Is Reality Real? - Neuroscientist On Evidence We're Living In A Controlled Simulation | Anil Seth

What does consciousness mean to you? It’s something that’s fundamental to who we are as humans. And yet it’s a concept that many of us would struggle to define – scientists and philosophers included. But today’s guest is someone who has spent many years and countless hours studying it and is keen to share what he has learned.

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[docsoulman]

My father had passed 6 months prior to my mom’s passing. One morning as I was drifting towards full awakening I was started out of my sleep by my father’s voice clearly saying to me; “Your mother is dead”. I shrugged it off…went upstairs and found my mother had indeed passed in the night. She was sitting on the couch peacefully…It was an experience that has gifted me with a certitude that we do go on after the death of our bodies.

[PhillipLWilcher]

I lost my father to dementia on August 20th 2022. He was several months shy of his 100th birthday. He died in my arms at hospital. I was his full-time carer for 12 years. I had lived with him all my life. During his life, I never heard my father speak of anything spiritual, no mention of Heaven, not until his final days. During the last four days of his month-long stay at hospital, I stayed with him in his room 24/7, never leaving his side. I kept a journal, detailing his final hours. Here are my notes from that journal which I used for my eulogy at his funeral:

His voice is veiled as he asks me to help him to stand up, he wants to go home.

"Help me stand up" he says, "I want to go home. My mother will be wondering where I am!"

Even if I could help him to stand up, he is so physically weak and depleted now, that I think we both would fall.

Late yesterday afternoon, when I was about to leave him for the day, I asked him if he minded that I should go, assuring him as I do every day that I will see him again in the morning.

"If I am here ..." he replies.

"Where else would you be?" I ask him.

"In Heaven!"

How his broken voice it breaks me and so, I arrange with hospital staff for me to stay with him the night. Several hours earlier he had told me that there were people gathering about us in his room. Looking to either side of me, firstly over my left shoulder and then to my right, they who were there not for me but only him were dressed in white.

"Do you recognize any of them?" I ask him.

He raises a boney finger and replies: "Just one!"

I ask him who the person is that he recognises and he tells me that it is himself.

"What age are you?" I ask him.

"I am 15!"

At the time of writing this, I have been by his side a full thirty-four and a half hours.

Inasmuch does his mind meander, I am never not so knowing of what he means.

"Lift me up, I want to go home!" he says over and over: "I want to go home!"

Holding his hand, I tell him that although I cannot lift him up physically, I can at least lift him up toward Spirit, and I place my other hand at where his heart is and say to him: "Home is where your heart is! If you live within the home that is your heart, you will always have Love; you will always know Love: God's Love!"

"I want to go home!"

Massaging his chest gently in a clockwise rotation, because the motion of Life is always forward even after Death, yet without actually lifting my hand from his ever weakening heart, I lean forward and whisper into his ear that he can go.

"Go home! You do not have to stay, just know that I love you!"

"And I love you!"

He is even weaker now but not yet gone, and I do not think that I have ever known of a moment so innocent as this, the lingering of a Life as do the Guardians of Love they prepare His way.

His doctor visits with me. She is concerned for me that I have stayed the night, telling me I need to look after myself.

Squeezing his hand a little tighter in mine I look at her and say: "I Am"

Another day passes during whose time he is bathed twice in his bed, first in the morning and then again at night: Bed Bath Lite. The ritual of cleansing a rite of passage now, water, glycerin, gels and fragrant oils, they do not soil the sheets but soothe his skin, tissue-paper thin.

He breathes in and breathes out ever more purposefully on the exhale, and I copy the sequence of sighs sorrowfully, that none too cold each pant becomes, nothing so irregular, not just yet. I would bet myself he would live another year but for my fear the end is near we both do know it, and I think to myself how stealthily the dusk does creep before the breaking of each new dawn a waking day, how we live to die and die to live reborn.

With his cheek resting softly upon the pillow I lay my head at his side. He places his hand on my head and touches my hair. and I want more than anything for him to keep it there.

As his breathing becomes more shallow I chant: "Everything I am is of you; all my love is yours!" "Everything I am is of you; all my love is yours!" but then to add: "If you take my heart with you when you go, my love will be with you and forever more, because of the love I give to you are you a part, two soles, one heart!"

I dim the light to dull the play of shadows upon his features that I see only myself in him now.

And then, at the eleventh hour of my stay this day he takes his last breath and quietly slips away, into the silent land where there is only Love and Time it has no borders, bound not by night neither lit by day, only Love! Love has sped him away!

(Leslie James Wilcher 16.01.1923 - 20.08.2022)

[AyaSmith-rbhp]

We still have a relationship with our loved ones even after they are gone. It is different but it continues because love never dies.

[mollypinto]

My brother had, had a major head injury. During his surgery he experienced being on the ceiling watching his surgery. He even quoted some of the conversation to his surgeon on recovery. His doctor was not surprised as he gad heard of similar experiences.

[nix]

Four days before my mom passed away, and with no medication whatsoever, she started seeing lights coming in and out of the ceiling. She asked me if I can see them, and I told her I cannot (and she cant really explain to me when i asked her about the color). I left the room and when I came back, she told me that when I left the room, they came back and that there's 2 of them and when I walked in the room, they vanished. And she also told me that, someone wants to take her and that she told the person or being that she didn't want to go with him. 3 days later, she died. Coming from her who was very religious and did not believe in light beings, just proved to me that there are spirit guides and light beings that usher us to the next realm close to our time of death.

[indieskiesscorp]

I heard my Dad's life review. The music I could hear was nothing like I've heard before. I heard the voice of a female, she had such a beautiful voice and she started at number 1. She got 2, 3 and I was startled awake as this was coming through the pillow on my bed. I listened to see if it was possibly coming from anywhere else to try and rationalise it. My partner told me to lie back down and there it carried on but fainter. Literally a minute later I got a call my Dad had passed. Me and Dad were 15 miles away from each other. I've witnessed to much from a child to suggest this is it. I'm Heavy Scorpio so death isn't a big deal just part of my blueprint so it's not a fear. Believe in what you believe in folks ❤️

[peacefulisland]

Without fully understanding consciousness it's a puzzle anyone can come to much of a conclusion about it.
Consciousness "exists" before or behind everything else and is made of nothing like the stuff of our measurable material interactions.
That's the trouble. Science is limited; it has parameters.
And every time I stick to believing in limitations, I miss the eternal unfolding right under my "nose".

[PRINCESSDREAMYLYN]

we are eternal beings. I've slept like everyone else, I've had dreams, I've woke up on an operation table with the surgeon cutting my tonsils out when i was 28, the pain i felt and looking into the eyes of the surgeon an hearing him cuss the anesthesiologist out and to put me back under, wasn't an illusion. After told me some people just think they woke up yet ha me signing documents i wouldn't sue the hospital wile i was still under the influences of drugs right out surgery and not thinking clearly. those things were done to cover up their screw up. and I've have experience death and came back. Death was nothing like being under anesthesia or a sleep. this guy lacks experiences and is just assuming he knows things when he's "Assuming" and in reality he knows nothing at all.
We are that we are. i watched the heart machine connected to me flat line and then i realized i felt different and i was no longer in my body, i know i wasn't in it. i came back because i couldn't stay yet it was amazing realm. unconditional love so great it's impossible to express in this realm. I could still think and communicate just differently. i was just me i didn't stop existing i didn't not remember life here or that i had children i didn't just sink into a deep sleep of nothingness. Live is everlasting just the phycal body the vessel we inhabit dies not us. if you call it consciousness spirit or soul for lack of better words. just know it's not over just because the body stops being the host.

[TheChestnutBranch]

Well, that was depressing 😐 It sounds like he’s not that well versed on NDE’s. Being able to corroborate conversations that happen in another room while you are flatlining can’t be explained by improper administration of anesthesia. Dr Eben Alexander, for example, had little to no brain activity while he had his NDE. There is also compelling research conducted at UVA in this area. I just think materialists need to be more open-minded. We simply don’t know it all.

[greatergood]

We never die . You must get over thinking that this physical illusion is you . This physical world is just a tool to let us experience the physical world.

[claireverhees]

I am a nurse by background and have many experiences with death.. but to try and explain this logically with neuroscience is not the correct. You have this intuition, this feeling that can't be explained!! Some of the things I've witnessed during the dying process could not be explained logically.. but it's a human emotional experience!! Though telling some of the stories peoples minds are blown! But can not be explained by science!!

Dying is a taboo subject in the uk! I feel this needs to change!! I'm would love to have an interview with you and share my experiences ❤

[lilytea]

0:00: 🧠 Anil Seth discusses his perspective on death and how consciousness is affected by anesthesia.
9:56: 💡 The discussion explores the meaning of near-death experiences and the role of scientific explanations and rituals in dealing with death.
20:10: 💡 The concept of self in Hinduism and Western culture, and the flow of consciousness in relation to death.
30:34: 🧠 The brain's role in near-death experiences and the perception of reality.
40:53: 🧠 Our perception of color and reality is subjective and influenced by our brain and the context in which we view things.
49:23: 🌍 Recognizing that everyone has their own perspective can lead to a more compassionate and empathetic world.
59:21: 🧠 Meditation and mindfulness can help us develop psychological distance, observe multiple interpretations, and recognize the changeable nature of self.
1:09:49: 🧠 Our brains actively generate our experience of the world and have the ability to interpret and create meaning.
1:19:24: 🧠 Our perceptual experiences of the world are individually distinctive, but not arbitrary, as our brains are designed to see the world in ways that are useful for survival.
1:29:01: 🧠 The self is a set of perceptual predictions and experiences of the world and the body, which are based on the brain's predictions and updating of sensory information.
1:38:28: 👥 The perception of self is changeable and influenced by the brain's interpretation of bodily changes that occur during emotional experiences.
1:48:21: 🧠 Consciousness is the medium through which we experience everything, and it is the stuff that makes experience possible.
1:59:37: 💡 The contents of consciousness depend on the interactions between the brain, body, world, society, culture, and the universe.
Recap by Tammy AI

[NuVisionabroad]

My father's conscience called me when he was in a coma while I was asleep. I went to his room sat next to him and told him I loved him and then he passed. The dog downstairs started to howl as he knew he had passed but I think his consciousness actually visited the dog before it dissipated into the ether. It was the weirdest experience in my life.

[carlapedro]

When I went to Copenhagen to visit my friend. I was sightseeing by myself, and I always wanted to see the little mermaid. I walk to the promenade where the statue was suppose to be but it was not there.
I was quite perplexed and disappointed and rang my friend. She told me to stand on this specific spot but I couldn't see any statue... She just keep saying but it's there in front of you... but nothing. However suddenly I acknowledge this small size little statue with the mermaid... I could not believe it... It had been in front of my eyes all the time but I could not see it... This always intrigued me.

[JulesBeehive]

Rangan, please interview Tom Campbell, Physicist and 'consciousness explorer'. He has an amazing theory of consciousness and the nature of our reality 😊

[joelds]

This world, reality is as real as any, just not the only one. Whatever you learn here you take with you, what you don't learn or avoid, you will have to learn in your next life.

[sarahkennedy]

There is either a creator God or there is not. If, there is, he is so beautiful and powerful and so clever he is outside of our time and comprehension. Amazing to think He loves us.

[MerrilyMerrilyMerrily]

Magical thinking works? Am I the only person who equates consciousness with God? Everywhere all the time, in everything?

[samanthaaviles]

My current theory on life after death: If we go on forever, then this life being a simulation has a certain utility. If we have to co-exist in some sort of communal space for a infinite time(timelessly), then it’s crucial we learn/develop/evolve= self-mastery, self-control, self regulation, love for the self, appreciation and curiosity for others because- everyone that ever lived would need to able to peacefully co-exist with free will, self determining agents. AND regulate their own behavior. Like - if we return back to a source, and will be given the opportunity to bask in the presence of all source creation. If we get all the knowledge of the creation of the known universe and experience endless community with everyone.

[disgustor]

It was really interesting to hear the talk about conciousness and the difference between sleeping and general anesthesia. I've experienced general anesthesia multiple times and what is really interesting is that it feels like one moment youre there on the operating table going under and passing out and the next moment you return without the sense of neither time nor space during the entire procedure like a light switch being turned off then on again, in stark contrast to sleeping where you have a sense of time and space. That oblivion that happens during general anesthesia has always fascinated me.