Evidence of heaven

Here's another NDE, consistent with many others save for a few details. Not sure about the butterflies. It has an air of fantasy at times, hence some of the sceptical comments. But the synaesthesia, the emotion/thought as waves and the underlying unity etc all seem pretty genuine. Plus it has a kind of scientific validity, coming from a neurosurgeon, although debunked by Sam Harris in a blog link via the comments section. Still, the debunking, however accurate, doesn't disprove the doctor's conclusion. It merely discredits it as science.

That was great, Stephen. Thanks. Implications for our nonduality discussions as well. I noted that other beings were still "themselves" in some manner, which is what Christianity teaches about the "communion of Saints."

What do you make of the young woman guide who accompanied him on his journey? Guardian angel?

I would add that, in so many NDE experiences (including this one, as far as I can tell), there is this sense of the unconditional love and acceptance of God and all heavenly creatures, but the person with the experience never really reaches the stage in the afterlife where they have to give an accounting of their lives to God (some do report a kind of "review of life").

Let us not forget the Four Last Things: death, judgment, heaven and hell. People with NDEs get a glimpse of what happens after death, but not much more.

The girl could have been a guardian angel, but interesting how he identified her with the orb which helped him through the "dazzling darkness". Perhaps his image of her was something he projected until he was able to relate to her more mysteriously as the orb.

I agree this was just a glimpse. The life review or judgement would seem to be a crucial part of any true afterlife.

That blend of unity with distinct being is very interesting, but then how far did he go into the divine mind?

Hi Stephen,

Thanks for sharing that with us. This book should be very interesting, and he is quite a good writer. I wonder if he is writing it in response to God's will? I wonder about the message that he can do "nothing wrong." Did it apply only to that realm? Or was it meant for him 'back' in his earthly body? Has God blessed him with becoming somehow sinless? Or is it a message to dispel neurotic fears he may have of making mistakes? I guess we might find out in his book.

Phil, your point about the Four Last Things: death, judgment, heaven and hell is well-placed here. It calls into question whether this man glimpsed Heaven or some 'heavenly' realm.

What he shares about the woman companion (guardian angel?) is very beautiful, isn't it?

She looked at me with a look that, if you saw it for five seconds, would make your whole life up to that point worth living, no matter what had happened in it so far. It was not a romantic look. It was not a look of friendship. It was a look that was somehow beyond all these, beyond all the different compartments of love we have down here on earth. It was something higher, holding all those other kinds of love within itself while at the same time being much bigger than all of them.

By the way, did you catch this seven-minute video of the little boy who went to heaven? I shared it on a thread in the Shalom Place Lounge called "Heaven is Real."

https://shalomplace.org/eve/for...6010765/m/8114034818

And then there's Don Piper's "90 Minutes in Heaven."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ElnQUVkWsQ

A database of more than 3000 (!) NDEs :

www.nderf.org