The grave is not the final destination of human beings, nor is death our final outcome; heaven should be the place where humans live, and eternal life is our beautiful and true hope! --Inscription
Does a soul really exist after death? This is a question that many people have thought about or are thinking about now.
There have been two opposing views on this since ancient times. One view is that people have a soul, and the soul still exists after death; the other view denies the existence of the soul, and believes that after death, there is nothing, everything is over, and everything in life has become a cloud.
So do people have souls? Does the soul exist after death? What this article wants to tell you is that the development of science has provided strong evidence for the existence of the soul.
The concept of the soul is an ancient thought unique to all nations in the world
The concept of the soul originated in the ancient times of mankind, and it is largely reflected in the early myths and legends of various nations. .
The "Bible" records: "The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul, and his name was Adam." God blew This breath, no matter how you understand it, is the soul. The meaning of the Bible is that when a person has a soul, he is a meaningful living person. Otherwise, he is just a pile of meat and an animal.
The myth of the Muria people on the coast of India says that in ancient times, the earth was in a mess, and there were two young children. God stabbed them in the back, thus putting life into their bodies. God’s fingerprints remain today. What did God put into the body of the first human ancestor? Apparently, that's the soul.
Arab mythology says that God brought life to the clay image and gave it an ideal soul. The myths of American Indians, African indigenous people, etc. also all have records of gods giving people spiritual energy when they created people.
Looking at the emergence of the concept of soul, it can be said that it has great uniformity in world culture. In other words, every nation in the world has the concept of the existence of the soul, whether it is belief in ancient times or religion in ancient times; whether it is Africa or Asia; whether it is white people or red people, there are no ideas about the soul. Doctrine emerges spontaneously.
The development of science has provided strong evidence for the existence of the soul
The specific contents of the soul concepts of different nations in the world vary. In the long process of historical evolution, this concept has This concept has undergone many changes. But no matter how big the differences are and how many changes it has gone through, human beings’ definition of the soul is still essentially the same, that is, it refers to a kind of soul that exists in the human body but is different from the human body. A living entity that can still survive independently after physical death.
Although there has been debate about the existence of the soul since ancient times, before the emergence of modern science, due to the huge influence of religion, the concept of believing in the existence of the soul can be said to be deeply rooted in various countries and nations around the world. in people's minds. After the emergence of modern science, this concept has been challenged by science as never before. Because according to the standards of empirical science, only things that are visible and tangible are real, while the soul is invisible and intangible, and its non-verifiability is one of its most prominent features. Therefore, as science becomes more and more prosperous, fewer and fewer people believe in the existence of the soul.
But the problem is that although empirical science cannot prove the existence of the soul, it cannot prove the non-existence of the soul. Since it cannot prove this, how can it be concluded that the soul does not exist?
What is gratifying is that with the development of science and the deepening of scientific exploration, the opposition between science and the soul in the past is now gradually dissolving. Today, although there are still many scientists in the world who do not believe in the existence of the soul, there are also many scientists, including cutting-edge scientists at the forefront of the world's science and technology, who agree with the view of the existence of the soul. They have conducted a lot of research on the mysteries of the soul through their own scientific experiments. Explore and achieve tons of notable achievements.
The British scientist John. won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1963. Professor Ackerley said in his award-winning paper: "Nerve cells have invisible communication substances with each other, which is the composition of the soul. There is a non-material 'I' of thought and consciousness in the human body, which controls The brain is like the human brain commanding a computer. It causes the brain nerve cells in the brain to start working. This non-material "self-consciousness" still exists and can still have life activities after the death of the physical brain, and can be immortal. ".
After experimental research, another famous British scientist, Dr. Bai Po, fully agreed with Professor Ackerley's conclusion. Bai Po is one of the most outstanding scientists of the 20th century. His original theory of "dialectical system of scientific orthodoxy" is still used by scientists around the world. Both he and Ackerley were knighted by the Queen of England for their special scientific achievements. Dr. McKay from Keeler College in the UK said: "There is still no known theory or experiment that can overturn the theory of biological souls by Dr. Ackerley and Dr. Bop."
Dr. Sbury, a famous neurobiologist from the California Institute of Technology, won the 1981 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his detailed functional theory of decomposing the two hemispheres of the human brain.
He said: "The human self is a new and necessary non-material thing that only appears in the physical brain organized in a complex hierarchical structure. It controls every part of the brain and restricts the mechanical functions of a total of 10 billion brain nerve cells. Instinct activity. ”
The world-famous mathematician John. Feng. Dr. Newman once invented precise mathematical theorems and laid the foundation for the emerging "quantum science". He also put forward an amazing new theory: "The human body may have a non-material 'self-consciousness' that controls the physical brain and remote control matter."
Department of Neurology and Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, USA The director, Dr. Stevenson, has spent more than 20 years conducting a large number of practical investigations and research demonstrations on the immortality of the soul and reincarnation (rebirth) based on scientists' theories of soul immortality, and has published books on the subject. He said: "There is conclusive evidence from scientific experiments and real-life examples to prove that the ancient Eastern theory of soul reincarnation is true."
In 1978, neurophysiologist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine Summarizing his years of research experience, Eccles put forward a surprising new point of view: brain excitement does not equal spirit and consciousness. He believed that people have a "conscious spirit" that is independent of the brain, and that the brain is just its material tool. He said: "Each of us has non-material thinking and self-understanding abilities at a certain stage of embryonic development or childhood. This human 'soul' gives us human characteristics: consciousness, thinking, and love. Hate, fear, etc.” He speculates that the non-physical “self” survives the death of the physical brain.
The massive results of the above-mentioned scientific research are enough to show that science has provided strong evidence for the existence of the soul.
Scientific evidence for the existence of the soul: near-death experience
The evidence provided by science for the existence of the soul is multi-faceted, among which the most influential and convincing is the "near-death experience". Near Death Experience (NDE).
The so-called "near-death experience" refers to the subjective experience of the moment of death described by people who have come back from the dead, that is, people whose heart has stopped beating or brain function has stopped, and then come back to life.
As early as ancient Greece, the philosopher Plato recorded a Greek soldier who resurrected from the dead and recalled the scene of his entering the other side of the world. Research shows that "near-death experience" is a widespread phenomenon, not only in ancient times, but also in the present; not only in the East, but also in the West. A large number of people of all ages, genders, nationalities, cultures, professions and beliefs have had this experience. According to a survey by Gallup, a well-known American statistical company, at least 13 million living adults in the United States alone have had near-death experiences. If children are included, this number will be even more impressive.
Currently, the near-death experience phenomenon is attracting more and more researchers from different fields, many of whom are leaders in their original research fields. Papers on near-death studies are continuously published in the internationally authoritative medical journals "The Lancet" and "The Journal of Near Death Studies". In 1978, at the initiative of some scholars, the International Association for Near-Death Experience Research was formally established. It can be said that research in this mysterious field is in the ascendant in the scientific community.
Modern research on near-death experiences began with the Swiss geologist Albert. Albert Heim. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, he began his research on near-death experiences from a personal experience.
Haymon loves mountain climbing. Once, when he was climbing the Alps, he was blown off the cliff by a strong wind. At that moment, a miracle happened -----
"As if on a stage some distance away from me, I saw various images of me and my entire past. I saw I am the protagonist of this drama. Everything seems to be beautified by the light of heaven, there is no sadness and anxiety, everything is so beautiful, the memory of the tragic experience I have suffered is very clear, but there is no sorrow. and contradiction, conflict has been transformed into love. Noble and harmonious thoughts dominate and unite the single impression, and a sense of divine tranquility washes over my soul like wonderful music."
This time. The experience prompted Haymon to conduct extensive research on numerous people who had had similar experiences, including wounded soldiers in war, construction workers who fell from buildings, fishermen who nearly drowned, and more. In 1892, he mentioned in a research paper: Among the 30 fall survivors he surveyed, 95% said they felt peaceful and happy during the near-death process. He also found that their experience processes were very similar: numerous rapid consciousness activities, extraordinary ability to predict results, diffuse awareness of time, rapid review of life, witnessing supernaturally beautiful scenes, and listening to the heavenly music -
< p>"There is no trace of sadness, nor the great fear that may arise in slight danger... There is no tension, despair and pain, only serious, deep acceptance; spiritual clarity and high-speed activity."海 Meng's research acted as a powerful catalyst, causing many researchers to follow in his footsteps.
With the development of medical technology, more and more people can be rescued from death and report a large number of near-death experiences.
No matter which culture the experiencer comes from, which era he is in, or which religion he believes in, the content of the near-death experience and its impact on the person are very similar. On the basis of classifying a large number of cases, psychosociologist Kenneth. Reinger basically summarizes near-death experiences into five stages.
The first stage is tranquility and relaxation. About 57% of people hold this statement, and most of them have strong adaptability. I felt like I was drifting in the wind. When I drifted into darkness, I felt extremely calm, peaceful and relaxed.
The second stage is when consciousness escapes from the body. 35% of people have this kind of consciousness. Most of them feel that their consciousness is floating on the ceiling or in mid-air. Many people also feel that their body image is separated from their body, and this self-image sometimes returns to the body.
The third stage, through the black hole. 23% of people hold this view. They feel that they have been sucked into the mouth of a huge black hole by a whirlwind, and are rushing forward rapidly in the black hole. Feeling like your body is being pulled and squeezed. At this time their mood was calmer.
The fourth stage is gathering with family and friends. A beam of light flickered faintly at the end of the black hole. When they approached this beam of light, they felt that it gave them a kind of pure love. Relatives and friends greeted him at the entrance of the cave. Some of them were alive, and some had already died. The only thing they have in common is that they are all tall, colorful, and haloed. At this time, the major experiences in my life flew by one scene before my eyes, most of which were pleasant and important events.
The fifth stage is to become one with the universe. 10% of people hold this statement. In an instant, they feel like they are merging with the universe, and at the same time they have received the most perfect love.
With the development of medical technology, more and more people can be rescued from death and report a large number of near-death experiences. No matter which culture the experiencer comes from, which era he is in, or which religion he believes in, the content of the near-death experience and its impact on the person are very similar. Some people question whether the report of near-death experience is essentially a subjective personal experience. Is there any objective and verifiable basis to follow? Kenneth., a professor of psychology at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Kenneth Ring replied, "The most objective and verifiable data is the out-of-body experience part of the near-death experience. People will see some things when they are out of the body. These things are things that scientists can investigate and verify." "For example, a man named Fred. Fred Schoonmake, a physician at St. John's Hospital in Denver, Colorado. When he was the Director of Cardiology at Saint Luke’s Hospital, he reported that one of his female patients had an out-of-body experience during a near-death experience. The patient was blind, but he "saw" fourteen people in the room when his soul left his body. Although she cannot distinguish colors, she can "see" objects while her soul is out of her body and can accurately describe what happened in the operating room. Dr. Schoonmaker said it was as if the female patient was really seeing it: her description was completely consistent with the facts (The Other Side of Life: An Exploration of Near-Death Experiences, Evelyn Elsaesser Valarino, 1997, pp. 89-90). On the other side of life: Exploring the phenomenon of the Near-Death-Experience Evelyn Elsaesser Valarino, 1997, p89-90).
There are countless such examples. It can be seen that the out-of-body experience of the soul is a verifiable objective existence, which lays a solid foundation for the study of near-death experiences.
All near-death experiences that have been investigated and verified by scientists, without exception, occurred after the person involved experienced death in the strict modern scientific sense. Science does not recognize the existence of the soul. According to its point of view, life ceases to exist after death. It is impossible for a dead person to feel anything like when he was alive. But the near-death experience provides the exact opposite fact, which proves most conclusively that people still have feelings after death, and this feeling obviously does not and cannot come from the dead body, but can only come from independently. Isn't this another kind of life outside the body that still exists after the death of the body what people have called "soul" since ancient times?
Research on near-death experiences in China
After decades of research on near-death experiences by foreign scientists, books introducing near-death experiences have finally appeared in China. At the same time, more and more Chinese scientific researchers have begun to study near-death experiences.
The following content is excerpted from a paper published by Feng Zhiying, director of Tianjin Anding Hospital and psychiatry expert, and others in the 1993 issue 5 of "Popular Medicine" of Shanghai Science and Technology Press.
On July 28, 1976, a major earthquake killed more than 240,000 people and seriously injured more than 160,000 people in Tangshan City, China. Chinese medical workers have investigated some people who escaped from the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. Most of them were survivors who were injured by collapsed houses and buried under the rubble.
More than half of the survivors recalled that not only were they not afraid when they were in danger, but their thinking was particularly clear, their mood was particularly calm and relieved, and there was no sense of panic; some even felt some kind of joy or pleasure during this crisis. The feeling is that the thinking process is extremely fast and the thoughts are flowing. At this time, the past life events are like playing a movie and TV show, with scenes quickly flipping through the mind and flashing by, and the content is mostly pleasant plots, such as childhood fun, marriage and love scenes, good work achievements, the joy of winning awards, etc. This phenomenon is called life review or "panoramic recall."
A girl surnamed Liu, who was only 23 years old during the Tangshan earthquake, was hit by a collapsed house and her lumbar spine was injured, and she could no longer stand up. When describing her near-death experience before being saved, she said: My thoughts were particularly clear and my thinking was significantly accelerated. Some pleasant life plots flew through my mind like scenes in a movie. When I was a child, I would laugh and talk with my friends. The joy of falling in love, the joy of being praised by the factory...most of them are pleasant life plots. "She said that in the few dozen minutes before she was rescued, she experienced a kind of happiness and joy in life. For the first time in her life, she felt the preciousness of life so deeply. Therefore, even though her waist was disabled , had to be in a wheelchair for her whole life, but whenever she recalled the feeling at that time, she strengthened her confidence to live well.
What’s more interesting is that nearly half of the people have consciousness or soul. The feeling of being separated from oneself, the feeling that one's own image is separated from one's own body, some people compare it to "the soul coming out of the shell". They emphasize that the feeling of one's own functions is in a space outside the body, not in the brain. Their physical bodies are lifeless and thoughtless. Some reporters even reported "seeing" their own images outside their physical bodies in mid-air or on the ceiling. It also has certain vital signs, such as pulse, breathing, etc., and sometimes can return to its own physiological body, or be connected to it in some way. It is lighter in weight than its own physiological body, but has different height and age. Same. Some people said that their physical body was not sound at that time, such as losing hearing or missing a certain limb. However, one respondent described it this way: “At that time, I felt that my body was divided into two. , one is lying on the bed, it is just an empty shell, and the other is his own body shape, which is lighter than the air, floating in the air, feeling extremely comfortable. ”
About 1/3 of people have the strange feeling that they are passing through a tunnel or tunnel-like space, sometimes accompanied by some strange noises and the feeling of being pulled or squeezed, which is called " "Tunnel experience". Some people also felt that the journey in this dark tunnel was almost at the end and saw light, "the light is coming." One respondent said that at that time, "it was like a strong wind, flying sand and rocks, and there was no one around. Where were you going?" When I was in a hurry, a big black hole appeared. I didn't feel scared when I walked in. There were still layers of water splashing in the hole. I walked, walked, and when I seemed to see light, I ran out of the hole quickly and saw the sky again." < /p>
About 1/4 of the respondents also experienced "encountering" non-real people or soul images. Most of these non-real people were deceased relatives, and it was as if they were entering together with them. The otherworldly realm continues to exist; or living acquaintances or strangers appear to be reunited with them, whose "soul" image is often described by some as a "glow" and by others as religious. "Incarnation".
Li, a survivor of the Tangshan Earthquake, recalled his near-death experience: "The body seemed to no longer belong to him, the lower limbs seemed to be missing, and various parts of the body were scattered. I was in the space, and then I felt like I was sinking into an abyss, surrounded by darkness, and I heard inexplicable sounds that were indescribable. This feeling lasted for about half an hour. At this time, I began to look back on my short life, but these memories were purely a stream of consciousness and were not controlled by the brain at all. "
Wang Mou, a survivor of the same earthquake, stated: "I entered another world in the haze, and saw a man wearing a long mandarin jacket appearing in front of me. He limped up to me. Although he was very close, his appearance could not be seen clearly, and his face was blurry. He led me into an unfathomable black hole. My eyes were completely dark, and I felt like my body was following him involuntarily. When I reached the end of the black hole, I discovered that in front of me was an underground palace with splendid golden walls. The man went inside to report. After a while, I heard someone inside saying, let him go back first! At this time, when I opened my eyes, I found that I was already lying on the hospital bed, and the doctors and nurses were nervously rescuing me. ”
“The researchers who conducted the survey obtained 81 valid survey data from the survivors of the Tangshan earthquake. They classified it into 40 types: looking back on life, separation of consciousness and body, feeling of weightlessness, The feeling of body strangeness, body abnormality, world destruction, integration with the universe, time stopping, etc. For most people, they can experience the coexistence of two or more feelings.
In the investigation of near-death experiences among survivors of the Tangshan earthquake, although only 81 valid survey data were obtained, it is indeed the largest collection of samples in the history of near-death experience research in the world. Among the 81 subjects studied, 47 had personality changes before and after the near-death experience.
People who experience a sense of particularly clear thinking after near-death experiences often become docile in character; while people who experience "meeting" otherworldly people or people whose souls, thoughts or behaviors are not controlled by consciousness and are judged often become blindly optimistic. Or noisy. After being "resurrected from the dead", most people still have vivid memories of their near-death experiences, and they are still unforgettable even ten or twenty years later.
Obviously, these survey results from China are surprisingly similar to surveys by scholars in other countries around the world.
Death: a transit point between two worlds?
Almost everyone will ask themselves, in addition to the body, do we have a soul? When a person takes his last breath, will his soul continue to live?
By observing human life and death, the ancient Russians believed that something in the human body was related to breathing. Therefore, in Russian, the word "soul" and "breath" have the same root. Australian Aboriginals also believe in the existence of spirits. They believed that when a woman passed by a tree, rock or animal, the spirit would enter her fetus. In Asia, Europe, and America, people also believe in the existence of souls. The ancient Egyptians also believed that the soul was an integral part of the body. Almost every religion has a theory that a certain organ of the body corresponds to the soul. The ancient Babylonians believed that the soul was in the ears, the ancient Jews believed that it was in the blood, and of course some people believed that the soul occupied the entire human body.
Recently, there has been some confirmation that the soul is in the heart. Russia's "Pravda" reported that Paul, a neuropsychologist at Sinai Hospital in Detroit, USA. Paul Pearsall surveyed 140 heart transplant patients and wrote the book "The Heart Code" based on the results.
Pisio concluded that the heart is where a person's personality traits reside; it is the heart that controls the brain, not the brain that controls the heart. Feelings, fears, dreams, and thoughts all come from the heart. The memory of the "soul" was transferred to another person after the heart transplant.
The book gives many examples of this. For example: After a 41-year-old man transplanted the heart of a 19-year-old girl who died in a car accident, his original calm and serious personality suddenly became emotional and careless.
Another interesting example is Sylvia, a New York dance teacher. Silvia Clair received a heart transplant at the age of 50. The first drink she wanted to drink after the operation was beer. At night, she began to have some strange dreams again, dreaming of a man named T.L. After she investigated, she discovered that her heart was transplanted from an 18-year-old man named T.L., and his relatives said that his favorite drink was beer.
At the end of 1990, there was sensational news - American scientists weighed the human soul and found that the body weighed 2.5 to 6.5 grams less after death than before death. Of course, someone had done such an experiment as early as 1915. At that time, scientists concluded that the human soul weighs 22.4 grams.
There was even more exciting research in 2001. British scientist Sam. Sam Parnia and Peter. Peter Fenwick proposed that even after the brain stops functioning, the human mind may continue to function. The study included 63 patients who had clinically experienced life and death; 56 people had no feelings about death at the time, while the other seven had clear memories. Talking about the feeling at that time, four of them said that they felt that time went much faster, but they all felt incredible joy and tranquility. They also saw lights, mythical angels and saints, and spoke of the experience of staying for a while in another world.
It is worth mentioning that none of these people believe in religion, and three of them said they had never been to church. Therefore, the experiences of these people are difficult to explain by religious imagination.
British scientists have refuted the traditional view that brain cessation is due to lack of oxygen, because none of the patients' central nervous systems showed significant reductions in oxygen levels.
In 2001, three Dutch scholars headed by Pim van Lommel also conducted a study on clinical death and published the results in The Lancet. Their conclusion Similar to that of British scientists. They believe that the moment people see those things, that is the moment the central nervous system stops functioning, when people's thoughts and brain activities are separated.
Ramanl provides a very interesting near-death experience. A comatose patient is sent to the ward. Doctors tried their best to wake him up: his brain had stopped moving and his brain waves were in a straight line. But the doctor decided to use an intubation tube in the throat and trachea to help with ventilation.
During the procedure, the patient's dental tray was removed. An hour later, the patient's heart finally started beating and his blood pressure returned to normal. A week later, he actually said to the nurse: "You should know where my dental tray is! You put it in the drawer of the trolley!" He said that at the moment of his death, he had been observing on it and could even Describe in detail the actions of the doctor at that time. But he was very afraid that the doctors would stop rescuing him, so he tried his best to show that he was still alive.
A study by Dutch scientists found that women have a stronger sense of near-death than men. Most patients who had a strong clinical death experience still died a month later despite being rescued at the time; in addition, What a blind person sees is no different from what a sighted person sees.
Scientists can always find examples of the immortality of the soul. For most people, it may be easy to accept that death is at least the starting point to another world.