Eben Alexander: Proof of Heaven

Loeffler, Jay, 91

love:

as center of universe, 48, 130, 170

and compassion, 85

as message to author, 41, 71

unconditional, 71–72, 73, 83–84, 131, 148, 161, 170–71

LSD, 186

lumbar puncture, 19, 21–22, 183

Matson, Donald, 51

meditation, 158, 161

Melville, Herman, 136

memory:

and brain, 115, 117, 141, 185, 188

and NDE experiences, 139, 141, 185, 188

need to share, 124–25, 126–28

and reboot phenomenon, 142–43, 188

recovery of, 122, 124

meningitis:

author’s unique case of, 23–24, 89–92, 132, 186–87

bacterial, 19–21, 23–24, 89, 91, 132–33, 144, 183

causes of, 23–24

and cerebrospinal fluid, 19

gram-negative bacterial type, 25, 27, 92

mortality rate in, 21, 25, 92, 183

spontaneous E. coli bacterial type, 23, 91–92, 183

and superficial cortex damage, 187

mescaline, 186

Midas Rex drill, 35

mind over matter, 155

miracle:

expectation of, 105

medical, 184

telling the story of, 144

Monroe, Robert A., 158

Moody, Raymond, Life After Life, 133–34, 135

MRI (magnetic resonance image), 36

mystical states, 158

mystical worldview, 154

NDE (near-death experience):

author’s experience of, 9, 77–79, 89–92, 135, 141–44, 149, 161, 162–64, 170–71, 188

believers of, 140

and cardiac arrest, 133–34

classic occurrences of, 77

difficulty of conveying to others, 10, 72, 125, 135, 136, 144, 162

earthly identity forgotten in, 162–64

literature of, 78–79, 126–27, 131–32, 134, 162

and memory, 139, 141, 185, 188

moving toward the light in, 38–39

neuroscientific hypotheses of, 141–44, 185–88

openness to understanding of, 140–41, 146

other people’s experiences of, 76–77, 131–32, 162, 168

unbelievers of, 140, 141

uniqueness of each experience of, 131, 162

written account of, 127–28

neocortex:

electrical activity of, 159

functional column of, 187

and reboot phenomenon, 188

shut down in coma, 8, 9, 133, 141–42, 144, 186, 188

neurotransmitters, 142

neutrons, 150

N of 1, 89–92

Om (God):

all-knowing, 159–60

communicating with, 48, 160–61

connection to, 104, 148

empathy of, 86

as God, 47; see also God

impersonal nature of, 85–86

universal, 156–57

On Life After Death (Kübler-Ross), 168

openness, 140–41, 146, 156

Orb, 47, 48, 102, 160

out-of-body experiences, 153, 158, 159, 161

parachute jumps, author’s experiences with, 2–6, 85

particles, 150

pathos, 157

Pauli, Wolfgang, 154

pineal gland, 142

placebo effect, power of, 155

Potter, Laura, 17–19, 21–22, 23

prayer, 24, 94, 103, 108, 158, 161

precognition, 153

protons, 150

psychokinesis, 153

punctuation marks, 157

quantum mechanics, 149–50, 154–56

rainbow, appearance of, 105

reality:

in author’s coma experience, 9–10, 39, 78, 129–30, 185

brain model of, 80, 138

and consciousness, 150, 154

fantasy vs., 41, 138

as illusion, 80

and quantum mechanics, 154

ultra-reality, 78, 117, 185, 186, 187, 188

of unconditional love, 71–72

universe as part of, 49

Realm of the Earthworm’s-Eye View:

consciousness in, 30–31, 76

leaving, 32, 70

memories of, 131, 147

primordial world of, 29–32, 69, 76, 78, 108, 117

returning to, 68–70, 102, 108

reboot phenomenon, 142–43, 188

recognitions, 157

reincarnation, 152–53

Reintjes, Susan:

and author’s return, 108

and coma patients, 87–88, 101

spiritual healing activities of, 87

telepathic communication from, 88, 143

Third Eye Open, 87

relationships, 150–51

religion, 147–48

REM intrusion, 142

remote viewing, 153

REM sleep, 142

Reticular Activating System, 159

Ritchie, George, 133–34

Romano, David M., “When Tomorrow Starts Without Me,” 165–68

sailplane, author’s experience in, 1–2, 61

Schrödinger, Erwin, 154

science:

and consciousness, 151–52, 171

honesty and cleanness of, 36

knowledge sought by, 86

limitations of, 153

neuroscientific hypotheses of NDEs, 141–44, 185–88

reductionism of, 140, 171

and spirituality, 72–73, 128, 130, 140

and unconditional love, 71–72

scientific method, 152–53

self, experience of, 160

separation anxiety, 76

serotonin, 142, 186

Singer, Isaac B., 80

skepticism, 132, 153

skydiving, author’s experiences of, 2–6, 61, 85, 116, 118–19

soul:

concept of, 36, 152–53

healing of, 170

leaving the body, 161

space and time, locality in, 156

Spinning Melody, 38–39, 70, 102

spirit:

concept of, 36, 84, 85, 132, 154

human, 152

spirituality, and science, 72–73, 128, 130, 140

spiritual realm:

knowledge of, 81–83, 158

and profound mystery of conscious existence, 154

Street, Gus, 1

subatomic phenomena, 150, 156

Sullivan, David, 26–27

Sullivan, Jean Alexander (sister), 26–27, 53

closeness of author and, 89–90

at the hospital, 108

Sullivan, Michael:

conducting a church service, 147

at the hospital, 26, 42, 93–94

and onset of coma, 26, 27

prayers of, 42, 94, 103

Sullivan, Page, 93, 103

supernatural beliefs, 35

superstition, 140

Surgical Neurology, 52

Susanna (patient), 137–39, 144

Tatter, Steve, 91

telepathic communication, 88, 143, 153

terminal lucidity, 146

thalamus, 159, 187

theory of everything (TOE), 150, 153–54

Third Eye Open (Reintjes), 87

time and space, locality in, 156

trans-earthly voyagers, 133–34

true thought, 84–85

ultra-reality, 78, 117, 185, 186, 187, 188

unconditional love, 71–72, 73, 83–84, 131, 148, 161, 170–71

universe:

on a different frequency, 156

becoming, 160

dark matter/energy in, 82, 155

God’s presence in, 156–57

higher dimensions of, 48–49

interconnectedness in, 151

love as center of, 48, 130, 170

no beginning or end to, 156–57

perfection of, 85

punctuation marks in, 157

purposeful nature of, 81

space and time in, 156

Vaughan, Henry, 48

viewing, remote, 153

Wade, Scott, 105–7, 108, 111, 112–13, 115

statement by, 183–84

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, 50

Webster, Ann (birth mother), 61–65, 66

Webster, Betsy (biological sister), 66, 165, 168–69

Webster, Bob (biological uncle), 65–66

Webster, David (biological brother), 61

Webster, Kathy (biological sister), 61, 66, 165, 168

Webster, Richard (biological father), 61, 62, 63, 65–66

“When Tomorrow Starts Without Me” (Romano), 165–68

White, Sylvia, 26, 87, 97, 100, 105, 108, 111–12

Wilson, Bill and Patty, 12

Wizard of Oz, The (film), 72

Seventy percent is “dark energy,” that most mysterious force discovered by astronomers in the mid-1990s as they found incontrovertible proof based on Type Ia supernovas that for the last five billion years the universe has been falling up —that the expansion of all of space is accelerating . Another 26 percent is “dark matter,” the anomalous “excess” gravity revealed over the last few decades in the rotation of galaxies and galactic clusters. Explanations will be made, but the mysteries beyond will never end.