Neurosurgeon says he reached 'heaven', saw 'Om' while in coma, shares proof of it being real

A neurosurgeon has claimed that he experienced what "heaven" was like after he slipped into a coma. Dr Eben Alexander, in his book, "Map of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon Explores the Mysteries of the Afterlife & The Truth About What Lies Beyond", talks about travelling through a "series of realms" which defied "all the known laws of science".

He calls his journey his "map of Heaven" where he says he had out-of-body experiences and angelic encounters. He also went on to talk about why he knew it was real and not mere hallucinations as he lay in a vegetative state on a hospital bed.

Alexander writes that he landed in a coma after contracting meningitis and his chances of survival were zero. He worked at the Lynchburg General Hospital in Virginia and was admitted there. He says he was in a "deep coma, a vegetative state, and all the higher functions of my brain were offline. Scans showed no conscious activity".

The coma continued for seven days and during this time, he says, his "consciousness went on a voyage through a series of realms, each one more extraordinary than the last".

He says he knows the "journey was not something happening inside my head."

Recalling what he went through after slipping into a coma, Dr Alexander said he "felt like being buried in earth", but he sometimes heard and saw, other entities. While he couldn't remember what it was like being human, he says that even there he was still questioning what was happening around him.

His other-worldly journey

Sometime later, he says he saw light coming from above, "a circular entity, emitting a beautiful, heavenly music" that he called the "Spinning Melody". It was "like a rip in the fabric" and he went through that rip, "up into a valley full of lush and fertile greenery, where waterfalls flowed into crystal pools."

Alexander says he witnessed "stunning blue-black velvety skies filled with swooping orbs of golden light" and heard angelic choirs produce "hymns and anthems far beyond anything I had ever encountered on earth".

After reaching what he calls "the Core, that deepest sanctuary of the Divine — filled with infinite inky blackness", he encountered the "infinitely powerful, all-knowing deity". He says he later called it Om, because of the sound vibrating through that realm.

He says throughout his journey he had a guide, a beautiful woman he had never seen before, whose gaze led to an "abundance of emotion" which was neither romantic love nor friendship.

How he was sure it was all real

Meanwhile, on Earth, he suddenly regained consciousness after seven days. He says he had forgotten his past life and had to learn everything from scratch. Slowly, over weeks, his knowledge came back.

Dr Alexander, who was adopted as a child, had a real sister named Betsy who had passed away. He had never seen her. Months after he recovered, a relative emailed him a photo of Betsy. He immediately recognised her as the same woman he saw as his guide in the other world.

This photo, he says, confirmed that what he had experienced was real.