Many over the years, who have claimed to die briefly before coming back to life, talk of bright lights at the end of a tunnel, conversations with loved ones that passed away before them and even the ‘7-minutes after death’ concept, referring to the period when brain activity can continue after clinical death and apparently a time when a person replays their happiest memories from life.
Until now, all possibilities have been theories but recently, US horse rancher Chris Langan, who is said to have the world’s highest IQ of 210, announced he has the answer we’ve all been waiting for.
The 72 year old claimed that when we die, we transition to a new ‘computational’ reality. Put simply, he claims dying brings an end to our relationship with the physical world – allowing us to enter into a new dimension. According to Langan, in ‘another kind of terminal body.’
With new theories heard often, we take a look at some of the thoughts from smart thinkers in the world of science, arts and theology to finally rack up some sort of conclusion – for now.
Paulo Coelho
The Brazilian author admitted that the idea of death has been with him every day since 1986 when he walked the renowned Spanish pilgrimage, the Camino de Santiago.
The author, who has 30 international bestsellers including The Alchemist, also admitted that he had always lived ‘terrified at the thought that, one day, everything would end.’ Horrifyingly, one of the stages of that pilgrimage consisted of experiencing what it would feel like to be buried alive.
Describing the moment he said he was ‘lying down on the floor, crossing my arms over my chest in the posture of death and imagining all the details of my burial.’
Describing it as such ‘an intense experience’ he then lost all fear and has seen death as his daily companion, always by his side.
Coelho admits to never leaving anything until tomorrow if it’s something he can do or experience today and always says sorry if he feels he offended someone.
He has even had close-calls over the years, including one in August 1989.
He said: “I got lost on a climb in the Pyrenees. I looked around at the mountains bare of snow and vegetation, thought that I wouldn’t have the strength to get back, and concluded that my body would not be found until the following summer. Finally, after wandering around for many hours, I managed to find a track that led me to a remote village.
“I know death is not a topic anyone likes to think about, but I have a duty to my readers – to make them think about the important things in life.
“And death is possibly the most important thing. We are all walking towards death, but we never know when death will touch us and it is our duty, therefore, to look around us, to be grateful for each minute.”
Uri Geller
World-renowned mystifier who runs the Uri Geller Museum in Tel Aviv, believes it’s impossible that ‘life ends with death.’ From a scientific perspective, he argues that Einstein proved matter can not be destroyed.
“Like matter, energy also cannot be destroyed. So, what happens to our soul, our spirit, our aura? These are the most powerful aspects of us – more important than our bodies – and I believe we continue to survive after death, just in some other way.
“I believe that, at the point of death, we enter another dimension where we reunite with all those with whom we had emotional bonds in our lifetime – parents, grandparent, even our beloved pets. This life is just a corridor to the next, and what we do now determines what kind of afterlife we will be rewarded with.”
Uri also believes in a creator, but “not a God with a beard who sits on a cloud.” He likens his belief of an infinite being who eventually calls on us all when our time is up and it’s time to transition to the next eternity.
He explained: “Think of all the countless examples of near-death experiences people claim to have had. No matter what the religion, they are often similar – drawn towards a bright light with a feeling of total peace. This, surely, is a clue that life does not end with death.”
Carlo Rovelli
Italian physicist and author Carlo has other thoughts and finds it “funny” that anyone can believes there’s an afterlife.
“I think that we are scared by our end because of a silly mix-up: the instinctive fear of dangers we share with other mammals interferes with our species’ unique capacity to envision the far future.
“Our life is so precious and wonderful precisely because it is finite. Some of those who believe in an afterlife are ready to kill others and waste their own lives by waging war on one another.”
Instead, Carlo admits to enjoying the beauty and intensity of each moment we all have. He believes we should all make life better for us and everyone else on Earth, and not focus on “mythical elsewheres.”
Elif Shafak
Turkish-British author Elif admits that she once researched scientific studies about the transition from life to death for one of her books, and was astounded by what our brains can do.
She said: “An increasing number of studies show that the human brain can continue to function for a few minutes even after the heart has stopped pumping oxygenated blood and the lungs have ceased functioning.”
She continued to add that this made her realise the passage from life to death us far more complicated than any of us assume.
“Many doctors have observed lucid brain activity in patients who have passed away, sometimes as much as ten minutes after death.
“This raises an intriguing dilemma: Does consciousness continue in some form, at least for a while, after death? I believe it does.”
Dr Rupert Sheldrake
Biologist and author Dr Rupert believes death might be us ‘trapped’ in a dream world with no physical body to wake up in.
“All of us dream, even if we forget most of them, and in our dreams we have another body – a dream body – in which we move around, talk to people, sometimes even fly.
“Our dream body is obviously different from our normal physical body, which is lying asleep in bed.
“After we die, we may live on in our dream body, even though our physical body is dead. The dreams we experience after death will depend on our memories, hopes, fears and relationships – and also on our religious faith.”
Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain MBE
Writer, broadcaster and convener of the Rabbinic Court of Great Britain, Rabbi Dr Jonathan revealed that his faith, Judaism, is “vague about the afterlife.”
“It reckons the soul continues after the body dies but is happy to say we do not know exactly how.
“Of course, people still want an image to hold on to, whether out of fear or curiosity. I try to help by suggesting that maybe it is like a drop of rain that comes down and hits a tree.
“We are that drop of rain and can trace its individual life as it makes its way down the tree trunk. Eventually it reaches the end and falls into a puddle. It is still there but has lost its individuality.”
Libby Purves OBE
“Growing up, I was raised Catholic, so initially had childish images of Heaven and harps. When my irreligious dad died, my mum said she hoped there would be a quiet area of Paradise with chairs and newspapers and no winged nuisances singing hymns at him,” said journalist, presenter and author Libby, but really, she admits she’s unsure.
“I love the Christian burial service: ‘Ashes to ashes, dust to dust’. It adds a ‘sure and certain hope’ of life to come but the main thing is a sane warning not to turn to superstition, spiritualism, zombie or ghost fantasies.”
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