EDITOR’S NOTE: In the following article the author shares his experience of a clarity of spiritual vision that, in turn, led him into a deeper study and practice of Christian Science, and to years of service in the Christian Science movement.
In his popular book Proof of Heaven, Dr. Eben Alexander shared his story of a near-death experience (NDE). The neurosurgeon is among many who report experiences of being on the verge of death and rising up out of their bodies into a universe of love to gain a whole new perspective of life beyond material existence.
While these compelling NDE narratives certainly have their critics, they raise many profound questions, beginning most basically with: What is our life? Is our life or existence solely material, or is there something more? Could these NDE reports even encourage us to consider the possibility that our existence isn’t actually material at all? And if our existence isn’t material, what is it? What is reality? Is it spiritual? If so, do we need to be clinically “dead” to experience this spiritual reality, this realm of love? An experience I had while very much alive tells me that the answer to this last question is, No, we can experience spiritual reality here and now.
