Near Death Experience
A few years ago, a very dear friend of mine was seriously ill in hospital, and nearly died. I couldn't go to see her at the time, but a few months later, I did visit her at home, where she recounted to me her near death experience.There was a tunnel with a bright light that led to a garden, where there were the most amazing plants and the colours were so bright. She was met by a friend of hers, who had died a couple of years previously. This person, who had been single, most of his life now had a partner and a young baby. My friend spent some time in this 'heaven' and then realised that she had small children to look after, and returned to her body.
When she told me this, she could tell that I didn't believe her; but, the vision was so clear and vivid, to her, that nothing was going to dissuade her from her truth. I had, of course, heard of such stories before, but, my personal beliefs didn't allow me to accept her story. It wasn't logical to me - and I couldn't get my brain around it to accept it. My lack of belief in her story, hasn't spoiled our friendship, although I could tell that she was bitterly disappointed that I couldn't bring myself to go along with her version of what happened.
The other day, I came across this article in the New Scientist, that goes someway to explaining it, as a very vivid dream. It seems scientist say it is an illusion created by a fading brain, brought on by a lack of oxygen.
Although scientists don't have all the answers, and like a lot of experts, there are disagreements between them; this explanation, puts my mind at rest. And, I can now understand Ruth's story, and why she was so adamant that what she recalled actually happened.
posted by Luke @ 8:13 AM
3 Comments:
Two excellent fiction books on NDE's -
Nabokov's Pale Fire - the NDE is a sub-plot in John Shade's poem, of which the novel is a commentary! Typcial Nabokov, the NDE hinges on a misprint. Heavy and light at the same time. (It's actually about his own father's assassination I recently found out!) Great read, but only if you're already a Nabokov fan.
Connie Willis's Passages - well researched "science" fiction. A scientist is researching NDE's and naturally enough keeps having her own... She keeps going down a brightly lit corridor... on the Titanic! Funny, brilliant and thought provoking! Highly recommended.
Might have to try an dget hold of the Willis book. I am sorry, but I have a mental blockockage with anu author whose name ends in -ov.
Probably its a pschological block from English Lit at school where I was forced to read Checkov. English Lit and Checkov, now ain't that an oxymoron?
If you are interested in near-death experiences (NDEs), you can read about them on the website of the International Association for Near-Death Studies at www.iands.org. In particular, you might want to check under the Research tab for published papers outlining new findings from the most current research, particularly the two articles written by medical researchers Dr. Peter Fenwick and Dr. Pim Van Lommel. In about a month a paper will be posted on that page with a detailed critique of the research cited in the New Scientist article which emphasizes only one type of research that has been done, ignoring an entire field of study that points in different directions.
During the past 30 years, near-death experiences have been the focus of many scientific studies at universities and medical centers throughout the U.S. and around the world. Many medical professionals who have seriously studied all the research – and it is extensive – no longer dismiss this phenomenon as hallucinations, intense dreams, or caused by physiological or pharmacological factors. The best analysis of the many physiological theories regarding NDEs is on a DVD that has a presentation by Dr. Bruce Greyson (from the University of Virginia Medical School) titled “T3-Explanatory Models of NDEs.” It can be obtained from the website above by clicking the link on the home page for DVDs from a 2006 conference at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Allen
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