Life After Death: Scientists Study This Last Frontier

Dutch cardiologist Pim van Lommel carried out an extensive study over a period of 10 years of 344 patients who had been declared clinically dead following an acute heart attack. 18% (44 patients) of this group had what is known as a 'near-death experience'. This is when they experienced themselves as being out of their own body, viewing the entire scene, seeing a white light, and feeling incredibly peaceful and full of love. When they were interviewed a few days after their reanimation they had had what can only be described as a 'consciousness expanding' experience.

And yet their brains had officially been declared as dead and non-active.

When the heart stops beating, blood flow stops within a second. After 6.5 seconds, EEG (brain) activity starts to change due to a shortage of oxygen. After 15 seconds there is a straight, flat line and the electrical activity of the cerebral cortex disappears completely. If the person isn't reanimated in 5-10 minutes, the brain cells become irreversibly damaged.

Despite being brain dead, the patients were often able to describe precisely what had happened during their cardiac arrest. For example, a few days following his resuscitation the nurse could not find the false teeth belonging to one male patient. This gentleman, however, knew exactly where they were. He had seen the doctor put them in a drawer during the period when he was clinically dead. When the nurse went to look, she found them just where he had told her!

Just about every description of a near death experience is beautiful:

*People feel connected and supported.
*They understand how the universe works.
*They experience unconditional love.
*They feel free of the concerns of earthly existence.

Consciousness and Memories Reside Outside the Brain
Because scientists have come to believe that consciousness resides in the brain, then with our current medical knowledge it would be impossible to register such occurrences when the brain is not registering any activity.  Van Lommel came to the conclusion that near-death experiences could only be explained if  it is assumed that consciousness is located OUTSIDE the brain.

The people he interviewed over the years had such clear, expansive experiences, often with memories going back to childhood experiences. Van Lommel speculates that the brain doesn't actually produce consciousness or store memories. He is not alone in this assumption. American computer science expert, Simon Berkovich, and Dutch brain scientist, Herms Romijn, both working independently of each other came to the same conclusion: it is impossible for the brain to store everything you think and experience in your life. This would require a processing speed of 10-to-the-power-24 bits per second. Simply watching an hour of television would already be too much for our brains! This would imply that there is a collective information field or dimension where we tap into to retrieve our memories and indentity. Our brains are actually them more like receivers and transmitters of information. You could compare this to a television set that tunes into specific electromagnetic waves and converts them into image and sound.

So how does the brain 'know' what information to tune into? How can someone tune into his own memories and not those of other people?

Van Lommel believes that this comes from the DNA. As you probably know (On The Border June 2007) 95% of the DNA is known as junk DNA because scientists don't really know what it is used for. He now suspects that the DNA,  unique to every person and organisim, works like a receptor mechanism and acts like a simultaneous translator between the information fields and the person (organism). The idea that DNA works as a recpetor mechanism to attune people to specific fields of consciousness sheds new light on the discussion of organ transplantation. The DNA of the new organ will be geared to the consciousness field of the donor, not the recipient. This could be an explanation for why some organ recipients suddenly develop very different desires than previously. There is the documented story of the ballet dancer who after her transplant suddenly wanted to drive a motorcycle and eat junk food. The subject of organ transplants will be featured very soon in a future 'On the Border'. But until then....

I hope this issue finds you enjoying life to the full - questioning much, discovering lots and generally on the way to becoming all that you can be :=)

References:

T. Touber. A New Lease on Life. Ode Magzine, 2005, volume 3, issue 10, pages 24-29.

P. van Lommel, R. van Wees, V. Meyers, I. Eifferich. Near-death Experience in Survivors of Cardiac Arrest: A Prospective Study in The Nethelrands. The Lancet, 2001, Volume 358, pages 2039-2045.

P. van Lommel. Eindeloos Bewustzijn: Een Wetenschappelijke Visie op de Bijna-Doodervaring. Uitgeverij Ten Have, The Netherlands, 2007.