Three years ago I wrote a short story (Don’t Shoot Me in the Head) about a scientist who studied Near-death Experiences (NDEs). Little did I know, someone like my protagonist exists in the real world today and operates in the realm of published, peer-reviewed science.

Dr. Bruce Greyson, MD has spent a distinguished career studying and publishing his findings derived from thousands of people who have reported their own Near-death Experiences.

If any branch of science can move humanity forward in moral evolution, this is probably it.

Darwin enabled the divorce of science from spirituality by confusing epigenetic adaptation with what has become our current dogma of genetic macro-evolution. This honest mistake has probably caused more human suffering and genocide than all other major religions combined.

This is because, unlike the pseudoscientific faith known as “scientific materialism” that dominates modern science, most other major religions promote the golden rule.

Materialism promotes the myth of a mindless, meaningless, amoral Universe that operates randomly. To this religious pseudoscience, God is an “unnecessary concept,” to be denounced with censorship and the refusal to fund research that might cast doubt on their current dogma.

But now, science recognizes a source of evidence that casts credible doubt on the assumptions of “scientific” materialism. If allowed to continue, NDE research will increase humanity’s odds of survival by re-uniting science with the spiritual pursuit of moral, altruistic, and loving behavior.

Meet Dr. Greyson, an example of the rarest creature on Earth today, a genuine scientist…

Hearing people tell their NDE stories teaches us…

1. Consciousness really does appear to continue after death, at least for some individuals.

2. We all seem to be “one” in a way that centers around love.

3. The purpose of life appears to involve the golden rule, “woven into the fabric of the universe” — Treat others as if they were you. “It is not just a commandment that we should obey, it is an indisputable law of nature.“

To me, this is the most useful implication of Dr. Greyson’s work and how it has affected him personally: By listening with an open mind as people tell their Near-death Experiences, we will gradually become unafraid of death and able to live fearlessly in altruism, compassion, and love.

…

Fearless Love,

Morrill Talmage Moorehead, MD

PS: I almost featured this video of Dr. Greyson giving a speech on his NDE research. Maybe I should have, it’s at least equally worth watching, if not more so.

Dr. Greyson has a website and a new book, After. He is also involved in a nonprofit organization, the IANDS, that “promotes research, education, and support around near-death experiences.” The IANDS mission is “to advance a global understanding” of NDE and related experiences. “We envision a future in which all people embrace near-death and related experiences as sources of meaning and inspiration for a better world.”

I have no affiliation with IANDS, but suddenly wish I had done a psychiatry residency (instead of pathology) and gone into NDE research. Maybe next lifetime.

“The golden rule is of no use to you whatever unless you realize it’s your move.” – Frank Crane