1. There is a remarkable and growing body of interesting evidence in a few fledgling fields studying consciousness as acknowledged by Carl Sagan and Sam Harris. See my annotated list below.
2. I suddenly realized I had a mental block—insisting that consciousness must work a certain way—instead of keeping my mind open
Near Death Experience studies, especially the work presented by the University of Virginia Department of Perceptual Studies, are compelling regarding the functioning of consciousness and perception independent of the brain and the senses.
https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/our-research/near-death-experiences-ndes/
Memories of Children
Studies on children who speak inexplicably as past individuals point to some sort of misunderstood behavior of consciousness.
Carl Sagan, in the chapter "The Marriage of Scepticism and Wonder" in his book "The Demon Haunted World", wrote in 1997: "At the time of writing there are three claims in the ESP field which, in my opinion, deserve serious study: (1) that by thought alone humans can (barely) affect random number generators in computers; (2) that people under mild sensory deprivation can receive thoughts or images 'projected' at them; and (3) that young children sometimes report the details of a previous life, which upon checking turn out to be accurate and which they could not have known about in any other way than reincarnation. I pick these claims not because I think they're likely to be valid (I don't), but as examples of contentions that might be true. The last three have at least some, although still dubious, experimental support. Of course, I could be wrong."
Sam Harris, in "The End of Faith" p. 242 footnote 18, cites evidence of paranormal phenomema in general and says "There may even be some evidence for reincarnation. See I. Stevenson, Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation (Charlottesville: Univ. Press of Virginia, 1974). Unlearned Language: New Studies in Xenoglossy (Charlottesville: Univ. Press of Virginia, 1984), and Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1997)."
As cited under NDE and by Sam Harris, the Univ. of Virginia Dept. of Perceptual Studies continues work in this area. https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/our-research/children-who-report-memories-of-previous-lives/
Carl Sagan, in the chapter "The Marriage of Scepticism and Wonder" in his book "The Demon Haunted World", wrote in 1997: "At the time of writing there are three claims in the ESP field which, in my opinion, deserve serious study: (1) that by thought alone humans can (barely) affect random number generators in computers; (2) that people under mild sensory deprivation can receive thoughts or images 'projected' at them; and (3) that young children sometimes report the details of a previous life, which upon checking turn out to be accurate and which they could not have known about in any other way than reincarnation. I pick these claims not because I think they're likely to be valid (I don't), but as examples of contentions that might be true. The last three have at least some, although still dubious, experimental support. Of course, I could be wrong."
Sam Harris, in "The End of Faith" p. 242 footnote 18, cites evidence of paranormal phenomema in general and says "There may even be some evidence for reincarnation. See I. Stevenson, Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation (Charlottesville: Univ. Press of Virginia, 1974). Unlearned Language: New Studies in Xenoglossy (Charlottesville: Univ. Press of Virginia, 1984), and Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1997)."
As cited under NDE and by Sam Harris, the Univ. of Virginia Dept. of Perceptual Studies continues work in this area. https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/our-research/children-who-report-memories-of-previous-lives/
Other
Though I am only vaguely aware of them and I don't know what conclusions or advancements may have been made in the 27 years since Sagan's publication in 1997, other fields mentioned by Carl Sagan in my second comment may also still deserve serious study. They are:
"(1) that by thought alone humans can (barely) affect random number generators in computers; (2) that people under mild sensory deprivation can receive thoughts or images 'projected' at them;"
"(1) that by thought alone humans can (barely) affect random number generators in computers; (2) that people under mild sensory deprivation can receive thoughts or images 'projected' at them;"
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