What is a near-death experience (NDE)?

What is a near-death experience (NDE)?

1. Most people who have come close to death say they remember nothing.

However, a third or more may later report that "something happend." That "something" might be a near-death experience, or NDE. The near-death experience is among the most powerful experiences that a person can have. It may permanently change a person's perceptions of what is real and important.

2. One extraordinary aspect of NDEs is that a person's culture, religion, race, or education does not affect the pattern of the experience. The way people describe the NDE, however, varies according to their bakground and vocabulary.

3. There is no evidence that the type of experience is related to whether the person is religious or not, or has lived a "good" or "bad" life according to his or her society's standards. Nonetheless, an NDE often strongly affects how people continue to live their lives.

4. Most NDEs are pleasant, but others can be very frightening. For most people, the experience is joyful beyond words, although others tell of unpleasant or terrifying experiences. When understood, every type of NDE reveals things of deep meaning to the individual and to humankind in general.

5. No two NDEs are the same, but there is a pattern of experiences. Each experience includes one or more of these things :

-Feeling that the "self" has left the body and is 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 very powerful emotions, ranging from bliss to terror

-Encountering a light. It is usually golden or white, and said to be magnetic and loving; occasionally it is perceived negatively.

-Receiving a message such as, "It is not yet your time."

-Meeting others: maybe dead loved ones, recognized from life or not; sacred beings; unidentified beings and/or "beings of light" ; sometimes symbols from one's own or other religious trditions

- Seeing and re-experiencing major or unimportant events in one's life

- Having a sense of understanding everything and knowing how the universe works

- Reaching a boundary - a cliff, fence, water, or some kind of barrier that one may not corss and still be able 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 parentge)

- Deciding to return, either voluntarily or involuntarily. If the return is voluntary, it is usually connected to unfinished responsibilities.

- Returning to the body