Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience
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As a cardiologist, Pim van Lommel was struck by the number of his patients who claimed to have near-death experiences as a result of their heart attacks. As a scientist, this was difficult for him to accept: Wouldn't it be scientifically irresponsible of him to ignore the evidence of these stories? Faced with this dilemma, van Lommel decided to design a research study to investigate the phenomenon under the controlled environment of a cluster of hospitals with a medically trained staff. For more than twenty years van Lommel systematically studied such near-death experiences in a wide variety of hospital patients who survived a cardiac arrest. In 2001, he and his fellow researchers published his study on near-death experiences in the renowned medical journal The Lancet. The article caused an international sensation as it was the first scientifically rigorous study of this phenomenon. Now available for the first time in English, van Lommel offers an in-depth presentation of his results and theories in this book that has already sold over 125,000 copies in Europe. Van Lommel provides scientific evidence that the near-death phenomenon is an authentic experience that cannot be attributed to imagination, psychosis, or oxygen deprivation. He further reveals that after such a profound experience, most patients' personalities undergo a permanent change. In van Lommel's opinion, the current views on the relationship between the brain and consciousness held by most physicians, philosophers, and psychologists are too narrow for a proper understanding of the phenomenon. In Consciousness Beyond Life, van Lommel shows that our consciousness does not always coincide with brain functions and that, remarkably and significantly, consciousness can even be experienced separate from the body.
Introduction v1 A Near-Death Experience and Its Impact on Life 12 What Is a Near-Death Experience? 73 Changed by a Near-Death Experience 454 Near-Death Experiences in Childhood 715 There Is Nothing New Under the Sun 816 Research into Near-Death Experiences 1057 The Dutch Study of Near-Death Experience 1358 What Happens in the Brain When the Heart Suddenly Stops? 1599 What Do We Know About Brain Function? 17710 A Comprehensive NDE: Monique Hennequin 20311 Quantum Physics and Consciousness 22312 The Brain and Consciousness 25713 The Continuity of the Changing Body 28114 Endless Consciousness 30115 Some Implications of NDE Studies 32716 Epilogue 345Appendix: The Practical Significance of NDE in Health Care 349Acknowledgments 359Art Credits 361Notes 363Glossary 397Bibliography 411Index 435
