eBook
Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
Related collections and offers
Overview
,
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781782792321 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Collective Ink |
| Publication date: | 12/13/2013 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 177 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
,
Read an Excerpt
The End of Death
How Near-Death Experiences Prove the Afterlife
By Admir Serrano
John Hunt Publishing Ltd.
Copyright © 2012 Admir SerranoAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-78279-233-8
CHAPTER 1
We Are More Than Human
Celi was my cousin. For over two months, she dangled on the tenuous line separating this life and the next. She had gone to the hospital for a minor surgery, in Jaú, a city in the state of São Paulo, where she lived. Something went wrong and she got such a severe and widespread infection that it destroyed half of her stomach, one lung, the spleen, and a rib, all of which had to be removed as a desperate measure to contain the infection because no antibiotics worked. She spent most of those two months in the intensive-care unit (ICU), comatose. On three occasions, the doctors called family members to come for their final goodbyes—Celi was dying.
I interviewed her two weeks after her "miraculous" cure, in the words of the chief physician. He could not find a medical explanation to account for her survival. He could not find it because he did not see what was happening on the other side of reality as her body lay in the ICU. But Celi could see, so she knew why she survived.
Our first chat was on the phone, since I was in Miami and she was in Brazil. The second was in person when I visited her in Jaú a few months later. Celi was aware of my research on parapsychology and the afterlife so she spoke freely about her experience.
"Some people in a coma," I started, "at times say they were not really unconscious, that they could see and hear things that happened around them. While you were in the ICU, did anything similar happen to you, or were you completely blacked out?"
I heard a labored chuckle on the other end of the line.
"I saw and heard things," she said.
Having followed her condition through one of her brothers, I knew Celi had been heavily sedated while in the ICU.
"But you were unconscious," I said. "How could you have seen or heard anything?"
There was another chuckle. Having had such an experience myself and studied the phenomenon for many years, what she said was no surprise.
"I was outside."
I knew what she meant, but feigned ignorance. "What do you mean outside? You were unconscious in the ICU."
"I was standing by the door."
"But you were in a coma."
"Yeah, but I could see and hear."
"Lying in bed?"
"No, standing by the door."
She spoke slowly. The severe pain plaguing her would get in the way. Several times I asked if she wanted to stop, but she did not, so we continued.
"Were you inside or outside the ICU?"
"Inside."
"What did first draw your attention when you were out?" I asked.
"The body on the bed."
"Did you recognize it as being your body?"
"Yeah."
"Can you tell me about the body?"
"It was intubated and had cables connected to monitors."
By what Celi told me she had spent most if not the entire time out of her physical body while it was comatose. She even said that when medical personnel would come in for their rounds, she would step aside to get out of their way.
"Which of the two did you think you were—the body on the bed or the you outside?"
She chuckled again. "It was strange. The one outside, I guess."
Celi's is one of the most fantastic near-death experiences I have come across in the many years I have studied the phenomenon, and we shall revisit it where pertinent as we go on.
More Than the Eyes Can See
We are not the physical body we see in the mirror every day. Neither was Celi the comatose body in that hospital bed; she was the being outside it, spiritual and eternal. And so is each one of us. To the physical body we are just tenants, occupying it until the assigned time of our earthly existence is over. When it is over the body dies and we are out, lively as ever.
The physical body is governed by two energy forces—organic and spiritual; call it consciousness, if you prefer. "Without the slightest doubt there is something through which material (organic) and spiritual energy (force) hold together and are complementary." The organic force maintains the physical organs alive and functioning, while the spiritual force gives it vitality, the power of motion, intelligence, consciousness, character, personality traits, psychic abilities, talents; in a word, all those elements that are part of us which are not physically based. The spiritual force impregnates every atom, cell, molecule and organ of the physical body, organizing it as a coherent unit. In reality, the spiritual force is the matrix molding the physical body, which it permeates, surrounds, energizes, holds together and compels "atoms and molecules to assume—and to retain through constant changes of material—stable arrangements."
Scientists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries called the spiritual force within physical organisms vitalism. Vitalists, as they were called, believed that living beings contained a vital force that was independent of the body and infused life into it, a conscious soul or spirit which creates the body and functions through it. Back in those times for a scientist to endow a human being with a 'spirit' or 'soul' animating a physical body was acceptable. Today it is heresy. But that does not mean contemporary reputable scientists do not believe in the existence of such a non-physical organizing force enmeshed with a physical body. Many do, but they cannot call it 'spirit', unless they are contemplating early retirement and academic disgrace. And those who believe—and many have even tested it in their labs—must create scientific-sounding terms, as far away as possible from that heretic name. For instance, Harold Saxton Burr, a professor of anatomy at Yale University School of Medicine from 1916 to 1956, and an expert in bioelectrodynamics, applied techniques and used sophisticated instruments that "revealed that man—and, in fact, all forms—are ordered and controlled by electro-dynamic fields which can be measured and mapped with precision." Burr called them fields of life or L-Fields, for short. "The electrodynamic field of the body serves as a matrix or mould, which preserves the 'shape' or arrangement of any material poured into it, however often the material may be changed." More recently, English biochemist Rupert Sheldrake, a former fellow of the Royal Society of London, proposed that all living organisms, including us, of course, have within them "morphogenetic fields [which] are responsible for the organization and form of material systems." As you can see, Sheldrake's morphogenetic—he also calls them morphic—fields echo Burr's L-fields, with a different name. Prana (India), ITLχITL (China), ka (Egypt) and just plain energy fields are popular terms associated with that invisible and everlasting force which makes us more than mere mortals materialistic science wants us to believe we are. "There is no concept more familiar to us than that of spirit energy, yet there is none more opaque scientifically."
Regardless of the name given to this spiritual force, it has another particular power. It is capable, by some unknown mechanism, to assemble itself into a spirit body which can function independently of the physical and survive bodily death. Astral, etheric or energy body are popular terms associated with this subtle part of our being. Moreover, as it assembles itself and exits the physical body, it transfers to itself our cognitive abilities and sensory capacities, which are enhanced as we are no longer confined to the grossness and limitations of the material body and physical organs.
It was in this subtle or spirit body that Celi, her true self, manifested while the physical body lay comatose. And it is the existence of this spirit body, its ability to leave the physical counterpart, bringing with it one's cognitive abilities and sensory capacities, that allow people in the imminence of death, such as Celi was, to undergo a near-death experience (NDE), such as she did. Not only does it allow NDE, but also out-of-body experiences (OBE) when a person is healthy.
For better appreciation of the NDE phenomenon, it is important to be acquainted with out-of-body experience, OBE for short. This will help you understand how NDE happens. As the term implies, OBE is the experience of leaving one's physical body. It is by the OBE phenomenon that NDErs are able to see what they see and go where they go during their brush with death. Without an OBE there would be no NDE, since the patient's consciousness or spirit, numbed, would stay stuck in the physical body, rather than freeing itself and venturing out. OBE happens to all of us when we sleep, even if we do not recall it in the morning. It happens in every case of NDE, even if the NDEr is not aware of leaving the body. And it will happen to all of us—without exception—when our physical body dies and we—as immortal spirit that we are—leave it for good. Now let us have some fun with an OBE and see how it works.
Sweet Taste of Freedom
Pretend you are a kid again playing with your Barbie or GI Joe doll and you have magical powers. Cradle your little friend in your hands and bring it close to your face. Pucker up your lips and, as if blowing bubbles, blow gently on the doll's forehead. As you blow, you feel a light squiggle on the palms of your hands; your doll's body temperature begins to rise; the face turns rosy as blood begins to circulate throughout the little body you are holding. Whereas a few minutes before it was just a rigid piece of plastic, now you feel it soft and squishy. Slight throbbing can be seen in the chest area, tiny twitches on the delicate face. Astonished, you follow the slow upward movement as your little friend begins to raise itself on your palm. Standing up, it stares at you with lively twinkling eyes. And rather than crying as a baby coming to this life would, it draws a smile of gratitude at the miracle you have just performed. "Thank you for giving me the gift of life," you hear in a tiny voice.
As you look admiringly at your new creation, your X-ray vision allows you to see beyond the physical body, better yet, inside the physical body. You see mingled with the skin and interspersed in every cell, every molecule and every physical organ of your lively doll tiny dots of sparkling light. You feel like you are looking at a miniature universe shining with billions of radiant little stars. Looking closer you see that these dots are all connected by some kind of invisible force. You notice on top of the head a dot shining brighter than the others. Curiously, you pinch your magical fingers on it; grabbing a hold, you start pulling it upwards. In amazement of what you are witnessing, you cannot stop pulling; you keep pulling and pulling, all the way up.
Now you notice—not on the doll, but on you—your eyes as big as plums and your jaws dropping to the floor at what you are looking at. You cannot help but saying, "Wow, this is freaky!" You would feel and see in the hand you held your once lively friend a cold and motionless doll, not unlike before you blew life into it. On the other what you have just pulled out, floating in the air just before your eyes, a shiny, lively—more lively!—exact and to your great surprise (perhaps greater to your parents) an unbreakable copy of your now motionless tiny friend. You can tug on the arms, legs, and head, squish it, stomp on it, stab it, throw it against the wall and it would remain intact. If you were a Star Wars fan, you would be reminded of one of those three-dimensional holographic images of Princess Leia in those futuristic movies.
Pausing for a second to appreciate this magical moment, you marvel at what you have just done—you have produced an OBE to your little friend. Now pretend your floating friend whispers excitedly to you, "Get out of your body too and let's have some fun!"
"How?" you ask.
"Lie down in your bed, close your eyes, relax deeply and this time I'll pull you out."
You do not think twice. You lie down, close your eyes, and relax deeply and in a few moments, pop! out you are. Meeting your Barbie or GI Joe floating in front of you, you are ready to go to town. In this body, you can fly into space or visit your bffs wherever they are. But before taking off to explore the glorious seeing and unseeing worlds our Creator so generously made for his beloved children, you want to get the hang of this new body.
So you go for a stroll around your house first. Forget opening doors to move from one room to the next. Walk straight ahead. Slow vibrating blocks of matter—walls, doors, furniture, appliances, people—are no match to your new highly vibrating spirit body. You are unstoppable now—and remember unbreakable too—so just walk through them. Material objects are now just shadows on the open road before you.
Moving from one room to the next, you feel an incredible lightness of being. You see a law of physics turned on its head—earth's gravitational pull exerts no power over you. You move as though on a magnetic field, your feet not touching the floor under you, your volition guiding your journey. Amazed, a thought comes to your mind, and no sooner you think of it, it happens.
"I wonder if I could float up!"
And up you are, close to the ceiling. Astounded, you look down—and more astonishment. Whatever this new body is, you can see out of it, even if you are not sure how—regular vision like our physical eyes, or by some other means. And not only vision you have, but hearing too.
"What's going on in that room?" you hear your mom calling.
If you have kids, you know that when they are silent for too long, something is cooking. Your mom may have been cooking something too, especially for you. You had already caught a whiff of it. A delicious batch of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies has just been pulled out of the oven.
"Awesome!" you say to yourself. "In this new body I can float up in the air; I can see, hear, smell, and ..."
You had not tried it yet—talk.
Floating down you stand close to your mom, so close that you can hear her heart beating.
"Yummy!" you exclaim. "May I have one, Mommy?"
No reply from mother dear. Not even a quiver.
"Mommy?! I'm talking to you!" you repeat.
You feel like you are talking to the cookie tray. Well, you tried to be polite. The cookies are irresistible; the melting chocolate chips are begging to be eaten, so just grab one.
Uh-oh! You are in trouble. You cannot grab anything. You can see the cookies, you can see the tray holding them, they are right in front of you, and they are real. You check your hands to see if there is something wrong with them. You look on the back of them, turn over and check the palms, you count your fingers, five on each hand, all is normal and just as real. But somehow you are not able to interact with people and things as you did when you were in the physical body. A scary thought flashes through your mind.
"Am I dead?"
Startled, you feel a strange power pulling you out of the kitchen; for a second you go blank; and in an instant, you come to again. Your consciousness, which a few seconds ago was in your spirit body, now is back to the physical counterpart, manifesting itself through the brain. You begin to feel the familiar heaviness of the physical body, your mattress under it. You are happy to have returned to the only life you knew, but now you know there is more. You are beginning to awaken.
Along with your breathing, your heartbeat rate had slowed down when you left your physical body. Before you open your eyes, you feel your heart racing in your chest. The abruptness of your return caused it to accelerate. As you open your eyes, you see the ceiling above you. You are back to your cozy room. You have not died, but you caught a glimpse of what it will be like when your body dies. You will live on. You will preserve your own identity and all your senses. You will have trouble communicating with your loved ones who stayed behind, and you will have trouble interacting with material things, but you will continue to exist. You will continue being yourself.
On your own, in that blessed instant, without the dictates of any religious dogma, philosophical thought, or scientific paradigm, you discovered the reality of your immortality. You will never be the same again. You have just realized that you are far greater than you ever thought you were. Such an epiphany can give you a completely new perspective of life; an appreciation for it you never imagined would be possible.
Now that you know what an OBE looks like from the outside, I will tell you what it feels like from the inside. Just turn the page and join me in my journey. Physical life has many perks, but none beats ...
CHAPTER 2
The Perks of Being Free
I went to bed about eleven that night. I was tired, and had a feeling I could produce a conscious OBE. I made myself as comfortable as I could, my arms resting on the sides, palms down. Clearing my mind of mundane thoughts, I concentrated on relaxing, mentally suggesting that every part of my body relax. My objective was to induce the vibrational state to facilitate the exit of the spirit body. This internal vibration feels like a generalized tingling throughout the body, as though you are receiving a mild electric shock but devoid of pain. This is as close an explanation as I can give. The vibrational state is commonly a precursor of an OBE, but an OBE can be effected, which is mostly the case, without its presence. The vibrational state is also felt sometimes when we return to the physical body, as the portion of the spiritual force which was out and away re-enters the physical organs.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The End of Death by Admir Serrano. Copyright © 2012 Admir Serrano. Excerpted by permission of John Hunt Publishing Ltd..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 We Are More Than Human 6
Chapter 2 The Perks of Being Free 15
Chapter 3 The Science of OBE 23
Chapter 4 What is Near-Death Experience (NDE)?Really? 30
Chapter 5 NDE Everywhere 34
Chapter 6 Witnessing Immortality 41
Chapter 7 The Ten Phases of NDE 46
Chapter 8 Brain Not Required 61
Chapter 9 More Than Meets the Eye 71
Chapter 10 Through the Soul's Eyes - NDE of the Blind 85
Chapter 11 A Bitter Taste of Nothingness 97
Chapter 12 Suicide, a Mistaken Choice 104
Chapter 13 Overdose, a Hellish Trip 113
Chapter 14 Children Near Death 120
Chapter 15 Cheating the Grim Reaper? 134
Chapter 16 Our Double Nature 144
Conclusion 155
References 158