Have you ever experienced something out of the ordinary? Most of the time life seems to follow certain rules. You drop a glass and it shatters on the floor! That’s the law of gravity in action. But then there are things we cannot explain easily. An example is consciousness.
How does the brain produce consciousness, and does consciousness reside entirely within the brain? What happens during a near-death experience when the heart stops and normal brain function is severely disrupted? How can we see and hear things if we are anesthetized, unconscious or “dead?”
What is the Nature of Consciousness?
We have conducted some intriguing interviews on The People’s Pharmacy nationally syndicated public radio show and podcasts. In 2011 we spoke with Bruce Greyson, MD, Sam Parnia, MD, PhD, and Melvin Morse, MD, about “The Nature of Consciousness.” In 2018 we interviewed Larry Dossey, MD, about “Premonitions in Health and Illness.” We will never forget Dr. Dossey’s description of a conversation with a colleague:
“I wouldn’t believe it, even if it were true.”
We had another amazing conversation with Dr. Bruce Greyson in 2021. Dr. Greyson is now Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the UVA School of Medicine. We spoke with him about his book After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond. You can listen to this interview with Dr. Greyson at this link:
Show 1249: How Near-Death Experiences Transform People’s Lives (Archive)
People who report near death experiences often find that their lives have changed permanently, with new values and no fear of death.
Just click on the arrow inside the green circle under Dr. Greyson’s photograph.
Now fast forward to September 26, 2026 and the most recent People’s Pharmacy radio show and podcast:
Show 1488: What Can Near-Death Experiences Teach Us About Consciousness?
Some experiences of people near-death are difficult to explain. Could they teach us about consciousness in ways experiments can’t?
We have just broadcast an interview with Dr. Marjorie Woollacott, PhD. She is an Emeritus Professor of Human Physiology and member of the Institute of Neuroscience at the University of Oregon. She is Research Director for the International Association of Near-Death Studies.
What Does “Terminal Lucidity” Have to Do with Consciousness?
You can find out by watching our podcast with Dr. Woollacott at this link on YouTube:
Our interview with Dr. Woollacott arose because of an article by Billy Brennan in the New York Times Magazine (July 15, 2026) titled, “Why Do Some Dementia Patients ‘Return’ Just Before They Die?”
The subtitle explained:
“As they near-death, some dementia patients recover mental faculties assumed to be long lost. Researchers want to know why.”
We were fascinated by the story Mr. Brennan related about an amazing conversation between Dr. Alexander Batthyany and his grandmother a few days before her death. What made this telephone call so extraordinary was that Dr. Batthyany’s grandmother had dementia and had not carried on a conversation with family members for about a year. Watch the video to learn more about “terminal lucidity.” It is also called “paradoxical lucidity.”
The day before our broadcast, The Washington Post carried a story on September 25, 2026 by Margaret Hetherman titled:
“Some dementia patients grow lucid near the end. Scientists hope it’s a clue.”
“Accounts raise tantalizing questions about what happens inside a brain afflicted by dementia and whether cognitive abilities could possibly be restored.”
How can neuroscientists explain terminal or paradoxical lucidity? Many of these patients have been uncommunicative for years. Then, all of a sudden, they are talking and making sense. How can that happen? I recently had an opportunity to talk with nurses and “death doulas.” These are people who provide support to those nearing the end of their lives. Just as there are “birth doulas,” who assist in the birth of a baby, so too, death doulas assist on our way out of this life.
During our conversation I asked these professionals if they had ever experienced anything unusual in the last days of someone’s life. They all jumped in with excitement because they affirmed that some hard-to-explain events often occurred during this transition.
Stories About Consciousness that Are Intriguing
During our interview with Dr. Woollacott, we heard about the stories of Pam Reynolds and Bettina Peyton, MD. We talked with Pam over two decades ago on The People’s Pharmacy radio show. She described what happened during her brain surgery. During that operation her heart was stopped and measurable electrical activity in her brain disappeared. Her eyes were closed, and yet she later described having ‘observed’ what took place during her complicated operation.
Dr. Peyton was bleeding out in the operating room. She “died” but her consciousness remained. Dr. Peyton was able to describe what happened in the OR during her near-death experience. You can read about it in Explore, May-June, 2021, and in the show notes for our interview with Dr. Woollacott at this link. Better yet, listen to Dr. Woollacott’s description during our podcast at this link.
Final Words:
What is consciousness? For many, it is as simple as the opposite of “unconscious.” In other words, you are awake and aware. But we think the concept of consciousness is far more complex. People who experience “terminal lucidity” at the end of their lives defy the understanding of neuroscientists who study severe dementia.
People who come close to death and are successfully resuscitated sometimes report that the experience changed them profoundly. How has their consciousness been modified by a near-death experience?
If you find these questions intriguing, we would love to hear from you. Please share your own experience in the comment section below. And if you are someone who “wouldn’t believe it even if it were true,” we would like to hear from you as well. Please let us know what you think of our podcast with Dr. Marjorie Woollacott.
One favor please…if you found our interview with Dr. Woollacott of interest, please share it with friends and family. You can refer them to the show notes at this link or suggest that they download the mp3, or listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. They could also subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Thank you for your support.
