A man who experienced death for seven minutes has shared what he witnessed while unconscious. The astrophysics PhD academic, who had been researching the work of German astronomer Johannes Kepler, was hospitalised last March with shortness of breath before suffering a lung haemorrhage and cardiac arrest.
During the 'code blue' emergency, it took doctors seven minutes to restart his heart. He also suffered a stroke due to lack of oxygen to the brain. Recounting his experience on Reddit, he said: 'I woke up intubated and only semi-conscious for two days, then fully regained consciousness.'
He described seeing a series of three oval ellipses suspended in black space, each with a thickness like a ring. The first showed mountains, streams, forests and clouds, which later soured with a yellow tinge. The second was a hot ring of iron crumbling away, which he now believes corresponded to his cardiac arrest. The third was covered with beautiful pink and blue clouds, coinciding with his heart restarting.
The man noted that he could smell the iron from the second ellipse, but later realised blood can produce that scent, suggesting his brain linked physical room odours with hallucinations. He said: 'I'm not scared of dying, not in the least. Afraid of what comes before, sure, but nature makes dying easy.'
He explained that his experience likely reflected his subconscious mind latching onto the elliptical shape he had been studying in Kepler's work. 'That's all I saw. No tunnel of light or happy deceased family members welcoming me. I think that's dreaming, and dying reflects what happens to be most accessible in your mind during that time.' The only lasting effect is a slightly diminished short-term memory.
