Afterlife: what awaits us after death. What happens to a person after death from a scientific point of view What after a person’s death is scientific

If we try to find out what death is, we will come to the conclusion that there are many definitions of this phenomenon. Science also does not provide a clear and understandable definition. Let's try to consult the explanatory dictionary of S.I. Ozhegov and N.Yu. Shvedova. Here's what they write:

» DEATH. Termination of the body's vital functions.

Clinical death(a short period after the cessation of breathing and cardiac activity, during which tissue viability still remains).

Biological death(irreversible cessation of biological processes in the cells and tissues of the body).”

The definition is understandable, but does not explain much. Moreover, there is no mention of the Soul in it. Let's take a look at V.I.'s explanatory dictionary. Dalia. It says:

“DEATH is the end of earthly life, death, separation of the soul from the body, dying, the state of being obsolete. The death of man, the end of carnal life, resurrection, transition to eternal, to spiritual life.”

The definition is not so clear, but it already contains a mention of the Soul. The remark about “eternal and spiritual life” is interesting, but, unfortunately, what it is is completely unclear.

The Oxford Academic Dictionary gives a completely meaningless definition: "Death is the end of life."

The 1986 Encyclopedia Britannica interprets death as "complete cessation of life processes."

Medical guidelines define death as follows: “No signs of life” and “No brain activity confirmed by electroencephalogram.”

The 22nd World Medical Congress in 1968, which specifically studied the problem of death, gave the following definition: “Irreversible loss of whole body functions.”

Another definition that also does not give a clear idea is often found: “Death is the final cessation of vital functions in an animal or plant.”

Thus, the concept of “death” is still not firmly established even among professional doctors. The criteria for death vary even among doctors themselves.

Let's look at the three main definitions of "death".

Definition No. 1.
“Death” is the absence of clinically detectable signs of life.

By this definition, a person whose heart has stopped, whose breathing has stopped, whose blood pressure has dropped to a level that can no longer be determined by instruments, whose pupils have dilated, whose body temperature begins to drop, etc. can be considered dead.

This clinical definition of death has been used by doctors for many centuries. Most people were declared dead based on these criteria.

Often, in order to determine whether a person died or not, a mirror was held to his lips. If it fogged up, then this indicated that the person was still breathing. But lack of breathing is not death. Drowned people who were pulled out of the water were sometimes able to be revived.

Sometimes the doctor would make a small cut in the skin to see if blood would flow. However, this was also not a very reliable method. After cardiac arrest and cessation of blood circulation, it was also possible to save people’s lives.

Therefore, this definition is more suitable for the concept of clinical death. And as you know, clinical death is not the end of existence.

People who experienced life outside the body were also considered dead according to this definition. However, modern resuscitation methods made it possible to restore their lives and they were able to talk about their experience.

Definition #2
“Death” is the absence of brain activity.

Modern technical advances have made it possible to create sensitive equipment that makes it possible to record biological processes hidden from direct observation. One such device is an electroencephalograph. This is a device that amplifies and records even the weakest electrical signals from the brain.

With the advent of this device, at first glance, it became possible to draw a conclusion about death based on the absence of electrical activity in the brain. At the moment of death, a clearly visible flat area (plateau) appears on the electroencephalograph screen. However, such a plateau was also obtained in people who were subsequently resuscitated. Scientists have also found that drugs are depressants of the nervous system and their increased levels in the body also lead to a plateau. The same plateau appears when the temperature of the human body decreases.

Therefore, this method of establishing death is also not perfect.

Definition #3
“Death” is the irreversible loss of vital functions.

This definition suggests that a structural change in tissue has already begun. Resuscitation is possible only if irreversible destruction of body tissues has not yet occurred. Once the tissues begin to disintegrate, no resuscitation is possible. Some experts propose an even stricter definition, according to which no one can be declared dead, regardless of whether there are clinical signs of life or not, if resuscitation has followed. In other words, “death” is a state when it is no longer possible to bring a person back to life.

However, we are talking not only about the moment of transition, but also about the very existence of the amazing phenomenon of life after life, when some part of a person leaves his body and can observe this body and everything around him from the outside. It becomes clear that conscious life can continue regardless of the vital activity of the physical body.

The body, as we know, consists of cells and tissues, and when a person dies, different cells and tissues are destroyed at different times. Brain cells die first. Cells of some other tissues, more primitive ones, can live and even reproduce for some time. For example, it is well known that when a person has already died, his hair and nails continue to grow for several days. From the point of view of science, it is generally impossible to talk about the simultaneous death of the entire human body.

Is it possible to somehow establish the moment when the Soul and life completely left the body? It is unlikely that anyone can do this. Even medicine currently does not have absolutely accurate criteria for determining the moment of death. Or maybe there is no death itself? It’s probably not for nothing that the word “transition” has appeared in the vocabulary of doctors studying issues of death. Death is usually understood as the end of human life. Now it is known that after the death of the body, the Personality of a person continues to live. Therefore, we can talk about the death of the physical body and the transition of the Soul to a new state of Being. It follows from this that there is some mechanism by which the Soul can leave the body. Sometimes this mechanism starts even before actual death. At the same time, people may experience unusual sensations, for example, seeing their entire past life in a few seconds. Some people, on the eve of their death, actually have a presentiment of it, and sometimes even feel how and when it will happen.

Also, at present it is impossible to accurately determine from what point a return to life is impossible. This moment depends not only on the person himself, his qualities, physical condition, but also on many other factors. Just a few decades ago, most people could not be brought back to life. The rapid development of resuscitation technology will make it possible to bring back to life many of those whom doctors were unable to save yesterday.

It is imperative to make the definition of death as specific as possible. After all, the correct declaration of death is very important when transplanting organs from a deceased person to a living person. Such operations are extremely expensive, but very popular all over the world. However, there are many different moral and legal nuances here.

Doctors who perform resuscitation and doctors who accept an organ from a deceased person for transplantation have a colossal responsibility. Resuscitation doctors are obliged to fully use all opportunities to bring a person back to life. This is their moral and professional duty.

But on the other hand, the heart, kidney or liver must be removed from the donor's body quickly enough, immediately after the donor's death, while the organ is still alive and able to function. Accordingly, the medical team performing organ removal should be nearby. Based on this situation, a certain procedure has developed. When a person is admitted to intensive care with little chance of returning to life, resuscitators immediately report this case to their colleagues who are involved in organ transplantation. A special team of doctors immediately goes to the resuscitation site to await the results of resuscitation. In the event of the death of a donor, after its official confirmation, this team immediately removes the necessary organ from the body of the deceased.

However, only in theory everything looks smooth. The same practice shows that sometimes doctors, in pursuit of material rewards, either do not fulfill their moral duty, or perform it carelessly and, thus, deprive a person of the right to continue life. It seems to us that until science recognizes the existence of the subtle world, it will not be able to give a more precise definition of the concept of “death.” How close scientists are to such recognition - only time will tell...

§ 2. Resuscitation technique

Popular, scientific and fiction literature has sufficiently described cases in which a person who had already been declared dead sometimes came to life. The most famous cases are the resurrection of the deceased Lazarus by Jesus Christ on the third day after death (Bible, Gospel of John, chapter 11), and, of course, the amazing resurrection of Christ itself.

The belief that resurrection was possible led people to attempt revival. The most ancient attempts were very primitive. Most often, the deceased was flogged with nettles, air was blown into the lungs with bellows, and they were placed on a horse in the hope that shaking would bring him back to life. Later they began to use electric current to revive. All this suggests that people subconsciously felt that strong irritation was necessary to resurrect a person.

Obviously, such amateurish actions rarely led to success. Nevertheless, at all times people hoped that one day it would be possible to bring the dead back to life.

Until recently, the vital activity of the entire organism often depended on the performance of one of the organs. If a vital organ stopped working, the person died. For example, cardiac arrest or liver failure resulted in death. However, with the development of medicine, this problem was also solved. Scientists have developed new methods of revival: artificial respiration, blood transfusion, organ transplantation. Artificial organs are being used more and more often: heart, lungs, kidneys, etc.

Attempts at resuscitation were successful, as a rule, only in the first minutes after the extinction of vital functions. If the state of death did not last long and irreversible decay of the body tissues had not yet occurred, then the person received a chance to return to life.

In principle, knowing the mechanisms of human life and especially the functioning of his subtle energy bodies, reviving a person is in principle possible. However, there is one important point here that makes you wonder whether such a revival is necessary. If a person really died and was in this state for some time (an hour, two, a day, two), then after his revival, the result will always be a sick and mentally disabled person, since, first of all, when a biological body dies, the brain dies. And the brain is directly connected with Consciousness and Reason. As soon as the brain ceases to function, Consciousness and Mind become separate and exist, as if separately from the physical body. Therefore, if the biological body comes to life, the result will be an imbecile, acting only in the mode of satisfying biological instincts. This will no longer be a full-fledged person.

In any case, this is a rather controversial topic and can cause a lot of both positive and negative reactions. Is it worth it for a person to interfere with God’s Plan at all? This is what we suggest you think about before expressing your opinion.

Let's return to real facts and phenomena, or rather to people who have gone through clinical death. Often they later talked about their experiences at the moment of death. They retained the ability to perceive their surroundings. They could, for example, look at their dead body from the outside, see how doctors were trying to bring it back to life, and could hear and understand their conversations. Thus, it turned out that the person brought back to life retained the memory of what happened and could later talk about what he saw and heard. But at that time he was lying on the operating table and showed no signs of life.

This suggests a logical conclusion. The personality or Soul of a person does not die simultaneously with the body, but continues to exist independently. If the deceased can be revived, the Soul returns to the body again. Thus, a person receives the right to continue life.

In more precise terms, a person’s return to life after clinical death is the beginning of his new incarnation on Earth. When dying, the Soul of a person leaves the current body, and after some time receives a new body. We call this reincarnation. In case of clinical death, the Soul only temporarily leaves its body and after some time moves into it again. This is like the second birth of a person, the beginning of his new life on Earth. You can believe it or not, but experience shows that a person who has experienced clinical death very often changes for the better. This is a separate topic for conversation and we will return to it a little later. For those wishing to thoroughly understand this amazing phenomenon, we recommend reading our book “Life is only a moment. Knowledge of the 21st century".

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All living beings on earth, with very rare exceptions, are mortal, and sooner or later life comes to an end. But it can also be different - painful, painful or even pleasant. What does this depend on and what does science say about death? Can it be easy?

What is death?

The complete cessation of vital activity of the entire organism is called absolute death. Doctors also distinguish a type of clinical death, when the cessation of activity of one or several individual organs - the heart, lungs or brain - is recorded, while other parts of the body are still able to live. In this case, the person can be saved if the functionality of the fading organ is restored. Each of them, with the exception of the lungs, has pain receptors. Depending on what happens at the moment the body dies and which organs are affected, a person feels pain and emotions. But this is only if the brain is still alive and it is able to perceive something.

Brain death

From a scientific point of view, instant brain death is the easiest death of a living organism. However, we are talking about the brain as a whole, and not about its individual parts, when death occurs slowly and individual, important brain centers continue to function. Doctors say that partial death of areas of gray matter is accompanied by some of the most excruciating, painful sensations and it is almost impossible to bear this in consciousness.

Complete and immediate brain death can occur when a head injury occurs, when exposed to certain chemicals, or when the air supply is suddenly and completely cut off. If, during the onset of clinical death, after diagnosing damage to individual brain centers, doctors still manage to resuscitate a person, then, as a rule, he is no longer adapted to normal life activities. Dead areas of the brain are not restored.

Lung damage

As mentioned above, lung tissue is devoid of nerve fibers and therefore its death is not accompanied by pain. Stopping the functioning of the lungs leads to instant, unemotional death. Damage to certain parts of the pulmonary system can cause fear and horror in cases where a person feels a lack of oxygen and suffocates. But if this does not happen, then the gradual death of the lung tissue ends in a painless death, completely accompanied by clarity of consciousness. This may be the result of various infectious and oncological diseases of the pulmonary system. Such a painless and quiet death was described by Dr. Eric Schwerer in 1904, ascertained by Anton Chekhov, who suffered from an open form of pulmonary tuberculosis. A few minutes before his death, the writer himself informed the doctor that he was dying, turned to the other side and fell asleep, without experiencing any pain or terrible emotions.

Decreased body temperature

It is known that complex changes occur in human tissues under the influence of cold. A strong decrease in body temperature leads to gradual cell death and spasm of blood vessels. As a result, blood flow slows down, the action of tissue enzymes stops, the supply of oxygen to the tissues and, above all, to the brain is significantly reduced, and its functions are disrupted. General frostbite blocks the functioning of pain receptors, causing the brain to incorrectly recognize incoming signals from the damaged nervous system. As a result, the victim may feel that his limbs are warm and positive emotions arise. Thus, a rapid decrease in body temperature leads to a painless and easy death. The dying person does not feel fear and during this period can see pleasant hallucinations. Similar tragic situations arise in winter, when a person falls into icy water, falls asleep in the snow, or gets lost in the forest. At certain stages of general frostbite, the body can be brought back to life and when the functioning of the nervous system is restored, the pain will be unbearable.

Nature does not provide for an easy death for a person, and when natural death occurs due to the aging of the body, each individual goes through three stages - the preagonal state, agony and clinical death. And although in the preagonal state the reflexive protective reaction of the body is activated at the level of the central nervous system in order to reduce possible torment, the person still experiences pain and fear. But their degree depends on the sequence of organ death. And if the brain or lungs are the first to shut down, then the dying person endures his departure to another world more calmly and quickly.

Birth and death are the boundaries of life for every creature on the planet. These are two sisters that complement each other, two halves of a whole that constantly touch and interact. Each is the start of something new, and at the same time both symbolize the completion of another cycle of existence. And if we associate only pleasant and joyful moments with birth, then the end of life, approaching every day, frightens and frightens us with the unknown. What is human death? What's next? Let's figure it out together.

What is death?

The world is structured in such a way that all creatures living in it go through several stages: birth (appearance, emergence), growth and development, flourishing (maturity), extinction (aging), death. Even representatives of inanimate nature go through similar cycles: stars and galaxies, for example, as well as various social objects - organizations and powers. In a word, nothing in the physical world can exist forever: everything has a logical beginning and an equally appropriate end. What can we say about living creatures: insects, birds, animals and humans. They are designed in such a way that the body, after working for a certain amount of time, begins to wear out and ceases its vital functions.

Death is the final stage of life, which becomes the consequence of a deep, strong, irreversible dysfunction of vital organs. If it occurs due to the natural wear and tear of tissues, cell aging, then it is called physiological, or natural. A person, having lived a long and happy life, one day falls asleep and never opens his eyes again. Such a death is even considered desirable; it does not bring any pain or suffering to the dying person. When the end of life was the result of unfavorable circumstances and factors, then we can talk about pathological death. It occurs due to injury, asphyxia or blood loss, and is caused by infections and diseases. Sometimes death occurs on a massive scale. For example, in the 14th century, a pandemic covered all of Europe and Asia. What is the Black Death? This is exactly that terrible pestilence, a pandemic that has taken the lives of 60 million people over two decades.

Different points of view

Atheists believe that the end of a person’s existence, his transition into complete non-existence - this is how death can be characterized. This, in their opinion, is the death of not only the physical body, but also the consciousness of the individual. They do not believe in the soul, considering it a unique form of brain activity. Afterwards, the gray matter is no longer supplied with oxygen, so it dies along with other organs. Accordingly, atheists completely exclude eternal life and

As for science, from its point of view, death is the natural mechanism that protects the planet from overpopulation. It also ensures a change of generations, each subsequent one achieving greater development than the previous one, which becomes the starting point for the introduction of innovations and progressive technologies in different spheres of life.

Instead, religion explains in its own way what human death is. All known world religions emphasize that the death of the physical body is not the end. After all, it is just a shell for the eternal - the inner world, the soul. Everyone comes into this world to fulfill their destiny, after which they return to the Creator in heaven. Death is only the destruction of the bodily shell, after which the soul does not cease to exist, but continues it outside the body. Each religion has its own ideas about the afterlife, and they all differ significantly from each other.

Death in Christianity

Let's start with this religion, since it is closer and more familiar to the Slavic people. Even in ancient times, having learned what the black death was, and being frightened by its irresistible power, people started talking about the rebirth of the soul. Rather, out of fear of death, trying to give themselves hope, some Christians admitted that a person was prescribed not one, but several lives. If he made serious mistakes, sinned, but managed to repent, then the Lord will definitely give him a chance to correct what he has done - he will give him another rebirth, but in a different body. In fact, true Christianity denies the mythical doctrine of the pre-existence of the soul. Even the second Council of Constantinople, registered in the 6th century, threatened with anathema to anyone who would spread such ridiculous and absurd judgments.

According to Christianity, there is no death as such. Our existence on earth is just a preparation, a rehearsal for eternal life next to the Lord. After the immediate death of the bodily shell, the soul remains next to it for several days. Then on the third day, usually after burial, it flies to heaven or goes to the lair of devils and demons.

What is the death of a person and what awaits him next? Christianity claims that this is just the completion of a minor stage in the existence of the soul, after which it continues to develop in paradise. But before she gets there, she must go through the Last Judgment: unrepentant sinners are sent to purgatory. The length of stay in it depends on what the atrocities of the deceased were, how fiercely his relatives on earth pray for him.

Opinions of other religions

They interpret the concept of death in their own way. First, let's find out what death is from the point of view of Muslim philosophy. Firstly, Islam and Christianity have a lot in common. In the religion of Asian countries, earthly life is also considered a transitional stage. After its completion, the soul goes to trial, which is headed by Nakir and Munkar. They are the ones who will tell you where to go: to heaven or hell. Then comes the highest and fair judgment of Allah himself. It will only come after the Universe collapses and completely disappears. Secondly, death itself, the sensations during it, strongly depend on the presence of sins and faith. It will be invisible and painless for true Muslims, long-lasting and painful for atheists and infidels.

As for Buddhism, for representatives of this religion the issues of death and life are secondary. In religion there is not even the concept of a soul as such, there are only its basic functions: knowledge, desire, sensation and imagination. The body plus bodily needs are characterized by the same aspects. True, Buddhists believe in reincarnation and believe that one is always reborn - into a person or another living creature.

But Judaism does not pay any attention to explaining what death is. This, according to its adherents, is not such an important issue. Having borrowed various concepts from other religions, Judaism has absorbed a kaleidoscope of mixed and adapted beliefs. Therefore, it provides for reincarnation, as well as the presence of heaven, hell and purgatory.

Reasonings of philosophers

In addition to representatives of religious denominations, thinkers also liked to raise the issue of the end of earthly life. What is death from a philosophical point of view? For example, the representative of Antiquity Plato believed that it is the result of the separation of the soul from the mortal physical shell. The thinker believed that the body is a prison for the spirit. In it, he forgets about his spiritual origin and strives to satisfy his base instincts.

The Roman Seneca assured that he was not afraid of death. In his opinion, it is either the end, when you no longer care, or resettlement, which means continuation. Seneca was sure that nowhere would man be as cramped as on earth. Epicurus, meanwhile, believed that we get everything bad from our sensations. Death is the end of feelings and emotions. Therefore, there is nothing to be afraid of.

What is death from the point of view of medieval philosophy? Early theologians - God-Bearer, Ignatius and Tatian - contrasted it with life, and not in favor of the latter. The desire to die for faith and the Lord again becomes a cult. In the 19th century, the attitude towards the death of the body changed: some tried not to think about it, others, on the contrary, preached about death, erecting it on the altar. Schopenhauer wrote: only an animal fully enjoys life and its benefits, because it does not think about death. In his opinion, only the mind is to blame for the fact that the end of earthly life seems so terrifying to us. “The greatest fear is the fear of death,” the thinker asserted.

Main stages

The spiritual component of a person’s death is clear. Now let's try to find out what it is. Doctors distinguish several stages of the dying process:

1. Pregonal state. Lasts from ten minutes to several hours. The person is inhibited, his consciousness is unclear. There may be no pulse in the peripheral arteries, while it can only be felt in the femoral and carotid arteries. There is pallor of the skin and shortness of breath. The pregonal state ends with a terminal pause.
2. Agonal stage. Breathing may stop (from 30 seconds to one and a half minutes), blood pressure drops to zero, and reflexes, including eye reflexes, fade away. Inhibition occurs in the cerebral cortex, the functions of the gray matter are gradually turned off. Life activity becomes chaotic, the body ceases to exist as a single whole.
3. Agony. Lasts only a few minutes. Precedes clinical death. This is the last stage of a person’s struggle for life. All body functions are disrupted, and parts of the central nervous system located above the brain stem begin to slow down. Sometimes deep but rare breathing appears, and there is a distinct but short-term increase in pressure. Consciousness and reflexes are absent, although they may briefly return. From the outside it seems that a person is getting better, but such a state is deceptive - this is the last flash of life.

Then follows clinical death. Although this is the last stage of dying, it is reversible. A person can be brought out of this state or he independently returns to life. What is clinical death? A detailed description of the process is outlined below.

Clinical death and its signs

This period is quite short. What is clinical death? And what are its signs? Doctors give a clear definition: this is the stage that occurs immediately after the cessation of breathing and active blood circulation. Changes in cells are observed in the central nervous system and other organs. If doctors competently support the functioning of the heart and lungs with the help of devices, then restoration of the body’s vital functions is quite possible.

The main signs of clinical death:

• Reflexes and consciousness are absent.
• Cyanosis of the epidermis is observed, with hemorrhagic shock and large blood loss - severe pallor.
• The pupils are greatly dilated.
• Heartbeats stop, the person does not breathe.

Cardiac arrest is diagnosed when there is no pulsation in the carotid arteries for 5 seconds and contraction of the organ is not audible. If a patient is given an electrocardiogram, ventricular fibrillation can be seen, that is, contractions of individual myocardial bundles, bradyarrhythmia will be expressed, or a straight line will be recorded, which indicates a complete cessation of muscle function.

Lack of breathing is also determined quite simply. It is diagnosed if, after 15 seconds of observation, doctors cannot recognize obvious movements of the chest and do not hear the sound of exhaled air. At the same time, irregular convulsive breaths cannot provide ventilation to the lungs, so it is difficult to call them full breathing. Although doctors, knowing what it is, are trying to save the patient at this stage. Since this condition is not yet a guarantee that a person will definitely die.

What to do?

We found out that clinical death is the very last stage before the final death of the physical body. Its duration directly depends on the nature of the disease or injury that led to this condition, as well as on the course and complexity of the stages that precede it. So, if the preagonal and agonal periods were accompanied by complications, for example, severe circulatory disorders, then the duration of clinical death does not exceed 2 minutes.

It is not always possible to record the exact moment of its occurrence. Only in 15% of cases, experienced doctors know when it began and can name the time of transition from clinical death to biological death. Therefore, if the patient does not have signs of the latter, for example, cadaveric spots, then we can talk about the absence of actual death of the physical body. In this case, you need to immediately begin artificial respiration and chest compressions. Doctors say that if you find a person who has no signs of life, then the sequence of your actions should be as follows:

1. State the absence of reactions to stimuli.
2. Call an ambulance.
3. Lay the person down on a flat, hard surface and check the airway.
4. If the patient does not breathe on his own, perform mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration: two slow full breaths.
5. Check for a pulse.
6. If there is no pulse, perform cardiac massage, alternating it with ventilation of the lungs.

Continue in this spirit until the resuscitation team arrives. Qualified doctors will carry out all necessary rescue measures. Knowing in practice what human death is, they diagnose it only when all methods fail and the patient does not breathe for a certain number of minutes. After their expiration, it is believed that the brain cells began to die. And since this organ is actually the only irreplaceable one in the body, doctors record the time of death.

Death in the eyes of a child

The topic of death has always been interesting to children. Children begin to fear this phenomenon at the age of 4-5, when they gradually realize what it is. The baby is worried that his parents and other close people will not die. If a tragedy occurred, then how to explain to a child what death is? Firstly, do not hide this fact under any circumstances. There is no need to lie that the person went on a long business trip or went to the hospital for treatment. The kid feels that the answers are not true, and his feeling of fear intensifies even more. In the future, when the lie comes to light, the baby may be very offended, hate you, and receive serious psychological trauma.

Secondly, you can take your baby to church for the funeral service. But for now it’s better not to attend the funeral itself. Psychologists say that the procedure will be difficult for the fragile child’s psyche and will lead to stress. If one of the relatives very close to the baby has died, he must do something for the deceased: light a candle, write a farewell note.

How to explain to a child what the death of a loved one is? Say that he has now gone to God in heaven, where he has turned into an angel, and from now on will protect the baby. Alternatively, there is a possible story about the transformation of the soul of the deceased into a butterfly, a dog or a newborn baby. Should I take the baby to the cemetery after the funeral? Protect him from such visits for a while: this place is very gloomy, and visiting it will negatively affect the child’s psyche. If he wants to “talk” with the dead man, take him to church. Say that this is exactly the place where you can mentally or out loud communicate with someone who is no longer with us.

How to stop being afraid of death?

Not only children, but also adults are often interested in what death is and how not to be afraid of it. Psychologists give many useful recommendations that will help reduce unnecessary fears and make you more courageous in the face of the inevitable:

• Do what you love. You simply won't have time for bad thoughts. It has been proven that those who have enjoyable activities are much happier. After all, 99% of diseases are caused by stressful situations, neuroses and negative thoughts.
• Remember: no one is death. Where does the idea that she is scary come from then? Perhaps everything happens painlessly: the body is most likely in a state of shock, so it automatically deprives itself of sensitivity.
• Pay attention to the dream. After all, it is called the little death. The person is unconscious, nothing hurts. When you die, you will fall asleep just as serenely and sweetly. So, there is no need to be afraid.

And just live and enjoy this wonderful feeling. Are you still concerned about what death is and how to relate to it? Philosophically. It is inevitable, but you shouldn’t dwell on thoughts about it. We need to appreciate every moment that fate has given us, to be able to see happiness and joy even in the most negative moments of life. Think about how good it is that the morning of a new day has come: make sure that there is not even a shadow of sorrow in it. Remember: we were born to live, not to die.

Ecology of knowledge: From school they tried to convince us that there is no God, there is no immortal soul. At the same time, we were told that science says so. And we believed... Let us note that we BELIEVE that there is no immortal soul, we BELIEVE that science allegedly proved this, we BELIEVE that there is no God. None of us has even tried to figure out what impartial science says about the soul.

Every person who has encountered the death of a loved one asks the question: is there life after death? Nowadays, this issue is of particular relevance. If several centuries ago the answer to this question was obvious to everyone, now, after a period of atheism, its solution is more difficult.

We cannot simply believe hundreds of generations of our ancestors, who, through personal experience, century after century, were convinced that man has an immortal soul. We want to have facts. Moreover, the facts are scientific. From school they tried to convince us that there is no God, there is no immortal soul. At the same time, we were told that science says so. And we believed... Let us note that we BELIEVE that there is no immortal soul, we BELIEVE that science allegedly proved this, we BELIEVE that there is no God. None of us has even tried to figure out what impartial science says about the soul. We simply trusted certain authorities, without particularly going into the details of their worldview, objectivity, and their interpretation of scientific facts.

And now, when the tragedy happened, there is a conflict within us:

We feel that the soul of the deceased is eternal, that it is alive, but on the other hand, the old stereotypes instilled in us that there is no soul drag us into the abyss of despair. This struggle within us is very difficult and very exhausting. We want the truth!

So let's look at the question of the existence of the soul through real, non-ideologized, objective science. Let's hear the opinions of real scientists on this issue and personally evaluate the logical calculations. It is not our FAITH in the existence or non-existence of the soul, but only KNOWLEDGE that can extinguish this internal conflict, preserve our strength, give confidence, and look at the tragedy from a different, real point of view.

The article will talk about Consciousness. We will analyze the question of Consciousness from the point of view of science: where is Consciousness located in our body and whether it can cease its life.

What is Consciousness?

First, about what Consciousness is in general. People have thought about this question throughout the history of mankind, but still cannot come to a final decision. We know only some of the properties and possibilities of consciousness. Consciousness is awareness of oneself, one’s personality, it is a great analyzer of all our feelings, emotions, desires, plans. Consciousness is what sets us apart, what makes us feel that we are not objects, but individuals. In other words, Consciousness miraculously reveals our fundamental existence. Consciousness is our awareness of our “I”, but at the same time Consciousness is a great mystery. Consciousness has no dimensions, no form, no color, no smell, no taste; it cannot be touched or turned in your hands. Even though we know very little about consciousness, we know with absolute certainty that we have it.

One of the main questions of humanity is the question of the nature of this very Consciousness (soul, “I”, ego). Materialism and idealism have diametrically opposed views on this issue. From the point of view of materialism, human Consciousness is the substrate of the brain, a product of matter, a product of biochemical processes, a special fusion of nerve cells. From the point of view of idealism, Consciousness is the ego, “I”, spirit, soul - an immaterial, invisible, eternally existing, non-dying energy that spiritualizes the body. Acts of consciousness always involve a subject who is actually aware of everything.

If you are interested in purely religious ideas about the soul, then religion will not provide any evidence of the existence of the soul. The doctrine of the soul is a dogma and is not subject to scientific proof.

There are absolutely no explanations, much less evidence, from materialists who believe that they are impartial scientists (although this is far from the case).

But how do most people, who are equally far from religion, from philosophy, and from science too, imagine this Consciousness, soul, “I”? Let's ask ourselves, what is “I”?

Gender, name, profession and other role functions

The first thing that comes to mind for most is: “I am a person”, “I am a woman (man)”, “I am a businessman (turner, baker)”, “I am Tanya (Katya, Alexey)”, “I am a wife ( husband, daughter)”, etc. These are certainly funny answers. Your individual, unique “I” cannot be defined in general terms. There are a huge number of people in the world with the same characteristics, but they are not your “I”. Half of them are women (men), but they are not “I” either, people with the same professions seem to have their own, and not your “I”, the same can be said about wives (husbands), people of different professions, social status, nationalities, religions, etc. No affiliation with any group will explain to you what your individual “I” represents, because Consciousness is always personal. I am not qualities (qualities only belong to our “I”), because the qualities of the same person can change, but his “I” will remain unchanged.

Mental and physiological characteristics

Some say that their “I” is their reflexes, their behavior, their individual ideas and preferences, their psychological characteristics, etc.

In fact, this cannot be the core of the personality, which is called “I.” Why? Because throughout life, behavior, ideas and preferences change, and even more so psychological characteristics. It cannot be said that if these features were different before, then it was not my “I”.

Realizing this, some people make the following argument: “I am my individual body.” This is already more interesting. Let's examine this assumption as well.

Everyone knows from the school anatomy course that the cells of our body are gradually renewed throughout life. Old ones die (apoptosis), and new ones are born. Some cells (the epithelium of the gastrointestinal tract) are completely renewed almost every day, but there are cells that go through their life cycle much longer. On average, every 5 years all the cells of the body are renewed. If we consider the “I” to be a simple collection of human cells, then the result will be absurd. It turns out that if a person lives, for example, 70 years. During this time, at least 10 times a person will change all the cells in his body (i.e. 10 generations). Could this mean that not one person, but 10 different people lived their 70-year life? Isn't that pretty stupid? We conclude that “I” cannot be a body, because the body is not permanent, but “I” is permanent.

This means that the “I” cannot be either the qualities of cells or their totality.

But here the particularly erudite give a counter-argument: “Okay, with bones and muscles it’s clear, this really cannot be the “I”, but there are nerve cells! And they are alone for the rest of their lives. Maybe “I” is the sum of nerve cells?”

Let's think about this question together...

Does consciousness consist of nerve cells?

Materialism is accustomed to decomposing the entire multidimensional world into mechanical components, “testing harmony with algebra” (A.S. Pushkin). The most naive misconception of militant materialism regarding personality is the idea that personality is a set of biological qualities. However, the combination of impersonal objects, be they even atoms or neurons, cannot give rise to a personality and its core - the “I”.

How can this most complex “I”, feeling, capable of experiences, love, be simply the sum of specific cells of the body along with the ongoing biochemical and bioelectric processes? How can these processes shape the “I”???

Provided that nerve cells constituted our “I”, then we would lose part of our “I” every day. With each dead cell, with each neuron, the “I” would become smaller and smaller. With cell restoration, it would increase in size.

Scientific studies conducted in different countries of the world prove that nerve cells, like all other cells of the human body, are capable of regeneration (restoration). Here is what the most serious biological international journal Nature writes: “Employees of the California Institute for Biological Research. Salk discovered that in the brains of adult mammals, fully functional young cells are born that function on a par with existing neurons. Professor Frederick Gage and his colleagues also concluded that brain tissue renews itself most rapidly in physically active animals." 1

This is confirmed by a publication in another authoritative, peer-reviewed biological journal - Science: “Over the past two years, researchers have found that nerve and brain cells are renewed, like others in the human body. The body is capable of repairing disorders related to the nervous tract itself, says scientist Helen M. Blon.”

Thus, even with a complete change of all (including nerve) cells of the body, the “I” of a person remains the same, therefore, it does not belong to the constantly changing material body.

For some reason, in our time it is so difficult to prove what was obvious and understandable to the ancients. The Roman Neoplatonist philosopher Plotinus, who lived in the 3rd century, wrote: “It is absurd to assume that since none of the parts has life, then life can be created by their totality... moreover, it is completely impossible for life to be produced by a heap of parts, and that the mind was generated by that which is devoid of mind. If anyone objects that this is not so, but that in fact the soul is formed by atoms coming together, that is, bodies indivisible into parts, then he will be refuted by the fact that the atoms themselves only lie one next to the other, not forming a living whole, for unity and joint feeling cannot be obtained from bodies that are insensitive and incapable of unification; but the soul feels itself” 2.

The “I” is the unchanging core of personality, which includes many variables, but is not itself variable.

A skeptic can put forward a last desperate argument: “Maybe “I” is the brain?”

Is Consciousness a product of brain activity? What does science say?

Many people heard the fairy tale that our Consciousness is the activity of the brain back in school. The idea that the brain is essentially a person with his “I” is extremely widespread. Most people think that it is the brain that perceives information from the world around us, processes it and decides how to act in each specific case; they think that it is the brain that makes us alive and gives us personality. And the body is nothing more than a spacesuit that ensures the activity of the central nervous system.

But this tale has nothing to do with science. The brain is currently being studied in depth. The chemical composition, parts of the brain, and the connections of these parts with human functions have been well studied for a long time. The brain organization of perception, attention, memory, and speech has been studied. Functional blocks of the brain have been studied. A huge number of clinics and research centers have been studying the human brain for more than a hundred years, for which expensive, effective equipment has been developed. But, opening any textbooks, monographs, scientific journals on neurophysiology or neuropsychology, you will not find scientific data about the connection of the brain with Consciousness.

For people far from this area of ​​knowledge, this seems surprising. In fact, there is nothing surprising about this. It’s just that no one has ever discovered the connection between the brain and the very center of our personality, our “I”. Of course, material scientists have always wanted this. Thousands of studies and millions of experiments have been conducted, many billions of dollars have been spent on this. The efforts of scientists were not in vain. Thanks to these studies, the parts of the brain themselves were discovered and studied, their connection with physiological processes was established, a lot was done to understand neurophysiological processes and phenomena, but the most important thing was not achieved. It was not possible to find the place in the brain that is our “I”. It was not possible even, despite extremely active work in this direction, to make a serious assumption about how the brain can be connected with our Consciousness.

Where did the assumption come from that Consciousness is in the brain? This assumption was put forward in the mid-18th century by the famous electrophysiologist Dubois-Reymond (1818-1896). In his worldview, Dubois-Reymond was one of the brightest representatives of the mechanistic movement. In one of his letters to a friend, he wrote that “exclusively physicochemical laws operate in the body; if not everything can be explained with their help, then it is necessary, using physical and mathematical methods, either to find a way of their action, or to accept that there are new forces of matter, equal in value to physical and chemical forces” 3.

But another outstanding physiologist, Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig (Ludwig, 1816-1895), who lived at the same time with Reymon, who headed the new Physiological Institute in Leipzig in 1869-1895, which became the world's largest center in the field of experimental physiology, did not agree with him. The founder of the scientific school, Ludwig wrote that none of the existing theories of nervous activity, including the electrical theory of nerve currents of Dubois-Reymond, can say anything about how, as a result of the activity of nerves, acts of sensation become possible. Let us note that here we are not even talking about the most complex acts of consciousness, but about much simpler sensations. If there is no consciousness, then we cannot feel or perceive anything.

Another major physiologist of the 19th century, the outstanding English neurophysiologist Sir Charles Scott Sherrington, Nobel Prize laureate, said that if it is not clear how the psyche arises from the activity of the brain, then, naturally, it is equally unclear how it can have any influence on the behavior of a living creature, which is controlled through the nervous system.

As a result, Dubois-Reymond himself came to the following conclusion: “As we are aware, we do not know and will never know. And no matter how much we delve into the jungle of intracerebral neurodynamics, we will not build a bridge to the kingdom of consciousness.” Raymon came to the conclusion, disappointing for determinism, that it is impossible to explain Consciousness by material causes. He admitted “that here the human mind comes across a “world riddle” that it will never be able to solve” 4.

Professor at Moscow University, philosopher A.I. Vvedensky in 1914 formulated the law of “the absence of objective signs of animation.” The meaning of this law is that the role of the psyche in the system of material processes of behavior regulation is absolutely elusive and there is no conceivable bridge between the activity of the brain and the area of ​​mental or spiritual phenomena, including Consciousness.

The leading experts in neurophysiology, Nobel Prize laureates David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel recognized that in order to establish a connection between the brain and Consciousness, it is necessary to understand what reads and decodes the information that comes from the senses. Scientists have recognized that this is impossible to do.

There is interesting and convincing evidence of the absence of a connection between Consciousness and the functioning of the brain, understandable even to people far from science. Here it is:

Let us assume that the “I” (Consciousness) is the result of the work of the brain. As neurophysiologists know for sure, a person can live even with one hemisphere of the brain. At the same time, he will have Consciousness. A person who lives only with the right hemisphere of the brain certainly has an “I” (Consciousness). Accordingly, we can conclude that the “I” is not in the left, absent, hemisphere. A person with only a functioning left hemisphere also has an “I”, therefore the “I” is not located in the right hemisphere, which is absent in this person. Consciousness remains regardless of which hemisphere is removed. This means that a person does not have an area of ​​the brain responsible for Consciousness, neither in the left nor in the right hemisphere of the brain. We have to conclude that the presence of consciousness in humans is not associated with certain areas of the brain.

Professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences Voino-Yasenetsky describes: “I opened a huge abscess (about 50 cubic cm of pus) in a young wounded man, which undoubtedly destroyed the entire left frontal lobe, and I did not observe any mental defects after this operation. I can say the same about another patient who was operated on for a huge cyst of the meninges. Upon wide opening of the skull, I was surprised to see that almost the entire right half of it was empty, and the entire left hemisphere of the brain was compressed, almost to the point of being impossible to distinguish.”6

In 1940, Dr. Augustin Iturricha made a sensational statement at the Anthropological Society in Sucre (Bolivia). He and Dr. Ortiz spent a long time studying the medical history of a 14-year-old boy, a patient at Dr. Ortiz's clinic. The teenager was there with a diagnosis of a brain tumor. The young man retained Consciousness until his death, complaining only of a headache. When a pathological autopsy was performed after his death, the doctors were amazed: the entire brain mass was completely separated from the internal cavity of the skull. A large abscess has taken over the cerebellum and part of the brain. It remains completely unclear how the sick boy’s thinking was preserved.

The fact that consciousness exists independently of the brain is also confirmed by studies conducted recently by Dutch physiologists under the leadership of Pim van Lommel. The results of a large-scale experiment were published in the most authoritative English biological journal, The Lancet. “Consciousness exists even after the brain has ceased to function. In other words, Consciousness “lives” on its own, absolutely independently. As for the brain, it is not thinking matter at all, but an organ, like any other, performing strictly defined functions. It may very well be that thinking matter, even in principle, does not exist, said the leader of the study, the famous scientist Pim van Lommel” 7.

Another argument that is understandable to non-specialists is given by Professor V.F. Voino-Yasenetsky: “In the wars of ants who do not have a brain, intentionality is clearly revealed, and therefore intelligence, no different from humans.” 8. This is truly an amazing fact. Ants solve quite complex problems of survival, building housing, providing themselves with food, i.e. have a certain intelligence, but have no brain at all. Makes you think, doesn't it?

Neurophysiology does not stand still, but is one of the most dynamically developing sciences. The success of studying the brain is evidenced by the methods and scale of research. Functions and areas of the brain are being studied, and its composition is being clarified in more and more detail. Despite the titanic work on studying the brain, world science today is still far from understanding what creativity, thinking, memory are and what their connection is with the brain itself.

What is the nature of Consciousness?

Having come to the understanding that Consciousness does not exist inside the body, science draws natural conclusions about the immaterial nature of consciousness.

Academician P.K. Anokhin: “None of the “mental” operations that we attribute to the “mind” have so far been able to be directly associated with any part of the brain. If we, in principle, cannot understand how exactly the psyche arises as a result of the activity of the brain, then isn’t it more logical to think that the psyche is not, in its essence, a function of the brain, but represents the manifestation of some other - immaterial spiritual forces? 9

At the end of the 20th century, the creator of quantum mechanics, Nobel Prize laureate E. Schrödinger wrote that the nature of the connection between some physical processes and subjective events (which include Consciousness) lies “aside from science and beyond human understanding.”

The greatest modern neurophysiologist, Nobel Prize winner in medicine, J. Eccles, developed the idea that based on the analysis of brain activity it is impossible to find out the origin of mental phenomena, and this fact can easily be interpreted in the sense that the psyche is not a function of the brain at all. According to Eccles, neither physiology nor the theory of evolution can shed light on the origin and nature of consciousness, which is absolutely alien to all material processes in the Universe. The spiritual world of man and the world of physical realities, including brain activity, are completely independent independent worlds that only interact and to some extent influence each other. He is echoed by such prominent specialists as Karl Lashley (an American scientist, director of the laboratory of primate biology in Orange Park (Florida), who studied the mechanisms of brain function) and Harvard University doctor Edward Tolman.

With his colleague, the founder of modern neurosurgery, Wilder Penfield, who performed over 10,000 brain operations, Eccles wrote the book “The Mystery of Man.” 10 In it, the authors explicitly state that “there is no doubt that man is controlled by SOMETHING outside of himself.” bodies." “I can confirm experimentally,” writes Eccles, “that the workings of consciousness cannot be explained by the functioning of the brain. Consciousness exists independently of it from the outside.”

Eccles is deeply convinced that consciousness cannot be the subject of scientific research. In his opinion, the emergence of consciousness, like the emergence of life, is the highest religious mystery. In his report, the Nobel laureate relied on the conclusions of the book “Personality and the Brain,” written jointly with the American philosopher and sociologist Karl Popper.

Wilder Penfield, after many years of studying brain activity, also came to the conclusion that “the energy of the mind is different from the energy of the brain’s neural impulses” 11.

Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the Russian Federation, director of the Brain Research Institute (RAMS of the Russian Federation), world-renowned neurophysiologist, professor, doctor of medical sciences. Natalya Petrovna Bekhtereva: “I first heard the hypothesis that the human brain only perceives thoughts from somewhere outside from the lips of Nobel laureate, Professor John Eccles. Of course, at the time it seemed absurd to me. But then research conducted at our St. Petersburg Brain Research Institute confirmed: we cannot explain the mechanics of the creative process. The brain can generate only the simplest thoughts, such as turning the pages of a book you are reading or stirring sugar in a glass. And the creative process is the manifestation of a completely new quality. As a believer, I allow the participation of the Almighty in controlling the thought process" 12.

Science is gradually coming to the conclusion that the brain is not a source of thought and consciousness, but at most a relay of them.

Professor S. Grof talks about it this way: “imagine that your TV is broken and you call a TV technician, who, after turning various knobs, tunes it up. It doesn’t occur to you that all these stations are sitting in this box” 13.

Back in 1956, the outstanding leading scientist-surgeon, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor V.F. Voino-Yasenetsky believed that our brain is not only not connected with Consciousness, but is not even capable of thinking independently, since the mental process is taken outside its boundaries. In his book, Valentin Feliksovich states that “the brain is not an organ of thought and feelings,” and that “The Spirit acts beyond the brain, determining its activity, and our entire existence, when the brain works as a transmitter, receiving signals and transmitting them to the organs of the body.” 14.

English researchers Peter Fenwick from the London Institute of Psychiatry and Sam Parnia from Southampton Central Clinic came to the same conclusions. They examined patients who had come back to life after cardiac arrest and found that some of them accurately recounted the content of conversations that medical staff had while they were in a state of clinical death. Others gave an accurate description of the events that occurred during this time period. Sam Parnia argues that the brain, like any other organ of the human body, is composed of cells and is not capable of thinking. However, it can work as a thought detecting device, i.e. like an antenna, with the help of which it becomes possible to receive a signal from the outside. Scientists have suggested that during clinical death, Consciousness operating independently of the brain uses it as a screen. Like a television receiver, which first receives the waves entering it, and then converts them into sound and image.

If we turn off the radio, this does not mean that the radio station stops broadcasting. That is, after the death of the physical body, Consciousness continues to live.

The fact of the continuation of the life of Consciousness after the death of the body is confirmed by Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Director of the Research Institute of the Human Brain, Professor N.P. Bekhterev in her book “The Magic of the Brain and the Labyrinths of Life.” In addition to discussing purely scientific issues, in this book the author also cites his personal experience of encountering posthumous phenomena.

Natalya Bekhtereva, talking about her meeting with the Bulgarian clairvoyant Vanga Dimitrova, speaks quite definitely about this in one of her interviews: “Vanga’s example absolutely convinced me that there is a phenomenon of contact with the dead,” and another quote from her book: “ I can’t help but believe what I heard and saw myself. A scientist does not have the right to reject facts (if he is a scientist!) just because they do not fit into dogma or worldview” 12.

The first consistent description of afterlife, based on scientific observations, was given by the Swedish scientist and naturalist Emmanuel Swedenborg. Then this problem was seriously studied by the famous psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler Ross, the equally famous psychiatrist Raymond Moody, conscientious academicians Oliver Lodge15,16, William Crooks17, Alfred Wallace, Alexander Butlerov, Professor Friedrich Myers18, and the American pediatrician Melvin Morse. Among the serious and systematic researchers of the issue of dying, Dr. Michael Sabom, a professor of medicine at Emory University and a staff physician at the Veterans Hospital in Atlanta, should be mentioned; the systematic research of psychiatrist Kenneth Ring, who studied this problem, was also studied by the doctor of medicine and resuscitator Moritz Rawlings. , our contemporary, thanatopsychologist A.A. Nalchadzhyan. The famous Soviet scientist, a leading specialist in the field of thermodynamic processes, and corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus, Albert Veinik, worked a lot to understand this problem from the point of view of physics. A significant contribution to the study of near-death experiences was made by the world famous American psychologist of Czech origin, founder of the transpersonal school of psychology, Dr. Stanislav Grof.

The variety of facts accumulated by science undeniably proves that after physical death, each of those living today inherits a different reality, preserving their Consciousness.

Despite the limitations of our ability to understand this reality using material means, today there are a number of its characteristics obtained through experiments and observations of scientists studying this problem.

These characteristics were listed by A.V. Mikheev, a researcher at the St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University in his report at the international symposium “Life after death: from faith to knowledge”, which took place on April 8-9, 2005 in St. Petersburg:

"1. There is a so-called “subtle body”, which is the carrier of self-awareness, memory, emotions and the “inner life” of a person. This body exists... after physical death, being, for the duration of the existence of the physical body, its “parallel component”, providing the above processes. The physical body is only an intermediary for their manifestation on the physical (earthly) level.

2. The life of an individual does not end with current earthly death. Survival after death is a natural law for humans.

3. The next reality is divided into a large number of levels, differing in the frequency characteristics of their components.

4. A person’s destination during the posthumous transition is determined by his attunement to a certain level, which is the total result of his thoughts, feelings and actions during life on Earth. Just as the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation emitted by a chemical substance depends on its composition, so too a person's posthumous destination is determined by the "composite characteristic" of his inner life.

5. The concepts of “Heaven and Hell” reflect two polarities of possible posthumous states.

6. In addition to such polar states, there are a number of intermediate ones. The choice of an adequate state is automatically determined by the mental and emotional “pattern” formed by a person during earthly life. That is why negative emotions, violence, the desire for destruction and fanaticism, no matter how they are justified externally, in this regard are extremely destructive for the future fate of a person. This provides a strong foundation for personal responsibility and ethical principles."19

All the above arguments are simply amazingly consistent with the religious knowledge of all traditional religions. This is a reason to cast aside doubts and make up your mind. Isn't it true?

1. Cell polarity: From embryo to axon // Nature Magazine. 27.08. 2003. Vol. 421, N 6926. P 905-906 Melissa M. Rolls and Chris Q. Doe

2. Plotinus. Enneads. Treatises 1-11., “Greco-Latin Cabinet” by Yu. A. Shichalin, Moscow, 2007.

3. Du Bois-Reymond E. Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur allgemeinen Muskel- und Nervenphysik. Bd. 1.

Leipzig: Veit & Co., 1875. P. 102

4. Du Bois-Reymond, E. Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur allgemeinen Muskel- und Nervenphysik. Bd. 1. P. 87

5. Kobozev N.I. Research in the field of thermodynamics of information and thinking processes. M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1971. P. 85.

6, Voino-Yasenetsky V. F. Spirit, soul and body. CJSC "Brovary Printing House", 2002. P. 43.

7. Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands; Dr Pirn van Lommel MD, Ruud van Wees PhD, Vincent Meyers PhD, Ingrid Elfferich PhD // The Lancet. Dec 2001 2001. Vol 358. No 9298 P. 2039-2045.

8. Voino-Yasenetsky V. F. Spirit, soul and body. CJSC "Brovary Printing House", 2002 P. 36.

9/ Anokhin P.K. Systemic mechanisms of higher nervous activity. Selected works. Moscow, 1979, p. 455.

10. Eccles J. The human mystery.

Berlin: Springer 1979. P. 176.

11. Penfield W. The mystery of the mind.

Princeton, 1975. pp. 25-27

12..I was blessed to study “Through the Looking Glass”. Interview with N.P. Bekhtereva newspaper “Volzhskaya Pravda”, March 19, 2005.

13. Grof S. Holotropic consciousness. Three levels of human consciousness and their influence on our lives. M.: AST; Ganga, 2002. P. 267.

14. Voino-Yasenetsky V. F. Spirit, soul and body. CJSC "Brovary Printing House", 2002 P.45.

15. Lodge O. Raymond or life and death.

London 1916

16. Lodge O. The survival of man.

London 1911

17. Crookes W. Researches in the phenomena of spiritualism.

London, year 1926 P. 24

18. Myers. Human personality and its survival of bodily death.

London, year 1sted.1903 P. 68

19. Mikheev A. V. Life after death: from faith to knowledge

Journal “Consciousness and Physical Reality”, No. 6, 2005 and in the abstracts of the international symposium “Noospheric innovations in culture, education, science, technology, healthcare”, April 8 - 9, 2005, St. Petersburg.

Death is a natural and irreversible phenomenon that sooner or later affects every person. This word means a complete stop of all vital processes of the body with subsequent decomposition of the flesh. Where does a person go after death, is there something on the other side - questions that concern all people, without exception, at all times. After all, it has been scientifically proven that, in addition to the physical body, there is also a soul - an energy substance that cannot be seen or touched. What happens to her after biological death?

What does religion say

Christian teaching says that the human soul is immortal. After the body dies, the spirit begins its difficult path to God, going through various tests. Having passed through them, a person appears before God's court, where all the good and bad deeds of the world are weighed. And if the cup of goodness turns out to be more significant, then the deceased goes to heaven. Sinners who have violated their laws all their lives are banished to hell.

From a religious point of view, everything is simple: live with love, do good, do not break God's laws, and then you will find yourself in the kingdom of the Lord. And the more good people pray for the deceased immediately after his death, the easier his ordeal will be on the road to the Heavenly Father. Priests consider death itself not a grief and tragedy, but joy and happiness for the deceased, since he will finally meet his Creator.

For the entire time from death to God's judgment 40 days pass, during which the deceased appears before the Lord three times:

• the first time the angels bring the soul to the Father is on the 3rd day after death - after that it will see the life of the righteous in paradise;
• on the 9th day the spirit again appears before the Creator and until the 40th day he is shown pictures from the life of sinners;
• on the 40th day the deceased appears to Him for the third time - then it is decided where his soul will be sent: to heaven or hell.

All this time, relatives must pray for the newly deceased and ask the Almighty to ease his path of trials, give him peace and a place in paradise.

Three days after death

What happens and where people will go after death is an exciting question. Christianity believes that for the first two days the spirit is close to its relatives, visiting its favorite places and dear people. The person does not understand that he has died, he is scared and lonely, he is trying to return to his body. At this time, both angels and devils are next to him - they each try to incline the soul in their own direction.

As a rule, people die unexpectedly, without having time to finish their earthly affairs, say something important to someone, or say goodbye. The first two days are given to him precisely for this purpose, as well as to realize his demise and calm down.

On the third day the body is buried. From this moment the tests for the spirit begin. He wanders from the grave to the house, not finding a place for himself. All this time, the living feel the invisible presence of the deceased, but cannot explain it in words. Some hear knocking on windows or doors, falling in the house, phone calls from the deceased and other strange phenomena.

9 days after death

On the 9th day, a person gets used to his new state and begins to ascend to the kingdom of heaven. All this time he is surrounded by demons, evil spirits who accuse the newly deceased of various sins and bad deeds in order to hinder his ascent and drag him away with them. They can manipulate the feelings of the soul, trying in every way to stop it.

At this time, the living need to pray for the deceased, remember only good things about him, and speak only kind words. Thus, the living help the dead to go through all the ordeals as easily as possible on the path to the Lord.

It is believed that from days 3 to 9 the spirit can see the life of righteous people in paradise, and from days 9 to 40 it observes the eternal torment of sinners. This is done to understand what can await the deceased and to give him the opportunity to repent of his deeds. Prayers for the repose and requests of the living also help the soul receive a brighter fate.

40 days and Judgment Day

The number 40 has an important meaning because It was on the 40th day that Jesus ascended to God, where the soul goes after death. Having gone through all the ordeals, the spirit of the deceased finally appears before the Father in court, where his future fate is decided: whether he will remain in heaven along with other righteous people or whether he will be expelled to Hell for eternal torment.

Having entered the Kingdom of the Lord, the soul remains there for some time, and then comes to earth again. There is an opinion that she can be reborn only after the remains of a person completely rot and disappear from the face of the earth. Those who end up in the underworld face eternal torment for their sins.

It is also believed that the living, by sincerely praying for a deceased sinner, can change his fate - the prayed-off spirit can be transferred from hell to heaven.

There are several provisions that, if not completely, then at least partially coincide in various teachings and beliefs:

1. A person who personally ends his earthly existence will not go to heaven or hell immediately after death. Suicide is considered one of the greatest sins, so the church prohibits funeral services for such people. In the old days, it was even forbidden to bury them in a common cemetery. The soul of a suicide is considered restless; it tosses between heaven and earth until the life span measured for a person expires. And only then a decision is made in heaven about where to place it.
2. After the death of a person, you cannot rearrange things in his home, change the furnishings, or make repairs for 9 days. This can only increase the suffering of the deceased. We need to let him say goodbye and leave.
3. There are no sinless people, and therefore trials on the path to the Lord await every person. Only the mother of Christ managed to escape them, whom he led by the hand to the gates of Paradise.
4. Immediately after death, two angels come to a person, who help him and accompany him all 40 days before meeting Him.
5. Before physical death, a person sees terrible pictures shown by demons. They want to intimidate the dying person so that he will renounce God while still alive and go with them.
6. Young children under 14 years of age are considered innocent and not responsible for their actions. And if a child dies before this age, then his soul does not go through ordeals, but immediately goes to the Kingdom of Heaven, where he is accompanied by one of his deceased loved ones.

Of course, this is all unproven information, however, it is quite widespread among people and has a right to exist.

Other popular versions

Where does the soul go from the point of view of science, medicine, esotericism and other points of view? People who have experienced clinical death and come back tell approximately the same things. Some talk about terrible, terrible visions of demons and demons, a fetid odor and animal fear. Others, on the contrary, were completely delighted with what they saw on the other side of life: a feeling of lightness and complete peace, people in white clothes talking mentally, bright, colorful landscapes.

The division of these stories into good and negative allows us to talk about the veracity of the legends about heaven and hell. What they see makes people believe even more in the afterlife and change their way of being. They begin to look at life differently, appreciate it more, love people and the world around them.

Astrologers believe that souls migrate to other planets where they come from. Planet Earth is supposedly a purgatory for sinners. And after living a human life, passing many tests, a person returns to his home.

Clairvoyants and psychics believe that those who have left the world of the living go to the other world, invisible to those living on earth. But still, they continue to be close to their relatives, help them and protect them from all kinds of danger. Most often, the deceased appear in a dream to convey some important information, warn about a threat and point in the right direction.

Pythagoras, Plato and Socrates adhered to theories about reincarnation. According to this teaching, each soul comes to earth with its own individual, special mission - to gain some important experience, to do something for humanity, or, conversely, to prevent certain events. Having not achieved the set goal, having not learned the necessary lessons in one life, the spirit returns to earth again in a new body. And so on until he completely fulfills his purpose. After this, the soul enters a place of eternal peace and bliss.

Scientific data

Most scientific minds are accustomed to dealing with things that can be touched, measured, and counted. And yet, some of them at different times wondered whether the soul exists from a scientific point of view.

In the 30s of the last century, the Russian biologist Lepeshkin studied the moment of human death. He was able to register a violent surge of energy at the moment the body died. He also recorded the energy itself using ultra-sensitive photographic film.

Stuart Hammeroff, an American anesthesiologist who has seen more than one clinical death in his life, says that the soul is a certain substance that contains all the information about a person. After physical death, she is separated from the body and sent into space.

Relatively recently, a series of the same experiment was also carried out, during which it was proven that a person is not only his body. Its essence is as follows: a dying person was placed on scales and his weight during life was recorded. His weight measurements after he was pronounced dead were also recorded. The man “lost weight” by 40-60 g at the time of his death! The conclusion suggested itself - these few tens of grams are the weight of the human soul. And then they began to say that each person has a soul of a certain weight.

Another of our compatriots managed to tune in to a certain radio wave, at the frequency of which they were able to come into contact with deceased people. During this experience, scientists were able to receive a message from the other world that souls were looking forward to their rebirth. The spirits also urged the living not to have abortions, since a killed fetus is a lost chance to come into this world.

There are a great many similar experiments with published results. Therefore, it can be argued that life after death, from a scientific point of view, also exists.