Proof of Heaven
For a non-religious person, I seem to read a lot of religious books. I suppose this curiosity is due to trying to understand how religious people come to be religious and how they deal with tragedy and triumph through the perspective of God.
This non-fiction book is very short so it's a quick read. The author (Eben Alexander, M.D.) offers some background information on his life and history, and then switches back and forth between his own reality while in a coma, and the reality of his loved ones surrounding him during the same time. Afterwards, he provides some theories regarding how science may explain how he saw what he saw, and then debunks each one in an effort to "prove" he actually was where he thinks he was.
His story is very compelling. He did not grow up religious, and was not religious during his many years as a scientist and neurosurgeon. And as a neurosurgeon, he is especially sensitive to the many ways our brains can be tricked into seeing things that aren't there, so he definitely comes across as an authoritative source on the subject; however, he also comes across as very emotional. Like, "Please! Please! You must believe me!"
He never speculates on how he possibly could have contracted gram-negative E. coli bacterial meningitis in the first place, which I was hoping he would discuss in more detail. His focus is mostly on what he saw while in his coma, namely Heaven.
I am a believer in out-of-body experiences (I've had at least two), but near-death-experiences (NDE) strike me as something so easily explained by science that it's difficult for me to accept. It's been proven in scientific experiments that people who are exposed to stress and chaos will always search for order that is simply not there, so this coupled with the fact that as brain function ceases "bright lights" will quite probably be experienced makes me question anyone speaking with authority regarding a supposed afterlife that they have visited.
Most people who experience these NDEs experience them in similar ways. The only questionable part of these similar experiences is that people often say they met a deceased family member during their time away. Sometimes it's someone they've never met and never even seen a photo of. These people offer this as "proof" that it's real -- not made up. To this I repeat what I said above about people in times of chaos and stress will always search for order that simply isn't there. It's like reading your horoscope: Yes, sure, I can apply this vague reading to my life and of course (if I'm a believer) I can easily say it is spot on. Our brains can do wondrous things -- most of which science cannot explain. (Not yet, anyway.) Just like our brains can make a half-complete circle appear to be a complete circle, we can also see similarities between something we dream and something in reality and feel "certain" they were one in the same. Our primitive brains need closure in order to function.
The biggest "proof" Dr. Alexander offers, in my opinion, is that, as a neurosurgeon, he is completely aware of how the neocortex is a vital part of all conscious thought and while reviewing his brain activity scans for the seven days he was in a coma, it appears his neocortex was non-functioning. At all. His argument, therefore, is that none of the brain phenomena normally associated with a dying brain can be applied because there was no neocortex to process it. Therefore, what he experienced was absolutely real and was not a dream or caused by randomly firing neurons.
My argument to that is that he himself says over and over in his recollection that time did not move the way it does here in our present collective reality. You could be in two places at once; what happened yesterday could merge with tomorrow -- all happening at the same time; there is no 'before' or 'after,' everything simply is. That being the case, although he is 100% certain his trip to Heaven happened during the seven days he was in a coma, it could very possibly be true that his "trip" took place at the moment his neocortex "reconnected" him to consciousness, but before he was able to wake up.
How many of us have had dreams that appeared to last weeks or months, only to wake up and find five minutes have passed? I didn't see anything in this book that would lead me to believe Dr. Alexander offered proof of Heaven. As compelling as it is (and a wonderful read), it is an emotional recollection of an incredibly stressful and chaotic time in his life that resulted in him finding deep meaning in a very vivid dream he experienced while under the influence of an injured brain and ample narcotics.
I'm glad it's brought him peace, but it did not make a believer out of me.
This non-fiction book is very short so it's a quick read. The author (Eben Alexander, M.D.) offers some background information on his life and history, and then switches back and forth between his own reality while in a coma, and the reality of his loved ones surrounding him during the same time. Afterwards, he provides some theories regarding how science may explain how he saw what he saw, and then debunks each one in an effort to "prove" he actually was where he thinks he was.
His story is very compelling. He did not grow up religious, and was not religious during his many years as a scientist and neurosurgeon. And as a neurosurgeon, he is especially sensitive to the many ways our brains can be tricked into seeing things that aren't there, so he definitely comes across as an authoritative source on the subject; however, he also comes across as very emotional. Like, "Please! Please! You must believe me!"
He never speculates on how he possibly could have contracted gram-negative E. coli bacterial meningitis in the first place, which I was hoping he would discuss in more detail. His focus is mostly on what he saw while in his coma, namely Heaven.
I am a believer in out-of-body experiences (I've had at least two), but near-death-experiences (NDE) strike me as something so easily explained by science that it's difficult for me to accept. It's been proven in scientific experiments that people who are exposed to stress and chaos will always search for order that is simply not there, so this coupled with the fact that as brain function ceases "bright lights" will quite probably be experienced makes me question anyone speaking with authority regarding a supposed afterlife that they have visited.
Most people who experience these NDEs experience them in similar ways. The only questionable part of these similar experiences is that people often say they met a deceased family member during their time away. Sometimes it's someone they've never met and never even seen a photo of. These people offer this as "proof" that it's real -- not made up. To this I repeat what I said above about people in times of chaos and stress will always search for order that simply isn't there. It's like reading your horoscope: Yes, sure, I can apply this vague reading to my life and of course (if I'm a believer) I can easily say it is spot on. Our brains can do wondrous things -- most of which science cannot explain. (Not yet, anyway.) Just like our brains can make a half-complete circle appear to be a complete circle, we can also see similarities between something we dream and something in reality and feel "certain" they were one in the same. Our primitive brains need closure in order to function.
The biggest "proof" Dr. Alexander offers, in my opinion, is that, as a neurosurgeon, he is completely aware of how the neocortex is a vital part of all conscious thought and while reviewing his brain activity scans for the seven days he was in a coma, it appears his neocortex was non-functioning. At all. His argument, therefore, is that none of the brain phenomena normally associated with a dying brain can be applied because there was no neocortex to process it. Therefore, what he experienced was absolutely real and was not a dream or caused by randomly firing neurons.
My argument to that is that he himself says over and over in his recollection that time did not move the way it does here in our present collective reality. You could be in two places at once; what happened yesterday could merge with tomorrow -- all happening at the same time; there is no 'before' or 'after,' everything simply is. That being the case, although he is 100% certain his trip to Heaven happened during the seven days he was in a coma, it could very possibly be true that his "trip" took place at the moment his neocortex "reconnected" him to consciousness, but before he was able to wake up.
How many of us have had dreams that appeared to last weeks or months, only to wake up and find five minutes have passed? I didn't see anything in this book that would lead me to believe Dr. Alexander offered proof of Heaven. As compelling as it is (and a wonderful read), it is an emotional recollection of an incredibly stressful and chaotic time in his life that resulted in him finding deep meaning in a very vivid dream he experienced while under the influence of an injured brain and ample narcotics.
I'm glad it's brought him peace, but it did not make a believer out of me.
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