NDE -- Glimpses of the Other Side

In a previous blog, I discussed some of the ways we learn about the territory of death and after death. The most familiar resource is religion. It is the main purpose of religion to provide a theological framework for why we are here and what it all mean. Invariably religions predict a relationship between behaviors in this life and rewards or punishments in the next. It has been suggested that religious doctrine gives society its moral compass and motivation for being good. Authority for this religious doctrine is almost always attributed to God or some divine being by way of inspiration to a specially chosen prophet (e.g. Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Joseph Smith). Eventually the charismatic teachings of these religious messengers evolve into formulated rules of behavior. Considering the number of wars that are grounded in religious fervor, one might question the underlying definition of "being good," or the calibration of the proffered moral compass. Nevertheless, for many people in the world, religion has been a source of comfort and guidance regarding the mysteries of death.

A more down-to-earth source of information about death comes from the dying themselves. This too I mentioned in the earlier blog. The visions and communications of the dying, termed "nearing death awareness" by Kelley and Callanan in their book Final Gifts, provide a first hand-glimpse of the possibilities of death. Terminally ill patients frequently speak of a journey or trip they are about to take. Some report advanced traveling in the mind or spirit to various places around the world or in otherworldly realms, not unlike fledgling learning how to fly. There are also descriptions of visitations by deceased relative and friend, and if observed in those moments the dying do indeed appear to be looking at something invisible to others. Moments before her death, my friend Marianne, who had been unconscious, suddenly sat up in bed and gazed off into the distance, a look of beatific awe and amazement on her face. It was the sort of look that makes you turn to see what is there, followed by goosebumps upon seeing only the wall. Another friend told me that during her mother's final days she (the mother) seemed to have acquired the skill of astral projection, since she was able to report the details of her children's conversations conducted well out-of-ear-shot. The LA Times article, "Taking Life's Final Exit" provides a lovely summary the Final Gifts book along with other intriguing reports on "nearing death awareness.

A third source of information about death comes from people who have revived after being declared clinically dead. In his seminal book, Life After Life, Raymond Moody's recounts the many common features of "near-death experience" (NDE) -- a long dark tunnel, disembodied observation of one's physical body and the activities around it, a feeling of profound inner peace and contentment, bright golden light, the appearance of deceased friends and relative and/or an otherworldly being to assist in a life review and the subsequent return to the living. Moody's book is largely anecdotal and he makes no claims about proof of an afterlife, but he is clearly impressed by the reports of his subjects and discounts any rational scientific explanation. For a sample of a near-death encounter see Mellen-Thomas story. While not all near-deathers claim the spiritual insights of Mellen-Thomas, almost all report the loss of any fear about death after their experience--a comforting result in and of itself. The two near-deathers I interviewed in the course of making my film series, Secrets of Life and Death, both describe their reluctance and disappointment at returning to the living, so wonderful was their glimpse of the other side.

Those uncomfortable with the implications of NDE have sought physiological and psychological explanations, e.g. drug induced hallucination, brain shutdown, oxygen deprivation, depersonalization and birth memory. Discussion of the scientific viewpoint may be found on HowStuffWorks and Wikipedia. Evidence that favors the survival of consciousness after death is reported by Kenneth Ring in a paper written for the Journal of Near Death Studies and summarized on the NDE website. The jury is still out on where NDE proves or disproves life after death. Read the material and decide for yourself. Ultimately it boils down to what you believe in, and that may have a lot more to do with your own life experiences than any rational argument.

In my next blog I will describe a fourth source of after-death information -- communications from the dead themselves  These communications come to us in three distinct ways: channeled (not so very different from the way religions initially acquire their own death knowledge); electronically or telephonically transmitted -- also known as electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) or Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC); and dream visitations.

If you have any personal experiences or research related to this subject please share with the rest of us.