Abstract
In this chapter a concept of non-local consciousness will be described, based on recent studies on near-death experiences (NDE). Recently several theories have been proposed to explain a NDE. The challenge to find a common explanation for the cause and content of a NDE is complicated by the fact that a NDE can be experienced during various circumstances, such as during severe injury of the brain as in cardiac arrest to a continuum when the brain seems to function normally. Since the publication of several prospective studies on NDE in survivors of cardiac arrest, with strikingly similar results and conclusions, the phenomenon of the NDE can no longer be scientifically ignored. It is an authentic experience which cannot be simply reduced to imagination, fear of death, hallucination, psychosis, the use of drugs, or oxygen deficiency. People appear to be permanently changed by a NDE during a cardiac arrest of only some minutes duration. According to these studies, the current materialistic view of the relationship between the brain and consciousness held by most physicians, philosophers and psychologists is too restricted for a proper understanding of this phenomenon. There are good reasons to assume that our consciousness does not always coincide with the functioning of our brain: enhanced consciousness can sometimes be experienced separately from the body.
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van Lommel, P. (2011). Endless Consciousness: A Concept Based on Scientific Studies of Near-Death Experiences. In: Walach, H., Schmidt, S., Jonas, W. (eds) Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality. Studies in Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2079-4_13
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