Near-death experience: Lesson learned | John Abramson and Lex Fridman

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GUEST BIO:
John Abramson is faculty at Harvard Medical School and a family physician for over two decades. He's the author of the new book Sickening about how big pharma broke American healthcare and how we can fix it.

PODCAST INFO:

SOCIAL:

[baldbikeboy]

I actually “crossed the River” about 40 years ago, and all I remember about it, other than when my heart started beating again, was a deep sense of peace. At 80, that doesn’t mean that I’m ready to die, but I don’t fear it.

[jackbenson]

i thought i was going to die once... collapsed at work. all i know is i remember being annoyed that i left so many relationships unattended to and i wanted to say thank you to everyone ...especially my wife

[Jonah_Krsna_]

in my personal experience NDS was absolutely blissful and full of very vivid visions as if I was on a super heavy DMT trip. I'm no longer afraid of death but coming back into my body was the most terrifying experience I've ever had

[gehrhardtschneider]

Id like to think we don't really die. I like to think that there's a universal consciousness that we fall back into when our bodies give up, in the same way a wave falls back into the ocean when it breaks.

[merritt]

Lex, you must check out Eben Alexander, former neurosurgeon, and 15 years teaching at Harvard med school, and hear what he has to say about his near death experience. He says a lot about the nature of consciousness, science and consciousness, and he has a lot to say about whether we end with the passing of our physical body.

[RogueBoyScout]

Don't Fear The (Just make sure when you meet him you can cross the river knowing you did 1 good thing. Just 1. Raise a Family, teach someone a skill. Even just talk and brighten up someone's day. Like Bowie said You can be a hero, just for one day. And it really doesn't cost anything)

[TheArasmcz]

Would have been more interesting if he had shared the context of the near death experience

[Mackenzieadventures]

I had a near death experience falling off a waterfall. It was so peaceful.

[tfizzle]

Crazy how this still the most unanswered questions in the world

[alexjbriiones]

Here is a man at peace with himself. We cannot ask for more than that. Thanks, John; your honesty is disarming.

[saurabhverma]

Yes, died and resurrected, a month back just before 2021 end. Horrifying experience but felt invincible after that. Glad, I'm Alive! Thank you God/Universe or whatever force that saved me.

[ACisalwaysON]

What is the picture in the thumbnail of this video?

[Sockpoppet]

That sense of liberation could play a major role in the development of a human mind. Could be the cure for depression?

[MaxSignae]

I had a very similar experience a month ago. Scary liberating.

[xedasxedas]

What i learned from my near dead experience: don't play near that shallow well and learn how to swim.

[ashcosmo]

That feeling when you look up into the stars at night.. that infinite universal feeling you get when you dream.. I'd hate to think we all turn to nothing.. but the idea of spending eternity in hell for not living religiously scares me even more.

[Jeremy-Ai]

“Liberating”
The feeling of liberation from life by a final absolution through death to the unkown.
I would guess that the meaning of liberty is vastly different based upon experience and perspective.
Someone feeling beat down or divisive or disenchanted by the battlefield of life, will want to believe or hope for some final liberation from it.
Someone who has worked so hard their entire life to better themselves and those around them will also welcome liberation from the burden of this role of its seemingly endless responsibility.
I suspect that those in the latter fear this liberation far less.
Accepting this is something they cannot change… focusing on the things they can, until liberty comes. With knowledge that it is coming for all of us…regardless.

[willthomas]

I've died twice in my life.. best way i can describe it is imagine going to bed for the night and not remebring any of your dreams and instead of waking up the next morning you don't... There is no awareness of anything u don't even know that you don't exist or have ever existed. This is no bs I've tech. Died twice and that's how I describe it..

[sername]

I have no control over whether or not I die, but I do have a little control over how. As long as I do not die like a fkn dumbazz, that'll give me some peace. As long as I die peacefully . . . would hate to be in agonizing suffering and carry that energy with me whereever I go next.

[isabelleabramson]

I had to find a way to make myself mentally ready to die when I was six years old, because my dad, Dr. John Abramson (see above), would tell me about nuclear weapons before he put me to sleep at night (...and not because I was asking). I would cry myself to sleep, because he told me that "bad guys" had the buttons for the nuclear weapons and they could push them any time, and we would all die... but I'm glad he's worked it out for himself in his seventies.

Try to take as good care of your bodies as possible, and you won't need as many drugs. If you can't get yourself to do things that you need to do take good care of your body, a good therapist can probably help. If you have a problem for which drugs might be a possible solution, weigh the benefits and risks with a doctor you trust (if you don't trust your doctor, find a better one), and it's different for everyone... in every situation. If you follow John Abramson, he cherry-picks data, but it's to make a valid point, but also notice how you feel, because he's definitely trying to scare you and make himself feel more powerful by making you feel unsafe.