Before starting to tell this story, I want to say that I am a scientist. All my life I studied the brain. My stepfather was a neurosurgeon, I have decided to follow in his footsteps and became the neurosurgeon and a lecturer at Harvard Medical School. Although nominally a Christian I am, patient tells a spiritual experience is always skeptical. My scientific knowledge of the brain did not doubt that the post-mortem experiences, angelic intervention and the like is just hallucinations caused by some kind of brain injury. And then the most dramatic circumstances in my own skin and I felt convinced that dramatically wrong.

"When I was little, I was adopted by one family. Growing biological parents did not remember. I did not know that I have a biological sister, Betsy. After many years, I started looking for his biological family, but Betsy was already dead. But I got to know her. Caught in a coma.

Before starting to tell this story, I want to say that I am a scientist. All my life I studied the brain. My stepfather was a neurosurgeon, I have decided to follow in his footsteps and became the neurosurgeon and a lecturer at Harvard Medical School.

Although nominally a Christian I am, patient tells a spiritual experience is always skeptical. My scientific knowledge of the brain did not doubt that the post-mortem experiences, angelic intervention and the like is just hallucinations caused by some kind of brain injury.

And then the most dramatic circumstances in my own skin and I felt convinced that dramatically wrong. Six years ago, I woke up one morning afflicted a huge headache. A few hours later I found myself in a coma: refused to function in my neocortex (the latest evolution has formed part of the cerebral cortex, which controls thought processes).

At the time I was in the hospital in Lynchburg, Virginia (USA) employees. Comes to work, immediately rushed to the reception. Doctors have found that I have meningitis caused by a rare strain of E coli bacteria in the spinal fluid, corrosive my brain cells it acid. Chances that I remain alive, were close to zero.

I became a vegetative state, I found myself in a deep coma - my brain has turned off all the higher mental processes. Did not show any trace of consciousness and brain scan - my brain is completely nebefunkcionavo. However, my psychic identity (inner self) continue to exist and denied all scientific truths and laws.

In a deep coma for seven days. During that time, my consciousness was visited (in other words, I have the same thoughts I visited) many worlds - each one was more special than the other one. This was my journey across the physical world - the dimensions of which I do not consider possible.

For thousands of years, not only ordinary mortals, but shamans, mystics talk about short, extraterrestrial worlds amazing experiences. I'm far from the first person who discovered that consciousness exists without a body.

But my case is unique in the fact that I as evidenced by scientific evidence, I am the only person in the afterlife followed the when my cerebral cortex no longer fully functioning. This is proved by the minute status of brain-recording medical equipment. She has recorded any tags that show the activity in my brain. Neuroscience words, my mental journey was not at all in my mind, not the brain.

Many scholars accept such a statement would be very difficult. My experience is absolutely destroying their world. The only place where my feelings understood and accepted - the church. True, even the heartiest of church organ chords and colorful stained glass windows I have visited Paradise worlds of images and sounds that reflect very pale.

Now, what I've experienced in a coma - after my trip to Paradise map.

After the attacks of unbearable pain and ended up in a coma after a bit I started to feel that I am a primitive, pristine condition - as if I were buried under the ground. However, it was not customary land - around him felt and sometimes heard and saw other creatures.

The feeling was twofold: to me chained in horror, but at the same time, I felt some sort of peace of mind and knowledge. I felt like I was always part of the primordial darkness.

I am often asked: "Was it hell?" I do not think. I think hell would be a little more interactive. And there was in absolute passivity. At this point, completely disappeared from the head understanding what it means to be human. However, an important part of my personality at the time, severely labored - a sense of curiosity. I was curious, wondering. I come upon the collapse of questions - what? how? what? But I never got any answers.

After some time, although I can not say how much it has passed the top of the light slowly appeared. She poured live silver and gold. It was some kind of circular creature emitting a wonderful, fabulous music - I will call it rotating Melody. Light Vere as slot Charcoal cloth. I felt that I was traveling through the slot. I found myself in a green lush valley where the crystal-clear water is a small lake went waterfalls. There was a pink and white clouds. Behind them - to the blue-black sky.

The world has been blurred. He was very clear, tangible, alive - like the smell of fried chicken to the roof of a polished machine reflected solar radiation. And like the first love charming.

It is a clear understanding of how my story sounds crazy, and I fully understand those who do not believe it. Like many things in life, it seems incredibly distant and unreal. But only as long as he did not suffer. There grew the trees stretched fields, I saw animals and people. It was the water - flowing rivers, poured rain. Above water the fog came, the fish floated in the water.

Water, as previously justa land of darkness, it was a long time ago for some reason unknown. As if I could see precisely wonderful life seen through the water up, illustrating how the water is alive. People wanted the look and also penetrate into the deeper water. The water seemed purer and more transparent for all that I have had the experience before. I stood and enjoyed the views of America's rivers and oceans - from the Carolina beaches, ending the country's western streams. Suddenly, all of these bodies of water I have proved more primitive version - smaller living water brothers and sisters.

I do not diminish over the life of visible sea, lakes and storms. Right now all the water on Earth see and understand from a new perspective. Now I realize a new and full of natural beauties.

There, Eden, everything seems brighter, more alive, more intensive - and at the same time easier, as there is less material density. Paradise is a vast, diverse, residential - the Earth. However, despite the diversity, there was the feeling that others are represented in this great world. This feeling so characteristic of our world: each one being a separate and direct little or nothing to do with the things surrounding it, objects.

Paradise nothing is lonely, isolated. There is not an alien. No banned. There, everything is one. I realized myself as a spot on the reasonable wing fever - the myriads of other butterflies. I saw a glamorous black velvet blue sky full of falling down golden light. And the cloud I saw the angel chorus balls.

Choirs sang hymns - such, for what earthly unmatched by any distance. Sounded all just a colossal - the music penetrated me through. In a merged all of my feelings. Sight and hearing were not separate senses. I have all the enchanting performance at the same time, and I saw and heard and felt.

Even up to the point when I started to ask myself what the creatures, I realized that the music they produce, they can not detain ourselves so that others can not hear. It was pure joy of music. Those beings that hide the joy and restrain himself no longer - she was able to complete the lungs inhale and never not breathe.

To experience the music, it was enough to start. This was the unity of the Paradise - hear the sound meant to be part of it. Everything is related - like the incredible complex of Persian carpet. And I flew the carpet.

Above the sky could be seen the larger universe of immense distances - they are called "the other side of the sphere. I continue to Kila until I reached cores, Essence - the deepest divine sanctuary. It is very black, but overcrowded bewildering, unconditional love.

There I encountered an incredibly powerful deity who knows all, which was later called Om - the sound just sounded in the world. There, I experienced a sense of depth and beauty that is simply not to learn to put into words.

All during this trip I was accompanied. It was an extremely beautiful woman who is also the beginning of knowledge speck on the wing fever. The woman has so far never seen or met. I did not know who she is. However, the presence of healed my heart as never I never thought possible. Her face was unforgettable. Deep blue eyes, prominent cheekbones. Her face was surrounded by honey Russeting hair.

She was wearing a free, peasant clothing, which was incredibly gorgeous - indigo blue, pale blue and pastel shades of orange and peach. When she looked at me, I felt a surge of emotion, even if in my lifetime there would have been no good to live it still would have been worth it. Just because I saw those eyes, and the eyes.

It was not a romantic love. There was friendship. It was much more than can be named in any form of love in our world. Not saying a word, no, she informed me that I am loved, cared for, and that's that the universe is still immense, better and more amazing than I had ever imagined.

I have been an indispensable part of the unity (as we all). All my sadness and fear was just a consequence of the fact that somehow managed to forget the most important fact of all. Her message that triggered me like a breath of wind. It's hard to put into words, but the point is this: "You are loved and cherished - forever. You do not have anything to fear. There is nothing that you can hold your mistake.

The feeling was indescribable.

Meanwhile, here on Earth, I spent seven days in a coma. Did not show signs of life, there was no indication that I'm better. The doctors decided whether or not it is worth my life to keep the medical apparatus. And suddenly I regained consciousness. Wide open her eyes - I'm back. Not a bit could not remember his previous life, but it is good to remember just where I was.

I had to learn everything again: who I am, where I am. After many days and weeks, slowly, as if soothing snowflakes gradually returned and my memories. I remembered the words of a language, and after a few hours and days. When listening with love and very patiently telling relatives and friends, and I remembered the older stuff.

Within eight weeks of full recovery of my scientific knowledge - as well as those that have mastered two decades ago. I remembered everything. He looks like a complete healing miracle that modern medicine can not explain.

Now, however, I was and am a completely different person. This is what I saw and experienced while traveling without a body, evaporated like dreams or hallucinations. It is left. Among other things, I am conscious of the way the woman disappeared from the image of the Butterfly Wing.

Four months after I came out of the coma, e. mail inbox I found photography. I once sent information about the request for my biological family. A relative sent my sister Betsy shot - his sister, which I had no idea you ever had. When I saw it, I was in shock. It was the face of a woman, which I saw on the wing fever. That moment in me was some sort of decisive transformation, transition. That photo was a statement which I also needed. It was proof that my experiences were real.

I went back to the normal track of life, but now I am a totally different person.

I am reborn.

And as we shall declare to the whole world, I really am one of those who saw the short life and then hidden behind the miracles. "

An excerpt from the book "Map of Heaven: A neurosurgeon Explor the Mysteries of the Afterlife & The Truth About What Lies Beyond by Dr. Eben Alexander.