The former, psychedelics.
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I should point out that Ponlop did say psychedelics can give a glimpse or taste. I forget the term he used. My impression from what he said was that he had just a single experience with them. I think he also said something to the effect that they are not suitable for regular use, or something to that effect. His basic message was that the Buddhist path is preferable in every way, so why not follow it.
I would also add I am a big Ponlop fan and I am currently reading his book Mind Beyond Death, which is amazing. So far, it is very much like Tenzin W.R.'s the Tibetan Yogas of Sleep and Dream, but I am finding a bit more resonance with Ponlop.
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WOW
I wish you would have shared this link in the original post.
I am so glad that you did share it because, I remember now, when I first watched the interview with Andrew and Eben, something seemed a little off about Eben, I could not put my finger on it at the time. I think it may have been the way he was answering Andrews questions, he would not give a direct answer, or his answer was completely unrelated to the question.
What I remember was a major red flag for me in the interview when he promoted his sound stuff. It did not seem genuine, he seemed like he was more out for profit, than out for teaching or promoting his message.
I cant believe that he tied for 1st place in medical malpractice lawsuits for his state (5 in under 10 years).
The fact that he changed that patients medical records and the dates is really disturbing.
I am glad you shared this article, because my intuition picked up a wierd vibe from Eben. Of all the interivews that I have watched of Andrew with people ( about 7), the Eben Alexander one was my least favorite. It may be that his vibe was very inauthentic, while the other people interviewed seemed to come from a genuine and very authentic place.
I hope this information gets passed on to Andrew. Seems like a disclaimer and link to the article you posted would be helpful for members and new members of this site. Would hate for people to go out and buy Ebens book and then find out about his medical malpractices problems only after they put $$$$$ in Ebens pockets.
āYes, I usually enjoy reading about info brought back from NDEs but dropped Ebens book about 1/2 way through. Interesting to read this stuff about his book after that.ā
You got Horse Sense my friend! I am glad you mentioned that.
I think people will always try to take advantage of things like this. The title is in itself a lie, there is no scientific means to prove Heaven. He did that because he knew it would sell lots of copies in certain populations.
NDEs I believe are real, and it is possible that not all of Ebens work is fiction. But when someone is trying to make a big profit off of their NDE, then you have to seriously question their motives and their narrative.
Perhaps it is Ebens Karma, for hurting so many people, to stop practicing medicine, and inspire faithful deeds that make people do more good behaviors. I dont know. Not sure if the article against him is 100% true and factual, but if it is, Ebens behavior was very sickening.
There was a TED talk on NDEs that was really really good. I will try to find it and post a link here.
"For me, Alexanderās story had/has a ring of truth based upon my own experiences. Some of the particulars I canāt personally relate to, but so what? Same goes for my wife. "
I agree 100%. Regardless of Ebens truth being a lie or not, dont throw the baby out with the bathwater. Dont lose the faith.
āI was told during my military training ābelieve little of what you read and half of what you seeā and youāll survive whatās coming. These days I can digest more, but I still need the occasional Alka-Seltzer.ā
Amen.
Kanye west has a similar quote in this masterpiece (watch the first 5min, it happens around the 4min mark:
Iām not sure if Andrew is aware of the Esquire piece, but it was his recommendation that lead me to read Proof of Heaven. He recommended it in response to a question I asked in a Q&A. Personally, I have just left the book and the author in the rear view mirror. There is just too much to learn in so little time.
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I really hope someone brings it to his attention. I feel like if the peice is true, there is a very strong probability that Eben is a SNAKE OIL salesman.
It sounds like you are not the only one who picked up on his con. Did you hear about Eben from this site? Or somewhere else?
I need to go back and rewatch the video interview. And I retract my earlier statement of:
I spoke without thinking. After reading the article it did bring back the initial memories of Skepticism that something was off. I foolishly disregarded that at the time. I think I let the ācredentialsā of a prestigious neurosurgeon cloud my judgement.
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One thing makes me sort of give an allowance re: the book. I passed it on to my mother. A few weeks later her sister was diagnosed with brain tumors and she passed way about two weeks later, after surgery. It was tragic and a huge blow to our family. I think the book helped my mother who is Catholic. I think it cushioned the blow and gave her, or reinforced a hopeful context. It seemed to be oddly coincidental, reading that book and then going through what the family did within a maters of a few weeks. In this one sense I suppose I was grateful for the book. For me though, I sill felt duped.
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Itās only one book and yet there are the testimonies of hundreds and thousands of other folks who have similar stories about their experiences, so one questionable one need not cancel the message! Iām glad your mom found comfort during that time and grateful that that book helped her then. Duped? If we indeed live on after this life then does it matter from where we get the messageābe it books (The Search for Bridey Murphy), movies (Ghost), comic books (Dr. Strange-the old comics, not this new crap), TV shows (Joan of Arcadia) or tons of social media? Itās a strong message.
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Precisely 
(My post must be atleast 20 characters long 
)
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Yes I agree with this point. I mentioned something similar in my above post. The fact that he may have done bad deeds does not automatically disqualify him from having a NDE or drug induced trace where he received messages from God.
I just believe from a business standpoint it may upset some members here, if they put money in the pockets of someone who they then find out to be a fraud.
Yes the message is a very powerful one, and if the book was published under the title of FICTION or medical fiction, like his last book, then I believe that it is ok.
If he did not provide a disclaimer in the book that said that he took liberties to alter facts and alter circumstances, and is selling the book as piece of Non-Fiction, then I have a big problem with that.
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By duped I donāt mean the NDE message, not at all. Iām not implying that part of the story be thrown out with the bath water. Iām 100% referring to the multiple medical mistakes and the lawsuits and the effort to conceal and the settlements and the differing accounts of his condition from those present, etcā¦ These are the polar opposite to what was presented of his image as a surgeon in the book. From just reading the book one might think he walked on water. Turns out he was treading through a lot of mud.
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Similar in a way with how many see Chƶgyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
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LOL thats an understatement.
How the hell do you fuse together 2 of the wrong vertibrae of a patient, and then lie about it and manipulate the records to try to hide it.
Sick.
I am 50/50 on this one.
The article said he read a book called āEvidence there is an Afterlifeā after his hospitalization. He basically stole that title, and manipulated it so it would catch peoples eyes.
Its possible he just tweeked others experiences in ways he knew the public would eat up.
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Well he was in a coma. That much seems clear. But now that you mention it, he said his son told him he had to write out his whole experience before reading up on the literature on NDEs. This could be an effort to deflect any claims he merely confabulated based on otherās accounts. That hadnāt occurred to me before.
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Similar in a way with how many see Chƶgyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
Trungpa is surely a complicated topic. I would assume Andrew has commented on him before. Are you familiar with anything heās said in reference to Trungpa?
No I have not heard or read anything about him. I am a Novice. Do you have any links, or can you explain what happened?
From the article it said he was also heavily heavily medicated (morphine?) on drugs to calm him down because he would not stop screaming and thrashing.
Not saying that drugs donāt offer a glimpse into the spiritual world, but it could have just been a drug induced trip.
I think the article said the coma was a medically induced coma. (thatās where the heavy sedation came into play)
He has mentioned some things but nothing specific comes to mind. He quotes Trungpa a lot, as do many others, but Andrew really hasnāt had any specific discussions about him that Iāve heard. He does talk about the differences between waking up and growing up, and that many of the Tibetans, unfamiliar to the ways of the West, have had particular problems with the growing up vector. He mentioned that Pema Chodron values Trungpa very highly, and my meditation teacher, one of his former students, also speaks highly of him.
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Wikipedia is a good run down on Trunga (from my uneducated perspective). He is almost universally held in high regard, but there is, as with E.A., the āother sideā. With Trungpa, I havenāt heard a good discussion on how the two side were reconciled with one highly realized individual. Iām not saying a good analysis doesnāt exist. I just havenāt devoted much time to looking into it.