What happens after we die? Is there an afterlife? If we have a soul, does it continue on to another life? How we think and feel about death directly correlates to how we live our lives. It is time to contemplate this important theme.
Fans of the Netflix sci-fi thrillers The OA and The Discovery, both of which weave tales of scientists researching the afterlife, may be shocked to know it’s not just the stuff of fiction. While the haunting plotlines are (thankfully) fantasy, their themes echo real clinical research into what happens to consciousness at the moment of death.
In the Victorian era, birth and death happened at home, so people knew more or less what to expect. But that’s not true for us! And because we don’t talk much about death and dying we are left with whispered stories, scenes from movies, and random bits that cross social media.
While many of us have heard of that phenomenon (and ones like it) referred to as a “near-death experience,” Parnia prefers to call it an “after-death experience.”
We don’t want to diminish how much palliative care physician BJ Miller’s TED
Tracy Picha, When You Die’s associate producer in 2015 and ’16, has had a few changes in her life since learning, considering, wondering about mortality. Far from a macabre pursuit, it’s rekindled friendships and fine-tuned notions of what a good life means.
One of the biggest challenges for any of us when it comes to issues around death is facing our own fears about it.
Given her willingness to talk about any topic, it’s perhaps no surprise that writer and TV star Lena Dunham experiences more flashes of what she calls “mortality awareness” than the average 20-something. But thoughts of death are not reserved for the aged.
