neurosurgeon went to heaven

Heaven is real, says neurosurgeon who claims to have visited the afterlife

By Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo! News | The Sideshow – Wed, Oct 10, 2012

Dr. Eben Alexander claims to have visited the afterlife (Twitter)Dr. Eben Alexander has taught at Harvard Medical School and has earned a strong reputation as a neurosurgeon. And while Alexander says he's long called himself a Christian, he never held deeply religious beliefs or a pronounced faith in the afterlife.

But after a week in a coma during the fall of 2008, during which his neocortex ceased to function, Alexander claims he experienced a life-changing visit to the afterlife, specifically heaven.

"According to current medical understanding of the brain and mind, there is absolutely no way that I could have experienced even a dim and limited consciousness during my time in the coma, much less the hyper-vivid and completely coherent odyssey I underwent," Alexander writes in the cover story of this week's edition ofNewsweek.

So what exactly does heaven look like?

Alexander says he first found himself floating above clouds before witnessing, "transparent, shimmering beings arced across the sky, leaving long, streamer like lines behind them."

He claims to have been escorted by an unknown female companion and says he communicated with these beings through a method of correspondence that transcended language. Alexander says the messages he received from those beings loosely translated as:

"You are loved and cherished, dearly, forever."

"You have nothing to fear."

"There is nothing you can do wrong."

From there, Alexander claims to have traveled to "an immense void, completely dark, infinite in size, yet also infinitely comforting." He believes this void was the home of God.

After recovering from his meningitis-induced coma, Alexander says he was reluctant to share his experience with his colleagues but found comfort inside the walls of his church. He's chronicled his experience in a new book, "Proof of Heaven: A neurosurgeon's journey into the afterlife," which will be published in late October.

"I'm still a doctor, and still a man of science every bit as much as I was before I had my experience," Alexander writes. "But on a deep level I'm very different from the person I was before, because I've caught a glimpse of this emerging picture of reality. And you can believe me when I tell you that it will be worth every bit of the work it will take us, and those who come after us, to get it right."

teachings of warren buffet

What Warren Buffet says about basic investing, spending, savings are so true. Most of us know it, however too many of us do not live it.

If it does make a change in your life, thank HIM (I mean God) because this is common sense. WB said it once, I am just reproducing it.

1. On Earning:

Do not depend on a single income. Invest and create a second/ third source of income:

This means when you are young your first task should be saving and investing. By creating a second source of income you are quickly reducing your dependence on your job. This could help you to set out on your own one day. The quicker you can do it, the better.

2. On Spending:

If you buy things that you do not need, you may soon have to sell things you need: 

It kind of summarizes Gen X’s reaction towards ‘luxuries’. As a part of Gen X we were perhaps criticised for some of our expenses, so it could be a generational thing even for WB. However, having goals and knowing where you are going, and not spending just to ‘show off’ are important lessons for all generations.

3. On Savings:

Do not spend what is left after spending, instead spend after you save/invest:

Also called ‘Pay Yourself First’. If you realise that investing in a pension plan or for your kid’s education is just helping you to save more later on. It is not a sacrifice, it is just postponing consumption. So understand, invest and then spend.

4. On taking Risk:

Never test the depth of the river with both your feet: 

If you are doing something, do small. If you are a first gen investor, do not be carried away by equity lovers like me and put all your money in equity. Do a SIP with a small amount, and test the waters. Do a SIP of Rs. X (which could be 10% of your take home pay) for 5 years and then step up. And for heavens sake understand risk of inflation, and the concept of real returns

5. On Investing: 

Do not put all eggs in one basket:

Immaterial of who you are and how much you understand, create a portfolio. A full range lunch plate is always better than just one item. So create a portfolio with bonds, bond funds, PPF, NSC, equity, mutual funds, and on the risk side medical and term insurance.

6. On Expectation:

Honesty is expensive, do not expect it from cheap people:

Not everybody is honest, nor does everybody want to be honest. Honest advisers are difficult to find especially in Health and Wealth, be careful.

The author P V Subramanyam is a Chartered Accountant by qualification and a financial trainer by profession. Writing being a passion he also regularly pens his thought in his blog Subramoney.com