our consciousness, our life force and holds all the characteristics about the person we call “I”. When all the physical matter of our body is under a constant process of renewal it is obvious that we are more than our physical body.
The essence of who we are, our “I”, is not physical, but electrical and as this electrical core of who we are, our energy field, constitutes both consciousness and life force, we are fundamentally the same and equally alive whether we have physical body or not.

1. Martinus (Thomsen), Danish philosopher and mystic who lived his whole life from 1890 to 1981 in Denmark. He was born in very humble circumstances and was trained as a dairyman. He had no formal education and had never studied anything when in March of 1921, at the age of thirty, he had a deep spiritual experience which enabled him to see beyond the physical plane. He was able to see the whole of the metaphysical, energy-based world that lies beyond the physical plane. He was hooked up to an immense, divine bank of data from which he could draw freely. With this insight he was able to present a complete, holistic world picture based on logic. In the course of his life he wrote more than 9000 pages in which he presented his world picture. His main work of 3000 pages is called “Livets Bog” (“The Book of Life”) and has 7 volumes. In addition to this he wrote “The Eternal World Picture” (5 volumes), 30 other titles plus a large number of articles. His complete work has been published with the general title “The Third Testament”, but it is not a basis for a new religion. Martinus’ work has been written for the intellectual person, who has outlived the ability to believe in the religions and it can be said to constitute a basis for a merger of science and spirituality. See martinus.dk

Else Byskov is the author of the following titles about the survival of consciousness and Martinus´ fascinating world picture:

“Death Is an Illusion” – Paragon House, USA 2002 (also published in German and Spanish)

“The Art of Attraction” – Create Space 2009 (also published in Danish)

“The Undiscovered Country – a Non-religious Look at Life after Death” – Create Space 2010.

“The Great Ways to understand the World – the Larger Perspective on the Leading Edge of Thought” – Create Space 2010.

Else Byskov´s website: www.deathisanillusion.com