Best Selling Books by Eben Alexander

A Harvard-trained neurosurgeon shares the near-death experience he had after an extremely rare illness attacked his brain, sending him into a deep coma from which he awakened with a new belief in heaven, God and the soul.

The #1 New York Times bestselling account of a neurosurgeon's own near-death experience—for readers of 7 Lessons from Heaven. Thousands of people have had near-death experiences, but scientists have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those scientists. A highly trained neurosurgeon, Alexander knew that NDEs feel real, but are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress. Then, Dr. Alexander’s own brain was attacked by a rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion—and in essence makes us human—shut down completely. For seven days he lay in a coma. Then, as his doctors considered stopping treatment, Alexander’s eyes popped open. He had come back. Alexander’s recovery is a medical miracle. But the real miracle of his story lies elsewhere. While his body lay in coma, Alexander journeyed beyond this world and encountered an angelic being who guided him into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. There he met, and spoke with, the Divine source of the universe itself. Alexander’s story is not a fantasy. Before he underwent his journey, he could not reconcile his knowledge of neuroscience with any belief in heaven, God, or the soul. Today Alexander is a doctor who believes that true health can be achieved only when we realize that God and the soul are real and that death is not the end of personal existence but only a transition. This story would be remarkable no matter who it happened to. That it happened to Dr. Alexander makes it revolutionary. No scientist or person of faith will be able to ignore it. Reading it will change your life.

Looks at the experiences of people who have had near death experiences and compares it to religious and philosophical beliefs about the afterlife from around the world.

A neurosurgeon describes his own transformative near-death experience while in a coma and discusses his scientific study of near-death phenomena and the nature of human consciousness.

Dr. Eben Alexander, author of international phenomenon Proof of Heaven, shares the next phase of his journey to understand the true nature of consciousness and how to cultivate a state of harmony with the universe and our higher purpose. In 2008, Dr. Eben Alexander’s brain was severely damaged by a devastating case of bacterial meningitis, and he lapsed into a weeklong coma. It was almost certainly a death sentence, but he miraculously survived and brought back with him an astounding story. During those 7 days in coma, he was plunged into the deepest realms of consciousness and came to understand profound truths about the universe we inhabit. What he learned changed everything he knew about the brain, mind, and consciousness and drove him to ask a question confounding the entire scientific community: How do you explain the origins of consciousness if it is not a byproduct of the brain? His challenge relates to a revolutionary shift now underway within our modern scientific understanding. Ultimately, direct experience is key to fully understanding how we are all connected through the binding force of unconditional love and its unlimited power to heal. In Living in a Mindful Universe, the New York Times bestselling author of Proof of Heaven and The Map of Heaven shares his insights into the true nature of consciousness. Embracing his radically new worldview, he began a committed program of personal exploration into nonlocal consciousness. Along the way, he met Karen Newell, who had spent most of her lifetime living the worldview he had only just discovered was possible. Her personal knowledge came from testing various techniques and theories as part of her daily routine. With Living in a Mindful Universe, they teach you how to tap into your greater mind and the power of the heart to facilitate enhancement of healing, relationships, creativity, guidance, and more. Using various modalities related to meditation and mindfulness, you will gain the power to access that infinite source of knowing so vital to us all, ultimately enriching every facet of your life.

A SCIENTIST’S CASE FOR THE AFTERLIFE Near-death experiences, or NDEs, are controversial. Thousands of people have had them, but many in the scientific community have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those people. A highly trained neurosurgeon who had operated on thousands of brains in the course of his career, Alexander knew that what people of faith call the “soul” is really a product of brain chemistry. NDEs, he would have been the first to explain, might feel real to the people having them, but in truth they are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress. Then came the day when Dr. Alexander’s own brain was attacked by an extremely rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion—and in essence makes us human— shut down completely. For seven days Alexander lay in a hospital bed in a deep coma. Then, as his doctors weighed the possibility of stopping treatment, Alexander’s eyes popped open. He had come back. Alexander’s recovery is by all accounts a medical miracle. But the real miracle of his story lies elsewhere. While his body lay in coma, Alexander journeyed beyond this world and encountered an angelic being who guided him into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. There he met, and spoke with, the Divine source of the universe itself. This story sounds like the wild and wonderful imaginings of a skilled fantasy writer. But it is not fantasy. Before Alexander underwent his journey, he could not reconcile his knowledge of neuroscience with any belief in heaven, God, or the soul. That difficulty with belief created an empty space that no professional triumph could erase. Today he is a doctor who believes that true health can be achieved only when we realize that God and the soul are real and that death is not the end of personal existence but only a transition. This story would be remarkable no matter who it happened to. That it happened to Dr. Alexander makes it revolutionary. No scientist or person of faith will be able to ignore it. Reading it will change your life.

When Dr Eben Alexander wrote about his own startling near-death experience in Proof of Heaven, he was contacted by countless people from all walks of life. His story had touched them personally and they in turn had their own miraculous experiences of the afterlife to share with Eben. In The Map of Heaven, Eben recounts the astonishing stories he has heard on his travels, from near-death experiences and encounters with angelic beings to inspiring messages from departed loved ones. Each account helps us to understand just how vast the universe really is. Drawing on these accounts and lessons from religious leaders, philosophers and scientific investigations into the role of consciousness, Eben explores our true place in the universe and what exactly exists beyond death.

With InstaRead Chapter-by-Chapter Summaries, you can get the essence of a book in 30 minutes or less. We read every chapter and summarize it in one or two paragraphs so you can get the information contained in the book at a much faster rate. This is an InstaRead Summary of Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife by Eben Alexander III M.D. Below is a preview of the earlier sections of the summary: 1: The Pain Eben Alexander and Holley met in 1977, while he was in medical school. Nearly three years later the young couple is married and living in a modest apartment in Durham, North Carolina. In the years that follow they relocate several times as he trains to be a successful neurosurgeon. Eben the fourth is born in England in 1987 and then a second son is born in Boston in 1998. The family spends a total of fifteen years in the Boston with Eben working at Harvard Medical School. But in 2007, they move to Virginia to be closer to their extended family. In the early hours of Monday November 10, 2008 Eben awakes with back pain. Unable to return to sleep the doctor assumes that his pain is caused by the flu the family was still recovering from. The only one that had remained healthy was Eben IV, who was away at college. Thinking that the warmth of a hot bath might bring him some relief, Eben heads to the bathroom. It doesn't. Feeling worse, he returns to bed. Holley is so concerned that she suggests calling an ambulance. Eben reassures her that he is fine, he just wants to try and sleep. For the next two hours, he slips in and out of consciousness. When Holley tries to wake him she is shocked to find him unresponsive and rigid. She quickly dials 911. Ten minutes later the doctor has become a patient and is on the way to the Emergency Room. 2: The Hospital When the fifty four year old enters the ER, he is convulsing and has no control over his flailing limbs. Laura Potter is the ER physician that morning. It does not take long for her to realize that the patient on the gurney is her colleague, Dr. Alexander. She quickly runs through a list of things that could be causing the symptoms: a stroke, brain tumor or meningitis. With the last disease in mind, Eben is sedated so the staff can perform a lumbar puncture. This procedure, used to detect meningitis, uses a syringe to extract the fluid that covers the surface of the spinal cord. In a healthy individual this fluid would be clear; any opaqueness in a sample suggests an infection or hemorrhage. To Dr. Potter's surprise the fluid she draws from Eben's spinal column is full of pus, the fluid is cloudy and tinged with green. The meninges are the membranes that line the inside of the skull and spine. Meningitis is a swelling of these membranes following an infection from a virus or, more rarely, bacteria. Approximately 99% of people that contract viral meningitis will survive the disease. Bacterial Meningitis has a much higher mortality rate of 15-40% even if treated with immediate antibiotic treatment. One of the deadliest forms of Meningitis is caused by E.coli. E.coli colonies usually live in the digestive tract and pose no problem. If, however, this resistant strain manages to get into the cerebrospinal fluid, it will begin taking...

When neurosurgeon Dr Eben Alexander published Proof of Heaven, his account of his near-death experience, he was contacted by a large number of readers: some argued that his account was impossible to believe; but others wrote to share their own profound journey to the afterlife or their stories of contact with loved ones who had died. Drawing on these stories and on research into and conversations with prominent scientist, philosophers and religious figures, Dr Alexander takes a wide-ranging look at the meaning of life, the nature of consciousness and the possibility of life after death. Dr Alexander explores the many possibilities and explanations for near-death and after-death experiences - both scientific and spiritual - and he comes to this conclusion: 'Our spirit is not dependent on the brain or body. It is eternal, and no one has one sentence worth of hard evidence that it isn't.' Compassionate, accessible and compelling, this is a book provides comfort, offers hope and reinforces what we all know to be true, whether believers or not: the strength of love is eternal, and our connections live on past death.