10 Responses to Listen to this remarkable heart surgeon riff on love, connection and the soul

1. Tropical Flowering Zone/Maria says:

   February 19, 2014 at 12:23 am

   I watched the video, and I do believe in this ‘ soul’ notion, because I personally experienced it. Not at the level she has with heart transplants, but at other levels when I worked with hospice patients when I was an OT. It’s so difficult to explain, but I will try. The dying patient has the purest soul form there is because he/she has already transcended their material life and are at the very brink of losing it; so they have this capability of looking “over” things; they are already ‘beyond’ the mere physical body that still ties them to life. The dying patient has already crossed over to the acceptance stage and he/she no longer has any fears and is ready to accept the transition. They are in a way the most sublime souls. Hospice is still my favourite area of practice (although I’m not practicing right now).
   • Eliza Waters says:

     February 19, 2014 at 12:55 am

     Maria, thanks for sharing your experience in hospice, sounds quite profound to be witness to transition. It is something we don’t face very often, but it comes to us all in the end.
2. ladyfi says:

   February 19, 2014 at 4:24 am

   You have the best of both worlds!
   • Tropical Flowering Zone/Maria says:

     February 19, 2014 at 3:36 pm

     I really like the notion of “both worlds”. We are indeed fortunate to be alive, in the sense that we are born (and even if some may die young, sick children for example), and die, because we have indeed inhabited both worlds. Life is a journey which we enter by biological means (I’m not religious in this matter), but depart from at any age or moment. When we do leave, we take these “two worlds” with us. Even children dying at very young ages have been born at least for a moment to breath air and live in the sensory realm of life. Even those dying in prisons, at very old ages, reconcile at one point or another, with life. It is the gift of “both worlds”, as you say, even when some may commit suicide, also, they too depart with a thankful heart (suicide is forbidden in Buddhist and other religious traditions), because they also know they are transitioning even when done with their own choice. Choosing one’s life becomes, evidently, more imperative, than choosing one’s death, although sometimes this process has to reversed with people who are terminally ill and choose humane euthanasia in countries where it’s legal (in U.S. it’s legal in the state of Oregon). Either way, we humans, definitely get to experience “both worlds”.
     • Tropical Flowering Zone/Maria says:

       February 19, 2014 at 4:22 pm

       Correction: “Euthanasia is illegal in all states of the United States. Physician aid in dying (PAD), or assisted suicide, is legal in the states of Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Vermont. The key difference between euthanasia and PAD is who administers the lethal dose of medication. Euthanasia entails the physician or another third party administering the medication, whereas PAD requires the patient to self-administer the medication and to determine whether and when to do this.”-Wikipedia
     • Eliza Waters says:

       February 19, 2014 at 5:12 pm

       Thanks, Maria. Your comments are informative, thoughtful and insightful – your input is appreciated.
3. mk says:

   February 19, 2014 at 3:41 pm

   Thank you Eliza for sharing that video. I love what the surgeon said – we don’t know how many heartbeats we’re allotted, so we must cherish each one.

   Her comments on the soul, and the comment above, remind me of the book by Dr. Eben Alexander on his own passing & return. It is profound, inspiring, and transformative.
   • Eliza Waters says:

     February 19, 2014 at 5:09 pm

     I read that book also, (as well a few others that deal with NDEs). To me, the experiences of so many different people all point to a truth that resonates with me, making me a firm believer in the soul being who we really are. What she said about the transition is so true, once one passes, the body is no longer the person we knew. They are gone and an empty shell is left behind.
4. Michael Genford says:

   February 23, 2014 at 1:45 pm

   Awesome video, Eliza. Thanks!
   • Eliza Waters says:

     February 23, 2014 at 2:30 pm

     My pleasure, it was awesome, wasn’t it? Have a great Sunday.

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