Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) are as seemingly natural as they are life-changing.
For reference, NDEs are defined as âLucid (experiences) associated with perceived consciousness apart from the body occurring at actual or threatened imminent death.â
In this article, we will discuss the nature of NDEs â including the accumulating scientific evidence regarding their validity. Read these ten incredible accounts of individuals who have âcrossed overâ only to return to their Earthly abode.
Let us first discuss the evidence.
The Evidence for NDEs
âThere was no confusion. This was not a dream. This was the real experience of my soul outside of my body, outside of my personality, outside of my ego, and outside of my human form. Having a real experience at what I call âThe Source.â [original authorâs emphasis].â
âIt was more real than this reality. We all remember that experience better than anything else in our life.â
Two NDE testimonies from the documentary âBeyond Our Sight.â
Researchers estimate that around 17 percent of people who nearly die have an NDE. People who report an NDE come from various backgrounds: adults, children, religious and non-religious, physicians, scientists, ministers, and more. NDEs happen worldwide, with no particular region more or less likely to have an NDE.
Something interesting is that there seem typical for many NDE experiences. Some scientists believe that this commonality of experience also serves as proof of the validity of NDEs.
Among the most common experiences are:
- Seeing and hearing apart from the physical body.
- Passing into or through a tunnel
- Encountering a mystical light
- Intense (generally positive) emotions
- Review of life experiences
- Encountering deceased loved ones
- The choice to return to their earthly life
Nine Lines of Evidence of a Near Death Experience
Jeffrey Long, MD, founder of the Near Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF, nderf.org), cites nine âlines of evidenceâ that suggest the reality of near-death experiences.
#1- Lucid, organized experiences while unconscious, comatose, or clinically dead.
From a scientific perspective, having a highly lucid experience while unconscious, comatose, or clinically dead should not be possible. Yet, 74.4 percent of near-death experiencers (NDEers) report experiencing âMore consciousness and alertness than normal.â
#2 â Witnessing ongoing events from a location apart from the physical body while unconscious.
Nearly half of NDEers report seeing or hearing events from a perspective that is apart (typically above) their physical bodies.
 #3 â Enhanced, âsupernormalâ vision.
In a survey of 1,122 NDEers, over 64 percent responded âYesâ to questions inquiring into any âsupernormalâ vision experiences. It is noteworthy that just 19 percent responded âNoâ to the question. (16 percent responded âUncertain.â)
#4 – NDE under general anesthesia.
Having a lucid experience should not be possible under conditions of general anesthesia. However, NDEs (including some of the most extraordinary cases) occur under anesthesia.
#5 â Life reviews.
Many NDEs include at least a partial âlife review.â Most NDEers describe the life review as taking place from a third-person perspective. These life reviews often contain parts of their lives that theyâd long forgotten until that point.
#6 â Encountering dead loved ones.
Many NDEs include encounters with deceased relatives. In one interesting study, one-third of NDE cases of this type included encountering relatives with whom the NDE experiencer had a poor or distant relationship. Some of these cases also involved meeting a relative or loved one who had died before the NDEer was born.
#7 â NDEs of young children mirror those of adults.
NDE accounts from young children are important, as they are less likely to have established religious or spiritual beliefs and less developed vocabulary. In one study, experimenters analyzed the responses of NDEers aged six or younger (average 3.6 years) to the rest of the group. Of the 33 questions asked, there were no statistically significant differences to the responses between the young childrenâs age group and the older participants.
#8 â Similar NDEs across cultures.
In Western society especially, weâd think that NDE would be dependent on the spiritual or religious background of the person. However, the evidence shows NDE content as âstrikingly similarâ across cultures. This led one study to conclude: âAll near-death experience elements appearing in Western NDEs are present in non-Western NDEs.â
#9 â After-effects of NDEs.
NDEs appear to transform the lives of those who experience them. 278 NDErs answered the question, âMy experience directly resulted inâŚ:â Here is how they responded:
- Large changes in my life: 152 (54.7%)
- Moderate changes in my life: 68 (24.5%)
- Slight changes in my life: 28 (10.1%)
- No changes in my life: 14 (5.0%)
- Unknown: 16 (5.8%)
This compounding evidence seems to point toward â not away from â the reality of near-death experiences.
10 Amazing Near Death Experience Testimonies
Each of the following NDE accounts is curated from Quora and checked for validity.
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Sharon Elizabeth Jensen
âEverything around me was white, cloud white, not bright, shiny, canât-see light, [but] comfortable light. In fact, everything was comfortable as the most amazing and beautiful music I have ever and will ever hear again (no Human music will EVER compare favorably) was wafting literally in the air and surrounding everything.
I have never really understood what the meaning of âunconditional loveâ was, cynical being that I am, but I sure do now. Wow. SO wonderful and completely inexplicable in words.â
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Lori Miller
âI floated on my back along an invisible path surrounded by a speckled gray atmosphere. A white light illumined far in the distance. I kept my eyes on it without diverting my gaze as I moved towards it.
Absolute peace purified me. I shed all earthy worries, perspective, and concerns. Things that I didnât realize Iâd been carrying vanished, and in their place, complete freedom overtook me.
I felt unburdened, blissful, harmonious, and centered, but these words donât convey how amazing the experience was for me. There are no words that can adequately describe how I felt. The only way I can try to get across what it was like is to ask you to think of the best day of your life; the day you felt utter peace, a day when abundant love filled your heart, and you had no worries or things that you needed to get done, and then multiply those feelings by a million maybe even a trillion; yes, it was that good!â
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Raul Young
âI wasnât dead, as my consciousness was still there, I wasnât alive as I was no longer in my body. I was just simply being, I was an eternal force. An energy beyond explanation. It was like floating in the air.
I was no longer seeing the world — I wasnât even seeing black. I was in a place bright as white. It was peaceful and perhaps heavenly.
The thing that I remembered the most was a sense of selfishness if I can truly put it into words. As I remembered my life, it really didnât have much feeling of worth anymore. I felt like everything is perfect and just the way it should be.â
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Jiri Kroc
âIt is an incredible feeling, the most beautiful âplaceâ which I ever visited during this life. It is like being in the heavenly place of the immense beauty of structures observed there and sounds perceived, it is our true home where our spirits reside.
The world, which I did enter, was pure light, pure resonations, pure oscillations, pure sound that all created an unbelievable beauty. Do you remember your early childhood and how you cuddled to your mother, felt absolutely safe, warm, and comforted? This is the same with the difference that the world which we are speaking about is the world of pure energy, a world where our souls reside.â
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âJerryâ
âWhat GOD showed me that day, there are not enough words on earth to tell you, but I will do my best with want words I have. There was the most beautiful gate, where we saw my parents, grandparents who had died a long time ago. One person I didnât know, but he told me he loved me too. They all said they were fine and would wait for me to come back. We went on in. It seemed like everything was in a room, but you could see forever. You would be in one place, then in a second; you were somewhere else.
There was so much to see, the clearest rivers and streams. The water was crystal clear. The sky was so blue, the grass so green, and when you walked in the grass, you didnât leave footprints. The most beautiful music you have ever heard. The flowers were the most beautiful I had ever seen. I didnât see any person who was sick, or cripple, or looked unhappy.â
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