
”There are few people in Sweden able to hold this overview to the degree that they can master this exciting area and then be able to develop areas of potential application. In a world which wants to readily reduce mental life to the activity of nerve cells, Börje Peratt succeeds in putting consciousness back on the agenda as a vital component not only in the brain but also in the universe.” Professor Adrian Parker, Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg 2011
Twelve Senses – On The Origin of Consciousness, poses questions about aspects of consciousness and what these mean in relation to life and death. “Experiences before, during and after a traumatic accident drove me to seek to understand and explain these events.” (International awarded filmmaker and Master of Science Börje Peratt)
Twelve Senses is the second book in the project. Swedish edition 2012 and 2015 has now been translated, updated and revised, with assistance from Mayne Sundewall-Hopkins and David Hopkins.
The author opens new avenues of thought and extends existing avenues, questions ‘‘norms’’ and throws down the gauntlet to the reader: do you really want to develop your own understanding and awareness of ‘‘life’’ in its enormity, and if so how far are you prepared to go with that aim?
The author poses many questions; we will each find our own answers. .. None of these answers will be ‘‘the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.’’ … We can only hope that each new dawn takes us further along the road to greater personal and communal understanding. This is not a ‘‘standard text book’’ to be accepted for time immemorial. It is a call to arms.
From a personal viewpoint, the many hours spent assisting my wife Mayne in translating Börje’s work have opened my old eyes to new ways of thinking, leading me to appreciate more than ever Shakespeare’s insightful words: “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.“
December 2020
David Hopkins
Spiritualist Minister, writer, teacher
BACKGROUND
In the first book in this research project, Succébo – The Seeds of Success (2011), I began thinking about how the mind evolved. One morning, in a dream, I found myself discussing, with myself, seven inner senses. I heard: Just write down the ideas; all will become clear! In the dream I answered: Well, it’s not that easy. People find it hard to accept a sixth sense – and now there will be even more!
Many people believe in spirits and mediumistic ability, which I had rejected until I experienced a serious of extraordinary events which challenged my beliefs. This led to many years of research, seeking to understand and explain such phenomena. After twenty years of searching, I had developed an explanatory model. When Deepak Chopra saw it in a summary statement at a conference in Arizona in 2014, he simply said I totally agree. Link
The first step in establishing the origin of consciousness was to thoroughly familiarise myself with the functions of the brain and to interview well-known brain researchers. This provided insights but did not explain my experiences. I came to the conclusion that Aristotle’s five senses were not enough to explain physical experiences and reactions. I hypothesised about possible physical senses existing before the evolutionary development of the head. This led to another group of senses, which I termed ECO-senses (Emotion-Communication-Orientation). The results were published in Succébo (2011). However, the conclusions presented still did not explain my mediumistic experiences. During the ensuing process of research, a third group of senses were envisioned, having been introduced to me in a dream. I called this third group Independent Senses i.e. independent of physical senses and beyond natural laws as we currently understand them. Mediumistic experiences were also tested in clinical studies (Twelve Senses, 2012). In 2015, the revised version included comparisons with various other research, and an explanatory model was developed. The book was translated, updated, and published in English in April 2021. By this time, 34 years had passed since my limited understanding of consciousness was overturned in favour of what was to become a journey in the history of infinity.
I give my thanks to Mayne Sundewall-Hopkins and David Hopkins for years of work with the proofreading and all our fruitful and challenging conversations.
Börje Peratt April 2021