"What is heaven?" A good question posed by my 8-year-old and which definitely multiplied the frown lines on my forehead two-fold struggling for an answer. All I came up with, at that time, was a vague "It's the most peaceful place, where there is no pain or suffering, only joy and love." That answer may have been good enough to tide over that conversation, but it did set me to thinking as I am sure it has for all of you. It's a tough subject, and if we had an opportunity to visit heaven like mile-marker on the freeway, maybe we'd have some concrete evidence to submit a definition to Wiki; however, that's simply not possible.
There is scientific evidence that speaks to near death experiences and conclusions drawn from that which land either on the "scientific side" (i.e., clinical documented reasons for our brain to emit synapses or signals that demistyfies what near death experiences are) OR, we simply choose to believe that those near death experiences are truly, indeed, a person's "glimpse" into a journey to...heaven.
I guess you have to ask yourself, which end of the spectrum you fall on? Do you believe that heaven exists or, that our brain simply sends out signals at the last moments of life that may "look like heaven"?
To be more specific, near death experiences are explained to be based on emotions (those feelings that virtually everyone has, but few understand). In this case, we focus on memory and brain processing and how emotions play a role in near death experiences. In case you are new to this subject matter, a near death experience is simply what a person haas experienced when they have died or experience imminent life threatening event and subsequently came back to life.
Many times, emotions operate on a subconscious level and we are only consciously aware of them by extreme situations (an operation of the pons, in the brain). During sleep or periods of unconsciousness, information is sent to portions of the cerebral cortex and saved (like the hard drive of your computer). A primary function of emotions in the cortex helps us to organize, store and access information in the brain.
If you saw the movie, "Dragonfly" with Kevin Costner, you already know that he and his wife were physicians in the same hospital. In the movie, Kevin Costner's wife had volunteered in a third-world country as a physician, and was presumed dead after an accident. Her pediatric patients on the oncology ward were repeatedly experiencing connections with her during periods of sleep, unconsciousness or imminent life-threatening events where they came back to life to pass this on to her husband..with a message. It's an interesting movie on many levels and leaves probably more questions than answers to the subject of near death experiences.
Here is a quote from one who experienced a near death event which I think is very true:
Yes, I understood from the experience that it's the love we feel when we're alive that
we take with us...the only regrets we have, are the love we hold back.
Each of us, as a human being, is a very, very special person. After all, we all begin life by winning the first race of our life... a race against more than 20 million other sperm cells. This, alone, means each of us is literally "one in a million." There is, therefore, more to humanity than meets the eye. Beyond our own visual reality, there exists a higher reality where our true self resides...it's not a mystery, it lies within each of us.
So, back to the question...where is heaven? Is it up in the sky somewhere? From the beginning of humanity, humans have searched for the answer to this question...movies have been made, songs written, books published...all of which suggest that searching for heaven is like searching for an illusion. Or is it? Maybe the answer is so easy to find, we just make the question so difficult?
Religious figures such as Jesus and Buddha help humanity understand that "love is the way to heaven" and that this "heaven is found within."
The religious consensus is that there exists a total of "10 realms" that make up the spirit world. Physicists, using some theory called "SuperString" calculate the universe is made up of 10-dimensional. They say these dimensions exist in the same space as the physical universe..like boxes within a box. Each individual has to draw their own conclusion on where heaven is, but I think those who have experienced near death certainly have a lot to say about the topic. Let me also say that not everyone who has experienced a near death experience has immediate recall of the experience. For whatever reason, it may not be remembered until years later if ever.
Experiencing a near death event is often referred to as a step into the spiritual condition we have been building within ourselves our entire life. It is a life of love that leads to heaven. Love is God's paradise for humanity and we can create this paradise from heaven, on Earth, within us if we learn to love one another.
Those who know me well know I talk about love and unconditional love often. I think there is a difference between simply "doing good deeds" and the amount of love we have the capacity to give. When we truly love...without hesitation or second thought, our thoughts and actions become one and more based on our true intentions. In most cases, in our daily lives, we don't focus, every day, on getting to the "core" of our souls.
When my step-father passed away, I had a vivid dream where he was in a place that had endless rooms of trophy mounts and comfortable chairs, with vibrant colors and huge doors. I suspect it was my subconscious on over-drive trying to place where he might be so far away from me. It struck me then, we are merely visitors on this Earth and that heaven is our real home. So far apart from each other, yet so close, in away in that the love of God, in heaven, is like the air we breathe on Earth.
Maybe, then, our goal should not be so much to identify where is heaven, but to bring heaven to Earth? Maybe there is a reason, too, why not everyone experiences a near death event. Perhaps too many glimpses of heaven might destroy our freedom.
There is scientific evidence that speaks to near death experiences and conclusions drawn from that which land either on the "scientific side" (i.e., clinical documented reasons for our brain to emit synapses or signals that demistyfies what near death experiences are) OR, we simply choose to believe that those near death experiences are truly, indeed, a person's "glimpse" into a journey to...heaven.
I guess you have to ask yourself, which end of the spectrum you fall on? Do you believe that heaven exists or, that our brain simply sends out signals at the last moments of life that may "look like heaven"?
To be more specific, near death experiences are explained to be based on emotions (those feelings that virtually everyone has, but few understand). In this case, we focus on memory and brain processing and how emotions play a role in near death experiences. In case you are new to this subject matter, a near death experience is simply what a person haas experienced when they have died or experience imminent life threatening event and subsequently came back to life.
Many times, emotions operate on a subconscious level and we are only consciously aware of them by extreme situations (an operation of the pons, in the brain). During sleep or periods of unconsciousness, information is sent to portions of the cerebral cortex and saved (like the hard drive of your computer). A primary function of emotions in the cortex helps us to organize, store and access information in the brain.
If you saw the movie, "Dragonfly" with Kevin Costner, you already know that he and his wife were physicians in the same hospital. In the movie, Kevin Costner's wife had volunteered in a third-world country as a physician, and was presumed dead after an accident. Her pediatric patients on the oncology ward were repeatedly experiencing connections with her during periods of sleep, unconsciousness or imminent life-threatening events where they came back to life to pass this on to her husband..with a message. It's an interesting movie on many levels and leaves probably more questions than answers to the subject of near death experiences.
Here is a quote from one who experienced a near death event which I think is very true:
Yes, I understood from the experience that it's the love we feel when we're alive that
we take with us...the only regrets we have, are the love we hold back.
Each of us, as a human being, is a very, very special person. After all, we all begin life by winning the first race of our life... a race against more than 20 million other sperm cells. This, alone, means each of us is literally "one in a million." There is, therefore, more to humanity than meets the eye. Beyond our own visual reality, there exists a higher reality where our true self resides...it's not a mystery, it lies within each of us.
So, back to the question...where is heaven? Is it up in the sky somewhere? From the beginning of humanity, humans have searched for the answer to this question...movies have been made, songs written, books published...all of which suggest that searching for heaven is like searching for an illusion. Or is it? Maybe the answer is so easy to find, we just make the question so difficult?
Religious figures such as Jesus and Buddha help humanity understand that "love is the way to heaven" and that this "heaven is found within."
The religious consensus is that there exists a total of "10 realms" that make up the spirit world. Physicists, using some theory called "SuperString" calculate the universe is made up of 10-dimensional. They say these dimensions exist in the same space as the physical universe..like boxes within a box. Each individual has to draw their own conclusion on where heaven is, but I think those who have experienced near death certainly have a lot to say about the topic. Let me also say that not everyone who has experienced a near death experience has immediate recall of the experience. For whatever reason, it may not be remembered until years later if ever.
Experiencing a near death event is often referred to as a step into the spiritual condition we have been building within ourselves our entire life. It is a life of love that leads to heaven. Love is God's paradise for humanity and we can create this paradise from heaven, on Earth, within us if we learn to love one another.
Those who know me well know I talk about love and unconditional love often. I think there is a difference between simply "doing good deeds" and the amount of love we have the capacity to give. When we truly love...without hesitation or second thought, our thoughts and actions become one and more based on our true intentions. In most cases, in our daily lives, we don't focus, every day, on getting to the "core" of our souls.
When my step-father passed away, I had a vivid dream where he was in a place that had endless rooms of trophy mounts and comfortable chairs, with vibrant colors and huge doors. I suspect it was my subconscious on over-drive trying to place where he might be so far away from me. It struck me then, we are merely visitors on this Earth and that heaven is our real home. So far apart from each other, yet so close, in away in that the love of God, in heaven, is like the air we breathe on Earth.
Maybe, then, our goal should not be so much to identify where is heaven, but to bring heaven to Earth? Maybe there is a reason, too, why not everyone experiences a near death event. Perhaps too many glimpses of heaven might destroy our freedom.
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