by Marinus Jan Marijs
Many who have had an out of the body experience, are convinced that what they experienced in this temporarily state, will be the same kind of experience after death but then as a permanent state. This would imply that the mental abilities that one has during an out of the body experience, would be the same after death. This would mean that consciousness, perceptional abilities, the ability for understanding, comprehension are preserved. An important precondition for mental abilities is the presence of (a) memory which encodes, stores and retrieves information and that enables the mind to creatively find new solutions and mental pathways. Therefore the presence of a non-physical memory would be an important indication for mental abilities after death. Out of the body experiences, Bergson’s theories about the working of the brain, but also reincarnation memories, point to a non-physical memory which is not dependent of the brain. A further indication that memory stays intact after death are instances of telepathic contact with those who have died. Moreover other extrasensory perceptions show that there is a totally different process in which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved, than in the brain. When one is able to reach a mental state in which emotional patterns and thought activity are put to rest, there is an extension of one’s memory capabilities especially visual. After reaching a certain development memories of a previous existence, kosmic memory and a memory of the future become available.
From a phenomenological point of view, the intellect, mental capacity, faculty of thought, ability to think are present in the supersensible worlds but undergo a shift to a more intuitive knowing. The residue of the instincts, reflexes and the most heavy emotions normally effecting a human’s mental abilities in a negative way, are eliminated and purified after a certain amount of time in the supersensible worlds. Higher mental abilities are now able to manifest themselves.
In general there is an extension, a greater clarity of mind, an alertness, a condition of heightened awareness.
