Dwarf Star
This is a current work in progress.
Like oppositional mirrors, life and death bloom in and out of each other, into infinity. Each new person, a tiny universe, awakening. And in every death a dwarf star glows on.
I was 11 when my lungs completely shut down. I was figure skating. I didn't see a bright light or float above but I did feel my body fall away from myself, piece by piece. Touch first. Then sound. And then sight. It was like being zipped into a spacesuit. The suit became a new skin, one I was no longer connected to, one I couldn't feel through, hear through, see through. It became a barrier to the outer world as I disconnected. Sealed up in my little capsule, pushing off on my final space walk.
No-one knows if there is a soul or life after death but there is science supporting my experience. Near death the body shuts down all non-essential organs in order to make any remaining energy/oxygen/etc last as long as possible.
I first learned about this phenomenon on Radiolab, one of my favourite science podcasts. Listen to them talk about Fight or Flight in this fascinating and beautiful episode on Stress.