The answer to this question would be the end to one of the issues that most worries and has worried the human being throughout its existence. I don't know if we will ever know the answer but I do know that science is trying to find out what happens to consciousness beyond death.
Specifically, it is the AWARE study (Awareness during resuscitation, "Consciousness during resuscitation"). This study is the first launched by Foundation ResearchHorizon, an independent charity that aims to provide scientific research support for understanding about the state of the human mind at the end of life.
The study is the result of a multidisciplinary collaboration of international scientists and doctors who have joined forces to study the relationship between mind and brain during clinical death, and is led by Dr. Sam Parnia, a world-renowned expert in the study of the human mind and consciousness during clinical death. The team work in collaboration with more than 25 large medical centers throughout Europe, Canada and the United States.
Although the study of death has traditionally been considered a theological or philosophical subject, recent advances in medicine have finally allowed a scientific approach to understanding the ultimate mystery facing humanity. "Contrary to popular perception,"explains Dr. Parnia, «Death is not a specific moment. It is actually a process that begins when the heart stops beating, the lungs stop working, and the brain stops working. A medical condition called cardiac arrest, which from a biological point of view is synonymous with clinical death. "
“During cardiac arrest, all three criteria for death are present. Subsequently, there is a period of time, ranging from a few seconds to an hour or more, in which emergency medical efforts can be successful in restarting the heart and reversing the dying process. What people experience in this period of cardiac arrest offers a unique window of insight into the dying process. "
A series of recent scientific studies by independent researchers have shown that between 10 and 20 percent of people who go through cardiac arrest (and in conditions of clinical death) report lucid thinking processes, including memory , well they remember events that happened after death in detail.
"The highlight of these experiences", according to Dr. Parnia, 'Is that while studies of the brain during cardiac arrest have shown that there is no measurable brain activity, these testimonials have reported detailed insights to the contrary, that is, a high level of consciousness in the absence of detectable brain activity. If these claims can be objectively verified, the results could have profound implications not only for the scientific community, but for the way we understand life and death. "
During the AWARE study, doctors use the latest technologies to study the brain and consciousness during cardiac arrest. At the same time, the validity of out-of-body experiences, such as being able to see and hear during cardiac arrest, is also tested through the use of hidden messages that are not visible from the ground. In fact, 25 hospitals in the US and Europe have visual messages strategically placed near the ceilings of operating rooms. These messages are only visible when read from above.
The AWARE study, which began in 2008, is a long-term project and currently not finished.