(September 9, 2016 at 12:41 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: I tend not to believe stories of near death experiences. But I don't think most people who claim them completely make them up, either. Perhaps they are dreams or our minds playing tricks on us when we are in a state of unconsciousness. Nonetheless I find them intriguing, especially when coming from someone who claims to have been a non believer and suddenly "change their mind" after their alleged experience.
My husband's mother is a doctor who works at a hospice and she says there have been times when her patients are very close to dying but still conscious, that they claim to start seeing things... like angels, loved ones who have died, etc. I'm not sure what to think of those claims.
I also find the stuff our brains produce interesting. Many people disparage dreams as so much fluff and random noise in the system. I don't agree. Who we take ourselves to be is just one more thing our brains are doing. I think it is interesting to look at it all. Some people's brains given believers the sense of a divine presence. I'm not sure we're in any position to say any part of what our brains are doing is nonsense. Granted it isn't all useful for navigating the physical world, but many things which make us who we are not useful in that way.
