Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience (65 page)

Otherworld Journeys
(Zaleski), 96–97

out-of-body experience (OBE), 11, 12–13, 14, 15, 143, 144, 146, 163; Carl Jung’s, 22–23; children and, 74,
75
, 77–78; circumstances prompting, 129, 175, 259–60; during coma, 20–21, 24, 26, 71–72, 128, 129, 351; depersonalization vs., 125; dissociation vs., 77, 125–26; electrical stimulation and, 121; as extrasensory perception, 20; as fantasy, 127–28; hallucination vs., 20, 115; 19th century report, 102; nonlocality and, 225; Pamela Reynolds’s, 171–77; perception during, 252; review of, and examples, 19–26; during sleep, 77; as verifiable, 20–22, 127–28, 156, 159

Ovid, 83

oxygen deficiency: carbon dioxide and NDE, 116–17; effect on brain of heart stopping, 164–65; fighter pilot study, 115–16; in heart muscle, 165–66; NDE and, xxii, 9, 113, 114–16, 134, 144, 146, 262, 328, 331; resuscitation and, 166–68; tunnel experience, 115

Paradise Lost
(Milton), 347

Parnia, Sam, 155–56, 160–61

past lives, 36–37

Pearsall, Paul, 299

Penfield, Wilder, 121, 157, 190, 201

Penrose, Roger, 201, 237, 247, 252, 271

perimortem, postmortem, or after-death communication, 311–16, 328, 334, 346, 354

Persinger, Michael, 122

Phaedo
(Plato), 91–92

Planck, Max, 233

Plato, 82, 91–92, 96, 97, 306

Plutarch, 96

Popp, Fritz-Albert, 290

Popper, Karl, 258

post-traumatic stress disorder, 65

preexistence, 82, 346

premonitions, 62, 320

Presence of the Past, The
(Sheldrake), 248

preview or flash forward during NDE, 11–12, 15, 17, 38, 224–25, 265

Pribram, Karl, 194, 251

Prigogine, Ilya, 250

Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) Institute, 321–22

psychedelics, 118–19, 124, 132, 134, 305, 309, 346

psychokinesis, telekinesis, teleportation, 323–25

Puthoff, Hal, 321

quantum physics, xvii–xviii, 223–55; Bell’s theorem, 238; coherence principle, 244, 249; complementarity, 226, 227, 228, 233–36, 239, 243, 246–47, 254, 267–68; concepts from classical and quantum mechanics, 225–33; consciousness and, xxii, 53, 228, 245–46, 252–54, 258, 271; consciousness and (virtual) photons, 272–73; “Copenhagen interpretaton,” 249, 289; double-slit experiment, 233–35,
234
, 236; entanglement, 227, 236–38, 263, 306; interference,
243
, 243–44, 249; intersubjective reality and, 241; living systems and, 228, 247–50; NDEs and, 224–25, 262–63; new concepts in, 226; new worldview, 239–41; nonlocality, 227–28, 238–39, 241–43, 263; objective reduction, 237; origins of, 233, 265; particle-wave complementarity, 233–36,
234
; phase space, 242; photons and virtual photons, 227, 236, 239, 251, 271, 272–73, 275, 276, 283, 291; probability waves, 227, 236, 241–43, 248, 276, 296; quantum hologram, 243–45; revolutionary message of, 235; self-organization and consciousness, 250–53; spin, 238, 274, 279; spin correlation (nuclear spin resonance), 274–77, 291, 296; string theory, 244–45; superposition of wave functions, 227; time/timelessness, 263; unanswered questions, 254; uncertainty principle, 227, 237; Zeno effect, 253, 274

Quantum Self, The
(Zohar), 252

Rabin, John, 186

Radin, Dean, 324–25

Rama, Swami, 88–89

regression therapy, 304, 309, 333, 346

reincarnation, 28, 36–37, 82, 95, 103, 317, 332–34

relationships, affected by NDE, 63–64

religious affiliation, 56–58, 150

remote viewing, 321–22

Renckens, C., 152

Republic, The
(Plato), 97

resonance, 248

Return from Tomorrow
(Ritchie), viii–ix

return to the body, 2, 12, 13, 14, 19, 29, 39, 40–41, 74, 102, 208, 213, 217–18

Reynolds, Pamela, 169–76

Ring, Kenneth, 12–13, 15, 24, 48, 49, 55, 60, 66, 69, 78, 109, 110, 140; WCEI score, 16

Ritchie, George, viii–ix, 30–31, 101

Roespstorff, Andreas, 181–82, 183

Rogers, Will, 349

Romijn, Herms, 194, 251, 272–73, 274, 291

Russell, Peter, 302

Sabom, Michael, 12, 13–14, 15, 109–10, 112, 169, 171, 174

Sanghavi, Darshak, 342

Sartori, Penny, 156–57, 161

Saver, Jeffrey, 186

Schrödinger, Erwin, 159, 239, 241, 249, 254, 276, 289

Schwartz, Jeffrey, 186, 198–99

Schwartz, Stephen, 322

Science and the Akashic Field
(Laszlo), 245

science/scientific theory, xv, xvii, xviii–xix, xx–xxiii; anomalies in, xvi, 264–65, 345; Bohm on fixed ideas, 264; brain, consciousness, and memory theories, xv–xvii, 183–86; empirical or materialistic paradigm, vii, xv, xx, 186, 239, 261, 329–30, 345; Kuhn on, 264;
Lancet
study of NDEs, 135–58; NDE, explanations, xxii, 9, 103, 105–34; NDE, history of research, 106–8,
107
; NDE, theories, 113–34; NDE research, opposition to, 329–32, 345; quantum measurement problems, 240; questions unanswered, xi, 202; retrospective vs. prospective studies, 15–16, 48, 66, 106, 107–8; Stapp on, 257; suppression of inconvenient facts, xvii, 330

Self-Aware Universe, The
(Reed and Goswami), 238

Shakespeare, William, 32

Sheldrake, Rupert, 248, 296

Sherrington, Charles S., 201

Shrödinger, Erwin, 237

Silesius, Angelus, 42, 305

Skepp, 153

sleep, xi; consciousness research using TMS, 191–92; EEG and sleep disorders from NDEs, 122–24; non-REM and no consciousness, 163, 191; out-of-body experience and, 77; postmortem experiences during, 314

Socrates, 91–92, 97

Sommerfeld, Arnold, 242

soul or spirit, 86–92, 94–95, 96–101, 331

sounds, during NDE, 11, 19, 115, 171

Sperry, Roger, 200

Spetzler, Robert, 170, 171, 174, 175

spin or nuclear spin resonance, 274–77, 291

Spiritual Brain, The
(Beauregard), 198

spiritual entity/figure of light during NDEs, 2, 11, 14, 15, 33–35, 74, 99, 102, 143, 144, 172

spirituality, following NDE, 47, 58

spiritual neuroscience, 199

Spiritual Universe, The
(Wolf), 238

Stapp, Henry, 237, 241, 245, 252, 253, 257, 274

Steiner, Rudolf, 85, 332

Stevenson, Ian, xvi, 332–33

suicide attempt, 65, 352

Surah 99:7–8, 96

Sutherland, Cherie, 48, 49, 55, 60, 62–63, 69

Swaab, Dick, 330–31

Swedenborg, Emanuel, 85

Sylvia, Claire, 299

Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90), 349–50

“Symptoms of Enhanced Intuitive Sensitivity” (chart), 61

synchronicity, 60, 61

Targ, Russell, 321

Teresa of Ávila, 95

Thafeld, Fred H., 270

Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, The
(Sogyal Rinpoche), 91

Tibetan Book of the Death
, 89

time/timelessness, 224, 229, 263

Tolstoy, Leo, 58

transcendence, 263–64

transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), 190–91

transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), 122,
189
, 189–90, 191; consciousness research using, 191–93

transformation and NDE, x, xx–xxiii, 3, 4, 17, 42, 45–69, 113, 116; ancient reports of, 100–101; appreciating life and, 53–54; children and, 74–76; compassion for others, 53; effect of time on, 65–69; factors that influence, 49–51; integrating the experience, 51; intuitive sensitivity, enhanced, 60–62;
Lancet
study and, 137, 140, 147–51; life changes after a cardiac arrest, 68; no fear of death/belief in afterlife, 54–56, 148–49, 150; personality factors and, 126; physical changes, 58–60; positive and negative aspects, 46–47, 51–52; psychological problems, 62–65, 76; religion/religious changes, 56–58, 59, 150; self-acceptance and a changed self-image/transpersonal aspects, 52–53; social attitude changes, 150; spirituality increase and, 58; studies of life changes after NDE, 48–49

transpersonal theory, 305–6

Transplanting Memories
(TV documentary), 299

tunnel experience, viii, 2, 7, 11, 13, 14, 26, 27–29,
28
, 143, 144, 172; as birth memory, 130; scientific explanations for, 115; as wormhole, 225

Uit coma
[Out of Coma] (Altes), xii unearthly environment/dazzling landscape, 11, 14, 32, 74, 102, 143, 144, 353

unitary consciousness, 306, 308, 309

Upanishads, 86–88

Valsalva maneuver, 116

Van de Greef, Jan, 248

Van Eeden, Frederik, vii, 261, 264, 303, 327, 345

Van Wees, Ruud, 136, 137

Van Wijk, Roel, 291

Vedanta, 89

“Visions of the Afterlife” (Bosch),
28

Von Neumann, John, 79, 228, 237, 241, 245, 252, 253

Waanders, Tsjitske, 313–16

Walach, Harald, 306

WCEI (Weighted Core Experience Index), 16, 142, 147

Weinberg, Steven, 239

Weiss, Paul, 247, 296

What Is Life?
(Schrödinger), 241

Wheeler, John, 237, 241, 245

“When Does Death Start” (Sanghavi), 342

Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect
(Stevenson), 332–33

Whitehead, Alfred North, 105

Wigner, Eugene, 228, 237, 238, 241, 245

Wilber, Ken, 306

wisdom and knowledge during NDE, 11, 15, 18, 25, 31, 34, 206, 209–10, 212

You Can Change the World
(Laszlo), 347

Young, Thomas, 233–34

Zeilinger, Anton, 252, 323

Zohar, Danah, 252

This book would not have been possible without the assistance and support of a great many people. First of all, I would like to thank everybody who shared their NDE with me, either in person or in writing, and who helped lay the foundation for the ideas in this book. Specifically I would like to thank Mickey Broekhuysen, Machteld Blickman, Monique Hennequin, Cees de Kort, Elly Moerman, Bert van Schuijlenburg, Joke Crone-Ravestein, and the late Evert ter Beek, Willem Witteveen, and Ben Blondé. Through them I express my thanks to all the other NDErs I cannot mention by name.

The reports of near-death experiences and the scientific approach of George Ritchie, Raymond Moody, Michael Sabom, Melvin Morse, Kenneth Ring, Bruce Greyson, P. M. H. Atwater, Sam Parnia, Peter Fenwick, and Mario Beauregard have been a source of inspiration to me, and I feel privileged to count most of them among my personal friends. Ken Ring’s help in getting the Dutch study published in
The Lancet
deserves special mention.

When Ina Vonk, Nico Vissel, Ruud van Wees, Vincent Meijers, and I decided to set up Merkawah (http://www.merkawah.nl), the Dutch chapter of IANDS (The International Association of Near-Death Studies; http://www.iands.org) in 1988, we never expected it to mark the start of a study of near-death experience that would last about ten years and that would be published in
The Lancet
in 2001 and receive worldwide attention. Merkawah was set up to raise awareness about NDE, organize meetings for NDErs (peer support), and promote scientific research into the subject. The prospective study that Ruud, Vincent, and I initiated at the cardiac care units of ten Dutch hospitals in 1988 was brought to a successful conclusion with the help of heart patients, nursing staff, and many volunteers; Ingrid Elfferich was responsible for coordinating and analyzing the interviews eight years later.

The ideas for this book were first conceived in the 1990s and gradually developed in subsequent years. I am indebted to Paul de Haas for our many conversations and for his advice on quantum physics. When I finally started writing this book in January 2007 I received a great deal of support from my readers Rudolf Smit, Tsjitske Waanders, my daughter, Sabien, and my wife, Niekje. Monique Hennequin deserves special mention for contributing her remarkable story and for her invaluable advice on the manuscript. The critical comments from Régine Dugardyn, my editor at Uitgeverij Ten Have, helped me express my ideas more clearly. Peter van Huizen was indispensable in preparing the definitive Dutch version of this book. Additionally I would like to thank Laura Vroomen for her excellent translation and Eric Brandt for his invaluable help and positive support for this American edition.

Finally, without the support, sympathy, and space that Niekje has given me over the years, I would never have been able to write this book. She has always been and remains my indispensable and loving sounding board.

V
ELP
, T
HE
N
ETHERLANDS
, D
ECEMBER
2009.