Is heaven real? Neurosurgeon says he was there for a week.

Dr. Eben Alexander, a neurosurgeon who has taught at Harvard University and other prestigious schools, says he now believes in the afterlife following a near-death experience.  Alexander describes heaven as he experienced it in his new book "Heaven is Real: A Doctor's Experience of the Afterlife."

Alexander describes himself as a Christian who never fully believed in an afterlife until he had what he says is a near death experience. He says that he spent a week in heaven in 2008, when he was in a coma after contracting bacterial meningitis. According to Alexander, based on our current understanding of the brain, he should not have experienced any kind of consciousness while in the coma.

The doctor says that while consciously experiencing heaven, he was floating around with transparent beings who said things like "You have nothing to fear" and "You are loved and cherished, dearly and forever."

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D. Beeksma

One of the growing crowd of American "nones" herself, Deborah is a prolific writer who finds religion, spirituality and the impact of belief (and non-belief) on culture inspiring, fascinating and at times, disturbing. She hosts the God Discussion show and handles the site's technical work. Her education and background is in business, ecommerce and law.

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