Near Death Experiences.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23672150 This may account for the "pearly gates" phenomenon.

Re: Near Death Experiences.

Interesting article, Alan, thank you.

Re: Near Death Experiences.

Interesting but doesn't quite convince me. The scientific community spend a lot of time trying to debunk religion, but as it's a question of Faith not facts they will never do it.

Re: Near Death Experiences.

Never let facts get in the way of fiction (sorry, I should have said faith !) eh Julie !

Re: Near Death Experiences.

I have never thought an NDE as being religion, it is purely a state of our brain function.

Re: Near Death Experiences.

I don't think the latest research has taught us anything we didn't already know ie that when the brain is closing down the reduction of oxygen to brain cells produces dream like activity in the brain.

Re: Near Death Experiences.

Well whatever happens it sounds like it eases your passing - as long as you don't have some sort of nightmare, and apparently some who have come back from such experiences have had just that . This no-doubt is where the concept of Heaven and Hell has come from, or at least it helps support it.

Re: Near Death Experiences.

According to Professor Colin Blakemore the neurobiologist who was speaking on radio this morning the whole 'experience' last about 30 seconds.

We are not always aware of our dreams having happened until we wake and recollect them so the dying person may not be aware of anything in that last half minute. It may only be the occasional 'revived' person who is aware of the event having taken place.

Re: Near Death Experiences.

They would be dead eventually so how would he know? The person's brain is still alive whilst it is going on so presumeably the person would .

That prof sounds a bit thick !

Re: Near Death Experiences.

...but when they are dead they are not there to recall what happened in that last half minute. We spend a lot of our sleep time dreaming but not many of us are aware of having dreamt at all until we wake up.

I guess until we die we will never know.

My sister 'died' on the operating table while undergoing a heart valve replacement. She was of course under a general anesthetic at the time of her 'death' but says she remembers hearing surgeons chatting nothing more until she came around.
She was I guess remembering the last thing she heard before first losing consciousness under the anesthetic.