Life after death? Scientists claim proof

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Is there life after death? The religious people know the answer is yes, but a new study may offer confidence to the science-minded who want proof.

According to a four-year State University of New York study, which examined 2,060 cardiac-arrest cases across 15 hospitals, there is indeed life after death.

"Contrary to perception, death is not a specific moment but a potentially reversible process that occurs after any severe illness or accident causes the heart, lungs and brain to cease functioning," says Dr. Sam Parnia, assistant professor of Critical Care Medicine and director of Resuscitation Research at The State University of New York, and the study's lead author.

"If attempts are made to reverse this process, it is referred to as 'cardiac arrest.' However, if these attempts do not succeed, it is called 'death.' In this study we wanted to go beyond the emotionally charged yet poorly defined term of NDEs to explore objectively what happens when we die."

The study reveals themes relating to the experience of death appear far broader than what has been understood so far, or what has been described as so called near-death experiences (NDEs). In some cases of cardiac arrest, for example, memories of visual awareness compatible with so-called out-of-body experiences (OBEs) may correspond with actual events.

For example, the study shows 39 percent of patients who survived cardiac arrest and were able to undergo structured interviews described a perception of awareness, but interestingly did not have any explicit recall of events.

"This suggests more people may have mental activity initially but then lose their memories after recovery, either due to the effects of brain injury or sedative drugs on memory recall," says Parnia.

Among those who reported a perception of awareness and completed further interviews, 46 percent experienced a "broad range" of mental recollections in relation to death that were not compatible with the commonly used term of NDEs. These included fearful and persecutory experiences.

Only 9 percent had experiences compatible with NDEs and 2 percent exhibited full awareness compatible with OBEs with explicit recall of "seeing" and "hearing" events. One case was validated and timed using auditory stimuli during cardiac arrest.

"This is significant, since it has often been assumed that experiences in relation to death are likely hallucinations or illusions, occurring either before the heart stops or after the heart has been successfully restarted, but not an experience corresponding with 'real' events when the heart isn't beating," Parnia explains.

In this case, he says, consciousness and awareness appeared to occur during a three-minute period when there was no heartbeat. This is paradoxical, he continues, since the brain typically ceases functioning within 20 to 30 seconds of the heart stopping and doesn't resume again until the heart has been restarted. What's more, the detailed recollections of visual awareness in this case were consistent with verified events.

"Thus, while it was not possible to absolutely prove the reality or meaning of patients' experiences and claims of awareness—due to the very low incidence (2 percent) of explicit recall of visual awareness or so called OBEs—it was impossible to disclaim them either and more work is needed in this area," Parnia says. "Clearly, the recalled experience surrounding death now merits further genuine investigation without prejudice."

"God does not exist": Stephen Hawking

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The story of Stephen Hawking is a paradox: The 72 years scientist does not believe in miracles ignoring the fact that he is a living miracle himself, as he exceeded the life expectancy of a person with ALS. 

The question of creation has tormented men since we can remember, and traditionally people have attributed to a divine action. Today science has refined the theory of the Big Bang and the Big Bang that originated the universe is more than confirmed. Thanks to the latest advances it is possible to understand exactly what had happened microseconds after, ie, how galaxies and planets were formed. But there is still no definitive answer on what happened before, what or who caused this outbreak and what is their reason for being.

For centuries scientists and philosophers have attempted to unravel these complex questions. The British cosmologist Stephen Hawking is one of the minds that have spent most time and energy devoted to the subject. His approaches and his life accomplishments have made him a star wherever he goes where people make their way to take a selfie at his side, and every sentence he utters is without any doubt a secure media headline. Lately, as a guest of honor of the festival of astrophysics Starmus on the island of Tenerife, his words again caused controversy when he unceremoniously reaffirmed that 'God does not exist', ignoring completely the laws of physics and science that he so much have tried to defend. 

"In the past, before we understood the science it was logical to think that God created the universe. But now science offers a more convincing explanation "he told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. In his most famous work, A Brief History of Time, published in 1988, Hawking suggested that men would only know the "mind of God" when he managed to understand the theory of everything, which consistently seeks to unify the forces that govern the universe. The world famous astrophysicist considered agnostic, as though he could not scientifically prove the existence of a higher divine being, he had never closed the doors to that possibility: He simply believed that the concept of the divine was beyond his knowledge.

In 2010, however, he elaborated that idea in his book The Grand Design, where he declared that the universe came from nothing, spontaneously, as an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics. In short, in his point of view God is not necessary to explain the origin of everything. He has now confirmed his radical stance: "What I meant when I assured my statement about knowing 'the mind of God' was that we would understand all what God would be able to archive if he would now exist. But there is no God. I am an atheist. Religion believes in miracles, but these are not supported by science", he concludes.

That statement is no less paradoxical, because to many he is proof that miracles exist. At age of 21 he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurodegeneration disease that causes progressive muscle paralysis, the same that caused the anger of the Ice 'bucket challenge'. The doctors gave her two to three years, but miraclely Hawking defied predictions. Today, at 72, he can only move his eyes and cheeks. With those he controls a computer that allow you him communicate through a voice synthesizer. With robotic accent he insists that science is the answer to everything.

According to the scientist science alone is the way to understand the origin and structure of the universe. In fact, right now we are close to achieving this goal, "he adds. Hawking refers to the recent discovery of gravitational waves generated during the creation of the cosmos which confirms the idea of inflation. According to this, after the Big Bang, the universe expanded at a faster rate than light and in the process they may have created other universes, as if it were a pot of boiling water where hundreds of bubbles appear and collide. This position, known as the theory of the multiverse, sheds light on what happened before the big bang.

The British is optimistic, as for him, "there is no aspect of reality beyond the reach of the human mind." Missing all the miracles that is happening around him and scientifically proven but not explained near death experiences or how the mediums have been able to speak with the death...

How to Use More Than 10 Percent of our Brain

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If you ask around your community you will find that most of the people believe that we only use 10% of our brain power. In the US, 65% of the people believe in the 10% brain usage theory. In fact this myth is as false as the evolution explained by Darwin and known today as the theory of the Darwinism which is a theory of biological evolution, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce. In other words it a scientific theory stating that all humans are all originated from apes and by developing our brain capacity we have evolved to the beings we are today. The theory explains that the animals are only using between 3 to 5 percent of their brain capacity but humans were able to develop their minds a step further reaching 10% of our brain’s capacity making us evolve from apes we ones were to modern homo sapiens we became today.

 The Ten-Percent theory

It is estimated most human beings only use 10 percent of the brain’s capacity. Imagine if we could access 100 percent?

Unless you have a traumatic brain injury or other neurological disorder, you already have access to 100 percent of your brain! Your brain is available all the time, even when you’re sleeping. Even the most basic functions of your brain use more than 10 percent—your hindbrain and cerebellum, which control automatic bodily functions like breathing and balance, make up 12 percent of your brain, and you definitely need those just to stay alive.

The Ten-Percent claim pops up all the time. In 1998, national magazine ads for U.S. Satellite Broadcasting showed a drawing of a brain. Under it was the caption, "You only use 11 percent of its potential." Well, they're a little closer than the ten-percent figure, but still off by about 89 percent. In July 1998, ABC television ran promotional spots for The Secret Lives of Men, one of their offerings for the fall season's lineup. The spot featured a full-screen blurb that read, "Men only use ten percent of their brains." By using 100% of our brain capacity some scientists believe that it will be the moment where we reach extraordinary mental abilities and even get super or unnatural powers such as controlling other people’s minds, flying or seeing other dimensions.

One reason this myth has endured is that it has been adopted by psychics and other paranormal pushers to explain psychic powers. On more than one occasion I've heard psychics tell their audiences, "We only use ten percent of our minds. If scientists don't know what we do with the other ninety percent, it must be used for psychic powers!" In Reason To Believe: A Practical Guide to Psychic Phenomena, author Michael Clark mentions a man named Craig Karges. Karges charges a lot of money for his "Intuitive Edge" program, designed to develop natural psychic abilities. Clark quotes Karges as saying: "We normally use only 10 to 20 percent of our minds. Think how different your life would be if you could utilize that other 80 to 90 percent known as the subconscious mind."

This was also the reason that Caroline Myss gave for her alleged intuitive powers on a segment of Eye to Eye with Bryant Gumbel, which aired in July of 1998. Myss, who has written books on unleashing "intuitive powers," said that everyone has intuitive gifts, and lamented that we use so little of the mind's potential. To make matters worse, just the week before, on the very same program, correct information was presented about the myth. In a bumper spot between the program and commercials, a quick quiz flashed onscreen: What percentage of the brain is used? The multiple-choice answers ranged from 10 percent to 100 percent. The correct answer appeared which I was glad to see. But if the producers knew that what one of their interviewees said is clearly and demonstrably inaccurate, why did they let it air? Does the right brain not know what the left brain is doing? Perhaps the Myss interview was a repeat, in which case the producers presumably checked her facts after it aired and felt some responsibility to correct the error in the following week's broadcast. Or possibly the broadcasts aired in sequence and the producers simply did not care and broadcast Myss and her misinformation anyway.

Even Uri Geller, who has made a career out of trying to convince people he can bend metal with his mind, trots out this little gem. This claim appears in his book Uri Geller's Mind-Power Book in the introduction: "Our minds are capable of remarkable, incredible feats, yet we don't use them to their full capacity. In fact, most of us only use about 10 per cent of our brains, if that. The other 90 per cent is full of untapped potential and undiscovered abilities, which mean our minds, are only operating in a very limited way instead of at full stretch. I believe that we once had full power over our minds. We had to, in order to survive, but as our world has become more sophisticated and complex we have forgotten many of the abilities we once had" (italicized phrases emphasized in original).

Evidence against the Ten-Percent Myth

Brain imaging research techniques such as PET scans (positron emission tomography) and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) clearly show that the vast majority of the brain does not lie fallow. Indeed, although certain minor functions may use only a small part of the brain at one time, any sufficiently complex set of activities or thought patterns will indeed use many parts of the brain. Just as people don't use all of their muscle groups at one time, they also don't use all of their brain at once. For any given activity, such as eating, watching television, making love, or reading, you may use a few specific parts of your brain. Over the course of a whole day, however, just about all of the brain is used at one time or another. 

Basic biology also tells us that it’s unlikely we’re leaving 90 percent of the brain unused. Unused cells tend to atrophy; for instance, muscle atrophy occurs in people who have a broken arm in a sling for several weeks. Parts of the brain we aren’t using would also atrophy—and this is actually what happens when our brains are deprived of blood flow or oxygen, as happens during a stroke or heart attack. Terri Schiavo was in a vegetative state for 15 years after she went into cardiac arrest, which damaged 50 percent of her brain. Even damage to small, specific portions of the brain can drastically affect day-to-day functioning, leaving people unable to talk, read, or understand language. Losing 90 percent of your brain would be catastrophic and almost certainly fatal.

There is a way to measure what parts of the brain are actively working. Neuroscientists often measure brain activity by identifying the places in which brain cells, called neurons, are sending chemical and electrical signals to other neurons. Another interpretation is the restriction of having only 10 percent of our neurons are firing at any given time. But this interpretation doesn’t fare much better: By any measure of brain activity, more than 10 percent is being used, and in any case, you don’t want 100 percent of your neurons firing at once, because that would constitute a killer seizure.

Muhammad: The inside story of the last prophet

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To all Muslims and non-Muslims, Salamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuhu, which simply means in English translation "May the Peace, Mercy, and Blessings of Allah be upon you." Have you ever wondered why Muslims love the last Prophet so much? There are countless examples from every aspect of his blessed life to ponder upon, let just give a glimpse with same examples. After the death of two people most beloved to him, first his uncle, Abu Taalib (who had protected him from the people of Makkah), and after a couple of weeks, the death of his wife Khadija (who had been by his side throughout his mission as the Messenger of Allah), the emotional impact on the Holy Prophet was so severe that this year was called 'the year of sorrow'. And if these two incidents were not enough, the same year, a third incident occurred, and that incident is known as the 'Incident of Taif'.

There is a city close by to Makkah, around 80 km away, and is known by the name Taif. After preaching Islam in Makkah for 10 years, the Prophet decided to leave and try somewhere else. He thought that maybe the people of Taif would perhaps listen to the message and maybe they would be more inclined to accept the truth.

Once Aisha (R.A), the wife of the Holy Prophet asked, 'O Messenger of Allah, was there any day more difficult to you than on the day of the battle of Uhud?'' (For those who don't know, on the battle of Uhud, the Prophet was wounded, blood was coming from his blessed face, his teeth were dislodged, and even an arrow came and hit him. Much happened on the day of Uhud).

The Prophet said, 'Yes, the day of Taif was worse for me than the day of Uhud; that was the most difficult point of my life'. (I.e. This day of Taif had a very profound impact on the Prophet)

When the Prophet approached the tribe of Saqeef (the inhabitants of the city of Taif), he asked to meet the chief of the town, and the chiefs of the town were in fact three brothers (Their father was once the chief of the city, but once he died, the brothers decided to share the power among each other). So the three chiefs agreed to meet the Prophet as they didn't know why he wanted to meet them. When the Prophet introduced himself as the Messenger of Allah, and told them about Islam, worshiping only one God, and leaving idol worshiping, the three brothers ridiculed and insulted him in the worst possible manner. One of them said, 'If you are a Prophet, I might as well destroy the Kaabah' (meaning what's the point), another said, 'Did Allah not found any one better than you to send? You are the one He has chosen?', the third one said, 'If you are a Prophet, then you are too Holy for me to speak to, and if you are not a prophet (i.e. if you are a liar), then you are too ignoble for me (a noble man) to speak to' (i.e. either way, you are somebody I cannot speak to.)

But this wasn't the end of it, the three brothers then commanded their slaves and the youth to ridicule the Prophet and make fun of him. Also, to physically harm him by throwing stones at him, by pelting him as he was leaving the city. So, the Prophet was forced to leave the city while the people were ridiculing him, insulting him, and throwing stones at him, so much that the blood began to pour from his body and his shoes became soaked with his own blood. As he ran outside the city, he narrates to Aishaa, 'that I could not remember where I was going'. He was in such a state of shock that he did not know where he was until he reached a garden a few kilometers outside of Taif. The people of Taif had stopped chasing him, and he sat down, tired and bleeding, being tortured and humiliated by the people of Taif, all alone under a tree. He made a dua (call) to Allah (S.W.T) and said:

"O Allah! I complain to You of my weakness, my scarcity of resources and the humiliation I have been subjected to by the people. O Most Merciful of those who are merciful. O Lord of the weak, my Lord. To whom have you entrusted me? To a distant person who receives me with hostility? Or to an enemy to whom you have granted authority over my affair? So long as You are not angry with me, I do not care. Your favor is of a more expansive relief to me. I seek refuge in the light by which all darkness is dispelled from every affair of this world and the next is set right, lest Your anger or Your displeasure descends upon me. I desire Your pleasure and satisfaction until You are pleased. There is no power and no might except by You."

At this point, the Prophet said 'I saw a cloud hovering above me, lo and behold, I saw Jibreel (Angel Gabriel) came down from that cloud, and besides him was an angel that I had never seen before.' And Jibreel said to the Prophet Muhammad, 'O Muhammad, your Lord has seen how your people have responded to you, your Lord has seen what they have said to you, so he has sent me with the angel of the mountains to place at your disposal.'

The angel said, 'O Muhammad, if you want, command me and I will cause the two mountains of Taif to collapse upon them.' (For those of you who don't know, Taif is situated on some type of plateau, and the city is in between these two mountains, and the angel asked the Prophet if he should just squash the people between these mountains whose pebbles they used to stone the Prophet with).

The Prophet, still bleeding and his shoes still wet with blood says, 'No! Rather, I pray that Allah (S.W.T) blesses their children to be Muslims and worship Allah (S.W.T) alone. Even if they have rejected Islam, I pray that Allah (S.W.T) blesses their progeny to be Muslim.' SubhanAllah!

This was truly one of the greatest miracles and one of the most compassionate moments of the Prophet. So many are the lessons we learn from this incident. First and foremost, look at the trials and tribulations the Prophet was afflicted with, all of this so that he could spread the word of Allah (S.W.T) and so that he could spread the message of Islam. He was physically tortured, ridiculed and insulted by an entire city. Nobody was there to support him except Allah (S.W.T). Look at the prayer that the Holy Prophet made to Allah! That O Allah, as long as you're not angry with me, as long as your anger is not descending upon me, I don't care what happens with me. His main concern was the pleasure of Allah, not how mankind treated him! His main concern was that Allah (S.W.T) sends His blessings upon him. Just imagine for a second, the Prophet's ears were still ringing with the torture and the taunts of the people, the sarcastic comments and remarks had not been forgotten, the blood had not yet dried and was flowing, and yet in that state, he still forgave and made a prayer for the people of Taif, and he said at least let their children be Muslims O Allah (S.W.T). Just look at the love and concern he had. He showed the side of mercy and leniency, and that is why Allah says in the Quran.

'We have only sent you as a means of mercy for the entire world'. (21:107)

The miracle here is not that Allah sent the angel at the Prophet's disposal to crush the people of Taif, the miracle isn't that Allah responded to the prayer of the Prophet instantaneously, no! The real miracle is the forgiveness of the Prophet at this time. The real miracle is that the Prophet overlooked what the people of Taif had done, and he chose to forgive and forget, and to make prayer for the people of Taif because if the Prophet had willed, there would be no city of Taif right now, but instead he made a prayer for them, and to this day, Taif is a city of Islam. To this day, it is a holiday resort where families go to take their children, it's a place where Muslims go to celebrate, it's a place for Muslims to go to enjoy the beauty of the people and the surroundings, and if Allah (S.W.T) had willed, there would be no city of Taif today, but such is the mercy of our Prophet that the city of Taif continues to remain and thrive to this day.