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The NDE
and Science |
|
Kevin Williams'
research conclusions |
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 Scientific
knowledge is always in a state of flux. New scientific discoveries come along and overthrow long-held hypotheses. A good example is
the attempt
by humanity to explain the phenomenon of light. Ancient religious texts around the world
associated light with divine consciousness from which everything,
including all other consciousness, originated. Before the dawn of science, humanity relied on religious experience
and philosophy to understand light and the cosmos. Then Isaac Newton came
along and theorized that light
is composed of particles. Further scientific discovery overthrew this
theory and led to the theory of light
as a wave. When the photoelectric effect was discovered, the wave
theory was ultimately overthrown which led to the "quantum" theory
of light
as a particle AND a wave. Interestingly enough, this duality
corresponds with a current mathematical theory
of chaos which may explain how consciousness
might be both a part of the whole and the entire whole of a single
non-localized consciousness. Table
of Contents
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Science has yielded some very unusual discoveries about light. The energy of light is
infinite. Light was pervasive at the beginning of the universe. All
matter is light (electromagnetic radiation). Time
stops at the
speed of
light. This means that if you could travel at the speed of light, you could travel anywhere in the universe and
live
forever (never age). The speed of
light is
constant for all observers regardless of their relative speed or direction.
Light
particles can communicate with each other. Human observation
transforms light waves into light particles to experience reality.
Humanity's scientific discovery of the nature of light is the cornerstone of modern physics and natural law. It is also the cornerstone of
NDE
research and consciousness
research.
NDE studies describe people having experiences with a beautiful and loving light while clinically dead.
People often describe this light in the same way that ancient religious
texts describe divine consciousness. This demonstrates how scientists have scaled the mountain of
ignorance to overcome the dangerous pitfalls of confusion and conquered
the steep summit of darkness to finally reach the peak of enlightenment only to find a group of holy men who have been sitting there for thousands of years.
So humanity's struggle to ascertain the nature of light and consciousness
seems to continue to be elusive. The more one tries to concentrate on the location and
source of light and consciousness the more difficult they are to ascertain. The
old paradigm
of reliance on the
scientific method appears unable to conquer these challenges because it assumes
that nothing is true unless it can be quantified by the senses using this method.
And if consciousness has neither physical essence nor locality then this paradigm may
never be able to quantify it.
Thankfully, quantum theory is allowing new paradigms to take flight such
as the theory that the basic building block of the universe is not matter but consciousness itself. This
transcendent view
of consciousness also is found in ancient religious texts. It is also
found in recent scientific studies on
prayer which show that hospital patients benefit from the prayers of
strangers even when they aren't aware that someone is praying for them. These studies have been interpreted by researchers to be an indication that
consciousness behaves much like a magnetic field
which can be affected by other magnetic fields.
The old paradigm of observing, theorizing, and predicting doesn't work very well when studying light and
consciousness - especially when it concerns NDEs. It also allows "paradigm
cops" to dismiss NDEs as being caused by brain anomalies even though
the cause of NDEs is not relevant to whether the experience is real or not.
Nevertheless, recent studies have ruled out brain anomalies. The old paradigm denies a whole range of valid experiences including those described in ancient religious texts. It is this paradigm of the
West that vehemently disregards out-of-body realms of consciousness. Albert Einstein, the father of the new paradigm, may have the old paradigm in mind when he said, "All knowledge of reality starts from experience and ends in it." The new paradigm suggests that we don't merely experience reality;
we
create reality with our minds. And if minds can transcend physical bodies and experience clear visions of verified events which they could not have possibly experienced under the old paradigm, then it is time to abandon the old paradigm and focus on the new one. This became even more obvious when in December of 2001,
Dr.
Pim van Lommel
published an article in The Lancet, the United Kingdom's highly respected journal of medicine, about a study he conducted showing that 18 percent of clinically dead patients recalled having a NDE. He also documented
verified events that were experienced by patients from a perspective removed from their
bodies.
Verified evidence of a transcendent consciousness? Survival after death? So where's the confetti and streamers? Why is
there mostly silence from the scientific community at large about it?
Here's
why.
Let's hope NDE veridical evidence isn't largely ignored by the scientific
community as it has been with scientific evidence of reincarnation. When Dr. Ian
Stevenson completed a study and published his findings in a book entitled
Twenty
Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation (1967), he provided outstanding scientific reasoning which concluded that
reincarnation is the only viable explanation that fits the
data he collected. He considered every possible alternative explanation considering
twenty cases of children who were spontaneously able to describe a previous lifetime as soon as they learned to talk.
Stevenson ruled out each alternative explanation using one or more aspects of his cases. Later research supported his case in favor of the existence of reincarnation. His study is reproducible
and anyone who doubts the validity of his study can repeat it for
themselves. But because of the old paradigm, this great scientific discovery will
remain generally ignored by the scientific community and the world. So until the new
paradigm is firmly established, reincarnation and the
transcendental nature of consciousness will continue to be considered the
greatest scientific discoveries of all time by those who can see the quantum
light with quantum eyes.
In the meantime, the scientific
evidence supporting the survival of consciousness after death is
quietly waiting for the world to notice while a new holistic
synthesis of science and religion is emerging from the
quantum
mind of humanity.
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Scientific Discoveries
Resulting
From NDEs |
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(1) |
NDEs
are proven to be real events |
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Gravitational forces exerted upon fighter pilots
in a centrifuge has revolutionized the field of consciousness studies by providing experimental proof that NDEs
are real events because they can be replicated in the laboratory. (Dr. Jim
Whinnery) |
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(2) |
A NDE
cured
cancer |
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Dr.
Ken Ring documented the case of Ralph Duncan who died of leukemia and had a NDE.
During his NDE, Jesus cured him and told him he no longer had leukemia. Duncan returned from death cancer-free.
(Howard
Mikel) |
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(3) |
A NDE
cured congenital blindness |
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A blind and mute 67 year-old diabetic woman with severe heart problems was about to undergo open-heart surgery when a Being of Light appeared and healed her of all her illnesses. The cardiologists could offer no explanation for her cure.
(Dr. Ken Ring) |
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(4) |
A NDE
healed abdominal sickness |
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Five days after abdominal surgery, an English patient had complications and died. During his NDE, a Being of Light healed him. The patient returned from death healed.
(Margot Grey) |
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(5) |
A NDE
advanced biological and medical research |
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After his NDE, Mellen-Thomas Benedict brought back a great deal of scientific information concerning
biophotonics, cellular communication, quantum biology, and DNA research. Mellen-Thomas Benedict
currently holds six U.S. patents. (Dr. Ken
Ring) |
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(6) |
A NDE supports astrophysical
research |
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Mellen-Thomas
Benedict's NDE supports a number of scientific
theories such as: an infinite number of Big Bangs, the reality of zero-point space, a better understanding of black holes. Mellen-Thomas Benedict
believes in the future science will be able to quantify spirit. (Dr. Ken Ring) |
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(7) |
A NDE advanced molecular
chemistry |
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Olaf Swenson had a NDE from a botched tonsillectomy at the age of 14 for which he experienced a timeless spaceless dimension which physicists call the
"Omega Point". Because of the information gained from his NDE, he later went on to develop over 100 patents in molecular
chemistry. (Dr. Melvin
Morse) |
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(8) |
NDEs
support
Einstein's theory of time travel |
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Albert
Einstein's theory of
relativity allows for the possibility of time travel.
During a NDE, some people have reported traveling back in time
and some have reported traveling into the future. |
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(a) |
I see myself in the midst of a huge crowd. It's not a modern crowd. They
are dressed in the clothes of Bible times .... I watch
in horror as Jesus is nailed to the cross.
(Don Brubaker) |
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(b) |
I explored the Roman Empire, Babylon, the times
of Noah and Abraham. Any era you can name, I went there. (Dr. George Rodonaia) |
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(c) |
The light replied, "Let us goback in time, as far back as possible, and tell me how far back we should go". I was thinking for some time. Eventually I blurted out, "Stone Age?" I did not have much time to think about all this, because, all of a sudden, I saw human beings back on Earth. I was looking down on a group of people, men and women, who were dressed in furs, sitting around acampfire.
(Guenter Wagner) |
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(d) |
The
box opened to reveal what appeared to be a tiny television
picture of a world event that was yet to happen. As I
watched, I felt myself drawn right into the picture, where
I was able to live the event. This happened twelve times,
and twelve times I stood in the midst of many events that
would shake the world in the future.
(Dannion Brinkley) |
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(9) |
a NDE
supports a theory of consciousness |
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One particular theory of consciousness
is supported by NDE research an involves consciousness expansion after
death. Stanislav
Grof explains this theory: |
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(a) |
My first idea was that it
[consciousness] has to be hard-wired in the brain. I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how something like that is possible.Today, I came to the conclusion that it is not coming from the brain. In that sense, it supports what
Aldous Huxley
believed after he had some powerful
psychedelic experiences and was trying to link them to the brain. He came to the conclusion that maybe the brain acts as a kind of reducing valve that actually protects us from too much cosmic input ... I don't think you can locate the source of consciousness. I am quite sure it is not in the brain not inside of the skull ...
It actually, according to my experience, would lie beyond time and space, so it is not localizable. You actually come to the source of consciousness when you dissolve any categories that imply separation, individuality,
time, space and so on. You just experience it as a presence. (Stanislav Grof) |
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(10) |
The
expansion of consciousness
reported during NDEs accounts supports a theory of consciousness. |
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The following
NDE descriptions of consciousness expansion supports the theory of consciousness
described above by Stanislav
Grof. It theorizes that the brain acts as a reducing valve
of cosmic input to produce consciousness. At death, this reducing-valve
function ceases and consciousness is then free to expand. The following NDEs
support this: |
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(a) |
I realized that, as the stream was expanding, my own consciousness was also expanding to take in everything in the
Universe! (Mellen-Thomas
Benedict) |
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(b) |
My mind felt like a sponge, growing and expanding in size with each addition ... I could feel my mind expanding and absorbing and each new piece of information somehow seemed to belong.
(Virginia Rivers) |
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(c) |
In your life review you'll be the universe. (Thomas
Sawyer) |
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(d) |
This white light began to infiltrate my consciousness. It came into me. It seemed I went out into it. I expanded into it as it came into my field of
consciousness.
(Jayne Smith) |
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(e) |
My presence fills the room. And now I feel my presence in every room in the hospital. Even the tiniest space in the hospital is filled with this presence that is me. I sense myself beyond the hospital, above the city, even encompassing
Earth. I am melting into the universe. I am everywhere at once. (Josiane Antonette) |
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(f
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I felt myself expanding and expanding until I thought, "I'm going to burst!" The moment I thought, "I'm going to burst!", I suddenly found myself alone, back where this being had met me, and he had
gone.
(Margaret Tweddell) |
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(g) |
Susan
had an out-of-body experience where she left her body and grew very big, as big as a planet at first, and then she filled thesolar system and finally she became as large as the
universe. (Susan Blackmore) |
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(11) |
NDEs
affirm the reality of psychic phenomena |
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(a) |
After
Dr. Yvonne Kason's NDE, she receives psychic visions of the health status of
people. She successfully diagnosed a friend with meningitis although there were absolutely no signs of it.
(Tom Harpur) |
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(b) |
Visit
the NDE and the Future
web page for a complete list. |
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(12) |
NDEs
have influenced some of humanity's greatest
philosophies and religions |
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(a) |
The famed Greek philosopher, Plato, described in his legendary
work entitled Republic, the
NDE account of a soldier named
Er.
Plato integrated at least three elements of this NDE into his philosophy:
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(I.) |
The departure of the soul from the
cave of shadows to see the light of
truth |
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(II.) |
The flight of the soul to a vision of pure celestial
being |
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(III.) |
Its subsequent recollection of the vision of light, which is the very purpose of philosophy. |
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(b) |
The man responsible for making
Christianity a world religion, the Apostle
Paul, described
his own NDE as follows: |
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I know a person in Christ
who fourteen years ago was caught up the third heaven.
Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not
know - God knows. And I know that this person - whether in
the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God
knows - was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible
things, things that people are not permitted to
tell. (2 Cor. 12:2-4) |
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In this letter, Paul
based his authority as an Apostle on this NDE. Some or all
of his revelations of Jesus certainly came from this NDE.
The inspiration of much of the New Testament can be
attributed in some way to Paul's NDE. |
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Scientific Theories Explaining NDEs |
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(1) Dying Brain Theory |
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PRO: |
Because NDEs have many common core elements, this shows that they
are not spiritual voyages outside of the body, but are a function of the dying brain. All brains die in the same way and that is why all NDEs have essential core elements which are the
same. They are the result of neurotransmitters in the brain shutting down which creates lovely illusions.
(Susan Blackmore) |
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CON:
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Because NDEs have many common core elements, this
suggests that they
are spiritual voyages outside of the body. Also, if the dying brain creates NDE illusions, what is the purpose for doing it? If our brains are only a high-tech computer-like lump of tissue
which produces our mind and personality, why does it bother to create illusions at the time of death? If everything, including the mind
and personality, are about to disintegrate, why would the brain produce a last wonderful
Grand Finale vision? Even if NDE elements
can be reduced to only a series of brain reactions, this does not negate the idea that NDEs are more than a
brain
thing. Read this article on the
errors of the pseudo-skeptics of NDEs. |
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(2) Lack of Oxygen Theory |
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PRO: |
Neurologist
Ernst Rodin offers cerebral anoxia as a possible cause of NDEs of the dying brain. Such anoxia produces a
confusing dream-like state of delusions and hallucinations. (Susan
Blackmore) |
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CON:
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Cardiologist
Dr. Michael Sabom responded that the NDE involves a clear awareness and a more mystical content, and NDEs
have also occurred in people without anoxia. Pim van Lommel led a study
concerning NDEs during cardiac arrest. In our study all patients had a cardiac arrest, they were clinically dead, unconsciousness that was caused by insufficient blood supply to the brain,
and the EEG has become flat. In patients cardiac arrest (ventricular fibrillation) is sometimes induced for testing internal
defibrillators. In these patients the EEG becomes usually flat within 10-15 seconds from the onset of syncope due to the
(reversible) total loss of function of the brain. According to the physiologic theory, all patients in our study should have had NDE, but only 18%
reported NDE. |
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(3) Right Temporal Lobe Theory |
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PRO: |
Neurologist
Dr.
Michael Persinger argues that instability and activity in the brain's right temporal lobe is responsible for religious
experiences of deep meaningfulness, early memories, and out-of-body experiences.
(see
Temporal
lobe theory page) |
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CON:
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Dr.
Melvin Morse agrees that the right temporal lobe shows NDE-like activity, but he sees it as the mediating bridge for a spiritual
experience, not reductionistically as nothing but brain activity
(Morse, 1992). Also, the characteristic emotions that result from
temporal lobe stimulation are fear, sadness, and loneliness, not the calm and love of a NDE. While scientists may be discovering a
mechanism associated with NDEs, this does not mea NDEs are strictly produced by this mechanism. A mechanical function
associated with NDEs does not negate the idea that NDEs might be more than a mechanical function. |
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(4) Cortical Disinhibition Theory |
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PRO: |
Susan Blackmore interprets the tunnel and the light as an optical illusion created by the effects of anoxia and drugs, creating
cortical disinhibition, with the effect of random light spots radiating from the center of a dark internal visual field. |
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CON:
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Dr.
Michael Sabom tested and rejected this brain-only argument. While brain neurology is obviously a part of NDEs, he says, it is
not a sufficient explanation because of the verified or veridical aspects found in some NDEs. This aspect suggests the possibility
that consciousness can exist outside of the body. |
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(5) Hallucination Theory |
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PRO: |
The psychiatrist
Dr. Ronald Siegel interprets NDEs and similar imaginative visions of the afterlife as hallucinations, similar to the
effects of psychedelic drugs or anesthesia. (Hallucination
Theory support) |
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CON:
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Psychologist
John
Gibbs states, "NDE accounts from varied times and
cultures were found to be more orderly, logical, defined and
predictable than comparable accounts from drug or
illness-induced hallucination. Impressive data from Tart, Moody
and Carl Becker also argue for the objective elements of a NDE,
including returning with knowledge later verified and
third-party observations of odd death-bed phenomena (such as
luminosity or apparitions). Peter Fenwick, a neuropsychiatrist, notes that drug induced
hallucinations take place while the subject is conscious. During a NDE the subject is unconscious. While in the state of
unconsciousness, the brain cannot create images. Even if they did, the subject would not be able to remember them. NDEs involve
clear, lucid memories. Also, drug induced hallucinations distort reality while NDEs have been described as "hyper-reality." |
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(6) Depersonalization Theory |
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PRO: |
Noyes and Kletti theorizes that a defense of the nervous system stalls off mental disorganization during the death crisis by
presenting an altered passage of time, vivid and accelerated thoughts, a sense of detachment, unreality, automatic movements, and
revival of memories. (see
Depersonalization
theory page) |
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CON:
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Dr.
Michael Sabom argues that depersonalization fails to account for all the elements of NDEs. Some NDE elements do not fit
into the depersonalization mode, such as the strong spiritual and mystical feelings, and the increased alertness and awareness.
Also, the vast majority of experiencers reject the idea that their NDE is the result of depersonalization. To reduce what was a
profound and transforming experience to nothing more than a set of neurotransmitters going on the blink is a bit like seeing
Michelangelo's statue of David as nothing more than several tons of marble. |
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(7) Memory of Birth Theory |
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PRO: |
Otto Rank proposed that the birth trauma is behind all neuroses, for all anxiety-producing experiences of separation reactivate
the separation from the mother at birth (Brown, 52-53). This theory has been modified to explain the NDE. The cosmologist
Carl
Sagan proposed that the tunnel and light are a reliving of the infant's descent down the birth canal
(Sagan, 353-68). (see
Memory of
birth page) |
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CON:
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Carl Becker asserts that the infant descending the birth canal has its eyes closed and its brain too undeveloped to allow
memories of birth (Becker, 1982). Similarly, Susan Blackmore showed that people born by caesarian section have the tunnel
experience and OBEs in equal proportion to those born naturally (Blackmore,
1983). Also, birth is often an unpleasant experience for babies. In contrast, NDEs are often described as extremely pleasurable. |
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(8) Endorphins Theory |
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PRO: |
The brain's naturally produced narcotics, such as the endorphins, have been offered by endocrinologist
Daniel Carr to explain
why, at the very moment when the body's death would be expected to bring incredible pain and terror, the NDE surprises us with
pleasure, calm, and peace. |
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CON:
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Dr.
Melvin Morse responds that patients receiving prescribed narcotics similar to the endorphins experienced no
NDEs (Morse, 1989). |
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(9) Denial of Death Theory |
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PRO: |
The NDE is seen by some
Freudians as a denial of death, a hallucinatory wish fulfillment defending the ego from its
impending annihilation. |
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CON:
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A large number of people who have NDEs are
initially not even aware they have died. In these cases death is not even considered or
denied (e.g., Dr.
George
Ritchie, Rev. Howard Storm). |
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(10) Fear of Death Theory |
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PRO: |
Severe anxiety and stress at the time of death creates a
disassociative state. |
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CON:
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Pim van Lommel led a study
concerning NDEs during cardiac arrest. Only a very small percentage of patients said they had
been afraid the last seconds preceding the cardiac arrest. Also the given medication made no difference. |
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(11) Darwin's Theory of Evolution |
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PRO: |
This theory holds that NDE reports are a deliberate ploy of humans to help the human race to adapt better to the inevitable
end of their lives.This is based on the survival of the fittest which means that every species has the primary urge to struggle to
increase its hold on the planet and guarantee the survival of its descendants. |
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CON:
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This theory does not explain why NDEs are erratic, or why we shunted down an evolutionary sidetrack for years by making
NDEs something that people are reluctant to talk about. |
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(12) Consciousness Survives Bodily Death Theory |
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PRO: |
There exists
strong circumstantial evidence that consciousness can survive bodily death. While this evidence does not constitute scientific evidence it does make survival after bodily death a possibility that can be upheld in a court of law. The evidence for survival can be found in science, philosophy, history, metaphysics, religion, and anecdotal testimony. Quantum physics makes some scientific theories of the NDE outmoded while supporting elements of NDEs. Scientific studies support the possible validity of NDEs elements such as being out of the body, the retention of mental images during brain death, veridical experiences of autoscopic events, the ability to accurately foresee the future, receiving information that leads to new scientific discoveries, people born blind being able to see, groups of people sharing a single experience, unbiased children having similar experiences as adults, causing experiencers to be drastically changed and convinced of survival after death, the evidence supporting the objectivity of NDEs, and the affirmation of ancient religious concepts found around the world. Some of the skeptical arguments against the survival theory are often not valid and the burden of proof against survival has shifted to the skeptics. The following is a list of the evidence supporting NDEs as the survival of consciousness. |
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(a) |
Quantum physics makes some scientific theories of the NDE outmoded. |
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New
developments in quantum physics shows that we
cannot know phenomena apart from the observer.
Arlice Davenport challenges the hallucination
theory of NDEs as outmoded because the field
theories of physics now suggest new paradigm
options available to explain NDEs.
Mark Woodhouse
argues that the traditional materialism/dualism
battle over NDEs may be solved by Einstein. Since
matter is now seen as a form of energy, an energy
body alternative to the material body could
explain the NDE. This is supported by Melvin Morse
who describes how NDEs are able to realign the
charges in the electromagnetic field of the human
body so that somehow the brain's wiring is renewed. He reports on
patients who have NDEs and who recover from such
diseases as pneumonia, cardiac arrest, and cancer
(1992,
153-54). Perhaps the brain is like a kind of
receiver (such as a television, radio, or cell
phone). What is received (i.e., signals,
music, voice) is not produced by the receiver,
but exists separately as electromagnetic waves
that are processed by the receiver to make them
visible or audible to the senses. |
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(b) |
Quantum physics support elements found in
NDEs. |
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Similarities can be found between elements of
NDEs and in quantum field concepts of non-locality, universal interconnectedness, a non-material dimension without our time-space relationship, and in the concept of subjectivity. All events are related and influence each other instantaneously and in reciprocity, and only subjectivity remains. |
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(c) |
Scientific studies support the out-of-body aspect of
NDEs. |
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Pim van Lommel led a study concerning the NDEs of research subjects who had cardiac arrest. The findings of the study suggests that research subjects can experience consciousness, with self-identity, cognitive function and memories, including the possibility of perception outside their body, during a flat EEG. Those research subjects who had NDEs report that their NDE was a bonafide preview of the afterlife. |
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(f ) |
Strange aspects to NDEs cannot be explained by brain chemistry alone. |
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If NDEs are
merely hallucinations, why do the vast majority of experiencers report
being
told an identical and unusual message? This unusual message is that they must return because their time
for death hasn't come, or some variation of this. Assuming that NDEs are
merely hallucinations, it is odd that people are having mass hallucinations of
receiving similar unusual messages. |
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(g) |
People born blind are able to see during a NDE. |
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See
Vicki Umipeg's NDE
account. |
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Groups of people can share the same NDE at the same time. |
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NDE
research
Arvin Gibson documented the account of a group of
firefighters who succumbed to a forest fire. During their NDEs
they saw each other outside of their bodies and had a most
interesting experience. See the
Group NDE
web page involving May Eulitt and Jake. |
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(i ) |
People are able to successfully foresee future events during a NDE. |
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Some of
these events were the Second World War, Desert Storm, and the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. See the
NDE and the Future
web page. |
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(j ) |
People are declared dead and left for dead for several days during a NDE. |
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A Russian
scientist was declared dead and put in the morgue for three days
during which he had a NDE. See
Dr. George Rodonaia's NDE
account. Also, visit
Emanuel
Tuwagirairmana's NDE account. |
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(l ) |
Scientific
discoveries have been made from the direct result of NDEs. |
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See the
list of scientific discoveries at the top of this web page. |
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(m) |
NDEs can be viewed to be archetypal initiatory journeys. |
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Dr.
Ken Ring stated that NDEs can be viewed psychologically as
archetypal initiatory journeys involving a death of one's old ego and a rebirth of a new self. An adequate interpretation must incorporate the spiritual realm of
kundalini experiences, the
imaginal
realm, and the mind at large. As Ring envisions in an essay in this book, this paradigm can deconstruct our traditional Western worldview. It may lead to a dramatic next step in the evolution of a more ecological and more compassionate consciousness. |
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People are dramatically changed as a result from having a NDE. |
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The philosophy of Positivism, founded by
A. J.
Ayer, is the
philosophy that anything not verifiable by the senses is nonsense.
And since NDEs mark the end of the senses, the survival of the
senses after death is nonsense. But this philosophy is challenged by
its founder A. J. Ayer himself. Later in life, Ayer had a NDE
where he saw a red light. His NDE made him a changed man: "My recent experiences, have slightly weakened my conviction that my genuine death...will be the end of me, though I continue to hope that it will be."
(Ayer, 1988 a, b). |
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People are absolutely convinced they were out of their body during a NDE. |
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See
the
Evidence
of NDEs
web
page. |
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NDEs can be considered an objective experience. |
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The philosopher
Carl Becker examined four ways in which NDEs may be considered
objective:
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Skeptical arguments against the survival theory of NDEs are often not valid. |
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Sociologist
Dr.
Allan Kellehear states that some scientific theories are often presented as the most logical, factual, objective, credible, and progressive possibilities, as opposed to the allegedly subjective, superstitious, abnormal, or dysfunctional views of mystics. The rhetorical opinions of some NDE theories are presented as if they were
scientific (Kellehear, 1996, 120). Many skeptical arguments against the survival theory are actually
arguments from pseudo-skeptics who often think they have no burden of proof. Such arguments often based on scientism with assumptions that survival is impossible even though survival has not been ruled out. Faulty conclusions are often made such as, "Because NDEs have a brain chemical connection then survival is impossible." Pseudo-skeptical arguments are sometimes made that
do not consider the entire body of circumstantial evidence supporting the possibility of
survival or do not consider the possibility of new paradigms. Such pseudo-skeptical claims are often made without any scientific
evidence. |
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The burden of proof has shifted to skeptics of the survival theory of
NDEs. |
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All neurological theories that conclude NDEs to be only a
brain-thing, must show how the core elements of the NDE occur subjectively because of specific neurological events triggered by the approach of death. These core elements include: the
out-of-body state,
paranormal
knowledge, the tunnel, the golden
light, the voice or presence, the appearance of
deceased relatives, and
beautiful
vistas. Perhaps the final word should go to
Nancy Evans
Bush, a NDEr with the
International Association for Near-Death
Studies, who said: "There is no human experience of any description that can't simply be reduced to a biological process, but that in no way offsets the meaning those experiences have for us-whether it's falling in love, or grieving, or having a baby." |
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CON:
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The
survival of consciousness after death has never been proven using
the scientific method. |
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NDE Research Conclusions |
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Read current news articles of NDE
research supporting the survival of consciousness from the body. |
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Dr. PMH Atwater: The content of
the NDE involves an otherworldly awareness that can be brief and consist of only one or two elements, or can be more involved, even lengthy, and consist of multiple elements. Common elements include: |
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Dr. Melvin
Morse: The brain's connection to a higher power can be validated by indisputable scientific facts such
as: |
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(1)
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29%
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saw the Being of Light as a familiar
being. |
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Of the percentage who saw familiar beings: |
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(a)
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25.9%
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saw
blood relatives. |
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(b)
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22.9%
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saw
religious figures.
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(2)
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25.8%
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saw the Being of Light as an unfamiliar
being. |
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Of the 166 people who saw beings: |
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(a)
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53%
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saw familiar
beings. |
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(b)
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47%
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saw unfamiliar beings. |
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Dr. Peter
Fenwick: On the difference between hallucinations and NDEs, Fenwick
states in Tom Harpur's documentary Life
After Death that drug-induced hallucinations are not the same as NDEs: |
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The difficulty with those
theories is that when you create these wonderful states by taking drugs, you're
conscious.
In the NDE, you are unconscious. One of the things we know about brain function in unconsciousness, is that you cannot create images and if you do, you cannot remember
them ... [During
a NDE] the brain isn't functioning. It's not there. It's destroyed. It's abnormal. But, yet, it can produce these very clear experiences ...
An unconscious state is when the brain ceases to function. For example, if you faint, you fall to the floor, you don't know what's happening and the brain isn't working. The memory systems are particularly sensitive to unconsciousness. So, you won't remember anything. But, yet, after one of these
[NDE] experiences, you come out with clear, lucid memories ... This is a real puzzle for science. I have not yet seen any good scientific explanation which can explain that
fact. (Dr.
Peter Fenwick) |
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Dr. Ian Stevenson: Stevenson's ground-breaking reincarnation research concluded that birthmarks and congenital deformities have one to five characteristics in common: |
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Kevin
Williams: These are statistics of common elements found in fifty NDEs: |
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Events That Can Trigger a NDE |
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The main triggers to induce a NDE: |
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Many Scientific
Discoveries Come From Another Dimension
Many of our important inventions were first
created in the spiritual universe by spirit prodigies. Then individuals on Earth
receive
the inspiration to create these inventions here. (Betty
Eadie)
Spirituality and science are one and the same.
(Lynnclaire Dennis)
Science and technology are gifts from God
bestowed through inspiration. People on Earth have literally been led to these
discoveries, many of which later became perverted by humanity to use for its own
destruction. (Rev. Howard Storm)
The mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb is one
of the holiest archetypes created by human beings. It, more than any religion or
philosophy on Earth, brought humanity together all of a sudden, to a new level of
consciousness. The power behind the atom is the power of God - the Force that holds all
things together. (Mellen-Thomas Benedict)
Television-like
Technology Exists in the Afterlife
Then I was instantly
zapped to a domed room with square screens up and down the walls, on the
ceiling - hundreds of television screens. On each screen was a home movie of
one event in my life. (Jeanie Dicus)
In a sacred room, we see our lives
flash before us on a "scanning machine." This device is a domed
screen where our lives are placed out in three-dimensional holographic
form. (Sylvia Browne)
It was a lot like
looking at a hologram, but full color 3D with sound and scent. (Hal)
He is told it resembles a
movie theater which allows souls to see themselves in the future, playing
different roles in various settings. (Dr. Michael Newton)
In response they used a machine to show
her a scene from earlier in her life. (Betty
Andreason)
With that I saw frames appear like screens on a
television set. (Lou
Famoso)
The box opened to reveal what appeared to be a
tiny television picture of a world event that was yet to happen. (Dannion
Brinkley)
He told me what I had to do in life and had me
go to the other side of the room and look down into something like a
television set
so I could see my future. (Clara)
Next we went to a place she called the lookout. It appeared to be only an overhang on a high cliff, but the view was intensely magnified. I could look into the world I had left behind as though peering into a monitor, if I chose to do so. No one spent a lot of time here, Maggi said, but some occasionally stopped by to check on what was going on in the Earthly
realm.
(Jan Price)
Computer Technology Exists in
the Afterlife
Albert Einstein seen operating a heavenly computer:
Next we materialized in a computer room ... Some of [the people
there] I knew by name, others by reputation; and all had time for me, to
teach me if ever I need help understanding. One of them was Albert Einstein,
whom I had always admired greatly but distantly, and this great man took
time away from his duties to encourage me. He asked me if I would care to
operate the computer, which was very complex and beautiful and designed to
guide the path of destinies. I was flattered, but felt incompetent and
unsure of myself in the presence of such greatness. I told him I would like
to try, but I was afraid of making a mistake. He laughed greatly, and
reassured me, saying that error was not possible in this place.
Encouraged, I seemed
instinctively to know how to operate this unusual machine, and waved my hand
in a pattern over the large keyboard, rather like playing a piano without
touching the keys. I knew instantly the task had been performed perfectly,
and it had somehow been of great benefit to someone. I was suffused with the
joy of a job well done. I would gladly spend eternity here at this rewarding
work if only for the tremendous feeling of well-being I had experienced as a
result. (Dr. Allen Kellehear)
Through open doors I glimpsed enormous rooms filled
with complex equipment. In several of the rooms hooded figures bent over
intricate charts and diagrams, or sat at the controls of elaborate consoles
flickering with lights ... Years later, when I picked up the December 1952
issue of Life magazine and saw some of the instruments in the second U.S.
atomic submarine engine, I had the strange feeling of deja vu until I
recalled seeing the very same instrument in one of these labs. (Dr.
George Ritchie)
Betty saw a large machine, similar to a computer,
but much more elaborate and powerful. Betty realized that all important things on Earth are first created in
spirit. (Betty
Eadie)
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"The
unconscious psyche believes in life after death" -
Carl Jung, M.D. |
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Copyright 2007 Near-Death
Experiences & the Afterlife
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