Over generations, many prominent people have speculated about the idea of a shared consciousness. Itzhak Bentov claimed he developed a unified theory of this consciousness — then died under strange circumstances. What happened?
Itzhak Bentov was born on August 9, 1923, in what was then Czechoslovakia. Bentov had a rough childhood; while in his teens, his parents and siblings were killed in Nazi concentration camps. He managed to narrowly escape to British Palestine, where he joined the Israeli Science Corps, eventually making improvised weapons for the Israeli Defense Forces. Years later, he moved to the United States.
After settling in the U.S., Bentov became a prolific inventor. One of his most notable inventions is the steerable catheter, the technology behind which is still used in surgical procedures to this day.
@triptoker TikTok/Ben Klewais UnsplashItzhak Bentov was on American Airlines Flight 191, which crashed in 1979, killing everyone onboard.
This time was also one of spiritual awakening for Bentov.
He began to write extensively on ways that our physical bodies could connect with the universe — and questioned how significant the distinction between the collective and the individual was in the first place. In 1977, he published Stalking the Wild Pendulum: On the Mechanics of Consciousness, a work that is still widely cited in spiritual and mystic circles today.
On May 25, 1979, Bentov was on a plane to California, where he was scheduled to present some of his work to a group of Japanese scientists. However, the flight, American Airlines Flight 191, crashed, killing everyone onboard.
Since then, Bentov’s work has been a major area of speculation for conspiracy theorists. Did he really “crack the code of reality?”
Itzhak Bentov, Metaphysics, And More
In one viral video on the topic shared to TikTok and YouTube, @triptoker speculates that Bentov’s work has been harnessed by not only the government but by social media companies as well. By using his work, the user argues, these forces are able to influence individuals’ minds.
To summarize this portion of Bentov’s work, he believed that reality was a singular, interconnected field of consciousness. However, humans are generally only able to engage with this consciousness through a narrow slit.
By tuning the body to the frequencies of the Earth, one could then have access beyond this slit. This could include expanded perception, mystical states, and even access to layers of reality beyond our present understanding.
Dingzeyu Li UnsplashThe CIA cited Itzhak Bentov’s theories in its ‘Gateway Process’ reports.
For a brief time, the CIA actually entertained these theories. Itzhak Bentov’s name is repeatedly cited across documents related to the agency’s Gateway research.
This was research performed to see if people could reach altered states of being and reach higher levels of consciousness through concerted effort. This research involved not only familiar practices like meditation but even wilder explorations, such as remote viewing and brainwave synchronization.
Some have taken this research to mean that, if one can detect a frequency to which many people are attuned, then they can alter this frequency to gain control of a populace. In short, if human reality is a construction based solely on our perception, then those who tune or hack our reality, in a sense, control it. This is largely outside of the scope of Bentov’s work.
Is There Any Truth To Bentov’s Theories?
Much of Itzhak Bentov’s work can often be read as mystic texts rather than researched scientific works with definite, provable conclusions.
For example, it’s widely accepted that our perception of the world is limited. Furthermore, there is a strong connection between the brain and the heart, and the interaction between those parts of our body can be affected by the world around us.
Additionally, a significant amount of Bentov’s work leaned heavily on the idea of “entrainment.” This is the notion that oscillating systems — Bentov thought of the human body as a series of these oscillating systems — can synchronize. Some research has found that rhythmic stimulation, such as binaural beats, can entrain the natural rhythms of the body, though this research is inconsistent.
As far as the potential implications of Bentov’s work, there’s nothing that has been proven. While Bentov’s work was cited in research about remote viewing and other CIA programs, that does not prove that it works. In fact, many of these programs were discontinued due to their inability to provide consistent and high-quality results.
In short, it’s an overstatement to say that Bentov “cracked the code” of reality. Even if some of the minor details he noted are true, this does not mean that his greater claims, such as that of a shared consciousness, are also accurate.
Was Itzhak Bentov Killed?
The peculiar circumstances around Bentov’s death — a plane crash just before he was set to present some of his ideas — is certainly enough to fuel speculation among those who believe in his work.
Be Inspired YouTubeItzhak Bentov was headed to California to present some of his work to a group of Japanese scientists.
However, looking into the specifics of the accident, it’s a near-impossibility that the plane crash was intentional.
To start, an investigation into the causes behind American Airlines Flight 191’s crash found that it was caused by the plane’s left engine and the pylon holding it to the wing that broke away during takeoff.
Looking further, researchers discovered that American Airlines mechanics had removed and reinstalled the plane’s engine and pylon together using a forklift. This was done because it saved time, even though it was not an approved method for doing so in the maintenance manual.
By doing this, the structure of the engine and its pylon were weakened. As the faulty repair happened at the end of March, 1979, multiple flights in the weeks following allowed the pylon and engine to continually weaken before eventually breaking entirely on May 25, 1979 — the day of Bentov’s death.
To assume that Bentov’s death was intentional would require that the perpetrator both instigated the faulty repair (which was also performed on other aircraft) and then precisely timed its decay so that it would strike Bentov’s specific flight.
Additionally, while theorists like to say that Bentov was flying to meet with these scientists to reveal a large, new discovery, there’s no evidence this was the case. Bentov was a popular lecturer and would often give speeches to different groups of interested parties. There’s no evidence that this speech was any different from the others he had given before.
Still, there’s a reason Bentov’s work has compelled mystics and gurus since its publication. Even if he didn’t manage to find the secret of consciousness, his documented journey toward getting there created a fascinating story.
All That’s Interesting reached out to @triptoker via email.
For more about the CIA’s secret programs during the Cold War, learn what we know about MK-Ultra and remote viewing.
