Near-death experiences are similar

A near-death experience occurs when an individual comes very close to physical death, is declared dead or merely perceives that death is imminent.

Some individuals who have this near-death experience (NDE) report passing through a remarkably similar set of stages.

• The first stage is when the person who has been pronounced clinically dead finds out he has died. He feels his soul leaving his body and sometimes sees himself being covered up with a sheet or take to a morgue. During this stage of NDE he may hear the physician or nurse remark that he has expired.

• The second stage of NDE is when a person gets a feeling of peace and quiet. Many report feeling overwhelmed with joy, love and quiet. And instead of finding the expected lonely void, they discover something beautiful. They have indescribable feelings of ecstasy and the feeling of being one with all life.

• The single most incredible element that people experience is the encounter with a very bright light. After a sensation of being pulled through a dark space of some kind, a tunnel, a cave or well, valley or cylinder, they see a dim light that gets brighter until it reaches an unearthly brilliance. This light or spiritual beam provides them with love and warmth and surrounds them in this unique time. Although people have used different terminology, it is clear they are trying to express the same idea. Some individuals report they felt the desire to remain in the tunnel leading toward the light rather than to return to earthly life.

• The next stage is the panoramic view of life. Childhood experiences all the way through adult life pass before their eyes. The experience is extraordinarily rapid and differs from other memories in this sense.

• One of the most frequent perceptions in NDE is the “out-of-body” state. Some report of feeling of being a spectator, of viewing their own body from a distance. The mind, after all, may be no more than the effect of the electrical and chemical activity that takes place in the brain. Many report a struggle to put the mind and body back together. Others report pleasant effects, of feeling as though they are in a “spiritual body” that is weightless. They can see, understand the thoughts of others, but cannot communicate.

Some people report a feeling of loneliness that disappears as they get deeper in the NDE. Some report being approached by deceased relatives and friends who begin to lend support.

Obviously everyone who experiences NDE had to come back to tell of their experience. Most of them experience an attitude change and begin to view life differently in most respects. They exhibit an absolute and undeniable spiritual radiance; a new set of values gives them a new view of what it means to be human.

Although little is understood about the phenomenon of NDE, a growing number of researchers are studying it, including those practitioners in religion, medicine and other branches of science.

Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1986