Metaphysics & Psychology

Bigelow Institute unveils $1M life after death essay prize winners

By T.K. Randall
November 8, 2021

Image: Robert Bigelow at BEAM Press Conference
Credit: Bill Ingalls / (PD) NASA Back at the beginning of this year, the Bigelow Aerospace founder, who has often expressed an interest in the UFO phenomenon and whose influence saw the initiation of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), launched a competition with the goal of finding evidence of what happens to us after we die.

Launched through the Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies, the contest aimed to encourage scientists, philosophers and other thinkers to pen essays laying down the case for life after death.

$500,000 was to be given to the essay that provided the best evidence of "the survival of consciousness after permanent bodily death", while lesser prizes of $300,000 and $150,000 were available to the second and third place winners.

Fast-forward ten months and the competition has now concluded, with the winners listed on the institute's website.

The $500,000 prize went to Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD for his essay entitled "Beyond the Brain: The Survival of Human Consciousness after Permanent Bodily Death."Pim van Lommel M.D. picked up the $300,000 prize for his essay entitled "The Continuity of Consciousness: A Concept Based on Scientific Research on Near-Death Experiences During Cardiac Arrest", while the $150,000 went to Leo Ruickbie, PhD whose essay was entitled "The Ghost in the Time Machine."

A number of additional, smaller prizes were also handed out to the runners-up.

"BICS will publish all 29 essays on the BICS website in the next two weeks," a statement on the website reads.

"In a separate publication venture, BICS intends to publish the essays in a set of 5-6 volumes comprising all 29 winning essays. Each volume will be hard cover, richly bound in faux leather with gilted pages and ribbons."

"BICS will distribute these 'collector's items' sets of books free of charge to university libraries, hospices and to some religious institutions."

"The intent is to make available this group of 29 essays to as large a group of people as possible.

Source: Bigelow Institute

Tags: Afterlife, Bigelow