Is the Afterlife What We Think It Is? A Challenge from NDE Studies

 There are millions of stories now of near-death experiences from around the world; each a snippet, a teaser, of what appears to exist on the other side of death.

No other human drama carries quite the power this phenomenon does to unmask traditions of a “grim reaper,” and reveal instead an aliveness that continues after our bodies take their last breath and our brains cease to function.

This aliveness we call an “afterlife,” because in most cases, what near-death experiencers describe sounds like or certainly seems to be sparkling luminations of higher, finer aspects to what we know: cities, gardens, forests, landscapes, roads, rivers, busy people quite alive and doing things, schools, hospitals, opportunities of varied types to reassess earthly existence, to forgive, learn, and then advance toward a goal we can only term “spiritual.” ...<<<Read More>>>....

Food for Thought #752

 

Death is not the opposite of life. The opposite of life is “the machine”

 In a recent interview, British psychiatrist, neuroscience researcher Iain Gilchrist explained the differences in the way that the left and right hemispheres of the brain process information.

The right hemisphere is designed to be the master over the left. However, with the prevailing scientism narrative, the left hemisphere has usurped the master.

In the West, left hemisphere-dominant thinking has had a profound impact on all of us. We have become very good at seeing the parts but have completely lost sight of the whole.

In the first of his podcast series, Kingsnorth interviewed Iain McGilchrist, a British psychiatrist, neuroscience researcher, philosopher, literary scholar and the author of ‘The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World‘, and more recently the epic ‘The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World.’

During the podcast, the two men discussed the left-right brain distinction and what it means, ask whether the Western world is mentally ill, talk about the importance of the Four Ps (past, people, place and prayer), and look at how we can begin to free ourselves from thinking and seeing like machines.

McGilchrist began by explaining that the brain is structured as two hemispheres, two almost entirely separate masses. Research on brain hemisphere differences has been ongoing for 30 years, but some research has been “fairly crude” and most of the conclusions about the hemisphere differences were “entirely wrong,” he said.

Previous misconceptions about hemisphere differences, such as the left hemisphere being rational and linguistic and the right hemisphere being “airy-fairy” and uninterested in language, have been proven wrong, as both hemispheres are involved in reason, language, emotions, and visual-spatial understanding.

The two brain hemispheres have different attention styles. So, the correct approach to understanding hemisphere differences is to ask how they attend to the world, McGilchrist said.

The left hemisphere pays attention to a tiny part of the environment to grasp and manipulate it. The left hemisphere’s attention style is focused on particularising and detailed attention on a minute detail, allowing it to grab and get what it wants.

The brain’s asymmetrical structure and hemisphere differences are not unique to humans, as many animals have similarly divided and asymmetrical brains, with one hemisphere focused on grabbing and getting....<<<Read More>>>...

Near-Death Experience: The Woman Saw the Crowd in the Huge Stadium

 On a September night in 2016, Leni suffered from a severe migraine. She tossed and turned in bed and tried to decide whether to take another painkiller pill or still endure the pain.

The woman rolled over on her other side in an attempt to sleep and was struck by the bright light that suddenly burst into the bedroom.

At first Leni thought it was the light of a passing car and looked at the curtains, but they were tightly curtained. In the golden light, Leni saw a tunnel that led into a golden room, invisible from this side. The energy emanating from the tunnel was enveloping in love and kindness.

“I was lying in bed in a good deal of pain from the migraine. I was trying to decide whether to take more aspirin or let my body heal it. I rolled over to try to sleep and light was cast into my bedroom...<<<Read More>>>...

Patients told researchers about their near-death experiences

 Professor Sam Parnia of NYU Langone Medical Center has been studying near-death experiences (NDEs), which include strange visions, out-of-body experiences, and other “alterations of reality,” for many years.

In the latest large study, which ran from 2017 to 2020, Parnia and his associates followed 567 patients at 25 hospitals in the US and UK. All of these patients suffered cardiac arrest and were then given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Resuscitation could not help most of them and people died, but 53 people were brought back to life. A third of them reported unusual sensations and visions during resuscitation.

Patient 1: “I heard my name repeated over and over again. And around me there were creatures – demons and monsters. It seemed to me that they were trying to tear pieces from my body. In the upper right corner of the place where I was, I noticed a man....<<<Read More>>>...

 

Inexplicable Communications – The Surprising Scientific Evidence for Mediumship.

 In 1985, the strangest chess match in history began. Wolfgang Eisenbeiss, a Swiss amateur chess player with an interest in parapsychology, decided to try to arrange a match between a deceased grandmaster, and a living one. He approached the living grandmaster, Viktor Korchnoi—known for his own interest in parapsychology—who agreed to the experiment. 

The medium, Robert Rollans, claimed to have contacted a Hungarian grandmaster called Geza Maroczy, who had died in 1950. Maroczy was a Hungarian who had once been ranked the third-best player in the world.

Robert Rollans didn’t play chess himself, but Maroczy communicated the moves to him. The game continued for 48 moves, with Korchnoi winning. Analysis by chess experts, including Bobby Fischer, the most famous player of his time, verified that Maroczy’s abilities were at grandmaster level. The experts also attested that Maroczy’s style of play was rather old-fashioned, and consistent with Maroczy’s actual style.

In addition to the game, the discarnate (as in non-physical) Maroczy “wrote” a 38-page text containing many specific details about his life. Wolfgang Eisenbeiss followed this up with 91 detailed and specific questions, which he directed to Maroczy through the medium. An investigator found that, of the 81 answers where information was available, 79 were correct...<<<Read More>>>...

Spiritual Synchronicity: An Excerpt from The Afterlife Frequency

 Mysterious forces beyond our understanding are not only at work in the universe but directly involved in our daily existence.

This may sound ominous, but it shouldn’t be frightening. That’s because these mysterious forces are energy. Everyone and everything is energy, which is part of an interconnected force. A well-known adage in the realm of quantum physics states that there is no matter, there is just energy, which vibrates at different frequencies. This is not philosophy — this is physics.

It’s natural for people to fear the unknown. A mystery is an event or situation that is difficult to understand or explain. One of the greatest mysteries is what happens when we die. Do we cease to exist, or does our existence continue on beyond the material world?

There are logical and rational explanations for everything, even if what is required for them exceeds our current level of science and technology. This includes life after death. As Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, renowned psychic medium and creator of Sherlock Holmes, wrote, “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”...<<<Read More>>>...

Life, Death & Gnosis: The Gnostics on the Afterlife

The possibilities for life after death come down to a mere three:

1. There is no life after death. Death is the total extinction of consciousness. 

2. Life after death continues on earth (through reincarnation). 

3. Life continues after death on another plane than that of earthly reality (such as in heaven or hell).

If we’re going to talk about this subject at all, we can rule out the first option categorically, especially since practically every culture and religion teaches that there is some form of life after death. There are many discussions of the evidence for the afterlife, and while this is a fascinating subject, it’s out of the scope of this article.

Which, then, of the two remaining options is most likely? Usually these are simplistically conceived. You reincarnate: depending on your karma, you come back down to earth to live again as a sage or a stockbroker. Or you are judged before the heavenly throne and are sent up to heaven or down to hell once and for all.

The Gnostics, the mysterious esoteric teachers of the early centuries of the Common Era, had their own perspective on the afterlife. Although their teachings have been all but lost, enough material remains so that we can reconstruct them. If we do, we will reach some valuable insights not only about some elements of the later Western occult traditions but about the project of spiritual liberation....<<<Read More>>>...

‘I Didn’t Want to Come Back’: Jeremy Renner on Near-Death Experience

Back in early 2023, the acclaimed actor faced a near-fatal tragedy when he was horrifically crushed by a massive 14,000-pound snowcat on New Year’s Day. The incident left him fighting for his life, but it also led to a spiritual awakening.

Jeremy Renner, who is perhaps best known for his iconic role as Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, experienced something extraordinary during the accident—a metaphysical journey that transcended ordinary understanding.

“It’s a great relief is all I can say,” he shared during a recent appearance on the Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast. “It’s a wonderful, wonderful relief to be removed from your body.”

Describing the sensation further, he added, “It is the most exhilarating peace you could ever feel. It’s the highest adrenaline rush, but the peace that comes with it, it’s magnificent. It’s so magical.”

The experience was so heartfelt that returning to his physical form felt like a disappointment. “And I didn’t want to come back. I remember, and I was brought back and I was so p***ed off,” he admitted with a laugh. “I came back, I’m like, Aww!” ...<<<Read More>>>...

The Surprising Link Between Near-Death Experiences and Career Changes

 A new Canadian study shows that near-death experiences (NDEs) don’t just change how people see life—they transform how they work. 

Published in the Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, the research found that after brushing against death, employees often ditch chasing money and status for meaningful work and deeper connections.

NDEs are intense personal events some report after almost dying. These can include floating outside the body, reliving life moments, or feeling overwhelming unity and love....<<<Read More>>>...

Man Pronounced Dead After Lightning Strike Says “Nobody Dies”

 In rare cases, individuals can be declared medically dead only to miraculously revive later—and one man who endured this after being struck by lightning has shared precisely what he witnessed.

Scientists have developed simulations to depict the sensations one might feel just before death, while brain studies suggest that, in a very literal sense, your life may flash before your eyes as the mind continues to function even after death.

Of course, nothing compares to the real experience—though, understandably, most cannot recount it, as returning from the dead is impossible.

Yet one man defied the odds in what can only be called a miracle, surviving an incident in 1975 that left him medically dead after a lightning strike....<<<Read More>>>...

 

Past Lives: “My Sister Pushed Me into the Fire in a Past Life”

 There was always something extraordinary about Kimberly from the very moment she came into the world, reports dailystar.co.uk.

She was born with a striking blaze of red hair and spent the first four days of her life crying incessantly, refusing to sleep. Her mother, Angela, exhausted and overwhelmed after months of little rest, eventually brought Kimberly into her own bed, and as she put it, “life got much better.”

Speaking to LMN for a programme titled The Ghost Inside My Child, Angela, who hails from San Diego, shared that Kimberly displayed a remarkable sense of empathy from a very young age. She would often become anxious in chaotic or overwhelming situations.

Concerned, her family took her to a therapist to learn relaxation and breathing techniques. Angela reflected, “I wasn’t sure, but I started to think that maybe her sensitive nature was why she couldn’t sleep. When I finally realised what was causing her sleep issues, I felt completely helpless.”

Angela recalled a particularly chilling moment that sent shivers down her spine. One day, while Kimberly was playing, it appeared as though she was talking to someone. Angela asked, “Kimberly, who are you talking to?” to which Kimberly replied, “I’m talking to my sister, Mama.”

This response was puzzling, as Kimberly did not have a sister at that time. When Angela pressed further, asking, “How come you play with your sister so much when you don’t have a sister?” Kimberly responded, “No, no, Mama, the sister from when I lived before.”...<<<Read More>>>...

Surge of Brain Activity at Death Could Hint at the “Soul Leaving the Body”

 A sudden burst of energy in the brain during death could hint at the “soul leaving the body,” according to Dr. Stuart Hameroff, a professor at the University of Arizona.

Researchers have long observed patients experiencing vivid hallucinations after clinical death, when the heart stops but the brain shows electrical activity.

In 2009, George Washington University researchers studied seven clinically dead patients, detecting a surge of gamma waves—linked to perception and movement—lasting up to 90 seconds after the heart stopped.

Hameroff suggested this could indicate the “near-death experience” or the “soul leaving the body.”...<<<Read More>>>...

 

Groundbreaking Study to Investigate Children’s Past-Life Memories

 This initiative is supported by $750,000 in funding from organizations such as the BIAL Foundation, The Dreamery Foundation, and the Philip B. Rothenberg Research Fund.

According to a press release, the study will “employ state-of-the-art neuroimaging and contemporary research methodologies” to investigate why some children appear to have memories associated with past lives. The project will be led by Dr. Marieta Pehlivanova and Dr. Philip Cozzolino.

“This expanded research program marks a new chapter in our scientific investigation of children’s past-life memories,” said Dr. Pehlivanova....<<<Read More>>>...

What’s This About An Afterlife?

So you think the continuity of consciousness after physical death is just a bunch of faith-based woo-woo?

You think it’s something cooked up to make us feel better about our inevitable journey from the womb to the rubbish heap of physical decay?

You think the notion of a timeless existence outside the framework of the physical universe is too vague and slippery ever to be taken seriously by our culture’s arbiters of reality – the sciences?

Please think again.

Until recently, the belief that the whole of reality is based in matter has dominated our modern understanding of space, time, life and death. Most tellingly, our consciousness has been viewed as little more than an illusory by-product of mechanistic brain activity.

But over the past half-century, Western science – traditionally hemmed in by materialistic assumptions – has begun to wriggle free of this centuries-old ideological straitjacket and is breaking some astonishing new ground. In fact, there are now at least fifteen promising avenues of post-materialist scientific investigation currently underway, quite apart from modern physics’ excursions into the mysterious quantum realm!

The majority of these inquiries point distinctly toward the possibility, if not the near-certainty, of a “greater reality” in nature that includes what we call the “afterlife.”

My new book, A New Science of the Afterlife: Space, Time, and the Consciousness Code (Inner Traditions, 2023), delves into each of these intriguing fields of inquiry.

I peek behind the “veil” to ask, “What is the veil, anyway?” and venture a strikingly clear and simple answer. I also take a critical look at the language we use in connection with the afterlife, exposing the militant cult of scepticism that has delayed bonafide afterlife research for decades and that has scoffed at the succinct accounts, from a variety of sources, of the transition to the “next life” and of what one might expect when one arrives there....<<<Read More>>>...

There IS proof of an afterlife says top scientist who's studied millions of near-death experiences - all of them tell a hauntingly similar story

 

A top US scientist claims to have discovered evidence of an afterlife, thanks to studies involving millions of patients who've had near-death experiences.

According to Dr Sam Parnia, an associate professor of medicine at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, patients who are resuscitated after their heart stops frequently recount re-living 'every single moment of their lives'.

Particularly remarkable, he claims, is that they relive memories not only from their own perspective, but as if they're looking through other people's eyes.

These phenomena, which have been a source of fascination for medics and the public alike for decades, are believed to occur when people are clinically 'dead', and extremely unlikely to survive.

Dr Parnia has undertaken 30 years of research involving millions of people to assess where life ends and death begins.

He told Times Radio: 'Many millions of people all over the world have gone through this early phase of death and been brought back to life again. 

'We've studied this in many thousands of people using many different scientific methods...<<<Read More>>>...

Beyond the Brink: A Mother’s Journey to the Afterlife and Back

 In 2021, a 43-year-old woman from Vancouver, Canada, named Amber Cavanagh suffered two strokes and was airlifted to the hospital.

On the way, she began losing consciousness and overheard the nurses telling her children that they might never see their mother alive again. She recalls opening her eyes to look at the sun one last time, then closing them and immediately being “transported to another dimension” or “the other side.”

At first, she found herself floating above her own body, witnessing her husband crying over her, and at the same time, seeing her children and parents coming to visit her in the hospital.

There was no bright light or tunnel—she simply “hung” in place, observing what was happening below, still tethered to her body. But then she was “pulled to a point of contact” and found herself in another world, where fear was absent and only love remained....<<<Read More>>>...

 

What Lives On? Investigating Life After Death

Do we survive the death of our physical bodies? Is there such a thing as a postmortem continuation of the individual? If there is survival, what survives? Does everyone survive? What does it even mean to survive?

Answers to these questions are central to the dogmas of many religions. These same issues are amongst the most refractory when addressed using the techniques of scientific inquiry: data gathering, hypothesis formulation and testing, logical analyses. Indeed, such topics are generally viewed as outside the scope of scientific inquiry, not worth serious thought. As Bertrand Russell commented, “most people would die sooner than think – in fact, they do so.”

Serious study of psychical and paranormal phenomena dates back to at least 1882, the year when the Society for Psychical Research was founded. At that time, and right up to the present day, some psychical researchers have interpreted some of the phenomena they study as being communications from deceased persons or discarnate (non-bodily) entities. Indeed, among many people the prime interest in psychical studies is to establish the possibility of an afterlife. 

To give a classic example, let us suppose you attend a séance. The medium goes into trance and begins to speak in a different voice. The voice claims to have a message from the beyond, a message from your departed grandmother. Through the medium, you are told that your deceased grandmother still cherishes those moments you had with her, and a very private story is related, a story that you are certain you never shared with another person and only you and your grandmother knew about....<<<Read More>>>...

Quantum Soul: Researchers Seek to Unlock the Mystery of Life Beyond Death

 Recently, scientists Edward W. Kamen from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Roger D. Kamen from Ferris State University have proposed a new theory that the human soul might actually be a type of quantum field.

Quantum field theory (QFT) is a well-established framework in physics that explains how particles like electrons and photons (particles of light) interact with fields such as electric or electromagnetic fields.

According to QFT, these fields contain quanta—discrete packets of energy that make up the fabric of reality. However, Kamens propose that our understanding of the universe through QFT might be limited if there is a realm beyond the physical universe where the laws of physics as we know them do not apply.

One critical point in their paper is that current physics, particularly quantum mechanics, may not fully explain what happens beyond the material world. Physicist Sean Carroll raised this issue in 2011 when he questioned how a soul could interact with matter and still comply with the known laws of physics...<<<Read More>>>...

 

What Happens When You Die?

Firstly, the run-up to death, how you die, is indeed concerning. How much pain and suffering will you endure before you die? However, a healthy approach along the way in mind, body, and spirit before death may well lessen the pain and suffering or even create the ideal circumstance where you just go to sleep, never to wake up again…

Consider the deaths of highly advanced spiritual beings such as yogis, Zen masters, or shamans who have died in this circumstance.

If you have a level of awareness and look into your intuitive heart, you will know when you’re soon to die, as have a number of these yogis, shamans, and Zen masters…

Contrary to much fearmongering spun by many in religion, folklore, news, and society… death is really nothing to fear. Death is a transition as you move on.

My favorite analogy comes from ancient Gnostic teachings: The Gnostics said who you really are is a “bird in a cage.” That’s another way of saying you’re an eternal consciousness trapped in a mortal body. When you die, your physical body (cage) withers away and falls apart, allowing your eternal consciousness (bird) to fly out, escaping what had been an entrapment...<<<Read More>>>...