Consciousness, meditation and thought-controlled computers dominated our Story Ideas in 2024, and have spurred mainstream interest in topics previously neglected by the media. Credibility may be 2025’s top quest.
The ever-evolving understanding of the mysteries of human experience is becoming increasingly newsworthy. Research is expanding on the fascinating (yet porous) border between what the mainstream perceives as science and spirituality. FJN’s radar picked up some of the most exciting findings and developments in 2024. Here are highlights:
- The so-called ‘consciousness war’ among neuroscientists and philosophers continues. While the science journal Nature made a pertinent attempt to explain the strife, Robert Lawrence Kuhn compiled a guide to clarify the jungle of theories.
- Trends in spirituality were surveyed in the US and Canada, revealing that traditional religion is diluting as people pick elements across a variety of wells of wisdom. For instance, Americans are increasingly describing themselves as spiritual rather than religious, and most of them describe some awareness or interaction with deceased loved ones.
- A group of hardcore materialists have taken it on themselves to “cleanse” the world’s largest online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, from what they deem “pseudoscience”, which includes serious research on psi phenomena. This guerrilla activity is being exposed by independent researchers and editors.
- Elon Musk’s Neuralink launched its thought-controlled computer, which sneaks the topic of “What defines consciousness” into mainstream news.
- Serious financial investment in bold research programs at universities and institutes has raised interesting evidence of non-physical human experience, some of it reinforcing beliefs and practices held by ancient peoples. With a million-dollar donation, the Astrobiology Center at the University of Arizona will “bridge the gap between astrobiology and mysteries of mind”. Another donation of the same size is dedicated to promoting studies of the afterlife at the Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS) at the University of Virginia. The University of Ottawa in Canada has launched a unique Master’s degree in psychedelics and consciousness studies.
- Despite the popularity of meditation, little is known about how it affects the brain. A study conducted in collaboration with a Tibetan monastery found that concentrated meditation (focusing on a mantra) sharpens the brain best. A similar scientific paper concluded that expert meditators can enhance cognition markedly.
- Telepathy Tapes, a podcast about a specific kind of psychic phenomena, rose to the No. 1 spot on platforms like Spotify and Itunes in the US. It explores the profound abilities of non-speakers with autism. The podcast enticed millions of listeners, and attracted the usual materialist skepticism. A second season has been announced.
The space where science meets spirituality (the non-physical aspects of belief and meaning) has grown significantly in 2024, and promises to expand in 2025.
We anticipate more coverage in these areas of the mysteries of human phenomena:
- Fact-checking and the credibility of sources will be more important than ever in the wake of Meta’s decision to cease fact-checking in the name of “free speech,” following Elon Musk’s policy for X.com. This means extreme bias, misinformation and propaganda can go unchecked — and it’s a threat to post-materialist content, which may cast as fake. The bar for scientific evidence on non-physical phenomena was already higher than for studies of the physical, and now — with the din of believers of scientism free to make claims — it is even higher. It is essential that coverage of the science of spirituality, consciousness and other phenomena are grounded in verified sources. “With consumer expectations moving at a rapid pace, embracing change while staying true to core journalistic values will be the key balancing trick for the year ahead,” Nic Newman and Federica Cherubini wrote in Reuters Institute’s predictions for 2025.
- Evidence that humans on Earth are not alone will make news as more government officials and scientists reveal their information on UAPs and Non-Human Intelligence. This provides an entry point for coverage about all that is “unknown” by science, such as the physical versus non-physical experience of being human, consciousness and energy healing.
- The marvel of what consciousness is and how it can be measured will move to the forefront as Artificial Intelligence pushes forward.
- The phenomena of meditators experiencing altered states of consciousness, which lead to extra-sensory perceptions, will gain coverage as people share their stories and research continues.
- Connected, real-life communities will become emboldened — and make news — as a wave of the population begins rejecting tech-powered systems in a return to nature. For instance, the political polarization under way drives some to prepare shelter and supplies for a war-like armageddon, while others are eschewing reliance on digital devices and cultivating their own energy and food supplies, and community lifestyles.
- Independent thinking — as opposed to accepting the dogma of government, institutions and public personalities — is anticipated to gain momentum, which may allow journalists to include a variety of diverse sources and voices in their coverage.
Anders Bolling and Liza Horan
