When the brain is deprived of oxygen and starts to die, a flood of endorphins erupts and causes the person to trip balls.
That's false... They've looked into that, when it was suggested that DMT is created by the pineal gland. Studies confirmed that the brain after and during trauma does not release DMT or endorphins. I used to think that until I read the study btw...
Another false claim. Actually most that have that "white light" experience are from non religious types. Possibly after the experience, they may seek God, but before that, many said they did not believe in God.
OK so now I've read the same wikipedia article that Mags has, and here's what I've gathered: this seems to be a very advanced field of study with a lot of contentious viewpoints bouncing around. Coming from a contentious and cryptic academic background myself, I can tell you that none of us random jackoffs on a sports forum who are only skimming the surface and finding the arguments we want to hear to validate our worldviews have any idea what we are talking about. Unless one of you is a cognitive neurologist and isn't saying so.
Well, I suppose Jesus and Buddha didn't know what they were talking about either, but of course they weren't cognitive neurologists
as far as the afterlife goes they said a lot of mutually exclusive things, so at least one of them was full of crap.
there is contention between scientists and people who don't understand the nature of objectivity pointing to bogus subjective claims driven by wishful thinking (or quacks trying to cash in on wishful thinkers by selling books), but there is nothing at all contentious within the field of neurobiology. whatever consciousness is, ALL objective evidence absolutely indicates it emerges from activity in the physical brain, and cannot exist without it. the significance of this simply cannot be brushed under the carpet. no amount of wishful thinking or anecdotal claims can make it go away. speak for yourself. I've been studying this for years. I've read and objectively considered most publicized claims of evidence for an afterlife. Most are silly. A few are interesting. None are convincingly without possible alternate physical explanation. I've also put as much time into considering and coming to grips with the implications of evolution as any scientist. our mental functioning while the most advanced, is otherwise not particularly special or differentiable from other animals. there is no reason we should expect there to be continuation of consciousness after death in any form just because we happen to be self-aware and able to consider the possibility.
So you believe that your brain does release endorphins and/or DMT? I find that interesting... I'm curious what leads you to believe that this is true?
Brain activity could be impulses of a brain trying to stay alive. I haven't read the entire study, so I won't try to agree or disagree with it. I've been interested in brain impulses and how it effects "reality" for someone dying or having a "near death" experience. I used to think your pineal gland would release endorphins or DMT to the brain as a defense mechanism to cope before death. All the studies I've read claim this to be false.
Has anyone tried DMT? I wonder how many don't believe in an afterlife that have done it. The rides it took me were insane. I've seen things I could never imagine.
I have no idea what specifically happens in NDEs. That isn't relevant to my post. I was arguing more what our starting assumptions should be until proven otherwise. Different aspects of mind function have been shown time and again to be dependent on the functioning of different areas of the brain. Combine that with the fact that we are not really THAT much different than Chimps or Dolphins etc. with which our species shares a common ancestor, and you have a clear indication of where an objective observer's expectations on the subject should lie. Also, note that I would love for evidence to emerge that the mind continue's after death somehow. You could say I've followed the subject rooting against my expectations. So far it has been a disappointment.
I don't know if you asking a theist this, or a general scientific study, outside theistic means. If you ask me, I don't believe our physical self "organic self" works after death. A theist believes the spiritual self conscious continues to exist outside the physical word. It disconnects with the organic self and becomes like a ghost, that you would consider what a ghost is I guess.
do you think the spiritual self contains who "you" are? in other words does it contain what makes you an individual differentiable from other humans - your memories, personality, intellectual and emotional disposition etc?
That's what I believe. I don't believe we manifest into some physical being or take shape like ourselves. I think we become a conscious energy that remembers who we are "our ego", and we are of a spirit "without matter". Our physical self is then recycled into the already existing universe. I don't have science to back me. Just my faith.
