At some point in our lives, we've all
wondered if there is life after death. There are many beliefs say that yes,
there is. For instance, some religions that say that we should have a good
behavior in life so that, after this, we won’t go to hell. However, there was
still no evidence to prove it so far. Dr. Eben Alexander, after suffering a
near-death experience in which his brain stopped working, has returned to the
world convinced that there is a higher spiritual dimension and that
consciousness does not depend on the brain, it exists beyond the body and
death.
Near-death experiences are one of the most interesting
research areas in neuroscience. For most scientists are a phenomenon that can
be explained perfectly by the physics (spiritual divinity is a conceptual
experience generated by the brain), but people who have experienced these close
encounters with death, do not listen to the voices of men qualified white coat
and, seduced by the beauty of his visions.
Dr. Eben Alexander, neurosurgeon from Harvard
University, had experienced one of the most commented encounters about death. He
wrote a book Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Near Death Experience and
Journey into the Afterlife, and a condensed version of his experience has been
featured on the cover of Newsweek (one of the last editions of this iconic
print magazine).
He claimed that he did not believe in the
phenomenon of near-death experiences. He understood what happens to the brain
when a person is near death, and always believed that there was an adequate
scientific explanation for extracorporeal heavenly visions described by those
who narrowly escaped death. Nevertheless, after 7 days in a coma in which the
human part of the brain, the neocortex, was off, he experienced something so
profound that gave me a scientific reason to believe in consciousness after
death. All the main arguments against near-death experiences suggest that these
experiences are the result of a least transient or partial malfunction of the
cortex. His near-death experience; however, did not happen when the cortex was
malfunctioning, but when it was just off. According to scientists, there is no
way in which he could have experienced even the slightest and dark
consciousness during coma. He argues that while his neurons were obfuscated in
complete inactivity by the bacteria that had attacked, its
free-of-consciousness brain traveled to another dimension larger the universe:
"a dimension I never dreamed existed." – he says.
It is hard to believe that there is life after death, but according to this neurosurgeon, there is. In my opinion, I do not believe in heaven or hell. I think there is some kind of dimension in which we all go after we died. Do you believe in something similar? or do you think that when we died, our spirit and body died too?
i have always believed that our life is this one and there is nothing else after we die, but it will be nice if someone can assure people that their life won´t end once their heart stop beating, that there is something more to wait for and it would be very comforting for the people that have lost a loved one to know that he/she still be somewhere.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't give it much thought, because my motto is to focus on life--the here and now--not dwell on things that are out of my control. But, your topic is very interesting, it really got my attention! As far as I know, when the brain is deprived of oxygen you hallucinate and that's what causes these visions of light. When you're dying there's less oxygen that's being supplied to the brain wither because the heart is slowing down blood supply there, causing them to hallucinate. The fact that people have similar visions doesn't prove anything, to me at least. People often have similar dreams, it's all just the brain. For example, when I have low blood sugar, I faint often if I dont get my food or if I get scared/hurt and if it's a really deep faint then I do see light and tunnel vision and hear people talking to me. And, I'm not dying! so, for me it is difficult to believe in near-death experiences. I completely believe in God, but I do not believe in life after death, because nothing and nobody has proved it yet.
ReplyDeleteAs Natalyn said, when the brains is deprived of oxygen you "see" unreal things, that is a suitable answer. In fact, some scientist experimented with aviators.
ReplyDeleteRegarding to the questions, I believe in the principle of matter: "Nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, everything is transformed", so I do believe that our essence goes to somewhere, otherwise it will be pointless this "race" called life.
Cata, really...I love the topic. I'm really keen on things I don't know; furthermore,on things
ReplyDeleteLife after death. I would not call it "life", I would call it "post-life cerebral stimulus." It reminded me of this Aztec ethnic myth that is about the battle between The mater and The spirit. The mater always wins,but The spirit will win in the end. We, rational beings tend to think CONSIDERING stuff we got to compare to what we come up; we try to combine our ideas to material mundane stuff, but we have to open our minds and start considering the fact that mind (spirit) is more powerful...and if mind can create a whole world, stimuli, beings to interact with, we have to accept it.
What if this world was an after-life to a prior existence or ourselves? Have you seen Matrix?
Yes, actually I saw The Matrix 3 months ago and I really like it. It was very interesting to see how "reality" was just a cyberspace created by some people. Maybe we are there, in a fantasy world or maybe not. We are going to find out later, when we died. Now, I think we just have to worry about living, because this is the life that we know, just this one.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite difficult for me to express whether there is life after death or not. A very close relative of mine was in comma some years ago and she told me she could hear everything around her, like people who visited her and talked to her while she was unconscious in the hospital. But, as far as you have said, being unconscious prevents any certainty feelings or emotions, because your brain is not functioning properly. However, there is a part of the brain that actually is not death, at least for me.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, morally talking, it is said there is a spiritual part of you that keeps leaving forever. In my case, I feel the necessity of believing in that, feeling you have a little angel taking care of you wherever you are and no matter what; although, none of us can certainly know if it is true or not. There are just speculations or possibilities even science cannot completely sure.