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Monday, December 29th, 2014

Near death, explained

Author:     Mario Beauregard
Source:     Salon
Publication Date:     Saturday, Apr 21, 2012 01:00 PM PDT
 Link: Near death, explained
Stephan:   Here is an excellent survey piece on Near Death, and the survival of consciousness. Mario Beauregard is a well respected researcher in the consciousness research community, and he has brought together many of the major developments addressing the final transition.  If you wish to pursue this topic the book I recommend is Dutch cardiologist Pim van Lommell's book, Consciousness Beyond Life. I have not read it yet but, on the basis of past papers, I expect Beauregard's new book to be a winner as well. This essay was adapted from the book - “The Brain Wars: The Scientific Battle Over the Existence of the Mind and the Proof That Will Change the Way We Live Our Lives.” Courtesy of the publisher HarperOne.
Credit: Shutterstock

Credit: Shutterstock

In 1991, Atlanta-based singer and songwriter Pam Reynolds felt extremely dizzy, lost her ability to speak, and had difficulty moving her body. A CAT scan showed that she had a giant artery aneurysm—a grossly swollen blood vessel in the wall of her basilar artery, close to the brain stem. If it burst, which could happen at any moment, it would kill her. But the standard surgery to drain and repair it might kill her too.

With no other options, Pam turned to a last, desperate measure offered by neurosurgeon Robert Spetzler at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Spetzler was a specialist and pioneer in hypothermic cardiac arrest—a daring surgical procedure nicknamed “Operation Standstill.” Spetzler would bring Pam’s body down to a temperature so low that she was essentially dead. Her brain would not function, but it would be able to survive longer without oxygen at this temperature. The low temperature would also soften the swollen blood vessels, allowing them to be operated on with less risk of bursting. When the procedure […]

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1 Comment

  1. Rev. Dean on Monday, December 29, 2014 at 12:48 pm

    I know this will be a big seller. I have van Lommell’s book and it was a great scientific breakthrough in the field of “Mind vs Brain” types of work. I, too have had an OBE during a motorcycle accident and know ofwhat they speak: it is true – the brain is NOT the MIND.
    P.S. Thanks Stephan, I must add this one to my collection.