Suddenly, amidst all this pain I saw a light, very faint and in the distance. It got nearer to me, and everything was so quiet, it was warm, I was warm and all the pain began to go.
It is over a hundred and thirty years since science seriously tackled the nature of human origins. Is it ready to tackle the nature of human death? I think so. The past twenty years have seen great strides forward. The discovery and study of near-death experiences has taught us about the experience of nearly dying. Progress in medical science has increased our understanding of what happens when the brain begins to fail. Psychology is delving evermore deeply into the nature of that precious self. This book is an attempt to explore what psychology, biology and medicine have to say about death and dying. Are you ready to find out what it's going to be like when you die?
Opinion has long been divided over Near-Death Experiences or NDEs, some presenting them as evidence for the existence of the soul and life after death, others arguing that they are merely the chemical and physiological products of a dying brain.
Susan Blckmore has interviewed many people who claim to have had NDEs and after researching hundreds of case histories she offers an absorbing and detailed review of this fascinating phenomenon. While presenting clear physical explanantions for the changes that take place within the brain, Blackmore argues that true spiritual transformation comes not from searching after a spirit or soul that survives death but from reinterpreting the concept of "self" itself.
Dying to Live succeeds in bridging the gap between the scientific and the spiritual points of view and shows how an understanding of NDEs can help us live our lives in the face of death and lead the way to genuine self-knowledge.
Susan Blackmore is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of the West of England. She is a fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal and one of the world's leading experts on near-death experiences. She is the author of The Adventures of a Parapsychologist an autobiography describing her search for evidence of the paranormal.