NDE Reserach
While every NDE is different, The International Association for Near-Death Studies has provided us a basic example and research paper that follows, on Near Death Experiences.
Although most people who have come close to death say they remember nothing, a third or more may later report that “something happened.” That “something” might be a near-death experience, or an NDE.
No two NDE’s are identical, but within a group of experiences, a pattern becomes evident. The pattern (and any single experience) includes one or more of these things:
- Feeling that the “self” has left the body and is hovering overhead. The person may later be able to describe who was where and what happened, sometimes in detail.
- Moving through a dark space or tunnel.
- Experiencing intensely powerful emotions, ranging from bliss to terror.
- Encountering a light. It is usually described as golden or white, and as being magnetic and loving; occasionally it is perceived as a reflection of the fires of hell.
- Receiving some variant of the message “It is not yet your time.”
- Meeting others: may be deceased loved ones, recognized from life or not; sacred beings; unidentified entities and/or “beings of light”; sometimes symbols from one’s own or other religious traditions.
- A life review, seeing and re-experiencing major and trivial events of one’s life, sometimes from the perspective of the other people involved, and coming to some conclusion about the adequacy of that life and what changes are needed.
- Having a sense of understanding everything, of knowing how the universe works.
- Reaching a boundary – a cliff, fence, water, some kind of barrier that may not be crossed if one is to return to life. In some cases, entering a city or library.
- Rarely, receiving previously unknown information about one’s life – i.e., adoption or hidden parentage, deceased siblings.
- Decision to return may be voluntary or involuntary. If voluntary, usually associated with unfinished responsibilities.
- Returning to the body.
- Most NDE’s are pleasant, but others are deeply frightening.
The near-death experience (NDE) is among the most powerful experiences that a person can have, one of a family of experiences which may occur with or without being close to death. It may permanently alter a person’s perceptions of what is real and important.
One most extraordinary aspect of NDEs is that the underlying pattern seems unaffected by a person’s culture or belief system, religion, race, education, or any other known variable, although the way in which the NDE is described varies according to the person’s background and vocabulary. There is no evidence that the type of experience is related to whether the person is conventionally religious or not, or has lived a “good” or “bad” life according to his/her society’s standards (although an NDE often strongly affects how life is lived after the experience).
An experience may include the feeling of being out of the physical body, moving through a darkness or tunnel, encountering the presences of deceased loved ones and other entities, and an indescribable light or menacing darkness. Many people say they have glimpsed the pattern and meaning of life and the universe, or have been given information beyond ordinary human capacities. For most people, the experience is joyful beyond words, although others tell of unpleasant or terrifying experiences. When adequately understood, every type of NDE reveals issues of deep significance to the life of the individual and to humankind in general.
Medical technology may bring survivors, but science is not able to explain what happened in the process. Like all human experiences, the NDE no doubt has a biologically-based trigger; yet its impact is most often felt as a psychological or spiritual event. For people who believe that only physical events can be real, the NDE – or even the idea of such a thing – may be disturbing or seem ludicrous.
Many people believe that the NDE proves there is life after death, in a literal sense. To others who are more cautious, the experience is not “proof,” but it suggests that some aspect of human consciousness may be independent of the body and may survive physical death. To others, the NDE defines a value system based on care for others, knowledge, and service. Whether one sees the meaning of the NDE as religious or secular, there is much to learn.
For more information regarding Near Death Experiences please visit the IANDS website.