A US woman who was declared dead for eight minutes has revealed what it was like being on the other side of consciousness. Brianna Lafferty, a Colorado resident, said she 'floated' over her lifeless body and entered a realm where time did not exist. The 33-year-old was suffering from myoclonus dystonia -- a life-threatening neurological disorder when her body simply 'gave up'.
Ms Lafferty said she remembers hearing a voice asking if she was ready, but everything went dark afterwards. Despite being pronounced clinically dead by the doctors, Ms Lafferty said her consciousness did not die with her.
"Death is an illusion because our soul never dies. Our consciousness remains alive. And our very essence simply transforms. My thoughts instantly materialised in the afterlife. I realised that our thoughts shape reality there, it just takes time, which is a blessing," Ms Lafferty said, as per The Mirror.
"I was suddenly separated from my physical body. I didn't see or remember my human self. I was completely still, yet I felt fully alive, aware and more myself than ever before. There was no pain, just a deep sense of peace and clarity."
During her time in the astral plane, Ms Lafferty said she discovered that our earthly existence is not the finale.
"There's a presence, or intelligence, higher than ourselves that guides and watches over us with unconditional love. Everything happens at once there, as if time doesn't exist, yet there was perfect order."
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What happens after we die?
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are complex and difficult to explain, but scientists have been making efforts to understand them. A 2022 study claimed that the human brain might quickly recap the important events of life as they are on the precipice of death. Many describe this recapping as the 'life flashing' before their eyes.
Last month, researchers at the University of Calgary in Canada claimed that living things emit a ghostly glow throughout their lives that only vanishes when they die. The faint glow was associated with a phenomenon called ultraweak photon emission (UPE) that is produced by several living animals in strong contrast with their non-living bodies.
