WHAT IF? What If Consciousness Exists Beyond Your Brain? “Is consciousness produced by the brain, or is it a deeper feature of reality? This question is a key focus of Christof Koch, one of today’s leading neuroscientists, in his presentation at the 15th ‘Behind and Beyond the Brain’ Symposium, organized by the Bial Foundation and held April 8 to 11 in Porto. . . . Koch outlines three major areas where current understanding struggles. First is the challenge of fully reducing conscious experience to physical processes in the brain. Second is the difficulty modern physics faces when trying to define what is truly ‘real.’ Third is the persistence of unusual experiences – including near-death experiences, mystical states, and episodes of terminal lucidity – that do not fit neatly within existing scientific explanations.”

Somewhat related, I was interested in the story of the woman who spent three weeks in a medically induced coma and dreamed an entire life, which seemed so real that upon awakening she grieved for her “lost” children.