Consciousness Beyond Life

by Van Lommel, Pim

• ISBN13: 9780061777264
• ISBN10: 0061777269
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-08-09
• Publisher: Harperone

Summary

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.

Author Biography

Pim van Lommel is a world-renowned cardiologist. Since his initial study of near-death experiences, which was published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, Dr. van Lommel has resigned his post as a practicing cardiologist to devote his time to further research and lecturing all over the world on near-death experiences. Visit the author online at www.pimvanlommel.ni.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. v
A Near-Death Experience and Its Impact on Life	p. 1
What Is a Near-Death Experience?	p. 7
Changed by a Near-Death Experience	p. 45
Near-Death Experiences in Childhood	p. 71
There Is Nothing New Under the Sun	p. 81
Research into Near-Death Experiences	p. 105
The Dutch Study of Near-Death Experience	p. 137
What Happens in the Brain When the Heart Suddenly Stops?	p. 161
What Do We Know About Brain Function?	p. 179
A Comprehensive NDE: Monique Hennequin	p. 205
Quantum Physics and Consciousness	p. 225
The Brain and Consciousness	p. 259
The Continuity of the Changing Body	p. 283
Endless Consciousness	p. 303
Some Implications of NDE Studies	p. 329
Epilogue	p. 347
Appendix: The Practical Significance of NDE in Health Care	p. 351
Acknowledgments	p. 361
Art Credits	p. 363
Notes	p. 365
Glossary	p. 399
Bibliography	p. 413
Index	p. 435
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