Near-Death Experience - NDE
A near-death experience (NDE) is the perception reported by a person who nearly died or who was clinically dead and revived. They are somewhat common, especially since the development of cardiac resuscitation techniques, and are reported in approximately one-fifth of persons who revive from clinical death. The experience often includes an out-of-body experience. Some people refer to this phenomenon as an 'After Death Experience'.
The phenomenology of an NDE usually includes physiological, psychological and transcendental factors (Parnia, Waller, Yeates & Fenwick, 2001) such as subjective impressions of being outside the physical body (an out-of-body experience), visions of deceased relatives and religious figures, transcendence of ego and spatiotemporal boundaries and other transcendental experiences.
Typically the experience follows a distinct progression, starting with the sensation of floating above one's body and seeing the surrounding area, followed by the sensation of passing through a tunnel, meeting deceased relatives, and concluding with encountering a being of light (Morse, Conner & Tyler, 1985).
A 'core' near-death experience reflects - as intensity increases according to the Rasch scale - peace, joy and harmony, followed by insight and mystical or religious experiences. The most intense NDEs involve an awareness of things occurring in a different place or time (Lange, Greyson & Houran, 2004).
Dr. Raymond Moody is recognized as the father of NDE research. He has chronicled and studied many of these experiences in several books (Moody, 1975;1977;1999). Another early pioneer is Dr. Kenneth Ring, co-founder and past President of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS).
Major contributions to the field include the construction of a Weighted Core Experience Index (Ring, 1980) in order to measure the depth of the Near-Death experience, and the construction of the Near-Death Experience Scale (Greyson, 1983) in order to differentiate between subjects that are more or less likely to have experienced a genuine NDE. These approaches include criteria for deciding what is to be considered a classical or authentic NDE.
Well-known researchers in the field who support a moderate view, or sympathize with aspects of the after-life view are Kevin Williams, Bruce Greyson, Michael Sabom, Melvin Morse, PMH Atwater, Yvonne Kason, Sam Parnia, Peter Fenwick, Jody A. Long and Jeffrey P. Long.
Much of this research is co-ordinated through the field of Near-Death Studies.Among the researchers who support a naturalistic and neurological base for the experience we find the British psychologist Susan Blackmore (1993), and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, Michael Shermer (1998).
The possibility of altered temporal lobe functioning in the near-death experience is suggested by Britton & Bootzin (2004). In this study Near-Death experiencers were also found to have altered sleep patterns compared to subjects in the control group. Dr. Rick Strassman has attempted to induce NDE in a clinical setting by injecting subjects with DMT. This research is described in his book DMT - The Spirit Molecule (2001).
According to Martens (1994), the only satisfying method to address the NDE-issue would be an international multicentric data collection within the framework for standardized reporting of cardiac arrest events. The use of cardiac arrest-criteria as a basis for NDE-research has been a common approach among the European branch of the research field (Parnia, Waller, Yeates & Fenwick, 2001; van Lommel, van Wees, Meyers & Elfferich, 2001).
Many commentators see near death experiences as an afterlife experience, and some accounts include elements that, according to some theorists, are most simply explained by an out-of-body consciousness. For example, in one account, a woman accurately described a surgical instrument she had not seen previously, as well as a conversation that occurred while she was understood to be clinically dead (Sabom, 1998).
In another account, from a proactive Dutch NDE study, a nurse removed the dentures of an unconscious heart attack victim, and was asked by him after his recovery to return them (van Lommel et.al, 2001).
However, researchers have been unsuccessful in running proactive experiments to establish out-of-body consciousness. There have been numerous experiments in which a random message was placed in a hospital in a manner that it would be invisible to patients or staff yet visible to a floating being, but so far, according to Blackmore (1991), these experiments have only provided equivocal results and no clear signs of ESP.
Other commentators see near death experiences as a purely naturalistic phenomenon. For example; a Swiss study (Blanke. et.al, 2002), published in Nature Magazine, found that electrical stimulation on the brain region known as the right angular gyrus repeatedly caused out-of-body experiences to the patient.
According to this perspective the etiology of the NDE is understood as a result of neurobiological mechanisms, related to such factors as epilepsy and brain stimulation. The similarities amongst the experiences of the many documented cases of NDE may be understood to signify that the pathology of the brain during the dying and reviving process is more or less the same in all humans, as suggested by Russian specialist Dr. Vladimir Negovsky (Unkn. publ. year) in Clinical Death As Seen by Reanimator.
However, this model fails to explain NDEs that result from close brushes to death where the brain does not actually suffer trauma, such as a near-miss automobile accident.A well-known scientific hypothesis that attempts to explain NDEs was originally suggested by Dr. Karl Jansen (1995;1997) and deals with accounts of the side-effects of the drug Ketamine. Ketamine was used as an anesthetic on U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; but its use was abandoned and never spread to civilian use because the soldiers complained about sensations of floating above their body and seeing bright lights.
Further experiments by numerous researchers verified that intravenous injections of ketamine could reproduce all of the commonly cited features of an NDE; including a sense that the experience is "real" and that one is actually dead, separation from the body, visions of loved ones, and transcendent mystical experiences.
Ketamine acts in part by blocking the NMDA receptor for the neurotransmitter glutamate. Glutamate is released in abundance when brain cells die, and if it weren't blocked, the glutamate overload would cause other brain cells to die as well. In the presence of excess glutamate, the brain releases its own NMDA receptor blocker to defend itself; and it is these blockers Dr. Jansen (amongst others) hypothesize as the cause of many NDEs. Shawn Thomas, director of Neurotransmitter.net, has suggested that agmatine is the key substance involved in near-death experiences.
Dr. Jansen's own shifting perspective on the conclusions to be drawn from the ketamine-NDE analogy has been notable. He started out as an unequivocal debunker of the notion that NDE's are evidence of a spiritual (or at least transnormal) realm. But with time he has developed a more agnostic hypothesis: that ketamine may in fact be one particularly powerful trigger of authentic spiritual experiences - of which near-death may be another.
In each case, according to Jansen's more recent pronouncements, all we can say is that the subject gets catapulted out of ordinary 'egoic' consciousness into an altered state - we cannot comfortably rule out the possibility that the 'worlds' disclosed in these 'trips' have ontological status. Latterly, therefore, Jansens position appears closer to thinkers like Daniel Pinchbeck (2002), who has written a book on hallucinogenic shamanism, and other names like Carl Jung, Ken Wilber and Stanislav Grof, than to thinkers like Susan Blackmore or Nicholas Humphrey (two particularly high-profile materialist skeptics).
Ultimately, the hallucination theory is one which is very convincing to materialists, and very unconvincing to the vast majority of NDE experiencers
Spiritual and psychological after-effects
NDE subjects often report long-term after-effects, and changes in worldview, such as an increased interest in spirituality, an increased interest in the meaning of life, increased empathic understanding and a decrease in fear of death (van Lommel et.al, 2001).
Some subjects also report internal feelings of bodily energy and/or altered states of consciousness similar to those associated with the yogic concept of kundalini (Greyson, 2000). Greyson (1983) developed The Near-Death Experience Scale in order to measure the after-effects of a near-death experience.
This research note that the aftermath of the experience is associated with both positive and healthy outcomes related to personality and appreciation for life, but also a spectrum of clinical problems in situations where the person has had difficulties with the experience (Orne, 1995). These difficulties are usually connected to the interpretation of the experience and the integration of it into everyday life. The near-death experience as a focus of clinical attention, and the inclusion of a new diagnostic category in the DSM-IV called "Religious or spiritual problem" (American Psychiatric Association, 1994 - Code V62.89), is discussed more closely by Greyson (1997) and Lukoff, Lu & Turner (1998).
Simpson (2001) notes that the number of people that have experienced an NDE might be higher than the number of cases that are actually reported. It is not unusual for near-death experiencers to feel profound insecurity related to how they are going to explain something that the surrounding culture perceives as a strange, paranormal incident.
Metaphysics
In a near-death experience the spirit - soul spark - leaves the physical body usually after a major trauma - accidents, illnesses, problems in surgery - cardiac arrest - anaphylactic shock, coma, fever, anesthetic, unconsciousness, physical injury, arrhythmia, seizures, suicide, or severe allergic reactions. It is a moment of release by the soul from the physical.
Most people report that they are outside of their physical bodies - traveling through a tunnel toward a source of white light - the creational source of our reality.
They usually report meeting a deceased relative or heavenly being, coming to a precipice or place where a decision about life or death must take place, seeing one's life pass before their eyes, sometimes in order called a 'life review', acute awareness, a feeling of timelessness, and intense emotions.
Most near-death experiences are positive but occasionally negative experiences do occur. Upon awakening the near-death experiencer may return with unusual abilities previously unknown to them. Some of these include: seeing auras and other related paranormal abilities, awareness of science and other technologies regarding time and space, change in personality and spiritual transformations.
In what seems like a long period of time to the soul, though perhaps only several seconds or minutes in our linear time, the soul may get to review what will happen to it should it return. There are always the physical ailments that may or may not heal. Then there are those that would be left behind to consider. As linear time does not exist in other than our physical dimensional reality, the soul will often ponder it's choices.
Sometimes a soul will come back even if it does not want to as it has issues to work out. Usually that soul will consider this a second chance and become more spiritual in the remaining time it has here on earth. Many of these souls have gone on to write about near-death experiences to help others understand what is going on, on the other side.
Many believe that have returned because they have been chosen to do something spiritual for the planet. Most people who return do have a more spiritual slant on life. After all they have faced the other side and should return on a higher frequency and with more knowledge. Some go on to become healers or helpers.
Some people remember their near-death experiences while others have some vague memories.
This is similar to dreamtime wherein some people wake up and remember events on the other side - while others have no memory of anything.
I had a near-death experience at age 5 when I had pneumonia and nearly died. I was in the hospital and saw myself out of my body watching. Next thing I knew I was sitting on the branch of a tree with a little boy my age - talking about meeting again in this lifetime - much later on - to do something related to the tree. (This could symbolize the Tree of life - based on they way my life path has unfolded.) I don't think I've met him yet - but I feel him connected on another level where we still meet on the other side. I also know this links with Alexander in my book Sarah and Alexander.
In January 2000, I had a dream that was like a near-death experience in that I remember being in a source of light. Then hearing water whooshing and remember moving backwards through the tunnel as I looked at 2 entities that I recognized as other aspects of my soul. Quickly, I returned to my physical body and woke up.
The media has given much publicity to near-death experiences as the are reported more openly and freely. They are another way for souls to remember their connection to a Source of Consciousness or Light of Consciousness Creation.
Show me heaven BBC - January 2004
As more and more people come forward with accounts of near-death experiences, new research is about to examine the out of body experience to see whether mind and body really do separate at the point of death.
Scientists
Validate Near-Death Experiences ABC News - January 2002
A new study validates near-death experiences reported by heart attack patients.
October 23, 2000 - BBC
Scientists investigating 'near-death' experiences say they have found evidence to suggest that consciousness can continue to exist after the brain has ceased to function.
However, the claim has been challenged by neurological experts.
The researchers interviewed 63 patients who had survived heart attacks within a week of the experience.
Of these 56 had no recollection of the period of unconsciousness they experienced whilst, effectively, clinically dead.
However, seven had memories, four of which counted as near-death experiences.
They told of feelings of peace and joy, time speeded up, heightened senses, lost awareness of body, seeing a bright light, entering another world, encountering a mystical being and coming to "a point of no return".
None of the patients were found to be receiving low oxygen levels - which some scientists believe may be responsible for so-called "near-death" experiences.
Lead researcher Dr Sam Parnia, of Southampton General Hospital, said nobody fully understands how brain cells generate thoughts.
He said it might be that the mind or consciousness is independent of the brain.
He said: "When we examine brain cells we see that brain cells are like any other cells, they can produce proteins and chemicals, but they are not really capable of producing the subjective phenomenon of thought that we have.
"The brain is definitely needed to manifest the mind, a bit like how a television set can take what essentially are waves in the air and translate them into picture and sound."
Dr Chris Freeman, consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist at Royal Edinburgh Hospital, said there was no proof that the experiences reported by the patients actually occurred when the brain was shut down.
"We know that memories are extremely fallible. We are quite good at knowing that something happened, but we are very poor at knowing when it happened.
"It is quite possible that these experiences happened during the recovery, or just before the cardiac arrest. To say that they happened when the brain was shut down, I think there is little evidence for that at all."
More people are now brought back from the brink
February 4, 2000 - BBC News
From the corner of the room, Christine Ellingham says she could see emergency medical staff crowding around an unconscious body.
They were desperately trying to revive the woman, and to save her unborn baby.
"I knew that it was me lying on the table. But I was outside of my body, floating in the corner of the room. I was very calm and it made perfect sense to me that I should be watching what I understood to be the final moments of my life.
"I felt absolute peace and serenity. There was light around me and it grew and grew until I couldn't see my body any more.
"Then I felt an amazing sensation of rushing forwards through the light, or rather that the light was rushing back over me. I couldn't see him, but I knew that my father, who had died four years previously, was there with me, and I felt totally, totally safe."
"I felt that my father was almost carrying me, like I was a child again, and then the light slowed and stopped and my father told me that my baby needed me. I felt very sad that I had to leave, but I wanted to be with my baby.
"There was another instant where I was still surrounded by light, and then, bang! I slammed backwards."
She said that the next thing she experienced was "excruciating pain" - and her eyes opened and she saw the nurses she said she had seen from behind just moments ago.
"I cried and cried. I was in so much pain, but I felt an elation and a certainty that both me and my baby were going to live."
Christine underwent an emergency Caesarian operation, and her son Liam, her first child, was born six weeks early. She said that she had been planning to go back to work as soon as possible, but instead decided to look after Liam full-time.
he said: "I was spared, and I was spared to look after Liam. I have never been a religious person, but the experience has made me feel secure that there is an afterlife, and the people that I love and have passed away are still there, watching over me and my family."
Professor Paul Badham of Lampeter University - who studies the philosophical implications of near death experiences - said that despite media hype, the phenomenon is quite rare.
However, he says the reports of people who have had near death experiences tend to contain similar elements.
"It is very common for people to report going out of their body and looking down on their body," he said
"Going through a tunnel is also a common experience, as is being surrounded by light. The meeting of deceased relatives or friends is also commonly reported.
"People will also say that they feel they are in the presence of a spiritual reality. A Christian may interpret this as Jesus. One atheist who had an out of body experience said that he later realized that this presence was responsible for the governance of the universe."
Prof Badham said that the numbers of people experiencing the phenomena are rising, as medicine improves and pulls more people back from the brink.
He says that people who report near death experience sometimes "see" things that it would have been impossible for them to see if they had been unconscious on an operating table.
He said: "Not everyone who is near death has this experience - it just does not follow that it is a last physical response to death.
"This is an experience which transcends cultures, religions and classes - I believe this experience is probably the base for our belief in an afterlife."
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