The dramatic recollections of a variety of
patients has fascinated
the public, and fuelled
a variety of professional debates. These
experiences have been
reported in the press
for example “Then, suddenly, the pain lifted
and I was fading, floating above my body.”
“Though I could still
hear the voices of the
nurses,
everything
was quiet, gentle and
a beautiful pinky white
colour” and “it was a
dream-like scene where
I found myself floating high above Earth,
looking down from
outer space”. There is
a desire for people to
understand what hap-
pens when the physical
body dies and this fundamental question of
life underpins religious
beliefs, personal views
and scientific doctrine.
Hollywood has, through
film and television,
used the question of
the afterlife and near
death experiences to
entertain the public, to
encourage debate, selfreflection and enable
the screen writer the
opportunity to voice
both their personal and
societal opinion.
Dr Melvin Morse
describes in his video
‘Near death experiences
and what they mean to
our spirituality impoverished society’2 a near
death experience is “by
no means due to lack
of oxygen to the brain”
and “not what we commonly call hallucinations”. He also outlines
the idea that the presence of light is essential
in a near death experience, arguably the
cause of patients recalling “I saw a bright white
light”3 .Morse suggests
Photo credit: www.aboutmodafinil.com
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