If you’re like most people, you have probably contemplated one of life’s greatest mysteries, what happens after death?

While every religion and system of belief has an opinion on the topic, a new book finds patterns in the testimonies of hundreds of people who have been on the brink of death and lived to tell about it. And some believe these patterns are not a coincidence.

“Near death experiences are very real,” says Reverend John W. Price, the author of “Revealing Heaven, The Christian Case for Near-Death Experiences.

As an Episcopal priest and member of the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation, Price, has had over 200 such experiences related to him during his over 40 years of church service,  and feels these stories should be shouted from the rooftops.

Many near death stories are remarkably similar -- a sensation of leaving one’s body and heading toward a light, accompanied by overwhelming feelings of love and euphoria. The scientific community has presented a variety of biological explanations and findings in order to explain these phenomena -- attributing the sensations to the effects of drugs and medication, oxygen deprivation and abnormal brain function.

However, others see the shared features of near death experiences as comforting proof of the existence of an afterlife, and even a powerful guide for how we should live our lives now.

“Not everyone who returns comes back with a positive story. Some have shared distressing, hellish accounts,” says Price. “But while you are still on Earth, there are opportunities to turn things around. Anyone who lives a good life and practices kindness, no matter what their faith or beliefs are, can experience heaven.”

Whether you’re in the camp of science, faith or somewhere in between, near death experiences, heaven and the possibility of an afterlife are hot topics in the world of literature right now, offering curious minds plenty of avenues for exploring the possibilities.

Did you or someone you know have a near death experience? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

[StatePoint]

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