This blog is more than an account of Near Death Experiences. It ponders in detail the tough questions of life. Who are you, and why are you here in this physical world? What happens when you die, and is there a judgment? However, most anything could appear here. This is not a news blog, archived posts are just as relevant as new posts. Check the boxes at the top of the page for the Contents, Contact, Forum and other links.
(For an explanation of this catagory, and the letters posted here, go to the first post in this catagory).
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Thank you for your kindness. I’m very science-oriented — I love science. The thing that these NDE skeptics don’t understand is that the credible, CONCRETE evidence is right there — right in front of them. I’m baffled by these folks. Truly.
I have a Ph.D. and was quite focused on neuropsychology. Two things I absolutely know — anoxia does not have the power to change a person profoundly — for the rest of their lives. It only has the power to damage their brains! To argue that anoxia produces this experience is ridiculous, and has no scientific validity.
The other thing is that when a person is clinically dead, there is NO WAY they can have the perspective of looking down on the scene, recalling discussion, activities, instruments, etc., and see what is going on with family members in other locations, etc. How on earth do those folks wish to explain that?
I’m now a professor. I don’t do clinical work any longer, other than helping out individuals on a voluntary basis as they occasionally come to me. My students know I am rock-solid science-based. And I make it clear I am not qualified to teach theology. Then I tell them about NDEs and the solid evidence that these experiences are REAL. I tell them there is no way we can explain NDEs as brain functioning, brain failure, response to medication, etc.
And you know what? I don’t really care what people think. I know they are real — they will learn about this eventually. And I know I’ll have that experience — maybe tomorrow — maybe when I’m 101. Who knows? But knowing about these wonderful experiences is so thrilling and comforting. Strange juxtaposition, but I know you understand. I tell my students about them to give them hope and comfort, to illustrate some of the limits of skepticism, and to encourage them to be open minded. And you know what? Once in a while, one of them has had such an experience. Lovely!
I hope I am doing something good. I hope I am helping people to be the best THEM they can be. I hope I am motivating and encouraging and inspiring them. If I can do that, I will feel my life was well spent.
Peace and love to you — thank you for your kindness. You’re doing some great things.
I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and what I saw in today’s paper saddened me. The suicide rates are up 12% percent from just five years ago. There were 119 people that killed themselves in my hometown last year, and 578 committed suicide in my state in the same period. Suicide rates are twice the rate of homicides in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma is just a small state. In 2005 nationwide there were 32,637 suicides. Most of these deaths were young men. Most of the young man were plagued with depression.
What is going on, why are the suicide rates increasing? The paper called it the “Hidden Epidemic.” The suicide rate has tripled nationally in the last 30 years.
I doubt there is just one reason for it. I can see the pressure being put on young people in school to achieve far beyond what I experienced. Why? Why is all this necessary, people are individuals, they learn at different rates, humans just don’t fit into the “one schedule, one method for everyone” routine offered in most schools and businesses.
Churches are losing attendance, holding onto ancient doctrines that no longer work with the better educated young people. Science has become materialistic, or naturalistic, teaching spiritual things are nonsense, and mythology according to many scientists.
Where will the young turn to find meaning and purpose for their lives. How will they cope with the vicissitudes of today’s modern life styles. It is time to start addressing some of these problems in earnest.
I know some of them are finding meaning and purpose in near death experiences. A spirituality without religion. Millions of people have had near death experiences and have been changed for the better. Just reading near death experiences have helped many more. There is meaning and purpose to life, we are eternal beings and will live after the death of our bodies, these things we have learned from NDEs, and the research on them.
St. Jude Tadeo is considered the patron saint of hopeless causes. Many pray to him for comfort and help. But there is no such thing as hopelessness. We may believe in hopelessness because our vision is blurred, our knowledge limited, and our faith weak.
We forget we are eternal children of the Father, and will live on after the death of our bodies. All those opportunities we thought we missed, the tests we failed, all the things we didn’t do will still be waiting for us to try again.
Friends and loved ones we thought were gone forever will reappear in the eternal moment of life after death. Our Father loves us more than we can ever know here on earth; He holds us safe and secure at all times; He never harms us in anyway. Don’t dispair, the mistake you made, the loved one you lost is only temporary. Hope is eternal, because we are eternal.
“Desire and hope will push us on toward the future.”
Michel de Montaigne
French writer and philosopher 1533-1592
