Description:
"Palavali skillfully dissects the evidence and excises the fallacious arguments impacting the illusion of a transcendent soul." -Dan Barker, author of Godless and copresident of the Freedom From Religion Foundation
For centuries, human beings have reported awe-inspiring cases of out-of-body and near-death experiences. These stories include countless fantastical claims, from floating over one's own body to traveling to the pearly gates of heaven, that seem almost too good to be true-and maybe they are.
In Searching for Soul, neurosurgeon Dr. Vivekanand Palavali dissects mysticism, religiosity, spirituality, and twenty-first-century neuroscience on the nature of near-death and out-of-body experiences, taking the reader on a journey through history, heaven, and the heart of the human mystery. Through anecdotes, philosophical history, religious research, and modern-day neuroscience, Dr. Palavali aims to ask and answer the age-old question: What is soul?
Brief description: Dr. Vivekanand Palavali is a brain surgeon by profession with thirty years' experience and an author and documentary filmmaker by passion. He is the author of A Mindful Life: A Brainsurgeon's Personal Experiences and Philosophical Reflections on Living Life Fully and Bitter Pill: America and Healthcare in America. He produced four documentary feature films pertaining to the neuroscience of mysticism, religiosity, and issues of healthcare disparity. Two of his documentary films, "Creator of God: A Brain Surgeon's Story" and "Bitter Pill: America and Healthcare in America" have garnered best documentary awards in film festivals. He is a secular and scientific humanist and has given presentations at American Humanist Association conferences as well as Skeptics in the Pub and Center for Inquiry meetings. He enjoys oil painting, world travel, nature, philosophy, and science.
Review Quotes:
"At last, a neurosurgeon who explains the apparently mystical and religious experiences people have near death using the best science we have. . . . Read it for illumination and inspiration!" -Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine, author of Heavens on Earth
"Dr. Palavali, a physician expert on brain function, provides a highly readable and authentic account of experiences that touch the most profound human experiences." -Kevin Nelson, MD, neurologist, author of The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain
"What really sets this book apart are Dr. Palavali's personal experiences, combined with a sense of wonder, as well as a fascinating integration of multiple philosophical systems, with religious concepts of soul and life after death from many different religions. . . ." -Dr. G. M. Woerlee, anesthesiologist and author of Mortal Minds: The Biology of Near-Death Experiences
"A must-read for those interested in understanding and evaluating supernatural claims related to a soul, spirit, or consciousness surviving our lives. . . . Dr. Palavali's conclusions will broaden understanding, open the doors to insights, and leave readers equipped to better live their lives." -Roy Speckhardt, author of Creating Change Through Humanism, president of the Humanist Foundation of the American Humanist Association (AHA), past executive director of the AHA