NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES [7b]
Phoenix, Arizona. 1991. Singer-songwriter Pam Reynolds is being rushed into surgery to repair a bulging arterial wall in her brain stem that is about to burst and kill her instantly. The surgical team of 20 decides there is only one course of action: in order to save her life, they must first end it.
|
“Pam Reynolds had a massive aneurysm ready to essentially rupture at any moment. And so, physicians needed to reduce the pressure in those vessels so that they could work on them. So, they took her blood out of her body and cooled it slowly, so re-circulating. What that does is it sort of tricks the body’s cells into slowing down their metabolism and not realizing that they’re lacking oxygen which, of course, buys physicians and emergency workers some time to go in and repair the person’s body while they’re in this sort of hyper-cooled state where they’re essentially not alive.” – Kirsten Fisher, Ph.D. |
For nearly an hour, Pam Reynolds lies on the operating table with her heart stopped, no blood pumping through her body, and no brainwave activity at all. According to the traditional medical definition she is dead. Five hours later, when doctors successfully finish their groundbreaking surgery, they slowly pump warm blood back into Reynolds’ body. Her heart starts to beat again and her brainstem begins responding to stimuli. But when she regains consciousness, Reynolds tells a shocking story about a journey she says she made into the afterlife. She remembers mingling with deceased relatives and angelic beings in a celestial netherworld a transcendent experience that ended only when doctors revived her.
|
“Pam Reynolds’ case, and other cases of resuscitation sort of call into question what it means to be alive. We’re sort of introducing new technologies that blur, I think, a little more the distinction of what does it mean to be dead. If you want to use the term resurrection, I think it could be applied, in that case.” – Kirsten Fisher, Ph.D. |
Does the resurrection of Pam Reynolds reveal evidence that human consciousness can exist beyond death? If so, could this mean that within each of us, there really is such a thing as an immortal soul? And might it even be identifiable by science? Two prestigious scientists have developed a theory that describes exactly how consciousness could continue to exist after the brain has ceased to function. Oxford University’s Roger Penrose and Stuart Hameroff, from the University of Arizona, believe that quantum particles in the brain and nervous system could comprise what we call consciousness.
|
“The theory is that there may actually be a real physical structure in your brain. They’re called microtubules, and they’re small enough that all the weird quantum mechanical effects can occur. These quantum mechanical effects may be what gives rise to consciousness. But even after you die, that information isn’t lost. It still continues as a quantum mechanical state, and that may be what is giving rise to consciousness.” – Robert H. Frisbee, Ph.D. |
If Penrose and Hameroff are correct and our consciousness can exist after our physical body dies, does this explain why near-death experiences like Pam Reynolds’ are reported by millions of people around the world?
|
“They have, usually, a feeling of peacefulness, positive emotions. They feel like they’re leaving their body. They sometimes see sort of a tunnel with a light at the end. They sometimes feel one with the Universe. They sometimes see relatives who had passed away. So, it’s a common universal experience that happens to people who are either near or close to death, or even technically dead.” – Heather Berlin, Ph.D., M.P.H. |
Some physicians believe near-death experiences could be triggered by hypoxia a lack of oxygen in the brain that can cause visions. But other researchers disagree. They point out that those who have these experiences see events occurring around them that are later confirmed to have happened. And that their perceptions are not dulled in a way that would be consistent with a dying brain. Perhaps even more significant, a recent study found that the near death experience was remarkably similar across the ancient world.
|
“Professor Gregory Shushan at Oxford University has found that in some of the great early cultures ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia Vedic India, pre-Buddhist China, pre-Columbian Mesoamerica that there are similar reports of near-death experience, that certain details keep cropping up, that the person in this experience encounters beings of light, even though the belief systems about death were very different in these cultures. This suggests that there might be something about the mystical experience at death that is stronger than the cultural stories that hold it.” – Jonathan Young, Ph.D. |
But why are accounts of near-death experiences so similar across so many different cultures? Ancient Astronaut Theorists suggest that the answer may lie with the fact that these beings of light encountered in many near-death experiences are remarkably similar to the descriptions of extraterrestrials in alien abduction reports. Could these two types of ethereal entities actually be the same.
|
“The common ground is the tunnel of bright white light, and beings wearing shiny garments or bright white garments of light that either stand before that gateway or are actually in it. And you have to wonder: is it possible that, in reality, the afterlife is just another dimension or another plane of existence that is inhabited, that’s navigable and is accessible not only by those in the afterlife realm but also by living extraterrestrial beings.” – William Henry (Author / Investigative Mythologist), |
|
“I think that both near-death experiences and abduction experiences are coordinated by the same higher reality.” – Rev. Barry H. Downing |
Is it possible that extraterrestrials hold the secret behind resurrection? Ancient Astronaut Theorists say yes, and claim further evidence can be found by exploring resurrection stories from antiquity.
The Kingdom of Israel. The 9th-century BC. In the Hebrew Bible, Elijah is portrayed as a great prophet and a powerful warrior who slaughters the followers of the god Baal. Yet he is perhaps best known not for putting people to death, but for bringing them back to life.
|
“In the Biblical book of we actually have the story of the prophet Elijah who takes a widow’s son who had died and lays on him three times and then prays to God. And the son comes back to life.” – Robert Cargill, Ph.D. |
|
“Was this a miracle from the hand of God? Was there some kind of a medical involvement here? There was some clear physical intervention on behalf of Elijah. That’s all this text tells us.” – Rabbi Ariel Bar Tzadok (Founder, KosherTorah School) |
|
“But we know that Elijah was a great mystic and esotericist. He possessed a power cloak called his “pala-garment,” which means “power garment.” He ultimately ascended into the heavens in a whirlwind, like a spacecraft, while wearing this. So, you have to ask, is there some kind of otherworldly or even extraterrestrial technology that Elijah had access to?” – William Henry (Author / Investigative Mythologist), |
Ancient Astronaut Theorists point out that similar resurrections occur in religions around the world. From the Hindu god Krishna to the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl. They believe these gods may, in fact, have been extraterrestrial beings sent to Earth on a mission.
|
“When you read the stories of the celestials or extraterrestrials that came in the ancient past, they were always delivering these forbidden teachings about crossing that boundary into a beautiful and glorious realm. And one of their purposes in coming here is to teach us how to cross over that boundary.” – William Henry (Author / Investigative Mythologist), |
Is it possible that some ancient accounts of gods rising from the dead are not actually divine events, but rather examples of extraterrestrial technology? And if so, are there stories in which ancient cultures regularly performed resurrections? Ancient Astronaut Theorists believe astounding answers can be found buried in the Sahara Desert.
Previous: Introduction | Next: Egyptian Mummies
References:
[1] Prometheus Entertainment. (2014/15). Ancient Aliens: Season 7. [DVD Back Cover]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™.
[2] History™. (2014). Ancient Aliens: 7.1 – Forbidden Caves. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: October 31, 2014, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-7.
[3] History™. (2014). Ancient Aliens: 7.2 – Mysteries of the Sphinx. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: November 7, 2014, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-7.
[4] History™. (2014). Ancient Aliens: 7.3 – Aliens Among Us. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: November 14, 2014, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-7.
[5] History™. (2014). Ancient Aliens: 7.4 – The Genius Factor. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: November 21, 2014, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-7.
[6] History™. (2014). Ancient Aliens: 7.5 – Secrets of the Mummies. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: November 28, 2014, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-7.
| [7] History™. (2014). Ancient Aliens: 7.6 – Alien Resurrections. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: December 5, 2014, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-7.
[7a] Prometheus Entertainment. (2014). Ancient Aliens: 7.6 – Alien Resurrections. [DVD Footage: Introduction]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™. [7b] Prometheus Entertainment. (2014). Ancient Aliens: 7.6 – Alien Resurrections. [DVD Footage: Near Death Experiences]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™. [7c] Prometheus Entertainment. (2014). Ancient Aliens: 7.6 – Alien Resurrections. [DVD Footage: Egyptian Mummies]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™. [7d] Prometheus Entertainment. (2014). Ancient Aliens: 7.6 – Alien Resurrections. [DVD Footage: Zombies]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™. [7e] Prometheus Entertainment. (2014). Ancient Aliens: 7.6 – Alien Resurrections. [DVD Footage: Reincarnation]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™. [7f] Prometheus Entertainment. (2014). Ancient Aliens: 7.6 – Alien Resurrections. [DVD Footage: The Eucharist]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™. [7g] Prometheus Entertainment. (2014). Ancient Aliens: 7.6 – Alien Resurrections. [DVD Footage: Modern Medicine]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™. |
[8] History™. (2014). Ancient Aliens: 7.7 – Alien Messages. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: December 19, 2014, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-7.
[9] History™. (2014). Ancient Aliens: 7.8 – The Great Flood. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: December 23, 2013, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-7.
[10] History™. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 7.9 – Aliens & the Civil War. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: April 10, 2015, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-7.
[11] History™. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 7.10 – Hidden Pyramids. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: April 17, 2015, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-7.
[12] History™. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 7.11 – The Vanishings. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: April 24, 2015, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-7.
[13] History™. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 7.12 – The Alien Agenda. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: May 1, 2015, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-7.
ancientalienpedia 