UVA Neuroscientist Reveals Her Take On The Telepathy Tapes | Dr. Marina Weiler, PhD (Episode 171)
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Can consciousness exist independently of the brain?
What happens when a neuroscientist trained in traditional brain research begins studying mediumship, out-of-body experiences, and telepathy using rigorous scientific methods? In this episode, Dr. Marina Weiler from the University of Virginia's Division of Perceptual Studies shares groundbreaking research that challenges everything we thought we knew about consciousness and the afterlife.
About This Episode
Dr. Marina Weiler is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at UVA's Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS). With a PhD in neuroscience and previous research at the National Institutes of Health and UCLA, Dr. Weiler brings serious scientific credentials to the study of phenomena that suggest consciousness operates beyond the physical brain.
In this conversation, we explore:
Award-Winning Mediumship Research:
The Bigelow Institute fourth-place prize-winning essay on Brazilian medium Chico Xavier
How Chico Xavier produced over 500 books and 10,000 letters attributed to deceased individuals
Linguistic analysis comparing mediumistic writings to authors' works when alive
Why a man with only four years of formal education could write in multiple languages and match complex literary styles
Verifiable details in personal letters including names, addresses, causes of death, and signatures
Out-of-Body Experience Studies:
Current DOPS research using 128-channel EEG to study brain correlates during OBEs
Veridical cases: A three-year-old who accurately described what his parents were doing while asleep with his door closed
Laboratory experiments where participants accurately reported what researchers were doing in another room
The difference between out-of-body experiences, remote viewing, and lucid dreaming
Psychological transformations reported after OBEs: decreased fear of death, increased empathy and gratitude
How Dr. Weiler is collecting verified spontaneous OBE accounts and developing a "veridicality index"
Remote Viewing Research:
How DOPS is using eye-tracking and EEG to study experienced remote viewers
The distinction between accurate "hits" and misses in brain activity patterns
Micro-phenomenology interviews exploring how information is perceived during remote viewing
Collaborations with remote viewers who work with law enforcement
Non-Speaking Children & The Telepathy Tapes Controversy:
Why Dr. Weiler believes criticism of The Telepathy Tapes is largely unfounded
The difference between Facilitated Communication and Spelling to Communicate
Current DOPS research using eye-tracking to demonstrate agency and intention
Fascinating cases: The child who always knew passwords, families who couldn't hide anything
Dr. Weiler's personal encounter with a non-speaking individual who appeared to move a table telekinetically
The "cat" incident: When a worried mother's thoughts may have interfered with a telepathy experiment
Why Science Resists This Evidence:
The fear factor: Why both believers and skeptics are scared
How 150 years of research is dismissed by the mainstream scientific community
Career concerns and the materialist framework in academia
The ontological shock of changing fundamental beliefs
Why we need to listen more to experiencers and first-person accountGuest Bio:
Marieta Pehlivanova, PhD is a Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences within the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Marieta holds a PhD in Experimental and Cognitive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics from American University.Key Quotes
"If you are not at least open to the possibility of an afterlife, it's because you haven't read about the evidence yet. We have over 150 years of very well conducted and documented research." - Dr. Marina Weiler
"To me, the more I see the non-speakers, and the more that I study them, and the more I talk to caregivers and parents, the more convinced I am that there is something happening there." - Dr. Marina Weiler
"Many scientists build their careers within the materialistic, physicalist framework. When you say consciousness is not produced by the brain anymore, you're ruining people's careers. And no one wants that." - Dr. Marina Weiler
About Dr. Marina Weiler
Marina Weiler, PhD
Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral SciencesDr. Marina Weiler is a neuroscientist specializing in consciousness studies. She holds a PhD from the Department of Neurology at the University of Campinas in Brazil. Following her PhD, Dr. Weiler joined the National Institutes of Health in 2016, where her research involved investigating brain stimulation as a therapeutic approach for age-related cognitive decline. She then joined UCLA to identify biomarkers associated with disorders of consciousness after traumatic brain injuries using fMRI techniques.
Dr. Weiler's current work at the University of Virginia's Division of Perceptual Studies investigates phenomena that suggest mind-brain independence, including mental mediumship, out-of-body experiences, remote viewing, and psychic experiences in non-speaking individuals.
Connect with Dr. Weiler & DOPS:
Website: https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/
Instagram: @uvadopsYouTube: UVA Division of Perceptual Studies
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Related Episodes You Might Like
Episode 168: Near-Death Experiences and Past-Life Memories with Dr. Marieta Pehlivanova
Episode 166: CIA Scientist Behind STARGATE Project with Dale E. Graff
Episode 160: After Death Communication with Dr. J. Kim Penberthy of DOPS at UVA
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