Near-death experiences are as fascinating as they are -- often -- baffling.

One example: a recent book by a Harvard neurosurgeon who was in a coma for seven days (from bacterial meningitis) during which the part of the brain -- the neocortex, which makes us "human" -- totally shut down.

As a neurosurgeon (and non-believer), he was later able to review all the records and document the fact that he couldn't have had any awareness or thought process.

Yet, he too had the experience of another realm -- of his consciousness not only remaining intact but sharper than ever.

As a neurosurgeon, he was intimately aware -- reviewing his medicl records later -- of exactly what transpired and says there is no way he could have experienced what he did.

At one point, he says he was told how loved he was by God and that "there is nothing you can do wrong." This statement has understandably caused consternation. He could do nothing wrong? We know, for sure, that we can! By that, however, was it meant that he could do nothing wrong once he was in Heaven (which is where he says he was told this)? Before Heaven, before rising, the neurosurgeon, Eben Alexander, says he was in this lower, primordial, subterranean place where he heard a "deep rhythmic pounding, distant yet strong... mechanical... like the sound of metal against metal." And like the eerie sounds many have reported around North America during the past year.

You discern. His case made the cover of Newsweek. 

Two other accounts -- one from a Catholic, the other from a Mormon -- come to us from Stephanie Hockridge at an ABC-TV affiliate in Arizona. Her report:

THE CATHOLIC

"A disastrous car accident nearly twenty years ago caused Felicia extreme injuries. 'I ripped my face open, broke my temporal artery, and fractured my skull, so it was open. I broke three vertebrae, three back bones. They're shocked I'm even still alive.'

"But, at one point, she wasn't alive. 'It was blue, it was clouds, and it was beautiful. Then it was gone. Then, I saw my father… my heavenly Father. It does not even compare with being with the person you love most in the world. No nervousness or worrying, just pure love.' Felicia remembers seeing the Blessed Mother Mary, Jesus, and God telling her four things: To trust him, be patient, to love her family more, and to have faith. When Felicia thinks back to that moment, she says it changed her. 'Oh my gosh, I've learned that life is very temporary. We're only here for a very short amount of time and we're only here for Him,' she said."

Stephanie also recounts the experience of the Mormon who during her near-death episode encountered "a man who appeared before me, he encouraged me to follow him. I was taken into this beautiful, heavenly meadow where there were roses and vibrant colors. There were beautiful buildings with diamonds in the mortar and streets of gold and angels. I felt so much love and so much joy.”

No fear, no worry, no pain, and visions of her loved ones.

“Everyone I saw, they were in their prime,” said Kim.

Besides the Holy Mother Mary and the Savior, Kim saw members of her family who had passed on and 'Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the Mormon church." How to discern that? About Jesus, Kim said, "“Light streams from Him from about five to six feet and He's just a being of light, so caring and so loving. His love is so unconditional, I felt like I could melt in His Presence." Then, suddenly, she was forced back into her diseased and lifeless body. “It was the most excruciating experience I think I've ever had,” she said.

That’s something both Kim and Felicia remember suffering: the return. In fact, Kim said it's no coincidence their journeys into the afterlife are remarkably similar despite different religious beliefs. “Someone meets a being they describe as Christ or a powerful being of light and I found that to be almost universal, no matter what religion,” said Kim. (As He must be there, for He is the only intermediary.)

[For full story... linked stories go to secular sites out of our control]

[see also: At the brink of hell; Routine surgery opens door to Heaven Glimpses of Heaven; Saint Catherine's vision of purgatory and Recalling the words of a nun in purgatory]

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