In early 1988, the British neuropsychiatrist Peter Fenwick discovered himself drowning in letters from individuals who believed that they had survived an encounter with demise.
“I slowly floated down a tunnel, not afraid in any means however trying ahead to one thing,” one man wrote to him. “When it got here I used to be completely at peace and going in direction of probably the most great gentle. Imagine me, it was nice. No worries, issues or something, simply great.”
In one other letter, a lady described strolling down a rustic lane and coming upon golden gates.
“Inside was probably the most lovely backyard, no garden, path or anything, however flowers of each form,” she wrote. “People who attracted me most have been Madonna lilies, delphiniums and roses, however there have been many, many extra.”
The letters have been amongst greater than 2,000 that Dr. Fenwick acquired shortly after he appeared in a BBC documentary, “Glimpses of Death,” during which he commented on the near-death visions of people that had apparently briefly died, or practically died, after which come again to life.
“These letters have been written by individuals who had by no means, ever earlier than advised anybody about their experiences,” Dr. Fenwick stated in a 2012 lecture at TEDxBerlin. “Why? As a result of they’re too frightened. They advised it to their wives or their husbands; they stated they weren’t . They advised it to their associates; they stated, ‘You’re mad.’”
However Dr. Fenwick, an skilled on consciousness, was keenly . Possessing a extra scientifically open thoughts than lots of his friends, he had begun finding out near-death experiences — a contentious topic in neuroscience — within the mid-Nineteen Seventies. He believed that consciousness existed past bodily demise, and he thought the letters would assist strengthen his place.
Dr. Fenwick despatched the letter writers a prolonged questionnaire to categorize their experiences. He offered his findings, alongside excerpts from the letters, in “The Reality within the Gentle: An Investigation of Over 300 Close to-Loss of life Experiences” (1995), which he wrote together with his spouse, Elizabeth Fenwick. The e-book established him as a number one authority in near-death research.
Dr. Fenwick died on Nov. 22 at his residence in London, his daughter Annabelle Fenwick stated. He was 89.
“The Reality within the Gentle” revealed startling similarities among the many letter writers. Greater than 50 p.c of them reported touring in a tunnel. Seventy-two p.c noticed a vibrant gentle. Practically 40 p.c met somebody they knew, together with deceased family members. Strikingly, 72 p.c reported that that they had made the choice to return.
A lady who had been in a horrific automobile accident recalled being “inspired by a robust feeling to enter the sunshine” by a tunnel.
“I used to be peaceable, completely content material, and I understood I used to be born on earth and knew the reply to each thriller — I used to be not advised, I simply knew, the sunshine held all of the solutions,” she wrote. “Then there was sudden confusion. I had to return to the tunnel shortly; one thing was unsuitable.”
Abruptly, she continued, “I regained my physique and all feelings. I panicked and felt ache, large ache, throughout my physique. I consider I died for a short while.”
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Neuroscientists have for many years dismissed near-death experiences, or N.D.E.s, as signs of anoxia — an absence of oxygen flowing to the mind. Dr. Fenwick rebutted that evaluation in “The Reality within the Gentle,” pointing to the instruction of pilots.
“Pilots in coaching repeatedly bear acute anoxia in simulators to ensure they will get their oxygen masks on in time,” Dr. Fenwick wrote. “Those that fail to take action do not need N.D.E.s; they both go unconscious or change into so confused that they attempt to land their planes on clouds.”
He additionally dismissed one other widespread critique of near-death experiences: that they’re run-of-the-mill hallucinations, like these skilled by folks with excessive fevers.
“However describing it as a hallucination does nothing to elucidate the underlying mechanism and leaves lots of the standard questions unanswered,” Dr. Fenwick wrote. “Why ought to everybody have roughly the identical hallucination in the identical circumstances? And why ought to it appear so actual?”
Peter Brooke Cadogan Fenwick was born on Might 25, 1935, in Nairobi, Kenya, the place his father, Anthony Fenwick, had been despatched by his household in northern England to farm espresso. His mom, Betty (Darling) Fenwick, was an Australian-born doctor and director of surgical procedure at Nairobi Hospital.
Peter was a curious and mischievous boy. He appreciated to construct issues, together with the occasional small bomb. One night, whereas his dad and mom have been getting ready to host dinner visitors, Peter quietly laid a path of gunpowder across the desk in hopes of lighting it for leisure. His father disrupted the plot.
“I believe he was clearly one among these children who’s extremely vibrant however possibly not all the time so sensible at studying the room,” his daughter Annabelle stated in an interview. She added, “He did issues as a result of he may.”
After graduating from Stowe Faculty, a prestigious boarding establishment within the English countryside, Dr. Fenwick studied pure sciences on the College of Cambridge. He graduated in 1957 after which continued his research there, receiving his medical diploma in 1960.
Dr. Fenwick aspired to change into a mind surgeon, however he modified his thoughts after observing a mind surgical procedure.
“I abruptly realized that in case you have been a mind surgeon you seemed down a deep, darkish gap into the mind, and I may see there was no enjoyable in that,” he told the British newspaper The Telegraph final yr. “I noticed I didn’t wish to be a neurosurgeon, I wished to be a neuropsychiatrist so I may speak to folks and never have them unconscious whereas I seemed into that deep, darkish gap.”
He joined Maudsley Hospital in London, the biggest psychiatric educating hospital in Britain, the place he at first specialised in epilepsy. He additionally studied sleepwalking, desires and meditation. (One in all his first analysis topics in meditation was George Harrison of the Beatles.)
In 1975, the American thinker and psychiatrist Raymond A. Moody Jr., printed “Life After Life,” one of many first books by a doctor about near-death experiences. It was a world finest vendor, however Dr. Fenwick, like many different readers, was skeptical concerning the deathbed visions recounted within the e-book.
Then, the subsequent yr, a affected person of his advised him that he had seen a vibrant gentle by a tunnel whereas experiencing near-fatal issues throughout coronary heart surgical procedure.
“I used to be ready to have a look at him, focus on it with him and see actually that this was no psychobabble — it was an actual expertise,” Dr. Fenwick advised The Telegraph. “This was enormously essential.”
Dr. Fenwick was a founding father of the Worldwide Affiliation for Close to-Loss of life Research UK. He was additionally president of the Scientific and Medical Community, a company that helps research into the connections between science, philosophy and spirituality.
Along with his daughter Annabelle, Dr. Fenwick is survived by his spouse, Elizabeth (Roberts) Fenwick, with whom he wrote 4 books along with “The Reality within the Gentle,” together with “The Artwork of Dying” (2008), concerning the technique of demise; one other daughter, Natasha Lowe; a son, Tristam; and 9 grandchildren.
In “The Reality within the Gentle,” Dr. Fenwick revealed that 82 p.c of the folks he surveyed have been much less afraid of dying because of their near-death experiences, and that 42 p.c reported being extra religious. Forty-eight p.c, he wrote, have been “satisfied” there was “survival after demise.”
“When you’ve had this expertise you’re modified, whether or not you prefer it or not,” he told The Telegraph.
His perception that there was demise of the physique, however not the person individual, erased any worry he had about dying.
“Really,” he stated, “I’m trying ahead to it.”
