The Healing Power of NDEs and Overcoming Tragedy

In this time of indescribable suffering from recent tragedy, many ask how is it possible to resume day-to-day living in the face of such seemingly insurmountable grief.  One way is to seek hope from those who have paved the way by rising above unbelievable heart-rending circumstances.

Such an example is the amazing true story shared by Jeff Olsen in his new book I Knew Their Hearts: The Amazing True Story of a Journey Beyond the Veil to Learn the Silent Language of the Heart. In 1997, Jeff Olsen experienced a catastrophic automobile accident which caused the instant death of his wife and youngest son and multiple life-threatening injuries to him that included amputation of his left leg above the knee.

Eben Alexander answers skeptics' criticisms

In October,a Newsweek article featured an excerpt from neurosurgeon Eben Alexander's new book, Proof of Heaven. Several skeptics wrote articles critical of Dr. Alexander's Newsweek account, notably neuroscientist Sam Harris. Harris disputes that Alexander's cortex was shut down which allowed the “hyper-real” experience of heaven Alexander reported. While the severity and duration of the meningitis infection, the resulting coma, an enhanced CT scan and neurological examinations all indicate global impairment of the neocortex which would not support consciousness, to Harris these constitute only secondary evidence and consciousness could still have been possible. For Harris, complete brain inactivity can be demonstrated only by brain imaging like fMRI and EEG. It should be noted that while he has a Ph.D. in neuroscience, Harris does not practice neuroscience and is not a clinician.

Alexander responded to these criticisms on Alex Tsakiris' Skeptiko podcast.

Heaven Is Real: Eben Alexander Featured in Newsweek

Neurosurgeon Eben Alexander is featured in the lead article of the October 15 issue of Newsweek magazine, titled "Heaven Is Real: A Doctor's Experience With the Afterlife".

Part of the excerpt from Dr. Alexander's forthcoming book, Proof of Heaven: "There is no scientific explanation for the fact that while my body lay in coma, my mind—my conscious, inner self—was alive and well. While the neurons of my cortex were stunned to complete inactivity by the bacteria that had attacked them, my brain-free consciousness journeyed to another, larger dimension of the universe: a dimension I'd never dreamed existed and which the old, pre-coma me would have been more than happy to explain was a simple impossibility."

Anita Moorjani's amazing NDE and miraculous healing

Anita Moorjani is a Hindu woman living in Hong Kong who "died" of stage 4 lymphoma in February, 2006. During her near-death experience she received a number of insights about the source of her cancer and was told by her deceased father that she needed to come back. She knew that she would be completely healed if she came back—and she was.

Anita's book is Dying to Be Me: My journey from cancer, to near death, to true healing. Anita was interviewed in 2011 by Lilou Mace about her NDE and miraculous healing (47 min). In this interview, she talks about her experience of the nature of reality and consciousness during the NDE (from 08:48 to 18:55) – there are no boundaries in the sequence of time (past, present and possible futures) and no boundaries in the separation of space. Anita also recounts several veridical (real and verified) perceptions she had during her NDE (from 24:20 to 28:28). It's an amazing story!

Seven-year-old Girl Publishes Book on Her NDE

Ari Hallmark could be one of the most remarkable 7-year-olds you will ever meet.

Somewhere between gymnastics and finishing up the first grade, she’s managed to become an author.

Ari’s remarkable story is the subject of her book, titled To Heaven, After the Storm on how she saw her family in heaven from an NDE after a tornado that killed five members of her family.

Dr. Mary Neal's Near-Death Experience: To heaven and back

Orthopaedic spine surgeon Mary Neal thought near-death experiences could be fully explained by science -- until she had an NDE herself. Dr. Neal drowned while kayaking on a South American river. She was transported to a heavenly realm in the presence of angels and Jesus, and experienced God's all-encompassing love. She was told she had to return to share her story and to a support to her family, because her oldest son would die. Ten years later, after her son died in an accident, she wrote and published a memoir of her experience, To Heaven and Back: A doctor’s extraordinary account of her death, heaven, angels, and life again.

A video interview with Mary Neal on MSNBC, and an excerpt from her book. Also, a blog entry and video by Mary Neal.

The Other Near-Death Experiences

Past IANDS president, Nancy Evans Bush, has launched a website "dancingpasthedark" featuring a blog devoted to commentary on distressing near-death experiences.  Beginning with the following quote from Alex Lukeman, a psychotherapist and NDE-er, Nancy is braving an internet void attempting to give voice to a subject often bypassed in the rush to emphasize insights gained from those experiences perceived as mostly delightful:

 

Events of the deep psyche can involve “the destruction of traditional and habitual patterns of perception and understanding, including religious belief structures and socially accepted concepts of the nature of human existence and behavior.”

Then you wake up the next morning and . . . what?

 

To follow this emerging collective discussion, go to ... http://dancingpastthedark.wordpress.com/

Excellent interview with Eben Alexander on Skeptiko

Alex Tsakiris of Skeptiko.com interviews neurosurgeon Eben Alexander about the nature of the mind and brain based on Dr. Alexander's near-death experience.

Dr. Alexander states, "[Before my NDE] it was very clear in [neuroscience] that the brain gives you consciousness and everything else, and when the brain dies there goes consciousness, soul, mind—it’s all gone. And it was clear.

"Now, having been through my coma, I can tell you that’s exactly wrong and that in fact the mind and consciousness are independent of the brain. It’s very hard to explain that, certainly if you’re limiting yourself to that reductive materialist view." (emphasis added)

Listen to the full interview here.

How near-death experiences are changing the world

David Sunfellow, head of the organization New Heaven New Earth, has compiled an excellent two-part video titled "How Near-Death Experiences are Changing the World".

Part 1 (67 min) discusses the history of near-death experiences, global statistics and trends, and common themes and characteristics. It also features many NDE accounts, including George Ritchie, Mary Jo Rapini, Andy Petro, Ellyn Dye, Colton Burpo, Howard Storm, and Elizabeth Taylor.

Part 2 (51 min) explores the NDEs of Mellen-Thomas Benedict, Nanci Danison, Jim Macartney and Anita Moorjani. It examines the nature of reality, miracles and spontaneous healings, discusses how and why the core themes of NDEs are so different, and presents some of the aftereffects of NDEs. It includes Raymond Moody's new research on “shared death experiences”, and describes two especially powerful NDE messages that can change our lives.

Dr Steven Greer Describes NDE, Later Has First ET Contact

In a recent YouTube video interview, Steven Greer, MD, known for his role as founder of The Disclosure Project, describes a profound near-death experience (NDE) at age 17 including an out-of-body experience with cosmic consciousness. Dr. Greer shares a fascinating description of non-verbal communication with two light beings during his experience and the discussion of whether he should return to his body.

Later in life, while hiking on a mountain he has a UFO encounter and meets extraterrestrial biological life forms (ETs). He then enters a state of cosmic consciousness similar to that of his NDE and goes on to teach the ETs what it's like to enter this state of consciousness from a human perspective.

YouTube URL:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scmfPpWwQbA