Greyson: a scientist studies near-death experiences

Greyson argues that from his perspective as a scientist: “there is no reason near-death experiences can’t be both spiritual gifts and enabled by specific physiological events. The scientific evidence suggests that both ideas can be true without any conflict—which allows us to move beyond the artificial divide between science and spirituality.” As a researcher, however, his data and experience clearly verify “that near-death experiences are quite real and quite profound in their impact and are in fact important sources of spiritual growth and insight—whatever their source."

The scientific challenge for Greyson has required clarifying what is actually evidence of being real. “Although scientists have made giant strides in understanding the physical part of our world, we also experience nonphysical things, such as thoughts and emotions.” These can’t be studied directly like physical objects, but instead: “we can study them indirectly, by looking at how they affect our words, behavior, and bodily reactions. For example, when we feel anger—a nonphysical emotion—our speech may get louder and more abrupt, our foreheads may wrinkle and our blood pressure rise, and we may slam things down on tables and counters. And from those observable effects, others can infer that we are angry. Respecting things that are difficult to measure, rather than dismissing them as unreal, is not rejecting science. It's embracing science.

His scientific approach has involved historical research as well as interviews. “One of the near-death-experience features that I found most puzzling was the extreme clarity and speed of thought. This is not what I would have expected of an experience that often occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen. I was skeptical that all these experiencers could really think as clearly and as quickly as they claimed when their brains were being starved of oxygen, so I decided to look into the full range of thought processes that experiencers were describing for me.”

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Greyson, After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal About Life and Beyond, 8-12, 16-17, 22.