Death. Everyone goes through it. It is the end of the life cycle, right? Who knows but the people who went through it? What we do know is that one way or another we are all going to die, some more than once. I know that sounds grim, but according to the original definition of death, someone was declared dead at the “cessation of heartbeat and breathing.” Today’s modern medicine techniques such as CPR and defibrillators are used to resuscitate a person whose heartbeat or breathing has ceased. Now that the original definition is void, when exactly does someone die? Today, doctors look to brain wave activity as a means of measuring a person’s consciousness. If brain waves are nonexistent (brain dead), then doctors declare a patient “legally dead”. I use the term in quotes because that person’s body can be kept alive using machines. So are they really dead? They can’t react, talk, eat, or even breathe without machines, yet their bodies are technically alive.

People speak of being dead for moments, and then are brought back to life. Some even claim that they have watched their bodies from an outside perspective. Witnesses to these claims have stated they saw a light and visions of their life. I am not so sure that it’s an actual experience as much as a progression. When a body begins its shutdown, there is a blackout feeling where a person doesn’t even remember falling. Now that the heart has stopped and blood ceases to circulate the cells in the organs (the brain in particular) go into a panic state. Without oxygen, these cells fill with toxins and self-destruct. What if that light people see is the self-destruction of some of the brain cells? When a person’s life flashes before their eyes, are they really flying through time? Absolutely not. What might be happening is similar to a computer system. As you are cleaning out a computer, it scans through every folder to delete files, and similarly your mind might be going through the final scan.

When do you die though? We can be brought back from heart failure or a “dead state”, but isn’t death absolute? Maybe death is when your body’s energy (soul) leaves the physical body. In the early 1900’s there was a scientist by the name of Dr. Duncan MacDougall. He conducted a controversial experiment where he would weigh a dying persons body. At the exact moment of death, he noted that the person lost exactly 21 grams of weight. It is considered controversial because scientists rarely acknowledge anything they can’t study or prove. Skeptics say that the weight lost is the result of the deceased releasing their bowels. My response is that the released bowels would still be on the scale and would certainly not cause any weight to be dropped. However, it was his conclusion that the human soul was a measurable thing and it weighed 21 grams; the same weight as five nickels.

Life is about the journey, not the destination. We should not be concerned what awaits us on the other end or even if there is another side to this. The only people that would know, are those that have “passed on” and experienced death. Don't worry about having a life after death, worry about having a life before death. When do we die? I feel we are dead when we cease to exist and our soul becomes part of the bigger picture. There is an old rule in science that states that energy cannot be stopped or destroyed, only transferred. What is the soul if not the energy source of the body? When that soul becomes part of all the energy that is the universe (heaven, hell, shebalba, whatever you want to call it) we will know. I will leave you with the words of the wise Penn Jillette; “But I could be wrong.”