With some seeing bright lights and one even having an out-of-body experience, the findings of a major new scientific study into cardiac arrest patients who were momentarily 'dead' are daunting but potentially ground-breaking. A team at the University of Southampton has been examining 2,000 people who suffered cardiac arrests; using patients in the UK, the US and down in Australia. It took four years, and now they’ve announced that nearly 40% of those who survived described some kind of state of awareness during the time they were, technically, dead. A 57-year-old man from Southampton even said he watched his own resuscitation from the corner of the room; describing in vivid detail the actions of the nurses and the sounds of the machines. Dr Sam Parnia told The Telegraph: “We know the brain can’t function when the heart has stopped beating. But in this case, conscious awareness appears to have continued for up to three minutes into the period when the heart wasn’t beating, even though the brain typically shuts down within 20-30 seconds after the heart has stopped."
“The man described everything that had happened in the room, but importantly, he heard two bleeps from a machine that makes a noise at three minute intervals. So we could time how long the experienced lasted for. “He seemed very credible and everything that he said had happened to him had actually happened.” As for the other patients, responses varied. 330 of the 2060 survived; of which some said they saw a bright light, some said they had the sensation of drowning, some felt separated from their bodies and others said their senses actually heightened. A third said they felt as if time had either slowed down or sped up. “Estimates have suggested that millions of people have had vivid experiences in relation to death but the scientific evidence has been ambiguous at best,” said Dr Parnia. “Many people have assumed that these were hallucinations or illusions but they do seem to corresponded to actual events. “And a higher proportion of people may have vivid death experiences, but do not recall them due to the effects of brain injury or sedative drugs on memory circuits. These experiences warrant further investigation.”
Berlin| A team of psychologists and medical doctors associated with the Technische Universität of Berlin, have announced this morning that they had proven by clinical experimentation, the existence of some form of life after death. This astonishing announcement is based on the conclusions of a study using a new type of medically supervised near-death experiences, that allow patients to be clinically dead for almost 20 minutes before being brought back to life.
This controversial process that was repeated on 944 volunteers over that last four years, necessitates a complex mixture of drugs including epinephrine and dimethyltryptamine, destined to allow the body to survive the state of clinical death and the reanimation process without damage. The body of the subject was then put into a temporary comatic state induced by a mixture of other drugs which had to be filtered by ozone from his blood during the reanimation process 18 minutes later.
The extremely long duration of the experience was only recently made possible by the development of a new cardiopulmonary recitation (CPR) machine called the AutoPulse. This type of equipment has already been used over the last few years, to reanimate people who had been dead for somewhere between 40 minutes to an hour.
Near-death experiences have been hypothesized in various medical journals in the past, as having the characteristics of hallucinations, but Dr Ackermann and his team, on the contrary, consider them as evidence for the existence of the afterlife and of a form of dualism between mind and body. The team of scientists led by Dr Berthold Ackermann, has monitored the operations and have compiled the testimonies of the subjects. Although there are some slight variations from one individual to another, all of the subjects have some memories of their period of clinical death. and a vast majority of them described some very similar sensations.
Most common memories include a feeling of detachment from the body, feelings of levitation, total serenity, security, warmth, the experience of absolute dissolution, and the presence of an overwhelming light.
The scientists say that they are well aware the many of their conclusions could shock a lot of people, like the fact that the religious beliefs of the various subjects seems to have held no incidence at all, on the sensations and experiences that they described at the end of the experiment. Indeed, the volunteers counted in their ranks some members are a variety of Christian churches, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and atheists.
“I know our results could disturb the beliefs of many people” says Mr Ackermann. “But in a way, we have just answered one of the greatest questions in the history of mankind, so I hope these people will be able to forgive us. Yes, there is life after death and it looks like this applies to everyone.”
The boy who claims he went to Heaven... and met dead sister his parents never told him about
A boy who almost died from a ruptured appendix has said he met the dead sister he did not know existed.
The extraordinary claims by Colton Burpo, aged four, came after he was misdiagnosed with flu while his family, from Imperial, Nebraska, were on a trip to Colorado. By the time they returned home he was seriously ill and had to undergo emergency surgery twice.
While he was in the operating theatre his parents, Todd and Sonya, prayed, believing they were going to lose their son.
However, Colton soon recovered and then told his astonished parents that he had met the sister his mother had miscarried a year before his own birth.
What made this even more remarkable was his parents had never spoken to him about her.he youngster said: 'She looked familiar and she started giving me hugs and told me she was glad to have someone from her family up there.
'She doesn't have a name though, she said they never gave her one. But she can't wait for her mom and dad to come to Heaven to meet her.'
He also described to his astonished parents how he had seen them praying.
His 41-year-old father said: 'I'm looking at him in the mirror, and he says that the angels sang to me. I looked and he is just dead serious.'
The child also claimed that he saw his great-grandfather, Pop, who had died more than 30 years before.
However, he didn't recognise Pop from a picture taken shortly before his death but from one of him as a young man.
Colton said that his visions became more vivid as time passed.
He said: 'I remember Jesus, there's streets of gold and a lot of colours. I sat on Jesus' lap and then I just felt safe. God, he is the biggest one in Heaven, he can hold the world in his hands.'
He even claims he saw a glimpse of Armageddon.
When asked the age-old question about what Heaven is like, Colton had a very specific description: 'Well, it’s all the colours of the rainbow, a place of beautiful shades and hues.
'The gates were made of gold and there were pearls on them. It never gets dark. It’s always bright.
'Everyone has wings and can fly except for Jesus, who hovers up and down. Everyone wears a white robe crossed by a sash of different colours and they have lights above their heads.'
The child also claimed that he saw his great-grandfather who had died more than 30 years before. However, he didn't recognise him from a picture taken shortly before his death but from one of him as a young man
Colton even described meeting John the Baptist, though without understanding who he was, having not yet learned about him in Sunday school.
He recalled being introduced to Christ’s cousin and Jesus told him that his cousin had baptised him.
The Burpos have written a book about the experience and Colton, now aged 11, continues to share his stories of Heaven. Mr Burpo is a garage-door salesman who volunteers as a school wrestling coach and local fireman.
He is also pastor of the Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial and many wonder how much their religious home life may have influenced his son.
His schoolteacher wife Sonja, initially had their doubts about their son’s vivid post-operative recollections but her husband insists: 'I am convinced he was in Heaven.'
Colton is like any other 11-year-old, he likes music, wrestles and prays to the god he describes as being able to hold the world in his hands.
Publishing the book was not something Colton intended to do, but he said he again turned to God for an answer.
He prayed: 'God, if this is really you. I don't know how to publish a book. If you want me to do this you will have the publishing industry come to me.'
And they did. So far half a million books have been printed.
Book stores across the country are trying to get more copies. They are on e-book readers, audio tape and there is even talk of a movie. Mr Burpo said: 'I don't know why He picked us. God did a remarkable miracle for us.'
