What happens when we die? Rupert Sheldrake

Might dreams tell us something about what happens when we die?

Excerpted from a longer talk given at Hollyhock in 2014

Dr Rupert Sheldrake, PhD, is a biologist and author best known for his hypothesis of morphic resonance. At Cambridge University he worked in developmental biology as a Fellow of Clare College. He was Principal Plant Physiologist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics and From 2005 to 2010 was Director of the Perrott-Warrick project, Cambridge.

[antoniocarlosandrada]

Or it could be the other way around, when we die, we wake up from the dream.

[Deliquescentinsight]

Yes, we visit the land of the dead each night, why do we have to sleep - if you think, it is kind of strange needing to sleep, it is as if we cannot sustain conscious life for too long, we are from the land of sleep

[liamm]

Interesting thoughts as always Mr Sheldrake. Thanks

[Hadrada.]

This points out it’s important to try to control and be aware of your dreams

[Nerd]

Oh yes, I can agree. This is what I have felt for years. Thank you for putting it to words so eloquently !

[baruchben-david]

I disagree with much of what you say, but I find your ideas extremely thought-provoking. Thank you.

[byolomonstar]

My dreams never felt like waking up in a phase of love during the transition period, or throughout my dreams at all. If my dreams were a type of afterlife I wonder how that dream were supposed to end. They never seemed particularly happy or sad. Some were periods that were exaggerated by emotions into nightmarecapes. If I used a play on words, a nightmare used to escape the present.

I would love to know if Mr. Sheldrake has ever died in his dreams? I had experienced it once as a monkey and then after I died it continued as an out of body experience, the the feeling of having the life choked out of me is still a vivid experience I don't think I'd ever forget.

[alchemistoxford]

Rupert is right, "When we die we dream, but we lose the ability to wake up." What might be true: we lose the necessity to wake up.

[Gkuljian]

What an interesting concept. I've never thought it could be that way. But it sure seems plausible. Hell may be of our own making. I'm behaving starting right now!

[GoostTube]

Mr Sheldrake can you please give us your thoughts on the paranormal and ghosts.

[harrynac]

I believe different things, sometimes during one sentence. I call myself mostly agnostic. I think therefore I could be :) If Rupert is right, I hope I'm in a good mood when I die.

[Lilybet]

I have died physically once and was on the brink a second time and my experience was unlike what you describe except you are correct that it is quite subjective. I wonder if a quantum physicist or anyone could explain the change in my abilities since these events. I know why I heal others as I do but in this physical reality I do not understand the science of energetic cell manipulation. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[ryanqvincent]

A lot of sense in that. My current view is that everyone gets a 'soul' assigned to the them when born. And it records what you do while you are here if you want it too. When you die you decide how to process the recording. Lol, this is comment... it is maybe more involved than that. :)

[dalesco]

My father was an atheist who believed there was nothing to expect after death, yet he had an NDE that quite disturbed him

[chinookvalley]

What happens when we die? Our relatives go nuts and fight over the most trivial crap. He wants the house, she wants the boat, they want the coin collection. Friends who you barely knew become your "best friend". Pets end up in the shelter, and your reputation comes into question. Your hopes and dreams were meaningless. Life is a sham.

[marygoetsch]

I I like it is concise, not an hour such as a similar video by Peter Fenwick. Whether one believes there is an afterlife or not, everyone will go through the end-of-life. Dreams may be predictive; near-death-experience may also be predictive.

[stefanijoanneangelinagerma]

I think anyone who has smoked DMT, which Sheldrake has, can give probably a fairly honest hopethesis of what an afterlife would be.

[marykayryan]

Sounds like we all should get busy imagining the afterlife experience we are hoping for and that makes the most sense to us if that is what we are likely to "see." I like this. It gives one a sense of input into what happens after death.

[TonyBurke]

I had a near-death experience in my twenties I'm now approaching seventy and I can't wait to leave this horrible place that we call Earth. When I left this place I was fully aware as I floated through the ceiling further and further up and saw the Earth as a silvery-blue ball and a kind loving voice told me "don't worry son everything will be alright" then I returned and took notice of what cars were parked outside (we lived outside a nightclub with lots of traffic). Rushing outside I saw the cars that were there, were there.

[sarkarhaider]

Very interesting short clip on a vast subject