What heaven's really like - by a top brain surgeon who slipped into a coma and went there. Read DR EBEN ALEXANDER'S testimony of what he saw before you scoff - and the astonishing proof it was real

When I was a mini boy, I was adopted. I grew up remembering thing of my commencement family and unaware that I had a biologic sister, named Betsy. Many years later, I went successful hunt of my biologic family, but for Betsy it was excessively late: she had died.

This is nan communicative of really I was reunited pinch her — successful Heaven.

Before I start, I should explicate that I americium a scientist, who has spent a life studying nan workings of nan brain. 

My adoptive begetter was a neurosurgeon and I followed his path, becoming an neurosurgeon myself and an world who taught encephalon subject astatine Harvard Medical School.

Although nominally a Christian, I was sceptical erstwhile patients described belief experiences to me. 

My knowledge of nan encephalon made maine rather judge that out-of-body experiences, angelic encounters and nan for illustration were hallucinations, brought connected erstwhile nan encephalon suffered a trauma.

And then, successful nan astir melodramatic circumstances possible, I discovered impervious that I was wrong. Six years ago, I woke up 1 greeting pinch a searing headache. Within a fewer hours, I went into a coma: my neocortex, nan portion of nan encephalon that handles each nan thought processes making america human, had unopen down completely.

At nan time, I was moving astatine Lynchburg General Hospital successful Virginia, and I was rushed to nan emergency room there. The doctors ascertained that I had contracted meningitis — a uncommon bacterial strain of E coli was successful my spinal fluid and eating into my encephalon for illustration acid. My endurance chances were adjacent zero.

I was successful heavy coma, a vegetative state, and each nan higher functions of my encephalon were offline. Scans showed nary conscious activity immoderate — my encephalon was not malfunctioning, it was wholly unplugged.

But my soul aforesaid still existed, successful defiance of each nan known laws of science.

For 7 days, arsenic I laic successful that unresponsive coma, my consciousness went connected a voyage done a bid of realms, each 1 much bonzer than nan past — a travel beyond nan beingness world and 1 that, until then, I would surely person dismissed arsenic impossible.

For thousands of years, mean group arsenic good arsenic shamans and mystics person described brief, awesome glimpses of ethereal realms. I'm not nan first personification to person discovered that consciousness exists beyond nan body.

What is unsocial successful my lawsuit is that I am, arsenic acold arsenic technological records show, nan only personification to person travelled to this heavenly magnitude pinch nan cortex successful complete shut-down, while nether infinitesimal study throughout.

There are aesculapian records for each infinitesimal of my coma, and nary of them show immoderate denotation of encephalon activity. In different words, arsenic acold arsenic neuroscience tin say, my travel was not thing happening wrong my head.

Plenty of scientists person a batch of trouble pinch this statement. My acquisition undermines their full belief system. But nan 1 spot I person recovered fresh acceptance is successful church, wherever my communicative often tallies pinch people's expectations.

Even nan heavy notes of nan religion organ and nan glorious colours of nan stained solid look to echo faintly nan sights and sounds of Heaven.

Here, then, is what I experienced: my representation of Heaven.

After nan blinding headache, erstwhile I had slipped into nan coma, I gradually became alert of being successful a primitive, primordial authorities that felt for illustration being buried successful earth.

It was, however, not mean earth, for each astir maine I sensed, and sometimes heard and saw, different entities. 

It was partially horrific, partially comforting and familiar: I felt for illustration I had ever been portion of this primal murk.

I americium often asked, 'Was this hell?' but I don't deliberation it was — I would expect hellhole to beryllium astatine slightest a small spot interactive, and this was a wholly passive experience. 

I had forgotten what it was moreover to beryllium human, but 1 important portion of my characteristic was still difficult astatine work: I had a consciousness of curiosity. I would ask, 'Who? What? Where?' and location was ne'er a flicker of response.

After an expanse of clip had passed, though I can't statesman to conjecture really long, a ray came slow down from above, throwing disconnected marvellous filaments of surviving metallic and aureate effulgence.

It was a information entity, emitting a beautiful, heavenly euphony that I called nan Spinning Melody. The ray opened up for illustration a rip successful nan cloth of that coarse realm, and I felt myself going done nan rip, up into a vale afloat of lush and fertile greenery, wherever waterfalls flowed into crystal pools.

There were clouds, for illustration marshmallow puffs of pinkish and white. Behind them, nan entity was a rich | blue-black.

This world was not vague. It was deeply, piercingly alive, and arsenic vivid arsenic nan aroma of fried chicken, arsenic dazzling arsenic nan glint of sunlight disconnected nan metalwork of a car, and arsenic startling arsenic nan effect of first love.

I cognize perfectly good really crazy my relationship sounds, and I sympathise pinch those who cannot judge it. Like a batch of things successful life, it sounds beautiful far-fetched till you acquisition it yourself.

There were trees, fields, animals and people. There was water, too, flowing successful rivers aliases descending arsenic rain. Mists roseate from nan pulsing surfaces of these waters, and food glided beneath them.

Like nan earth, nan h2o was profoundly familiar. It was arsenic though each nan astir beautiful waterscapes I ever saw connected world had been beautiful precisely because they were reminding maine of this surviving water. My regard wanted to recreation into it, deeper and deeper.

This h2o seemed higher, and much axenic than thing I had knowledgeable before, arsenic if it was someway person to nan original source.

I had stood and admired oceans and rivers crossed America, from Carolina beaches to westbound seashore streams, but abruptly they each seemed to beryllium lesser versions, small brothers and sisters of this surviving water. 

That's not to denigrate nan seas and lakes and thunderstorms that I've marvelled astatine passim my life. It is simply to opportunity that I now spot each nan earth's waters successful a caller perspective, conscionable arsenic I spot each earthy beauties successful a caller way.

In Heaven, everything is much existent — little dense, yet astatine nan aforesaid clip much intense.

Heaven is arsenic vast, various and populated arsenic world is ... successful fact, infinitely much so. But successful each this immense variety, location is not that consciousness of otherness that characterises our world, wherever each point is unsocial by itself and has thing straight to do pinch nan different things astir it.

Nothing is isolated successful Heaven. Nothing is alienated. Nothing is disconnected. Everything is one.

I recovered myself arsenic a speck of consciousness connected a butterfly wing, among pulsing swarms of millions of different butterflies. I witnessed stunning blue-black velvety skies filled pinch swooping orbs of aureate light, angelic choirs leaving sparkling trails against nan billowing clouds.

Those choirs produced hymns and anthems acold beyond thing I had ever encountered connected earth. The sound was colossal: an echoing chant that seemed to soak maine without making maine wet.

All my senses had blended. Seeing and proceeding were not abstracted functions. It was arsenic if I could perceive nan grace and elegance of nan airborne creatures, and spot nan spectacular euphony that burst retired of them.

Even earlier I began to wonderment who aliases what they were, I understood that they made nan euphony because they could not incorporate it. It was nan sound of sheer joy. They could nary much clasp it successful than you could capable your lungs and ne'er respire out.

Simply to acquisition nan euphony was to subordinate successful pinch it. That was nan oneness of Heaven — to perceive a sound was to beryllium portion of it. Everything was connected to everything else, for illustration nan infinitely analyzable swirls connected a Persian carpet aliases a butterfly's wing. And I was flying connected that carpet, riding connected that wing.

Above nan sky, location was a immense array of larger universes that I came to telephone an 'over-sphere', and I ascended until I reached nan Core, that deepest sanctuary of nan Divine — infinite inky blackness, filled to overflowing pinch indescribable, unconditional love.

There I encountered nan infinitely powerful, all-knowing deity whom I later called Om, because of nan sound that vibrated done that realm. I learned lessons location of a extent and beauty wholly beyond my capacity to explain.

During this voyage, I had a guide. She was an extraordinarily beautiful female who first appeared arsenic I rode, arsenic that speck of awareness, connected nan helping of that butterfly.

I'd ne'er seen this female before. I didn't cognize who she was. Yet her beingness was capable to heal my heart, to make maine full successful a measurement I'd ne'er known was possible. Her look was unforgettable. Her eyes were heavy blue, and her cheekbones were high. Her look was surrounded by a framework of honey-brown hair.

She wore a smock, for illustration a peasant's, woven from sheer colour — indigo, powder-blue and pastel shades of orangish and peach. When she looked astatine me, I felt specified an abundance of emotion that, if thing bully had ever happened to maine before, nan full of my life would person been worthy surviving for that look successful her eyes alone.

It was not romanticist love. It was not friendship. It was acold beyond each nan different compartments of emotion we person connected earth. Without really speaking, she fto maine cognize that I was loved and cared for beyond measurement and that nan beingness was a vaster, better, and much beautiful spot than I could ever person dreamed.

I was an irreplaceable portion of nan full (like each of us), and each nan sadness and fearfulness I had ever suffered was a consequence of my someway having forgotten this astir cardinal of facts.

Her connection went done maine for illustration a activity of wind. It's difficult to put it into words, but nan principle was this: 'You are loved and cherished, dearly, for ever. You person thing to fear. There is thing you tin do wrong.'

It was, then, an utterly awesome experience.

Meanwhile, backmost connected Earth, I had been successful my coma for 7 days and showing nary signs of improvement. The doctors were conscionable deciding whether to proceed pinch life support, erstwhile I abruptly regained consciousness. My eyes conscionable popped open, and I was back. I had nary memories of my earthly life, but knew afloat good wherever I had been.

I had to relearn everything: who, what, and wherever I was. Over days, past weeks, for illustration a mildly falling snow, my old, earthly knowledge came back.

Words and connection returned wrong hours and days. With nan emotion and gentle coaxing of my family and friends, different memories emerged.

By 8 weeks, my anterior knowledge of science, including nan experiences and learning from much than 2 decades spent arsenic a neurosurgeon successful school hospitals, returned completely. That afloat betterment remains a occurrence without immoderate mentation from modern medicine.

But I was a different personification from nan 1 I had been. The things I had seen and knowledgeable while gone from my assemblage did not slice away, arsenic dreams and hallucinations do. They stayed.

Above all, that image of nan female connected nan butterfly helping haunted me.

And then, 4 months aft coming retired of my coma, I received a image successful nan mail.

As a consequence of my earlier investigations to make interaction pinch my biologic family, a comparative had sent maine a photograph of my sister Betsy — nan sister I'd ne'er known.

The daze of nickname was total. This was nan look of nan female connected nan butterfly wing.

The infinitesimal I realised this, thing crystallised wrong me.

That photograph was nan confirmation that I'd needed. This was proof, beyond reproach, of nan nonsubjective reality of my experience.

From past on, I was backmost successful nan old, earthly world I'd near down earlier my coma struck, but arsenic a genuinely caller person.

I had been reborn.

And arsenic I shall uncover connected Monday, I americium by nary intends nan only 1 to person glimpsed nan afterlife — and nan wonders it holds. 

Extracted from Map of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon Explores nan Mysteries of nan Afterlife & The Truth About What Lies Beyond by Dr Eben Alexander, published by Piatkus astatine £14.99. 

© 2014 Dr Eben Alexander