Neurons do something strange when starved of oxygen. First, they begin firing randomly. Then they begin to pack up. If they do not receive precious oh-two soon, they begin to die.

This sequence is, of course, an oversimplification. you will find counterexamples everywhere the place.

Even so, this sequence explains tons.

When certain parts of the brain (the lobe and a couple of others) start misfiring, you receive a flood of memories. this will vary from an unusual montage of random events to full-blown hallucinations.

When the entire brain starts firing randomly, that's a seizure. But when parts of it set off for no reason, it can create predictable effects. for instance, within the lobe, this will cause seeing a spinning vortex of sunshine. It's dark around the edges, probably because sight shuts down first.

Even your sense of balance can do weird things. The misfires followed by shutdown can create the sense that each direction is that the same.

And if the left hemisphere weakens first (or the proper brain starts misfiring more intensely), then you receive a fantastic sense of peace, knowledge, and connection to the universe. whilst your consciousness fades.

When conditions are right, you get a way of floating, hallucinations, your life flashing before your eyes and therefore the 'light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel' effect.

And there you've got it: a plausible, mundane explanation for near-death experiences.

Is this model accurate?

I don't know.

It's probably missing a couple of details.

But, if it's within the right direction, it explains one among the foremost spiritual experiences people have without assuming that humans have souls. This works, albeit we are not any quite squishy meat computers.

Don't think I'm doing this because I'm a cruel, mirthless stereotype of a rationalist. The moral isn't that, having explained it, the experience is meaningless.

No - the moral is that our brains are incredible.

If you would like to experience any of these effects, you do not get to almost die on a surgeon's table. The brain can create any of these experiences at any time.

Sure, it requires tons of mind training to succeed at that time. And, yes, some are easier to realize than others are.

But I've achieved most of them. I've had a couple of out-of-body experiences, most of them accidental. there have been times when it felt like I floated around the room or down the road. I've talked to dead people (and fictitious people).

And I've felt sublimity joy that comes from being connected to the universe.

You don't need a soul, spirit, aura or any quite disembodied energy shadow to try to to this. Your unconscious has incredible powers. As a toddler, you learn to suppress these experiences. it is a part of growing up and seeing what's real as against what's "just" in your head.

Things in your head still have value, though. Every invention once existed as only a hallucination. Every meter of social progress was once a dream.

Your choice in life isn't between embracing religion and living a dull, materialistic existence. there's magic within the mundane and sorcery within the science. Even bound by the laws of physics, the universe is amazing.

You are amazing.

There's plenty more for all folks to find out. this is often just a taste, the primary brick up a mighty castle, the primary tread on an epic quest.