Background

“Before my OBE in 1965, I was very scientifically oriented. In my heart I knew there was a God, but I couldn’t understand how he could exist without a body. Also, I had entertained the idea that we survive death but wasn’t committed to it. After the experience, I knew that our consciousnesses were basic to the whole universe and that not only do we survive death, but we also predate our bodies.”

Spiritually Transformative Experience

At the age of 19 in 1965, Mr. Purcell had a veridical out-of-body experience where he communicated with spiritual beings and experienced himself as a sphere of consciousness. You can listen to an account of his experience here / watch this video / or read about it here. As a result of his experience, he feels that we are spiritual beings enjoying a brief physical experience and that we predate our own birth and will live after death into eternity, he has tried to convey that truth to people with a skeptical background.

Integration Issue(s)

In his work in artificial intelligence, mathematics and engineering, Mr. Purcell was confronted with viewpoints that ran counter to what he learned as a result of his spiritually transformative experience.He was faced with the limitations of what he views as “scientistic” thinking.

Transformative Beliefs**

Mr. Purcell said that in the late 70’s, he came to the conclusion that the way to make a robot conscious would be to provide it with an interface to attract a conscious agency and that this was associated with evidence from his OBE that his consciousness was connected to his body through a neuronal interface. In the Journal of Near-Death Studies, he wrote and continues to write about an Objective Correlate of Consciousness (OCC) consisting of the energy envelope surrounding one’s consciousness when it is exteriorized from the body. His intent with an OCC is that, with specialized sensors, someone will be able to process their output and provide an image of one’s consciousness while it is external to the body. His goal is to convince science that one’s consciousness can be studied and is independent of the body. He believes that when this occurs, most people in our society will have permission to believe that they are immortal.

Mr. Purcell says, however, that his greatest transformation occurred from reading “Love Without End, Jesus Speaks” by Glenda Green 25 times – starting in 2003.

“Before encountering “Love Without End,” I always came from my mind and it ruled me. After the experience of reading the book, I began to come increasingly from my spiritual heart. As it says in the book, “The mind is a brilliant servant but a fatal master.”

He resonated with the belief that the seat of intelligence is in the spiritual heart and not the brain, or the mind. He believes that through the heart we can achieve oneness with the creator. His most inspirational quotes include “Although, you are one with the Father, you’ll never be resorbed into collective anonymity.” and “The world considers history and the momentum of time to be the force and foundation behind present time experience.” Mr. Purcell believes that we have infinite freedom in the present moment – provided we make use of it, without regard for what has gone before.

Current STE related activities

Denis Purcell received his Masters degree in electrical engineering from USC. He minored in philosophy, worked on a Masters in pure mathematics from UC Berkeley, and holds a secondary teaching credential from UCLA in math, philosophy, and German. He worked on government contracts for 15 years largely in the field of artificial intelligence. He is a thanatologist, (i.e., an expert on death and dying,) volunteers with hospice patients, and has been a substitute secondary school teacher.

In 2003, he became a leader of the Los Angeles group of the International Association for Near-Death Studies and its President in 2006. In 2008, he became a founding director of ACISTE and served for 3 years on its board.

How to contact Denis:

Denis may be reached here.