Proof of Heaven—do
not let the title fool you that this is a Christian tome about streets of gold
and pearly gates. Eben Alexander, M.D., a well-respected neurosurgeon, saw many
medical cases in which patients claimed to have seen deceased loved ones or heaven.
He dismissed them all as chemical processes in the brain—until he had his own
near-death experience while in a seven-day coma. Alexander states that while in
his coma his neo-cortex was non-functional. The only thing keeping his body
alive was his brain stem.
Alexander says he was a Christmas and Easter church-goer,
and thought ideas of God were pleasant fantasies. In his coma, however,
Alexander experienced angelic beings, and sounds and sights more beautiful than
anything on earth. He gives a list of scientific explanations that he used to
cite as reasons for these “delusions,” and refutes most of them because his
neo-cortex was not functional and it’s the neo-cortex that processes such
experiences. He also refutes other scientific versions in an appendix, with
medical language that only a physician would understand.
Alexander was in a coma induced by bacterial meningitis, and
his recovery was a medical miracle in itself. He should have died and his story
alternates chapters between his medical condition that worsened day-by-day, and
his concurrent experiences in the other realm.
While on the “other side,” which Alexander states is really
a dimension that is right here, he had a female guide who took him on a tour of
the universe. He’d always had a fascination with flying, astronomy and physics,
and found that while out of body he gained instantaneous knowledge and
understanding of how the universe works that would take him years to learn
here. He reports that he did not see any
loved ones in the other dimension and had no personal identity as a
neurosurgeon who had an earthly family to which he wanted to return. He feels
his lack of a sense of personal self allowed him to go deeper into the
experience than most others who have near-death experiences. While he thought
he had not seen any loved ones, once out of his coma he was given a picture of
his birth sister, whom he’d never met because he was adopted and she had died.
He was shocked to find that she was the angelic guide who gave him the tour of
the universe.
Alexander states that our physical existence on earth is
like a speck of dust compared to the vast reality of love beyond space and
time. The reason we do not recognize true reality is that the brain filters it
out of our consciousness. While Alexander used to think that consciousness was
solely of the brain, he now knows that the brain has nothing to do with
consciousness and our sense of existence goes on beyond the body. Again, he
knows this because his neo-cortex, which allows for the organization of
personal life information, was not functioning. He now feels that our society,
while it has benefitted from technology, needs to regain its lost sense of the
mystical. Without knowledge of our oneness with each other and all life, we are
prone to random violence, escalating greed, global pollution and lack of
purpose and meaning.
Alexander states his scientific mind never allowed him to
believe a loving God exists. In fact, he calls the God he experienced “Om,” a
feminine presence whose message is that love is all there is. “Om” felt like
the primordial creative sound that pulses throughout the universe. This
presence is available to everyone and has nothing to do with accepting
religious tenets or being a good person. The main messages Alexander received
were: all of us are loved and cherished; there is nothing to fear; we can never
do anything wrong.
I have read a number of near-death accounts and what I like
about Alexander’s is that his description of life beyond the body most closely resembles
what is taught in A Course in Miracles
(ACIM). ACIM is the only spiritual
path that satisfactorily answered my questions about world suffering. Some of
the areas in which Proof of Heaven sounds
like it’s right from ACIM are:
Ø
The brain does not really think. It filters bits
and pieces of information and formulates a story. This is what it decides is
reality, all the while true reality lies outside its awareness. Our daily
experiences are an illusion. However, love is the true reality and the love we
have for our children, spouses, friends, pets, etc. never dies.
Ø
Time does not exist in reality. Time and space
are only a function of the dualistic nature in the physical universe.
Ø
We are loved, innocent and there is nothing to
fear.
Ø
We must choose love instead of fear because we
are allowed to choose what we will experience.
Ø
The false belief in separation from God is the
source of all anxiety and problems and the solution for every problem is
recognizing that we are one with each other and God.
Ø
Physicality is characterized by defensiveness. There
is no loss in Spirit, therefore nothing to defend.
Ø
Alexander described life as being like an egg
and the creative aspect of God is the shell around the egg’s contents. However,
he felt that while his consciousness was identified with all that is, he could
never fully become one with Source. A
Course in Miracles likewise indicates
that God is beyond consciousness.
Proof of Heaven is
both enlightening and entertaining and it is a must-read for anyone interested
in life beyond the body. It is especially helpful for skeptics with a
scientific bent, as it answers commonly-held criticisms scientists hold about
consciousness and God.
