The Seven Minute Theory

Observe & Ponder


Yesterday, I came across the meme above, which suggests that the human brain remains active for about seven minutes after death, replaying its most cherished memories.

The meme tugged at me in a way I hadn’t anticipated.

Seven minutes.

What if my most treasured memories, people, or events could replay in my mind as I left this glorious earth behind?

An instant replay at death.

I found the concept cathartically soothing and deeply reflective.

Unable to get the meme out of my head, I went on my usual Google search-rampage for more information.

According to my research, the “seven minutes” phenomenon stems from observations of the dying process during near-death experiences. When the heart stops, blood and oxygen stop flowing to the brain, but neurons don’t die immediately.

Studies on animals and recordings from the brains of dying humans have shown brief, intense bursts of electrical activity, known as gamma waves, during the brain’s shutdown phase.

Some scientists have observed brief bursts of brain activity just moments after death, resembling patterns associated with memory or dreaming.

The “seven minutes” concept holds that this final surge of neural activity—caused by oxygen deprivation and a flood of neurotransmitters—can trigger a dreamlike state or sudden, vivid, and fragmented recall of memories.

Other scientists are adamant that a seven-minute duration is questionable, arguing that the brain retains residual electrical energy for less than seven minutes before irreversible damage occurs. Yet they also acknowledge that the duration can vary depending on the circumstances.

The bottom line? No one really knows.

Neural activity after death is an unfounded mystery, and there is no way to know whether the seven-minute instant replay claim is true.

I know nothing about the validity of consciousness during the dying process, but I was intrigued by the possibility.

There is no conclusive, hard scientific evidence that the brain remains alive for seven minutes or for any length of time after death.

Yet I couldn’t stop fantasizing about it.

And hoping for it.

For my purposes, and at my age, the mere thought that at death, instead of being terrified right before dying, there is a possible miraculous opportunity to experience pure joy for seven long minutes stuck with me as I tried to sleep last night.

In my final moments, I would love an instant replay of the people and the memories I cherish most.

Who wouldn’t?

Which then prompted me to ask:

If I had only seven minutes to relive the best moments of my life, which memories would I choose?

Whom or what would I see?

Whose laughter would I hear?

Who would be holding me close?

What memory would flash before my eyes in the fleeting minutes before I faded into the unknown?

I was sleepless in New York, so I had countless hours to replay countless moments with countless precious somebodies in my head.

The idea of my brain replaying my best memories in those final moments before my death was as eerie as it was comforting.

I began instant-replaying some of my most glorious memories.

That night, we ran through the dark in R.I., then rolled around together in fits of laughter.

The one who loved snails and the one who preferred trucks and GI Joes.

The adoration in his eyes as we held hands and climbed the snowy hill to sled all the way down.

The way he pressed his beaming face against the boards of the ice rink when he saw me.

Her excitement as she told me that one of those adorable puppies was mine.

She preferred “DIAPES!”

Making roses together from tissues and a bobby pin.

Regrets, he had a few.

The goose poop was “everyway!”

The way she called out, “Teh? Teh?”

He was only one when he looked up at me as if no one else were in the room.

The saga of Pee Pants.

The big love I felt when he jumped into that puddle, which covered him in mud, and then he wrapped his arms around me ever so tightly.

Once upon a time, there was AAA.

I winced, but lovingly, as she hurdled over the pews at the prayer service, exposing her diaper-wadded tights.

How peacefully he slept in my arms for hours and hours.

The vow we made never to reveal what happened in the hotel room with all of us girls.

Our constant texting during Storm Sandy continued until both our phones died.

He was adamant about “Not even in a tunnel.”

Her French lilt as she lovingly called me “Mon petit chou.”

The laughter that poured out of the two of them as I raced them through the snow in the pitch-black night on that neon toboggan.

The way he comforted me when I was at my lowest point.

The dozen roses he bought me with all of his allowance money for Mother’s Day.

How she looked forward to my reading the newspaper to her every day after school.

That day, I washed my hair in the rain.

They were all part of my seven-minute moments, and I didn’t even have to die to recall any of them!

I thought about the treasured people who had passed through my life and the countless stupendously joyful memories, many of which I had long since forgotten.

And honestly, the memories were so vivid, and I felt so present. And, surprisingly, they didn’t make me sad. They made me ecstatically happy.

There were so many people I hadn’t thought of in years. Displaced moments, scattered memories—some so sweet that I was shocked I had forgotten them.

I relived times in my life that never made it into my highlight reel, even though many of those moments defined my entire persona.

A random meme about seven minutes of replay at death was the reason I spent all night reliving many of my favorite memories of so many people I loved and still love.

Then I started wondering…

I wondered whether so many of those I thought about last night will ever know how deeply I care about them.

And I vowed to tell as many as I could.

I wondered whether those who now exist only in a paradise I hope to one day join know that I think about them all the time and that they will always hold a special place in my heart.

I wondered about those who are still here but not with me—whether they know how much I love them and, if they do, whether they care.

I wondered whether I would someday be part of someone’s seven minutes.

If only.

Bullies and Intimidators = Haters

Bullies

When asked to describe myself, my go-to response is:

You may not like what I have to say, but you’ll always know where I stand.

Which can often be a relationship-changer, and not always in a good way.

Expressing myself through words—written and spoken—has required immense resolve, and courage. As a result, I have my fair share of haters, mostly because they tried (and failed) to bully or intimidate me.

I’m not sure whether my haters actually hate me, secretly respect me, or are merely afraid that I will expose them and the truth.

Or maybe all of the above.

I have no choice but to push back against haters, mainly because I promised myself that my days of being bullied and intimidated were over a long time ago.

Now I have no choice but to stand up for what’s right—LOUD and proud, so that bullying or intimidating me will backfire on anyone who dares to try.

It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that bullies and intimidators = haters. And haters = chronic fault-finders who bully and intimidate others because they are insecure, jealous, and feel “less than” in their own lives.

As a result, when the bullies and intimidators, i.e., haters, try to come for me, I deliberately deploy my words to level the playing field. My intention is not to wield power or hold it over anyone, but to protect myself from those who try to wield power over me.

At my age, my thinking is threefold:

  • The haters can bully and intimidate me only if I let them.
  • What do I have left to lose that I haven’t already lost?
  • I can out-roar and out-charge the best of them.

I learned the hard way that being vulnerable in my words and actions can only take me so far. And sometimes people mistake my willingness to be vulnerable for a weakness—at their peril.

My courage to share my vulnerable side does not equate to timidity.

Rather, it is the opposite.

Yes, my courage helps me open up, be vulnerable, and share my weaknesses, but it can also bring out the charging bear in me.

You come for me and mine, and I come for you 2.0.

Don’t poke the bear.

Protecting myself and my loved ones with my voice and words is my forever armor, so bullies, intimidators = haters, beware.

And let’s be honest, no matter what I say or don’t say, haters will always try to stir the pot. That’s what they do.

So let them take their best shot. Let’s see how it works out for them. And if they choose to roar, they should brace for a thunderous echo.

Because the cost of hiding behind a carefully managed self is no longer an option for me, and hasn’t been for quite some time.

And anyway, I want to be the kind of writer—and woman—who isn’t afraid to write—or speak—about who I am, how I feel, and what I will and won’t tolerate.

I want to be remembered not only as a woman who uses words to expose my fragility but also as a warrior who uses them to challenge the hierarchy.

The kind of Teri-truth-telling that risks being vilified for using my not-so-nice words to put people who are legends in their own minds in their place, both written and spoken.

Not because I think I’m masterful at it, but as a raw, visceral presence, like “Don’t F with me because you’re not as tough or important as you think you are, which is why you have no power over me.”

Proverbs 28:15 warns that a wicked ruler over a poor people is like a roaring lion and a charging bear.

Reconciling Alienation and Estrangement

Family & Relationships,

I’m the newest member of a group focused on alienation and estrangement.

I’ve only attended two sessions, but I’m already on the road to healing, mainly because I no longer feel alone in the isolation of rejection.

I’ve already formed powerful connections with some in the group who, like me, are powerlessly disconnected, if that makes any sense.

By definition, reconciliation is the process of restoring harmony. Its primary purpose is to resolve conflicts, verify accuracy, and align differing data sets or views. It requires honest communication among the connected parties involved.

But what if there is no resolution?

What if restoration is an illusion?

What if reconciliation is irreconcilable?

At 73, I’ve learned that life is mostly about love and pain.

And connections.

And each connection is crucial to connecting all the dots.

Or not.

I liken estrangement to being unable to complete the popular children’s puzzle, “Connect the Dots.”

The incomplete result is that I’m unable to reveal or understand the hidden picture—deeper and more complex than any child’s puzzle.

Reconciliation may never happen for me, but now I know it’s not a measure of my worth. It took my daughter era, my mother era, my grandmother era, and my sisterhood era to figure that out. That’s a whole lot of eras.

Strength, resolve, acceptance, and personal healing might have to be enough for me to live out the rest of my years with some semblance of normality. Even though I fully recognize that there is nothing normal about alienation or estrangement.

Or that reconciliation might mean accepting that I will forever be in a state of ongoing distress to some degree.

That’s probably all I’m ever going to get.

But then I think about those beloved and precious dots out there. Those connections who may or may not know they’re part of my puzzle.

And then I’m right back where I started—on a road with no end.

Some say that hope is necessary to survive.

And I agree.

Some say the fear of missing out is the most painful part of estrangement.

But I disagree.

I don’t feel like I’m missing out.

I feel like a huge chunk of me is missing.

And I’m bleeding out.

Dream Interpretation

Observe & Ponder


I had three dreams this week, but I only remembered one sentence from each.

After each dream, the process was the same: I awoke, said the sentence aloud, and then scribbled it down in the dark.

February 23: Stuck in the valley of no.

February 25: She looked beyond all of it and said goodbye.

February 27: But the girl is always in there.

As I read and reread the three sentences this morning, I concluded that, in addition to dreams, they were also a collection of ideological musings and a dialogue between my conscious and unconscious mind.

Which got me thinking about Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Teri Schure’s theories on dreams.

In the early 1970s, I bought a used copy of Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams, a 1955 English translation. I have read and reread it countless times and still consult it whenever I analyze a dream.

The book, published in 1899, examines why we dream and why dreams matter in our psychological lives. In it, Freud presents his theory of the unconscious mind through dream analysis, arguing that dreams are disguised fulfillments of repressed wishes, often originating in the personal, repressed unconscious rooted in childhood experiences. Freud distinguishes between the manifest (remembered) and latent (hidden) dream content, using dream interpretation as a key to understanding the unconscious.

A few years after buying Freud’s book, I bought Man and His Symbols by Carl Jung. In his book, Jung argues that the world of the unconscious mind is as vital and as true a part of us as the conscious mind, and that both communicate through our dreams—those personal, integral expressions of our deepest selves.

Jung’s book and theories differ from Freud’s in that the concept of the unconscious mind, as revealed through dream analysis, has nothing to do with repressed desires or wishes.

According to Jung, dreams are unvarnished, spontaneous, and random messages from the unconscious that aim to balance the psyche, promote wholeness, and serve as a counterweight to the conscious mind and its attitudes. As such, dreams serve as a vehicle for communication and can help the dreamer integrate the conscious and the unconscious. This process involves accepting, respecting, accommodating, and learning to live in peace with both our conscious and unconscious selves.

Freud believed that dreams served as a façade, concealing deep, dark, suppressed secrets. Freud’s approach focused on past events from the personal unconscious and aimed to decode or make sense of repressed trauma. Freud also believed that dreams have a direct connection to past experiences.

Jung believed dreams were future-oriented, direct, and honest representations of the unconscious and that they provided fodder for conscious attitudes and were instrumental in resolving and balancing unfinished emotional issues.

I found the diverging opinions between their genius dream theories, as well as the personal relationship between Freud and Jung, fascinating.

When they first met in 1906, Freud, nearly twenty years older than Jung, was already well established and regarded as the “king” or “father” of psychoanalysis.

Born in 1856, Freud was the established mentor, while Jung, born in 1875, was considered the younger, rising colleague—often referred to as the “crown prince” or “son” of psychoanalysis.

Because of the age difference, their relationship often mirrored a father-son dynamic until their professional split around 1913, after which they never spoke again, leading to the development of two distinct schools of thought.

Jung felt that Freud’s emphasis on sexuality was too narrow and limiting. Rather than merely masking repressed desires, Jung believed that dreams used symbolic language to reveal personal truths, highlight mental and physical health issues, and offer guidance.

Freud respected Jung’s intellect but was annoyed by his refusal to serve as a “rubber stamp” for Freud’s theories. Some theorists argue that Freud and Jung parted ways because of homosexual feelings that destabilized their relationship.

I have always been skeptical of the reasoning behind Freud and Jung’s view that their theories were irreconcilable. So perhaps it is no surprise to me that the why and how of my dream process include elements of both theories.

There is a concept called “unfinished thoughts,” which is another theory about repressed (unconscious) and suppressed (conscious) memory. Every time our brain tries to repress or suppress intrusive thoughts, lingering worries, traumatic experiences, or anything the conscious or unconscious mind has not resolved, those experiences are encoded in memory. These memories and unwanted thoughts we try so hard to suppress and repress often resurface in our dreams, a phenomenon known as “dream rebound.”

Like Sigmund Freud, if I wake from a dream and remember it, I write it down so I can later try to make sense of its meaning, and I always add it to a Word document titled “Dreams” on my computer. On one eerie occasion, I had an immensely troubling nightmare, only to learn months later that someone I once loved had passed away on the same day I had the dream.

Like Carl Jung, I believe that my conscious and unconscious are distinct yet interacting parts of a single, unified psyche. I also believe that my dreams are messages from my unconscious that often influence my conscious life.

My dreams are complex and detailed and seem to last for hours, even though I know most dreams typically last between five and thirty minutes, and that it is possible to have four to seven dreams per night.

When my dreams aren’t long and drawn out, they often manifest as a single sentence. Or maybe they are long and drawn out, but when I wake up, the only thing I retain is a one-liner from the dream.

Here are some key concepts I have learned from Jung and Freud, along with my own repressed, suppressed, and unfinished thoughts about dreams:

  • My dreams often serve as a window into my unconscious mind, revealing my repressed hopes, desires, fears, and conflicts. My daytime rumination about stressful, negative, or unfinished life events manifests in my sleep.
  • Some of my dreams, disguised as fulfillments of my unconscious, repressed thoughts and memories, are often violent and aggressive. Thoughts I have intentionally and consciously suppressed or blocked out during the day tend to haunt and taunt me in my dreams.
  • My dreams are a continuation of my waking thoughts, in which my attempts to resolve, process, or make sense of unpleasant situations remain unfinished.

Like Freud, I believe my dreams often reflect my childhood experiences and help me process unmet emotional needs, anxieties, or traumas that were never properly addressed. For Freud, the truest interpretation of a dream must help the dreamer uncover hidden, repressed, and usually infantile wishes.

Like Jung, I believe my dreams often contain powerful, universal symbols that directly relate to my current life, emotions, and waking situation, and that they bridge the conscious and unconscious. For Jung, the truest interpretation of a dream must help the dreamer move forward in their life and personal development.

Circling back to the three sentences from my dreams, I see more clearly what they are trying to tell me. I also recognize distinct elements in them that Freud and Jung strongly believed in.

And when I put my three dream fragments together, they make all the sense in the world, from both a conscious and unconscious perspective:

Stuck in the valley of no, she looked beyond all of it and said goodbye. But the girl is always in there.