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A Proof of Heaven
That May Lead One to Much Suffering and Disappointment
An Alert
A Proof of Heaven
That May Lead One to Much Suffering and Disappointment
An Alert
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PURPOSE
The purpose of this document is to discuss Dr. E Alexander's Near Death Experience (NDE) as he
related it in his book, Proof of Heaven - A Neurosurgeon's
Journey into the Afterlife (1), and
to warn of the serious spiritual dangers posed by his interpretation of these events.
It is not the purpose of this document to deny the experiences that Dr. Alexander relates in recounting his NDE. miguel de Portugal (m de P) (2) has had, and continues to have, many of the same key experiences while being wide awake and in perfect health.
It is not the purpose of this document to deny the experiences that Dr. Alexander relates in recounting his NDE. miguel de Portugal (m de P) (2) has had, and continues to have, many of the same key experiences while being wide awake and in perfect health.
BACKGROUND
Eben Alexander, M.D., has been an academic neurosurgeon for the last twenty-five years, including
fifteen years at the Brigham and Women's and the Children's Hospitals and Harvard Medical School
in Boston. He did not believe that life continued after physical death, nor did he believe in the
supernatural character of the many reported, and well documented, NDE's of others.
Dr. Alexander's own brain was attacked by a rare illness - E. coli meningitis. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion - and in essence makes us human - shut down completely as the result of the infection. For seven days he lay in a coma. Then, as his doctors considered stopping treatment, Alexander's eyes popped open. He had come back with a story to tell.
Dr. Alexander's own brain was attacked by a rare illness - E. coli meningitis. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion - and in essence makes us human - shut down completely as the result of the infection. For seven days he lay in a coma. Then, as his doctors considered stopping treatment, Alexander's eyes popped open. He had come back with a story to tell.
INTRODUCTION
Because of Dr. Alexander's impeccable credentials and the enormous amount of medical and
laboratory data associated with his experience, only someone on denial would cry foul, and that is
precisely our concern.
His experiences - in the areas that really matter - are true; miguel de Portugal has lived them and continues to do so, while wide awake and in perfect health. The problem lies in Dr. Alexander's interpretation and application of his experiences, and his commitment to transmit his experiences, and his interpretation of them, on a global scale.
We quote:
To state our position in a different manner:
The problem - which may make Dr. Alexander the standard bearer, the scientific guru, of the New Age Movement (3) - resides in his interpretation of his experiences.
His experiences - in the areas that really matter - are true; miguel de Portugal has lived them and continues to do so, while wide awake and in perfect health. The problem lies in Dr. Alexander's interpretation and application of his experiences, and his commitment to transmit his experiences, and his interpretation of them, on a global scale.
We quote:
"Once I realized the truth behind my journey, I knew I had to
tell it. Doing so properly has become the chief task of my life. " p. 10
"What I have to tell you is as important as anything anyone will ever tell you, and it's true." p. 10
"What I have to tell you is as important as anything anyone will ever tell you, and it's true." p. 10
To state our position in a different manner:
If Dr. Alexander would have limited himself to objectively relating his experiences, all we would
have done would have been to write him a letter sharing the reality of miguel's experiences, which
would have been an absolute confirmation for him of the experiences he relates.
The problem - which may make Dr. Alexander the standard bearer, the scientific guru, of the New Age Movement (3) - resides in his interpretation of his experiences.
DETAILS
Related Key Experiences
[quoting from Dr. Alexander's book and with our underscoring]
First Group
Comments on the above group of quotes
(a) The above may leave the reader with the impressions that all the beings within the universe are going to Heaven (which is not true);
(b) That one can be in hell's realm (and environment with the smell of death, not of life) but be rescued by a Heaven-sent creature (which is also wrong - there is an insurmountable chasm that separates both sides [Luke 16:26];
(c) Regarding the rules of the game, specifically "You have nothing to fear." and "There is nothing you can do wrong." - Without a doubt, that is absolutely true where he was at the time, but they are recipe for disaster if applied while we are on Earth.
The above gives the impression that we can live any way we want to on Earth because all will work out at the end. Even if one gets stuck in hell, a lifeline will be sent from Heaven, and the soul will be rescued and live in Eternal bliss. Such a concept is so wrong that it defies the assignment of an appropriate qualifying adjective.
Second Group
Comments on the above group of quotes
(a) The above may leave the reader with the impression that advanced Extraterrestrial exist and that they can access our world at any time or place.
That is not the case. What Dr. Alexander misunderstood is what we explained in a document (4) we published commenting on a recent movie: "The Adjustment Bureau". In said document, we used the term "dimensions" instead of Universes, since the latter term would be harder to comprehend for our readers. We quote from our document (4):
Related Key Experiences
[quoting from Dr. Alexander's book and with our underscoring]
First Group
1. My experience showed me that the death of the body and the brain are not the end of
consciousness, that human experience continues beyond
the grave: Most important, it continues under the gaze of God who loves and cares about
each one of us and about where the universe itself and
all the beings within it are ultimately going. p. 9
2. When it was happening, when I was there, I felt like I (whatever "I" was) had always been there and would always continue to be. p. 30
3. Then I became aware of a smell: a little like feces, a little like blood, and a little like vomit. A biological smell, in other words, but biological death, and not biological life. ...I edged ever closer to panic. Whoever or whatever I was, I did not belong here. I needed to get out.
...something new emerged from the darkness above: something that wasn't cold, or dead, or dark, but the exact opposite of all those things. ....this entity that now approached me (I would never be able to do justice).... to come close to describing how beautiful it was. pp. 31-32
4. Someone was next to me: a beautiful girl... She looked at me with a look that, if you saw it for a few moments, would make your whole life up to that point worth living,.... It was a look that was somehow beyond all these.... beyond all the different types of love we have down here on earth. Without using any words she spoke to me. "You are loved and cherished, dearly, forever." - "You have nothing to fear." - "There is nothing you can do wrong."
It was like being handed the rules to a game I'd been playing all my life without fully understanding it. p. 40 - 41
2. When it was happening, when I was there, I felt like I (whatever "I" was) had always been there and would always continue to be. p. 30
3. Then I became aware of a smell: a little like feces, a little like blood, and a little like vomit. A biological smell, in other words, but biological death, and not biological life. ...I edged ever closer to panic. Whoever or whatever I was, I did not belong here. I needed to get out.
...something new emerged from the darkness above: something that wasn't cold, or dead, or dark, but the exact opposite of all those things. ....this entity that now approached me (I would never be able to do justice).... to come close to describing how beautiful it was. pp. 31-32
4. Someone was next to me: a beautiful girl... She looked at me with a look that, if you saw it for a few moments, would make your whole life up to that point worth living,.... It was a look that was somehow beyond all these.... beyond all the different types of love we have down here on earth. Without using any words she spoke to me. "You are loved and cherished, dearly, forever." - "You have nothing to fear." - "There is nothing you can do wrong."
It was like being handed the rules to a game I'd been playing all my life without fully understanding it. p. 40 - 41
Comments on the above group of quotes
(a) The above may leave the reader with the impressions that all the beings within the universe are going to Heaven (which is not true);
(b) That one can be in hell's realm (and environment with the smell of death, not of life) but be rescued by a Heaven-sent creature (which is also wrong - there is an insurmountable chasm that separates both sides [Luke 16:26];
(c) Regarding the rules of the game, specifically "You have nothing to fear." and "There is nothing you can do wrong." - Without a doubt, that is absolutely true where he was at the time, but they are recipe for disaster if applied while we are on Earth.
The above gives the impression that we can live any way we want to on Earth because all will work out at the end. Even if one gets stuck in hell, a lifeline will be sent from Heaven, and the soul will be rescued and live in Eternal bliss. Such a concept is so wrong that it defies the assignment of an appropriate qualifying adjective.
Second Group
1. Higher than the clouds - immeasurably higher - flocks of transparent orbs, shimmering beings
arced across the sky, leaving long, streamer-like lines behind them.
....the beings themselves, which were quite simply different from anything I have known on this planet. They were more advanced. Higher. p. 45
2. Thoughts entered me directly.... I was able to instantly and effortlessly understand concepts that would have taken me years to fully grasp in my earthly life. p. 46
3. In this case, the "mother" was God, the Creator, the Source who is responsible for making the universe and all in it. This Being was so close that there seemed to be no distance at all between God and myself...
I had the Orb as my companion. ....the Orb was kind of "interpreter" between me and this extraordinary presence surrounding me. p. 47
4. ...this Being was warm and - odd as I know this may sound - personal. It understood humans, and it possessed the qualities we possess, only in infinitely greater measure.
Through the Orb.... (the Being) told me that there is not one universe but many - in fact, more than I could conceive - but that love lay at the center of them all. p. 48
5. Evil was necessary because without it free will was impossible, and without free will there could be no growth - no forward movement, no chance for us to become what God longed for us to be.
I saw the abundance of life throughout the countless universes, including some whose intelligence was advanced far beyond that of humanity. ...these worlds aren't totally apart from us, because all worlds are part of the same overreaching divine Reality. From those higher worlds one could access any time or place in our world. p. 49
....the beings themselves, which were quite simply different from anything I have known on this planet. They were more advanced. Higher. p. 45
2. Thoughts entered me directly.... I was able to instantly and effortlessly understand concepts that would have taken me years to fully grasp in my earthly life. p. 46
3. In this case, the "mother" was God, the Creator, the Source who is responsible for making the universe and all in it. This Being was so close that there seemed to be no distance at all between God and myself...
I had the Orb as my companion. ....the Orb was kind of "interpreter" between me and this extraordinary presence surrounding me. p. 47
4. ...this Being was warm and - odd as I know this may sound - personal. It understood humans, and it possessed the qualities we possess, only in infinitely greater measure.
Through the Orb.... (the Being) told me that there is not one universe but many - in fact, more than I could conceive - but that love lay at the center of them all. p. 48
5. Evil was necessary because without it free will was impossible, and without free will there could be no growth - no forward movement, no chance for us to become what God longed for us to be.
I saw the abundance of life throughout the countless universes, including some whose intelligence was advanced far beyond that of humanity. ...these worlds aren't totally apart from us, because all worlds are part of the same overreaching divine Reality. From those higher worlds one could access any time or place in our world. p. 49
Comments on the above group of quotes
(a) The above may leave the reader with the impression that advanced Extraterrestrial exist and that they can access our world at any time or place.
That is not the case. What Dr. Alexander misunderstood is what we explained in a document (4) we published commenting on a recent movie: "The Adjustment Bureau". In said document, we used the term "dimensions" instead of Universes, since the latter term would be harder to comprehend for our readers. We quote from our document (4):
We have known for quite some time, and explained to the extent we could, the relationship between
Time and Eternity. The gap that existed for years in miguel de Portugal's (m de P's) mind was the
connection between one and another. It was clear that they were connected by some changing
continuum which stopped changing once it reached Eternity, but that was it.
Then God allowed m de P to understand it further so that now it was obvious that such continuum was composed of an essentially infinite number of dimensions. In each one, the complete playing out of that individual's life, if he/she had made the next decision to be made, could be seen. Of course, since each life action touches a number of individuals around the one making the "next decision to be made", those individuals’ lives would also be affected, and so on. Thus, there would be a number of infinite dimensions, expressing the complete-playing-out of the effect of each individual major decision to be made.
Trying to explain the above boggles our imagination even if it is very clear in m de P's mind.
Given the fact that God had allowed m de P to share the information with others, the question was: How to explain the unexplainable?
Then God allowed m de P to understand it further so that now it was obvious that such continuum was composed of an essentially infinite number of dimensions. In each one, the complete playing out of that individual's life, if he/she had made the next decision to be made, could be seen. Of course, since each life action touches a number of individuals around the one making the "next decision to be made", those individuals’ lives would also be affected, and so on. Thus, there would be a number of infinite dimensions, expressing the complete-playing-out of the effect of each individual major decision to be made.
Trying to explain the above boggles our imagination even if it is very clear in m de P's mind.
Given the fact that God had allowed m de P to share the information with others, the question was: How to explain the unexplainable?
That is why "these worlds aren't totally apart from us" although Dr. Alexander seemed not to have
understood it as such.
(b) On the other hand, m de P frequently experiences, while in a fully conscious state and not near death, what Dr. Alexander speaks about in item no. 2 above (Thoughts entered me directly....).
(c) Regarding items nos. 4 and 5 above - they are indeed true. m de P, through the Grace of God, has been explaining those concepts for years which he learned "on direct" from God, and not from lectures, or from texts, nor (obviously) from "Evangelizers".
(d) The "Orb" character spoken about is what we know as an "angel" - who is the communication link between man in Time and the God Whose Glory, even contains the Universe. See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. [Matthew 18:10]
Third Group
1. I understood that I was part of the Divine and that
nothing - absolutely nothing - could ever take that away.
The (false) suspicion that we can somehow be separated
from God is the root of every form of anxiety in the universe... p. 76
2. Up there, a question would arise in my mind, and the answer would arise at the same time, like a flower coming up right next to it. p. 83
3. Our life down here may seem insignificant, for it is minute in relation to the other lives and other worlds that also crowd the invisible and visible universe. ....our role here is to grow toward the Divine, and that growth is closely watched by the beings in the world above - the souls and lucent orbs (those beings... which I believe are the origin of our culture's concept of angels). p. 84
4. Our truest, deepest self is completely free. ....This is the true spiritual self that all of us are destined someday to recover. p. 85
5. Om (as Dr. Alexander calls the Creator) is "human" as well - even more human than you and I are. Om understands and sympathizes with our human situation more profoundly and personally than we can even imagine.... p. 86
2. Up there, a question would arise in my mind, and the answer would arise at the same time, like a flower coming up right next to it. p. 83
3. Our life down here may seem insignificant, for it is minute in relation to the other lives and other worlds that also crowd the invisible and visible universe. ....our role here is to grow toward the Divine, and that growth is closely watched by the beings in the world above - the souls and lucent orbs (those beings... which I believe are the origin of our culture's concept of angels). p. 84
4. Our truest, deepest self is completely free. ....This is the true spiritual self that all of us are destined someday to recover. p. 85
5. Om (as Dr. Alexander calls the Creator) is "human" as well - even more human than you and I are. Om understands and sympathizes with our human situation more profoundly and personally than we can even imagine.... p. 86
Comments on the above group of quotes
(a) Items nos. 1, 3 and 4 again give the impression that, without a doubt, we are all going to make it to Heaven. According to Dr. Alexander, the concerns - the "false suspicion" and "anxiety" - that many have are without foundation.
On the other hand...
(b) Item no. 2 is indeed true, and miguel has been experiencing it or years. The first time that he became aware of it was when he understood, and was able to explain with great simplicity, the Secret Concept of the Trinity (5). [St. Augustine wrote thirteen books trying to explain it and never succeeded.]
(c) Item no. 5 is also absolutely true, since God created man in His image and Jesus was 100 % human except in sin.
Fourth Group
1. At last; I understood what religion was really
all about. Or at least was supposed to be about. I
didn't just believe in God: I knew God. As I hobbled to the altar to take Communion, tears
streamed down my cheeks. p. 148
2. Another aspect of the good news is that you do not have to almost die to glimpse behind the veil - but you must do the work. Learning about that realm from books and presentations is a start - but at the end of the day, we each have to go deep into our own consciousness, through prayer or meditation, to access these truths. p, 158
3. Hemi-Sync potentially offered a means of inactivating the filtering function of the physical brain by globally synchronizing my neocortical electrical activity, just as my meningitis might have done, to liberate my out-of-body consciousness. (Hemi-Sync, developed by Robert Monroe in the 1950's helps achieve enhanced states of consciousness which allow access to alternate perceptual modes, including deep meditation and mystical states.) pp. 158-159
4. Even as my consciousness became identical with all and eternity, I sensed that I could not become entirely one with the creative, originating driver of all that is. p. 160
5. Einstein was one of my early scientific idols and the above (*) quote of his had always been one of my favorite ones. But I now understood what those words actually meant. p. 162
(*) Quote: I must be willing to give up what I am in order to become what I will be.
6. Eternea's mission (a publicly supported charity of which Dr. Alexander is a cofounder) is to advance research, education, and applied programs concerning spiritually transformative experiences, as well as the physics of consciousness and physical reality. It is an organized effort to apply in practical ways not only the insights gained from NDE, but also to serve as a repository for all manner of spiritually transformative experiences.
Comments
on the above group of quotes2. Another aspect of the good news is that you do not have to almost die to glimpse behind the veil - but you must do the work. Learning about that realm from books and presentations is a start - but at the end of the day, we each have to go deep into our own consciousness, through prayer or meditation, to access these truths. p, 158
3. Hemi-Sync potentially offered a means of inactivating the filtering function of the physical brain by globally synchronizing my neocortical electrical activity, just as my meningitis might have done, to liberate my out-of-body consciousness. (Hemi-Sync, developed by Robert Monroe in the 1950's helps achieve enhanced states of consciousness which allow access to alternate perceptual modes, including deep meditation and mystical states.) pp. 158-159
4. Even as my consciousness became identical with all and eternity, I sensed that I could not become entirely one with the creative, originating driver of all that is. p. 160
5. Einstein was one of my early scientific idols and the above (*) quote of his had always been one of my favorite ones. But I now understood what those words actually meant. p. 162
(*) Quote: I must be willing to give up what I am in order to become what I will be.
6. Eternea's mission (a publicly supported charity of which Dr. Alexander is a cofounder) is to advance research, education, and applied programs concerning spiritually transformative experiences, as well as the physics of consciousness and physical reality. It is an organized effort to apply in practical ways not only the insights gained from NDE, but also to serve as a repository for all manner of spiritually transformative experiences.
(a) Items no. 1 through 3 will confirm, to the disoriented faithful, the New Age recipe on how to "know God, not just believe in God" without having a NDE.
(b) Blessedly in his statement no. 4, Dr. Alexander shows his awareness that no man can ever be like God.
(c) The author gives the impression that Einstein was a man of God, since many of the book chapters start with a quotation from Einstein. As we have shown (6), using Einstein's own words, Einstein did not even believe in God. Nor did he believe in His inspired word, found in the Sacred Scriptures.
(d) Dr. Alexander claims that with Eternea (7) any man who is willing to work at it can achieve the insights he gained through his NDE. That is, he is promoting the use of New Age methods (not faith or practicing a religion) is the way to reach an enhanced spirituality.
CONCLUSION
We found it quite astonishing that in spite of the mystical experience Dr. Alexander claims to have had:
Dr. Alexander's response to his apparent mystical experience is completely the opposite of miguel de Portugal's response to having (in a briefer than brief instant) known God and that his (m de P's) only function in life was to serve God as He determined.
In less than a year, God (in His Three Manifestations), Mary, the Holy Scriptures and the Divine Liturgies became the complete center of m de P's life, and the only source and vehicle of all the wisdom and guidance he needed at every step of the way.
No; it is not that m de P had never heard about New Age and fell back on the traditional Catholicism into which he was born. God made sure that m de P objectively looked into just about every supernatural seeking faith/philosophy - voodoo included!! - before he concluded that the Catholic Faith was the faith with the greatest amount of Revealed Supernatural Truths and that by practicing it (not just talking about it), in spite of its abysmal Administration, he would advance spiritually at the exact rate that God intended him to.
And so it was, is and will be until the end, God Willing.
EPILOGUE
We consider Dr. Alexander's presentation of his alleged experience (within the context of his impeccable neurological and general scientific credentials) and his response to it via New Age techniques, to be among the greatest threats to the Divine Plan that God has had from all Eternity to draw His children - the Elect (8) - back to Him.
_________________
(1) Proof of Heaven - A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife
(2) About miguel de Portugal
(3) The New Age Movement and its dangers
(4) Multiple Dimensions/Universes
(5) Secret Concept of the Most Holy Trinity
(6) Einstein's opinion of God
(7) ETERNEA's purpose is to help create an ideal future for Earth and all its inhabitants by advancing knowledge from frontier science: that consciousness survives bodily death and some innate aspect of all life forms exists eternally. [quote from their Home Page]
(8) Who are the Elect?
Published on November 6th, 2012
© Copyright 2012 - 2018 by The M+G+R Foundation. All rights reserved. However, you may freely reproduce and distribute this document as long as: (1) Appropriate credit is given as to its source; (2) No changes are made in the text without prior written consent; and (3) No charge is made for it.
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We found it quite astonishing that in spite of the mystical experience Dr. Alexander claims to have had:
(a) No mention is made of Jesus Christ and His
Redemption of mankind. We presume that is because, as we have pointed out above, Dr.
Alexander seems to believe that everyone is going to Heaven no matter what his/her life on Earth
is.
(b) The Holy Scriptures are not quoted once, while Einstein and other human "luminaries" are quoted at the beginning of most chapters.
(c) By default, Dr. Alexander indicates that the practice of any faith does not lead to the "promised land" described; instead, he offers New Age techniques as the answer.
(b) The Holy Scriptures are not quoted once, while Einstein and other human "luminaries" are quoted at the beginning of most chapters.
(c) By default, Dr. Alexander indicates that the practice of any faith does not lead to the "promised land" described; instead, he offers New Age techniques as the answer.
Dr. Alexander's response to his apparent mystical experience is completely the opposite of miguel de Portugal's response to having (in a briefer than brief instant) known God and that his (m de P's) only function in life was to serve God as He determined.
In less than a year, God (in His Three Manifestations), Mary, the Holy Scriptures and the Divine Liturgies became the complete center of m de P's life, and the only source and vehicle of all the wisdom and guidance he needed at every step of the way.
No; it is not that m de P had never heard about New Age and fell back on the traditional Catholicism into which he was born. God made sure that m de P objectively looked into just about every supernatural seeking faith/philosophy - voodoo included!! - before he concluded that the Catholic Faith was the faith with the greatest amount of Revealed Supernatural Truths and that by practicing it (not just talking about it), in spite of its abysmal Administration, he would advance spiritually at the exact rate that God intended him to.
And so it was, is and will be until the end, God Willing.
EPILOGUE
We consider Dr. Alexander's presentation of his alleged experience (within the context of his impeccable neurological and general scientific credentials) and his response to it via New Age techniques, to be among the greatest threats to the Divine Plan that God has had from all Eternity to draw His children - the Elect (8) - back to Him.
_________________
(1) Proof of Heaven - A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife
(2) About miguel de Portugal
(3) The New Age Movement and its dangers
(4) Multiple Dimensions/Universes
(5) Secret Concept of the Most Holy Trinity
(6) Einstein's opinion of God
(7) ETERNEA's purpose is to help create an ideal future for Earth and all its inhabitants by advancing knowledge from frontier science: that consciousness survives bodily death and some innate aspect of all life forms exists eternally. [quote from their Home Page]
(8) Who are the Elect?
Published on November 6th, 2012
© Copyright 2012 - 2018 by The M+G+R Foundation. All rights reserved. However, you may freely reproduce and distribute this document as long as: (1) Appropriate credit is given as to its source; (2) No changes are made in the text without prior written consent; and (3) No charge is made for it.
The M+G+R Foundation
About Us and Frequently Asked Questions
PAGE of INTRODUCTION to DOMAIN
HOME PAGE
HOME PAGE - Español
HOME PAGE - Portugues
Back Up HOME PAGE
Our Research Department
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