Pim van Lommel – författare

Dr. Pim van Lommel, a renowned cardiologist, was so inspired by the stories his patients told of their Near Death Experiences (NDEs) that he became the first medical practitioner to risk his reputation with a full, systematic trial into the phenomenon. He interviewed 344 heart patients at his hospital who had all clinically died, some for five minutes or longer, before being resuscitated. Of these, 62 - or 18 per cent - reported some ongoing experience after the medical monitors had pronounced them to be dead. Van Lommel claims these are authentic experiences which cannot be reduced to the imagination, psychosis or an oxygen deficiency; people are permanently changed by an NDE. In "Consciousness Beyond Life", van Lommel explains how people who are clinically dead can have such a transformative experience, illustrating his argument with stories of people who have gone through an NDE. In van Lommel's opinion, our consciousness does not always coincide with brain functions and he shows that, remarkably and significantly, consciousness can even be experienced separate from the body.

"As one of the foremost experts in the field, his work moves us closer to rational comprehension of human kind''s deepest mystery—life after death." —Raymond A. Moody MD, PhD, author of Life After LifeIn Consciousness Beyond Life, the internationally renowned cardiologist Dr. Pim van Lommel offers ground-breaking research into whether or not our consciousness survives the death of our body. If you enjoy books about near-death experiences, such as those by Raymond Moody, Jeffrey Long, and James Van Praagh; watch televisions shows like Ghosthunters, Touched by an Angel, and Ghost Whisperer; or are interested in works that explore the intersection of faith and science, such as Spiritual Brain, Signature in the Cell, and When Science Meets Religion; you''ll find much to ponder in Consciousness Beyond Life."The evidence supports the validity of ''near-death'' experiences and suggests that scientists should rethink theories on one of the ultimate medical mysteries: the nature of human consciousness." —The Washington Post"This research will be seized on by academics who believe that the mind can continue to work after the brain has stopped. Church leaders will cite it as evidence for the existence of a soul." —The Sunday Telegraph (London)"Pim van Lommel shows that the symphony of human consciousness does continue . . . [even] at the portals of death. His evidence is robust, and can no longer be ignored either by the science community, or by society at large." —Dr. Ervin Laszlo, author of Science and the Akashic Field"The distinctive contribution of this book is that it presents and defends a complete theory of consciousness . . . clearly a landmark book." —Dr. Kenneth Ring, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of Connecticut