The man clinically died for seven minutes (Image: Getty Images)
A man who claims to have been clinically dead for seven minutes has offered a unique perspective on the experience of death, asserting that the renowned ” white light ” is merely a comforting narrative constructed by the brain.
The individual, identifying himself as a PhD scholar with over four decades of expertise in astrophysics, shared on Reddit that he was rushed to hospital after suddenly experiencing breathing difficulties, and was diagnosed with a lung haemorrhage upon arrival.
His condition swiftly worsened during his hospital stay, culminating in a severe heart attack that left him pulseless.
“It took the doctors seven minutes to get my heart started again,” he posted on Reddit. “During that time, I had a stroke due to the lack of oxygen in my brain.”
On regaining consciousness, he described a sensation of drifting in and out of awareness for two lengthy days, reports the Mirror.
“I asked, ‘What happened?'” he recounted. “It’s hard to correlate inner time to what was happening outside, but I can make some sense of it.”
The man was rushed to hospital (Image: Getty Images)
Contrary to what one might expect, the ordeal did not instil in him any fear of death.
“I’m not scared of dying, not in the least,” he stated. “Afraid of what comes before, sure, but nature makes dying easy.”
During the seven-minute period when his heart ceased to beat, he reported that he didn’t witness a tunnel or angels or anything of the sort. Rather, his experience was significantly more abstract.
“I saw a series of three oval ellipses, one at a time, just suspended in a black space,” he revealed.
He claimed that each shape materialised separately, with the first brimming with landscapes.
“On the inner and outer surfaces of the first ellipse I saw mountains, streams, forests and clouds,” he penned. “They were beautiful at first, but then they began to sour as their colours took on a yellow tinge.”
He says the tunnel of white light doesn’t exist (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
This image gradually faded, giving way to something far more disturbing.
“It was a hot ring of iron, so hot that pieces of iron were slowly crumbling from it,” he disclosed.
He also recalls a peculiar metallic odour, which he later deduced could have been linked to blood and injury as his body began to shut down.
The final vision emerged just as his heart was resuscitated.
“The scene brightened to reveal the third ellipse that was covered with beautiful clouds that were light pink and blue, like the most beautiful sunrise or sunset,” he wrote. “That, I believe, is when my heart started beating again.”
Interestingly, his conclusion wasn’t rooted in mysticism or the unknown, but rather that the shapes he witnessed were influenced by what his brain had been concentrating on shortly before he collapsed.
At the time, he had reportedly been studying the work of German astronomer Johannes Kepler and was deeply engrossed in understanding why planetary orbits are elliptical rather than circular.
“When I was told days later about my cardiac arrest and stroke, it all began to make sense,” he revealed. “I think dying reflects what happens to be most accessible in your mind during that time. Your mind tells you a story about it.”
He was unequivocal about what he didn’t experience.
“That’s all I saw,” he penned. “No tunnel of light or happy deceased family members welcoming me. I think that’s dreaming.”
Throughout the ordeal, he maintained he never experienced fear.
“I was just a dispassionate observer,” he elucidated.
