The search for evidences, part one

I used to be a creationist and a fundamentalist. I believed that there was historical and scientific evidence to verify a literal (or what I thought was a literal) interpretation of the Bible. Even long after I had left this viewpoint behind, I wanted desperately to have some evidence to verify that, at least, God exists and that there is a spiritual realm.

One of the pieces of evidence that I considered good, even though not perfect, was the Near Death Experience (NDE). This occurs when people who are in a coma believe that they are floating above and seeing their own bodies on the bed; who see and speak with departed loved ones; and who see a tunnel towards light, into which a powerful and serene spiritual being invites them. Then they come back from the brink of death—always, they report, unwillingly.

Of course, all of this could be hallucination, caused by oxygen deprivation. But in some cases, patients have reported seeing things that they could not have known—usually things that happened in the operating room. But this can be explained if we consider that, despite them being in a clinical coma, their senses may have been able to detect some information for later recall.

But one patient said she saw red shoes on the roof, which (the story goes) was later confirmed and which she could not have known if her spirit had not been halfway to Heaven.

What is needed is a scientific study. Enter Sam Parnia, M.D. He wrote a book in which he described a scientific study of NDE. It was a brilliant experimental design. It included ceiling tiles that had symbols printed on the upper side, which neither the patient nor the medical personnel could see, but which an ascending spirit might be able to see. I was very excited as I read the book. Unfortunately, the book was only about the experimental design; no results. Presumably Parnia did not yet have results, and will publish them later. We are waiting, Sam!

Meanwhile, I found out that electromagnetic stimulation of the right temporal lobe of the brain could induce mental images of the tunnel of light. This is experimental evidence, though not quite proof, that this part of the NDE is a hallucination. Certain drugs, such as ketamine, can stimulate something similar to an NDE. This was very disillusioning for me to discover. I can remember where I was standing, and where the television was, when I saw this on one of the educational cable channels in 1999.

Therefore, as to whether NDE reveal a spiritual realm beyond our physical bodies and ecosystems is something about which we must remain agnostic. I say this not because I wish to reject a spiritual realm, but in spite of wanting to believe in one.