Very interesting read on NDE's

[Fingon]

I obviously lean more toward the materialist side of this discussion, but I think the author makes some good points about how these experiences (regardless of the individuals' own beliefs about what and why) are a great window into human psychology and behavior. The potential knowledge gains regarding the nature of consciousness also go without saying.

Also, while reading this, my mind was playing the opening theme from 'The Leftovers' and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

This post was edited on 3/18 8:19 AM by Fingon

http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/0

 

[TarHeelEer]

There are falsified accounts as well

One of the movies last year was a hoax, I forget which one.

I don't treat the stories as gospel, who knows what people might make up. But the one's where they say they saw a loved one in such and such room nearby, and if they were in their body they had no way of knowing that... that means something. I'm not sure what, but something.

FYI, the heaven and bright light stories are rivaled by the dark shadows and demons stories.

 

[RichardPeterJohnson]

I had a dream about Sheryl Crow last night


it was so real, it was as if she was there. We carried on a conversation. Snuggled in bed. It was an awesome experience. After I wake up and went to the bathroom and changed my underwear, I went back to sleep hoping for more. But it didn't happen.

 

[Fingon]

I think it will be very interesting to see where . . . .

the science leads as our technological capabilities grow, and as we approach a better understanding of the brain's complexity.

Even now, with as little as is known, the elephant in the room for me is that people's visions and versions of what they see is somewhat different across cultures. Yes there are some common elements like the tunnel, the bright light, the feelings of profound love, the visions of dead relatives, etc. But the specifics of angels, ancillary characters, the God character, etc. falls in line with the person's existing beliefs. I.e., no one has come back and said "man, before this experience I was a Christian, but I met Allah and all was made clear to me (or vice versa), for example." Most (at least most that are widely reported and discussed) episodes end up confirming beliefs that a person wanted to have, and is based on whatever predisposition they had about the afterlife. I think the point about the "hero's journey" narrative is well taken--it's the most universal literary trope in all of humanity. The fact that so many of these visions fall in line with that trope leads me to lean toward the materialistic explanations as well.

 

[WhiteTailEER]

Re: There are falsified accounts as well

Originally posted by TarHeelEer:
But the one's where they say they saw a loved one in such and such room nearby, and if they were in their body they had no way of knowing that... that means something. I'm not sure what, but something.

These are fascinating. They might mean something, or it could be that the brain is getting enough input that it can put together the picture of what was going on. I'm just throwing that out there, I'm not claiming that's what happened, who knows.

I've seen different things on DMT and that it exists in our bodies in trace amounts. It is a powerful hallucinogen, so it's possible that this gets released at death or near death in enough quantities to create hallucinations. Or maybe a combination of other substances combine to create them.

There is also the existential explanation which could be true as well.

It's all very interesting.