Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences (16 page)

Few of us experience mortality as directly as do people who have had near-death experiences. Yet despite having the frightful experience of nearly dying, most NDErs do not report an increase in their fear of death, but rather a decrease in their fear or a loss of the fear altogether. This is a consistent finding in a number of previously published studies.
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Here, in brief, is what NDErs have to say about death:

Catherine, who nearly died after surgery, reported,

I had always been terrified of death, of oblivion. I no longer fear death.

Lauren was felt by the EMS to be dead on arrival after a severe accident. She wrote,

I am no longer afraid of death. I know now in my soul that there is so much more after life. I feel that once I have learned what it is I am supposed to learn or a task that I must complete, that I will be rewarded with a life after death!

Sharla, who nearly died of respiratory arrest, wrote,

The most significant part of the experience is that there is (to me) nothing to fear of death.

The fear of death is one of humanity’s most powerful sources of anxiety. There are many people today who are so fearful of death that they are unable to fully live their lives. For these people, this fear may extend beyond the fear of their own death; they may fret endlessly about the life and health of others. The message NDErs share, including their consistent description of reduced or absent fear of death, is so powerful that I am not surprised when people tell me that their personal fear of death was diminished just by reading accounts of near-death experiences.

Those who have a near-death experience may still fear the actual process of dying. Dying often involves discomfort, though modern medicine has made tremendous progress in easing that discomfort. Dying also involves a separation from our loved ones and all that is familiar in the world. However, the great majority of NDErs believe they experienced firsthand what lies beyond death. And what they experienced beyond death’s door leaves many of them fearless when they think about death. For most NDErs, their lack of fear of death is associated with a conviction that death is not final and that a wonderful afterlife is real.

In its own way, the near-death experience has a healing effect on most of the people who have it. People who have a near-death experience may never fear death again. Although they don’t necessarily become more religious, NDErs often state that they become more spiritual, and with that change comes a belief in the sacredness of life and a special knowledge that serves to guide them the rest of their lives.

People who have a near-death experience are generally convinced that after bodily death a wonderful afterlife awaits them. They believe they personally experienced the afterlife, and they are convinced of its reality. At the NDERF website, people who had a near-death experience have been quite open in describing the afterlife they encountered. We have hundreds of descriptions of what many NDErs describe as “heavenly realms.” When these are read consecutively, they provide an impressionistic view of what the heaven of NDEs looks like. Here are a few examples to illustrate what I mean.

David, who had a near-death experience after passing out in the hospital, wrote,

The prairie or meadow in which I found myself walking, the feeling of happiness [that] every blade of grass gave off, that was definitely beautiful, special, and extraordinary.

Robin, who had a near-death experience during a heart attack, reported,

Flatlined—went to a place that was beautifully lit—like the sunshine but much prettier and more golden (kind of like sepia tones). Seemed like a neighborhood, and I was shown around to all the people I loved and missed, and they were all so happy.

Kristin, after a seizure that stopped her heart and breathing, reported,

I feel so tacky saying this since it’s so stereotypical, but there was always a bright white light, and I’d go to it, and once I got there, and I touched it, everything was beautifully white and scintillating and warm; it smelled sweet and inviting, like cupcakes or warm vanilla sugar. There were these … “unearthly beings,” and they talked to me.

Ruben, whose near-death experience took place during cardiac arrest, reported,

At first I was floating, surrounded by a very white and brilliant light, and as I descended I noticed that the white light was not just light: there were very, very white clouds [that] I was passing through. After coming through the clouds I found myself descending toward a very beautiful landscape, with green meadows, rivers, butterflies, and birds. I was moving toward a hill with a tree on top. The sensation I felt I cannot express in words, but it was so wonderfully tranquilizing that the desire is there to return and feel it over again.

It is the experiencing of this kind of heavenly reality that contributes to the NDErs’ belief in the afterlife and to their reduced fear of death—and, for that matter, their reduced fear of life. When NDErs have finally processed their experience enough to talk about it, they may share their experience to help others who are grieving, feel hopeless, or doubt an afterlife. Here are some touching and inspiring accounts from NDErs who reached out to others in order to share their conviction that the afterlife does indeed exist, and the profound consolation this brought to others whose loved ones had died.

Mark experienced sudden cardiac death and had a fullblown NDE in which he left his body and went to a heavenly realm. When he returned to life, Mark was blessed with enough psychic abilities to be able to “read” some people. One of the first to experience his newly acquired abilities was a nurse at the office of his cardiologist:

I saw a nurse practitioner in August about three months after. She had all my records and said to me, “You sure had some experience!” I could tell she was in a hurting way, so after she examined me, I shared with her what I saw and felt. She told me what I had just told her was reassuring since she had lost her father less than a year before. She thanked me for sharing it with her and I left. I saw her again two months later. She had turned from a very mousy, timid person [in]to a [person with a] well-dressed, confident look. Not cocky! Self-confident, a broad smile on her face, a cheery attitude. She wanted so to help me with my problems, did so, and as I was leaving the doctor’s office she looked into my eyes, past them to my soul, and said simply, “Thank you.” That is one of the reasons I believe I was sent back.

Anne nearly died after hemorrhaging blood a few days after childbirth. Her experience, which involved drifting up a tunnel and moving toward a light, was something she kept pretty much to herself. Then she got word that her father was dying and went to visit him in Florida. Realizing she would not see him again, Anne told him of her experience.

The day I left to go home to my family I sat on his bed, and as we said good-bye, both knowing it would be the last time we would see each other, I told him of my experience in order to ease his transition. He thanked me profusely and said that it helped take away the fear.

Belief in an afterlife is one of the most common NDE aftereffects. It’s easy to understand why NDErs generally believe there is an afterlife. They believe they’ve been there. They may have experienced realms that are magnificent beyond anything on earth. And all the other NDE elements, including the out-of-body experience, encountering mystical light, reviewing one’s life, and reuniting with deceased loved ones, point to a continuing existence in joy and beauty that transcends physical death.

Near-death experiencers are virtually unanimous that the afterlife is for all of us, not just for those who have had NDEs. This is certainly consistent with their uniform description of the afterlife as a loving and inclusive realm, a realm for us all.

For decades NDEs have been a message of hope to millions of people that there is an afterlife for both themselves and their loved ones. With the latest scientific NDE research, including the new findings from the NDERF study, this message of hope about the afterlife is becoming a promise.

The NDERF study has revealed a lot about the aftereffects of near-death experiences. It has shown the resilience of the human spirit in that facing death is not the end but the beginning. Near-death experiences usually lead to a richer, more fulfilling life. They are transformative in a myriad of ways, inspiring love, creating empathy, and connecting those who experience them more deeply to others. As a near-death experiencer named Colin said, “I have been able to develop deep and fulfilling friendships. I feel the need for friendship much more than I did before the experience. I am able to be a better friend.”

The fact that near-death experiences bring about transformation is powerful evidence of the afterlife. For me it’s evidence that those who step briefly into the afterlife bring back a piece of it when they return.

After considering the strength of the evidence, I am absolutely convinced that an afterlife exists. I encourage each reader to consider the evidence and come to your own conclusion. A tool to help you determine how convincing you believe the NDE evidence is for an afterlife may be found on the NDERF website at our page exploring evidence of the afterlife (http://www.nderf.org/afterlife.

Nine lines of evidence for the existence of an afterlife have been presented. This evidence would be extraordinary even if NDErs were fully awake and alert at the time of their experiences. But they’re not. People who have near- death experiences are generally unconscious or clinically dead at the time of their experience. It is medically inexplicable that they would have
any
conscious experiences, let alone experiences so packed with evidence pointing to an afterlife. To review, these are the nine lines of evidence:

The NDERF study is the largest scientific study of near- death experience ever reported, and it provides exceptional new scientific evidence for the reality of NDEs and their consistent message of an afterlife. Any one of these nine lines of evidence individually is significant evidence for the reality of near-death experiences and the afterlife. The combination of these nine lines of evidence is so convincing that I believe it is reasonable to accept the existence of an afterlife. I certainly do.

I’m not alone in concluding that near-death experiences are evidence of the afterlife. It’s easy to see why those who have a near-death experience accept the reality of their NDE and generally accept the existence of an afterlife. It makes sense that important information about what happens when we die would come from those who actually did nearly die.

The most important findings of the NDERF study have been corroborated by scores of prior scholarly NDE studies over more than thirty years. This certainly helps validate the remarkable NDERF study findings.

This research has profound implications for science. The findings of the NDERF and other NDE studies are consistent with the conclusion that there is far more to consciousness and memory than can be explained solely by our physical brain. I find that incredibly exciting.

We still have much to learn from the scientific study of near-death experiences. Further scientific research of NDEs with a variety of methodologies is encouraged, and NDERF will help in any way we can. Anyone who has had a near- death experience is encouraged to share their account with NDERF no matter what the content of the NDE was.

The arguments of skeptics have consistently failed to explain how near-death experiences occur and why their content is so consistent. There is no earthly experience that consistently reproduces any part of the near-death experience.

There are many who accept the reality of NDEs and want to look deeper into their meaning. At NDERF we are already studying this. Our preliminary findings indicate that there is much more to be learned from NDEs. We are also investigating events other than near-death experiences that suggest an afterlife and may be scientifically studied. Updates on the ongoing NDERF research and additional material related to this book can be found at the NDERF website (http://www.nderf.org/evidence).

This book has important implications for religion. The great religions have always spoken to the belief in God and an afterlife. The evidence of near-death experiences points to an afterlife and a universe guided by a vastly loving intelligence. Near-death experiences consistently reveal that death is not an end but rather a transition to an afterlife. This is a profoundly inspiring thought for us all and for our loved ones. I hope that this book helps to promote such an encouraging message.

For me personally, I’m showing more love to others now than before I started my near-death-experience studies. My understanding of near-death experiences has made me a better doctor. I face life with more courage and confidence. I believe NDErs really do bring back a piece of the afterlife. When NDErs share their remarkable experiences, I believe a piece of the afterlife, in some mysterious way, becomes available to us all.