The study of those having Near Death Experiences (NDE’s) and Out-of-Body Experiences (OBE’s) is showing some remarkable evidence for life after death.  Jody Long of NDERF.org, the Near Death Experience Research Foundation, defines NDE as “A lucid experience associated with perceived consciousness apart from the body occurring at the time of actual or threatened imminent death.”  Van Lommel defined the NDE as “the reported memory of all impressions during the special state of consciousness, including specific elements such as out-of-body experience, pleasant feelings, and seeing a tunnel, a light, deceased relatives, or a life review.”

A common element of NDErs is an OBE.  Generally, we still have a body, but no longer a physical one.  Instead, we have a body/human form of light/energy -- spiritual energy or conscious energy.  Our spiritual body may take the human form, a general outline of it, or not at all.

When your consciousness is outside of the body, you can still hear, see, feel, and experience things.  The difference is that outside the body you can no longer interact with the physical world.  For instance, if you tried to turn a doorknob, your hand would simply go right through the door.  If you were screaming at someone, you wouldn’t be heard.  That is why we have a physical body during life, in order to interact with physical reality.  Remember when Jesus walked through the wall -- that was spiritual energy at work.  He, of course, could still revert to a physical body.  In the spiritual state, your senses, perception, awareness and mental capabilities are vastly improved.  Communication, in the spiritual realm, is telepathic.

During NDEs and OBEs, many report that “sense perception is vivid and enhanced, colors vibrant, sounds are alive, time is very different than the other side, there is unconditional love, communication is all-knowing, and we are all interconnected with one another (Long, 2002).”

When out-of-body you can think many different streams of thought at once and experience many different things at once, all with great clarity.  The life review imitates this process by allowing a person to experience every scene from their life all at the same time.

The Life Review is a common aspect of NDEs and constitutes an instantaneous review of all the events of your life from birth to death.  The review may contain elements of past or future lives (reincarnation).  You may review your life from a removed perspective, simply watching the scenes play out before you without self-judgment or with feelings of sadness or remorse for your actions.  Other times you may experience the thoughts and emotions of yourself and others, focusing on how your actions affected others in life.  The purpose of the life review is not about judgment for heaven or hell, but about learning the consequences of our actions.

NDE accounts state that the many different paths of a person’s life have an affect on not only his or her life, but others as well, based on their actions.  We may perceive our lives as meaningless, but there are still people who need us and there is still a purpose for our being here.  Whatever our circumstances, we must think of those others who need us and do our best, for them and us.  If we fail to learn to love and overcome adversity in our lives now, then we will have to repeat those same trials and traumas in future lives until we do.

Another element of an NDE is the presence of spiritual beings.  These spiritual guides watch over us and monitor our progress as we go through life.

A true NDE is recorded only when the physical body is dead, including the brain.  The evidence is the information that the NDE person shares upon rejoining their physical body and returning to human domains.  They remember things that occurred in the waiting room, nurse's station, etc. that only occurred while they were dead – witnessed from the spiritual body.  Likewise, they have vivid, memorable incidents from the higher dimension of spiritual existence – things that will forever change the way they live their lives.  NDErs report that the next dimension exists as pure energy, so the transference of energy is effortless.

There are also numerous accounts of NDErs interactions with the "Light."  The Light is described as the source of all existence, holding all knowledge, and emanating infinite love, knowledge, and compassion.  The light is not a being with form, but more like an expansive collective consciousness and source of all energy.  The Light is the source from which all souls are erected and the universe itself was created.

A Gallup Poll in 1992 estimated 13 million adult Americans might have experienced a NDE, suggesting about four percent of the U.S. adult population may have a personal history of NDE.  Approximately 30% of all people facing a life-threatening event, research suggests, will experience an NDE.  There are NDErs in our area that have their own story to tell.