In this episode, I explore terminal lucidity, a little-known but well-documented phenomenon that occurs near the end of life. Terminal lucidity describes the sudden return of clear thinking, memory, communication, and personal awareness in people who were previously unable to show these abilities because of severe brain disease or injury. This can happen hours or days before death and has been reported in people with advanced dementia, long-term psychiatric illness, brain tumours, strokes, and serious brain damage.

What makes terminal lucidity especially important is that it appears in individuals whose brains are believed to be physically incapable of producing normal consciousness. In many cases, the brain damage is extensive and has been present for years. Recovery is not expected. Yet the person may suddenly recognise loved ones, speak clearly, remember names and events, and show their usual personality again.

In this episode, I examine terminal lucidity through the idea that consciousness may exist independently of the brain, with the brain acting as a receiver or filter rather than a generator. From this point of view, brain damage limits the expression of consciousness rather than destroying consciousness itself. As death approaches, the brain’s normal control systems may weaken, briefly allowing clearer expression.

I discuss the work of Christopher Kerr, a hospice doctor whose research shows that inner mental life often becomes more organised and meaningful as death approaches, even while the body and brain are failing. I also look at research by Peter Fenwick and Bruce Greyson, who have studied clear consciousness during severe brain impairment and near-death states.

Using clear explanations and real case examples, this episode asks a challenging question: if consciousness can return when the brain is at its weakest, does this suggest that consciousness is not produced by the brain at all?

https://www.pastliveshypnosis.co.uk/

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My book 'Verified Near Death Experiences' https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXKRGDFP

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Rather than offering a single answer or a definitive position, the programme unfolds as a carefully curated sequence of voices, each reflecting a lived experience that sits at the edge of what we understand. The structure is simple and deliberate. A series of interview clips, drawn from different lives and circumstances, are placed side by side, allowing patterns, tensions, and moments of resonance to emerge naturally.

Throughout the episode, the host’s presence is calm and unassuming. His interjections are sparse, thoughtful, and gently probing, offering space rather than direction. He treats each account with the same careful attention, neither affirming nor dismissing what is heard. This measured approach invites listeners to sit with uncertainty, to notice their own reactions, and to reflect on why such stories continue to move us.

Taken together, the voices in this episode do not form an argument so much as a conversation across experiences. They ask what consciousness might be, how deeply it is tied to the body, and why encounters with death so often seem to reshape how people live. Beneath every clip runs a quieter thread: the human need to make sense of loss, to find continuity, and to feel that our lives are part of something larger than a single ending.

This is an episode best approached without expectation, listened to slowly and with an open mind. It offers no answers, only the chance to reflect, to wonder, and perhaps to recognise something of your own questions in the voices of others.

https://www.pastliveshypnosis.co.uk/

https://www.patreon.com/ourparanormalafterlife

My book 'Verified Near Death Experiences' https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXKRGDFP

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode explores one of the most compelling areas of near-death research: documented spiritual near-death experiences reported by children. While adult accounts of NDEs are widely discussed, children’s experiences offer a distinct and often unsettling clarity. With minimal exposure to religious doctrine or cultural narratives about death, children tend to describe what they experienced without symbolic overlay, interpretation, or fear.

Drawing on named, traceable cases documented by pediatrician and researcher Melvin Morse, as well as long-term analyses by P.M.H. Atwater, this episode focuses on what children themselves reported after surviving life-threatening events such as drowning, cardiac arrest, and severe illness.

In case after case, children described leaving their physical bodies with little distress and observing medical resuscitation efforts from an external vantage point. Several accounts included accurate descriptions of hospital rooms, procedures, or family members’ actions during periods when the child was clinically unresponsive. These observations were later corroborated by medical staff or parents.

Beyond out-of-body perception, many children reported entering environments characterized by intense light, vivid landscapes, or a sense of peace and safety. Unlike adult accounts, children rarely described judgment, life reviews, or moral evaluation. Instead, their experiences emphasized belonging, familiarity, and unconditional acceptance. Morse noted that children often struggled to describe the light they encountered, insisting it was not merely visual but relational, something that “knew” them.

Some of the most striking cases involved children encountering deceased relatives they had never consciously known. In multiple documented instances, children identified grandparents or siblings who had died before they were born, later recognizing them in photographs. These encounters were described casually, without surprise, as if meeting someone expected.

The episode also examines what happened after children returned. Long-term follow-up interviews revealed consistent aftereffects: reduced fear of death, heightened empathy, and an increased sensitivity to others’ emotions. Many children spoke calmly about dying and, in some cases, reassured adults during later illnesses or family crises. These statements were framed not as beliefs, but as memories.

Importantly, the children themselves did not question the reality of their experiences. Years later, many maintained that what happened was not a dream or hallucination. This certainty was typically quiet and private, shaping their outlook without becoming performative or doctrinal.

By focusing on named cases preserved in published research and presentations associated with the International Association for Near-Death Studies, this episode avoids speculation and instead centers on testimony. Children do not offer explanations for what they experienced. They simply describe where they went, and insist that it was real.

https://www.pastliveshypnosis.co.uk/

https://www.patreon.com/ourparanormalafterlife

My book 'Verified Near Death Experiences' https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXKRGDFP

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.