Consciousness and Near-Death Experiences - Pim van Lommel

[@duel1770]

Dr Van Lommel, have read your excellent book! I love your interviews, you put your point across in such an elegant and factual way. Thanks for all the research you have done together with Dr.Jeff Long and others. I do believe that we live on in another realm after death.

[@tomg2946]

An exceptional reasoned and deeply considered presentation of explanations for various aspects of the phenomena of NDEs and their relationship to consciousness.

[@p.s.129]

Such a wise man.

[@paulhauser1661]

It's apparent that consciousness pervades everything.

[@Dion_Mustard]

very apparent!

[@phils4634]

There's also the problem of intracranial pressure (ICP). This rises post circulatory arrest, and even with the "best" external compression CPR, actual perfusion pressure can be small to insignificant, since under such circumstances intracranial "systolic" isn't much over 80mm Hg. So, even with adequate CPR CNS function is at best minimal, and the EEG data suggests that the brain is isoelectric (i.e. no discernible electrical activity), yet, these people DO have interesting (and durable) experiences, which are verifiable from the peri-arrest documentation.

[@Beregond1954]

I wish I could hear him. Even at top volume I can barely make out what he is saying.

[@p.c.s.602]

Beregond1954 You could read his book which he mentions in this video. This doctor is extremely intelligent and present the results of his studies and years of analysis where you curiosity and your thirst for meaning are really triggered.

[@sanjosemike3137]

Try using earphones. It seems to help. Sanjosemike

[@bayreuth79]

How can individual personality continue outside of time and space?

[@francoislemercier846]

maybe because time and space do not exist

[@bayreuth79]

@@francoislemercier846 But a sense of I-ness requires subject-object dichotomy which in turn also requires time and space. Hegel, for instance, thought that I-ness requires time and space as a necessary condition.

[@francoislemercier846]

@@bayreuth79 Hegel said it but is it true?

[@bayreuth79]

@@francoislemercier846 I am not saying that it is true _because_ Hegel said it but I cannot see how consciousness can exist without an object of consciousness.

[@Dion_Mustard]

well people who experience NDEs and OBEs DO HAVE personality out of space of time. Read Journeys out of the Body by Robert Monroe. That will blow you away.

[@MsBee777]

yes..... the biggest mistake most make is that they believe the 'brain' is the same as the 'mind'.....yet the brain is the physical organ or that which runs the body functions....yet the mind aka consciousness isn't located in the body.... what seems more possible is that the body exists within the mind..... that seems more the case..... I reject all organized religion..... that doesn't mean I'm an atheist. I don't need any book, teacher or teaching, dictate, or any belief system based on anything external..... they are distorted, perverted, twisted from the truth which I contain within my very being.....I can see the value in all of those concepts or constructs and that they have served their purpose and are no longer needed, once I came to the realization or knowing of the truth of who I Am within Being aka Consciousness.

[@imyrl0ve4evr99]

As for rejecting organized religions: All those who come together due to having had an NDE actually do have a religion. Take a closer look, and try to understand Jesus' or Buddha's metaphors, and you won't see much controversion to the things that are said by NDEers. Whenever they come together to speak out their feelings of surprise and hope, well, that's exactly what real religion is like. Surely: wherever groups gather together, some perverts may feel attracted to go there as well, showing off, getting bossy. This is what happened in organized religion as we know it. But these religions always were remaining some understreams, that took care for having open channels to the timeless and non-local awareness, that NDEers and Van Lommel are talking about. FOr instance the Buddhist and Medieveal Christian mystics.

[@Josytt]

Ms Bee totally agree, but I think the mind resides in consciousness or awareness. Dogma based religions are all about control, inducing fear and trying to recruit which causes separation between us. I think we will eventually evolve from religious beliefs, but it’s going to take a while.

[@jennymisteqq695]

My cousin and his family are atheists. They don’t announce this, you have to talk to them for awhile. They are kind and cool people. As for the most people that post in KZbin Comment Sections who proudly proclaim themselves as atheists, these guys come off as arrogant assholes.

[@bleirdo_dude]

@@jennymisteqq695 *Drug addictions, and thought addictions are closely related on a neurological level.* Some people are more beholden to the ancient part of the brain (Meso Limbic System/emotional) rather than someone that reasons using the modern part (Frontal Cortex/rational). "The second system, known as the mesolimbic system, has its cell bodies in the ventral tegmental area, which is medial to the substantia nigra. It projects to several parts of the limbic system, including the nucleus accumbens and ventral portions of the striatum, amygdala, and hippocampus, as well as prefrontal cortex. *This system has been linked to reward-related behavior (Berridge and Kringelbach, 2015). Dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens increase in response to both natural reinforcers (such as food, drink, and sex) and drugs of abuse (such as amphetamine and cocaine). Additionally, in humans, activity in this region increases in response to more abstract rewards, such as money."* Marie T. Banich/Rebecca J. Compton, Cognitive Neuroscience, Section: Subsystems, pp. 2/3 *"Dopamine, in fact, is critical in association learning and the reward system of the brain that Skinner discovered through his process of operant conditioning, whereby any behavior that is reinforced tends to be repeated. A reinforcement is, by definition, something that is rewarding to the organism; that is to say, it makes the brain direct the body to repeat the behavior in order to get another positive reward.* ...The connection between dopamine and belief was established by experiments conducted by Peter Brugger and his colleague Christine Mohr at the University of Bristol in England. *Exploring the neurochemistry of superstition, magical thinking, and belief in the paranormal, Brugger and Mohr found that people with high levels of dopamine are more likely to find significance in coincidences and pick out meaning and patterns where there are none."* Michael Shermer, The Believing Brain, Section: 6 The Believing Neuron pp. 8-10/29 *"Genetic and behavioral factors influencing religiously motivated behavior appear related to dopamine metabolism and signaling. Inclination toward religious behavior and motivation has been associated with a polymorphism on the dopamine receptor gene DRD4 (Comings, Gonzales, Saucier, Johnson, & MacMurray, 2000;Sasaki et al., 2013). Acquired disorders of dopamine physiology also show links to religious behaviors."* www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5478470/ *"Religious and spiritual experiences activate the brain reward circuits in much the same way as love, sex, gambling, drugs and music,* report researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine." unews.utah.edu/this-is-your-brain-on-god/ "Dopamine, adrenaline, and noradrenaline are neurotransmitters that belong to the catecholamine family. Dopamine is produced in the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental regions of the brain, and *dopamine alterations are related to schizophrenia (1, 2). ...The “original dopamine hypothesis” states that hyperactive dopamine transmission results in schizophrenic symptoms."* www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4032934/ *"Dopamine In schizophrenia (SCZ), there is evidence that very high levels of dopamine in the limbic system play a major role in emergence of hallucinations and delusions. Antipsychotic medications, which block central dopamine activity, alleviate the hallucinations of psychosis. Drugs with strong dopaminergic effect, such as L-dopa, methylphenidate, bromocriptine, pramipexole and piribedil, may induce hallucinations. D-amphetamine, a direct dopamine agonist, may also induce psychosis and hallucinations."* www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2996210/ *"Here, we show that administration of a drug that enhances dopaminergic function (dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine; L-DOPA) increases an optimism bias. This effect is due to L-DOPA impairing the ability to update belief in response to undesirable information about the future."* www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3424419/ "Tibetan mystics have long practiced a method to create sentient beings (Tulpas) from the power of concentrated thought." Note: These (Tulpas) are not sentient beings, but a manifestation of the subconscious mind through neural plasticity via neurochemical imbalancing inducing meditation. In other words it's having a dream state while awake, and interacting with a character that's made up of one's own preformed thoughts (building blocks of ideas/concepts that are below conscious awareness) which gives the illusion of sentience. In simpler words it's self induced schizophrenia due to stresses (psychological/physical/environmental) where neurochemical traffic gets rerouted causing hallucinations to any of the five senses, also including involuntary movement, and distorted speech (glossolalia). www.google.com/amp/s/www.vice.com/amp/en_ca/article/exmqzz/tulpamancy-internet-subculture-892 Imagine the euphoria experienced by the average person for believing they won a million dollars on a scratch off ticket (it could be a joke ticket yet as long as they believe). Now imagine someone having the same sensations, but being convinced it's a paranormal contact for believing John 3:16. We evolved to seek pleasure (eating/reproduction), and avoid getting killed (tiger in the grass/competing neighbor/harsh enviroment). With our increased cognitive abilities we made up other reasons for pleasure, and survival beyond basic necessity. The Dopamine Reward System over time bridges gaps in pathways in order to form habits in order to repeat behaviors, and or thoughts. The often cited testimony of getting off an addiction thanks to a God is just a placebo replacement due to the power of the mind (an AA participant I heard of chose to worship the radiator in his room instead of an higher power, and became sober). Ancient people did not know the neurosciences. Philo of Alexandria thought that joy came from Heaven by way of God's chief archangel the "Divine Word/Right Reason (Logos)". ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT Book 2 "XXXVII ...And *who can pour over the happy soul which proffers its own reason as the most sacred cup, the holy goblets of true joy, except the cup-bearer of God, the master of the feast, the Word* ?" ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION, III "LX ... *the soul very often, when it is delighted, is yet unable to explain what it is that has delighted it; but it is taught by the hierophant and prophet Moses, who tells it, “This is the bread, the food which God has given for the Soul, (Exo. **16:15**)” explaining that God has brought it, his own Word and his own Reason; for this bread which he has given us to eat is this Word of his* ." The High Priest's headdress had a crown made of a plant known for it's hallucinogenic properties at which a golden plate covered the forehead. On said golden plate was inscribed sacred characters for the name of God. Josephus: THE ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS, BOOK 3, CHAPTER 7 (172-178), CONCERNING THE GARMENTS ...OF THE HIGH PRIEST "6. The high priest's mitre was the same that we described before, and was wrought like that of all the other priests; above which there was another, with swathes of blue embroidered, and round it was a golden crown polished, of three rows, one above another; out of which arose a cup of gold, which resembled the herb which we call Saccharus: *but those Greeks that are skilful in botany call it Hyoscyamus. ...Now the fruit is preserved by this coat of the calyx, which fruit is like the seed of the herb Sideritis: it sends out a flower that may seem to resemble that of poppy. Of this was a crown made, as far as from the hinder part of the head to each of the temples; but this Ephielis, for so this calyx may be called, did not cover the forehead, but it was covered with a golden plate, which had inscribed upon it the name of God in sacred characters. And such were the ornaments of the high priest."* *Hyoscyamus Niger* " ...was historically used..., *as well as for its psychoactive properties in "magic brews". These psychoactive properties include visual hallucinations and a sensation of flight. ...The plant, recorded as Herba Apollinaris, was used to yield oracles by the priestesses of Apollo.* " en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyoscyamus_niger Scrambled neurochemistry is insight to another realm for some people. The Holy Dopamine Ghost (Thoughts are addictive) kzbin.info/aero/PLQATeZAnm87BaJjBtM1vMIq_gHRmBq3ie Scripture is designed to keep people in the thought addiction, and shut out from the group those that question. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Prov. 1:7) "In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." "but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed." (2 Cor. 4:4, 3:16) "As for the Disbelievers, Whether thou warn them or thou warn them not it is all one for them; they believe not. Allah hath sealed their hearing and their hearts, and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be an awful doom." (Quran 2.006-.007) "Fools say in their hearts, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good." (Psa. 14:1) "but whoever blasphemes against the *Holy Dopamine Ghost* can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" (Mark 3:29) i.imgflip.com/1ydvtk.jpg

[@cienciadecreacion2161]

@@Josytt fear friend where is the fear friend to say that you do not smoke, drink or adulterate is to put fear according to you I see that you have a very bad moral brother I think it is necessary that you take a look at Christianity apart friend Christianity and others are not against of a soul rather they are in favor of that one is more I dare to say that Christianity and others discovered this aspect of reality apart I believe that you cannot be an atheist and believe in a soul or spirit that would be totally illogical

[@DreamWizard9]

15:17 "the brain doesn't function in general anestesia" ?!? Please explain this to me? I'm totally confused now.

[@Rhea303]

Your awareness (spirit/consciousness/bèing conscious or whatever you call it) is nòt settled in the brain -- the brain is a computer and can only work if 'the hard drive' (the mystery) turns 'you' on. Receives info. You are merely a puppet reacting to the impulses you get from the (non-local) mystery - which you yourself are. Ain't that miraculous? :-)

[@DreamWizard9]

Rhea303 Indeeed! But what I didn't understand is: the brain is still functioning in anaestesia, no? I mean: your heart still pumps and your organs still work, right?

[@lakefire9985]

DreamWizard9 only the part of the brain that keeps the heart and lungs working still operates under anasthesia

[@DreamWizard9]

lake fire Oh really? That's interesting... And the liver? The kidneys? That all stops?

[@lakefire9985]

DreamWizard9 no but the Brain controls blood pressure and also controls electrical impulses in the heart ..once their is rudimentary activity in the Brain then the rest will Function however most of the Brain closes down thus it cant register any pain or awareness

[@learningenglish9316]

THANKS a lot I do meditation, for the past 3 years and I know something in short I can say to u lead an honest life , you can't go to heaven by killing others, Do meditation you can understand yourself.

[@Dion_Mustard]

this is something i want to get into.

[@henkkoppelaar9580]

1 Vraag: "Is bekend waardoor mensen - onder dezelfde omstandigheden - niet allemaal een BDE kennen/hebben?"