Kinnochio Is Not Convinced...and He'd...
News2 mins ago
Dying and floating towards the heavenly light at the end of the tunnel....
27 Answers
Has anyone here died or know anyone that has and were brought back to life and seen this phenomenon which some think is the brains reaction to not enough oxygen in the brain? What were yours or theirs final thoughts and do you believe death was at the end of the tunnel, also has this changed your religious belief in any way?
http://www.stevemcint...120a57bce74970b-800wi
http://www.stevemcint...120a57bce74970b-800wi
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by badbaseman. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
A mate of mine was hit by a lorry back in the '70s when we were kids, he claimed he died on the operating table (don't know how long he was GONE for) and this was the same question we put to him over and over, even years later as teens.
His answer was always - I saw the lorry, then I saw the intensive care ward. Nothing in between. Not even a dream.
His answer was always - I saw the lorry, then I saw the intensive care ward. Nothing in between. Not even a dream.
I have died on a couple of occasions, usually of embarrassment. At that point your whole life flashes before you. It may be a religious experience because you say things like "OMG". At this point you wish a tunnel would appear as you hope the earth would open up and swallow you. Sometimes you do think death may be the best thing at the end of the tunnel.
Then you get over it.
Then you get over it.
Near death experiences [NDE] and out of body experiences [OBE] are common. Some people believe that they see a 'tunnel' and they interpret that tunnel as a form of transition from the physical world into the world of the afterlife. Some people think that they are consciously removed from their physical form and float above their own bodies.
That's all very warm and cosy. And extremely unlikely.
A far more likely explanation is that the experience of travelling down a tunnel is attributable to biochemical and neurophysiological causes.
It is well documented that the hallucination of flying is triggered by atropine and other belladonna alkaloids. OBEs are easily induced by dissociative aesthetics such as ketamines. Others are:
Dimethyltryptamine [DMT] – Causes the perception that the world is growing or shrinking;
Methylenedioxyamphetamine [MDA] – Stimulates the feeling of age regression so that things we have long forgotten are brought back to memory.
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide [LSD] – triggers visual and auditory hallucinations and creates a feeling of 'oneness' with the cosmos.
The very fact that there are receptors in the brain for such artificially produced chemicals demonstrates that the brain, under certain circumstances (such as the stress of an accident or a trauma), can also produce startlingly similar chemicals which also produce any or all of the above experiences typically associated with an NDE.
That's all very warm and cosy. And extremely unlikely.
A far more likely explanation is that the experience of travelling down a tunnel is attributable to biochemical and neurophysiological causes.
It is well documented that the hallucination of flying is triggered by atropine and other belladonna alkaloids. OBEs are easily induced by dissociative aesthetics such as ketamines. Others are:
Dimethyltryptamine [DMT] – Causes the perception that the world is growing or shrinking;
Methylenedioxyamphetamine [MDA] – Stimulates the feeling of age regression so that things we have long forgotten are brought back to memory.
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide [LSD] – triggers visual and auditory hallucinations and creates a feeling of 'oneness' with the cosmos.
The very fact that there are receptors in the brain for such artificially produced chemicals demonstrates that the brain, under certain circumstances (such as the stress of an accident or a trauma), can also produce startlingly similar chemicals which also produce any or all of the above experiences typically associated with an NDE.
As to why people experience the 'tunnel' fantasy - that's due to the visual cortex where the information from the retina is processed.
Hallucinogenic drugs and a lack of oxygen to the brain (as often happens near death) can interfere with the normal rate of firing by nerve cells in this area. When this happens, “stripes” of neuronal activity move across the visual cortex which is interpreted by the bran as concentric rings or spirals.
These are more often than not, perceived as a tunnel.
I have some sort of experience of this phenomena myself. Many years ago, while playing football, I broke my ankle in a bad tackle. It was extremely painful. I remember closing my eyes and seeing explosions of light which spiralled inwards. Obviously, I didn't actually 'see' this vision in any meaningful sense – I simply 'experienced it' as my eyes were closed. However, the sensation was of a tunnel, spiralling inwards.
I wasn't dying, but my mind clearly concocted this visual deceit as a coping mechanism.
Hallucinogenic drugs and a lack of oxygen to the brain (as often happens near death) can interfere with the normal rate of firing by nerve cells in this area. When this happens, “stripes” of neuronal activity move across the visual cortex which is interpreted by the bran as concentric rings or spirals.
These are more often than not, perceived as a tunnel.
I have some sort of experience of this phenomena myself. Many years ago, while playing football, I broke my ankle in a bad tackle. It was extremely painful. I remember closing my eyes and seeing explosions of light which spiralled inwards. Obviously, I didn't actually 'see' this vision in any meaningful sense – I simply 'experienced it' as my eyes were closed. However, the sensation was of a tunnel, spiralling inwards.
I wasn't dying, but my mind clearly concocted this visual deceit as a coping mechanism.
-- answer removed --
A friend of mine 'died' during an operation on the back of his knee. He felt terrible pain, as the surgeons knife dug into him and then he was in the top corner of the room looking down at himself being operated on. He said it was actually 'himself' looking down, he was completely aware that he had no body, so to speak and was completely aware of everything going on below him. He said that he could feel a warmth and a light behind him but deliberately did not turn as he knew that if he did, he would not get back into his body.
The man in question is an atheiest and I had to drag this info out of him as he dare not believe it himself really as he can't be doing with this kind of nonsense!!
Similarly, I knes of someone who 'died' for 10 mins after a scuba diving accident and remembers nothing.
The man in question is an atheiest and I had to drag this info out of him as he dare not believe it himself really as he can't be doing with this kind of nonsense!!
Similarly, I knes of someone who 'died' for 10 mins after a scuba diving accident and remembers nothing.
I have a friend who claims to have out of body experiences, similar to the one Le Chat describes, where he suddenly finds himself looking down from the top corner of the room at his own sleeping body lying in the bed. Le Chat said her friend is an atheist, and as a matter of fact, so is my friend, but I think that's completely irrelevant. I see no reason to assume that such experiences are automatically related in some way to a God. Why link anything we deem 'supernatural' to something for which there is no evidence whatsoever just because we don't understand how or why they happen? If we imagine we already know the answers, we'll never seek them and hence, we'll never find them.
-- answer removed --
Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence isn't evidence.
Anyone can say they experienced any phenomenon they please. That it doesn't make it so. Nor does it mean that the person is deliberately telling porkies – they can experience many strange things due to chemical changes in the brain, as I have described above.
But seriously people, are you suggesting that you 'exist' beyond the physical parameters of your own bodies? Is it really plausible that your conciseness exists despite your body? Every tool we have shows that cognitive neuronal activity exists within the brain which suggests that consciousness is clearly a physical manifestation rather than an esoteric one.
If your consciousness exists despite your physical body then it begs the question, where does it come from?
Bearing in mind that the human population has doubled in the last 50 years where have all these extra consciousnesses come from?
Anyone can say they experienced any phenomenon they please. That it doesn't make it so. Nor does it mean that the person is deliberately telling porkies – they can experience many strange things due to chemical changes in the brain, as I have described above.
But seriously people, are you suggesting that you 'exist' beyond the physical parameters of your own bodies? Is it really plausible that your conciseness exists despite your body? Every tool we have shows that cognitive neuronal activity exists within the brain which suggests that consciousness is clearly a physical manifestation rather than an esoteric one.
If your consciousness exists despite your physical body then it begs the question, where does it come from?
Bearing in mind that the human population has doubled in the last 50 years where have all these extra consciousnesses come from?
ive had a few out of body experiences. the first one i recall being very aware and very bemused by the fact that i was aware of being still in my bed, but also suspended in the corner of my bedroom. i realised that i could travel anywhere i wanted (having read a very little about astral travelling), but was afraid that it meant i was dying. so i fought a struggle to get my 'out of body' to go back to my physical body. and it was a struggle too. very strange.
Birdie, //Every tool we have shows that cognitive neuronal activity exists within the brain which suggests that consciousness is clearly a physical manifestation rather than an esoteric one. //
Perhaps we don't yet possess the tool that might indicate otherwise.
//If your consciousness exists despite your physical body then it begs the question, where does it come from?//
We can only say we don't know, because we don't.
Mandimoo, my friend said the first time it happened to him, initially he was amazed, but then it occurred to him that he may have 'died', and panic took over because he was worried he wouldn't be able to 'get back'.
Perhaps we don't yet possess the tool that might indicate otherwise.
//If your consciousness exists despite your physical body then it begs the question, where does it come from?//
We can only say we don't know, because we don't.
Mandimoo, my friend said the first time it happened to him, initially he was amazed, but then it occurred to him that he may have 'died', and panic took over because he was worried he wouldn't be able to 'get back'.
Latest Posts
Quizzes & Puzzles7 mins ago
When Taking On A Used Jam Jar.....
News7 mins ago
Is It Reasonable To Expect Neighbours To...
News11 mins ago
Crosswords12 mins ago
Related Questions
Sorry, we can't find any related questions. Try using the search bar at the top of the page to search for some keywords, or choose a topic and submit your own question.