When Miasha Gilliam-El collapsed outside her home, gasping for air, she thought one thing:
“I can’t die this way.”
Minutes later, the 37-year-old nurse and mother of six was on a hospital table. Doctors cut off her clothes. Her breathing stopped. Her heart flatlined.
And then — she says — she left her body.
👁️ “I was above myself, watching them work on me.”
Miasha remembers floating above her body as doctors performed chest compressions. She remembers the heart monitor. She remembers the moment everything went still.
Then something else happened.
She says she was pulled into a tunnel — calm, peaceful — walking while holding someone’s hand, hearing the words:
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”
Then a voice told her: “Not yet.”
She woke up.
🧠 Science vs. Something More?
Stories like Miasha’s aren’t rare.
Thousands of people who come close to death report eerily similar experiences:
• Leaving their body
• Moving through a tunnel
• Seeing a bright light
• Feeling overwhelming peace
Last year, an international team of scientists proposed a bold explanation:
🧪 It’s all the brain.
They created a model called NEPTUNE, arguing near-death experiences are caused by:
• Lack of oxygen
• Surges in brain chemicals
• Electrical activity in specific brain regions
Basically: the brain’s last fireworks before shutting down.
⚠️ But Other Scientists Say: Not So Fast.
Researchers at the University of Virginia pushed back hard.
They argue that brain chemistry alone can’t explain everything — especially reports where patients accurately describe:
• Who was in the room
• What doctors were doing
• Events that happened while they were clinically unconscious
“These aren’t vague hallucinations,” they say.
Some patients describe recognized deceased people — seen, heard, even touched.
📊 Why This Debate Matters to Everyone
This isn’t just an academic argument.
It cuts straight to questions humans have asked for thousands of years:
👉 Is consciousness tied only to the brain?
👉 Does something survive after death?
👉 Should patient testimony count as evidence?
One researcher who’s studied over 4,000 near-death experiences put it bluntly:
“Every scientific discovery starts with someone noticing something first.”
🔬 What Happens Next
Scientists are now tracking patients from the moment they enter resuscitation rooms, using:
• Brain wave monitoring
• Video recordings
• Real-time data
The goal?
To catch the moment between life and death as it happens.
😶 And Miasha?
She stayed quiet for years.
She was afraid no one would believe her.
Now her story is part of a growing scientific fight — one that sits right on the edge between biology and belief.
💬 YOUR TURN:
Do you think near-death experiences are just the brain under stress — or something more?
Would you believe someone who says they saw beyond death?
👇 Share your thoughts. This question touches everyone.
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