The fear of death is perhaps man’s greatest fear. Why? Because there currently is no scientific paradigm to explain the afterlife, or universal agreement if it even exists. No proof that our consciousness will continue after we die. Nobody has returned from death and completely explained that experience to the satisfaction of a consensus of peer reviewed modern-day science.

However, there is no doubt that there are individuals who have had out of body experiences, whose bodies have technically died, flatlined during traumatic circumstances, whose consciousness left their bodies and entered a world beyond scientific measurement and then returned when the body is revived and brought back to life. This out of body experience is an area that modern science has yet to fully understand let alone prove.

Science, in fact, has yet to provide us with a complete and commonly acceptable understanding of what consciousness really is. Is it merely awareness, thoughts and memories? Does consciousness exist only inside our brain? Or is it external? When our body dies and we no longer exhibit brainwave activity is that the end of us? Nobody really knows for sure.

Noetics refers to the study of inner knowing, intuitive understanding, direct insight, or forms of cognition that go beyond ordinary sensory perception and rational analysis.

Noetics studies how consciousness—your mind, your thoughts, your inner world—actually shapes reality, not just thinking positive stuff like ‘The Law of Attraction’, more like, what if your attention, your intention, your belief, literally bends the physical world?

The term comes from the Greek *noēsis* or *noētikos*, rooted in *nous* (mind or intellect). In classical philosophy, it relates to intellectual apprehension or pure thought. In modern usage, especially since the 20th century, “noetic” often describes experiences of profound insight, revelation, or “direct knowing” that feel authoritative and carry deep personal significance—even if they can’t be fully explained by logic alone. Philosopher William James described noetic states as illuminations that reveal truths “unplumbed by the discursive intellect,” often accompanied by a sense of certainty.

The most prominent modern application is noetic sciences (or noetics), a multidisciplinary field that combines rigorous scientific methods with exploration of subjective inner experience to investigate consciousness, human potential, and the nature of reality.

The leading organization in this area is the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), founded in 1973 by Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell after his profound experience of seeing Earth from space sparked questions about interconnectedness and consciousness. IONS defines noetic sciences as bridging objective science with subjective knowing to study phenomena like:

– Interconnectedness of mind and matter

– The power of intention

– Non-local consciousness (awareness beyond space/time limits)

– Intuitive information access

– Mind-body healing

– Transformative experiences (e.g., meditation, mystical states)

Research areas include mind-matter interactions, energy healing, spontaneous remission (cases of unexplained disease recovery), the effects of meditation/yoga, and frontier topics like channeling or precognition—always aiming to apply scientific rigor while honoring personal experience.

For example, recent IONS work (as of 2025–2026) includes updating their Spontaneous Remission Database with new cases through 2025, pilot studies on ultrasound techniques for cognitive improvement, and explorations of focused intention (comparing meditators and magicians in experiments on “real magic” effects).

Noetics often appeals to people interested in consciousness expansion, the intersection of science and spirituality, or questions like “Can mind influence physical reality?” or “Is consciousness fundamental rather than emergent?”

Is it possible that we are creating, or at least co-creating our own reality? Is there life after death? Although there are not yet any answers to these important questions there are clues some of which are the results of the research derived from noetics, and some from more ancient sources.

Jesus’ resurrection is not incompatible with noetics in that His resurrection after His crucifixion demonstrated that consciousness extends beyond death.

Noetics says, mind isn’t trapped in the body, that consciousness can nudge reality, bend time, even outlast flesh. Jesus coming back after His death was not just a miracle, it’s proof. 

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; (John 11:25). The implication of this is that He is alive, aware and still teaching, still loving even after the cross, as if death is just a door, and he’s walking through it, grinning. Jesus demonstrated that consciousness doesn’t die, it shifts. It remembers. It keeps going.

In John 14:12 Jesus says, “Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things.”

In those words, Jesus is talking about something even bigger than His miracles. Faith, therefore, isn’t just believing, Jesus is saying that if you really ‘get it’, if you’re awake, then you’ll do stuff that looks impossible. Heal people. Bend reality. Shift probability. If consciousness is the real power, if we’re all connected, then Jesus wasn’t just healing the blind He was showing us how to do it. How to focus. How to intend. How to love so hard the world bends.

Mark Stout