Soul Search:: A Scientist Explores the Afterlife

Darling (Equations of Eternity), a science writer with a Ph.D. in astronomy, believes modern science is ultimately of limited usefulness because it fails to recognize that consciousness is an irreducible part of reality--``the ever-present `mind' of the universe.'' In this intriguing speculative essay, he develops a sort of scientific pantheism positing that, with death, we move from the narrow consciousness of our highly selective, reality-filtering brain to the wider, timeless consciousness of the unbound universe. As for near-death experiences, Darling suggests that the phenomena frequently reported--a sense of bliss, travel through a tunnel, encountering a being of light--may merely be comforting projections of a dying brain. He touches on a host of topics--the Egyptian cult of the dead, neurological disorders, evolution, drug highs, mysticism, Einstein's space-time--as he explores how we develop a sense of self and time, and concepts of an afterlife. (Mar.)