I don't want to upstage the ongoing discussion about parapsychology and statistics in the previous thread(s), though I must admit that my eyes glaze over when these complex mathematical issues are examined in detail. Heck, I don't even balance my checkbook …
Anyway, for those looking for a less technical topic, here's something interesting. One of my Facebook friends, Carol Lorraine, recently posted a link to an interview with Dr. Tony Cicoria, an orthopedic surgeon who had a near-death experience in 1994 when he was struck by lightning. The experience itself is vivid and notable; what is perhaps even more noteworthy is that afterward he developed a newfound passion for music, and began writing his own compositions, which he says are simply "downloaded" into his brain.
Though I suggest you read the whole thing (it's not long), I'll include part of Dr. Cicoria's discussion of his NDE:
When I had the experience the thing that I was struck about was that time did not exist. I did not have any sense of time. I could have been gone for a week and there would not have been any appreciation of time as an entity, per se. But one of the things about the whole experience was the confusion I felt when I initially separated from my body. I knew that I had gotten struck, and I knew that I had gone flying backwards and then I was standing there, and I was confused. There was nothing that signified that I had left. It was a continuum of consciousness. There was never a microsecond where I wasn’t thinking and conscious of everything I was doing. But, the thing that was lacking was that there was no connection to this reality, whatsoever. You know, as I floated up the stairs and I went into the room where the big family gathering was, I saw my kids as I was passing through. And I had really no concern other than the fact that when I saw them, I just had the feeling that they’re going to be fine …
But I had no need to stay there. It was like, “Oh, well, so I’m obviously going someplace else.” For a brief microsecond the highs and lows of my life just kind of flashed in front of me, and it was, okay, that was that. Then when I left the building, that’s when I was surrounded in this aqua-colored, bluish-white light, for lack of something better to call it.
When I was in the light, I no longer had any connection to previous reality, but yet my consciousness was absolutely racing, and I was absorbing all of the feelings that I was having of how wonderful this was and there isn’t any negative thought, everything is positive thought and love and warmth and a great feeling. It was just incredible. Right about the time that I realized, “This is the most wonderful thing that anyone could experience,” boom, I was back! And I remember when I was suddenly back and I realized I was back, I was angry. I remember screaming, “please don’t make me go back, I don’t want to be here.”
There are several details in this account that tie in closely with many other such reports.
First, the absence of any sense of time.
Second, his lack of any sense of attachment to this life – even to his own children. ("Okay, that was that.") This reminds me of a point that our commenter Art has made – namely, that upon making the transition to the other side, we will see this life as little more than a brief, almost inconsequential dream.
Third, a greatly accelerated and super-focused consciousness.
Fourth, the image of being "in the light."
Finally, extreme reluctance to go back to his physical, earthly life, because his experience after passing was purely positive. ("… how wonderful this was and there isn’t any negative thought, everything is positive thought and love and warmth and a great feeling.") No wonder he was screaming, “Please don’t make me go back, I don’t want to be here,” as he was revived.
As I said, many other cases have these elements. What makes this case especially evidential, in my view, is how greatly Dr. Cicoria's life changed after the experience. His ability to write complex musical compositions without apparent effort is totally new. Skeptics sometimes ask why people who come back from the other side don't bring with them any of the knowledge that they were supposedly exposed to over there. But here we have a case of someone who brought back, if not knowledge exactly, at least the ability to tap into a creative source that was previously unknown to him. Of course, it could be argued that the lightning strike simply activated a heretofore unused potentiality of his brain.
Best-selling writer Oliver Sacks features Dr. Cicoria's story, including its remarkable aftermath, in his new book Musicophilia: Tales of Music and The Brain.