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I thought some of us might be interested in this article about an out-of-body(OOBE) and near-death(NDE) experience where the lady was definitely without any brain activity(for an hour at least). The medical procedure required that she be cooled to 10-15 degrees C and with no brain/heart/etc activity. It appears to be a good example of an OOBE or NDE experience.
The only thing I wonder about this, that lady was going thru an operation, so they were planning on bringing her back to life, I just wonder if that makes the NDE any different, from lets say, a person who dies instantly in a car wreck, (where there is NO chance of them returning to their body)...do they experience the same thing, or...?
I realize this is something we cannot know, but its interesting to think about.
I thought some of us might be interested in this article about an out-of-body(OOBE) and near-death(NDE) experience where the lady was definitely without any brain activity(for an hour at least). The medical procedure required that she be cooled to 10-15 degrees C and with no brain/heart/etc activity. It appears to be a good example of an OOBE or NDE experience.
The Pam Reynolds NDE account is one of the harder cases for skeptics to dismiss, but skeptics will always find a reason to doubt an experience of this nature.
To me, OOBEs/NDEs, such as Pam Reynolds’, open the door to the possibility that our consciousness (our ‘self’?) does not seem confined to the physical body (brain).
It's only fair however to view the skeptics viewpoint. The skeptics have a good reason to be skeptical.
Per wikipedia:
"Critics say that the amount of time which Reynolds was 'flatlined' is generally misrepresented, and suggest that her NDE occurred while under general anaesthesia when the brain was still active, hours before Reynolds underwent hypothermic cardiac arrest.
Anesthesiologist Gerald Woerlee analyzed the case, and concluded that Reynolds' ability to perceive events during her surgery was the result of "anesthesia awareness".
According to the psychologist Chris French:
Woerlee, an anesthesiologist with many years of clinical experience, has considered this case in detail and remains unconvinced of the need for a paranormal explanation... [He] draws attention to the fact that Reynolds could only give a report of her experience some time after she recovered from the anesthetic as she was still intubated when she regained consciousness. This would provide some opportunity for her to associate and elaborate upon the sensations she had experienced during the operation with her existing knowledge and expectations. The fact that she described the small pneumatic saw used in the operation also does not impress Woerlee. As he points out, the saw sounds like and, to some extent, looks like the pneumatic drills used by dentists."
Let's be frank, each accounting could have been collected (overheard from the attendants, etc.) from the time she regained consciousness but was still incubated. Consider the most likely option first.
To me, OOBEs/NDEs, such as Pam Reynolds’, open the door to the possibility that our consciousness (our ‘self’?) does not seem confined to the physical body (brain).
Or perhaps it's the result of quantum processes in the cells' microtubule system, and the brain mediates between the consciousness and the body as Hameroff and Penrose have proposed. Which could explain why organisms without nervous systems (like a paramecium) can exhibit behaviors like hunting prey and avoiding obstacles.
Whether the proposed quantum processes in the microtubules might be communicating with some noncorporeal spirit or soul is I'm afraid outside the bounds of science.
Watch this video of a one-celled organism (didinium) hunting paramecia (another one celled organism) and catching one. You can see the paramecium struggling to get away. And all this without a nervous system.
What is "consciousness? Or a "memory?" No one knows for sure. It seems reasonable that a memory trace consists of some manufactured bio-molecule (Short polypeptide?) produced in response to a sensory stimulus.
Cells continue to metabolize after "death" at least until all the glucose is used up. That's what causes rigor mortis a half hour or so after "death."
If cells are still metabolizing, neurons could still be manufacturing those "memory traces." Upon re-establishing normal metabolism, those traces could be recalled. (Begs the question-- when you die, will you know you're dead for at least a little while?)
By definition, death is final. Near-death is not death. You know the saying about horseshoes & hand grenades.
What is "consciousness? Or a "memory?" No one knows for sure. It seems reasonable that a memory trace consists of some manufactured bio-molecule (Short polypeptide?) produced in response to a sensory stimulus.
Cells continue to metabolize after "death" at least until all the glucose is used up. That's what causes rigor mortis a half hour or so after "death."
If cells are still metabolizing, neurons could still be manufacturing those "memory traces." Upon re-establishing normal metabolism, those traces could be recalled. (Begs the question-- when you die, will you know you're dead for at least a little while?)
By definition, death is final. Near-death is not death. You know the saying about horseshoes & hand grenades.
Well,until someone comes up with a way to contact people that have died, NDEs are the closest and only thing we have to look at when it comes to the question of 'what happens after death'.
(Begs the question-- when you die, will you know you're dead for at least a little while?)
That is one of the things that came out in the AWARE study of patients who had cardiac arrest and what they recalled of the interim before they were resuscitated. It looked at a number of things but it appears yes, we may realize we are dead. You can read about the results of the study here, https://www.webmd.com/brain/news/201...hen-youre-dead
Parnia is saying the brain shuts down immediately the heart stops or blood flow to the brain stops. It does not. Decapitated people have been seen to be conscious after decapitation. I have seen a decapitated sheep head responding to stimulus.
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