A few days ago many read with interest our blog entry concerning the work of British scientist Dr. Sam Parnia (author of “What Happens When We Die“) on the scientific study of death. We’re following this up with the video of a recent lecture by Dr. Parnia on “Near Death Experiences During Cardiac Arrest”, which was given at the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit (APRU), Goldsmiths, University of London, on 23 March 2010. in the lecture, Dr. Parnia makes the case that Western science needs to re-examine its views about the mind and the brain, and that perhaps “the mind is a separate, undiscovered entity to the brain”. We present the lecture here in connection with Lama Ole Nydahl’s forthcoming lecture in London on “Death and Rebirth“, as much of what Dr. Parnia discusses has commonalities with the Tibetan Buddhist teachings about the experience of mind during and after the death process. the lecture lasts over 50 minutes but is well worth watching in full.
Dr Sam Parnia: Near Death Experiences During Cardiac Arrest from APRU on Vimeo.
From the APRU Vimeo channel carrying the lecture recording:
One of the subjects that has both captivated and eluded humankind throughout time is the mystery of what happens when we die. Although traditionally a subject for philosophical or theological debate, scientific progress has begun to shed light on both the physiological as well as cognitive processes such as near death experiences that take place during clinical death. Dr. Sam Parnia, author of What Happens When We Die, chronicles the history and development of the study of cardiac arrest as well as near death experiences. At the same time, he will introduce the novel method he and his colleagues have devised to study the phenomenon of consciousness and the human mind at the end of life, which they hope will finally enable science to resolve the mystery of near death experiences.
One of the world’s leading experts on the scientific study of death, the state of the human mind-brain, and near-death experiences, Dr. Sam Parnia spends his time between hospitals in the United Kingdom and Cornell University in New York, where he is a Fellow in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Founder of the Human Consciousness Project and Horizon Research Foundation, he has published extensively and presented his work at scientific institutions across the country. His groundbreaking research has been featured on the Discovery Channel documentary, The Day I Died.
Other posts which may be of interest :
FollowTags: brain, Death, near death experience, Sam Parnia
