You die, you see a beautiful white tunnel & dead relatives, and then....

the lights go out.....forever.....literally! So that's what some top leading scientists say anyway.

Near-death experiences are often thought of as mystical phenomena, but research is now revealing scientific explanations for virtually all of their common features. The details of what happens in near-death experiences are now known widely—a sense of being dead, a feeling that one's "soul" has left the body, a voyage toward a bright light, and a departure to another reality where love and bliss are all-encompassing.

Approximately 3 percent of the U.S. population says they have had a near-death experience, according to a Gallup poll. Near-death experiences are reported across cultures, with written records of them dating back to ancient Greece. Not all of these experiences actually coincide with brushes with death—one study of 58 patients who recounted near-death experiences found 30 were not actually in danger of dying, although most of them thought they were.

For instance, the feeling of being dead is not limited to near-death experiences—patients with Cotard or "walking corpse" syndrome hold the delusional belief that they are deceased. This disorder has occurred following trauma, such as during advanced stages of typhoid and multiple sclerosis, and has been linked with brain regions such as the parietal cortex and the prefrontal cortex—"the parietal cortex is typically involved in attentional processes, and the prefrontal cortex is involved in delusions observed in psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia," Mobbs explains. Although the mechanism behind the syndrome remains unknown, one possible explanation is that patients are trying to make sense of the strange experiences they are having.

Out-of-body experiences are also now known to be common during interrupted sleep patterns that immediately precede sleeping or waking. For instance, sleep paralysis, or the experience of feeling paralyzed while still aware of the outside world, is reported in up to 40 percent of all people and is linked with vivid dreamlike hallucinations that can result in the sensation of floating above one's body. A 2005 study found that out-of-body experiences can be artificially triggered by stimulating the right temporoparietal junction in the brain, suggesting that confusion regarding sensory information can radically alter how one experiences one's body.

Link here

So can science truly explain what happens when we die or "nearly" die? I personally believe there are things in life & death, science can not explain and will never be able to. There's only certain ones that know the truth about death and unfortunately.....they're dead!

Its also apparent,scientists have been wrong before.
Just ask those involved with global warming.

I died at age 8 and saw this spiral nebula with a bright center, several people were floating about at different distance from me, some had old fashioned clothing further back, the closest person to me introduced himself as my uncle, who I never met because he died before I was born.

He told me I had to go back and next thing I remember was a flash and waking up with severe chest pains.

I asked my mother who ******* was, and she said that was her brother's name, he died in 1967.
I told her I met him and described what he looked like. She dusted off a shoebox in her drawer full of pictures and sure enough, that was the guy I saw.

I don't need men in white coats to tell me what happens when you die, but I would like to know what happensafter all that bright light tunnel stuff.

This does sound credible and believable, the main reason being that these experiences can happen to people who are not in danger of dying. That is a huge point in the debate that may likely ensue, because the implications of that statement are that these experiences are not exclusive to brushes with death.

To me that says a chemical reaction is taking place in the person's brain. But, this doesn't mean there is no afterlife, as I agree with you that the only people who truly know are the ones who have died. The people who have had near death experiences obviously were not completely dead if they still had brain activity.

But what about stories where people have come back after days of being dead? They report similar experiences as other NDE subjects, so does that mean their brain is still working? Are they still processing information, or are all cases of this purported happening hoaxes? THAT is what I want to know.

Especially cases where the person has many other experiences, such as going to heaven or hell, that sometimes seem to have happened after the brain had shut down...I suppose they cannot really gauge the time, but as I said, what about those who have been dead for a while before being recovered? The people who report that a higher being gave them another chance...

Apparently the study ignores data or experiences that do not fit the scientifically acceptable criterion. For example, what about the experiences of people who have been dead for hours or days who come back to life? Scientifically, these people are clinically dead with a capital D. According to science, they would not ever be able to come back to a fully functional life, brain undamaged. However, they do.

I don't believe science. I think it's bull**** a lot of the time, based on carefully contained data.

Check out OOPARTS, out of place artifacts, and see how the scientific community completely ignores them in order to maintain a clear line of believeable data.

reply to post by chrismicha77


For me the question is whether it is better for human society to believe in a life after death, or to believe that once we die, we cease to exist. Obviously if one believes in an (Christian) afterlife, one might model their behavior according to what will lead them to a more pleasant experience beyond death. Sometimes even this is not enough of a deterrent to "behave". If a person believes that once they die they cease to exist, some might feel the freedom to act any way they wish. That might include participating in nefarious and sadistic activities with no fear of punishment other than being punished by their fellow man in this life. Then again there are perfectly good people out there who do not believe in a life after death, yet they lead "moral" lives.

Do we experience the illusion of life after death in order to help society get along? Is it necessary for survival? What point is there to having these experiences at all? Does it improve our quality of life? Does it have a biological function?

These are the questions that need to be answered. I lean toward there being a life after death. Consider me partially fooled. I have an open mind about these things, because until I "know", I can't say that I am 100% certain. Do I enjoy the idea of a life after death? Yes. Would I mind ceasing to exist? I guess in a way I feel it would be a waste to simply cease to exist. All the experiences and knowledge I've collected over the years would simply go up in smoke. What would be the point of my existence if my ultimate fate was to cease to exist? Does there have to be a point to my life? Maybe biology dictates that I need to believe that, otherwise I would not feel opposed to ending my life early. Maybe there doesn't need to be a point to life at all, but that is a concept very difficult for me to grasp. It's what keeps us going through the most difficult situations in our lives.

EDIT: to say that if there is no point to our lives, why would biology try to fool us into thinking there is? Maybe it's not fooling us at all. Maybe it's showing us the truth to keep us going. P.S. My signature contains a link to an experience I had, which made me strongly lean in the direction that life after death may exist after all.

reply to post by JibbyJedi
We're just going to have to wait Jibby. Thank you for your story there.

reply to post by chrismicha77
when I was in the military, i got blown up... and I was clinically dead for several minutes...what I saw and experianced did change my outlook on life.. yet still I do question, was it a religious experiance? is there a "god" a supreme being, an all powerfull "creator" that collects all our life force and warmly welcomes us back home..
Or is it just a chemical reaction that we experiance as our bodily functions shut down....I do not know, I have no answers to this question... all I know is that what I experienced has raised more questions..

What about the people that got through the tunnel and get to Jesus or an angel or whatever who then tells them "It's not your time." That's an interesting thing for the body to hallucinate. Seeing how it just did all the things necessary to the transition to death, releasing the hypnagogic chemicals, but it knew all along "it wasn't your time" so why did it release the chemicals in the first place? In other words who is telling them it's not their time? If the mind/body (perhaps subconcious) knew this already, it would not have started the dying process in the first place.

Originally posted by SideWynder
reply to post by chrismicha77

 

when I was in the military, i got blown up... and I was clinically dead for several minutes...what I saw and experianced did change my outlook on life.. yet still I do question, was it a religious experiance? is there a "god" a supreme being, an all powerfull "creator" that collects all our life force and warmly welcomes us back home..
Or is it just a chemical reaction that we experiance as our bodily functions shut down....I do not know, I have no answers to this question... all I know is that what I experienced has raised more questions..

All I want to know is WHAT IS THE POINT to these experiences when death approaches? Why does the body not simply shut down and numb the pain? Why the elaborate show? Last minute entertainment to pass the time??? Very peculiar the way the body handles such stress.

reply to post by JibbyJedi


Damn, that's deep man...A little freaky too!

reply to post by JibbyJedi


Damn, that's deep man...A little freaky too!

I had a friend in college who was the biggest skeptic I have ever met. This guy's brain was wired so tight you couldn't get anything by him that wasn't proven by modern science. He had a relative pass away in a sudden unexpected death and the night the relative died he witnessed the relative in his room saying goodbye. The next day he proclaimed that he must be crazy but he was 100% sure he was awake and witnessing the event as he was skeptical and scientifically driven and questioned his consciousness during the whole thing. He also made sure to note that it can't be anything paranormal because the relative is still alive. Later in the day he found out that the relative passed away the night before around the time he experienced the event. He still tries to find logical reason for the encounter and perhaps it was a huge coincidence and it can be explained. I've heard other stories from people I don't know personally that have had similar events occur. People witnessed things in waiting rooms after they died, things they never could have known had transpired. This research posted by the OP means nothing to me when I review the true events of NDEs.(I know the OP is just putting it out there and not supporting/denying it) There is something more to the experiences than a bright light and a tunnel with relatives.

Originally posted by Epirus
I had a friend in college who was the biggest skeptic I have ever met. This guy's brain was wired so tight you couldn't get anything by him that wasn't proven by modern science. He had a relative pass away in a sudden unexpected death and the night the relative died he witnessed the relative in his room saying goodbye. The next day he proclaimed that he must be crazy but he was 100% sure he was awake and witnessing the event as he was skeptical and scientifically driven and questioned his consciousness during the whole thing. He also made sure to note that it can't be anything paranormal because the relative is still alive. Later in the day he found out that the relative passed away the night before around the time he experienced the event. He still tries to find logical reason for the encounter and perhaps it was a huge coincidence and it can be explained. I've heard other stories from people I don't know personally that have had similar events occur. People witnessed things in waiting rooms after they died, things they never could have known had transpired. This research posted by the OP means nothing to me when I review the true events of NDEs.(I know the OP is just putting it out there and not supporting/denying it) There is something more to the experiences than a bright light and a tunnel with relatives.

edit on 14-9-2011 by Epirus because: (no reason given)

I have a similar story to yours. A few years ago we lost a family member to an unfortunate car accident. He lived thousands of miles away, but we were very close to him. He and my sister were like best friends despite the fact that they barely saw each other. The day that he died, (night time for us, daytime for him due to the time difference) my sister dreamed that he came to her and had a very worried look on his face. He looked very serious and concerned. A few minutes later our mom stormed into her room, woke her up, and before she said anything at all, my sister knew. Chalk it up to coincidence, call it what you will, it's peculiar.

When our grandmother on my mom's side was hit by a car on the street one evening, our mom dreamed of seeing her mother in a hospital bed with broken legs. She was woken up by a phone call from her sister who informed her of what had happened. Another coincidence? I don't care how scientifically-minded you are, that's just eerie.

Originally posted by JibbyJedi
I died at age 8 and saw this spiral nebula with a bright center, several people were floating about at different distance from me, some had old fashioned clothing further back, the closest person to me introduced himself as my uncle, who I never met because he died before I was born.

He told me I had to go back and next thing I remember was a flash and waking up with severe chest pains.

I asked my mother who ******* was, and she said that was her brother's name, he died in 1967.
I told her I met him and described what he looked like. She dusted off a shoebox in her drawer full of pictures and sure enough, that was the guy I saw.

I don't need men in white coats to tell me what happens when you die, but I would like to know what happensafter all that bright light tunnel stuff.

I prefer your description to the scientific rationalization. I also believe in the afterlife. Although I have never had a near death experience, I have a friend who reported a similar experience as yours. I also believe that people can receive other forms of validation of the afterlife from loved ones that have passed on.

I was born 8 weeks premature and had several complications. Immediately after I was delivered, I was rushed out of the delivery room to undergo a series of tests and subsequent treatment. The doctor told my father that I was at risk and the first 24 hours were crucial to my survival. My father was also told to lie to my mother and tell her everything was fine, and that routine precautionary measures were taken, so that my mother wouldn't be subjected to unecessary stress in her vulnerable state. My mother was upset that she couldn't hold me in her arms, but she took my father's word for it, and went to sleep.

Later that night, her father, who had passed away years earlier, came to her in a dream, and told her that she was lied to, and that my life was in danger. He was very distraught, and told my mother that if everything turned out fine, that he wanted her to name me after him. My mother woke up crying and told my father about her dream and demanded to know the truth. At that point, my father felt obligated to be honest with her. After 3 months in an incubator, I finally made it home, and I was named after my grandfather.

Coincidentally, I bare a very strong resemblance to him, and I had always felt a strong connection to him, a feeling akin to a guardian angel. My mother told me about her dream for the first time when I was 21 years old, and it validated what I had felt my entire life.

Originally posted by Jim Scott
Apparently the study ignores data or experiences that do not fit the scientifically acceptable criterion. For example, what about the experiences of people who have been dead for hours or days who come back to life? Scientifically, these people are clinically dead with a capital D. According to science, they would not ever be able to come back to a fully functional life, brain undamaged. However, they do.

I don't believe science. I think it's bull**** a lot of the time, based on carefully contained data.

Check out OOPARTS, out of place artifacts, and see how the scientific community completely ignores them in order to maintain a clear line of believeable data.

Yeah, well, it is hearing things like this that had me change the donor status on my drivers license! Also horror stories from nurses at the hospital where I worked that explained the organ harvesting process. I no longer believe in what science calls clinical death, either.

Who knows what really happens, but some people do lose out from being able to explain it when they delegate themselves as donors!

After searching through tons of pictures, I finally found one very close to what I saw when I talked to my deceased uncle...
It wasn't a still spiral though, it was actively moving in real time, clockwise and about 25X faster than a normal clock arm turns.



You have to use your imagination and add floating people, who were "couples" for the most part, at different distances from your perspective.

After that experience I became obsessed with Astronomy and have been a space buff for 30 years now.

I really have had so many weird things happen to me in my short life, I feel like I belong on forums like this sharing my experiences.

reply to post by chrismicha77


When you start out with an extremely strong bias towards materialism, is it any wonder you come to a materialist conclusion, even if it means omitting vital components of relevancy?

Do they explain how people who have OBEs can attain knowledge of say, current physical situations that are beyond the reach of their ordinary senses? Or are beyond their reach in time, such as accurately detailing never met, and dead, relatives?

Of course not, because if they tried, or mentioned the things that are common yet beyond their left-brained comprehension, their article and findings would show a much more precise picture; that they havnt nary a clue to the mechanics behind such events, and are grasping at straws in an attempt to cram what is outside their paradigm of reality, into that neat and clean tiny box where all things have a label, are predictable, and there are no surprises. Helps them feel in control.

Its easy to make something look cut and dry when you cut out all the pertinent information that doesnt help shape your desired conclusion