Do You Enter A Parallel Universe When You Die? | Unveiled (+Mystery Ep.)

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Do We Enter a Parallel Universe When We Die?</h4>

Death is one of the greatest mysteries of life. What happens to us when we die? Do we simply cease to exist, or do we move on to another realm? There are many different beliefs and theories. Although one, in particular, has come to the fore in recent times.

This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; do we enter a parallel universe when we die?

The question of death has long captured the imagination of humankind. Clearly, as a species, it’s something that we cannot know with certainty, given that we’re all alive until we’re not. However, in this shadowy blank space, there have been countless theories and belief systems attempting to fill in the gaps.

Similarly, the question of parallel universes is surrounded by just as much intrigue and ambiguity. In many ways it’s a modern concern, emerging as it did into mainstream science during the mid-to-late twentieth century. However, again, ideas on parallel worlds can be traced back to at least the ancient times of Greece and Egypt.

Perhaps, then, it’s little wonder that there are now multiple, contemporary models suggesting that the two could be combined. That the quest to understand death and parallel universes could ultimately lead us to the same place.

The overriding idea here is that, yes, we enter a parallel universe when we die. There are variations on the theme, but in general it goes that when we die our consciousness - or some other key aspect to our being - simply moves from one universe (this universe) to another. But, how does it work? There are multiple potential explanations out there.

To start, there are several different theories about parallel universes, but one of the most popular is the Many Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics. First laid out by the American Hugh Everett, in 1957, it proposes that every time a quantum event occurs, such as the decay of an atom, the universe splits into two parallel universes. In one universe, the atom decays, and in the other it doesn’t. Scale it up to a macro, noticeable level, and it means that every time any choice is made or a random, fifty-fifty event unfolds, then the universe splits into two, allowing for both possible outcomes. A left or right turn; success or failure in an interview; a chocolate or lemon cake. In the Many Worlds, all exist even if only one half exists in the world you currently inhabit.

More broadly, if the Many Worlds Interpretation is correct, then there are an infinite number of parallel universes, each with its own unique history. This means that there are an infinite number of versions of ourselves, each living in a different universe. And so, one argument is that whenever we die in this reality, we continue in another. It’s an explanation that some offer up for near-death experiences, too, with the white light and out-of-body experiences being attributed to some kind of personal change of perspective, at the moment of death.

But, as enticing as the Many Worlds model can be, it actually doesn’t entirely suggest that we enter into a parallel universe when we die. Rather, it posits that we’ve actually always been there, or at least one version of ourselves has been… and so death is like the switching off of a single light on an infinite console. That light is this life, but there are endless others - according to Many Worlds.

There are, though, multiple, increasingly championed, scientific approaches that do seemingly suggest that when we die we do enter into a new, post-death world.

First, there’s the Orchestrated Objective Reduction Theory, or Orch-OR. Put forward by the British physicist Sir Roger Penrose and the American anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff, it says that consciousness is a quantum phenomenon that exists in a superposition of states. In short, this means that consciousness is not localized to a single point in space and time, but rather it exists in all possible states at once. Some then believe that this could mean that consciousness is not bound by the conventional laws of physics, and is therefore certainly not dependent on having our bodies or brains to house it. Which ultimately suggests that it can exist elsewhere once the body fails; either within just this universe, or within a wider multiverse. 

Next, there’s the Holographic Universe Theory - a model reached via the work and breakthroughs of various influential physicists in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including Leonard Susskind and Gerard 't Hooft. This theory states that the universe is a hologram. That it’s not a three-dimensional space, but rather a two-dimensional projection of a higher-dimensional reality. How does it tie into dying? Well, some have again asserted that it could then mean that consciousness is not a product of the brain, but rather a fundamental property of the universe. That it permeates the fabric of reality and again isn’t bound to the laws of physics as we understand them. As with Orch-OR, one possible conclusion is that consciousness instead exists in a realm beyond here, leading to the potential to enter that other realm after life on Earth.

Our penultimate idea is the Theory of Biocentrism. Proposed by the US doctor, Robert Lanza, it takes us just a little further down the rabbit hole by suggesting that life itself creates the universe instead of the other way around. On the one hand, this means that we’re never actually the product of anything, hologram or not. On the other hand, it would clearly mean that life doesn’t end when our bodies perish. For biocentricists, it simply adapts. Here, because reality as we know it is constructed by our consciousness, space and time aren't objective truths. Instead, they’re tools used by our minds to weave together all of the information we receive from our senses. Death, then, isn’t bound to space, time, or our seeming physical reality, either. And dying might be viewed more like waking up from a dream, as our awareness merely moves into another form within another set of spatial-temporal parameters - aka, a different universe.

And finally, there’s the Simulation Hypothesis. Devised in the early 2000s by the Swedish philosopher, Oxford professor and head of the Future of Humanity Institute, Nick Bostrom, it argues that reality might be nothing more than an advanced computer simulation. A sim that’s created by higher beings, akin perhaps to our own far off ancestors or to a highly advanced AI. Again, if this is all a simulation, then dying here could mean either game over or level complete depending on how you look at it. And, while sim theory isn’t wholly tied up in sci-fi style worlds where this is all just a game, in the context of today’s video it might be that death leads us to one of two next realities; either something of us is transported up to the higher, base reality… or something of us is reloaded back into this sim (or perhaps another, parallel sim) at a save or checkpoint. In a sense, after death, there could be other worlds awaiting us.

So, what’s your verdict? Do any of these models successfully solve what happens after you die? Or does it all only ever amount to plain speculation? What is apparent, given the scope and variety of the theories we’ve briefly discussed, is that the question of death still has countless potential answers. The Many Worlds Interpretation could suggest that we’re always already alive in parallel worlds. For Orch-OR, it might be that consciousness transcends what we understand as physics. According to the Holographic Principle, we may well live on even after our rendering in this universe is extinguished. With Biocentrism, life creates this universe, so why wouldn’t it create another? And with Simulation Theory, there could be endless other worlds that some essence of ourselves could one day be transferred to.

Importantly, science still has nothing in terms of concrete, empirical proof. What happens after we die? We simply don’t know. And, with coming technology potentially making it possible for human beings to become immortal… perhaps soon it’ll be a question that doesn’t actually need an answer. But, for now, it’s a problem that has long puzzled the very brightest minds all over the world, and across every conceivable field. Science, religion, philosophy, mathematics… all offer something, but none (so far) have reached a complete understanding. 

From “Star Trek” to Marvel and everywhere in between, science fiction loves itself a good ol’ fashioned, interweaving tale of parallel universes. But, for some - for increasing numbers, in fact - the idea that this reality isn’t all there is… is really starting to catch on. Other dimensions and apparent glitches between here and there continually crop up in actual real life… so here are some of the most compelling examples of all.

This is Unveiled, and today we’re taking a closer look at two more parallel universe stories that will make you question reality.

Today’s episode is also a follow-up to a past video, in which we focussed on bizarre instances like the story of the Man from Taured, the mystery of the Markawasi Stone Forest in Peru, and an apparently invisible six-lane highway to nowhere, in Spain. It’s not as though those cases stand alone, however, and there are in fact plenty more claims of proof of parallel worlds out there. Some are recollections of blink-and-you’ll-miss-them type visions, but there are some others that stay with their claimants for an entire lifetime.

First today, the incredible story of Lerina Garcia from Spain. In 2008, when Garcia was 41 years old, she posted onto a Spanish online forum asking for help as she’d come to believe that she may have jumped into a parallel universe. According to Garcia, the world around her had changed in subtle but definite ways… leading her to think that one morning she had simply woken up in a different version of the reality she had lived in up until the night before. 

The first change was her bedsheets, which she literally didn’t recognise as belonging to her. At this point confused (but still not suspecting what was to come) she got up, went through her usual daily routine, and went to work. But, when she got there, she found unknown people in her building, and then that her name had been replaced on her office door. After a little searching, she found that while she did still work for the same company, she was apparently employed in a totally different position. The day before, everything had been as it normally was… but today, everything was different.

By now, Lerina was beginning to get seriously worried, and so she visited her doctor, to check for any physical abnormalities - including the possible presence of drugs or alcohol in her system - but she was given a clean bill of health, no substances were present, and was sent on her way. Things quickly got even stranger, however, when her own boyfriend was nowhere to be found… and when she then came to learn that she was, in fact, still with her ex-boyfriend, who she’d broken up with a few months beforehand. Her entire life had seemingly rewritten itself.

Other members of Garcia’s family were at least the same people, but more inconsistencies kept coming up - including that her sister had apparently no longer had shoulder surgery (despite Garcia distinctly remembering that she just recently had been to the hospital for the procedure) and also that many of Garcia’s messages and emails had apparently disappeared, too. For the most part, the rest of the world hadn’t drastically changed… but this one person’s personal life had dramatically altered. And, while it’s difficult to verify the story, some believe that Garcia had fallen victim to a reality slip - leaving her just a few timelines removed from her original life.

Next, the story of an anonymous blogger who goes by the name James Richards, and who also claims to have experienced a parallel world where the Beatles never broke up. His story - again posted online, and which he claims happened on September 9th 2009 - is certainly attention grabbing. First he says that he cannot reveal his true name due to safety concerns, and then he reveals all about how he came to own an apparently genuine Beatles album that was never actually released in this reality.

According to his account, Richards (with his dog) had been driving through Del Puerto Canyon, California, when he pulled over for a rest and to let his dog out for a walk. When the dog started chasing down a rabbit, though, Richards ran in pursuit, literally fell (or tripped) down a rabbit hole, and wound up unconscious. When he came to, he was in a strange room in a strange house, his head had been bandaged, and judging by outside noise he was no longer in a rural location like the one he’d just left. Soon, another man entered his room.

The man introduced himself as Jonas, and Richards thanked him for his help before asking a load of questions. Where was he? How did he get here? And was his dog OK? Thankfully, the dog was there, too, and was totally fine… but the other questions had far less straightforward answers. Richards says that Jonas then revealed to him that he was actually just a few feet away from where he had fallen. The house (and apparent town) outside hadn’t been there before, however, because Jonas had also taken Richards to a parallel world. To an alternate dimension that he (Jonas) called home.

Jonas then went on to explain that in his world, Parallel Travel Machines were all the rage. Yes, they could be dangerous, but they were also a wholly accepted technology. Richards suggests that parallel travel may even have superseded space travel, in this other place. The pair then spent the next few hours together, including for a meal that Richards says was basically normal except for purple ketchup. The really interesting hook, though, came when they started talking about music.

Richards discovered that in Jonas’ world the Beatles were still touring. The iconic Liverpool group were still together, with all four members still very much alive. Jonas had a collection of albums, too, mostly on tape - as Richards says that CDs had never really caught on in the other dimension. There was a version of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” on the side, although Richards recalls that the famous cover looked slightly different in some ways. Better still, there were later albums (post Beatles break-up in our timeline) that Richards had never seen or heard before. He and Jonas apparently wiled away some of their time together listening to all of that later material.

Finally, and just before Jonas transported Richards back to his own reality, Richards says that he managed to steal one of the later tapes which, according to his blog post, has the title “Everyday Chemistry”. Upon returning to this plane of reality, then, Richards uploaded “Everyday Chemistry” for all to hear - an apparently never-before-seen Beatles album, because it really doesn’t exist for us. It was soon pointed out that the “new tracks” sounded very much like variously mashed up versions of some of the Beatles’ solo material… but one counter argument says that that isn’t so unexpected. After all, in a just slightly altered version of reality, John, Paul, George and Ringo might well have had many of the same ideas again, mightn’t they?

What do you think? About the bizarre Beatles story and the unnerving tale of Lerina Garcia? Both have their own unique space in the modern history of the strange and unknown, but could they really serve as proof of parallel universes?