A neuroscientist has recalled his experience of being in a coma, detailing the disturbing things he saw.
The world is full of mysterious experiences that even science struggles to explain.
Some people claim they've been abducted by aliens and communicated with higher powers, while others report profound spiritual experiences whether it be through psychedelics or religious practices.
Many individuals describe completely changing their outlook on life after transformative events like near-death experiences or comas.
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YouTuber Smosh Alike decided to ask a neurosurgeon what being in a coma actually feels like from a medical expert's perspective.
"I had spent 54 years of my life before coma honing a very conventional, modern scientific view," Dr. Eben Alexander explained. He described his background working as a neurosurgeon and teaching at Harvard Medical School for over 15 years.
"I thought I had some idea of how brain, mind and consciousness works," the scientist admitted.
Once holding strong views on physicalism, which is the belief that only the physical world exists, Dr. Alexander recalled his experience in a coma.
"What seemed to be a journey of months or years, even though it all had to fit within seven days," he explained. "Never during any part of the seven-day journey did I have any kind of body sense at all, period. I was just a speck of awareness."
His first experience he described as an 'earthworm's eye view' - which he considered a very basic, primitive perception of his surroundings: "It was like being in dirty jello."
Then, a 'slowly spinning light' appeared with fine 'silvery and golden tendrils' extending from it.
"As it came towards me, I realised it had a perfect musical melody," Dr. Alexander said, adding that it led him into an 'ultra-real gateway valley.'
In the next stage, the neuroscientist said he became 'a speck of awareness on a butterfly among millions of other butterflies.'
"They were all flying and spiralling colours absolutely beyond the rainbow," he expressed.
According to the neurosurgeon, this realm resembled Earth moreover, it was 'a world of perfection.'
"There was no sign of any death or decay," he recalled. "To me, what it appeared like was all of these interwoven threads [..] where the lives of individual souls were coming in and out of incarnations."
"The core realm was absolutely the furthest from any kind of human experience."
The interviewer remarked that Dr. Alexander's experience sounded similar to how science fiction movies depict alternate realities and transcending the boundaries of consciousness.