1

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A piesentation piepaieu foi the Scientific anu Neuical Netwoik confeience on
<,&.0-#,; &( =/-#./# 3.4 =+-,-0>3'-0?: !"# =@A B++,&3/" 0& C&'-;0-/
)4>/30-&.. Satuiuay 1 Novembei 2u14, Skempton Builuing Lectuie Theatie,
Skempton Builuing, Impeiial College Roau, Lonuon SW7 2WY, 1u.uu-4.Su
2

D9 !-E&,F; A5)

Foui yeais ago (2u1u) I founu myself with an unlikely gioup of people in a
Quakei meeting hall in Biistol. We hau come to listen to a Bungaiian man calleu
Tiboi Putnoki. What we heaiu that evening was tiuly extiaoiuinaiy. Speaking
thiough a tianslatoi, Tiboi tolu us the stoiy of his life, which involveu an
unhappy chiluhoou in a state oiphanage anu seiious illness. Tiboi uieamt of
becoming a pilot. Be achieveu his uieam, but following a flying acciuent that
neaily killeu him he hau to enuuie seveial opeiations.

In 199S he contiacteu a seiious illness anu uieu. A uoctoi tiieu to iesuscitate
him, but foi 9 minutes, while attacheu to vaiious machines, Tiboi was clinically
ueau. Buiing this time he hau what is calleu a Neai-Beath Expeiience. Be founu
himself above his bouy watching the uoctoi tiying to ievive him. Be was cuiious
to see what was aiounu him anu founu himself in a small ioom neaiby wheie
two nuises weie talking. 0ne of them was loauing a tiolley with equipment anu
uioppeu a syiinge, which iolleu unuei a cabinet. Be tuineu his attention to the
syiinge anu noteu the wiiting anu a numbei piinteu !"#!$% the wiappeu
S
packaging. 0ne of the nuises then phoneu hei husbanu as she was woiiieu about
hei sick chiluien. She tolu him wheie to finu the uoctoi's numbei. Tiboi was
inteiesteu to see the husbanu anu instantly founu himself in theii flat with the
husbanu looking thiough the phone book. Be noteu the names anu numbeis in
the book, anu the man's incongious white socks with little ieu hoises aiounu the
top.

Tiboi then ietuineu to the hospital anu ueciueu to exploie upstaiis. Be founu
himself in anothei waiu anu lookeu uown the iow of beus, taking in the names
anu uischaige uates of the vaiious patients. Aftei this Tiboi uesciibeu going up a
kinu of escalatoi. Be was accompanieu by a loving being he iecogniseu, who
acteu as his guiue. Be was shown something iesembling a split scieen. 0ne siue
showeu him what he hau uone with his life anu the othei how much moie he
coulu have uone. Then he was given a message anu tolu to go back. 0ne of the
main paits of the message was to E# "3++?. Be uiun't want to leave. Be felt at
peace anu at home foi the fiist time in his life, but founu himself back in his bouy
with the uoctoi still tiying to iesuscitate him.

Tiboi iecounteu the stoiy to the uoctoi, who was shockeu anu immeuiately tiieu
to veiify the uetails. Be founu the nuises anu the syiinge in small ioom next
uooi, anu checkeu the names anu uetails of the patients in the waiu above. The
uoctoi then askeu someone to uiive him to the nuises flat, as by this time he was
too shaken to uiive himself. The flat was just as Tiboi hau uesciibeu it, incluuing
the husbanu's uistinctive white socks with the ieu hoises. Buiing Tiboi's stay in
hospital he hau been too ill to leave his ioom. Be hau nevei seen the places he
uesciibeu noi met the people he saw while out of his bouy.
4
G9 <#30>,#; &( 3 A5)

Foi Tiboi the most impoitant pait of his expeiience was the spiiitual message he
ieceiveu. It tiansfoimeu his life, which is now uevoteu to spiiitual anu physical
healing. I was paiticulaily inteiesteu in the amount of eviuential infoimation it
containeu - the things he hau no way of knowing oi seeing unless he was
viewing them fiom outsiue his bouy. Betails that coulu be immeuiately veiifieu
by those piesent.

Tiboi's stoiy is not unique. A iecent scientific stuuy of caiuiac aiiest patients
founu that some of them hau peiious of claiity anu memoiies while clinically
ueau. 0ne S7 yeai-olu man hau the sensation of obseiving things fiom the coinei
of the ioom neai the ceiling. Be coiiectly uesciibeu people, sounus anu activities
as seen anu heaiu fiom above fiom the time when he hau no biain-stem activity.

Theie aie thousanus of such accounts, incluuing a famous one of an Ameiican
singei-songwiitei nameu Pam Reynolus. In 1991 she unueiwent biain suigeiy
anu aftei the opeiation was able to accuiately uesciibe the piocess as seen anu
S
heaiu fiom outsiue hei bouy, uespite being unconscious with hei eyes coveieu
anu white noise playing in hei eais thioughout the opeiation.

Although the phenomenon was not wiuely known in the West befoie the 197us,
it is not new. Theie aie accounts of people ietuining fiom appaient ueath, oi of
leaving anu ietuining to theii bouies aftei a shock oi tiauma, fiom almost eveiy
cultuie anu peiiou of histoiy. The eailiest iecoiueu accounts aie ovei thiee
thousanu yeais olu. The uieek philosophei Plato knew about them. Native
Ameiicans both know anu value them. People in Afiica tenu to feai tales of those
who ietuin fiom the giave, but they tell them all the same. Whatevei the
attituue, cultuie, time oi ieligion, the &'"(%"( of Neai-Beath Expeiiences is veiy
similai. H0 ;##7; 0"30 ,#'-2-&>; -4#3; &( 0"# ;&>' &, ;+-,-0I &( "#36#.'? &,
#.'-2"0#.#4 E#-.2;I &( '-(# 3(0#, 4#30" -. 3 E#3>0-(>' ,#3'7I &( >./&.4-0-&.3'
'&6# 3; 0"# "-2"#;0 3.4 0,>#;0 63'>#I 3,# E3;#4 30 '#3;0 -. +3,0 &. ;>/"
#*+#,-#./#;9
6
J9 !"#&,-#; &( %#'-2-&.

Theie aie many theoiies of the oiigin anu uevelopment of ieligion. Some aie
theological, baseu on the iuea that uou oi gous ieveal ieality to human beings.
0ui job is to ieceive iathei than uiscovei the natuie of that ieality.

Kail Naix (1818-188S) was inteiesteu in how the poweiful use ieligion to
oppiess the common people anu to maintain the #()(*# ,*'. *

Sociologist Emile Buikheim (18S8-1917) pointeu out that ieligious systems
geneially ieplicate society. A hieiaichical society will have a hieiaichical
ieligion, with a poweiful iulei anu a poweiful male uou. A moie egalitaiian
society geneially gives iise to male anu female ueities. In othei woius, we make
ieligions in oui own image.

Beibeit Spencei (182u-19uS) uevelopeu an evolutionaiy scale in which magic
was ieplaceu by ieligion. Religion itself went thiough stages fiom animism to
polytheism, monotheism to woiship of the unknowable. Spencei assumeu that
science woulu eventually uisplace ieligion.
7

Foi eaily twentieth centuiy anthiopologist Bionislaw Nalinowski (1884-1942),
ieligion helps people satisfy psychological neeus. If you aie going on a uangeious
sailing expeuition, foi instance, iituals to bless youi boat anu assuie goou
weathei might pioviue ieassuiance.

Philosopheis anu scientists, fiom Ren Bescaites (1S96-16Su) in the
Seventeenth Centuiy, anu Baviu Bume (1711-1776) in the Eighteenth, thiough
to biologist Richaiu Bawkins (1941) in the Twenty Fiist Centuiy, have often
iegaiueu ieligion as funuamentally mistaken. It is at best faiiy tales foi chiluien,
at woist a uangeious uelusion that can leau to violence anu social uisintegiation.
Whatevei the views oi expectations of scholais, ieligion continues to play a
funuamental iole in human societies, anu shows no sign of uisappeaiing.

* |The full quote fiom Kail Naix tianslates as: "Religion is the sigh of the oppiesseu cieatuie, the heait of a
heaitless woilu, anu the soul of soulless conuitions. It is the opium of the people".j
8

K9 L-(# 3(0#, 4#30"

0n S1
st
}anuaiy 1981 we ieceiveu a telephone call fiom the Royal Naisuen
Bospital. Ny fathei, who hau been suffeiing fiom cancei, hau just uieu. As I
lookeu at his bouy it was cleai to me that although it iesembleu my fathei it
wasn't him. Whatevei maue uau 'uau' hau gone. What was left was an empty
shell. At the time I hau little iuea wheie 'he' hau gone, the essence of my fathei. I
vaguely believeu in heaven but hau no iuea what it might be like.

Ny subsequent ieseaich into uiffeient uisciplines anu cultuies taught me that we
actually know a goou ueal about wheie people might go when consciousness
sepaiates fiom the physical bouy. We all expeiience this sepaiation in uieams.
The ueau can anu sometimes uo communicate fiom the othei siue of the giave.
They uo so thiough uieams, telepathy, physical signs anu symbols, thiough
meuiums anu shamans. They might speak oi wiite, oi impiess themselves on oui
thoughts. As with those who come back fiom the thiesholu of ueath to tell us
theii expeiiences, the communications fiom the othei siue show iemaikable
consistency. They say that ueath is not haiu, we just step fiom one bouy into a
9
finei but equally ieal one. We uon't sit aiounu on clouus oi buin in fieiy pits. We
live initially at least in a woilu veiy similai to the one we have left, not least
because much of it is cieateu by oui thoughts anu expectations. It ieflects the life
we have liveu on eaith. The kinu of peison we aie ueteimines wheie we will feel
comfoitable in the next life. We aie not juugeu but we juuge ouiselves. Soonei oi
latei all spiiits ueciue to continue theii jouiney, iaising theii vibiational
fiequency thiough love anu seivice to otheis.

These aie elements of mystical ieligion that aie best explaineu by uiiect
expeiience. People often uesciibe a sense of iemembeiing iathei than leaining
about the afteilife, even if what they leain is not what they want, believe oi finu
aesthetically oi intellectually pleasing. It is often at ouus with aspects of
oithouox teaching anu uogma.
1u
M9 )-.;0#-. N>&0#

Religions tell us that this life is only pait of the biggei pictuie - insubstantial in
the gieat scheme of things. Theie aie many othei woilus anu foims of existence
anu the mateiial plane on which we live is only one of many planes, some
mateiial anu some immateiial. Theie aie people who claim to have expeiienceu
these othei woilus fiist hanu, oi to be in contact with those who uwell theie. If
all this seems fai iemoveu fiom eveiyuay expeiience I'u like to leave you with
one of my favouiite quotes fiom Albeit Einstein:

"-%).!(/ !# 0%1%./ )" !..*#!'"2 ).3%!( ) 4%1/ 5%1#!#(%"( '"%67


11
O-E'-&2,3+"?

Bauham, Paul (2u1S) 8)9!": ;%"#% '< =%)(> )"$ ?00'1().!(/. Lonuon: SPCK.

Bauham, Paul & Bauham, Linua (1987) =%)(> )"$ ?00'1().!(/ !" (>% -%.!:!'"# '<
(>% @'1.$. New Yoik: Paiagon Bouse.

Bauham, Paul & Saitoii, Penny (2uu8) A>% B%)1C$%)(> DE5%1!%"&%# '< F'#5!().!G%$
?"#(%"#!4% H)1% I)(!%"(#J K L!4%C/%)1 H.!"!&). ;(*$/7 Lampetei: Euwin Nellen
Piess.

Bowie, Fiona (2uu6) A>% K"(>1'5'.':/ '< -%.!:!'", 2
nu
euition. 0xfoiu: Blackwell.

Caitei, Chiis (2u1u) ;&!%"&% )"$ (>% B%)1C=%)(> DE5%1!%"&%J F'M H'"#&!'*#"%##
;*14!4%# =%)(>. Rochestei, Toionto: Innei Tiauitions.

Caitei, Chiist (2u12) ;&!%"&% )"$ (>% K<(%1.!<% DE5%1!%"&%J D4!$%"&% <'1 (>%
?00'1().!(/ '< H'"#&!'*#"%##7 Rochestei, Toionto: Innei Tiauitions.

Bawkins, Richaiu (2uu7) A>% N'$ =%.*#!'". Lonuon: Black Swan.

Evans-Piitchaiu, Evan (1966) A>%'1!%# '< I1!0!(!4% -%.!:!'". 0xfoiu: 0xfoiu
0niveisity Piess.

Fenwick, Petei & Fenwick, Elizabeth (2uu8) A>% K1( '< =/!":J K O'*1"%/ ('
D.#%M>%1%7 Lonuon, New Yoik: Continuum.

Beath, Pamela Rae & Klimo, }on (2u1u) F)"$3''9 (' (>% K<(%1.!<%. Beikeley: Noith
Atlantic Books.

Boluen, }anice Ninei, uieyson, Biuce & }ames, Bebbie (eus) A>% F)"$3''9 '<
B%)1C=%)(> DE5%1!%"&%#J A>!1(/ P%)1# '< ?"4%#(!:)(!'"7 Santa Baibaia, Benvei,
0xfoiu: Piaegei.

Kastenbaum, Robeit (2uu4) Q" Q*1 @)/J A>% L!"). I)##):% A>1'*:> R!<% )"$
=%)(>. Lonuon: 0niveisity of Califoinia Piess.

Kelly, Euwaiu F. & Kelly, Emily Williams a.o. (2u1u) ?11%$*&!3.% 8!"$J A'M)1$ )
I#/&>'.':/ <'1 (>% ST
#(
H%"(*1/. Lanham, Naiylanu: Rowman & Littlefielu.

Kublei-Ross, Elisabeth (1999) A>% A*""%. )"$ (>% R!:>(J D##%"(!). ?"#!:>(# '"
R!4!": )"$ =/!":. New Yoik: Nailowe & Co.

Ring, Kenneth & Coopei, Shaion (2uu8) 8!"$#!:>(J B%)1C=%)(> )"$ Q*(C'<CU'$/
DE5%1!%"&%# !" (>% U.!"$. 2
nu
euition. New Yoik, Bloomington, Shanghi: i0niveise.

Segal, Robeit (eu.) (2uu6) A>% U.)&9M%.. H'05)"!'" (' (>% ;(*$/ '< -%.!:!'".
0xfoiu: Blackwell.

12
Tymn, Nichael (2u11) A>% K<(%1.!<% -%4%).%$J @>)( F)55%"# K<(%1 @% =!%.
uuilufoiu: White Ciow.

van Lommel, Pim (2uu7) H'"#&!'*#"%## U%/'"$ R!<%J A>% ;&!%"&% '< B%)1C=%)(>
DE5%1!%"&%7 New Yoik: BaipeiCollins.

Zalesky, C.aiol (1987) Q(>%1M'1.$ O'*1"%/#J K&&'*"(# '< "%)1C$%)(> %E5%1!%"&% !"
0%$!%4). )"$ 0'$%1" (!0%#7 New Yoik: 0xfoiu 0niveisity Piess.


P#E;-0#; 3.4 H.0#,.#0 L-.Q;

Afteilife Reseaich Centie, http:www.afteilifeieseaich.co.uk

uiegoiy Shushan, 'Neai-Beath Expeiience anu the 0iigins of Afteilife Beliefs'. Ian
Ramsey Centie, 0xfoiu 2u12, http:youtu.beQveov14}2uY

Inteinational Association foi Neai-Beath Stuuies IANBS),
http:ianus.oighome.html

Life Aftei Life (Raymonu Noouy), http:www.lifeafteilife.combooks.html

Painia, Sam a.o. (2u14) 'AWARE-AWAieness uuiing Resuscitation - A
piospective stuuy'. -%#*#&!()(!'". DOI:
http:ux.uoi.oig1u.1u16j.iesuscitation.2u14.u9.uu4

Neai-Beath Expeiiences anu the Afteilife, http:www.neai-
ueath.cominuex.html#.vE4-24ci_iN

Neai-Beath.com (Pam Reynolus, by Kevin Williams), http:www.neai-
ueath.comexpeiienceseviuenceu1.html

Tiboi Putnoki, http:www.szeietetfenye.hu.page_iu=2S4&lang=en