Dr. Susan Blackmore is a well regarded scientist and skeptic of psi phenomenon, OOBs and the afterlife. Apparently, she began her studies into the paranormal, and then concluded after many years of study and experimentation that she had found no evidence for the continuation of consciousness.
I am enclosing a link to an article from her website which details why, several years ago, she gave up on studying the afterlife and paranormal events. I think it is worth a read, because the reader gets the distinct feeling that she is truly sincere and not a skeptic for the sake of being "contrary."
http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:sC5g-uyu4LMJ:www.susanblackmore.co.uk/Chapte...The fascinating part of this paper is how she describes that upon failing her well designed tests of the paranormal, those who believed in their "powers," refused to accept the results, and rationalized why they failed to show that they could do what they said they would. Paradoxically, they called her (the investigator) "closed minded" for not accepting that they would be right.
I bring this paper up, and the questions it raises specifically with regard to Don's requests for more "verification" of afterlife experiences on the earth plane.
While I myself believe in the survival hypothesis of the soul after death, I must admit a certain admiration for the Susan Blackmores out there, who are trying to scientifically assess various claims and see if they can be reproduced or shown conclusively to be "real" or something that happened as a matter of pure chance. Of course, there are many perspectives on this discussion, the least of which is agreeing on what is "real," and whether or not reproducible physical evidence can ever prove a spiritual phenomenon.
Matthew