Shocking: A Brain Surgeon Reaches the Afterlife and Returns - Here's What He Has to Say

Clinical death is a condition where there is cardiac arrest and the cessation of heartbeat and breathing, no oxygen and blood supply to the brain, and brain activity stops - there are no brain waves. In medical terms, brain functions such as memory, hallucination, or imagination are not possible. There are many testimonies from people, both in Israel and around the world, who have experienced clinical death and describe what transpired around them after they returned to consciousness. They recount seeing what happens from a bird's-eye view, seeing what the people in the room are doing, what they are saying, and even their thoughts at that moment. In some cases, there are even descriptions of what happened outside the room where the clinically dead person was.

Dr. Eben Alexander is an American neurosurgeon who had a near-death experience. He documented his experiences and insights from the incident in his book 'Proof of Heaven,' writing: "In eleven years of medical school and during my residency at Duke University, as well as at Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard, I focused on neuro-endocrinology, which is the study of the interaction between the nervous system and the endocrine system. I worked for fifteen years on the Harvard Medical School faculty as an associate professor of surgery with a specialty in neurosurgery. During these years, I operated on countless patients, including those with severe and life-threatening brain conditions. On November 10, 2008, at the age of forty-four, I was struck by a severe bacterial infection that affected my brain, and I fell into a coma for seven days. During this time, my neocortex, the outer layer of the brain which makes us who we are, was completely shut down. It was not functioning at all."

Alexander writes that for decades in the rigid scientific world of neurosurgery at a university institution, he was taught to believe that the flesh-and-blood brain solely constitutes our being. "My experience showed me that the death of the body and brain is not the end of consciousness, that the human experience continues beyond the grave. More importantly, it continues under the watchful eye of Hashem, who loves and cares for each of us, and oversees the universe itself and everything in it."

Regarding the scientific world's claims against near-death experiences, offering alternative 'natural' explanations for these phenomena, he refutes them one by one in his book. "Was it a distorted recollection from deeper parts of my limbic system, the part of the brain that feeds emotional perception? No, because without a functioning neocortex, the limbic system cannot produce the vivid images and logic that I experienced."

"Could my experience have been a psychedelic vision produced by some of the many medications I was given? Again, all these drugs work on the receptors in the neocortex, and without a functioning neocortex, there was no basis for these drugs to have any effect."

"What about a REM sleep breakthrough, which is the phase where dreaming occurs? REM breakthroughs are syndrome names, appearing when natural neurotransmitters like serotonin work together with receptors in the neocortex. I'm sorry, but REM sleep breakthrough requires a functioning neocortex to occur, and I didn't have that."

Additionally, the hypothetical phenomenon known as a DMT dump also came up as an explanation. In this case, the pineal gland reacts to a perceived threat to the brain by releasing DMT (dimethyltryptamine), a powerful psychedelic chemical. I have no argument with those who claim DMT can produce an intense psychedelic experience, perhaps one with implications for our understanding of the true nature of consciousness and reality. However, the fact remains that in my case, the part of the brain affected by DMT (the neocortex) was not present to be influenced by it. Thus, in terms of 'explaining' what happened to me, a DMT dump was as unlikely as the other main candidates because hallucinogens affect the neocortex, and my neocortex wasn’t available to be affected."

Regarding what he saw and experienced in the afterlife, he says: "To think that this physical world is all there is, is like locking yourself in a small closet and thinking there's nothing else beyond it. My journey deep into the coma, out of the inferior physical realm, and into the highest abode of the Almighty Creator, revealed the awe-inspiring gulf between our human knowledge and the vast and awe-inspiring realm of Hashem."

"This experience changed everything I believed": Brain surgeon Dr. Eben Alexander talks in an interview about the clinical death he experienced. Watch:

The Afterlife | A rare glimpse into life beyond the world we know and beyond our perceptions, to a world of pure spirituality. Watch:

Want to know more? Check out the question 'What Happens After We Die?' on the site '70 Tough Questions in Judaism'