"For any culture which is primarily concerned with meaning, the study of death - the only certainty that life holds for us - must be central, for an understanding of death is the key to liberation in life." ~Dr. Stanislav Grof
Life is perhaps the most amazing and mysterious phenomenon in the universe. Inevitably, all living things must die, and what happens during and after the moment of death is more enigmatic than life itself. The world’s major religions center on the concepts of life, death, and the afterlife. Science is not able to directly study what happens after death as there is no way to collect data from those who have died; therefore it can only speculate on the matter based on what is known about the human brain and human physiology as well as more spiritual sources of information. Some believe that we simply cease to exist when we die. There are, however, people who have been clinically dead before being resuscitated back to life and many of those have returned to tell of an amazing spiritual experience. These “near-death experiences,” or NDEs, may provide clues as to what happens during and after the moment of death.
The #1 The New York Times non-fiction bestseller Heaven is For Real features a story about Colton Burpo, a four-year old child who had an NDE while nearly dying of a burst appendix. After Colton recovered from his illness, he shared a remarkable story about going to heaven, where he met his great-grandfather, Jesus, John the Baptist, the Biblical figure Samson, and even a sister who was miscarried and never born. [1] The detail in his story was so vivid, especially coming from a four-year old, that it is difficult to believe the story was contrived. Given that Colton’s NDE was a decidedly Christian experience, it is easy to see how many would be skeptical of his story, especially from the standpoint of non-Christians.
In 1982, Mellen-Thomas Benedict experienced an NDE while clinically dead for over 1 ½ hours. [2] Benedict, who was suffering from terminal cancer, considered himself neither religious nor spiritual. One morning, he knew that it was time and instructed his caretaker not to disturb his body for six hours. He fell asleep and then was standing up, fully aware, and capable of seeing through walls even though his body was still lying in bed. He then saw a most beautiful light and, knowing that he would die if he entered the light, asked if he could talk to it first. His request was honored and he interacted with the entity, which resembled at different times Jesus, Buddha, and other spiritual images. He learned that the Light would approach the soul based on their spiritual understanding; for instance, a Buddhist would perceive the Light as Buddha. He also discovered that all humans are connected as one being. He then went on a tour of the Universe, finding out that there was life on other planets. After that, he entered the pre-Big Bang “void,” where he felt “at One with Absolute Life and Consciousness” and learned that “we are immortal beings, part of a natural living system that recycles itself endlessly.” He felt an intense love throughout the entire experience. Returning to his body and reawakening, he found his caretaker sobbing after finding him dead 30 minutes before. Three months later, his cancer was found to be completely healed.
In Anita Moorjani's NDE, [3] she was suffering from terminal Lymphoma and was told she had 36 hours or less to live. Passing in and out of consciousness, her spirit left her body and she heard her husband and her doctors talking 40 feet down the hallway despite lying in bed with the door closed. The conversation was confirmed by her amazed husband. She then entered the spiritual realm and felt an overwhelming sense of love. At this point, she had a life review, learning her life purpose, why she had cancer, and the purposes her family and friends played in her life as well as in past lives. She noted “the clarity and understanding I obtained in this state is almost indescribable…” She found out that everything was made of energy and that illness was due to energy imbalances. She learned that humans are capable of amazing accomplishments and if she chose to return to life, she was to share this with others. She had the choice to return to life, and if she did, she would be completely cured. Choosing to live, she woke up just at the time the doctors rushed into her room to tell her family that her organs were still functioning, despite their earlier belief that they had shut down. She recovered rapidly much to the amazement of her doctors and upon later testing, she was found to be cancer-free.
Dr. Kenneth Ring and Dr. Raymond Moody, a leading NDE researcher and author of Life after Life, conducted interviews with a broad spectrum of people that experienced NDEs and found that there were many common themes: [4,5]
(1) During an NDE, people may experience a strange buzzing, or ringing noise while having a sense of being dead.
(2) They undergo an out-of-body experience. Even if in intense pain, as soon as they leave the body, the pain vanishes and they feel at peace.
(3) Then they move through a tunnel-like dark toward an amazing bright light. Upon reaching the light, they felt intense, compassionate love. They may meet departed friends and relatives.
(5) They meet an incredible being of light, the source of that love. At this point, the being goes through a life review with the dying person, gives the person the option of living or dying, and ends with the message that love is the most important aspect of life.
(6) They often rise rapidly into the heavens, sometimes seeing things in outer space and the universe.
(7) Often reluctant to return, when choosing life, they were touched by the experience for the rest of their lives, losing their fear of death. They developed a greater sense of caring for others and became more spiritual. Their remaining lives were a testament to the experience.
(8) The experience was not specific to religious belief, age, race, gender, and other social factors. Many NDEs were experienced by atheists. The Being of Light speaks to each individual in a manner that they understand whatever their native language, religion, and spiritual understanding.
(9) Dr. Ring ruled out drugs, anesthesia, and medication as factors in NDEs and concluded that they were too coherent to be hallucinations.
Skeptics, however, dismiss these types of stories and put forward their own theories. [6] Dr. Susan Blackmore has proposed the “Dying Brain Theory, suggesting that the NDE is purely due to how the brain shuts down at death, citing as her evidence the dramatic similarity of the stories. Some scientists suggest that NDE’s are elaborate hallucinations caused by the secretion of endorphins or another hormone. For instance, the anesthetic ketamine and the psychotic drug LSD are capable of producing some aspects of the NDE. Yet, it seems too coincidental that hallucinations would all be so similar to one another. Another group of scientists believe in the Temporal Lobe Theory, where the stress of the act of dying stimulates this lobe. They use as evidence that electrical stimulation of the temporal lobe causes some elements of NDEs to occur. However, these lobe stimulations also cause fear, sadness, and loneliness, which is opposite of the love experienced in an NDE. Dr. Ring counters these arguments by noting the consistency of the NDE stories, suggesting that they would be difficult to explain just through how the brain works. Jean Ritchie writes: “If there is no afterlife, and NDEs are just the last throw of a fevered and dying brain, why does it bother? If everything including the soul and personality is going to dust and ashes, why does the brain lay on this last wonderful floor show for people near-death, or facing actual death…?” [7]
Based on NDE research and the stories of those who returned to life, something profound and intensely spiritual happens just before and at the moment of death. After the NDE, through meditation, Benedict was able to experience the light and despite his non-religious background, was certain that he met God, learning that “our hearts are the wiser part of ourselves.” [8] The Being of Light encounter and the feeling of immense love strongly suggest a universal force behind not only humanity, but all life forms in the Universe. Through the experience, we learn that we are spiritual creatures inhabiting living bodies and, after life, return to the Light from where we originated. An amazing picture of the Universe emerges from these stories, and life has a purposeful existence in furthering its evolution. Humanity, with its great gifts of intelligence and industry, is in a prime position to achieve its spiritual destiny. If we support each other, fill the world with love, and protect the fragile environment of our planet, that destiny will be fulfilled.
References
7. See 6.
8. See 2.
Photo: Quasar, courtesy of NASA.
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