Sam Parnia, MD, PhD, Lucid Dying: The New Science Revolutionizing How We Understand Life and Death. Available on Amazon, click HERE
"Lucid Dying” is an insightfully written book which every theosophist, especially those with a mystical curiosity or tendency should read and deeply contemplate.
This work brings state of the art Medicine and scientific inquiry, to an exploration of what was once considered taboo subjects for scientific inquiry. These include death, dying, afterlife, consciousness, and self. A partial conclusion drawn from the author’s investigative studies show that death is not a binary event. It is not an event like the turning on and off of a switch. Rather it can be seen as a continuum of experiences of deepening degree that intimately involve self-conscious awareness, a sense of self, and often the encounter with an expansive luminous field or being of consciousness communicating a sense of compassion, love, and deepening empathic understanding. Such experiences occur while the person objectively has been declared medically dead.
Our author begins his scientific journey by citing experiments which reveal that the brain of pigs can live independent of a body. Such experimentally severed brains after death, supported by the proper conditions, can still evidence burst of brain wave energy, suggestive of an active brain. Similarly, bursts of gamma brain wave activity, (a very high frequency level of brain waves associated with higher level consciousness functioning in living humans) seen occurring in deceased humans suggest in one interpretation that consciousness, or some related brain processes may still be occurring after a human has been determined to be medically deceased. This begs the question, when does what we call death, as irreversible truly occur? This question is explored by our author.
A brief historical review of studies exploring consciousness during phases of death and dying, previously called near death experiences, is presented. These include ancient descriptions by Plato, and more recent authors writing in the 1800’s and 1900’s. A review of the research of pioneers in the field exploring near or after death states is presented, including findings from the works of more recent researchers such as Raymond Moody, and Bruce Greyson. A review of key themes of experience recalled by person’s declared medically dead are examined. Some of these themes involve going through a tunnel, returning home, encountering a being of light, universal pervasive consciousness, life review, rebirth, and other transformative experiences. From such studies it was made clear that what we see from the outside while looking at a dying person or dead form, may not be what the “consciousness being” is experiencing from within. Many such experiences are collated from around the world and the various themes of experience compared and collated.
In trying to more decisively describe such unique experiences, the author uses the terms Hyperconscious experience, recalled experience of death, and lucid death, as well as liminal states and/or “grey zone”. He does this to describe the transitional states or phases of consciousness experience, that an individual, fully aware and reflective, goes through during the unlinking process from the body s/he has been identified with throughout life.
Important distinctions between dreams, hallucinations, drug induced illusions, delusions, hallucinatory perceptions and experiences are examined, and the elements that separate them from lucidly recalled death experiences of the so-called returning dead are made clear.
A review of conversations with Doctors who have experienced these lucid recalled death states after being declared dead themselves are discussed. Efforts shared by other doctors and scientist to understand the difference between the brain and neuronal activity as correlates of consciousness, versus consciousness itself are discussed along with their implications.
Finally, a summing up and integration of the vast degree of medical, scientific, and recollected experiences of lucid dying are brough together and meaningful questions raised. These include questions such as, when is a person truly “dead”? Since the zone is “grey” when do we stop trying to resuscitate? Related questions of morality and ethics, and so much more are included.
In trying to remain objectively scientific the author lets us know, he is not attaching any philosophical or religious meaning to these findings, leaving that up to the reader. Nonetheless he acknowledges that the recalled and perhaps lived experience of those returning from a state of medically determined death have surely happened. And these experiences need to be understood.
For the theosophist in search of truths, this book will help take a step closer to deepen an understanding of our principles, even those considered to be occult or esoteric. It is a book worth spending time and concentration reading and pondering.
This edition of Notable Books was compiled by Eugene Jennings.