Gilbert Emily Gilbert Ms. Vyse English II 4/14/16 Proof of Heaven Can spirituality and science change the way we understand and experience life on Earth forever? In his book, Proof of Heaven, Dr. Eben Alexander tells of his near death experience that he encountered while in a coma. He also discusses his background leading up to his experience, the scientific explanation of his experience, what happened while he was in the coma, and lastly what happened afterwards. Alexander is a neurosurgeon, husband, and father. He spent his adult life devoting himself to science by researching, writing about, and working with patients with severe, life-threatening brain conditions, and teaching others about neuroscience and neurosurgery. If anyone …show more content…
(13) one November evening in 2008. He woke in the morning to more severe back pains. He first thought he had a virus because of his symptoms, but, after he got out of the shower he ?was still in agony and virtually paralyzed? (15). He laid back in bed while his wife, Holley, helped their younger son get ready for school. By the time his wife had gotten back upstairs to check on how he was doing, he had begun to lose consciousness. ?I was jerking violently. My lower jaw was jutting forward unnaturally, and my eyes were open and rolling back into my head? (16). Alexander was rushed to the emergency room where he slipped into a seven-day long coma, leaving his doctors with the job of figuring out why. Dr. Alexander?s knowledge of the brain and neuroscience could not help his situation, but the near death experience he had while he was in the coma made him question everything he previously thought he knew about faith, heaven, and the scientific …show more content…
(Map of Heaven Intro 27) in a near death experience that changed everything he thought he knew about the brain, science, life, the afterlife. According to Eternea, ?a nonprofit publicly supported charity? Dr. Alexander and his friend cofounded to educate the public about the physics of consciousness and the meeting of science and spirituality, the term Near Death Experience was first used by Dr. Raymond Moody in his book Life After Life (?NDE Definition?). The International Association of Near-Death Experiences was later formed to research the experience, and hundreds of near death experience accounts were collected (?NDE Definition?). A near-death experience (NDE) is defined as ?a spiritual, transcendental or other-worldly event that can occur during a clinical, imminent or possibly imminent death situation (?NDE Definition?). According to Gideon Lichfield, author of ?The Science of Near-Death Experiences,? near death experiences ?can be wonderful, life-changing experiences that shed light on the human condition and on questions of life and