And we need that focus by our brain because we are biological creatures and we have to live.

And we would have difficulty getting food and getting rest and taking care of the normal chores of being a living human being each day

if we were constantly in this expansive spiritual world.

So we have to focus in the mundane world, and that's what the

brain helps us do. But the brain focuses the mind. It doesn't generate the mind.

ID, the future, a podcast about evolution and intelligent design.

Does the brain explain the mind completely?

And what can phenomena like terminal lucidity and near-death experiences reveal about the

relationship between mind and brain?

Welcome to Idy the Future.

I'm your host, Andrew McDermid.

Today I welcome back neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Agnor, co-author with Denise O'Leary of the recent book,

The Immortal Mind, a neurosurgeon's case for the existence of the soul.

And I also welcome Alexander Batiani, a leading researcher on terminal lucidity,

and author of the 2023 book, Threshold, Terminal Lucidity and the Border

Between Life and Death. Michael, Alexander, welcome back.

Thank you, Andrew. Thank you, for you.

Well, in the first half of our conversation, we defined terminal lucidity and explored

why it's so puzzling. Today, we'll look at how it relates to near-death experiences,

and we'll ask a deeper question, what does this phenomenon suggest about the nature of the human mind?

Now, Mike, some have suggested that things like low oxygen or high carbon dioxide might explain episodes of clarity near death.

As a neurosurgeon who's treated those conditions,

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