Near death experiences – Are they real?
But that the dread of something after death-
The undiscover’d country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns- puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
- Hamlet – William Shakespeare
Hamlet contemplates suicide but draws back as what comes after death may be more fearful than what he is experiencing now. He calls death ‘the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns’. Are there individuals who have returned from near death who can tell us what lies after death?
In 1975, Raymond Moody published his book,’Life After Life’ which has since sold nearly 13 million copies. For his book he interviewed 150 people who had undergone near death experiences or NDEs. He identified a common set of elements in people who have undergone NDEs. The persons reported an overwhelming feeling of peace and well being, the impression of being outside one’s body, a feeling of floating through darkness like in a tunnel, becoming aware of a golden light, encountering or communicating with a being or light, having a rapid succession of visual images of one’s past and experiencing another world of great beauty.
Scientists have contested his findings. They allege that Moody’s evidence is flawed and based on anecdotal evidence only and there has been no statistical analysis of the data. Nevertheless Moody’s book made the subject of NDE popular and created a new area of public debate. In the Amazon bookstore the book is given five stars. A reader says, “After reading Life after Life, I now feel assured that death doesn’t mean the end. Here on earth we are spiritual beings having a human experience…I am at peace with the deaths of my parents believing that they both live on! I highly recommend this book to anyone who has lost a loved one or who themselves are dealing with a terminal illness”. Touching but is it true? Do NDEs really offer us an insight into life after death, and more important, give us proof that there is really a life after death.
For NDEs to be true it must follow that there should be a part of a human body that has an existence separate from our physical bodies. The French philosopher Rene Descartes wrote in his Passions of the Soul and The Description of the Human Body that the body works like a machine and has material properties whereas the mind or soul was non-material and does not follow the laws of nature. His theory of mind- body dualism or Cartesian duality has profoundly influenced human thinking. Some might say it has retarded human thinking.
A scene from Hamlet. AFP
There is no scientific evidence that an entity called the mind exists outside of our brain. The mind is the sum total of the higher cognitive functions of our brain. Persons who are brain damaged suffer profound changes in personality and become different persons. When the brain is dead, the person ceases to exist. With modern technology the body can be kept alive even if the brain is dead. If a person is confirmed as being brain dead – there are strict criteria for doing so – it is legal to turn off the machines and organs can be harvested if consent has been given.
If there is no separate entity or soul how do we account for the elaborate descriptions given in NDEs? In a study published in 2010, a team studied 52 patients who had suffered heart attacks and subsequently suffered a cardiac arrest and were resuscitated. During cardiac arrest and resuscitation, carbon dioxide in the blood rises because of the lack of circulation and breathing. Patients who had the highest levels of carbon dioxide in their blood described an experience similar to NDE. In this study carbon dioxide was the only common factor and other factors such as a patient’s age, sex or religious beliefs did not influence the frequency of patients NDEs.
Another significant piece of evidence came about by accident. In 1978, Dr James Whinnery, a US Air Force physician was studying the effect of G-forces (a unit measuring the force of gravity exerted during rapid acceleration) on fighter pilots. He found that a healthy pilot could function normally when exposed to an average of 3 Gs but lost consciousness when exposed to higher Gs. During rapid acceleration a person’s blood flows into his legs and away from his brain. The resulting anoxia leads to unconsciousness. He asked pilots to describe the symptoms experienced. First they experienced tunnel vision and while unconscious experienced short vivid dreams. The dreams were often about past experiences or family and friends. Some reported the sensation of floating above their planes and looking down on their bodies. At times these experiences were accompanied by feelings of euphoria and warmth and were associated with a bright light. At the time Dr Whinnery had not heard of NDEs. Only later did he realise the startling similarity to NDEs.
But what of the elaborate stories of angels and going to heaven as described by some who experienced NDE? The book, titled The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven tells the story of a six-year-old boy Alex who suffered a serious car accident in 2004. The crash paralysed Alex and he slipped into a coma. Two months later he woke up and claimed that angels took him through the gates of heaven and he met Jesus. After selling more than a million copies of the book Alex confessed that his story was a fabrication.
I am afraid there is no evidence that there is life after death or that a part of our body continues beyond death. There is some evidence that when the end comes, from whatever cause, it will be peaceful -there are no reports of NDEs being terrifying. After that the ‘lights would go out.’
If I have depressed you or hurt your religious sensibilities, my apologies, but it is far better to know the truth than to live in fantasyland. This the only life we have, so be nice to your family and neighbours, and be good to yourself. Let me leave you with the inspiring words of the astronomer and author Carl Sagan who died of cancer at the peak of his career.
“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling part of me will continue. But as much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking… The world is so exquisite, with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there is little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look Death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides”.