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Our declining belief in death

October 28, 2015 By christianscienceminnesota Leave a Comment

@Glowimages: Cemetary Cross
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The recent Oprah Winfrey (OWN) series, “Belief”, stirred up an international conversation starting with the question:  “What do you believe?”  It’s important to be able to answer that.  What do we trust in?  What do we have unshakeable faith in?  My California colleague, Eric Nelson, says that even such a universally held belief as death is being challenged.  Here’s Eric…

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain,” wrote Ben Franklin to his friend Jean-Baptiste LeRoy in 1789, “except death and taxes.” Had he written this today, however, it’s not at all certain that death would have made the cut.

Of course, no one knows for sure what happens when we die (well, no one who’s still with us), but there are quite a number of folks who feel they’ve perhaps gotten a glimpse, calling into question the very notion of death.

After falling into a weeklong coma, Eben Alexander, author of the New York Times best-selling book “Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife,” found himself keenly aware of the fact that, as he puts it, he was loved, that he had nothing to fear and that he could do no wrong. This was pretty heady stuff, especially for someone who had always assumed that the brain – an organ that, in Alexander’s case, had completely shut down due to a rare infection – was the source of consciousness.

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Dr. Eben Alexander Says It’s Time for Brain Science to Graduate From Kindergarten

October 30, 2013 By christianscienceminnesota Leave a Comment

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In a previous post I wrote:  “I didn’t use to have any belief in spirituality….it was very upsetting for me to think about the possibility of death.  What bothered me most was the fear that I wouldn’t be able to think anymore….I’ve wrestled with the question of whether my consciousness is in my head, or something higher…and gained a conviction that whatever happens to my body or my brain, my conscious life will continue.”

What follows is an interview by my colleague, Ingrid Peschke, with Dr. Eben Alexander — a man who actually experienced my conviction.  What he says about God, unconditional love and immortality, has paradigm-shattering implications for healing and health.  Here’s Ingrid…

Anyone who openly declares that consciousness is not brain is going to get some attention. Especially when it’s from an established neurosurgeon whose knowledge of brain science includes 25 years of clinical practice, including 15 years at the Brigham & Women’s and the Children’s Hospitals and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Dr. Eben Alexander has collected his fair share of skeptics over the claims he’s made in his New York Times bestseller, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife.

After a year of being on the shelves for public consumption, his book has sometimes taken a beating from critics who have poked holes in his story of surviving a very rare case of meningitis, which virtually destroyed his neocortex (the side of the brain that makes us human) and nearly left him dead or at best a vegetable.

Still, no one can dispute the proof that he’s alive and well today.

Please click here to read the rest in it’s original context…

Boston marathon tragedy – what can we lean on in such troubling times?

April 25, 2013 By christianscienceminnesota Leave a Comment

@Glowimages 674.
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An attack at an event like a marathon – so full of good cheer, love and courage – can make us wonder if anything anywhere is ever safe.  It can make us feel as if our life is very temporary and subject to the whims of chance.

As a student at Boston University decades ago, I felt the warm vibe of Patriot’s Day, “Marathon Monday”, four times and stood on Commonwealth Avenue encouraging the runners as they came by.

It’s hard not to be shaken by the senseless evil of these bombings.  My heart aches for the families of those who died and those suffering from severe injuries.

Even if we’re not dealing with actual physical trauma from the bombs, we can feel a mental blow.  Our sense of moral and spiritual equilibrium can seem thrown off.  That uneasiness needs healing as much as any injury.

And some say this type of stress – anxiety about death and fears for our safety – can lead to negative effects on our mental and physical health.  It’s at times like this that I really try to turn my thinking in a different direction.

Please click here to read the rest in its original context…

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About Joel

Joel Magnes Hi, I’m Joel Magnes, writing about the connection between our thinking and our health -- focusing on how spirituality and prayer can have a positive impact on our well-being.   I'm a practitioner of Christian Science, with over 25 years of expertise and experience in prayer-based healing.  And I serve as the Christian Science Committee on Publication for Minnesota; the church's media and legislative liaison. Contact Joel HERE.

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