We are Eternal Spiritual Beings having a Human Experience
Mainstream science used to tell us that there is no proof that we are anything more than biological bodies with a brain and that after our body and brain die, there is nothing more. No more life. Science and technology have advanced to a point where life after death can clearly be seen in brain cells after physical death. Brain cells not only continue to live, they grow fast.
In a study in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers analyzed gene expression in brain tissue. The study, entitled “Selective time-dependent changes in activity and cell-specific gene expression in human postmortem brain”, involved brain tissue that was collected during routine brain surgery and then placed in an environment meant to simulate the “postmortem interval.” The findings were incredible. The study found that the gene expression in some cells actually increased after death. This created a zombie-like effect. The researchers found that the zombie cells don’t just keep functioning after death; they actually grow and sprout long “arm-like appendages.”
Consciousness is not a byproduct of the brain but rather the brain is a tool of consciousness. The brain dies but consciousness lives on.
There are documented Near Death cases where people were able to vividly recount what happened to them during their experience and the details they provided were later confirmed to be accurate by independent persons.
An incredible example is the case of Dr. Melvin Morse and his patient Olga Gearhardt:
“Olga Gearhardt was a 63 year old woman who underwent a heart transplant because of a severe virus that attacked her heart tissue. Her entire family awaited at the hospital during the surgery, except for her son-in-law, who stayed home. The transplant was a success, but at exactly 2:15 am, her new heart stopped beating. It took the frantic transplant team three more hours to revive her. Her family was only told in the morning that her operation was a success, without other details. When they called her son-in-law with the good news, he had his own news to tell. He had already learned about the successful surgery. At exactly 2:15 am, while he was sleeping, he awoke to see Olga, his mother-in-law, at the foot of his bed. She told him not to worry, that she was going to be alright. She asked him to tell her daughter (his wife). He wrote down the message, and the time of day and then fell asleep. Later on at the hospital, Olga regained consciousness. Her first words were “did you get the message?” She was able to confirm that she left her body during her near-death experience and was able to travel to her son-in-law to communicate to him the message. This anecdotal evidence demonstrates that the near-death experience is a return to consciousness at the point of death, when the brain is dying. Dr. Melvin Morse thoroughly researched Olga’s testimony and every detail had objective verification including the scribbled note by the son-in-law.” [1]
In 2006, David Ditchfield was helping a friend get her luggage onto a train. He started to step off the train but his coat was caught in the train’s closing doors and David was unable to remove the coat. He was dragged along the platform with the moving train and mortally wounded.
David was rushed to hospital by paramedics, with his life hanging in the balance, as he was losing so much blood. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, he lost normal consciousness and suddenly found himself in a completely different environment, immersed in a darkness that seemed warm and soft, with vivid colors and lights around him. There was no pain anymore, and he felt very tranquil. This is how he described his experience, in an interview:
“I could see pulsating colors like little orbs, much brighter and sharper than any colours I’d seen in my normal life. Watching them was really relaxing and therapeutic. It was such a beautiful place, with a feeling that I was being cared for and supported. I thought that this is what it must be like to die – and then wondered if it meant that I had just died…
The sensation of love became stronger and as I looked at my feet, I saw a huge tunnel of light drawing closer towards me. I felt, and I still believe this now, that the white light was the source of all creation. I never dreamt I would ever see something so beautiful… It was the light of pure, unconditional love. Every molecule of my body was pulsating with love and light. It was the most incredible sensation. I felt more alive than I have ever done before. It felt like I was experiencing the true reality, while my old world was just an illusion. At that point, I felt certain that I was dead but I didn’t feel any fear or regret… I lay my head back and laughed because I felt so joyous. Then suddenly I was back in hospital, with an overdrive of noise and light and people and frantic voices. I was being rushed into theatre.” [2]
People that have had near death experiences, but are completely blind in their physical life, can clearly describe the environment they experienced and the descriptions are confirmed by sighted experiencers.
“An extensive study conducted by Ken Ring and his colleagues has added a fascinating dimension to these observations: people who are congenitally blind for organic reasons and have never been able to see anything in their entire lives can perceive the environment when their consciousness detaches from their bodies during various life-threatening situations. The veracity of many of these visions has been confirmed by consensual validation; Ring refers to such visions as veridical OBEs (out-of-body experiences) (Ring and Valarino 1998; Ring and Cooper 1999). Various aspects of the environment accurately perceived by disembodied consciousness of blind subjects ranged from details of electrical fixtures on the ceiling of the operating room to the surroundings of the hospital observed from bird’s-eye view.” [3]
There have been thousands of cases of reincarnation that can be proven. This life on Earth is but one of our stops along our way
Ian Stevenson, a psychiatrist from The University of Virginia School of Medicine, pioneered research into reincarnation experiences from around the globe. His research proved absolutely that consciousness lived on beyond the body.
Here is a remarkable case study by Dr Stevenson:
“This case involves an eighteen-month-old boy called Sam Taylor. As his diaper was being changed he looked up at his father and said, “When I was your age I used to change your diapers.” Later Sam disclosed details about his grandfather’s life that were completely accurate. He said that his grandfather’s sister had been murdered and that his grandmother had made milkshakes for his grandfather using a food processor. Sam’s parents were adamant that none of these subjects had been discussed in his presence. When he was four years old, Sam was shown a group of old family pictures spread out on a table. Sam happily identified his grandfather every time with the announcement, “That’s me!” In an attempt to test him, his mother selected an old school class photograph showing the grandfather as a young boy. There were sixteen other boys in the photograph. Sam immediately pointed to one of them, once again announcing that that was him. He was right.” [4]
Life does go on after we exit these physical bodies. We are eternal beings and we have, and will continue, to experience lifetimes in both the physical and non-physical realms, forever.
For further reading: Six Studies of Out-of-Body Experiences (27 page PDF Download) by Charles T. Tart, Ph.D. Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Palo Alto, CA University of California at Davis
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Citations:
- [1] Scientific Evidence Supporting Near-Death Experiences and the Afterlife, http://www.near-death.com/science/evidence.html
- [2] David Ditchfield’s Remarkable Near-Death Experience
- [3] Holotropic Breathwork: A New Approach to Self-Exploration and Therapy, 2010
- [4] The Immortal Mind by Ervin Laszlo
