Tommy Akira Goto
How Tommy Akira Goto Revives Gerda Walther’s Phenomenology of Mystical and Paranormal Experience
About the Book
Information Fields: Theory and Applications (Springer Nature, 2026) is a landmark publication that establishes a new frontier in science. Edited by Erico Azevedo and José Pissolato Filho, this volume brings together 17 chapters from leading researchers around the world to explore how information—not just matter and energy—may be a fundamental building block of reality. The book bridges quantum physics, biology, and psychology, offering a unified framework for understanding how information organizes the universe, from entangled particles to human consciousness.
[Link to book: https://link.springer.com/book/9789819517411]
About the Author: A Philosopher Who Bridges Worlds
Tommy Akira Goto, PhD, is a professor at the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU) in Brazil, and one of the leading scholars of phenomenology in the Portuguese-speaking world. His work focuses on the intersection of phenomenological philosophy, psychology, and the study of anomalous experiences—those dimensions of human consciousness that challenge conventional scientific frameworks.
Goto brings to this volume a rare combination of philosophical rigor and openness to phenomena that many academics dismiss. He is deeply versed in the work of Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology, and has dedicated years to recovering the contributions of Gerda Walther—a remarkable but largely forgotten figure who applied phenomenological methods to mysticism, telepathy, and paranormal experience.
In this chapter, Goto performs a vital service: he introduces Walther’s work to a new generation, shows its relevance to contemporary consciousness studies, and connects it to the information fields framework that unifies this volume. His contribution is at once historical, philosophical, and forward-looking—a bridge between the phenomenological tradition and the emerging science of nonlocal consciousness.
About the Institution: Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU)
The Federal University of Uberlândia is one of Brazil’s leading institutions of higher education and research, with strong programs in philosophy, psychology, and interdisciplinary studies. UFU’s commitment to rigorous scholarship and openness to new paradigms makes it an ideal home for Goto’s pioneering work.
The Central Idea: Consciousness Cannot Be Reduced to Brain Activity
For much of modern science, consciousness has been treated as a problem to be solved—preferably by reducing it to neural activity, computational processes, or evolutionary adaptations. The “hard problem” of consciousness, as David Chalmers termed it, asks: how do physical processes in the brain give rise to subjective experience—the qualia of feeling and perceiving?
But what if this framing is itself the problem? What if, before we try to explain consciousness, we need to understand what it is—not as an object of scientific measurement, but as it presents itself in lived experience?
This is the fundamental insight of phenomenology, the philosophical method founded by Edmund Husserl (1859–1938). Phenomenology insists that any investigation of consciousness must begin with a rigorous description of experience itself—”back to the things themselves,” as Husserl’s motto proclaimed. Only by understanding how phenomena appear to consciousness can we hope to grasp their true nature.
Tommy Akira Goto takes this insight and runs with it—far beyond the boundaries of conventional philosophy. He introduces us to Gerda Walther, a student of Husserl who applied phenomenological methods to experiences that most philosophers ignored: mystical encounters with the Divine, telepathic connections between minds, and the strange world of paranormal phenomena. For Walther, these were not anomalies to be explained away but authentic expressions of the depth and complexity of human consciousness.
As Goto writes:
Walther’s phenomenological investigation provided a robust methodological foundation for understanding these paranormal/anomalistic experiences not as anomalies or exceptions, but as legitimate expressions of the complexity of human consciousness.
The Phenomenological Revolution: Back to the Things Themselves
Goto begins with a clear exposition of Husserl’s phenomenological method—essential for understanding Walther’s contribution.
The Natural Attitude
In everyday life, we operate in what Husserl called the “natural attitude.” We assume the world exists independently of us, that objects have properties whether we perceive them or not, that the sun will rise tomorrow as it always has. These assumptions are practical and necessary—but they are assumptions, not truths.
The Phenomenological Reduction (Epoché)
To investigate consciousness rigorously, we must suspend these assumptions—”bracket” them—and focus on how phenomena actually appear to consciousness. This is the epoché, the phenomenological reduction. It does not deny the existence of the world but sets aside questions of existence to examine the givenness of phenomena.
Intentionality
Husserl’s key insight is that consciousness is always consciousness of something. It is directed toward objects, ideas, feelings—it has content. This intentionality is the essential structure of conscious experience. As Goto explains: “It is inconceivable to think of consciousness without content or object—even if the content is vague, indeterminate, or self-referential—because consciousness is always directed at something.”
Eidetic Reduction
Beyond individual experiences, phenomenology seeks the essences of phenomena—what makes a thing what it is. A train may vary in shape, size, or color, but its essence is to transport people or goods. By varying phenomena in imagination, we can grasp their invariant structures.
Transcendental Consciousness
Finally, Husserl distinguishes between the empirical subject (the individual person) and transcendental consciousness—the universal structures that make any experience possible. The investigator’s own consciousness is the condition for consciousness to be recognized as an object of investigation.
As Goto notes:
he investigated subject presupposes the existence of an investigating subject, meaning there is a correlation in which the subject is both the object of reflection (empirical subject) and the reflective subject (transcendental subject).
Gerda Walther: A Life Between Philosophy and the Paranormal
Goto devotes substantial space to recovering the life and work of Gerda Walther (1897–1977)—a figure who deserves to be far better known.
Early Life and Education
Walther grew up in a peculiar family environment. Her father, a socialist influenced by Karl Marx, instilled atheistic ideas in the household, which contrasted with Walther’s introspective and spiritually inclined nature. A difficult relationship with her stepmother increased her sense of isolation, leading her to seek refuge in nature and in self-invented spiritual practices.
She initially studied economics and pedagogy at the University of Munich, where she was deeply influenced by the philosopher and psychologist Alexander Pfänder. He introduced the idea of fundamental essence (Grundwesen), which would become a pillar of her reflections. Pfänder’s phenomenology emphasized investigation free of prejudices, encouraging students to explore the essence of phenomena without theoretical assumptions.
Encounter with Husserl:
Upon Pfänder’s recommendation, Walther transferred to Freiburg in 1917 to study under Edmund Husserl. Husserl was initially hesitant about admitting a young Marxist who openly declared her goal of becoming a political activist. But he relented, referring her to his assistant Edith Stein, whose assessment he sought before making a final decision. Stein was welcoming toward Walther, and she was accepted into Stein’s “philosophical kindergarten” and granted access to Husserl’s classes.
Under Husserl’s guidance, Walther was introduced to the phenomenological reduction. Husserl not only intellectually inspired her but also challenged her beliefs, prompting her to explore new perspectives on being and consciousness. She earned her doctorate summa cum laude with a dissertation titled On the Ontology of Social Communities (1923).
The Mystical Experience
In November 1918, during a train journey from Baden-Baden to Freiburg, Walther underwent a transformative experience. She later described it as an intense spiritual event—an overwhelming force, a consuming light, a sea of warm love and kindness that enveloped her throughout most of the trip. This mystical experience did not originate from within her psychological state but was perceived as coming from a higher dimension or another world.
This episode profoundly shaped her intellectual trajectory, prompting her to dedicate her life to exploring the spiritual dimension of experience—which she already considered phenomenologically lived and accessible to others. It marked a significant break from the materialist atheism in which she had been raised.
Encounter with Parapsychology
One of the most significant encounters of this period was with Professor Albert von Schrenck-Notzing, a leading researcher in the scientific study of paranormal phenomena. Walther became his assistant/secretary, participating in experimental séances where she witnessed events that defied conventional explanations—materializations, psychokinesis, and other phenomena.
After Schrenck-Notzing’s death, Walther continued her research, focusing on psychic and spiritual phenomena such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychometry. She delivered lectures across Europe, edited parapsychology journals, and published studies advancing the scientific understanding of paranormal phenomena.
Persecution and Later Life
With the rise of the Nazi regime in 1933, Walther’s career faced severe obstacles. Her socialist associations and involvement in occultist activities made her a target. She was arrested by the Gestapo, interrogated, and had her possessions confiscated. Nevertheless, she continued writing, resuming her research after the war.
In the following years, she published important works, including the expanded second edition of Phenomenology of Mysticism (1955) and her autobiography, Zum anderen Ufer (1960). Despite financial and health difficulties, she remained engaged in philosophy and parapsychology until her death in 1977.
Her final moments were remarkable: asked about any desires in the face of imminent death, she responded only with a transfigured smile and a firm “no.” The intensity of the gesture and the brightness in her eyes indicated complete spiritual surrender—an experience of transcendence that overcomes the limits of earthly existence.
Toward a Phenomenology of Mystical Experience
Walther’s most significant philosophical work is her Phenomenology of Mysticism (1955/2008), in which she applies Husserl’s method to the study of spiritual experience.
Two Prejudices to Overcome
Walther identifies two theoretical prejudices that hinder an open study of mystical experiences:
- The psychologistic prejudice: The assumption that it is impossible for human consciousness to experience God directly—that mystical experience is merely a revelation of a deep layer of the soul, rather than of the Divine itself.
- The empiricist prejudice: The assumption that human experience is limited to what can be captured by the senses. Mystics use sensory metaphors—”light,” “fragrance,” “warmth”—but these are imperfect attempts to translate something essentially different from ordinary experiences.
As Walther argues, the lack of personal experience of a phenomenon should not invalidate its existence. Just as we do not doubt the experiences of mathematicians simply because we cannot fully understand them, so too should we not dismiss mystical experiences merely because they are reported by a few.
The Spiritual vs. The Intellectual
Walther establishes a crucial phenomenological distinction between the “spiritual” and the “intellectual.” The intellect depends on sensory and concrete data—it analyzes, compares, and organizes. The spiritual, by contrast, is linked to direct and original perception, comparable to perceptual experience but at a transcendental level.
Spiritual experiences can occur independently of any external sensory perception, being fully real and authentic in themselves. They are lived “in one’s own flesh,” offering a unique certainty and presence that the intellect alone can never fully grasp.
Mystical Experience vs. Paranormal Phenomena
Walther warns against confusing mystical experience with “higher senses” or “parapsychic phenomena.” While such phenomena may involve data that could be called “supernatural” or spiritual, this does not mean that all spiritual perception is equivalent to parapsychological experiences. Not every religious experience is associated with occult/paranormal experiences—many mystics may never have experienced such phenomena.
Occultists, fascinated by their own spiritual experiences, often neglect the religious dimension and the relationship with the Divine. Divine emanations cannot be attained merely through training or the development of higher faculties; they are free gifts of divine will, transcending any human effort.
Toward a Phenomenology of Telepathy
Walther’s most innovative contribution to anomalistic studies is her phenomenological analysis of telepathy—a phenomenon she experienced personally and studied systematically.
Beyond “Thought Transmission”
Walther critically examines the conventional definition of telepathy as “thought transmission.” Through analysis of experiments and personal experiences, she realizes that telepathy is not limited to the transfer of concepts and judgments. What is being transferred is not necessarily thought, but often perception, sensory representation, or emotional state.
For example, an emitter may draw a “volcano with a cloud of smoke,” while the receiver might create an image of a “beetle with long antennae.” The underlying concept is not clearly transmitted, but there is a transfer of something—a perceptual pattern, a sensory quality.
Walther reformulates the definition: telepathy is the transfer of contents of consciousness or lived experiences from one subject to another, without the mediation of the external senses. This includes not only thoughts but emotional states, perceptions, and subjective experiences.
Noema and Noesis
Drawing on Husserl’s terminology, Walther distinguishes between two aspects of telepathic experience:
- Noema: The content of what is transmitted—images, concepts, feelings
- Noesis: How this content is lived or experienced by consciousness
Traditional experiments focus on the noematic aspect—comparing drawings, measuring accuracy. But the noetic aspect—the quality of the experience itself—is equally important. In some cases, telepathy may involve a deep and immediate experience of the emitter’s consciousness, without any sensory representation at all.
The Case of Emotional Telepathy
Walther describes a case in which a woman intensely feels that another person is desperate and in a bad emotional state, without knowing what is actually happening. Later, she discovers that the person committed suicide at that very moment. No visual representation or clear concept is transferred—only an emotional state, a feeling directly lived by the receiver.
This demonstrates that telepathy can involve the transmission of states of consciousness that are not limited to sensory perceptions or mental representations.
Psychic Resonance and Aura
Walther observes that telepathic experience is often associated with a sensation of “psychic resonance”—a kind of “aura” or psychic quality experienced as something internal and subjective, without the need for representation. This phenomenon is analogous to synesthesia, where different senses merge. In telepathy, this psychic resonance can be experienced as a kind of “inner light” or “inner force.”
Crucially, telepathic experience retains the unique “atmosphere” of the other person. Even without explicit references, the experience is marked by the specific quality of the emitter’s consciousness—a characteristic that does not require comparative judgments to be understood.
Methodological Implications
Walther insists that the phenomenological method is essential for parapsychology. Before seeking to prove the existence of telepathy through experiments and statistics, we must understand its essence. The eidetic reduction allows us to grasp what telepathy fundamentally is; the phenomenological reduction allows us to examine how it presents itself to consciousness.
As Walther writes:
Husserl’s basic thesis, that each type of object requires a special and peculiar form of understanding, must be particularly clear to us parapsychologists and provide us with a weapon against many unjust criticisms that have been brought against us under false premises.
Connecting Phenomenology to Information Fields: Sheldrake’s Morphic Resonance
Goto bridges Walther’s phenomenological analyses with the scientific framework of this volume through Rupert Sheldrake’s theory of morphic resonance.
Morphic Fields
Sheldrake proposes that biological and social systems are influenced by invisible fields—”morphogenetic fields” or “morphic fields”—that store information about the form and behavior of organisms. These fields are not local or material but operate through a kind of “collective memory,” in which behavior and developmental patterns repeat over time, being transmitted between organisms in a non-physical manner.
As Sheldrake writes:
Morphogenetic fields, chreods, and attractors are causal factors whose properties surpass the familiar forces and fields of physics. They enclose time, contain a memory of previous similar systems given by morphic resonance, and attract organisms toward ends or goals through a kind of causation that acts ‘retroactively’ in time.
Morphic Resonance and Telepathy
Sheldrake’s research on telepathy—in humans and animals—convinced him that these phenomena are natural, not supernatural. His experiments with the terrier Jaytee and the African Grey parrot N’kisi demonstrated statistically significant telepathic responses under controlled conditions.
If morphic fields exist, then telepathic communication may be mediated by resonance between these fields. When two individuals are “tuned in,” their consciousnesses operate in a state of synchronization, reflected in changes in brain activity patterns, heart rate, and other physiological measures.
Convergence with Walther
Goto identifies striking convergences between Walther’s phenomenology and Sheldrake’s theory:
| Walther’s Phenomenology | Sheldrake’s Morphic Resonance |
| Consciousness as intentional and transcendental | Consciousness extends beyond the brain |
| Telepathy as transfer of lived experiences | Telepathy as morphic resonance between fields |
| Psychic resonance and “aura” | Morphic fields as carriers of collective memory |
| Distinction between content and lived experience | Information transmitted nonlocally through fields |
| Rejection of reductionist explanations | Challenge to materialist paradigm |
Both models suggest that communication and information transfer occur within an interconnected network, where the separation between individuals is, in some sense, an illusion. This theoretical convergence opens new possibilities for exploring phenomena unexplained by conventional science.
Why This Chapter Matters
Goto’s contribution is significant for several reasons:
1. It recovers a forgotten pioneer
Gerda Walther’s work deserves to be known. A student of Husserl, a collaborator with leading parapsychologists, a woman who dared to explore the boundaries of consciousness with philosophical rigor—her story is inspiring and her insights remain relevant.
2. It brings phenomenological rigor to anomalistic studies
Too often, the study of paranormal phenomena lacks philosophical depth. Walther’s application of Husserl’s method provides a rigorous framework for investigating these experiences without reducing them to pathology or dismissing them as illusion.
3. It distinguishes between types of spiritual experience
Walther’s careful differentiation between mystical experience (direct encounter with the Divine) and paranormal phenomena (telepathy, clairvoyance) is essential for clear thinking. They are related but distinct—and both deserve serious study.
4. It connects to the framework
The information fields that Azevedo and colleagues investigate experimentally may be the physical correlate of the phenomena Walther described phenomenologically. Morphic resonance, psychic resonance, and nonlocal communication find a common language in theory
5. It challenges reductionism
Whether scientific materialism, psychologism, or empiricism, reductionist approaches cannot do justice to the fullness of human experience. Phenomenology reminds us that consciousness is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be inhabited—with wisdom, empathy, and humility.
Connections to Other Chapters
Goto’s phenomenological approach resonates deeply with other contributions:
- Chapter 9 (Sheldrake): Morphic resonance—the scientific framework that converges with Walther’s phenomenology of telepathy
- Chapter 10 (Meneghetti): Semantic fields—unconscious information transmission between humans, described phenomenologically by Walther and theoretically by Meneghetti
- Chapter 11 (Radin et al.): Nonlocal experiences—psi phenomena as empirical evidence for the consciousness dimensions Walther explored
- Chapter 12 (Azevedo): Nonlocal human communication—experimental validation of the connections Walther described phenomenologically
- Chapter 8 (Rempel): DNA resonance—the biological substrate for nonlocal information transfer
Key Takeaways
- Phenomenology provides a rigorous method for studying consciousness. Before measuring or explaining, we must describe how phenomena appear in lived experience.
- Gerda Walther was a pioneer. She applied phenomenological methods to mysticism, telepathy, and paranormal phenomena—experiences that most philosophers ignored.
- Mystical experience is authentic. It is not pathology or imagination but a direct encounter with the Divine, distinct from ordinary perception and from paranormal phenomena.
- Telepathy is transfer of lived experience. Not just thoughts, but emotions, perceptions, and states of consciousness can be transmitted directly between persons.
- Content and experience are distinct. Phenomenology distinguishes between what is transmitted (noema) and how it is lived (noesis)—both essential for understanding telepathy.
- Morphic resonance provides a scientific framework. Sheldrake’s theory offers a way to understand how consciousness extends beyond the brain and how nonlocal communication occurs.
- Convergence points to a new paradigm. Phenomenology and information field theory together suggest that consciousness is not confined to individual brains but participates in a shared, nonlocal reality.
- Humility before mystery. Consciousness is not merely a technical problem but an ethical, spiritual, and existential question that challenges the boundaries of human knowledge.estable predictions.
About the Author’s Contribution
Tommy Akira Goto brings together philosophy, psychology, and the study of anomalous experience in a synthesis that is both historically informed and forward-looking. His recovery of Gerda Walther’s work is a service to scholarship; his connection of phenomenology to information field theory opens new pathways for interdisciplinary dialogue.
For Further Exploration
- Key works: Gerda Walther, Phenomenology of Mysticism (1955/2008); Edmund Husserl, Ideas Pertaining to a Pure Phenomenology (1913); Rupert Sheldrake, A New Science of Life (1981)
- Key concepts: Phenomenological reduction, eidetic reduction, intentionality, noema/noesis, morphic resonance, psychic resonance
- Key figures: Edmund Husserl, Gerda Walther, Edith Stein, Rupert Sheldrake
Explore other Information Fields book chapters
Part I: The Physical Realm
Chapter 1: Information Fields as a Fundamental Physical Primitive
Erico Azevedo & José Pissolato Filho
Chapter 2: The Persistence of Information in a Quantum Reality
Shantena Sabbadini
Chapter 3: Unveiling Quantum Entanglement
Erico Azevedo & José Pissolato Filho
Chapter 4: Fractal Hyperspace Engineering
Anirban Bandyopadhyay, Sudeshna Pramanik & Pushpendra Singh
Part II: The Biophysical Realm
Chapter 5: Long-Distance Cellular Communication: A Review
Mariana Cabral Schveitzer & Maria Luiza Bazzo
Chapter 6: Biofields and Bioenergy
Konstantin Korotkov
Chapter 7: Developmental Biology and Morphogenetic Fields
Ricardo Ghelman
Chapter 8: Imperfection as the Foundation of Life
Ivan V. Savelev, Michael M. Rempel, Oksana Polesskaya, Richard Alan Miller & Max Myakishev-Rempel
Part III: The Biopsychical Realm
Chapter 9: Morphic Resonance and Beyond
Rupert Sheldrake
Chapter 10: Semantic Fields
Antonio Meneghetti
Chapter 11: Nonlocal Experiences in a Quantum Reality
Dean Radin, Helané Wahbeh, Garret Yount, Thomas Brophy, Sitara Taddeo & Arnaud Delorme
Chapter 12: Nonlocal Human Communication: A Unified Framework via the Field
Erico Azevedo
Chapter 13: Exploring the Dimensions of Consciousness
Tommy Akira Goto
Part IV: Applications
Chapter 14: Information Fields in Psychology
Erico Azevedo & Nathália Perin
Chapter 15: Medical Systems and Integrative Health
Ricardo Ghelman, Caio S. Portella & José Ruguê Ribeiro Junior
Chapter 16: Intuition and Noise in Decision Making
Erico Azevedo
Chapter 17: From Metaphysics to Science
Alécio Vidor
About ORIONT
ORIONT is an institute dedicated to research, training, and practical applications of Ontopsychology and human potential development. Co-founded by Erico Azevedo and Nathália Perin, it serves as a bridge between rigorous scientific investigation and the lived experience of human development. Through research, publications, and training programs, ORIONT carries forward the vision of a science that includes the full depth of human experience. [Website: https://oriont.org]
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