Science and the Near-Death Experience

Scientific knowledge is always in a state of flux. New scientific discoveries come along and overthrow long-held hypotheses. A good example of this is the attempt by humanity to explain the phenomenon of light. Before the dawn of science, humanity relied on religious experience and philosophy to understand light and the cosmos. The Bible declares the universe began when God said, "Let there be light." Ancient religious texts throughout history have associated light with divine consciousness - a consciousness from which everything, including all other consciousness, originated. The Bible declares, "God is light." Eminent physicist, David Bohm, viewed all matter as "condensed" or "frozen light." Physicist Stephen Hawking once stated ,"When you break subatomic particles down to their most elemental level, you are left with nothing but pure light." Science discovered light was pervasive at the beginning of the universe. Scientists recently discovered the so-called "God Particle" - the particle which bestows mass upon all other particles. This particle is very crucial to physics because it is our final understanding of the structure of all matter. Albert Einstein's great equation E=mc² (where E is for energy, m for mass and c is the speed of light) describes the awesome power and energy holding all atoms together. Surprisingly, the Bible supports Einstein's equation when it declares: "God is the invisible power holding all things together." This transcendent view of consciousness is the basis for major world religions. So it shouldn't be surprising why top quantum physicists were influenced by religion. Erwin Schrodinger, for example, studied Hinduism; Werner Heisenberg looked into Plato's theory of the ancient Greeks; Niels Bohr was drawn to the Tao; Wolfgang Pauli to the Kabbalah; and Max Plank to Christianity. 

The scientific discovery of the nature of light is the cornerstone of modern physics and natural law. It is also the cornerstone of near-death studies and modern consciousness research. Over the centuries, science has yielded some very unusual, almost "god-like," properties of light. The recently discovered "God particle" - the elusive particle which gives mass to every other particle - is one of the greatest discoveries in science. Light was pervasive at the time of the Big Bang. Light is the fastest thing in the universe and travels at 671 million miles per hour. It takes an infinite amount of energy to move an object to the speed of light. At the speed of light, the past, present, and future all exist simultaneously. If a person could travel at the speed of light, they would become immortal. There is also the quantum theory of superposition where matter can exist in more than one dimension at the same time - making anomalous phenomena such as NDEs and OBEs possible. Physicists have experimentally demonstrated how two particles can be separated, and no matter by how far apart they are (even a billion miles apart), a change in one particle instantly creates a simultaneous change in the other as if they were connected. This phenomenon called "quantum entanglement" which Einstein called "spooky actions from a distance" and is suggestive of an underlying reality which physicists have not yet been able to explain although there are many theories. Light also has a "dual personality" existing as both a particle and a wave. The reason we can see anything at all is because our mere observation of things converts light waves into light particles thereby making human consciousness the main factor when it comes to reality.

Carl Jung (1875-1961) the Swiss psychologist and near-death experiencer who founded analytical psychology, is best known for his psychological concepts including archetypes, the collective unconscious, dream analysis, and synchronicity. His interest in philosophy and metaphysics led many to view him as a mystic. Following discussions with both Albert Einstein and Wolfgang Pauli (two founding fathers of quantum physics) Jung believed there were parallels between synchronicity and the relativity of time and its connection to consciousness.

Scientists are discovering how objective reality is more of an illusion than a reality. At deeper levels, everything - atoms, cells, molecules, plants, animals, and people participate in a connected flowing web of information. At the quantum level, the observer becomes a part of the observed and the distinction between observer and object disappears. Space and time are concepts we bring with us to the quantum level but they do not seem to exist there. Time flows both forward and backward symmetrically according to relativity - a concept making time travel a possibility. And because all matter, including our brains and bodies, are mostly composed of empty space because of the structure of atoms held together by atomic energy, a metaphysical case can be made that we are mostly composed of non-physical "spirit." At the quantum level, location becomes nonlocal and everything can be thought of as being in no particular place at no particular time. What we "see" out there has more to do with our own consciousness and subjective experience than anything "out there". In light of these findings, we must conclude the notion of objective reality is in error. Physicists are discovering laws of physics are the laws of our own minds.

One of the most compelling theories is called the holographic principle which defines the universe as a single, gigantic hologram where everything is connected to everything else including our minds. Metaphysically speaking, the brain processes cosmic information in the form of holograms - the "mind's eye." The holographic principle originated from one of the most significant theoretical physicists of the 20th century, David Bohm. Neurophysiologist Karl Pribram synchronistically arrived at a holographic model of the mind and brain at the same time as David Bohm developed his holographic model of the universe. Surprisingly, these holographic models may be the basis for all mystical experiences including the NDE. These holographic models are part of a new emerging paradigm called "holism" which is the opposite of reductionism. It is the paradigm where all natural systems - physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, etc. - and their properties, should be viewed as a whole and not the sum of its parts. A corresponding theory of quantum consciousness was developed by the joint work of theoretical physicist, Sir Roger Penrose, and anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff. Like David Bohm and Karl Pribram before them, Penrose and Hameroff developed their theories synchronistically. Penrose approached the problem of consciousness from the view point of mathematics, while Hameroff approached it from his career in anesthesia which gave him an interest in brain structures. Quantum consciousness is the theory of an underlying consciousness connecting everyone and everything and is based upon quantum fields being interpreted as extending infinitely in space.

Carl Jung referred to this connection between all life as the "collective unconscious" also known as the "collective subconscious." Jung theorized how synchronicity serves a role similar to dreams, with the purpose of shifting a person's egocentric conscious thinking to greater wholeness. Jung was transfixed by the idea of life not being a series of random events but rather an expression of a deeper order, which he and Wolfgang Pauli referred to as "one world" - a term referring to the concept of an underlying unified reality of the universe from which everything emerges and returns to. Jung believed this principle of an underlying "world" can express itself through synchronicity and is the basis for quantum mysticism.  Quantum theories such as the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and its corresponding many-minds theory supports this new paradigm. These quantum theories also supports the theory of quantum immortality which theoretically makes the immortality of a non-physical "soul" possible. If one views consciousness as a fundamental, non-physical, part of the universe, it becomes possible to conceive of consciousness continuing to exist after the death in a parallel universe. These quantum and holographic paradigms assume anomalous phenomena such as NDEs to certainly be within the realm of possibilities.

Just as surprising is how NDE encounters with an otherworldly light correspond with the new paradigm found in the principles of quantum physics. Classical mechanics involving observing, theorizing, and predicting doesn't work very well when it comes to understanding light, consciousness, and subjective experiences - especially when it concerns the NDE. The old paradigm allowed materialists and skeptics to dismiss NDEs as being caused by brain anomalies - even though the cause of NDEs is not relevant to whether the experience is a real afterlife experience or not. Nevertheless, recent NDE studies have ruled out brain anomalies. Anyway, brain anomalies are side-effects of the near-death experience and not the cause of them. Skeptics must confront their unscientific logical fallacy of claiming NDEs are either hallucinations or are impossible since the brain is the origin of consciousness and a dead brain produces nothing. Even if one assumes NDEs to be merely a chemical reaction in the brain, there is no human experience of any description which cannot simply be reduced to a biological process, but this in no way offsets the meaning these experiences have for those who have them - whether it's falling in love, or grieving, or having a baby, or coming close to death and having a transcendental experience.

Theoretical quantum physics supports the notion of our universe as being a conscious universe of which all other consciousness is a fractal. Many scientists no longer believe in a randomly generated universe from some sort of primal dust. Nobel prize winning molecular biologist Christian de Duve describes the universe as having a cosmic imperative to develop conscious life. The very structure of molecules composing living creatures dictates the evolution of conscious life. Astrophysicist Fred Hoyle agreed how the fundamental laws of the universe governing the creation of planets, suns and galaxies implies conscious life will be the end result of those universal laws. Evolutionary biologist Rupert Sheldrake goes even further, describing how "morphic forms" - patterns of energy which first exist in the universe - results in life. If these compelling theories are true, then it is possible to apply them to other dimensions of reality made up of other elementary subatomic particles. Anomalous phenomena such as NDEs then becomes less like "fantasy" and more like the perceptions of conscious beings in other realties which can be predicted by modern science. NDEs may simply be clinical applications of the experiments physicists have discovered in the lab.

For example, a European astrophysicist by the name of Metod Saniga used NDE research to develop a mathematical model of time which seems to offer solutions to problems vexing scholars since Einstein. In brief, Dr. Saniga takes seriously the testimony of NDErs when they describe experiences in a realm where "time stops" and where some of them "see the past, present, and future all at once." Dr. Saniga describes this realm as "the Pure Present." Dr. Saniga used these anomalous experiences to describe a single mathematical model which can account for both the conventional and the extraordinary ways humans experience time.

This prophecy given to Ned Dougherty is just one of the visions of the future he received during his NDE. Other near-death experiencers, such as Dannion Brinkley, were also visions of terrorist attack in New York and Washington. In fact, a great number of NDEs involve visions the future. 

Consciousness and the possibility of its survival after death is perhaps the final frontier of science. Although a large body of knowledge exists about the brain, "The brain has not explained the mind fully" according to renowned brain surgeon Wilder Penfield. Materialistic science has yet to produce a conclusive model of consciousness. This is mainly due to its inability to quantify first-person, subjective experiences. Materialism views only objective, observable experiments verifiable by third parties to be valid. The current scientific method relies only upon repeatable experiments to verify a hypothesis; but its limit is reached when quantifying consciousness. Mainstream materialistic scientists claim consciousness is produced entirely by the brain. This is analogous to claiming television sounds and images are produced entirely by television sets, despite the fact television sounds and images are produced by TV stations transmitting nonlocal radio waves. This analogy describes consciousness based not upon the brain, but the brain based upon consciousness. There are a multitude of anomalous phenomena including NDEs which cannot be explained using the scientific method. These anomalous phenomena provides a theoretical basis for a nonlocal model of consciousness while materialistic scientists are unable to explain how immaterial, conscious, subjective experiences can arises from a material brain.

Medical scientists have discovered areas within the brain collectively known as the "God Spot" which permits communication with cosmic information outside of material bodies. Theoretical physicists call this "quantum nonlocality." Psychologists call it the "collective unconscious." Hindus call it "Brahman." Buddhists call it "Nirvana." Jews call it "Shekinah." Christians call it the "Holy Spirit"; Christ and his disciples are called the "light of the world." New age adherents call it the "Higher Consciousness." According to Dr. Melvin Morse, the children he has resuscitated from death simply call it "God." 

Atoms and sub-atomic particles can exist in two or more locations simultaneously as multiple coexisting possibilities known as quantum superposition. The reason why we do not see quantum superpositions on a large scale in everyday life is known as the "measurement problem" which has led to various interpretations of quantum mechanics. Early experiments by quantum pioneer Niels Bohr and others seemed to show how quantum superpositions, when measured by a machine, stayed as multiple possibilities until a conscious human observed the results. Bohr concluded "conscious observation collapses the probability wave function" and unobserved superpositions continue to exist until being observed, at which time they too are collapsed to particular random states. According to Bohr, this "consciousness causes the collapse" of quantum possibilities places consciousness within the realm of science. But materialistic science views consciousness strictly on classical physics rejecting the possibility of quantum nonlocality in consciousness and equates the mind with the brain. Perhaps this is the reason Bohr made his famous statement, "Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it."

However, recent evidence linking biological functions to quantum processes supports the possibility of consciousness having nonlocal quantum functions in the brain. This suggests the nature of conscious experience requires a world view in which consciousness has irreducible components of reality. This interpretation defines superpositions becoming separations in reality with each possibility evolving its own distinct universe - giving a multitude of universes. The difference between this theory and Bohr's interpretation is how the separations are randomly selected from among the superpositioned possibilities. The superposition of these locations can then viewed as separations in the very fabric of reality. This theory posits such conditions have evolved within the brain - inside brain neurons - where microtubules process quantum superpositions giving us our subjective reality. This quantum process within the brain may be the basis for consciousness transcending and surviving physical death as revealed in NDEs. In such altered states, the quantum process of superpositions may shift consciousness to different dimensions of higher frequencies. When NDEs occur, it is possible the quantum information of which consciousness is made of could shift to an existence outside the brain nonlocally. This supports the idea of the mind not being a material brain.

An important principle of quantum physics is how human observation cannot be predicted absolutely. Instead, there's a range of possible observations to chose from in the form of probability waves each having a different probability and reality. With every thought, observation and action we make, we are constantly choosing just one of these possible probabilities of reality. One mainstream explanation for this is the "many-worlds interpretation" where each of these possible observations corresponds to a different universe within a "multiverse." This theory describes the existence of an infinite number of universes - including our own - which comprises all reality. This theory includes possible universe(s) where death doesn't exist, for example. The theory includes all possible universes existing at the same time despite what happens in any of them. Many-worlds theorizes our continuous choice of reality from possible probabilities does not collapse the universal wave function of all the other possible probabilities. Many-worlds implies all possible alternative histories and futures are real. Before the many-worlds interpretation, reality had always been viewed as a single unfolding history. Many-worlds, however, views reality as a many-branched tree, wherein every possible quantum outcome is realized. In many-worlds, every possible outcome of every event defines or exists in its own universe.

This many-worlds interpretation supports the NDE phenomenon called "flash-forward" where the experiencer is shown visions of possible futures should the experiencer decide to remain in the light or return to life. This phenomenon has been reported to occur to convince the experiencer to return their life because of an incomplete mission in life. One great example is found in the NDE testimony of Karen Schaeffer:

Dr. Kenneth Ring described two kinds of precognitive visions in the NDE: (1) the personal "flash-forward" and the (2) "prophetic vision." A third category, defined by NDE researcher Craig Lundahl is the "otherworld personal future revelation (OPFR). The OPFR resembles the personal flash-forward in how it previews the experiencer's personal future, but differs from the personal flash-forward in how it is delivered to the experiencer by another personage in the otherworld rather than appearing in the visual imagery of a life review. The OPFR differs from the prophetic vision in having a personal rather than planetary focus. Lundahl cites four historic accounts to illustrate major features of the OPFR: (1) entrance into the otherworld, (2) encounter with (3) others who foretell the experiencer's future, and (4) later occurrence of the foretold events.

The many-minds interpretation of quantum mechanics is an extension of the many-worlds interpretation by proposing distinctions between worlds should be made at the level of the mind of an individual observer. This is the principle supporting the theory of quantum immortality - an interpretation of quantum mechanics which theoretically makes it possible for a human observer to have a continuous infinity of minds in parallel universes. These observer states may then be assumed to correspond to definite states of awareness (i.e., many minds) as in the classical description of observation. In order to make this theory work, the mind must be a property which can separate from the body as suggested in NDEs and OBEs.

In quantum theory, the "zero-point field" is a quantum vacuum state or "void" which generally contains nothing but electromagnetic waves and particles popping into and out of existence. A zero-point field of the universe is supportive of the holographic principle where consciousness and memories are not localized in the brain but are distributed throughout a holographic universe. Brains, acting as receivers, access certain frequencies of quantum information to process. This universal zero-point field describes the world and universe as a dynamic web where everything is connected, where consciousness influences matter and creates reality, and where all things are possible. According to Einstein, "Space and time are modes in which we think, not conditions in which we live."

In the 1970s, Stephen Hawking put forward a theory of black holes which appeared to violate a major principle of physics - the law of the conservation of information - because it implied quantum information can permanently disappear within a black hole with the exception of "Hawking radiation." Hawking's inconsistent theory led to what was called the "Black Hole Information Paradox." Physicist Leonard Susskind (pictured on the left) later solved this paradox with his development of M-theory using the holographic principle to show how information entering the edge of a black hole is not lost, but can entirely be contained on the surface of the horizon in a holographic manner. Susskind's theory solved the paradox because the nature of a hologram's two-dimensional information structure can be "painted" on the edge of the black hole thereby giving a three-dimensional black hole where quantum information is not lost. Susskind's solution to the information paradox led to wide-spread acceptance of the holographic principle.

David Bohm was convinced all matter in the universe, including our physical body, is composed of light in a condensed "frozen" state. NDE experiencers have often described their spirit bodies as "bodies of light." During an NDE the experiencer transitions from the material world which operates at speeds less than the speed of light to a dimension which operates at faster-than-light speed. The NDE experiencer may first observe the earth or the universe from space before this transition. In transitioning from the material to the spiritual dimension, the experiencer may first enter a "NDE tunnel" much in the same way a "body of light" might experience what astrophysicists call a "black hole." As previously mentioned, Leonard Susskind's theory of black holes allows for light particles to travel through a black hole without being destroyed. At faster-than-light speed, a "body of light" could enter into a time and spaceless dimension where this body of light can move forward and backward through space-time. This NDE tunnel, like a black hole, appears to be a "portal" to another dimension of reality.

In the late 1980's, theoretical physicist Kip Thorne described how objects known as wormholes can exist in space which theoretically allows for time travel. Such wormholes could essentially be two connecting black holes whose mouths make up a tear in the fabric of space-time. NDE experiencers have observed such a tunnel described as "two huge tornadoes appear in the form of an immense hourglass" (P.M.H. Atwater, Beyond the Light.) The upper tornado spins clockwise and outward, while the lower tornado spins counter-clockwise and inward which is an excellent description of a wormhole. The Science Channel documentary "Through The Wormhole: The Near-Death Experience" has an excellent segment on NDEs. Rev. George Rodonaia's also has an excellent description of this NDE/Black Hole: 

Dr. Robert Lanza is considered one of the leading scientists in the world. He is a medical researcher at the forefront of developments in cloning, organ transplantation, and stem-cell transplantation. His mentors described him as a "genius" and the "Bill Gates of Science." As a young preteen, Lanza caught the attention of Harvard Medical School researchers when he successfully altered the genetics of chickens as a class project. Eventually, he was discovered and mentored by such scientific giants as psychologist B.F. Skinner, immunologist Jonas Salk, and heart transplant pioneer Christiaan Barnard. A Fulbright Scholar, Lanza was part of the team cloning the world's first human embryo for the purpose of generating stem cells. Dr. Lanza's work has been crucial to our understanding stem cell biology. A year after receiving his medical degree Lanza published a book on heart transplantation. In 2009, he published a book entitled, "Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe." Reviews of his work include Nobel laureate E. Donnall Thomas who stated "Any short statement does not do justice to such a scholarly work. The work is a scholarly consideration of science and philosophy bringing biology into the central role in unifying the whole."

Biocentrism's main tenet is biology being the most important science in understanding life and the universe. Other sciences require a more deeper understanding of biology - specifically life and consciousness - to make their theories of everything complete. The areas of biological research playing a central role in understanding life and consciousness must include neuroscience, brain anatomy, NDE and OBE consciousness studies, and even artificial intelligence - all of which will eventually force materialistic scientists to seriously confront the issues biocentricism raises. Robert Lanza also uses his theory of Biocentrism to explain the possibility of consciousness surviving death by such articles as: (a) "What Is It Like After You Die?," (b) "Is Death the End? Experiments Suggest You Create Time," (c) "Does Death Exist?: Life Is Forever, Says Theory," and (d) "What Happens When You Die? Evidence Suggests Time Simply Reboots."

Biocentrism also explains a major scientific paradox of how the laws of physics fits so precisely allowing for conscious life to exist. There are over 200 precise parameters in physics describing the universe which suggests the universe is fine-tuned for an environment which life and consciousness requires. There are four explanations for this paradox: (1) it is an astonishingly improbable coincidence, (2) God created it - an explanation which science cannot quantify even if it is true, (3) the "Anthropic Principle" which assumes a fine-tuned universe exists because this is just the way it is, and (4) Biocentrism's theory of a biologically aware universe created by biologically aware life. Physician Deepak Chopra agrees with biocentrism being "consistent with the most ancient wisdom traditions of the world which says that consciousness conceives, governs, and becomes a physical world. It is the ground of our Being in which both subjective and objective reality come into existence."

Physicalism is a theory which posits only physical things exist. Materialism is a related theory which posits only matter and energy exist; and everything is composed of these materials; and all phenomena are the result of physical interactions. In other words, reality is limited to states of energy and matter. Applied to consciousness, it holds that all aspects of subjective experience is explainable purely by objective states within a physical brain. But the problem with materialism, as applied to the consciousness, is it does not distinguish between mind and brain. This explanation problem of materialism suggests there exists a metaphysical, non-physical component to subjective experiences philosophically known as "qualia".

Chalmers defined this explanatory problem of materialism as the "hard problem of consciousness." Chalmers illustrated this problem using the thought experiment of a "brain in a vat" (see the graphic on the left). If a person's brain is suspended in a vat of life-sustaining liquid and its neurons connected to a supercomputer providing it with electrical impulses identical to those the brain normally receives, the computer could then simulate reality and the person with the "disembodied" brain could continue to have perfectly normal conscious experiences without being related to objects or events in the real world. In this case, because the experience of being in a vat and the experience of being in a skull would be identical, it would impossible to tell from the brain's perspective of whether it is in a skull or a vat. Yet when the brain is in a skull and running on a beach, most of the brain's beliefs may be true. But when the brain is in a vat, the brain's beliefs are completely false. Therefore, because the brain cannot make such a distinction, there cannot be solid ground for the brain to believe anything it believes.

This Brain-in-a-Vat Argument is similar to the "Dream Argument" which suggests the brain's ability to create simulated realities during REM sleep means there is a statistical likelihood of our own reality being simulated. Lucid dreams also supports this. There is also a long philosophical and scientific history to the underlying thesis of reality being an illusion which is centered on the assumption we do not experience the environment itself but rather a projection of it created by our own minds. A serious academic debate within the field of transhumanism centers around a related argument called the "Simulation Argument" which proposes reality to be a simulation and our current paradigm of reality to be an illusion. Physicists have even developed a scientific experiment to determine if our universe is a computer simulation. Also, as previously mentioned, several interpretations of quantum mechanics, such as the Holographic Principle, suggests our perception of reality to be holographically an illusion.

Near-death studies supports these arguments and goes even further. The life review process is often described by NDE experiencers in terms of viewing "television-like" screen(s) where they review every second of their life instantaneously -  including the perceptions of everyone on earth they ever came into contact with throughout their life. Another aspect of NDEs supporting simulism is the out-of-body component to the NDE. Experiencers have described out-of-body conditions where they view their physical body from above in a different "body" - a phenomenon known as autoscopy. Sometimes these perceptions are verified later by third-parties - a phenomenon known as veridical perception. Veridical dreams have also been reported. See [1][2][3]. Veridical NDEs are reports of veridical perception during the out-of-body component of the NDE which are later confirmed to be accurate. See [4][5][6][7][8]. Often, these perceptions are very detailed and specific. Some reports of veridical out-of-body perception involve detailed observation of events too distant for the physical body to perceive. See [9][10][11]. Also, while some NDE experiencers are having their out-of-body component, they may become aware of an even "higher" version of themselves (see Dr. Dianne Morriseey's NDE for a good example). This also explains why some NDE experiencers have reported seeing "higher versions" of living people on earth. See Carl Jung's NDE for the ultimate example where he sees the "avatar" of his friend during his NDE. While such evidence may not persuade the skeptics, the millions of individuals who have experienced an NDE are absolutely convinced of consciousness surviving bodily death.

Near-death studies contain multiple reports of veridical perception of events which were outside the range of the NDE experiencer's sensory perception and, therefore, of brain mediation (See Sabom, 1998; Ring, 2006; Sharp, 2003; Ring & Cooper, 2008; and van Lommel, van Wees, Meyers, & Elfferich, 2001). In some cases, such perceptions occur while the NDE experiencer is experiencing the brain inactivity following within 10 seconds of cessation of heartbeat (van Lommel et al., 2001). Over 100 such cases are published on www.iands.org, www.nderf.org, www.oberf.org and www.near-death.com. More discussion of veridical perception is presented in a response to the article entitled, "Does the Arousal System Contribute to Near-Death Experience?: A Response" in the Journal of Near-Death Studies. Taken altogether, the evidence strongly suggests the possibility of NDE and OBE perception occurring without the help of the physical senses or the brain. Therefore, for skeptics to refer to NDEs and OBEs in general as "illusions" or "delusions" is jumping the gun. Mainstream materialistic scientists have yet to fully quantify the mind; while near-death researchers provide veridical evidence reported in NDEs and OBEs as examples suggesting the mind can function independent of the physical brain. According to veridical NDE experts Jan Holden and Jeffrey Long:

For these reasons and more, consciousness cannot be explained entirely as objective events experienced the brain. Consciousness must also be explained in terms of the subjective events experienced in the brain. This leads to such questions as, "Why is there a personal, subjective component to experience?" and "Why aren't we all philosophical zombies?" This "brain in a vat" argument shows how subjective experience cannot be reduced to the functional properties of physical processes in the brain. A complete definition of consciousness must include a component describing subjective, conscious experiences which have not been explained in materialistic terms. This brain in a vat argument is a contemporary version of the argument given in Plato's Allegory of the Cave.

Neppe described the possibility where, under such circumstances, an individual exposed to a purely mental universe, independent of matter, containing all mental events, may experience overlap or be entangled with the physical universe. This is supported by similarities existing between elements of NDEs and the quantum field concept of subjectivity. They suggest all events are related and influence each other instantaneously and in reciprocity, and only subjectivity remains..

These arguments of subjectivity support the holistic paradigm of the illusionary "separation" between the subjective observer's experience and the objective object being observed. Because the old materialistic paradigm is unable to explain conscious experiences, it leads many scientists to simply ignore it altogether as being a problem. This ignorance is demonstrated by pseudoskeptics (such as "old paradigm cops") of anomalous conscious experiences and by materialistic critics of subjective experiences including NDEs and OBEs. Materialism cannot explain how consciousness arises from "goo" or how atoms in the brain comprises consciousness. The new holistic paradigm views reality to be in the eye and mind of the observer/beholder. Philosopher Thomas Nagel also makes a compelling case of materialism never, in principle, developing an objective explanation of consciousness.

  Read current articles of NDE research supporting the survival of consciousness from the body.

  Dr. Raymond Moody:  Common NDE aspects:

  Dr. Kenneth Ring:  Research findings:

  P.M.H. 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:

  Dr. Melvin Morse: The brain's connection to a higher power can be validated by indisputable scientific facts such as:

  Dr. Jeffrey and Jody Long: of 302 near-death experiences:

  Dr. Jeffrey Long, in his book, "Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences," documented a study he conducted - the largest scientific study of NDEs ever - based on his research of over 1,300 NDEs shared with NDERF.org. Using his treasure trove of data, Dr. Long explains how NDEs cannot be explained by brain chemistry alone, how medical evidence fails to explain them away and why there is only one plausible explanation - that people have survived death and traveled to another dimension. Dr. Long makes his case using nine lines of evidence and they are:

  Dr. Michael Sabom:  The Atlanta study concluded:

  Pim van Lommel:  The Dutch study on NDEs involved:

  Dr. Barbara Rommer:  Less-than-positive NDEs can be classified into four types:

  Dr. Karl Jansen:  Ketamine research findings:

  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:

  Dr. Ian Stevenson: Stevenson's ground-breaking reincarnation research concluded that birthmarks and congenital deformities have one to five characteristics in common:

  Kevin Williams, B.Sc.:  These are statistics of common elements found in 50 NDEs profiled on this website: