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Fresco on the ceiling of Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence Cathedral).
Painted by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari in the 16th century. Photo © 2009 by Dennis Hendricksen |
I want to conclude this mini-series on NDEs
with a few thoughts about what can be learned from Near-death Experiences. I
begin with a few comments on what we can say about
NDEs, and end with a few thoughts on what we can learn from NDEs.
The most recent book I
have read on this subject was “The Wisdom of Near-death Experiences”
by Dr. Penny Sartori. The author is a registered nurse who began researching
Near-death Experiences in 1995. This eventually led her to enroll in a PhD
program to research NDEs. When asked to
summarise her biggest learnings from her studies Dr. Sartori said “In medicine, we’re trained to believe that
the brain gives rise to consciousness. My research into NDEs has made me
question this prevailing paradigm, which admittedly is very widespread. The
most important lesson for me has been a deeper appreciation for death and a
whole lot less fear and anxiety about it.”
There are a growing
number of researchers who are beginning to suggest that the brain is not the
creator of consciousness, but rather the mediator of consciousness. This theory makes sense to me, though I do
not have any scientific credentials that would make my opinion count. However from what I read in Dr. Sartori’s
book, and in Dr. Eben Alexander’s book “Proof of Heaven” I believe the
question of consciousness remains crucial, and new research is challenging the
notion that the brain is the source and end of consciousness.
I find it hard to
accept that the vast majority of the world’s cultures and religions have some
kind of belief in life continuing after death simply because of an evolutionary
need to ease the pain and fear of death and dying. To simply ignore this vast body of belief as
wishful thinking is willful blindness. I
believe NDEs give us a glimpse of a greater mystery, of a greater universe, of
a greater reality – one that we simply are not built to see and experience
directly as humans.
There were two
surprising things related to NDEs that I found out from Dr. Sartori’s book that
I don’t recall coming across before:
1) Some people seem to have an altered personal electro-magnetic
field after a NDE, which causes wrist-watches to not work properly while worn
by the person who has experienced a NDE.
Other related phenomena are light bulbs blowing in one’s presence, and
computers turning off and on for no apparent reason when these people are in
close proximity.
2) Some people who have experienced a NDE have unexplained
healing within themselves, or even the ability to heal others. Dr. Sartori’s best example of this was a
patient in her study. She writes “He was in bad condition. When we put him into
bed he was unconscious and unresponsive. Later he reported an OBE. He was
accurately able to tell us which doctor was in the room and what he had said
while he was unconscious. He claimed to have met his deceased father and a
Jesus-like figure. But the most extraordinary part was that afterwards he was
able to use his hand, which had been paralyzed since birth. There is no medical
explanation for how that healing occurred.”
What We Can Learn from
NDEs
Most people who have had a NDE will state consistently
that they are no longer afraid of death.
They do not seek out death, but due to their experience they are
convinced that when it comes there is nothing to be afraid of. In my personal conversations with people who
have had such experiences this was an important emphasis in sharing their story. Christians affirm we have a Saviour who has
defeated death, a Saviour who has promised to prepare a place for us, and to come again and take us to be with him – thus we can be assured that there is something more
wonderful than we could ever imagine waiting for us on the other side of this life. NDEs line up with this belief.
2)
Love is the highest calling.
Many people who have
experienced a NDE are significantly transformed afterwards, being far less
concerned about material things and wealth, and far more concerned about
helping others, and caring for the earth.
This transformation also comes with a sense of mission and purpose –
they feel there is something they still need to do in this life, and often that
translates into being more loving and compassionate people. Christians recognize that we are called to be
people who care for each other and the world around us. Jesus summarized all
the law with a two part commandment: to love God with our whole being and to
love our neighbours as ourselves. Loving others is more important than gaining
power and wealth for one’s self. Those
who have experienced a NDE seem to re-align themselves to this goal, this they
see as fulfilling their purpose, their reason for being.
Even in this era of
exponential growth of human knowledge there remains mysteries that science and
technology cannot answer, simply because they are beyond our ability to
perceive and measure in this existence.
Thus faith remains an important aspect of life – even Near-death
Experiences do not give us proof beyond a shadow of a doubt of life beyond
death. In the end we cannot be 100% certain
about what awaits us beyond death’s door, but we can have faith in the promises
of Jesus and live our lives accordingly.
Near-death Experiences raise
more questions than they answer, but I believe that given more time and
research we will come to understand these experiences better, and perhaps we
will develop a better understanding of the wonder and mystery of human
consciousness.
