Eben Alexander III, M.D.and Karen Newell
After decades as a physician and teacher at Harvard Medical School and elsewhere, renowned academic neurosurgeon Dr. Eben Alexander thought he knew how the brain, mind, and consciousness worked. A transcendental near-death experience (NDE) during a week-long coma from an inexplicable brain infection changed all of that – completely. Since his NDE, Dr. Alexander has dedicated himself to sharing information about near-death experiences and other spiritually-transformative experiences, and what they teach us about consciousness and the nature of reality. He continues to promote further research on the unifying elements of science and spirituality, and encourages people to be inspired by the power of unconditional love in their daily lives and in their work in the community.
Dr. Eben Alexander spent over 25 years as an academic neurosurgeon, including 15 years at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital, the Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. Over those years he personally dealt with hundreds of patients suffering from severe alterations in their level of consciousness. Many of those patients were rendered comatose by trauma, brain tumors, ruptured aneurysms, infections, or stroke. He thought he had a very good idea of how the brain generates consciousness, mind and spirit.
In the predawn hours of November 10, 2008, he was driven into coma by a rare and mysterious bacterial meningo-encephalitis of unknown cause. He spent a week in coma on a ventilator, his prospects for survival diminishing rapidly. On the seventh day, to the surprise of everyone, he started to awaken. Memories of his life had been completely deleted inside of the coma, yet he awoke with memories of a fantastic odyssey deep into another realm – more real than this earthly one! His older son advised him to write down everything he could remember about his journey, before he read anything about near-death experiences, physics or cosmology. Six weeks later, he completed his initial recording of his remarkable journey, totaling over 20,000 words in length. Then he started reading, and was astonished by the commonalities between his journey and so many others reported throughout all cultures, continents and millennia. His journey brought key insights to the mind-body discussion and to our human understanding of the fundamental nature of reality. His experience clearly revealed that we are conscious in spite of our brain – that, in fact, consciousness is at the root of all existence.
His story offers a crucial key to the understanding of reality and human consciousness. It will have a major effect on how we view spirituality, soul and the non-material realm. In analyzing his experience, including the scientific possibilities and grand implications, he envisions a more complete reconciliation of modern science and spirituality as a natural product.
He has been blessed with a complete recovery and shares his most powerful, life-changing story in his book, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife (2012), which debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list and remained in the top ten for over a year. His second book, The Map of Heaven: How Science, Religion and Ordinary People are Proving the Afterlife (2014), explores humankind’s spiritual history and the progression of modern science from its birth in the seventeenth century, showing how we forgot, and are now at last remembering, who we really are and what our destiny truly is. His third book, co-authored with Karen Newell, was released in 2017. Living in a Mindful Universe: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Heart of Consciousness, explains his journey and insights since his near-death experiences (NDE), with suggested practices for individuals to use in order to reap the benefits of an awakening in their own personal lives. His story was featured in a series of peer-reviewed medical articles about NDEs in Missouri Medicine (2015), now published as the book The Science of Near-Death Experiences (edited by John C. Hagan III, 2017). It concludes with his chapter, “Near-Death Experiences, The Mind-Body Debate, and The Nature of Reality.”
A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Alexander received his medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine in 1980. He taught neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School in Boston for fifteen years, and has performed over 4,000 neurosurgical operations. During his academic career he authored or co-authored over 150 chapters and papers in peer reviewed journals, authored or edited five books on radiosurgery and neurosurgery, and made over 230 presentations at conferences and medical centers around the world.
Since Proof of Heaven was released in 2012, he has been a guest on The Dr. Oz Show, Super Soul Sunday with Oprah Winfrey, ABC-TV’s 20-20 and Good Morning America, FOX-TV’s FOX & Friends, and his story has been featured on the Discovery Channel and the Biography Channel. He has been interviewed for over 400 national and international radio and internet programs and podcasts. His books are available in over 40 countries worldwide, and have been translated into over 30 languages.
See more at ebenalexander.com
Karen is Co-founder, Sacred Acoustics. As an innovator in the emerging field of brainwave entrainment audio meditation, Karen empowers others in their journeys of self-discovery. Using Sacred Acoustics recordings, she teaches how to enter and engage your own consciousness in order to connect to inner guidance, achieve inspiration, improve wellness and develop intuition.
Her lifelong interest in ancient cultures and sacred sites catalyzed her drive to understand the purpose of our existence. She became fascinated with esoteric spiritual texts and sought alternate explanations for humanity’s collective history. In her search for answers, it was clear that direct experience is crucial. She was intrigued by accounts of ancient mystery schools, where initiates were led through a series of trials to learn the secrets of the universe. With no modern mystery school to attend, she enrolled in hands-on experiential courses to investigate and develop such skills as lucid dreaming, astral travel, telepathy, remote viewing, self-hypnosis, and different forms of energy healing, which bolstered her strong sense of inner knowing and alignment to her higher nature.
With focused dedication, she evaluated different theories and techniques through experiments in her daily life. Using this body of personal evidence, she cultivated a personal knowing, not only of the reality of the spiritual realm, but also a facile expertise in living that life of daily connection with universal consciousness. Among her greater attributes is the rare skill of discernment, of being able to separate the wheat from the chaff in navigating a pathway towards truth.
Meditation and heart awareness were central elements to her many different subjects of study. Her most successful forays into consciousness involved listening to sounds such as gongs, crystal bowls, and tuning forks. Recordings containing binaural beats were particularly effective at minimizing distracting thoughts and restlessness, allowing her to finally reach the expanded states of awareness she sought. Karen joined with Kevin Kossi to create original recordings unmatched by any others either of them had experienced. Together, they created Sacred Acoustics.
At international workshops presented with best-selling author Dr. Eben Alexander, Karen demonstrates key practices of consciousness exploration: heart awareness, intention, maintaining neutrality, emotional management and cultivating internal knowing. She is co-author with Dr. Alexander of their latest book, Living in a Mindful Universe: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Heart of Consciousness.
See more at sacredacoustics.com