Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a psychiatrist and pioneer in the study of death and the dying process, profoundly transformed our understanding of what happens when a person dies. Beyond her extensive contributions to end-of-life care and acceptance of death, she courageously explored questions that many cultures and religions have posed for centuries: What happens to the spirit when the body is cremated?
A Radical Perspective on Death
Kübler-Ross dedicated much of her life to accompanying terminally ill patients, observing near-death experiences, and listening to accounts from those who were clinically dead but returned to life. From thousands of interviews and documented cases, she concluded that death is not an absolute end, but a transition to another form of existence or consciousness.
According to her studies, consciousness—or what many traditions call the spirit—continues to exist even after clinical death. In these states, people described intense sensations of peace, light, connection with deceased loved ones, and the perception of their own body from the outside.
