Life after life?

In 1971, soldier Glenn Brymer was repeatedly crushed between a stone wall and a military transport vehicle during an accident. Mangled and presumed dead by his colleague, Brymer relates what he then experienced:

“… everything just disappeared. All the pain was gone, the fear was gone. And I was like being in a big void, and this voice was in me. It was a voice like your grandfather’s or father’s or favourite uncle’s — somebody who cared for you very much. It was a male voice. The voice said: “You don’t die, Glenn.” I remember saying I don’t understand. And the voice said: “You don’t die, you continue.” And I said I still don’t understand.

I was conscious of being in a big void, floating. I wasn’t conscious of being in a body or anything. And far off in a distance was a very pinpoint of bright light, and it was like I was flying towards it through space. And it got rapidly larger, and as I got closer to it, it became a huge burst of light. It was brilliant, just brilliant – blue, white, sparkling. And it filled up my entire vision… it was almost like I was going into it.

Just was it filled my vision and I was very close to it, I stopped and it opened up. It’s at this point that it becomes very hard to try to tell what happened. It’s like seeing a video movie where you see ten thousand images in a spilt second. I was shown reason why I didn’t have to fear dying and I understood why you do not die.”

Brymer is convinced he had encountered God and was deeply moved. From then on, he felt a powerful love for all around him – from people to trees.

Remarkably, through many centuries, thousands have reported strikingly similar experiences. Key commonalities include having

“a sense of being outside one’s physical body, sometimes perceiving it from an outside position; a sense of movement through darkness or a tunnel; intense emotions;  heightened perceptions; experiencing a great light or darkness; perceiving a spiritual realm, which may include vividly memorable landscapes; encounters with deceased loved ones, spiritual beings and/or religious figures; knowledge of the nature of the universe; a life review; a sense of oneness and interconnectedness; a border of no return; a sense of having knowledge of the future; messages regarding life’s purpose.” (from: International Association for Near-Death Studies)

Have these people glimpsed a profound reality that most are blind to?

While many who testify appear sincere and credible, might it be that they were merely caught in an illusion generated by their brains? Some scientists think so – they believe such experiences are hallucinations caused by severe stresses to the brain. Indeed, there might always be at least a lingering suspicion that we don’t know the brain well enough to conclude otherwise.

But couldn’t we draw a parallel with another collection of experiences? Consider how many of us make strikingly similar reports about what we have come to term ‘the physical universe’. We all claim to see a sky, other people, buildings and the like. But might all these be mere hallucinations caused by our brains? After all, our suspicions aren’t eliminated by there being a common core to a vast range of experiences.

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