A monumental question which has intrigued the whole of mankind, throughout history - Is there life / consciousness beyond the physical body?
Science has analysed every element, every organ, every process of the human body, and the evidence suggests that when the body fails, we simply cease to exist.
Yet, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence to hand, there remain a large percentage of the population who believe that a human life is more than the sum of its parts and that the consciousness, the spirit or soul transcends the physical form.
Why then, do we find the science so hard to accept?
Is it an arrogant human trait to believe that we are somehow too special to simply die?
Is it fear? Fear driven by an individual's dread of an incomprehensible nothingness at the end of their lives.
Is it a sub-conscious instinct / a sense that the complexity of our thoughts, emotions, opinions and passions somehow are not fully confined by the “little grey cells”?
It is true that science cannot yet provide a full explanation of every aspect of brain function and capability.
Scientists are still researching in this field, looking at where the subconscious mind is located, how and why there is a necessity to dream, variances between differing the brain structures of different nationalities, males / females, left / right handed people, gay / straight people, why many have the same primal fear reactions, whether species memory exists etc. The list goes on and on.
The more interesting question is - what evidence is there to suggest that there is another plane of existence / life beyond the physical body? Why do so many not believe the science?
I have listed below, areas of thought which may point to life beyond the physical body- the list is not definitive, or conclusive, but until we have all the answers, are areas which are worthy of consideration.
Near-Death Experiences
There have been many reports of individuals, who are resuscitated at the point of clinical death, who relate tales of advancing through a tunnel of light, arriving in off worldly locations, and meeting and communicating with dead loved ones.
Disturbingly, there are also tales of those who arrive in a place of torture and pain.
Many of the descriptions are identical, interest in the subject spread and scientists seriously studied the phenomenon.
The scientific conclusion, up until 2008 was that the tunnel of light was a visual bi-product of the oxygen starved cerebral cortex, endorphins released by the body at the point of death.
In June 2008, an intensive care nurse from Swansea in Wales released an academic book which gave the details of over 10 years work of clinical case studies of near-death experiences.
Her book gives accounts of people who floated out of their physical body and were able to accurately recount what had happened in the room even though their eyes were closed and they were unconscious with their eyes closed.
Some of her patients reported communicating with dead relatives by telepathy.
In one particular case, a patient reported encountering a dead relative who gave a message to pass on to another living family member. The information, when related had stunned the receiver as it had been a secret which the patient had no prior knowledge of.
The clinical evidence presented in the book may instigate a review of the current scientific conclusions in respect of near-death experiences.
Rainforest Shamen
Ethnobotanists - those who study the relationships between plants, people and medicine have produced numerous reports regarding an incredible phenomenon found in many small indigenous rainforest tribes.
There are over 100,000 different types of plant species in rainforests around the globe, yet, individual small tribes could accurately combine any number of plants to produce a medicine to effectively cure the various ills of the tribesman.
Mathematically, the chances of the plant combinations being effective are fractional, however, studies on one tribe in Samoa found that their remedies were 86% effective.
Many different tribes, who have no means of communication with each other, had the same remedy for an illness, with slight regional variations.
When asked how they knew what plants to combine to make their effective medicine, they revealed that the tribe shamen had asked for the information whilst on the spiritual plane and been given precise instruction.
The shamen are considered to be holy, they spend their life in meditation and prayer and provide guidance to the tribe in all matters, including medical problems.
To achieve an out of body experience - elevation to a spiritual plane, many shamen use natural hallucinogenic substances “magic mushrooms” (entheogens) or their local equivalent.
Once on this plane they are able to consult with all-knowing spiritual beings who provide answers to specific questions.
The factual evidence appears to substantiate their claims.
