Near-death experiences

Fairly interesting article at CNN on NDE's (near-death experiences). People want to think of them as portents of heaven but they're really just shows your mind puts on in extreme circumstances. Still, an interesting read.

When I was in a coma and no one thought I'd live, my experience wasn't like the stories you hear about NDE's. When I was coming out of the coma, first I was five beings, then four, then two (I was never three beings), and then one -- at which point I woke up.

To me, this confirms that our consciousness is the result of several brain functions coming together to create the illusion of being a unitary, conscious creature. We are not one, we are many disjointed functions coming together to focus. And focus is consciousness.

So much for heaven and the afterlife. But I like my experience better than that of the godders.

The Ghosts of Christmas Present

We feel the pall that hangs over this holiday. It won't go away and it shouldn't. This is the way Christmas 2012 happened: with the ghosts of children hovering over holiday gatherings, nationwide.

Looking ahead -- and we must -- I hope Americans treat what happened in Connecticut the way the people of Norway responded to Anders Breivak's mass murder of children. Instead of fracturing, they came together in love. It made them stronger rather than weaker, and more determined than ever to bring about a just, peaceful society.

We could do worse this Christmas than emulate the wisdom of these people, who have been through the same and worse. No guns, no violence. That must be our goal. This Christmas, my fondest hope is that we can come together as a nation to make this dream a reality.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.