Does anyone have proof of life after death

But I did find many cases in which there is corroboration — that is, people were physically dead and yet their spirit saw or heard things that they otherwise would be incapable of experiencing. For example, Pamela Reynolds was a year-old mother from Atlanta who, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution , underwent a rare surgery for a brain aneurysm in She was put under deep anesthetic.

Every drop of blood was drained from her head. Three clinical tests confirmed her brain ceased to function. She was clinically dead. Doctors plugged her ears with speakers emitting decibels of noise, which is like a subway train roaring past. Surgical instruments were covered prior to her surgery, and her eyes were taped shut. She was shrouded except for a small surgical area on her head. Yet during her surgery, she said she was very much alive and watched the operation from outside her body.

She described going through a tunnel, talking to deceased relatives, standing awe-struck in the light of God, and being sent back to her body to wake up. That tells me her spirit continued to function despite the absence of brain activity.

And her story is far from unique. One cardiologist studied 55 patients who had out-of-body experiences during a time when they had no measurable brain waves, yet their consciousness lived on. Another researcher studied 93 patients who made verifiable observations while out of their physical bodies during a near-death experience.

In another study, researchers examined 31 blind people, nearly half of them sightless since birth, and most of them said they could see during their near-death experiences, describing things they otherwise could not have observed.

I started out being skeptical about near-death experiences. W illiam Peters was working as a volunteer in a hospice when he had a strange encounter with a dying man that changed his life. What happened next, Peters says, was inexplicable. Peters says he felt a force jerk his spirit upward, out of his body. Then he glanced next to him to discover Ron floating alongside him, looking at the same scene below. Peters says he then felt his spirit drop into his body again.

The experience was over in a flash. Most of us have heard of near-death experiences. The stories of people who died and returned to life with tales of floating through a tunnel to a distant light have become a part of popular culture.

Yet there is another category of near-death experiences that are, in some ways, even more puzzling. Stories about shared-death experiences have been circulating since the late 19th century, say those who study the phenomenon.

Those near them, either physically or emotionally, also experience the sensations of dying. These shared-death accounts come from assorted sources: soldiers watching comrades die on the battlefield, hospice nurses, people holding death vigils at the bedside of their loved ones.

Some somehow find a way to share their passage to the other side. Raymond Moody coined the concept, "shared-death experiences" after spending over 20 years collecting stories about the afterlife. Skeptics, though, say people reporting shared-death experiences are not impartial observers. Their perceptions are distorted by grief. Nickell says shared-death experiences are not proof of an afterlife, but of a psychological truism. The term shared-death experience may be new, but it went by different names centuries ago.

Although "crisis apparations" -- visits by the spirits of the recently departed -- can be chilling, they are also comforting, say those who've seen them. Can bonds between loved ones defy death? Upon regaining consciousness, she felt she had a chance at a new beginning. She eventually became a counselor and interfaith minister, a path she said she would not have pursued if she hadn't had the near-death experience.

While near-death experiences can be subjected to the tools of science, many other sections of "Surviving Death" delve into the realm of faith, such as belief in reincarnation or the sense that you can feel the presence of a deceased loved one. For example, the documentary uncritically discusses Franek Kluski, a Polish medium who claimed to be able to manifest spirits that would dip their hands into wax molds and create hand molds that would have been impossible for the medium to make himself.

In , a French researcher conducted what he said were controlled experiments of Kluski's technique and could find no evidence that Kluski was faking. However, the dash of skepticism quickly turns to sympathy for the mediums, with Kean saying that it is now more difficult than ever for mediums to work because "everything's out on the internet," and thus meaningful readings are harder. Psychologically, people who visit mediums and psychics already want to believe, Wiseman said.

But there are still a few physical mediums, including de Haas. Wiseman had the participants sit around a table in a dark room and suggested that the objects were moving, even though they were stationary. After the experiment, around a third of the people reported that they'd seen the objects move, simply based on suggestion. Ultimately, "Surviving Death" tells a compelling tale of people's desire for meaning in the universe — and of their deep, unrelenting love for deceased family and friends.

Science can never prove or disprove the existence of the afterlife, and the comfort that many families get from the belief in life after death is powerful. But astounding claims of inexplicable phenomena in this world should be approached with care, Wiseman said.

At least look at that, at least be informed, before you decide that something is definitely paranormal. Braude is professor and chair of the philosophy department at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Braude takes great care to clearly define concepts and summarize the case material in sufficient detail for the educated lay reader to follow his argument.

This book does much more than present a case for personal postmodern survival. Immortal Remains not only contains Braude's personal perspective, but also highlights the state of the debate thus far. Even one with just a slight interest in survival research would do well to get acquainted with Braude and the philosophers with whom he puts himself into conversation throughout the book.

Finally, he tackles these difficult issues with clear language and suitable wit, making Immortal Remains both a thought-provoking and entertaining read.

Gale, University of Pittsburgh [Braude's] research is thorough.