The question is, does this prove that the mind or consciousness can exist outside of our body? If this were true then we're starting to talk about everlasting existence which is pretty heavy shit. I wouldn't actually worry about dying if my consciousness would continue to exist for eternity. I also think it's pretty darn unlikely and I think that there is also no compelling evidence for it to be true. But some people disagree.
Well, even if our 'self' survives death, you may ask yourself what part of 'you' really remains.
I mean, we all know that teenagers act so odd and 'frisky' because of their brain going through puberty. What would these teens still be without these features?
Or memories.. either they stick with us (which I really don't hope for rape-victims) or they disappear completely, in which case we wouldn't really have a personality anymore.. just a simple 'ego' you might as well call spiritual energy or something like that.
Another thing to remember is that neurologists know exactly how to make people have these strange out of body experiences. They can trigger them in a person by stimulating a certain part of the brain.
I'm not exactly sure what you are referring to.. but there is a substance called DMT which is said to trigger visions that correlate to NDE's and that possibly, in a state of near death or fear of death, this substance is released by the brain in greater quantities, thus sparking 'supernatural' visions.
You may call these hallucinations, but that wouldn't be correct as hallucinations call forth a reality that is entirely fictional, while the visions reported in NDE's (or through DMT) correspond with things in reality (like seeing the actual roof of the hospital rather than a fictional one).
I thoroughly recommend listening to a debate between a believer and a non-believer on the topic of near death experience and the out of body experience. It is extremely interesting and entertaining, especially considering Stephen Novella is such a gifted debater and knows every logical fallacy in the book.
Stephen Novella is a practicing neurologist and Alex Tsakiris is not a scientist but believes in the importance of scientific experiments to provide evidence for his alternative view.
http://www.skeptiko.com/near-death-experience-research-debate-with-steven-novella/
I might tomorrow, but dunno, in the middle of moving you know
p.s. either way, whether NDE's are true or not, I've found that visions reported by those who have experienced one correlate strongly with certain religious images (of hell, heaven and purgatory, the weighing of the soul, etcetera).. It's an interesting way of approaching religious teachings that often seem to have no basis in reality.
Forums
