Consciousness and the Evolution of Language by Sebastian Penraeth 29 August 2019 The dominant explanations for the origins of language are inadequate for the very reason that they are essentially utilitarian and materialistic. It would be better to assume what language itself tells us. It is innately meaningful because its poetry enables us to perceive deeper structures of reality. Do words "emerge from the cosmos, expressing its soul" or is language merely a utilitarian evolution from the grunts and hoots of our primate forebears? In The say of the land Dr Mark Vernon argues for the Romantic theory of the origin of language, with support from Tolkien's fellow Inkling Owen Barfield, poet Simon Armitage and English palaeobiologist Simon Conway Morris. In a world flooded with biased science, fake news, social engineering, predatory marketing, manipulative facebook memes and the like, our ability to make sense of things is increasingly overwhelmed. Words do as much harm as good, in the search for truth. If, however, words have soul as Mark Vernon suggests, perhaps a closer alignment between our material perceptions of reality and their implicit meanings will help us find the signal of truth within the fog of lies and manipulations. Dr Mark Vernon is a practicing psychotherapist with a PhD in ancient Greek philosophy, and other degrees in physics and in theology. A former Anglican priest, his latest book is A Secret History of Christianity: Jesus, the Last Inkling and the Evolution of Consciousness. He writes for radio, newspapers and magazines and is co-host of the long-running podcast the Sheldrake – Vernon Dialogues. The say of the land Mark's Website

BIAL Award in Biomedicine 2019 by Sebastian Penraeth 12 March 2019 If you've published a breakthrough in the field of biomedicine sometime in the last 9 years, you could win a whopping €300,000 from the BIAL Foundation. In addition to their regular grants for research, every two years the foundation selects one lucky team of scientists for this special recognition. For details go to Bial.com. The Award will focus on one work published from 1 January 2010 onward that can be identified as representing a breakthrough. The Award is presented for the first time in 2019 and proposals must be submitted by 30 June 2019. Only works nominated by the Voting members of the Jury, the members of the Scientific Board of the BIAL Foundation, previous BIAL award winners and Scientific Societies may be considered candidates for this Award. Since 1994 the BIAL Foundation has supported 694 projects involving some 1500 researchers from 25 countries, resulting in the publication of 1260 articles and abstracts in indexed journals. The current repository of scientific activity supported by the BIAL Foundation is fully searchable through their database of project documents. Find Out More on Bial.com Proposal Form and Regulations

Accelerating Research on Consciousness: Templeton World Charity by Sebastian Penraeth 14 February 2019 The Templeton World Charity Foundation - which is separate from the regular Templeton Foundation - has a truly ambitious consciousness project. They've created a complex, six stage procedure for grant development, and don't accept unsolicited proposals (outside open calls for their target initiatives). Experiments involving psi would certainly be relevant to their intention to investigate, and decide between, rival theories of consciousness. Having significantly funded nearly 100 projects with large universities, small colleges, nonprofits and private companies, they have a real chance of moving the whole field forwards. We aim to provide scientific breakthroughs and practical tools relating to the search for meaning, purpose, and truth. Using a variety of funding, networking and outreach mechanisms, we will support targeted scientific experiments to investigate different theories of consciousness. Templeton World Charity Foundation FAQ Projects

Developing an Alternative to Wikidpedia on PSI by Sebastian Penraeth 30 January 2019 The fledgling Psi Encyclopedia, edited by Robert McLuhan, is quick becoming the must-have alternative to the skewed and backwards notions so often encountered on Wikipedia. Created by the Society for Psychical Research in London, largely thanks to the generosity of the late Nigel Buckmaster, the site already covers many relevant subjects with articles crafted by top scientists in parapsychology, university professors, and professional authors. As more of the shenanigans at play on Wikipedia have come to light, many in our community have keenly felt the need for a more rational and honest treatment of the subjects we care about. Whether it's whole topics like telepathy or near death experience, or researchers like Dean Radin or Rupert Sheldrake, pages on the popular wiki are routinely befouled with dismissive, denigrating language, misleading half-truths and outright falsehoods – on purpose and with malice – by determined and organized skeptics, some of whom have openly proclaimed their aims to control the narrative. With Google practically shoving Wikipedia in our faces, one can only guess the extent to which such articles have damaged public perception. That is why, out of the gate, Psi Encyclopedia is a welcome endeavor. As more articles are added, and more people find the site, we can hope that Google's algorithm will shift, even if only a little, to reveal this invaluable resource to the world at large. Against the wicked Goliath such hopes may seem naive, but who knows, with courage and skill this David may yet prevail. With 300 articles, 50 expert authors and over a million words, the sling is definitely loaded. Anyone who cares about opening science to the joys of psi are encouraged to hit those pages hard and spread the news. About Topics Contributors

Introducing the Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences by Marjorie Woollacott 20 June 2018 Open Sciences was created due to the response of the “Manifesto for a Post-Materialist Science” published in the journal Explore in 2014 1 . The second manifestation of that response, as chronicled in the 2018, March/April Explore article 2 is the newly established Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences. The AAPS is a 501(c) 3 non-profit membership and education organization whose mission is to promote open minded, rigorous and evidence-based enquiry into postmaterialist consciousness research. As President of the Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences, and with the enthusiastic support of our Board of Directors, I would like to invite you to become a member of our newly founded organization, the AAPS. Our vision is to inspire scientists to investigate mind and consciousness as core elements of reality. Read more: Introducing the Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences

Expanding Reality: The New Science of Consciousness A Trilogy about Postmaterialist Sciences by Dr Mario Beauregard 18 December 2017 In Expanding Reality we discover the new science of consciousness and the emergence of a postmaterialist paradigm. This paradigm is leading us to the next great scientific revolution. Visionary scientists from a variety of fields (physics, neuroscience, biology, medicine, psychiatry, psychology, psi research) gathered in Tucson, Arizona, to create the Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences. Their interviews play a central role within the film. But this is no ordinary documentary film. Indeed, the combination of conversations, colors and music produces a very uplifting experience. The fact that nature is watching us, instead of us watching nature, also contributes to create such an experience. By the end we feel an expansion of consciousness, our perception of life, and our sense of reality. We also realize that we are connected with the Universe as a whole. CAST Dr. Gary Schwartz, Ph.D. Research psychologist, University of Arizona

Dr. Mario Beauregard, Ph.D. Neuroscientist, University of Arizona

Dr. Dean Radin, Ph.D. Psi researcher, Institute of Noetic Sciences

Dr. Lisa Miller, Ph.D. Research psychologist, Columbia University

Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell, M.D. Neuropsychiatrist

Dr. Menas Kafatos, Ph.D Physicist, Chapman University

Stephan A. Schwartz Futurist, Scientist, Author

Dr. Julia Mossbridge, Ph.D. Neuroscientist, Institute of Noetic Sciences

Dr. Marjorie Woollacott, Ph.D Neuroscientist, University of Oregon

Michel Pascal Director, Singer, Meditation Teacher

Gabriella Wright Actress, Humanitarian

Leigh McCloskey Artist, Author, Visual Philosopher Watch on expandingrealitythemovie.com

The Foyle Research Institute of Monaco (FRIM) Now Accepting Proposals for Innovative Research by Sebastian Penraeth 07 September 2017 Headed by philanthropist Christopher Foyle, FRIM supports innovative and controversial science in seven areas: Consciousness

Medical Therapeutics

Aeronautical & Spcace Sciences

Energy & Environment

Archaeology & Ancient Civilizations

Historical Events

Life Sciences While the institute accepts unsolicited proposals for funding, any proposal must be highly innovative and impactful. Their focus is on near term applications more than basic research, however they encourage proposals for ideas "outside your area of expertise" or simply "research you would like to see but can't do yourself". "In order to reduce the amount of paperwork for researchers, the Foyle Research Institute of Monaco (FRIM) will be using a "Pre-Proposal" system, whereby researchers will be requested to submit a 1-3 page executive summary of the research they are proposing. Using such a system serves both the researchers and FRIM, in that researchers do not have to spend a great deal of effort developing a fully detailed proposal and risk it not being accepted for funding. And the Pre-Proposals will also enable FRIM to quickly determine if the proposal being made is one that FRIM would consider funding. "If a Pre-Proposal is selected for further consideration for funding, then the proposer(s) will be requested to provide a full proposal in greater detail, and forms and/or guidelines for the more detailed proposal will be provided at that time."  FRIM Proposal Guidlines FRIM Website Proposal Guidlines Contact

Online MA Program in Consciousness & Transformative Studies by Karen Jaenke 29 May 2016 Karen Jaenke, PhD

Chair, Consciousness & Transformative Studies

John F. Kennedy University Consciousness Studies in Context With seeds in the Human Potential Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Consciousness Studies is a pioneering field within academia. Still today, Consciousness Studies is a cutting edge, alternative course of study existing in only a handful of universities throughout the nation and world. The Consciousness and Transformative Studies program at John F. Kennedy University, located in the San Francisco Bay area and established in the late 1970s as the first accredited Masters in Consciousness Studies, stands as a leader in this field. Read more: Online MA Program in Consciousness & Transformative Studies

Robert Newman's The Brain Show targets the failings of neuroscience by Sebastian Penraeth 08 April 2016 In his new act The Brain Show British comedian Robert Newman targets the failings of neuroscience in assuming that brain equals mind, saying “the idea that the brain is a wet computer is a philosophical assumption, not a scientific idea”. After volunteering for a brain-imaging experiment meant to locate the part of the brain that lights up when you're in love, Rob emerges with more questions than answers. Can brain scans read our minds? Are we our brains? If each brain has more connections than there are atoms in the universe, then how big will a map of the brain have to be? “Maybe what we’ve discovered is the bit of the brain that lights up when we spot an elementary conceptual blunder in experimental design.” Read more: Robert Newman's The Brain Show targets the failings of neuroscience