Do you believe in an afterlife ? (133)

I am an ape, a very intelligent ape, but an ape nonetheless. When I die I will be a dead ape.

FFS, you're Irish, I have no chance in deciphering his post.

"Tall people suffer more, unfairly, and are never resurrected?"

I'm not sure but I'd lean more towards yes than no. Though I suppose none of us know for sure until it happens!

My parents are atheist and I was raised in a non-religious background but in philosophical and emotional terms I've definitely drifted more towards thinking that there is more than a purely materialist existence.

Glad to hear your mother survived Jt, but the visions she experienced were not what she thinks. Many near-death experiences include the presence of long-dead friends and relatives appearing and perhaps even guiding the individual as they pass from the world of the living to the afterlife. Memories from every part of life are recalled in rapid succession, and there is an overwhelming sense of comfort, yet it appears that scientific research has provided an explanation for this phenomenon as well.

While excess CO2 has an effect on vision during a near-death experience, a lack of oxygen to the brain also plays a contributing role. It is well known that oxygen deprivation can lead to hallucinations and may even contribute to the feeling of euphoria that is often reported. While the sample size available to researchers is limited, studies have indicated that individuals who reported a near-death experience during cardiac arrest also had lower levels of oxygen. Researchers believe that oxygen deprivation could well result in people “seeing their lives flash before their eyes” or being transported to a place where they are surrounded by friends and relatives who have long since passed on. This remains just a theory, however, as the other available research seems to indicate that multiple factors contribute to the near-death experience, which include the aforementioned CO2 levels as well. It makes sense in this regard that near-death experiences are commonly reported by those resuscitated following a heart attack, as a heart attack occurs when blood is blocked from reaching the brain. 7Endorphins Are Released When The Brain Is Under Extreme Stress04It has been a long-held theory that much of what is felt during a near-death experience can be somewhat attributed to the release of endorphins and other chemicals by the brain due to extreme stress.

While the idea that the entirety of a near-death experience could be attributed to endorphins has been somewhat dispelled, it could easily explain why so many individuals who have had a near-death experience feel no fear or anxiety over reaching life’s apparent terminus. The release of these morphine-like chemicals during times of extreme stress was proposed by neuropsychologist Daniel Carr as an overarching explanation for near-death experiences, but it appears that it better explains the calm sensations and the lack of pain or worry during situations in which the body could be under extreme duress.

So while you’d expect that in the stages approaching death, there would be “incredible pain and terror, the [near-death experience] surprises us with pleasure, calm, and peace,” a phenomenon believed to be the result of chemicals released by the brain.

Serious illness and/or trauma, oxygen deprivation, the stress associated with being near to death can result in hallucinogenic experiences which can be interpreted by the individual as being out of their body, and/or encountering culturally familiar objects or people from their past. It is just the way our brains are wired, nothing spiritual or supernatural about it.

The reason why lots of people experience similar near death experiences, is because as humans, our neurological structures function in similar
ways.

Yeah, there could be life on other planets. They aren't flying around Nevada in flying saucers though.