Stories of the afterlife are anecdotal, and there is not concrete evidence of life after death. So if there is an afterlife, it will likely never be proved by science. But many people who have had a brush with death believe they have seen the evidence for themselves.
One such person is a woman named Elaine, who temporarily died following a severe car crash.
Before she was revived, Elaine believes she saw an afterlife where she was just a single atom in a sea of nothing.
Elaine wrote on the Near Death Experience Research Foundation: “When I died, I found myself surrounded by nothing but black.
“I couldn’t see or hear anything. I had no knowledge of my death, or even any thoughts about existence at all.
“It was like being asleep, only there was an absolute consciousness such that I was aware of myself.
“I was aware of everything around me in all of the darkness.
“But I felt like a part of it; like my entire being was only a single atom and I was connected to all the atoms of around me.
“I felt nothing but serenity. I was part of all that surrounded me, and I was content with that.”
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It is unlikely that an afterlife will ever be fully proven or dismissed, but simply believing in it could be beneficial to an individual, researchers believe.
Scientists state believing provides a sense of optimism and hope which can lead to a happier lifestyle.
Suzanne Newcombe, lecturer in Religious Studies at The Open University, said: “Holding open these ideas the possibility of immortality can have positive effects on health.
“From a biomedical perspective, this hope might help the body fight illnesses, improve the chances of spontaneous remissions or allow the illness to run its course, it’s more equanimity for the person involved.
“But even if there is no biological change, a focus on the possibility of immortality can help some individuals can disidentify from their bodily pain and develop a more peaceful relationship with their experience as their suffering.
“When this happens, improbable beliefs in an immortal body or soul can be seen as entirely rational and pragmatic even.
“However, when beliefs about immortality exclude attention to the biological physical body, it can have serious negative effects on health, and even cause untimely deaths.
“So, what we believe about death and our ideas of enteral life can really make a difference as to how we live, how we handle pain and suffering and experience being alive here and now.”
