Thinking you are near death can produce the same effects as clinical death
Near-death experiences are reported across cultures, with written records of them dating back to ancient Greece. Not all of these experiences actually coincide with brushes with death—one study of 58 patients who recounted near-death experiences found 30 were not actually in danger of dying, although most of them thought they were. (1)
The Near Death Experience Research Foundation- nderf.org – has thousands of published experiences, but those studied must meet certain criteria to be considered ‘near death’.
One compelling case was a child born blind who, during the experience, described vivid details, colors, shapes, and patterns she had never encountered since birth. A blind person describing colors is a phenomenon alone.
Considering NDEs from both a medical perspective and logically, it should not be possible for unconscious people to often report highly lucid experiences that are clear and logically structured. Most NDErs report supernormal consciousness at the time of their NDEs. Article HERE
Truth serum for the soul. Seek and thee shall find…something
How woo, magic, and religion are simply glimpses into non-ordinary neurology. It’s all right here.
It is religion that drives certain men and women to ask real questions and find real answers to how the world operates. Thank you religion. Science has challenged the millennia long status quo—that what is occasionally seen by mystics is merely how the world would look when you mess with the wires.
Those who grew tired of being watched by a persistent deity that had no bearing on life, decided to answer a few questions on their own without postulating a god—but to find out how things actually work.
We have evolved with a certain brain configuration and perceive the world through a specific shaped eye and tactile senses. Alter these receptors any way you want and you can see the spirit world, which is this world in a non-ordinary, alternate perception of reality. This is the religious experience—attempting to maintain that different reality than what evolution has normalized as our current, best chance at survival.
Change the shape of the eye, we all may look like Jabba the Hut, but we’d still be here, and that would be normal. Mess with the optic nerve and flip the left and right lobes and voilet! Things certainly wouldn’t be like they seem now.
Understanding this, that a minor change in physiology and nothing would seem the same. I’m sure the octopus who is born knowing how to hunt and strategize it’s prey, has a completely different perception and hereditary underpinning than a human—but the octopus is still here, just a different set of lenses, and a different reality.
Enter the traumatic event or addiction.
Carry yourself deep into the difficult side of human existence, to the brink of losing family or life itself, or just play around with a little peyote? Activate those adrenals and delve into the hypoxia of a NDE and you can see god. Feel god. Feel your brain reach it’s outer limits to grasp at survival. Those unlucky enough just don’t have enough trauma in their lives, or indoctrination? It is up to them to move the planet beyond belief mode.
How gullibility improves faith through modern fiction
Up until the point you no longer believe, it can be hard not to believe what we want, or have been conditioned to believe. Doubts come and go, prayers go up and in spite of our efforts…Nothing! But everyone can’t be wrong, can they? Did I miss something? Then, along comes spectacular proof!
Take the The near death experience of the 4 year old son of a preacher who left his body during surgery, a year later said he went to heaven during the procedure, sold a million books and got a movie deal. Heaven is for real.
Another 6 year old said he went to heaven, sold 5 million books then recanted, says it never happened—after the money came flooding in. Theologians still debate the boys descriptions of heaven in The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven, NYT Best seller.
While the first story is very easily dismantled due to inconsistencies and leading questions to a never-dead, sedated, 4 year old preachers son HERE. (Psychology Today- great read, excellent analysis) but believers aren’t asking.
It’s amusing to see the “real and authentic” theologians disputing these “fake” accounts and insisting that their own understanding of the unknowable is superior to the “real” accounts of the unknowable. Nearly identical stories. Both never happened, but hey, if you can take money from fools, is that a sin?
The best new term of the 21 century —HeavenTourism. Millions of gullible Christians line up to get a glimmer of what they know is not real, but believe it anyway.
TheCommonAtheist 