Biography

After graduating with a Gold Medal from the Science, Technology, and Trades program at Northern Secondary School in Toronto, I entered the elite Engineering Science program at the University of Toronto on a scholarship and attained honours standing at the completion of my first year. But then I became preoccupied with existential questions, leading me into a more diverse range of studies, with the result that I graduated in 1974 from the New Program with an interdisciplinary BS. After four years working as a roofer, I enrolled at the University of Calgary and, in 1983, completed a MSc in Mathematics with specialization in Mathematical Foundations, writing my thesis about forcing in topoi. A chapter and a half from my thesis was published as a paper "A Reduction Theorem for the Kripke-Joyal Semantics" in Logica Universalis, incidentally giving me Erdös Number 3. As my existential quest led into an interest in consciousness, I switched to psychology, graduating in 1989 from the University of Regina with a PhD in Psychology. My dissertation "The Personal Nature of Notions of Consciousness" was published in 1990 as a book by University Press of America.

In 1987 I accepted a full time position in the Psychology Department at King's University College. In 1993 I was granted tenure, and in 1999 I achieved the rank of Professor. I am the Recipient of The King's University College Award for Excellence in Teaching for Full Time Faculty for 2003-04. Since 2004 I have been teaching courses only about consciousness, altered states of consciousness, and the psychology of religion and spirituality. I am also an Adjunct Research Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Western University, a Doctoral Level Member of the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at Western University, and an Associate member, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, at Western University. I have supervised 48 undergraduate research projects, thirteen of which have resulted in papers, or been included in papers, that have been published in refereed, academic journals. I have written, or co-authored, 8 books, 59 papers, and 22 reviews, and given or co-authored 132 presentations, mostly about fundamental issues concerning consciousness. I have been invited to present papers at the University of Latvia, American Mensa, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, University of California Berkeley, the Great Space Center, Victoria Hospital, the Medical Psychotherapy Association of Canada, and St. Thomas Aquinas High School. My written papers, many of which were invited, have been published in consciousness studies, psychology, philosophy, anthropology, medicine, mathematics, physics, and other science journals. I have had papers published not only in English, but also in Latvian and Russian. One of my books, Alterations of Consciousness, published by the American Psychological Association, was listed for a while as a best seller by the publisher, has sold over 4,000 copies, and is now in its second edition. Transcendent Mind, which I co-authored with Julia Mossbridge, and which was also published by the American Psychological Association, was the #1 New Release in Popular Experimental Psychology on Amazon.com for a while and has sold over 2000 copies. Also published by the American Psychological Association was my most recent book Death as an Altered State of Consciousness, which has sold 374 copies in the first six months, and which was a finalist for a PROSE 2024 Book Award. I am an Associate Editor for the Journal of Scientific Exploration and a consulting editor for Psychology of Consciousness. I have received a total of over $160,000 in grants and donations, including a recent 26,500 Euro research grant from the Bial Foundation. I have served in a number of administrative roles including Chair of the Department of Psychology and member of the Senate of Western University. I am currently a member of the Society for Scientific Exploration, the New York Academy of Sciences, the Society for Consciousness Studies (which I helped to found), the Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences (as well as being on its founding board of directors), and an associate member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.

    © 2013-24 Imants Barušs