Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor - NDE, spiritual revelation or system malfunction?

I came across this stunning video today:

Stroke of insight: Jill Bolte Taylor on TED.com

Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story of recovery and awareness -- of how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.

Why you should listen to her

One morning, a blood vessel in Jill Bolte Taylor's brain exploded. As a brain scientist, she realized she had a ringside seat to her own stroke. She watched as her brain functions shut down one by one: motion, speech, memory, self-awareness ...

Amazed to find herself alive, Taylor spent eight years recovering her ability to think, walk and talk. She has become a spokesperson for stroke recovery and for the possibility of coming back from brain injury stronger than before. In her case, although the stroke damaged the left side of her brain, her recovery unleashed a torrent of creative energy from her right. From her home base in Indiana, she now travels the country on behalf of the Harvard Brain Bank as the "Singin' Scientist."

Was part of the experience a NDE and realization of the spiritual or a mere hallucination induced by a brain malfunction? I'd love to hear your opinions and whatever your interpretation I don't think anyone will be disappointed after watching.






Mod Edit: Title clarification - Jak

[edit on 3/4/08 by JAK]

I find this particularly interesting due to the person involved here, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a Harvard-trained and published neuroanatomist who teaches at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Bloomington, Indiana. As the National Spokesperson for the Mentally Ill for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (Harvard Brain Bank), she travels the country as the Singin' Scientist. She is the Consulting Neuroanatomist for the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute. Since 1993, she has been an active member of NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness) and is currently the president of the NAMI Greater Bloomington Area affiliate.

...

Dr. Jill has dedicated her career to the advancement of postmortem research into the human brain and to the education of the public about the fragile, yet resilient, nature of this incredible organ.

The combination of her insight into the workings of the brain alongside her attention to detail as the experience occurred make this fascinating viewing.

I’ve been recommending “My Stroke of Insight” to everyone I know. It’s the best book I’ve read all year! You can get Jill's book from Amazon for a good discount.
Here's the link:
www.amazon.com...=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210709205&sr=8-4