Heaven

== Neuroscience ==
Many [[neuroscientist]]s and [[neurophilosophy|neurophilosophers]], such as [[Daniel Dennett]], believe that consciousness is dependent upon the functioning of the brain and death is a [[eternal oblivion|cessation of consciousness]], which would rule out heaven. Scientific research has discovered that some areas of the brain, like the [[reticular activating system]] or the [[thalamus]], appear to be [[necessity and sufficiency|necessary]] for consciousness, because [[disorders of consciousness|dysfunction of or damage to these structures]] causes a loss of consciousness.<ref name="auto">{{Cite book |last=Dennett |first=D. C. |title=Consciousness explained |date=1991 |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |isbn=0-316-18065-3 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |language=en-us |oclc=23648691}}</ref>

In ''[[Inside the Neolithic Mind]]'' (2005), Lewis-Williams and Pearce argue that many cultures around the world and through history neurally perceive a tiered structure of heaven, along with similarly structured [[Inferno (Dante)|circles of hell]]. The reports match so similarly across time and space that Lewis-Williams and Pearce argue for a neuroscientific explanation, accepting the percepts as real neural activations and subjective percepts during particular [[altered states of consciousness]].

Many people who come close to death and have [[near-death experience]]s report meeting relatives or entering "the Light" in an otherworldly dimension, which shares similarities with the religious concept of heaven. Even though there are also reports of distressing experiences and negative [[life review|life-reviews]], which share some similarities with the concept of hell, the positive experience of meeting or entering "the Light" is reported as an immensely intense feeling of a state of love, peace and joy beyond human comprehension. Together with this intensely positive-feeling state, people who have near-death experiences also report that consciousness or a heightened state of awareness seems as if it is at the heart of experiencing a taste of "heaven".<ref>
Jorgensen, Rene. ''Awakening After Life.'' BookSurge, 2007 {{ISBN|1-4196-6347-X}}.
</ref>