The Tunnel and the Near-Death Experience
One
theory used to explain the near-death phenomenon
has nothing to do with death at all. It states that
NDEs are actually memories of birth. A baby being
born leaves the womb to travel down a tunnel towards
a light, and what waits for it in the light is usually
a great deal of love and warmth. What happens at
the point of death is only a stored memory of what
happened when life began. Yet again there are a
lot of points that don't match: a baby being born
does not exactly float at high speed down a tunnel,
but is buffeted along with difficulty by its mother's
contractions. And how does this model explain the
meeting with friends and relatives who have died?
The Being of Light is supposed to be the midwife
or the doctor who rules the delivery room - but
many babies are born without a midwife or doctor
present, or perhaps with many people present. On
a purely practical level, a baby's nervous system
is not sufficiently developed to allow it to assimilate
and store memories of the birth process. Those who
argue this theory say the feelings of peace and
bliss are a memory of the peace of the womb when
all physical needs were met by the mother and there
were no stresses and strains. Why should this be
any more likely than the feelings of peace and bliss
are relief from the pain of illness and injury at
the point of death? However, being born is
often not a pleasant experience for babies which
leaves them crying as if in agony. In contrast,
NDEs are more often described as the most pleasurable
experience a person can have. The birth process
is not pleasant. The following information will
show you how the NDE tunnel is an experience like
none other.
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Table
of Contents |
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1.
Insights Into the NDE Tunnel Experience |
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One of the nine elements that generally occur
during NDEs is the tunnel experience. This involves
being drawn into darkness through a tunnel, at an
extremely high speed, until reaching a realm of
radiant golden-white light. Also, although they
sometimes report feeling scared, they do not sense
that they were on the way to hell or that they fell
into it. Instead of a tunnel, some people report
rising suddenly into the heavens and seeing the
earth and the celestial sphere as they would be
seen by astronauts in space. Once on the other side
of the tunnel, or after they have risen into the
heavens, the dying meet people who glow with an
inner light. Often they find that friends and relatives
who have already died are there to greet them. (Dr.
Raymond Moody)
Jan Price did not go through a
tunnel during her NDE and a spirit guide
explained to her why this wasn't so: "You
have wondered why you did not enter through the
tunnel you have heard so much about. It is true
that many experience their first awareness of
this reality in that way, but when you separated
from the body, you were immediately aware of the
Light. You have been here before for brief
periods and knew the way, so it was not
necessary to travel through that corridor of
mind known as the tunnel." (Jan
Price).
By analyzing a large number of NDE accounts
on this website, a map of the various paths to heaven
can be created. Here are the paths I have found:
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a. |
The journey from the
earth to the earthbound realm. |
b. |
The journey from the earth to
the Void. |
c. |
The journey from the earth to the Void and
then to
heaven. (by means of the tunnel) |
d. |
The journey from the earth to heaven. (by
means of the tunnel) |
e. |
The journey from the earth to the
earthbound realm, then to the void,
then to heaven. |
f. |
The journey from the earth to the Void,
then through the tunnel to a heavenly receiving
station in heaven. (Kevin
Williams) |
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In his book,
Life At Death,
Dr. Kenneth Ring analyzed the near-death experiences
of 24 people who attempted suicide. Among them,
no one reported the tunnel phenomenon. (Dr.
Kenneth Ring)
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Webmaster's Note:
Many near-death experiencers by attempted
suicide have found themselves in a gray
or foggy area on the outer edges of the
Void where such people reside until they
make an important decision. Because my analysis
suggests the main way out of the Void is
through the tunnel, then this analysis from
Dr. Ring supports my research conclusion
that suicide experiencers have not gone
through the tunnel because they have not
yet made the decision which would take them
through the tunnel and into higher spirit
realms. (Kevin
Williams)
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" In the tunnel connecting this
world with the next, humans as well as animals travel
through the tunnel." (Sharon
Wood)
"The tunnel in the NDE is the pathway to
God." (Brian
Krebs)
"The tunnel is a porthole to the place where
all souls go if they choose." (David
Oakford)
In 45 Hindu near-death accounts, Pasrich
and Stevenson found no evidence of a tunnel experience
which is frequently found in western accounts of
the near-death experience. However, another near-death
researcher, Susan Blackmore, has reported accounts
of a tunnel experience in her research of 8 Hindu
near-death experiencers. (Hindu
NDEs)
"Going from a waking state or semi-waking
state into an amorphous state is usually the most
dramatic kind of spiritual travel experience. In
one type of amorphous transition, the traveler suddenly
senses a powerful vibration or sound and is caught
up in that energy. This is sometimes accompanied
by a feeling of being drawn or propelled by this
vibration at tremendous speed through a dark space.
This experience seems very similar to the descriptions
of the tunnel associated with near-death experience.
Numerous people who came very close to death (no
heartbeat or respiration) have near-death experiences
where they have described different types of sounds
or vibrations which propelled them at seemingly
great speed through a dark tunnel or corridor."
(Robert
Monroe)
"It's not quite the same, because when you
astral project, you don't have to go through the
white light, or a tunnel. When you project, you
usually go right where you would like to go, right
away." (Jerry
Gross)

"The dark tunnel is described in many ways,
such as being like a cave, a well, an enclosure,
a funnel, a vacuum, a void, a sewer, a valley, or
a cylinder." (Dr.
Raymond Moody)
Dr. Ronald Siegel is the distinguished expert
in psychopharmacolgy at UCLA. He is one of the leading
experts in the field of hallucinogens and an ardent
skeptic of the consciousness survives death theory.
Dr. Siegel explains his theory of what causes the
famous tunnel perspective in NDEs: "This is probably
due to the stimulation of the central nervous system
that mimics the effects of light on the retina.
It can also occur when the electrical activity in
the brain is altered in such a way that the threshold
for perception of phosphenes (electrical activity
in the visual system) is lowered, and bright lights
are seen in otherwise dark surroundings. This point
can create a tunnel perspective." (Dr.
Ronald Siegel)
"The way to escape the void is to choose
love and light over the darkness. Once this happens,
the light appears and the tunnel takes you toward
the light and into heaven for further instruction."
(Kevin
Williams)
"One fact about the differing perceptions
that people have can be demonstrated when several
witnesses observe the same event, such as an automobile
accident, and the witnesses' testimonies are not
the same. One particular NDE example I have read
illustrates the differing perceptions that experiencers
can have of the same event. This particular example
involves the tunnel experience. Most people describe
their experience of traveling through the tunnel
as a very beautiful and pleasant experience. However,
one particular person (I cannot remember the name
or the source) went through the tunnel kicking,
screaming, and trying to grab the edges of the tunnel
to prevent from going through it. This particular
person was completely horrified by the tunnel experience.
This is also a good illustration of how one man's
heaven can be another man's hell. And beauty is
in the eye of the beholder." (Kevin
Williams)
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2.
Brief Encounters With the NDE Tunnel |
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"As I looked up, there was a tunnel - a light
- an opening. It was glowing. Around that opening
were many people milling around." (Anne
Horne)
While Warmack was in a coma in the hospital
when he became aware of something "in the back
of me, like a beam of light, brighter than the sun,
brighter than any light I had ever seen." He traveled through
a tunnel and felt that he was traveling back in
time. (Gregory
Warmack)
"Suddenly I was standing alone in a room
with large, heavy doors leading into other rooms.
Someone came to me. I didn't see him; I only heard
his voice. He led me up through what seemed like
a tunnel. I seemed to be walking, but my feet didn't
touch a floor." (Clara)
"I was spinning sideways somehow through
this tunnel. At first it was very dark, then it
seemed like there was these streaks. I was falling
but I wasn't. I was traveling. That's maybe more
the word. There was this big white light at
the end of it. I kind of came out into this." (Paul
Carr)
"For a while, I watched on as the nurses
and doctors worked quickly to revive me. Then, I
lost interest and my attention turned towards
a long dark tunnel. At the end of the tunnel was
a very bright light and I floated to the opening.
Once inside, I moved with what seemed to be an extraordinary
and effortless speed, and finally reached the
light." (Nadia
McCaffrey)
"I asked to see the rest of the universe;
beyond our solar system, beyond all human illusion.
The light then told me that I could go with the
Stream. I did, and was carried through the light
at the end of the tunnel. I felt and heard a series
of very soft sonic booms. What a rush!" (Mellen-Thomas
Benedict)
"I remember closing my eyes. I am in this
long dark tunnel. It is so cold and so dark. I have
never been in a place so cold as this tunnel. I
was traveling at the speed of light. As I neared
the end of the tunnel, I saw the most brilliant
yellow light coming toward me. I was beginning to
feel warm. The nearer the light got, the warmer
I felt." (Beth
Hammond)
"Then I began to float upwards and I realized
I was having to make a decision. It was almost a
physical two-way pull. There seemed to be no ceiling
above me, just a black hole into which I was being
compelled by a very strong force. It seemed as if
I was to make a decision as to which way I would
choose to go - up into the tunnel or back into my
body." (Caroline
Sharp)
" I saw a pinpoint of light in the distance.
The black mass around me began to take on more of
the shape of a tunnel, and I felt myself traveling
through it at an even greater speed, rushing toward
the light. I was instinctively attracted to it,
although again, I felt that others might not. As
I approached it, I noticed the figure of a man standing
in it, with the light radiating all around him".
(Betty
Eadie)
"I asked God how could I possibly return
back down the tunnel and back into my hospital
bed. He spoke and said, 'Son, tilt your head, now
feel the liquid drain from your eye. Now open your
eye and see.' And I was immediately back in
my physical body." (Ian
McCormack)
"Upon death, most people go through a heavenly
process before entering into heaven. Evil people,
instead of experiencing the tunnel and bright light
upon death, are sent through what Sylvia calls the
left door and enter into an abyss of empty, joyless,
nothingness for a brief period of time ... Most
people, who go through the heavenly process, go
through a tunnel and towards the light of God."
(Sylvia
Browne)
Right then, she said she felt herself being
sucked away into a tunnel at a fast pace. Then she
was flying so fast through this dark tunnel. She
then stopped midstream in it and was in this dark
tunnel. She never saw a light at all. She heard
this voice say to her, "If I let you go back what
will you do with your life?" She responded
back to this voice, "I will dedicate my life to
you." She knew this overpowering, loving presence
was GOD himself asking her this question. She never
saw him - only heard him. He then showed her
pictures of her future helping others and other
things like a movie screen showing her future. Then
she felt this swoosh back through the tunnel and
back into her body. (Lisa
Marie)
In 1982, while a Fellow for the National
Cancer Institute, Dr. Melvin Morse was working in
a clinic in Pocatello, Idaho. He was called to revive
a young girl who nearly died in a community swimming
pool. She had had no heart beat for 19 minutes,
yet completely recovered. She was able to recount
many details of her own resuscitation, and then
said that she was taken down a brick lined tunnel
to a heavenly place. When Dr. Morse showed his obvious
skepticism, she patted him shyly on the hand and
said, "Don't worry, Dr. Morse, heaven is fun!."
(Dr.
Melvin Morse)

"Suddenly, I found myself in another dimension.
A glowing golden tunnel appeared in front of me.
Far, far into the tunnel, almost as if at its distant
opening, stood a man dressed in a splendid golden
robe ... The Master continued his invitation, but
he was so far away. I wanted to fly to him. I knew
that this was possible; it was simply a matter of
making the decision ... Exiting my body would be
an easy choice. I would float through this glorious
tunnel and seek the answers the Master had to offer.
Yet, just as I slipped into the tunnel something
pulled me back. While I was surrendering to the
marvelous force that had come to claim me, the hospital
staff had worked to pull me out of my coma with
massive doses of cortisone. I remember nothing after
the tunnel experience until three days later." (Marilyn
Gibson)
"Then I remember a very powerful force pulling
me towards a serene, very beautiful realm, a higher
realm. I traveled very slowly along a tunnel toward
a bright light, and I could feel an overwhelming
sense of warmth and peace and whiteness. I wanted
to walk into the whiteness, which was so tranquil
and happy. It was like stepping into a vacuum, there
was nothing tangible, no scenery to look at, but
a tremendous feeling of being somewhere, like nirvana.
I felt okay, as though this was where I was meant
to be, as if I had arrived home, and I was at ease
with myself for the first time in a long time."
(Helen)
"Then I found myself in what appeared to
be a large tunnel with a small white light at the
other end. I was moving toward this light pretty
fast. I was surrounded by a feeling of absolute
peace and what I can only describe as unconditional
love. It felt wonderful to be there. As I moved
towards the light, I was aware of two presences
near to me. They were telling me by thought alone
that it was not my time. I had to go back. We
were communicating just by thoughts back and forth
to each other. I knew these presences knew me, but
I did not know them. I had never met them before. Then
I was moving quickly back down through the tunnel
and into my body." (Enigma)
"I started to move toward the light. The
way I moved, the physics, was completely different
than it is here on earth. It was something I had
never felt before and never felt since. It was a
whole different sensation of motion. I obviously
wasn't walking or skipping or crawling. I was not
floating. I was flowing. I was flowing toward the
light. I was accelerating and I knew I was accelerating,
but then again, I didn't really feel the acceleration.
I just knew I was accelerating toward the light.
Again, the physics was different - the physics of
motion of time, space, travel. It was completely
different in that tunnel, than it is here on earth. I
came out into the light and when I came out into
the light, I realized that I was in heaven." (Barbara
Springer)
"I then remember traveling a long distance
upward toward the light. I believe that I was moving
very fast, but this entire realm seemed to be outside
of time. Finally, I reached my destination. It
was only when I emerged from the other end that
I realized that I was no longer accompanied by the
being who had brought me there. But I wasn't alone. There,
before me, was the living presence of the light
... My mind was naked; in fact, I became pure mind. The
ethereal body which I had traveled in through the
tunnel seemed to be no more." (Beverly
Brodsky)
"I then felt myself moving off very fast,
exceedingly fast, into what seemed like outer space.
I always felt that it was the fact of going so fast
that gave me the sense of being in a tunnel. And
I was going toward a very bright light. As I was
traveling along I could see different-colored lights,
and then I got stopped, just stopped before I got
to the light." (Janet)
"As a massive field of energy began to form
in the sky directly in front of me, I heard a loud,
grinding mechanical noise as the mass of energy
shaped itself into a cylinder funneling upwards.
It seemed as if the darkness of the sky turned into
liquid as the mass of energy curled like an ocean
wave and formed a perfect tunnel that stretched
into the heavens. As I stared into the large and
imposing tunnel of energy, a shimmering, luminescent-blue
field of energy began to float down the tunnel toward
me. As it rapidly approached, I watched the luminescent-blue
field mass into a form and begin to materialize
into an image of a human being. As the image composed
itself, I found myself face to face with an old
friend." (Ned
Dougherty)

"A dot of light appeared far off in front
of me. It was just a pinpoint, a tiny speck
in the distance, but its brilliance distinguished
it from all other lights around me and I instinctively
pressed towards it. Emanating from it was a
love and hope and peace that my soul hungered for.
I wanted, I needed this brilliant, radiant
light. The black tube took the shape of a tunnel
now, opening up as I neared its end. The light burst
forth before me, filling everything with brightness,
and I was coming upon it impossibly fast. 'Oh,
my gosh,' I thought, 'It's brighter than the sun.
It'll blind me! It'll kill me!'" (RaNelle
Wallace)
"A tunnel was forming, opening like the eye
of a hurricane and coming toward me. I actually
didn't move at all; the tunnel came to me. There
was the sound of chimes as the tunnel spiraled toward
and then around me. Soon there was nothing to be
seen - no crying Sandy, no ambulance attendants
trying to jump-start my dead body, no desperate
chatter with the hospital over the radio - only
a tunnel that engulfed me completely and the intensely
beautiful sound of seven chimes ringing in rhythmic
succession. I looked ahead into the darkness. There
was a light up there, and I began to move toward
it as quickly as possible. I was moving without
legs at a high rate of speed. Ahead the light became
brighter and brighter until it overtook the darkness
and left me standing in a paradise of brilliant
light." (Dannion
Brinkley)
Randy approached a dark tunnel. When he held
back and said that he was afraid to go into the
darkness, the angel smiled and told them that this
was the only way that they could get to their destination.
"I could see a bright light at the far end of the
tunnel, so I said, 'All right, as long as you don't
let go of my hand!' She laughed and said, 'I told
you that I would never leave your side. I have been
with you ever since you were born. In fact, I was
there at your mother's side when you were born.
I am your guardian angel.'" Randy asked her what
her name was. "We don't have names in the manner
that you mean," she said, "but if it makes you feel
better to call me something, you may call me, Areo
(ah-ree-o)." The tunnel did not prove to be such
a terrible ordeal after all. Randy and Areo seemed
to whoosh through it quickly. (Randy
Gehling)
"Suddenly, I had to move on, so I floated
into the waiting room, where my parents were. My
father had his head buried in my mother's lap. He
was kneeling at her feet, his arms wrapped around
her waist, and he was sobbing. My mother was stroking
his head, whispering to him. This scene shocked
me, as my father was not prone to showing emotions.
Once I realize they would be fine, I felt myself
pulled into a horizontal tunnel. The ride through
the tunnel was like nothing else. I remember thinking,
'So this is death.' The tunnel was dark, and
every once in a while something that looking like
lightning would flash across my path. These flashes
were brilliant in color and didn't scare me. At
the end of the tunnel was a bright light. From the
light came two dogs of mine. One was a collie named
Mimi who had died three years previously from an
infection, and the other was a box named Sam who
had died two years before after being hit by a car."
(Lynn)
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3.
Extraordinary NDE Tunnel Experiences |
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Thomas Sawyer's
NDE Tunnel Experience: "In this capacity,
though, I was looking at absolute nothingness or
darkness but my eyes were not straining. I had the
desire to look around inquisitively. What is this
place? Where am I? Well, again instantaneously,
this darkness took the shape of a tunnel. It was
perfectly level, however slightly ambiguous in that
it was straight before me and it was cloud-like.
It was very vast, as opposed to small and confining,
and was anywhere from a thousand feet to a thousand
miles wide. That didn't matter to me but I want
to give you some reference point. I was very comfortable
and inquisitive. It was cylindrical. If you took
a tornado and stretched it out straight, it would
be similar to that, without the houses and the doors
floating around inside. It absolutely extended to
infinity. This measurement of infinity was the first
empirical knowledge that I had within my near-death
experience. Simultaneously with the awareness of
this tunnel, I had a feeling of forward motion;
it was very comfortable, it was very usual. Moving
through this tunnel there was an acceleration. There
was not any wind vibration, nor any noise. There
was no motion sickness or anything like that. It
was like floating within a vacuum. I saw that I
was increasing speed, but there were no g-forces
of the kind you would naturally experience in accelerating
movement. I went faster and faster through the tunnel.
The next empirical knowledge I had was that I had
attained at least the speed of light or conceivably
faster. Whisking through the tunnel at this speed,
I had the depth perception, the visual perception
of the tunnel whisking past me (or I through the
tunnel). The next thing is that way, way off in
the distance to infinity there appeared this little
speck of light. That light was very special; it
was the first identifiable object that I was able
to focus on, to realize that it was nothing like
what I'd seen before. It was extremely bright. This
speck of light was brighter than something that
would immediately blind you. It was brighter than
a million billion carbon arcs, or welder's torches,
anything you can possibly compare it to. It was
the brightest thing I'd ever seen in my life. There
was a tremendous eager anticipation because this
was the first thing that wasn't blurry or ambiguous.
The appearance of this light way off at the end
of the tunnel brought me a sense of great love and
a feeling of camaraderie. That was something extraordinary,
greater than anything that I'd experienced during
my thirty-three years of life. It was utter beauty.
"The
light was way off in the distance and got larger
as I got closer to it. I was eager to get closer
to the light. I was still Thomas Sawyer, with all
of my personality and characteristics, yet here
I was, separate from the light by just a spatial
measurement of visual connotation. Now being at
the end of the tunnel and standing before the light,
it seemed that it covered the entire vista before
me. It was more beautiful than I've tried to describe,
because I could use all the superlatives, and then
I'd have to say: but it was more. I had never experienced
anything that divine. It was white, possibly, blue-white,
but certainly white. It was paradoxically absolutely
everything. It included Thomas Sawyer. It included
the tunnel that was behind me. It included the entire
universe that I was ever aware of. It was absolutely,
positively, everything. It was also absolutely the
most beautiful thing that I've ever seen, that I've
ever been near or experienced. The light I am describing
is whatever most people would describe as God. That's
the description. It meant the same to me as the
word God. It was in fact the light of Jesus Christ.
From the onset of this rather super-conscious state
of the darkness of the tunnel, there was something
that was totally missing, and that was what we call
time. There's no such thing as time in heaven! The
chronology of my accident is as I told you: there
was the darkness, I was moving through the tunnel,
and there was a light at the end of the tunnel.
There was then a confrontation with the light at
the end of the tunnel whatever more. That's the
chronology in that order ... I know that I experienced
a total life review, but I have never been able
to fit it properly into any of that basic chronology.
It had to have happened from the center of the tunnel
or the movement within the tunnel, prior to what
I call the confrontation with the light ... What
happened when I went through the tunnel? Did I see
the face of Jesus Christ? Yes, I did. But the most
important thing that I have been able to say is
probably the aspect of total knowledge ... At first
it just seemed like a foggy grayness about me. As
the speed of my upward and outward movement increased,
the enclosing fog seemed to have a bright ending
at the distance. I remember at the early moments
of moving ahead through this enclosure a brightness
to my left where I could see through the cloud-like
tunnel. Beyond the walls of my tunnel was a shimmering,
glowing light ...My tunnel structure thinned along
the sides but the light ahead was beckoning me.
I was intensely attracted to reaching the light.
As the sides of the tunnel became clearer, the light
ahead became brighter and closer as my speed increased."
(Thomas
Sawyer)

Rev. Howard Pittman's
NDE Tunnel Experience: "Suddenly we came
to a most beautiful place. I know that I've already
reported how terrible that second heaven was, so
you can imagine how surprising it was to find anything
beautiful over there. God would not allow me to
retain the memory of why this place was so beautiful.
I do remember that it was the most beautiful place
I'd ever seen. This place looked like a tunnel,
a roadway, a valley or some sort of highway. It
had a most brilliant light all its own and was completely
surrounded with an invisible shield. I knew that
the invisible shield was the protection of the Holy
Spirit. Walking in this tunnel, or along that roadway,
or valley, or whatever, was what appeared to be
human beings. I asked my escort who they were. He
told me, 'They are saints going home.' These were
the departed spirits of Christians who had died
on earth and they were going home. Each of these
saints was accompanied by at least one guardian
angel and some had a whole host of angels with them.
I wondered why some saints were accompanied by only
one angel and others had many. I was watching as
the saints passed through the way that all saints
must take to go home. Here it was, the passageway
from earth to the third heaven. Instead of allowing
me to enter, the angel stationed me before the gates,
slightly to one side. He instructed me to stay there
and watch as the saints were permitted to enter
into heaven. As the saints were allowed into heaven,
I noticed a strange thing. They were permitted to
enter only one at a time. No two were permitted
to enter those gates at the same time. I wondered
about this but it was never explained to me. When
the last of the fifty saints had entered into the
third heaven, I started to enter but my escort stopped
me. He told me that if I entered I could not come
out and that I would have to stay there until the
Father brought me back. The angels told me that
all who enter the third heaven must remain there
until brought back to this physical world by Christ
himself. When the angel said I could not enter unless
I stayed." (Rev.
Howard Pittman)

Dr. Dianne Morrissey's
NDE Tunnel Experience: "As soon as I saw
that the silver cord was attached to my physical
body, my spirit body was thrust into a dark tunnel.
I moved through it with great speed, traveling faster
than I could have imagined possible. Although the
tunnel was filled with an all consuming darkness,
I felt peaceful and unafraid ... When I came to
the end of the darkness, I stepped into a new dimension.
Here, I could sense the presence of a loving spirit,
sent - I knew - to God to greet me. Then, I was
back at the site of my physical body. Back and forth
I traveled through the tunnel, several times in
succession, moving from the Other Side to my electrocuted
physical body and back again. Each time I emerged
from the tunnel, I was met by a radiant angelic
being who stood before me, smiling. The being had
no wings, and I sense it was female. She was everything
I'd ever dreamed an angel would be. As she moved
toward me, I walked to meet her ... Suddenly, my
spirit body was back in tunnel. Again, when I emerged
from the tunnel, the angelic being was waiting for
me ... I was suddenly thrust forward through the
tunnel, and when I looked down, I was aghast to
see my physical body below me ... What mattered
to me was the light. I wanted the light. I was again
thrust forward through the tunnel. The angelic being
was still there, waiting for me to truly decide
about my life, waiting for me to decide about death,
waiting for me to decide about my future ... For
some reason, however, the angelic being sent me
into the tunnel again, back and forth through many
tunnels. I wondered why. I still wanted to 'touch,'
but I wanted the light - both desires tugging at
my spirit ... I finally found myself back in my
house ... Suddenly, I was rushing through the tunnel
again. When I emerged, I was up near the ceiling
in the den, looking down at my physical body below
me. Then, without warning, I was thrust swiftly
back into my body." (Dr.
Dianne Morrissey)

Virginia Rivers'
NDE Tunnel Experience: From
Dr. Kenneth Ring's wonderful book,
Lessons From The Light:
"Immediately the blackness began to erupt into a
myriad of stars and I felt as if I were at the center
of the universe with a complete panoramic view in
all directions. The next instant I began to
feel a forward surge of movement. The stars seemed
to fly past me so rapidly that they formed a tunnel
around me. I began to sense awareness, knowledge.
The farther forward I was propelled the more knowledge
I received. My mind felt like a sponge, growing
and expanding in size with each addition. The knowledge
came in single words and in whole idea blocks. I
just seemed to be able to understand everything
as it was being soaked up or absorbed. I could feel
my mind expanding and absorbing and each new piece
of information somehow seemed to belong. It was
as if I had known already but forgotten or mislaid
it, as if it were waiting here for me to pick it
up on my way by. I kept growing with knowledge,
evolving, expanding and thirsting for more. It was
amazing, like being a child again and experiencing
something brand new and beautiful, a wonderful new
playground. As each second passed, there was
more to learn, answers to questions, meanings and
definitions, philosophies and reasons, histories,
mysteries, and so much more, all pouring into my
mind. I remember thinking, 'I knew that, I know
I did. Where has it all been?' The stars began to
change shapes before my eyes. They began to dance
and deliberately draw themselves into intricate
designs and colors which I had never seen before.
They moved and swayed to a kind of rhythm or music
with a quality and beauty I had never heard and
yet ... remembered. A melody that humans could not
possibly have composed, yet was so totally familiar
and in complete harmony with the very core of my
being. As if it were the rhythm of my existence,
the reason for my being. The extravagance of imagery
and coloration pulsed in splendid unison with the
magnificent ensemble. I felt completely at peace,
tranquilized by the vision and the melodic drone.
I could have stayed in this place for eternity with
this pulse of love and beauty beating throughout
my soul. The love poured into me from all corners
of the universe. I was still being propelled forward
at what seemed great speed. Yet I was able
to observe all that I passed as if I were standing
still. Each passing second I was absorbing
more and more knowledge. No one spoke to me,
nor did I hear voices in my head. The knowledge
just seemed to BE and with each new awareness came
a familiarity. A tiny pin point of light appeared
far in front of me at the other end of my kaleidoscopic
tunnel. The light grew larger and larger as I was
soaring closer and closer to it, until finally I
had arrived at my destination." (Virginia
Rivers)

Pam Reynolds'
NDE Tunnel Experience: "There was a sensation
like being pulled, but not against your will. I
was going on my own accord because I wanted to go.
I have different metaphors to try to explain this.
It was like the Wizard of Oz - being taken up in
a tornado vortex, only you're not spinning around
like you've got vertigo. You're very focused and
you have a place to go. The feeling was like going
up in an elevator real fast. And there was a sensation,
but it wasn't a bodily, physical sensation. It was
like a tunnel but it wasn't a tunnel. At some point
very early in the tunnel vortex I became aware of
my grandmother calling me. But I didn't hear her
call me with my ears ... It was a clearer hearing
than with my ears. I trust that sense more than
I trust my own ears. The feeling was that she
wanted me to come to her, so I continued with no
fear down the shaft. It's a dark shaft that I went
through, and at the very end there was this very
little tiny pinpoint of light that kept getting
bigger and bigger and bigger. The light was incredibly
bright, like sitting in the middle of a light bulb
... My grandmother didn't take me back through the
tunnel, or even send me back or ask me to go. She
just looked up at me. I expected to go with her,
but it was communicated to me that she just didn't
think she would do that. My uncle said he would
do it. He's the one who took me back through the
end of the tunnel. Everything was fine. I did want
to go ... It was communicated to me that it was
like jumping into a swimming pool. No problem, just
jump right into the swimming pool. I didn't want
to, but I guess I was late or something because
he [the uncle] pushed me. I felt a definite repelling
and at the same time a pulling from the body. The
body was pulling and the tunnel was pushing ...It
was like diving into a pool of ice water ... It
hurt!" (Pam
Reynolds)

Plato's NDE Account
of the Solder Named Er and His Tunnel Experience:
"When his soul went forth from his body he journeyed
with a great company and that they came to a mysterious
region where there were two openings side by side
in the earth, and above and over against them in
the heaven two others, and that judges were sitting
between these, and that after every judgment they
bade the righteous journey to the right and upward
through the heaven with tokens attached to them
in front of the judgment passed upon them, and the
unjust to take the road to the left and downward,
they too wearing behind signs of all that had befallen
them, and that when he himself drew near they told
him that he must be the messenger to humanity to
tell them of that other world, and they charged
him to give ear and to observe everything in the
place ... From the other tunnels came souls preparing
for reincarnation on earth. From above came souls
happily reporting delights and visions of a beauty
beyond words. From below came souls lamenting and
wailing over a thousand years of dreadful sufferings,
where people were repaid manifold for any earthly
suffering they had caused." (Plato)

Diego Valencia's
NDE Tunnel Experience: "Suddenly, my
mind was allowed to rest in a quiet place in order
to further ascend through a translucent tunnel with
a light that seemed rather a yellowish opacity.
Then I saw many beings, some ascending, some descending.
Two of them were known to me on the earth realm
and I had not seen them for more than 20 years.
I also met people unknown to me then, whom I met
many years later in their bodies on the earth realm.
I asked one of the two persons I did know, what
he was doing there, and he told me he had had a
very serious health problem, and almost died, but
the health problem had already been solved by the
doctors. This is the reason he was going back to
his body. Nevertheless, another friend who was a
friend of my family for many years, was leaving
the earth realm in a definite way, so was I told.
Then came some guides to take the friend who had
been ill, back to earth through a tubular shape
in descent. I also observed other tubular shapes
through which other souls were ascending, and among
them, the lady known to me and my family whose body
had died. I inquired if the lady could go back but
they said her time was over and that she had definitely
left her body. I felt the energy of the lady perturbed,
because she was confused since she did not know
she was dead, but I avoided meeting her. In that
moment my guides smiled. A different lap started
in which the path was transparent, silent and compliant.
I felt the pleasure of having my conscience in total
calm, together with the tender but distant company
of the guides and other entities which I could not
see. Suddenly I saw another path where all the dead
members of my family appeared, among them my father."
(Diego
Valencia)

Robert Coleman's
NDE Tunnel Experience: "I was being
propelled across a vast distance. I dare not look
straight ahead, but I remember looking at the wall
flashing past me as I sped along some kind of tunnel.
Then, at the other end of this journey, I felt a
most beautifully reassuring sense of calm. I looked
down at myself in my new form. I had taken
on a golden glow. I did not need to walk. I floated.
Everything about me was love, goodness and
warmth. Suddenly, I felt as if I had been given
access to the total knowledge of the universe. I
stared at a huge dark wheel containing stars
and other celestial bodies that slowly revolved.
A deep voice spoke slowly, but I could not
make out what it was saying. I was at some
kind of entrance ... I had to promise solemnly not
to try to return. I agreed. Once more, I stood in
front of the great dark disk again. As the stars
and shapes slowly revolved, a deep voice said slowly,
'Your time has not yet come.' I felt all the wisdom
that I had suddenly gained was being forced out
from me. I knew I could not take this knowledge
back with me, but was concerned that I might lose
what limited intelligence I already had before I died.
Then, once again I was in the long tunnel, feeling
the wind against my cheek as I looked away and saw
the long wall rushing past me." (Robert
Coleman)
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Webmaster's Note:
The great dark disk may be the entrance
to the tunnel. Other experiencers have seen
the tunnel in the same kind of thing
in their NDEs. (Kevin
Williams)
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Reinee Pasarow's
NDE Tunnel Experience: "At this point I became
aware that there was a light calling me from somewhere
else and I entered what people speak of as the tunnel.
I will speak of it as that although I did not quite
perceive it as a tunnel. It was a transition place
where I became aware of other beings who seemed
to be rather disoriented, rather confused and lost
and some of these beings were moving through to
their home. I simply wanted to go home. I moved
through this place and I became aware that I was
not moving like we move physically. When we move
physically we have an intent, we have a goal, and
we move step by step to that goal. But what moved
me through this place was love. It was the love
of God and the love all things sacred and all things
beautiful and all things just. I could go on and
on and on but this was what propelled me on. It
was my connection and my affection for God. As
I came to the end of this place, I wondered if I
would be alone, and just like that I was with my
uncle ..." [After her
life review, the Being of Light told her, "It was
not time for her to enter that world." She then
described returning to her physical body.] "I
was catapulted back down what I perceived to be
a tunnel. This time it was down a rainbow tunnel
of light, sound and vibrational frequency of love.
With a terribly hard crash, I became aware of the
scene I had left earlier - the fire trucks, and
now an ambulance. There were men who were picking
up my body and loading it into the ambulance. I
was in a state of complete grief. I felt that I
had become Eve and was cast out of the garden of
Eden. As I was descending down this tunnel, my heart
was already attached to my home beyond. I was begging
not to leave. I crashed down into this realm of
existence and was suddenly confused by time and
space ... I was being propelled across a vast distance.
I dare not look straight ahead, but I remember looking
at the wall flashing past me as I sped along some
kind of tunnel. Then, at the other end of this journey,
I felt a most beautifully reassuring sense of calm.
(Reinee
Pasarow -- Watch her video online:
www.lightafterlife.com)

Lou Famoso's NDE
Tunnel Experience: "I entered what
I thought looked like the Holland tunnel without
the cars and traffic and the ability to see what
looked like light at its end. It was dark but not
black. The path was slightly illuminated from what
I thought to be the sunlight shining from the other
end. As I was being drawn toward the lighted
end of the tunnel, I carefully looked around, even
squinting to see into the darker recesses. I
passed what I thought to be very religious men doing
what they would do when praying to their GODS. They
were all dressed in their finest garbs, robes, togas,
head dresses, loin cloths and the like. Most of
them were off to the sides of the tunnel, but one
of them, that I seemed to float right over, looked
oriental with a long grayish Fu Man Chu, sitting
there in the middle of the tunnel with his hands
clasped and his feet crossed ... When I floated
past the monk just below me, I thought he could
actually see me because it appeared like he began
to smile a smile of passage. All the other religious
men were mumbling sounds of prayer and were moving
their arms about as if making gestures of a blessing.
I wasn't sure if they were blessing me or the tunnel.
I noticed none of them were actually standing or
sitting in the tunnel but appeared to be levitated.
I wanted to stop and speak with some of them, maybe
ask a few questions like who they were and how long
have they been here, but I was being whisked away
toward the light. I saw wisps of smoke I believed
to be incense. It came from all portions of the
great tunnel from one end to the other. I could
see and smell, but I had yet to have the sensation
of touch since my feet were never touching the tunnels
floor. I seemed to be traveling squarely in the
center as I drifted toward the end. The closer I
got to the end of the tunnel, the brighter things
got, and as I neared the end, it was like coming
face to face with a huge canvas that was just recently
blazed in the brightest white of whites. An empty
canvas, ready to be painted upon and I awaited that
painting ... The being told me that should I ever
have questions of the heart or mind, he will answer
them if I only look within myself, for that is where
he will dwell. From this time forward I need only
think it to be so, and it will be so, for I would
forever know the truth ... I asked how I would know
and before I received an answer I was being whisked
away through that darkened tunnel like a dust bunny
in a vacuum, with about as much control as a runaway
freight train. A loving voice was telling me I must
go back today. (Lou
Famoso)

Gilles Bedard's
NDE Tunnel Experience: "In the blink
of an eye, my vision expanded and I went into a
place like a cosmos where there were 12 people standing
in a half-circle. They were all pure white lights
and they had no faces. Beyond them was a tunnel.
I wasn't afraid. I somehow knew these people although
they weren't family or people I could recognize.
It was as if they were waiting for me. I asked them
what was happening, and they told me, 'You are not
going to die. You are going back to earth. You have
something to do.' I asked them what it was, and
as soon as I asked it was as if I knew the answer.
They said I would know what I had to do when the
time came. At that moment, I could sense the future
and I realized I had the choice to do what I wanted
to do. I felt pure peace. What I remembered most
is the music I heard when I was out of my body.
It was fascinating. It was hard to tell how long
the experience lasted. It could have been five seconds
or half an hour. When I came back into my body,
it felt very small. But it was OK. I felt calm,
very warm. When I came to, around 5 a.m., I felt
ready for a party. It was as if nothing had happened
to me. I didn't remember the experience at that
time. But a month after I left the hospital, I had
another one. During the night, I had a sensation
of falling into a tunnel. Going into it, I knew
I was about to die, but just before arriving at
the end of the tunnel, I woke up. It was not a dream.
It was real. And it was then that I remembered the
earlier experience." (Gilles
Bedard)

Don Brubaker's
NDE Tunnel Experience: "There was a
sudden whoosh, and I saw a large glowing red ball
approaching me, almost like the light on the front
of a train. In that instant, as the red ball rushed
toward me, I knew terror like never before. As it
approached, I realized that it was really a large,
eerie red eye. It stopped when it got close to me,
and then began traveling alongside me through the
tunnel. I could hardly stand to look at it, its
gaze was so piercing. It felt like it was looking
right into my mind, into my very soul. Still I was
plunging into the depths of this horrible tunnel.
I glanced at the walls of the tunnel, walls of deep
black whirring past me like video footage on fast
forward. Yes, I was still there, still falling millions
of miles into some terrible pit. And yet, there
I was, lying deathlike on a hospital bed. I could
see myself there, and it panicked me all the more.
The eye - suddenly I realized that I was seeing
the hospital room through the red eye. It was absurd
to me that I hadn't realized this before - and yet
I could hardly process my thoughts. It was all too
bizarre. Panic started building in my mind as it
began to dawn on me where I was, suspended in this
dank tube. As the red eye glowered at me, the thoughts
began to arrange themselves, coalescing slowly.
Suddenly, the idea was undeniable. I was in hell.
The realization swept over me like an ocean wave,
unstoppable though I tried desperately to dismiss
it. Hell! I didn't even believe in hell! And here
I was? This was it? I had only the briefest moment
to react to the thought when a deep, comfortable
voice echoed through the tunnel." (Don
Brubaker)

Lynnclaire Dennis'
NDE Tunnel Experience: "It was then
that I saw the tunnel and knew with absolute assurance
that I was on my way home, certain that the home
I had long yearned for was in the light at the other
end of this passageway. As I was standing alone
with my grandmother, she told me that I must make
this part of the journey alone. Filled with peace,
I knew I would see her again on the other side.
I was ready, and without hesitation took my first
step into the corridor that led toward the light,
crossing an intersection that connected now with
forever ... Once I was inside the tunnel it was
as if someone at the other end was calling my name,
drawing me forward. I knew that this passageway
was taking me to the top of the mountain, leading
me home into the light. I was overjoyed to be going
to the summit, as all my life I had wanted to climb
to the top of Mt. Rainier. I had never made the
attempt, believing that I would try and fail, or
that I would die trying. I moved effortless into
the passage. Soon I knew I would be able to fly.
Fly? The light was getting brighter and warmer as
I moved through the tunnel. The MUSIC, the celestial
symphony, continued to fill the air with a psalm
of Oneness, played on unseen instruments of peace.
I arrived at the pinnacle and, standing at the entrance
to the light, took a single step, leaving my right
footprint imbedded in Eternity. I entered a sacred
space a place where I knew I had returned to my
most essential nature, where I felt wholly and consciously
united with all things and Source, where a soothing
balm of peace was poured on my spirit by an unseen
hand, an emollient so rich in love that to this
day I cannot fully absorb or comprehend it." (Lynnclaire
Dennis)
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4.
Edgar Cayce's Extraordinary NDE Tunnel Experiences |
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Edgar Cayce
(pronounced "Kay-see") was a man who, over the span
of his lifetime (1877-1945), had more out-of-body
journeys into the afterlife than anyone ever documented.
Cayce learned that when he was put in a special
form of
self-hypnotic trance, he could leave his body
and journey into the afterlife realms. Cayce made
over
14,000 otherworldly journeys
in his life and the information he gained from these
journeys has astounded people all over the world.
Edgar Cayce's NDE Tunnel
Experiences: "I see myself as a tiny dot
out of my physical body, which lies inert before
me. I find myself oppressed by darkness and there
is a feeling of terrific loneliness. Suddenly, I
am conscious of a white beam of light, knowing that
I must follow it or be lost. As I move along this
path of light I gradually become conscious of various
levels upon which there is movement. Upon the first
levels there are vague, horrible shapes, grotesque
forms such as one sees in nightmares. Passing on,
there begins to appear on either side misshapen
forms of human beings with some part of the body
magnified. Again there is change and I become conscious
of gray-hooded forms moving downward. Gradually,
these become lighter in color. Then the direction
changes and these forms move upward and the color
of the robes grows rapidly lighter. Next, there
begins to appear on either side vague outlines of
houses, walls, trees, etc., but everything is motionless.
As I pass on, there is more light and movement in
what appear to be normal cities and towns. With
the growth of movement I become conscious of sounds,
at first indistinct rumblings, then music, laughter,
and singing of birds. There is more and more light,
the colors become very beautiful, and there is the
sound of wonderful music. The houses are left behind;
ahead there is only a blending of sound and color.
Quite suddenly I come upon a Hall of Records. It
is a hall without walls, without ceiling, but I
am conscious of seeing an old man who hands me a
large book, a record of the individual for whom
I seek information." (Edgar
Cayce)
On another occasion,
Cayce's tunnel experience was described this way:
Cayce felt himself to be a bubble traveling through
water to arrive at the place where he always got
the information. (Edgar
Cayce)
On yet another occasion,
Cayce's tunnel experience was described this way:
"Cayce went up and up through a very large column,
passing by all the horrible things without coming
in contact personally with them, and came out where
there was the house of records. Cayce stated that
as he ascended the column, there would be beings
on either side of him calling out to him for help
or trying to get his attention. Cayce knew that
any deviation from the column and the beam of light
would mean he would not be able to return to his
body. It, the column, wound around on a wheel like
the Rotarians have. Cayce mentioned that he felt
very secure traveling that way." (Edgar
Cayce)

Kevin Williams'
Analysis of Cayce's NDE Tunnel Experiences:
"Edgar Cayce did not experience clinical or brain
death, but he was able to control his mind to travel
consciously through the identical process of the
near-death state. This can be done by anyone, according
to Cayce, if the "proper attunement" is made. Cayce
also mentions that this is done by everyone when
they fall asleep and enter
the realm of dreams, only it is done subconsciously
not consciously. The same is true for death. Cayce's
experience reveals more aspects about the nature
of the tunnel so often described in near-death experiences
and more about the structure of the afterlife. One
of the afterlife levels that Cayce observed while
in the tunnel appears to be like our own except
it is motionless. In my opinion, this motionless
afterlife level is our physical universe. While
Cayce journeys through the tunnel and
the eternal
now, time on earth stands still. This principle
can even be found in
Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. The
afterlife level Cayce sees where human beings appear
with some body part magnified has been described
in the
Tibetan Book of the Dead and other religious
traditions as being hell. It is a place where a
particular desire has been overemphasized while
in physical life. The level where hooded monk-like
beings appear has also been described by many other
near-death experiencers such as
Dr. George Ritchie and
Betty Eadie. Cayce was able to describe very
accurately some of the
various levels of the afterlife that appear
in near-death accounts." (Kevin
Williams)
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5.
Skeptic Susan Blackmore on the NDE Tunnel |
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One
of the most dedicated skeptical researchers of near-death
experiences is
Susan Blackmore,
a senior lecturer in psychology at the University
of the West of England, a parapsychologist, and
Zen Buddhist.
She is also one of the few researchers who have
actually had an OBE. During her first year at Oxford,
Blackmore had an OBE after several hours on the
Ouija board while stoned on hashish. The experience
also occurred during a period of her life when sleep
deprivation was common for her. She describes herself
as having been in "a fairly peculiar state
of mind" when she had the OBE. Despite her
experience, she continues to believe it was all
merely part of her hallucination experience. As
a former heavy marijuana and hashish user, I can
tell you that Blackmore's OBE is not an example
of marijuana or hashish intoxication. Rather, it
is more like an OBE triggered by a more "harder"
hallucinogen such as LSD or ketamine. The following
is a brief description of Susan Blackmore's OBE
/ NDE-like experience, and responses from a critic
I received by email which I thought to be interesting.
You can read
Blackmore's full OBE account here.
Susan Blackmore's OBE
Tunnel Experience: Susan Blackmore
traveled down a tunnel of trees toward a light,
floated on the ceiling and observed her body below,
saw a silver cord connecting her floating astral
body, floated out of a building in England and crossed
the ocean to New York. After hovering around
New York, Blackmore floated back to her room in
England where she became very small and entered
her body's toes. Then she grew very big, as big
as a planet at first, and then she filled the solar
system and finally she became as large as the universe. Despite
her experience, Blackmore believes the tunnel is
caused by oxygen starvation, which causes certain
cells in the brain, inhibitory cells, to die first,
the excitable ones taking longer. (Susan
Blackmore)
Blackmore discusses drugs
including her own experience:
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Blackmore: |
"Under conditions
of extreme tiredness and smoking
hashish I had an NDE-type experience
complete with the tunnel and light,
out-of-body travels, expansion and
contraction of size, timelessness,
a mystical experience and the decision
to return..."
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Critic: |
"Blackmore
uses her drug-induced experiences
as the basis for her conclusions.
I shall argue that Blackmore's confusion
on the subject of NDEs is the result
of her own drug-induced confusion
-- which is not an uncommon occurrence."
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Blackmore: |
[Concerning
NDErs passing through a tunnel of
mental energy] "There
are many serious problems with such
a theory. If the other worlds are
a part of this world then they cannot
really account for the afterlife."
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Critic: |
"Such a
conclusion proves false when we
consider the reports of NDErs. They
not only see ethereal energy patterns,
they see this world, the world of
operating rooms and other mundane
settings."
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Blackmore: |
"Something
should be seen leaving the body
and going into the tunnel. The tunnel
itself would be present in physical
space and we should be able to measure
it or in some way detect its presence."
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Critic: |
"Yes, and
that's why those skilled at observing
the subtle energy that surrounds
the spirit are able to perceive
such things."
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Blackmore: |
"Still we
should not reject such theories
out of hand just because they seem
senseless. It is better to apply
some criteria to them and see how
they fare. Is this theory specific?
No, not at all. The tunnels described
are all different in precise form
and this theory can say nothing
about what forms they should or
should not take."
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Critic: |
"Blackmore
again looks at content, not underlying
phenomena. The structure of specific
tunnels is not in question, as has
been stated, they are mental constructs,
mental or ethereal energy patterns.
As such they take many malleable
forms. Blackmore fails to understand
such mental energy is NOT confined
to a brain, but rather is patterned
energy that makes up a mind, not
a brain."
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