Inside the World’s Leading Consciousness Lab
Julie Exline on mystical experiences, near-death research, and how extraordinary events may transform Humanity.
Can mystical experiences help science understand who we really are?
In this episode of Connecting with Coincidence, Bernard Beitman, MD speaks with Julie Exline, Ph.D., Director of the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia, about some of Humanity’s most profound questions.
What happens near death? Why do near-death experiences, after-death communications, telepathy, meaningful coincidences, meditation, psychedelics, and other extraordinary experiences so often leave people with a powerful sense of connection? And what can science learn from experiences that challenge conventional assumptions about mind, body, death, and reality?
Julie explains why mystical and transformative experiences often point people toward the same realization: we are profoundly interconnected. But the conversation goes beyond awe and mystery. Bernard and Julie explore how these experiences can affect everyday human life by helping people heal broken relationships, deepen forgiveness, rebuild trust, and become more compassionate.
Their conversation also moves through near-death life reviews, after-death communications, the wisdom of the body, and the possibility that love, empathy, and relationship—not fear—may be the foundation of human flourishing.
Rather than treating extraordinary experiences as curiosities on the edge of science, Julie helps show why they may be central to understanding consciousness, healing, and Humanity’s future.
This is a hopeful and fascinating conversation about mystical experience, science, relationship, and the possibility that extraordinary moments can transform not only individual lives, but Humanity itself.
Meet Julie now on the Connecting with Coincidence podcast:
About Dr. Julie Exline
Julie Exline, Ph.D., is the Bonner-Lowry Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences and the Director of the Division of Perceptual Studies, University of Virginia Health Systems. Before taking this position in July 2025, she spent 25 years on the Psychological Sciences faculty of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
She has extensive research programs on spiritual struggles and supernatural attributions, along with a broad interest in extraordinary experiences around the life/death boundary (e.g., after-death communications, near-death experiences, children’s memories of possible past lives). Dr. Exline is also a licensed clinical psychologist and certified spiritual director.
To receive the monthly newsletter of the Division of Perceptual Studies please visit the UV Division of Perceptual Studies.
Have a meaningful coincidence to share? Visit The Coincidence Project and tell your story.
Looking for more coincidence content? Check out all our other fascinating podcast guests in our Connecting with Coincidence library of episodes.
Comments